User Review of DJ DECKS

DJ DECKS: Introduction to Vinyl Control Systems

When Stanton Finalscratch first came onto the market, it really did begin a revolution for the digital deejay, finally we could make use of our extensive digital music collections without having to burn hundreds of CD’s. The idea was exceptional, using what was called time-code on special piece of vinyl, you could then connect your turntables to the USB soundcard (called the scratch-amp) this would then pass the exact position of the needle and speed of the vinyl back to the Native Instruments Traktor software which could then manipulate the digital music accordingly. Essentially you could now play all your digital music on your turntables, this meant no more carrying around big crates of vinyl, or even having to buy expensive vinyl in the first place.

Once the idea started to catch on there was huge hype in the market and since then the competition has really heated up, we now have Serato Scratch Live leading the pack which is currently deemed by many as the best available vinyl control system.. Finalscratch has since released it’s next generation product Finalscratch 2, M-Audio just recently released a competing product called Torq which partners with their USB soundcard which they have named Conectiv. Many other companies have also released competing software applications which include their own special time-code, and then make use of any ASIO supported soundcard; this is where things really get interesting. This means if you own any ASIO soundcard which has 2 pairs of stereo inputs, and 2 pairs of stereo outputs you can then skip the extra cost of the required vinyl control hardware and just purchase the required software and vinyl. But wait, it gets better, then their came some software called DJDecks which goes a step further and allows you to use any ASIO soundcard, with more or less any type of time-code (such as Finalscratch, Miss Pinky, VirtualDJ or Serato Scratch Live). This means the cost is now cut substantially.

Then along came DJDeck...

Above: DJ Decks running the DJ Silver skin.

DJ Decks has developed very quickly over its reasonably short life span, boasting more features than any other software of its kind. DJDecks offers support for a broad range of audio formats (mp3, ogg, wma, flac, wav files or audio cd's), and is so dramatically customizable that you really can do just about anything you would ever want to (for an extensive feature list jump to the features page on the DJ Decks website http://www.djdecks.be/index.php?module=features). It is this extensive customization that really pulls me in (I like to tinker with things), you can completely change the look and feel by simply downloading some skins from the forum, or if you feel the need you can create your own.

If you are a portable deejay there are even more features that will really make you smile, you can use a laptop with a USB soundcard to minimize what you have to carry around. Then there is the option of inputs, simply select the same input for both DJ Decks players, then you can mix using just one turntable, you will never have to lug two around with you (in order to do this you will also have to click to switch vinyl control to the other player which is an extra mouse click every time you switch players).

If you are worried about the turntable skipping when everyone around you is dancing then you can simply stop vinyl control on the player that is playing out, and keep it running on the one you are using to premix. If you want to be sure that your needle will never skip, why not use a CDJ instead! You can download DJ Decks own time-code (or use SSL time-code) and burn it to a CD with your CDJ and plug your CDJ in the same way you would your turntable. If you don’t want to have to carry around your mixer with you, why not just use the built in software mixer.

Support is a big thing for a lot of users and after a horrible experience trying to get support from Stanton for Finalscratch, I now always look into this area before purchasing. DJ Decks has a great level of support, the forums are very active in all areas and response times are very quick. There are many loyal followers who can help you with any setup questions and you will even see the software creator himself answering many questions and working through the software bugs in the new beta versions. ‘Adion’ as he is known on the forums really has put his heart and soul into this software and it really shows, it is not often you can discuss software ideas with the software creator directly and have the ability to directly influence the software.

The file browser is great and the search is almost instant (I am searching through about 85GB of music all with many, many sub-directories). As you would expect the library is fully customizable, and also includes a play list feature which comes in very useful.

Real-time sound effects and looping can give your mix that little extra and really make you sound like a pro. With the recent release of M-Audio’s Torq software we are now seeing now seeing the support for real-time VST effects which is new for the commercial options, DJ Decks however has been boasting this as a feature for some time now, and with the right VST instruments you can add some really funky sound to your mixes.

Making use of the built in vinyl signal calibration you can ensure you are getting the best time-code readings available with your setup. The sound quality when playing back files is as you would expect, perfect, there is no other acceptable quality as you don’t want the quality of your mix to decline.

Product Comparison

After using finalscratch version 1.5 for quite some time I decided it was time to investigate the options in more detail so I have read all about the features of all the products and I can tell you with great confidence that you will not find a more extensive vinyl control product available. Now lets talk quickly about quality. Well there is always a stable version and an beta version available from the http:///www.djdecks.be website, if you are going to be playing out or just want reliability ensure you choose the stable version. That said, I have found the pitch stability and fluctuations to be right up there with the best products. I found DJ Decks very stable and a lot more responsive than finalscratch and from reading the DJDecks forums the same seems to go for DJDecks vs. Torq.

Conclusion

DJ Decks really is top notch software, with more features than its competitors, great support, lower setup cost and high user customization you really must try it as soon as possible. So go head across to http://www.djdecks.be and download the trial version (you can use all the features, the software just closes after so many minutes of use). Enjoy.

Scott Thompson.

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