Final Scratch??Yes or No???

[viceproductions]

My buddy and I are looking at getting final scratch, we are going to mate it with a P4 Dell laptop, not a mac powerbook G4 like we wished. Just wondering, should I even bother with getting Final Scratch anyways?? I hear a lot of bad things with it, what are your opinions?

[dj jakub]

Well its a fun toy for sure, ofcourse its also an expensive one. Using it for gigs if you don't play for over an hour makes very little sense, since you have to plug in the scratch amp, which is a major pain. I could see myself play out with it if i was headlining a party, or have it set up on a third deck. Here is my basic list of pros and cons

pros:
1. +++play your own tracks
2. feels almost like vinyl
3. still easier to bring to a gig than cd-djs/turntables
4. unlimited supply of tracks (there is big discussion here, about the evils of MP3s, but if you start getting hooked up you do get a bunch of cdrs from producers anyway)
5. practice without wearing down your records
6. you can easily organize and save sets
7. the format is getting accepted world wide, and most djs have at least tried it.
8. sounds good on anything 192kbps or above
9. you can easily get drunk and keep playing forever

cons:
1. if you are not a tech person setup is a bitch, traktor needs its own partition (about a gig), windows has to be on FAT32 not NTFS
2. high computer requirements (depends on the kernal update you have 1.1.3 has fixed my problem with a 600mhz but 1.1.2 was unusable)
3. plugging in all those damn cords live sucks
4. copying vinyl to CDR or MP3 takes forever (never realized that records are like all 25-30 minutes long! x a few hundered or a thousand, its a pain)
5. after you copy the mp3s, you need to import them in and stripe them (also takes forever, its an overnight process if you have a shitload of mp3s)
6. backspins suck (you have to do them really slowly to sound right)
7. scratching is a joke, (should be called final mix)
8. some people have HUM problems coming from the amp, need to get isolators for their laptops (i never had this problem)
9. the amp is finiky sometimes it doesn't calibrate, doesn't appear to be plugged in (i regularly have to reset the laptop to get it to recognize final scratch)


Overall, i got to say if you have a laptop already its defitivily worth the money. If you don't have a laptop, and you are looking at spending at least another grand on it, it might not be worth it. The technology is not perfected yet, and it probablly will not be for a while. The original FInal Scratch, aka Final Scratch Pro was on BeOS, it got support from Josh Wink and Richie Hawtin even before stanton bought it, after they did buy it, it was converted to linux, now NI took it over over, it uses a linux core, with a WINE emulated windows UI. NI is supposed to fully intergrate Final Scratch into Traktor DJ Studio, which would be tight, and i suppose it would be a Windows version. DJ studio does have a lot of nice features. Right now version Final Scratch 1.1.3 is in beta, but its just a new kernal, 1.1.4 is supposed to mess around with the Time Code a lot, which should be intersting how it performes.

Again, i really don't think its a vinyl replacement. I doubt i will put my record bag down any time soon, but it is fun to have a huge collection of tracks, which normally you would not have. Its fun to copy all the rare tracks that i didn't want to play because i didnt' want to wear out. Its really fun to speed up tracks that just wouldn't go fast enough when you record them ;).

A side note on the MacOS verses PC, actually the PC version is probablly a better choice, the Mac Version just came out with the traktor release, technically it has one more feature, ability to preview tracks through an internal soundcard, (not really needed), but it also has all kinds of problems, since its the first release. Also you really need a top of the line Powerbook to handle it, anything below 800 seems too slow apprently (at least from what the people say).

[corbettfields]

^^^^^^

NICE review.. THANKS

d

[NuGlobe2001]

9. you can easily get drunk and keep playing forever

He just kept going back for more shots... kept playing though.

[viceproductions]

Wow, DJ Jakub, that's a very helpful review, thank you very much..

[Dave Science]

Another pro is you dont get harassed at customs for being a dj if you are playing in another country w/o a work permit.

no records to blow your cover

;)

hehe

[dj metro]

Originally posted by Genma
Another pro is you dont get harassed at customs for being a dj if you are playing in another country w/o a work permit.

no records to blow your cover

;)

hehe

except for the mandatory final scratch timecode records. that is, unless the club or venue you are playing at has them for you to use :P

[djowns]

Originally posted by dj metro


except for the mandatory final scratch timecode records. that is, unless the club or venue you are playing at has them for you to use :P

"TWo records? What are you a trance DJ! DEPORT THIS MAN!"

[willie]

Originally posted by dj jakub
7. scratching is a joke, (should be called final mix)
[/B]
thanks for the swell review!
could you (or anyone else) ellaborate some more on this? i am asking because the most tempting thing about FS that i could personally see is putting together my very own catalog of battle 'records/files'. i know faust & shortee and craze (among others i'm sure) have endorsed the system, but i can't say that i've heard them or anyone else scratch live with it.
i was just wonderin' if someone could say a little more about actually using the system to scratch on....

[dj jakub]

Originally posted by willie

thanks for the swell review!
could you (or anyone else) ellaborate some more on this? i am asking because the most tempting thing about FS that i could personally see is putting together my very own catalog of battle 'records/files'. i know faust & shortee and craze (among others i'm sure) have endorsed the system, but i can't say that i've heard them or anyone else scratch live with it.
i was just wonderin' if someone could say a little more about actually using the system to scratch on....

I'm not a big scratch dj, but i do notice slow downs while beat juggling, the sound when scratching also doesn't really sound as full as a real scratch record, sort of watery. Its better when you use the 45rpm side (the records are 33 on one and 45 on another, but its still not as real records. There is also a small delay, its hard to describe, its very small but there is one, i guess you could get used to it. I just got the 1.1.4 update, which fixes a lot of problems because you can set the timecode smoothness. Basically you can set it so its more responsive or less responsive, as well as including a meter which says when the time code is being read and when its not, and the quality of the signal. Apprently talking to a few people basically the faster the computer the more responsive it is, (that gets expensive really fast), also i haven't really tryed WAV files, which apprently are supposed to sound a lot better than MP3. Overall, for scratching i would really say go try it out first, than buy it.

[junglistsouljah]

Heres a link to Craze talking about and using the final scratch

http://www.breakbeat.co.uk/features/7yearsold/sets.html#craze

[Sheepdog]

I only skimmed through the replies but it doesn't look like anyone's mentioned that Final Scratch has problems with most Dell laptops. I have Final Scratch and use it with the Traktor software for the Mac, and it works beautifully, but PCs are another story all together. Be sure to go to www.finalscratch.com and click on the "Approved Computers" link on the right side of the main page. You should be able to find notes for your model concerning how well Final Scratch worked on it for other people. I've seen more than one used Final Scratch package go up for sale in the Buy/Sell forum due to incompatibility and/or poor performance.

-- Matt

[pixel]

I bought FS 1.0 when it came out in Aug 2002. I thought it sucked. couldn't play many of my mp3s (which were 192k CBR encoded with LAME). Stanton tech support couldn't explain why they wouldn't play. the recordboxing app was poorly thought out. no "explorer" interface for finding tracks while performing.

in short: a bad UI with unreliable mp3 playback. not a good combo.

HOWEVER

when I heard Native Instruments had partnered with Stanton, and rewrote the software for FS 1.1, I decided to spend the $50 and give them a second chance.

glad I did.

FS 1.1 fixes pretty much all the problems I had with 1.0. All my mp3s play now, there is an 'explorer' tree style browser for selecting tracks (useful if you already organize your tracks by sub-genre in folders), and it keeps track of which tunes you've played at a gig (more useful than it sounded at first).

I'm starting to use it at my regular weekly gig (deep down lounge on fridays in seattle, come drop by if you want to check it out). It takes some getting used to, but I can honestly recommend it now.

I'm using a Fujitsu S6010 lifebook. Both FS 1.0 and 1.1 installed and ran with no problems on it.

cheers

-- James

[AnthonyHayes]

Watch James Zabiela use these things and you will know their true power !!!!!

;)

[hardhousetyrant]

Just dont plug it into sum Piece of S*&% Dell....

[dj metro]

Originally posted by pixel
I bought FS 1.0 when it came out in Aug 2002. I thought it sucked. couldn't play many of my mp3s (which were 192k CBR encoded with LAME). Stanton tech support couldn't explain why they wouldn't play. the recordboxing app was poorly thought out. no "explorer" interface for finding tracks while performing.

in short: a bad UI with unreliable mp3 playback. not a good combo.

HOWEVER

when I heard Native Instruments had partnered with Stanton, and rewrote the software for FS 1.1, I decided to spend the $50 and give them a second chance.

glad I did.

FS 1.1 fixes pretty much all the problems I had with 1.0. All my mp3s play now, there is an 'explorer' tree style browser for selecting tracks (useful if you already organize your tracks by sub-genre in folders), and it keeps track of which tunes you've played at a gig (more useful than it sounded at first).

I'm starting to use it at my regular weekly gig (deep down lounge on fridays in seattle, come drop by if you want to check it out). It takes some getting used to, but I can honestly recommend it now.

I'm using a Fujitsu S6010 lifebook. Both FS 1.0 and 1.1 installed and ran with no problems on it.

cheers

-- James

I know someone that downgraded back to 1.0 because 1.1 jacked them over. Before you upgraded you should have checked out the Record Box Editor for Windows. It works along FS and can stripe, repair mp3s, and count the BPM's in all of your tracks in Windows, but save in the format FS uses to read the info. It also stripes your music more than twice as fast as striping in FS. It has saved a few people I know that use it, but it only works for 1.0

[jasonbuss]

final scratch to me is a godsend...

i bought it back at the 02 release of version 1.0... couldnt get it to work on any peecee..

sat as a paperweight for almost a year...

when NI released a traktor vesion, i got it immediatly plugged it into my Ti and it runs flawlessly.

it does have problems with powercords to close the the cables causing interference with teh sent timecode to the laptop, but that can be handled with sheilded rca's and proper cable placement.

it is also very picky about needles and how clean the contacts are. most problems associated witht he system and not being able to get it to recognize a deck, or calibrate is due to dirty/worn needles and dirty contacts in the tonearm...

i have never had it freeze up on me, live or in studio. i bought new sheilded rca cables and made a longer ground chord . i have the cables marked for easy setup in low light and have gotten used to the 2 minute setup time it takes between dj changeover...

its a rather expensive way to add an infinate amount of tracks to your collection of gig playable tunes... and its great its so responsive to mixing like vinyl.

its not very well suited for scratching at all, as the system gets confused when the timecode gets sent to fast... maybe later revisions, usb 2.0, firewire support and or the capability of faster computers will correct this...

i love it. but i still bring a full record bag. its just a nice compliment to my ability to play tracks...

if you have any specific questions, pm me, and make sure to check out the user forums at finalscratch.com, they are invaluable resource tools...

jasonbuss