Suggestions from Serato user

Suggestions
1

Hello everyone
I’ve been a club DJ since 2007 and play in clubs, festivals, as well as weddings and corporate events. Since switching from vinyl to DVS, I’ve been working with Serato. Now the time has come for me to seriously consider switching and have already purchased DJAy Pro.

I’d like to share my thoughts on what’s making the switch to DJAy Pro difficult for me and why I might still stick with Serato. This is so you can get the perspective of a DJ who has been using Serato since day one and would like to make the transition as easy as possible. Perhaps this will help the developers:

  1. Crates, Cues, Loops
    Why do I have to use another piece of software that only works halfway well so I can also use my cues? Personally, this really annoys me. It would be like switching from Android to iOS, but then needing a workaround. You guys are so innovative and have such good DJ software; you could really create something that makes this transition as easy as possible. I find this a real shame, and it’s the biggest obstacle for me.

  2. Serato Flip
    For me, Serato Flip was an incredibly good invention. It allows me to create short versions directly and quickly, skip unwanted bridges in tracks, and easily create versions that start directly with the chorus and then the song. This saves me the cumbersome and time-consuming production in Cubase.

  3. Pricing
    I’ve bought pretty much everything from Serato and never use anything that requires an annual fee or anything like that. In addition to Serato DJ Pro, I also use Serato Studio, Cubase, DJ.Studio, various plugins from Waves, izotope, T-Racks, and many more. I’ve paid for everything, and I don’t want recurring fees. Why can’t I just buy DJAy Pro? Why do I have to pay the annual fee? I have everything “free” in Serato, and now I’m faced with annual costs for DJAy Pro. Sure, the fee isn’t huge, but I think it would be great if you could just buy DJAy Pro and be done with it. These subscription models really annoy me.

  4. Explanatory videos
    Even though I’m a veteran at 40 and can handle various programs, I always love watching tutorial videos for everything. I learn so much faster; I can watch it at the gym during cardio and then replicate it at home. This way, I get used to the software more quickly. I wish you would make more videos like this to show the tricks and finesse individually, including in conjunction with devices like an S11, A9, CDJ3000, and the like.

You have such brilliant software, and I’m looking forward to further testing. Currently, I’m using BeatSource and Apple Music, as I simply don’t want to bother with point 1 if I’m not completely sure. As a user, I sometimes think that you’re way ahead in some areas and incredibly innovative, but on the other hand, certain things are missing from the basics… I mean, hey… no chronological cue points… Really? That can’t be that difficult, and it’s been requested everywhere in the forum and on Reddit… :wink:

Best regards from Switzerland and thank you for your attention

Daniel

2 Likes
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Hi @djscode, welcome to the Community! Thanks for the feedback. I have already passed this onto the dev team for consideration. In the meantime, have you watched the videos on our YouTube channel? We have more than 200 videos there.

https://www.youtube.com/@AlgoriddimOfficial

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Thanks a lot slak_jaw. Yes I follow you on YT and saw a lot of videos. Other youtubers (like justin spiegel) did better videos to explain the details and go deep into the app - what I need. But its hard to find them. It would be easier if everything is at one place. In my opinion.

1 Like
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You’re welcome @djscode. Thanks for the additional input.

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There is a major problem with how djay pro handles its meta data for Beatsource. I made the switch to Beatsource full time after I realized the high school students I teach don’t even know what an mp3 is. I think streaming is clearly the future. But djay pro can’t differentiate the difference between an intro edit, radio edit, transition edit etc. It’s not the end of the world but they’ve known about it since at least the fall when I made the switch to djay pro full time in November.

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Hey ( [djscode) everyone on the forum! I’ve been stuck in this software dilemma for almost a year now, and I decided to share my experience, as I imagine many of you are also looking for the ideal setup. I try to give Algoriddim Djay Pro a chance with every new version, and honestly, with each update, it seems to get much better. But, in the end, I still run into some details and bugs that prevent me from making the definitive switch to it.

My setup is pretty specific: I use Reloop RP7000 turntables, a Djm S7, the DDJ-XP2, a Traktor Kontrol X1_MK2, Phase DJ, and a MacBook Pro M1. And that’s where things get tricky with Djay Pro: when I use Phase DJ, I have to constantly correct its code. It just loses its reference, whether in HID mode or relative mode, which is pretty annoying during a set.

Another thing that bothers me a lot is how the waveform behaves. When I need to make a sudden, drastic correction to the platter speed, the waveform stretches like a spring in both directions. I think that’s terrible because it really hinders visualization and precision. The grid adjustment is also a weak point for me; I find it confusing and not very practical. And, to top it off, Djay Pro doesn’t handle files located on an external hard drive (NVMe) very well.

For these reasons, I end up only using Djay Pro at home, just to “play around” and experiment. For professional work, I still rely on my old, stable, and, I admit, somewhat heavy Serato.

But, I have to say: I love Djay Pro! So much so that I bought it, even with all these issues. The Neural Mix and its super flexible possibilities are fantastic. It’s something that Serato’s Stem offers in a much more limited way. My perception is that, perhaps, Djay Pro works better with CDJs and controllers, which, in my case, doesn’t apply.

Overall, I’m still hoping that one day it reaches the point of being my main tool, but for now, for my gigs, Serato’s stability is still irreplaceable.

1 Like
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Thanks for the feedback @clbiondo

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Hi Clbiondo

I really thought you were the only one here, but that’s not the case…

So we’re back to the topic of it having so many innovative features and being a truly ingenious toy. But… it’s a toy for pro DJs because the foundation isn’t solid.

What surprises me is that Djay has been around for so long. Are you aware of all this and do you want to work on it, or would you rather appeal to new DJs who just do it as a hobby, Slak_Jaw?

1 Like
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Hi @djscode,

  • I personally read all suggestions within the community are report them to our dev team so, yes they are aware of your feedback.
  • The best way to ensure your suggestions get traction is, first, to only have one suggestion per topic to ensure that it can be properly tracked and so that other users can upvote it. Putting a lot of feedback into a single topic, while informative, is not ideal and less effective.
  • The next thing is to have other users show support for your suggestion by upvoting it. This helps us gauge user demand for a suggestion and to prioritize development.
  • I would start by searching this community for existing topics that might be the same or closely related to your suggestion and adding you additional feedback and vote there. If a suitable topic doesn’t exist, then please make a new one and provide as much information as possible (share screenshots and videos if appropriate).
  • For more info on how the Suggestions and Voting works in this community please refer to the linked topic below. I hope that helps!
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Hello DJcode, I understand you perfectly, but I think classifying it as a “toy” would be unfair to the Algoriddim team. However, I believe the fact that this same team expands to many platforms hinders a more robust and stable integration. But I’m talking about my case; I don’t know how it behaves with CDJs and controllers.

My case is very specific and, in a way, even a bit “analog,” if you know what I mean, due to using turntables. Despite loving Neural Mix, I still don’t have the courage to adjust my entire library for Djay Pro, since my songs are very old and many were ripped from vinyl records from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. This requires grid adjustments in the DJ software and, most of the time, an adjustment with Ableton’s Warp. I don’t usually use Sync, I’m an old-school DJ, but I don’t see much merit in that, but rather a resistance to being totally “digital.” Sorry for rambling.

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Yes, I can understand that very well and relate to everything. But from my perspective, I don’t want to post a separate thread for everything in detail, because ultimately I don’t get much out of it and it only costs me one thing - time.

My work tool is Serato, and even though I’d like to use DJAy’s features, I’ll probably stick with the current status quo of Serato. I prefer to be on the safe side without any problems at events and in clubs.

I saw DJAy through DJ Angelo’s promo and thought I could get started with it right away and without any problems… just connect a tablet with a mixer and CDJs and DJ, no matter what club or venue - what a dream. Then all the obstacles came along. That’s why I’m posting my thoughts here, because this dynamic company from Algo might need this input. But creating a thread for everything, sorry… I would only do that if I were dependent on DJAy.

I’ll eventually finish the clean XP2 MIDI mapping and post it here to make things a little easier for others when they get started. But I think it’s all too uncertain at the moment. I’m all the more excited about version 5.4 and sincerely hope that the foundation improves so that I might actually make the transition from Serato to DJay someday.

Sure, acquiring new customers with young, novice DJs is great, and you’re absolutely skilled at it. It also makes financial sense. But if you can also make the transition as easy as possible for experienced club DJs and Serato/rekordbox users, then you’ll have the best of both worlds. That would be really great.

I’m excited about the future of DJay, because its potential is enormous!

Thanks a lot for your time Slak_Jaw - your service is really incredibly good!

2 Likes
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You’re welcome @djscode. Thanks for sharing your additional thoughts and input. I will pass these onto the team…

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Regarding the third point you mentioned about pricing, I care about this very much as well. I believe Algoriddim should offer both lifetime and subscription models, so that both those who prefer subscriptions and those who prefer lifetime licenses can be satisfied. The lifetime price can be high, but this option must exist. I think Algoriddim could make reasonable changes to meet the needs of different users. Of course, Serato is still irreplaceable for now and remains my favorite DJ software. They offer both lifetime and subscription models, which gives users the right to choose — and that’s fantastic!

1 Like