After a short period of public beta, 10 years of brilliance, mistakes, and clever ideas has brought us to this point, which is the monumental landmark release of Serato DJ 1.6, the version that truly unifies Scratch Live, ITCH, and Serato DJ under one common platform. This release brings Serato DJ compatibility to most Rane SSL based interfaces and mixers, as well as paving the way for the remaining key ITCH controllers, newly announced controllers, as well as bringing forth new FX packs and the much requested Pitch ‘N Time plug in.
Some short words from Serato, as well as the first soundbite from newly installed CEO AJ Bertenshaw:
SERATO ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF SERATO DJ 1.6
Serato is proud to announce the release of Serato DJ 1.6, available to download now from serato.com/dj.
Serato DJ 1.6 – The latest update for Serato DJ includes Rane Hardware support, Pitch ’n Time DJ Expansion Pack, Quantize, Nameable Cue Points, Jet Pack FX Expansion Pack, support for the Pioneer DDJ-SZ & Numark V7 Pro Controllers and the brand new Denon DJ MC6000MKII & Reloop Terminal Mix 8 DJ Intro Controllers and a healthy dose of maintenance bug fixes for continued stability and performance.
Serato CEO, AJ Bertenshaw says: “Serato DJ 1.6 is a big release for us, vinyl & CDJ control with Rane hardware support means that Scratch Live users can begin to migrate to Serato DJ and enjoy the latest advancements Serato has to offer. It also includes Pitch ‘n Time DJ – something that’s very close to my heart being the first product Serato developed 15 years ago – as an Expansion Pack which is very exciting. It’s the beginning of a new era at Serato, after 10 amazing years since the launch of Scratch Live, Serato DJ 1.6 is a big milestone for us.”
Serato DJ 1.6
Rane Hardware Support
- Support for the Rane SL2, Rane SL3, Rane SL4, Rane Sixty-One, Rane Sixty-Two and Rane Sixty-Eight.
Pitch ’n Time DJ Expansion Pack
- Pitch ’n Time DJ allows you to speed up or slow down your track to extreme tempo values while maintaining its key perfectly, with the highest quality and definition of any available software.
- Expansion Packs can be purchased/activated in-app within the Serato DJ ‘Online’ window or from the Serato Online Store for USD29.
Serato DJ FX Expansion Pack – Jet Pack
- A Trippy, Spacey & Rave infused FX Pack including: Shepard Filter, U.F.O., Space Verb & Bass Ducker
- Each new FX Expansion Pack comes with several base FX for use in Single FX Mode, plus, a large number of base FX variations for use in Multi FX Mode.
- Expansion Packs can be purchased/activated in-app within the Serato DJ ‘Online’ window or from the Serato Online Store for USD19.
Quantize
- Quantize mode allows you to set and trigger Cue Points on beat. Make sure you have your beatgrids set!
Nameable Cue Points
- You asked for it so we added it, you can now name your Cue Points.
OS X Mavericks 10.9 Support
Hardware Support
- Pioneer DDJ-SZ, Numark V7 Pro Controllers.
- Denon DJ MC6000MKII & Reloop Terminal Mix 8 DJ Intro Controllers.
Added Serato DJ Accessory Support
- Pioneer CDJ-900
- Denon DN-HC1000S
Other New Features
- Stack View Mode
- Open/Close crates from hardware
- Improved Cue Point and Loops Display area
Hello Serato DJ 1.6. Goodbye Scratch Live?
The big day has arrived, when the now legacy Serato Scratch Live officially gets mothballed leaving one Serato DJ to rule them all. But this hasn’t been without its detractors of course, and has seen the Serato forum awash with all manner of emotions. Without regurgitating history, Scratch Live users often pitched themselves as elite users, looking down from their ivory towers upon the ITCH controller masses. But when ITCH and subsequently Serato DJ users started getting the new shiny features, some of them did feel a tad left out, and sat in their corner polishing their shiny Scratch Live badge of honour.
But now that 99% (feel free to give me an exact percentage) of Scratch Live and ITCH hardware is now supported, SSL is now officially a supported legacy product, with almost no chance of anything more than maintenance updates being pushed out. It’s really hard for anyone to complain, as all ITCH and SSL users get a free upgrade to the new Serato DJ, and get to experience all the new goodies that it will undoubtedly bring.
I threw Serato DJ 1.6 at my elderly white Macbook this morning, and it’s running through the Worxlab Rane Sixty Four like a boss, with the processor bar only hitting 75%. Not to shabby, for an old Mac, especially one that’s hanging onto the bottom end of the supported specs for dear life.
So… still polishing that SSL badge of honour?
As a self-confessed lemming that generally installs the most alpha of beta releases without a smidgen of remorse, I do find myself surprised that despite being told that SSL is effectively over and won’t be updated, some users are still sticking to SSL. Are you one of those people? I’m not talking about SL1 and 57 users, as you DJs have no choice. I’m specifically talking about the die-hard SSL for Life DJs who appear to steadfastly refuse to update. Why are you digging in so hard and not going with the flow? I’m simply interested in the psychology behind your thinking. I think I understand, but it really is time to move on.
For everyone else who wants to update, Serato DJ 1.6 is out now, and is free to ITCH and Scratch Live users.