Rane Scratch Live SL 1 User manual

17356 SCRATCHLIVE SL 1 OPERATORS MANUAL 1.7.4

WEAR PARTS: The Scratch LIVE interface contains no wear parts.
The vinyl records and CDs are wear parts as described in the Limited Domestic Warranty section at the end of this manual.
Intro
Refer to the separate Quick Start guide that was included in the
box. If you lose yours, a new copy (along with this manual and all
other documentation) may be downloaded at
www.rane.com/scratch.html. To keep up with the latest tips, and to
check for Scratch LIVE software updates, visit the Official Scratch
LIVE Forum at scratchlive.net
For the questions that the Quick Start guide doesn't answer,
please read through these operating instructions so you will know
how to get the most from Scratch LIVE. Keep this manual in a
safe place for future reference.
Minimum system requirements
• One DJ mixer with at least 2 channels.
• At least one turntable or CD player.
• At least one turntable or CD player.
• Computer with USB 1 port supporting Full Speed Mode (USB 1.1).
• Screen resolution 1024 x 768 or higher.
• Hard drive space for storing music.
• PC Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Vista
(64-bit XP not supported)
Pentium 4 / 1.5 GHz
1 GB RAM.
• Mac OSX 10.3
G4 / 1 GHz
1 GB RAM.
Scratch LIVE is compatible with Intel-based Mac computers.
Note: no sound card is necessary.
Check List
ese items are included in the Scratch LIVE box:
• Scratch LIVE hardware box.
• Scratch LIVE software install disc.
• 2 (two) control CDs.
• 2 (two) control records.
• 1 USB cable.
• 4 stereo RCA cables.
• Quick Start Guide.
• is manual.
Reference
is manual and the quick start are saved for easy reference in
the Serato folder on your hard drive during software installation.
Reading it requires Adobe Acrobat™ or the Adobe Reader™ (free
download) from www.adobe.com.
Optional power supply
Connect an external power supply to the Scratch LIVE hardware
to power the THRU channels when USB power is not present.
is allows you to play vinyl (or CDs) when the laptop is not
present, useful for permanent installations or using more than
one laptop. e power supply is 9 volts DC, 300 mA using a P6
type barrel plug.
– (5.5 mm) + (2.5 mm)
(Radio Shack carries a compatible supply.
Use model 273-1770 or 273-1768 with Adaptaplug N).
Important safety instructions
For the continued safety of yourself and others we recommend
that you read the following safety and installation instructions.
Keep this document in a safe location for future reference. Please
heed all warnings and follow all instructions.
Do not use this equipment in a location where it might be-
come wet. Clean only with a damp cloth.
is equipment may be used as a table top device, although
stacking of the equipment is dangerous and not recommended.
Equipment may be located directly above or below this unit,
but note that some equipment (like large power amplifiers) may
cause an unacceptable amount of hum or may generate too much
heat and degrade the performance of this equipment.
Only use attachments and accessories specified by Rane.
Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is
required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such
as spilled liquid, fallen objects into an opened chassis, exposure to
rain or moisture, a dropped unit, or abnormal operation.
Copyright notices
© 2007 Rane Corporation. All rights reserved. Scratch LIVE and
the Scratch LIVE logo are trademarks of Serato Audio Research.
Trademarked in the U.S. and other countries. Licensed exclu-
sively to Rane Corporation. is software is based in part on the
work of the Independent JPEG Group, and uses libpng code,
copyright © 2000-2002 Glenn Randers-Pehrson. Control vinyl
and CDs are available for single use only — any further copying
or unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Windows
XP and Vista is either a registered trademark or a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other coun-
tries. Apple, Mac, Macintosh and iTunes are trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc., registered in the US and/or other countries.

Manual-1
SERATO SCRATCH LIVE
SL 1 OPERATOR’S MANUAL
Version 1.7.4
Contents
Getting started ............................................2
Connections.................................................3
Optional extra setup .................................3
Setting up your turntables and mixer ........4
Setting up your CD players ........................4
Starting the software ................................4
Using tool tips ..........................................4
Calibrating Scratch LIVE..............................5
Audio input level ......................................5
Audio output ............................................5
Signal threshold........................................5
Scope view ................................................5
Playing your first track ................................6
Loading tracks ..........................................6
Supported file types..................................6
Preparing your files .....................................6
Build overviews.........................................6
Set auto BPM.............................................6
Reset track gain ........................................6
Playing tracks ..............................................7
The control record.....................................7
Vinyl Scroll................................................7
Virtual Deck ..............................................7
Visual aids ................................................8
Tempo Matching display............................8
Track Overview display .............................8
Main Waveform display .............................9
Beat Matching display...............................9
Tracking indicator ...................................10
Autoplay .................................................10
Master gain.............................................10
Track gain ...............................................10
33 / 45 Speeds ........................................10
Repeat ....................................................10
Tap Tempo ..............................................10
Scratch LIVE modes.................................... 11
Absolute mode ........................................ 11
Relative mode ......................................... 11
Censor .................................................... 11
Internal mode .........................................12
Cue points .................................................13
Looping .....................................................13
Organizing your music ...............................14
Grouping tracks into crates .....................14
Subcrates ................................................14
Sorting your files ....................................14
Using the song browser ..........................15
Searching................................................15
Prepare window ......................................16
Review window.......................................16
Editing ID3 tags ......................................16
Status icons.............................................16
Display album art....................................16
Playing tracks direct from audio CD.........16
Previewing tracks....................................16
Recording from a microphone....................17
Sampling from vinyl...................................17
Keyboard shortcuts....................................18
Additional setup ........................................19
USB audio buffer size ..............................19
Audio cache (seconds).............................19
Horizontal waveforms .............................19
Maximum screen updates (per second) ....19
Instant doubles .......................................19
Play from first cue point ..........................19
Play from start ........................................19
Adjust loops with vinyl ...........................19
Sort cues chronologically ........................19
Track end warning ..................................19
Playback keys use shift............................19
Next song on flip ....................................19
Lock playing deck ...................................20
Track start offset.....................................20
Braking ...................................................20
Vinyl scroll speed ....................................20
Drift compensation .................................20
Reverse vinyl scroll..................................20
Hi0fi resampler .......................................20
Set auto gain ..........................................20
Read iTunes™ library...............................20
Auto fill overviews ..................................20
Center on selected song ..........................20
Rescan ID3 tags ......................................21
Protect library .........................................21
Show all file types...................................21
Include subcrate tracks ...........................21
USB dropout indicator.............................21
Mixing with only one turntable .................22
SL 1 Specifications .....................................22
Troubleshooting and FAQ ..........................23
Scope reading and fixes.............................24
Corrupt file descriptions and diagnoses .....26

Manual-2
Getting started
1) Install the software
Mac
Insert the Software Installation CD-ROM and double-click the
installer icon.
Windows XP and Vista
1. Insert the Software Installation CD-ROM. If Setup doesn’t
start automatically, browse to the CD drive and run
setup.exe. Note: Select custom install to change the directory
you wish to install Scratch LIVE into.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions. Once the installation is
complete, Scratch Live appears in the Start Menu under All
Programs > Serato > Scratch Live.
2) Connect and install the hardware
Mac
Mac users need only connect the SL 1 hardware after installing
the software. No extra hardware installation is required.
Windows XP
1. Connect the SL 1 (Scratch LIVE interface) to your computer
using the supplied USB cable.
2. e Windows New Hardware Wizard appears.
5. Click Finish once installation is complete.
Windows XP treats each USB port individually. You might
like to install Scratch LIVE on all of your USB ports, so you can
connect the hardware to any port.
Note: You may be prompted the location of “SeratoUsb.sys”.
Browse to find this file on the Scratch LIVE install CD or web
download, under “Drivers\SL 1”.
Windows Vista
When you plug in your hardware:
1. A Found New Hardware wizard will pop up.
2. Choose "Locate and install driver software"
3. After Windows looks for the driver it will say "Windows
couldn't nd driver software for your device. Choose "Browse
my computer for driver software"
4. Browse to the location that you extracted the ScratchLIVE.zip
le to. Choose the Drivers folder.
5. Click next and Windows will say "Windows can't verify the
publisher of this driver software". Click "Install this driver
software anyway".
6. When you see the bubble "Your new hardware is installed and
ready to use," proceed to install the Scratch LIVE driver.
3. Insert the Software Installation CD-ROM if it’s not already
inserted, then press Next.
4. Windows may complain that the software driver is not digitally
signed. Choose Continue Anyway.

Manual-3
Connections
Tip: Whenever you are connecting input devices to your DJ mixer, turn down the master volume.
1. Connect your turntables (or CD players ) to INPUTS 1 and 2 of the SL 1 (Scratch LIVE interface).
2. Connect the LINE OUTPUTS of the SL 1 to the Line Inputs on your DJ mixer, check that those inputs are switched to line level.
3. Connect the USB cable from the SL 1 to your Mac or PC.
Optional extra setup
• If you are using turntables, connect their ground wires to the grounding post of your DJ mixer.
• Connect the THRU OUTPUTS of the SL 1 to the mixer’s phono inputs when using turntables; connect these to the mixer’s line
inputs when using CD players. is allows you to bypass Scratch LIVE to play normal records or CDs.
• Connect a 9VDC external power supply (not included) to the SL 1 to power the THRU channels when USB power is not present.
is allows you to play vinyl (or CDs) when the laptop is not present, useful for permanent installations or using more than one
laptop. e power supply must be 9 volts DC, 300 mA minimum, using a P6-type barrel plug.
• Connect a dynamic microphone to the MIC INPUT of the SL 1 to scratch your own mic recordings as if they are on vinyl.
• Connect a ¼" to ¼" cable from the MIC THRU jack on the SL 1 to the microphone input on your DJ mixer to allow normal use of
the microphone, independent of Scratch LIVE. (Note: power is required, either from the USB port or an external power supply.)
RECORDS
CONTROL RECORD
This record contains a control signal only
and is intended solely for use in conjunction
with Serato Scratch LIVE software.
©2004 Serato Audio Research
©2004 Rane Corporation
All rights reserved.
14368
RECORDS
CONTROL RECORD
This record contains a control signal only
and is intended solely for use in conjunction
with Serato Scratch LIVE software.
©2004 Serato Audio Research
©2004 Rane Corporation
All rights reserved.
14368
MIC IN PHONO LINE PHONO LINE GROUND
TURNTABLE OUTTURNTABLE OUT GROUND GROUND
USB
15:00
CV02
12-125-33
A
15:00
CV02
12-125-33
A

Manual-4
Setting up your turntables and mixer
1. Set the tone arms to the specic recommendations of the
cartridge used, such that the needle never leaves the record, but
not heavy enough that it heats up signicantly. Both produce
poor tracking.
2. If the track plays backwards, try swapping the left and right
cables. e inputs from your turntables might be the wrong
way around. Left=white, Right=red.
3. Grounding is extremely important when using Scratch LIVE.
Make sure you have good connections from the ground wires
of your turntables to the grounding post of your DJ mixer.
All DJ mixers with turntable inputs have built in grounding
points for this purpose. If you do not ground your turntables
properly, the control signal will be noisy and the tracking of
the record position will be erratic. (See signal threshold on
page Manual-5).
Tip: We recommend Shure M44-7 needles for use with Scratch
LIVE, due to their high output volume, excellent tracking
and low record wear.
Setting up your CD players
Your CD players do not need any adjustment. Connect the out-
put of your CD players to Inputs 1 and 2 of the SL 1, and set the
Input to Line Level in the Scratch LIVE setup.
Starting the software
Close all other programs on your Mac or PC.
When you load Scratch LIVE for the first time, you will see
the screen below.
Using tool tips
Click on the ? icon to enable tool tips. Tool tips provide a handy
way to learn the various features of Scratch LIVE. Move the mouse
over a section of the screen to bring up a context-sensitive tool
tip. Holding the mouse over the ? button with tool tips turned
on will show you a list of all keyboard shortcuts.
Tool tips are available in several languages. Scratch LIVE will
display the tool tips in the language that your computer is set to.
If your language is not available, the tool tips will be displayed in
English.

Manual-5
Calibrating Scratch LIVE
e SL 1 interprets the signal on record and communicates with
the software. e signal needs to be clear for Scratch LIVE to
perform well. is section describes how to calibrate Scratch LIVE
to optimize reading the control signal from your turntables or
CD players.
For best results, re-calibrate Scratch LIVE each time you move
or make changes to your DJ equipment. To calibrate Scratch
LIVE, go to the setup screen by pressing the button at the top of
the main screen, to the right of the Scratch LIVE logo.
Audio input level
By default Scratch LIVE is set to accept phono level inputs. If you
wish to use CD players, switch to line level input. is preference
is stored when you exit Scratch LIVE.
Audio output
By default the output of Scratch LIVE is stereo. You can also
select mono output. is setting is saved when you exit Scratch
LIVE.
Signal threshold
e first step is to set signal threshold. ere is always a certain
amount of background noise, particularly when using turntables
in a club environment. With a normal turntable setup, this back-
ground noise is transmitted through the body of the turntable
and platter to the stylus, and can cause stylus feedback. In Scratch
LIVE, this can cause errors on the reading of the position and
velocity of the control record, resulting in a garbled digital noise
and/or poor tracking.
Place the needle on the record with the record stopped.
Click the estimate button to measure the background noise and
estimate the appropriate threshold. Moving the threshold slider
to the left will make Scratch LIVE more sensitive to slow record
movement, but also more sensitive to background noise.
Tip: If the slider jumps to the far right, then you have a
problem with noise in your turntables/CD players/mixer.
Check all your connections and make sure your equipment is
well earthed. In some situations you will not be able to improve
the signal quality, and you will have to play on regardless.
In this situation, stick to rel mode. (See page Manual-11 for
details)
Scope view
Once you have set the threshold, start both turntables. You will
see green rings appear in the scope view, as shown below.
For optimal performance the inner ring should be as close
to circular as possible. Use the scope zoom slider (1x to 16x) to
zoom in or out as necessary. Use the scope L/R balance and P/A
balance controls to adjust the shape of the inner ring.
e number in the top left corner of the scope view gives the
current absolute position within the control record or CD. e
number in the top right corner is the current speed in RPM. In
the bottom left is the current threshold setting, and the number
in the bottom right shows the percentage of readable signal – this
number should be at least 85% when your system is calibrated
properly.
Tip: If you have trouble getting the rings circular, you
probably need to clean or change your needles. If the image ap-
pears as a line, then one of the channels of the turntable is not
working. See examples of potential problems and fixes on pages
Manual-23-24.

Manual-6
Playing your first track
Now that you have calibrated Scratch LIVE, you are ready to play
your rst track. We will return to the setup screen later to set
general system preferences.
When you rst run Scratch LIVE, your library contains only
the pre-installed tracks. Load les into Scratch LIVE by pressing
the import button. Navigate the hard drive of your computer to
locate your audio les. Click on these les (or folders containing
files) and drag them onto the ✽ All … icon.
You can also import by dragging les and folders directly
from Windows Explorer (PC version) or Finder (Mac version)
into the Scratch LIVE library (see pic below).
Scratch LIVE supports importing M3U playlists.
Loading tracks
Click on the ✽ All… icon to show all the tracks in your library.
To load a track on to one of the decks, drag the track from the
track list on to either deck. You can drag the same track on to
both decks to load it onto both turntables.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut shift to load the high-
lighted track on to the left deck, and shift to load the high-
lighted track on to the right deck.
To start playing a track, simply put the needle on the record
and start the turntable. e track will start playing from the posi-
tion dictated by the placement of the needle on the record – if
you place the needle at the beginning of the record, the track will
start playing from the beginning. You can skip through the track
by picking up the needle and placing it further into the record,
just as with regular records (is is known as needle dropping).
Supported file types
Scratch LIVE supports xed and variable bit rate .MP3, Ogg
Vorbis, .AIFF, and .WAV le types. iTunes™ library and iTunes
playlists can be automatically imported in the setup screen by
clicking read iTunes library. See Rescan 1D3 tags on page
Manual-20.
Note: iTunes’ default encoder is set to AAC, which Scratch
LIVE currently does not support. To change the default encoding
preferences in iTunes, go to Preferences > Importing. Change the
“import using” option to a supported file type and click OK.
Preparing your files
Build overviews
If you run Scratch LIVE with the hardware interface disconnected,
you will notice a button labeled build overviews on the main
screen. Click this to automatically build the overviews for all the
tracks in your library. e track name (and location) are shown in
the bar immediately below the button. Below this are three more
bars. e first bar shows track reading progress, the second bar
shows overview building, and the third bar shows track writing
progress. is process prepares the overviews of all your tracks,
and alerts you to any corrupt files you might have. ese are
indicated by Status Icons, shown on page Manual-16.
Set auto BPM
If this option is checked, building overviews will include the
estimated tempos of your files. If Scratch LIVE is confident that
the auto BPM estimate for a le is accurate, it will be written to
an ID3 tag in the le. e auto BPM function will not be applied
if the track already contains BPM information. If you know your
les BPM will fall within a certain range, use the range dropdown
to avoid double or half value BPMs being calculated.
Note: As auto BPM is part of the overview building process, files
in your library with overviews already built will not be processed
by clicking the build overviews button. To rebuild overviews and
use auto gain or auto BPM on those files drag them onto the build
overviews button.
Reset track gain
If you want to reset any track gain tags to 0 dB, drag them onto
this button to reset them to 0. To regenerate new values as you
build overviews, see Set auto gain on page Manual-20.

Manual-7
Playing tracks
When a track is loaded, the track name, artist and length
are displayed in the track title bar, and the Virtual Deck
shows a solid black line. e track will start playing as soon
as it detects the signal from the control vinyl (or CD).
The control record
e control record has two sides. e rst side is 10 minutes long and contains the Vinyl Scroll
section. e second side is 15 minutes long. Scratch LIVE can be configured to work with
records playing at either 33 RPM or 45 RPM, depending on your preference.
e record has thin marks every minute, and a thicker mark every 5 minutes
(when playing at 33 RPM). ese marks are to assist you when using needle
dropping to move through the track. ese marks do not affect the playback
of the track.
Vinyl Scroll
Vinyl Scroll allows you to select and load tracks using only your
turntables (or CD player) – no contact with the computer necessary!
To use Vinyl Scroll with turntables, lift the needle off the record
and drop it into special “bonus track” section at the end of the re-
cord’s Aside. e movement of the control disk now controls the
selected track within your library. Lift the needle out of the Vinyl
Scroll section of the record and into the lead out (between the
Vinyl Scroll area and the end of the record) to change crates or
iTunes playlists. Go back to the Vinyl Scroll area of the record to
choose a track within the crate or playlist. Once you have found
the track you wish to play, put the needle back at the beginning
of the record and it will load automatically.
is feature is available to CD users. Go to track 2on the
control CD to access Vinyl Scroll. Find the track you want to load,
and go back to track 1. e track you selected will be loaded and
ready to play.
You can reverse the direction of Vinyl Scroll and set the sensitivity
in the setup screen (page Manual-20).
Tip: You can also use Vinyl Scroll in the prepare window. See page
Manual-16.
Virtual Deck
Virtual Deck shows everything about the speed and position of a track. As the vinyl
rotates, so does the line on the label. e circular progress bar around the edge is a visual
representation of the position within the song, and can be set to flash to warn you that
the track is nearing its end. e time and remaining time are displayed in minutes and
seconds. e turntable speed as a percentage pitch shift is shown on the left of the Virtual
Deck, and the pitched BPM (BPM with pitch adjustment multiplier added) is shown on
the right of the virtual Deck. If the track has no BPM information, pitched BPM will
not be shown.
Activate Keylock by clicking this button. For more information regarding Keylock see
page Manual-10.
If you are playing regular vinyl, notice that the Virtual Deck behaves strangely as
Scratch LIVE attempts to decode the incoming signal. is will not cause any problems,
but you may nd it distracting. You can unload the currently loaded track using the eject
button next to each Virtual Deck.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut shift-alt-arrow to unload a track from the Virtual
Deck.
Eject button

Manual-8
Visual aids
When the track is playing several waveforms are displayed. Each
shows a different aspect of the track being played.
Tempo Matching display
e Tempo Matching display area provides a helpful tool for beat
matching. Scratch LIVE detects the beats within the track, and
places a row of orange peaks (for the track on the left side) above
a row of blue peaks (for the track on the right side) in the Tempo
Matching display area. When the two tracks are matched to the
same tempo, the peaks will line up.
Note that the tempo display is aligned with the beginning of
the bar, so the peaks keep their relative position as the track plays.
is display does not show the relative timing of the beats, only
the tempos of the tracks. e peaks will still line up when the
tracks are playing at the same tempo, but are out of sync.
Track Overview display
is view provides a complete overview of the waveform of the
track, and includes a marker to show the current position within
the track.
is view is useful for finding transitions within the track.
e waveform is colored according to the spectrum of the sound
– red representing low frequency bass sounds, green represent-
ing mid frequency sounds and blue representing high frequency
treble sounds.
You can jump to dierent positions within the track by click-
ing on the Track Overview display (disabled in abs mode).
Grey lines behind the overview show the length of the track
– a thin grey line every minute, and a thick grey line every 5
minutes.
e overview will be filled when you load the track onto a
Virtual Deck. On slower computers, you should disable auto fill
overviews in the setup screen – with this setting disabled, the
overview will be filled as you play the track.
See also: Cue points on page Manual-13
Absolute mode on page Manual-11
Build overviews on page Manual-21
Track overview display

Manual-9
Main Waveform display
is view provides a close-up view of the track, including color-
coding to show the frequency of the sound; red representing low-
frequency bass sounds, green representing mid-frequency sounds
and blue representing high-frequency treble sounds.
You can also switch to a three-band spectrum view by holding
the crtl key and clicking on the waveform.
Click on the waveform to ‘scrub’ or make ne adjustments to
your position within the track. is applies to int mode only, and
may be useful if you wish to set cue points in your tracks without
your turntables or CD players connected. e Main Waveform is
zoomed around the current position in the track.
See also: Internal mode on page Manual-12
Cue points on page Manual-13.
Horizontal waveforms on page Manual-19.
Tip: Use the + and – keys to zoom in and out.
In the example below, the red part of the wave represents a
kick drum, while the purple part represents a snare drum.
Kick Drum
Snare Drum
Beat Matching display
is view shows the position of beats within the track. When
beat matching, this view helps align the downbeats of the two
tracks. e markers are matched up when the two tracks are beat
matched.
Example
e following is a demonstration of using the visual aids to help
beat match. In this example, the track that is playing is on the left
deck, and the track to be mixed in is on the right deck.
1. Start the track playing on the right deck. After a few seconds,
blue peaks appear in the Tempo Matching display.
2. Adjust the pitch of the right turntable until the blue peaks sit
under the orange peaks in the Tempo Matching display. Once
they are aligned, the two tracks have the same tempo.
3. Next align the markers in the Beat Matching display. Watch
the color of the items passing by in the Main Waveform dis-
play. Remember that a kick or bass drum will be red in color,
and a snare drum will be green or blue.
is technique will by no means guarantee perfect mixes, but
may help to speed up the process of beat matching.
Main waveform display
Beat matching display
Tempo Matching display

Manual-10
Repeat
Use the repeat function to repeat the song across the
entire length of the control record.
Tip: Short “loop” samples can be turned into a
continuous track using the repeat function. e loops
must be less than 10 seconds long, and cut at the start
and end of a bar.
Autoplay
Click the
auto button to
enable autoplay. With this
setting turned on, when one
track finishes playing, the next
track starts automatically. Load
from a crate to play through the
songs in that crate, or from your
library to play through your
library. Use the next | and
previous | buttons to jump
to the next track or go to the
previous track in the list. Auto-
play works in both rel and int
modes. Play from start must
be checked in the setup screen
for autoplay to work correctly.
See page Manual-27.
Track gain
Use the track gain adjustment to
balance the volume of the tracks
in your library. Any adjustment
made to the gain of a track is
saved with the file, and will be
reapplied to the entire track
when it is loaded again.
e level meter shows
the level sent to the hardware
interface — after both individ-
ual track gain and master gain
adjustment.
Note: for automatic gain
setting of your tracks, see Set
auto gain on page Manual-20
and Reset track gain on page
Manual-6.
Master gain
e master output of Scratch LIVE can be controlled
using the master gain control. is adjusts the output
volume of all tracks played. Note: for best results, set
the master gain to the 12 o’clock position, and adjust
the volume of individual tracks using the track gain
adjustment.
33 / 45 Speeds
Set this to match the speed of your
turntable for normal playback.
Tracking indicator
e tracking indicators on the
main screen show the quality of
the signal coming from the con-
trol record or CD. e length
of the bar indicates the speed
of the record or CD. e color
indicates the amount of position
information Scratch LIVE is
receiving. When you are playing
the record at normal speed, the
tracking indicator should be
grey. If it is mostly red there is a
problem reading the control sig-
nal. Make sure your needles are
clean, and check the calibration
in the setup screen. Note: it is
normal for the light to be red
when cueing or scratching.
Tap Tempo
For tracks with no BPM information, there is a tap tempo button displayed where the BPM
usually is, in the song info area.
Pressing alt-space bar activates the tempo tapper (press alt-space bar a second time to activate
the tempo tapper on the right Virtual Deck). Tap the space bar along with the beat.
After you’ve tapped the rst beat, you can switch to double time tapping, half time, start of
each bar etc. e range is set by the first two taps, after that you can switch to any steady rhythm
you feel comfortable with – quarter notes, half note, whole notes. Esc resets the BPM, Enter saves
the BPM to the track. You can use the mouse if you prefer.
Your CD player or turntable’s pitch slider doesn’t need to be at zero, we do the math for
you. You can also use the tempo tapper when no song is loaded, for nding the BPM of regular
records, for example.
Key Lock
When Key Lock is on, the key
or pitch of the song stays locked
at what it would be if the track
was playing at normal speed,
regardless of the platter speed
of the turntable or CD player.
Key Lock has scratch detection,
so that it automatically turns off
when scratching for a natural
scratching sound. Turn Key
Lock on or off by pressing the
button to the top right of the
Virtual Deck.
Tip: F5 and F10 will turn
Key Lock on and off for the left
and right decks respectively.

Manual-11
Scratch LIVE modes
Scratch LIVE has three dierent modes of operation. You can
switch between these modes by clicking the mode buttons near
the Virtual Deck.
Absolute mode
Abs mode is the default mode, and most closely resembles
the properties of normal vinyl. e beginning of the track
is mapped to the start of the record, and by picking up the
tone arm and moving the needle to another part of the record
(needle dropping) you can move to a different position within
the track.
Abs mode faithfully reproduces the movement of vinyl con-
trol records, including stops, starts, scratching, needle dropping,
rubbing and other turntablist techniques.
When you reach the end of the record, Scratch LIVE auto-
matically switches to int mode. is is known as Emergency
Internal mode, and prevents long tracks from stopping when
you run out of record. You can switch from Emergency Internal
mode to rel mode by lifting the needle and placing it in the
lead-in of the control record. Emergency int mode will activate
after 1 second
Note: Be careful when scratching near the end of the record
not to accidentally go past this point and into int mode – the
track will no longer respond to record movement!
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut F1 (left deck) or F6 (right
deck) to switch to abs mode.
Relative mode
Rel mode observes the relative forward and backward move-
ment of the record, but does not take into account the position
within the record. Rel mode disables needle dropping, but
allows skip-free scratching.
Rel mode adds additional speed controls:
 Rewind – e rewind function speeds up the longer you
press the button.
 Bend down – Create a temporary decrease in the play-
back speed. Use bend down if the two tracks are in time, but
this track is slightly ahead of the other track.
 Bend up – Create a temporary increase in the playback
speed. Use bend up if the two tracks are in time, but this
track is slightly behind the other track.
 Fast forward – e fast forward function speeds up the
longer you hold the button.


 Censor – see description 
When you reach the end of the record, Scratch LIVE automat-
ically switches to int mode. is is known as Emergency Internal
mode, and prevents long tracks from stopping when you run out
of record. You can switch from Emergency Internal mode back
to relative mode by lifting the needle and placing it back at the
beginning of the control record.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut F2 (left deck) or F7 (right
deck) to switch to rel mode.
Tip: If you wish to change the orientation of the sticker on your
control vinyl, lift the needle, turn the control vinyl, and drop the
needle more than 1 minute from where you picked it up.
Censor
Use the censor button to ‘mask’ parts of a song, or use as a special
eect. When you press the censor button, the track starts playing
backwards from that point. When you release the censor button,
the track plays forward from the point you would have been, had
you not pressed the censor button. Censor is available only in rel
and int modes.

Manual-12
Internal mode
Int mode allows you to play tracks without external vinyl
(or CD player) control. Int mode has a start / stop func-
tion and virtual pitch slider. Holding down the shift key
moves the pitch slider slowly. Holding the ctrl key and
clicking on the pitch slider resets it to 33 rpm or 45 rpm,
depending on which you are closest to at the time.
Scratch LIVE automatically switches to int mode when
the end of the control record is reached; you can switch
back to abs mode by placing the needle in the lead-in of
the control record.
If you switch from abs or rel into int mode, Scratch
LIVE automatically adjusts pitch to maintain playback
speed as set by the turntable.
int mode adds these additional controls.
 Rewind – e rewind function speeds up the longer you
press the button.
 Bend down – Create a temporary decrease in the playback
speed. Use bend down if the two tracks are in time, but this
track is slightly ahead of the other track.
 Play / pause reverse – Press to play, press again to stop play-
back. You can adjust the braking knob in the setup screen to
range from an immediate stop to a slow turntable-style ‘power
down’. See page Manual-20.
 Play / pause forward – Press to play, press again to stop play-
back. Uses the same braking as described above.
 Bend up – Create a temporary increase in the playback
speed. Use bend up if the two tracks are in time, but this track
is slightly behind the other track.
 Fast forward – e fast forward function speeds up the
longer you hold the button.
Scratch LIVE has two pitch sliders – a large slider for coarse
pitch adjustment, and a small pitch slider for fine adjustments.
Click above or below the handle on the large pitch slider to make
small pitch adjustments, or hold the shift key and drag the pitch
slider to move it slowly. Drag the center of the small pitch slider
to make fine pitch adjustments, or click on either side of the
small slider to pitch bend.
ere is a temporary cue point that can be used like the Cue
button on many DJ CD players. Press ctrl-I to set this tempo-
rary cue point on the left deck, and ctrl-K to set it on the right
deck. is temp cue point is shown in the main waveform as a
white marker. is cue point is not saved with the track, and by
default is set to the beginning of the track. Press I to jump to this
temporary cue point on the left deck, and Kfor the right deck. If
you hold down the I or Kkey while the track is stopped, it will
play from the temp cue point. As soon as you release the key, it
will jump back to the temp cue point. Note that you can use this
shortcut to jump the beginning of the track if the temporary cue
point has not been set. See Cue points on the next page.
e buttons above the small pitch slider allow you to seed the
base playback speed – 1/2 (half speed), 33/45 or the speed of a
45 rpm recording playing at 33 rpm, 1x or normal speed, 45/33
or the speed of a 33 rpm recording playing at 45 rpm, or 2x
(double speed).
You can also control playback using the computer keyboard
— turn Caps Lock on to enable.
Left Deck Function Right Deck
Qplay / pause reverse A
Wplay / pause forward S
Epitch down D
Rpitch up F
Tbend down G
Ybend up H
Alt-Q load previous track Alt-A
Alt-W load next track Alt-S
Alt-E rewind Alt-D
Alt-R fast forward Alt-F
Ctrl-I set temporary cue point Ctrl-K
Click on the waveform to ‘scrub’ or make ne adjustments to
your position within the track. is may be useful if you wish to
set cue points in your tracks, and don’t have your turntables or
CD players connected.
Note : If you play a track in int mode, and then switch
to abs or rel mode, the pitch adjustment will be dictated by
the turntable, so there will be a jump in pitch unless they are
already perfectly matched.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut F3 (left deck) or F8 (right
deck) to switch to int mode.
Tip: Panic! If you are in abs or rel mode and you get a
build up of dust on the needle that is breaking up the audio,
hold down ctrl and press the int button. is will take you to
internal mode, and reset the pitch to zero.
Play / pause forward
Bend up
Censor
Go to temp. cue point
Set / adjust loop in
Set / adjust loop out
Loop on / off
Pitch –
Pitch +
Bend down
Left deck
Right deck
Play / pause reverse
qwertyuiop[
asdfghjkl;'

Manual-13
Cue points
You can set up to ve visual cue points within each track. Use the + button to place
a cue point.
Click the arrow to the left of each cue point to jump to it (rel and int mode
only). You can also jump to cue points using keyboard shortcuts – 1 through 5 for
the cue points on the left deck, and 6 through 0 for the right deck cue points.
Notice that the stripe on the Virtual Deck jumps to the 12 o’clock position and
changes color when you set a cue point – you are at the cue point when the stripe is
one solid color and at the 12 o’clock position.
As the record plays on beyond the position of the cue point, the colored bar will
shorten by a fifth for each rotation. Likewise, as you approach the cue point, the
color will grow by a fifth each rotation. For example, the picture below right shows
the record just before the end of the 5th rotation before the cue point.
Each cue point can have a different color. To change the color of a cue point,
click on the colored square and choose a new color from the drop down menu.
To remove a cue point, use the x button on the right side of the cue point panel.
A cue point can occupy any of the 5 slots. You can drag and drop cue points to
change their order in the list. If you wish to have the cue points sorted chronologi-
cally, check the sort cues chronologically option in the setup screen. If you load
the same track on to both decks, you will be able to add or modify cue points from
either deck.
When you jump to a cue point in internal mode while paused, the track will play
from the cue point for as long as the key or mouse button is pressed, after which the
playhead returns to the cue point. If this is done using the keyboard while the track
is playing in either internal or relative mode, the cue point will be repeatedly trig-
gered, producing a stuttering effect.
The stripe is a solid color at the cue point
The stripe grows a fth by each rotation closer to the cue point
Looping
You can save up to 9 loops per track; these
loops are saved in the file, and will be present
when you reload the track. To make a loop, set
the in-point by clicking the in button, and the
out-point by clicking the out button. To turn
the loop on or off, click the loop button. If
you want the playhead to jump to the start of
the loop when you enable the loop, hold the
control key and press the loop button.
To adjust the in-point of the loop, click
the in button. You can use the arrow keys:
to move the in-point towards the start of
the track,  to move the in-point towards
the end of the track. Hold down the shift key
while pressing the arrow key to make coarse
adjustments. Click the in button again to save
the in-point. e same applies to adjusting the
out-point.
You can also use the control vinyl (or CD)
to adjust the in- and out-point. Click the in
button, then move the control vinyl. Moving
the vinyl will adjust the in-point. Once you
are happy with the new in-point, click the in
button to save, and release the control vinyl.
e control vinyl will go back to controlling
playback once the record is back up to normal
speed. Using the control vinyl to adjust loop
end points is optional — to turn this feature
off, disable the adjust loops with vinyl op-
tion in the setup screen.
ere are 9 available loop slots per track.
If a loop is set in a given slot, the background
(behind the loop number) will be green. Press
the xbutton to clear the loop. If you click
on the number of a occupied loop slot, a red
border will appear. is indicates the loop is
locked, and you will not be able to adjust the
end points or delete the loop until you unlock
it, by clicking on the number again.
Looping applies to rel and int modes.
Tip: e rate of cue point stuttering is
controlled by your operating system key-
board repeat rate settings. Windows users:
Keyboard properties are in the Control
Panel. Mac users: Keyboard and Mouse are
in System Preferences.
Tip: use the keyboard shortcuts ctrl-com-
ma (for left) and ctrl-dot (for right) to place
cue points.

Manual-14
To make a new crate, click the + button. To rename a crate,
double click the crate name. You can change the order of tracks
within a crate by dragging them up or down.
Tip: e protect library option in the setup screen applies
to removing, editing and renaming crates. Check this option
to prevent changes to your crates. If you do delete a crate by
accident, you can get it back from the recycle bin / trash. Crate
files have the extension .crate.
Subcrates
You can drag and drop crates into other crates to make subcrates.
If you drag a crate to the very left of the crate panel, it will stay in
the top level of the crate structure. If you drag the crate a little to
the right, onto the name of another crate, it will make the crate
you are dragging a sub crate of the first crate.
Sorting your files
e track information display area can be customized to display
the columns listed below:
• Album
• Artist
• Bitrate
• BPM
• Comment
• Composer
• Filename
• Genre
• Grouping
• Label
• Length
• Location
• Remixer
• Sampling Rate
• Size
• Track
• Year
Click on the column button to select which columns you
want to display.
To sort your library by a column, click the column header so
it highlights. For example, clicking on the album column header
will sort your library alphabetically by album title. To move a col-
umn, drag the header to the left or right. To resize a column, click
on the column boundary and drag it to the left or right.
Organizing your music
Scratch LIVE can support an unlimited number of tracks – the
only limitation is the size of the hard drive of your computer. A
number of features are included to help you to keep your music
organized and nd songs quickly and easily.
Grouping tracks into crates
Scratch LIVE supports several ways of organizing and sorting your
le library. iTunes™ users will notice that Scratch LIVE automati-
cally incorporates your existing iTunes library and playlists.
Scratch LIVE uses digital “crates” for quick access to your
favorite collections. ere is no limit to the number of crates you
can create, and any given track can be placed in multiple crates.
For example, you could organize your les into the following
crates, where any one track would be filed in more than one crate:
• Hip Hop
• UK Hip Hop
• French Hip Hop
• Instrumental Hip Hop
• Old School Hip Hop
• Hip Hop LPs

Manual-15
Using the song browser
e song browser allows you to lter your song list by Genre, BPM, Artist and Album. To turn the song browser on or o, click the
browse button.
Searching
Scratch LIVE includes a search function to help you find files quickly and easily. Enter text into the search box and Scratch LIVE will
automatically find as you type.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut ‘ctrl-f’ to jump to the search box. is keyboard shortcut will also take you out of any crate or
playlist that you might be in and into your main library, so you can find any track in your collection. If you then click on a crate
or playlist, the search query will be cleared.
To select which fields the search function will look through, click on the left hand side of the search box. e drop down menu shows
which fields are currently being used.
Press esc or the x button on the right of the search box to clear the search.
search box

Manual-16
Prepare window
e prepare window is a holding area for tracks, much like
preparing a set by lifting records part way out of your record bag.
You can drag tracks (or whole crates) from the main track list into
the prepare window, or simply drag them onto the prepare but-
ton. ese tracks will be removed from the prepare window once
they have been played. All tracks in the prepare window will be
discarded when you exit Scratch LIVE.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut ctrl-p to add tracks to the
prepare window.
Tip: Select the contents of the prepare window and drag
them onto the new crate button ( + ) to save the selection.
Review window
e review window shows the tracks you have recently played
in the order in which they were played. Tracks you have played
recently are colored green – press the clear button to reset the list
of recently played tracks.
Tip: Select the contents of the review window and drag
them onto the new crate button ( + ) to save a history of the
tracks you played.
Editing ID3 tags
Much of the information associated with each le can be edited
from within Scratch LIVE. Double click on the attribute within
the main library to edit the attribute. Filename, length, size, bit
rate and sampling cannot be edited. is information is saved
in the file itself. Note that the protect library option in setup
must be unchecked to allow edits.
See Preparing your files on page Manual-6 for details on
prebuilding overviews and the auto bpm feature.
Tip: Use the keyboard shortcut “ctrl-e” to edit text. Hold
down the ctrl key and move with the arrow keys to change to a
different field while staying in edit mode. When you have more
than one file selected, editing tags changes all the files in your
selection.
Tip: e second column in the library is the label color for
that file. Click it to bring up a color palette, and customize the
virtual deck for that file.
Display album art
MP3 les can contain album art information. To display this
album art, click the show album art button. ere are many
third party applications available for adding album art to MP3s.
We recommend Apple’s iTunes™.
Status icons
e leftmost column shows the status of each track. e image to
the left shows 5 tracks with diering statuses.
From top to bottom:
• Scratch LIVE has detected some corruption in the
MP3 le. If possible, re-encode the MP3.
• e track has been imported from the iTunes™
library.
• e track has been imported from the iTunes library,
and Scratch LIVE has detected some corruption in the
MP3 le. Solution: If possible, re-encode the MP3.
• e track cannot be found. Most likely the le has
been renamed or moved.
• Scratch LIVE is trying to import a track from the
iTunes library, but cannot find the file.
• Tracks that are read-only have a locked icon.
More info on corrupt les
If you have a corrupt file in your library, hover your mouse over
the status icon for information on what type of corruption was
found. Detailed explanations of these messages can be found on
page Manual-26, and more help with these is at scratchlive.net.
Playing tracks direct from audio CD
You can play tracks direct from an audio CD in your CD-ROM
drive. When you insert the CD into your computer, it appears
under your Scratch LIVE library. Click on the CD and the tracks
will be displayed in the track list.
Tip: Disable any third-party CD Auto-Play functions be-
fore inserting a CD, as they may interfere with Scratch LIVE.
Previewing tracks
You can preview the tracks in your library using your computer’s
default media player. Highlight a track and press ctrl-o. is will
launch the player your computer has associated with the file type,
and start playback. Also applies to the import panel.

Manual-17
Recording from a microphone
Scratch LIVE allows you to record from the Mic Input and scratch
it immediately as if it were on vinyl. Use the mic input level
indicator on the screen and the MIC GAIN control on the SL
1 box to adjust the mic recording level. Click on the downward
pointing triangle and set the input to mic, and click on the red
mic button to start recording. Click the mic button again to stop
recording. e mic button flashes during recording.
To play the recording, type in a name for the recording and
click the save button. e recording is automatically placed
in a crate named Recorded. If that crate does not already exist, it
will be created. To start a new recording without saving, simply
re-click the mic rec button.
Recordings can be loaded onto the decks, renamed and man-
aged like other les. Recordings are saved in ‘My Documents\My
Music\ScratchLIVE\Recording’ on a PC, and ~/Music/ScratchLIVE/
Recording/ on a Mac. Recordings are saved as 16-bit mono AIFF
files.
To quickly load a recording on to a deck without saving it
first, click the mic button to start the recording, and then use the
short cut keys shift or shift to load the track. If you load
the recording in this way, the recording will not be added to the
library, and will be discarded on exit. To keep the recording, copy
the le found in ‘My documents\My Music\ScratchLIVE\Recording
temp’ on PC and in ‘~/Music/ScratchLIVE/Recording temp on a
Mac.
Tip: Use keyboard shortcut ctrl-n to start a new micro-
phone recording.
Sampling from vinyl
You can use the SL 1 interface to sample from vinyl or any other
sound source. If you click on the triangle next to the mic record
button, you'll see that you can select inputs 1and 2. Select one of
these, and you'll see a input level adjustment knob appear to the
right of the level indicators. is boosts or attenuates the input
signal up to 12 dB. e recordings are in the same format and
saved to the same place as mic recordings. On a PC this is in ‘My
Documents\My Music\ScratchLIVE\Recording. On a Mac this is ~/
Music/ScratchLIVE/Recording/. e le is saved as a 44.1Khz 16-
bit stereo AIFF le. e input select in the setup screen (line or
phone) determines whether or not the phono preamp is used.
Tip: remember that ctrl-n turns recording on and off, and
that you can load a recording without saving it using shift 
or shift . Drop the needle into a loud part of the track, and
record a few seconds, and then shift or shift to load it on
to the virtual deck. is way you can double check your levels.
If the virtual deck is set to int mode, and is unloaded, the
input record level is sent to the virtual deck's higher resolution
stereo meters. E.g., if you're recording from input 2, set the right
virtual deck to int, eject the track if there is one loaded, and the
virtual deck’s meters will show the signal coming into input 2.
Recording

Manual-18
Keyboard shortcuts ese actions can be accessed directly from the computer keyboard.
Key Action
ctrl - L Locate the current track. is will highlight the track you most recently loaded.
Pressing ctrl - L again will alternate between the tracks recently loaded on both decks.
ctrl - R Reveal - the highlighted song is opened in a le browser.
ctrl - F Find - moves the cursor to the search box.
ctrl - A Select all.
ctrl - C Copy text in edit mode.
ctrl - E Edit text.
ctrl - V Paste text in edit mode.
ctrl - X Cut text in edit mode.
ctrl - Z Undo last track load.
shift - ctrl - 
shift - ctrl - 
Move focus up / down through the library or crates. Note that if you have a song highlighted in the song view,
and use shift - ctrl -  you will move up or down through the library or crates. When you release the shift or
ctrl key, the focus will go back to the song view so that you can move up and down through songs using .
ctrl - P Add tracks to the prepare window.
ctrl - N Start a new mic recording.
ctrl - O Open the track in your default MP3/WAV/OGG/AIF player.
- or + Zoom the main waveform display.
tab Alternate focus between crates or songs.
ctrl - del and
ctrl - backspace
Remove track from library, remove track from crate, delete crate (does not delete the file).
ctrl - shift - del and
ctrl - shift - backspace
Delete the le from your library and send to the recycle bin.
(Note to iTunes users: files in your iTunes library cannot be deleted this way).
ctrl - shift - / Toggle the input reverse switch
esc Clear search string if searching, or exit Scratch LIVE.
Note: Playback, cue and speed controls use Shift or Caps Lock
Left Deck Action Right Deck
ctrl - or shift - Load the highlighted song to a deck. ctrl - or shift - 
ctrl - shift - Load the track currently on one deck onto the other deck as well. ctrl - shift - 
ctrl - / Swap the two currently playing tracks from one deck to the other. ctrl - /
shift - alt - Unload the track from a deck. (shift - option - or  on some Macs). shift - alt - 
ctrl - , (comma) Place a cue point. ctrl - . (period)
1 2 3 4 5 Jump to cue points in track. (
rel and int modes) 6 7 8 9 0
F1 Switch deck to abs mode. F6
F2 Switch deck to rel mode. F7
F3 Switch deck to int mode. F8
F5
Key lock on / o.
F10
QPlay / pause reverse. A
WPlay / pause forward. S
EPitch down. D
RPitch up. F
TBend down. ( rel and int modes) G
YBend up. (
rel and int modes) H
UCensor. ( rel and int modes) J
IGo to temporary cue point. ( rel and int modes) K
OSet / adjust loop in-point. L
P
Set / adjust loop out-point.
;
[
Loop on / o.
'
ctrl - [ Jump to selected loop. ctrl - '
alt - Q Load previous track. alt - A
alt - W Load next track. alt - S
alt - E Rewind. ( rel and int modes) alt - D
alt - R Fast forward. ( rel and int modes) alt - F
alt - O Previous loop. alt - P
alt - L Next loop. alt - ;
alt - space bar Activate the tempo tapper. alt - space bar (2x)
ctrl - I Set temporary cue point. (
rel and int modes) ctrl - K