Just curious - who’s making a switch to Serato 5 because of the SoundSwitch Integration for lighting control?
Add SoundSwitch Support is one of the most voted topics in the community Add SoundSwitch Support - #245 by EwoutdeBoer and has seen some really good contributions and a strong indicator of in-demand features for a good number of users.
With the release of Serato 5 and all that it’s been hyped up to be, I’ve decided to give it a go. Currently testing it out, I’m especially interested in the SoundSwitch integration and how well it works for lighting controls.
Right off the bat, I can tell the Serato UX/UI is very clunky and leaves a lot to be desired. I think a good balance can be struck between the crates/library view/search or finding tracks - which is what DJay Pro has done a fantastic job of (just my personal opinion ). Plus the idea of seeing banner ads or prompts to upgrade to this or that, just puts me off seeing as I’m Serato Pro user.
So, just wanted to see if there were other open-format, mobile, or wedding DJs who the SoundSwitch integration has been a pain for and are considering a switch to Serato 5.
I could be wrong, and I’m certainly no Serato expert, but SoundSwitch support was not added in Serato 5. It was already there in several earlier versions. So it seems that users looking to switch because of this functionality, would have done so prior to 5.
It was there prior, however the pre-5.0 release left a lot to be desired.
Now that Serato has made up considerable ground with the competition, this lack of functionality in djay is more compelling to those who’ve been in the fence with Serato.
I’ve personally used djay exclusively the last 2 years. Now, that’s going to change.
Perfect! Thanks for the detailed list @gizmo. By “manipulate UI via controllers” I assume you mean have the onscreen pad modes change when selecting via the hardware?
I like the way the library keep switching back to the deck mode interface automatically after few seconds of not scrolling and searching songs also i like the way i can load the selected song without opening the library again
AND,
It opens automatically too, soon as dj touches the browse knob.
We’ve been asking this off djay for sometime too
On another note, though…
I feel like serato is ripping off some customers.
Back in the dajy they had a $299 expansion called “Serato DJ Expansions” whihc has since been deleted over the years.
I remember I bought:
Serato DJ Pro - $149 in 2021
Serato DJ Expansions - $299
That’s $448
Suprisingly, when I logged onto my serato iOS, it asked me to again pay $449 for “DJ Suite” in order to have full functionality in my iOS!
What a rip off
Never!
DJ Suite, by components, back in 2020: was Serato DJ Pro + Serato DJ Expansions, as serato dj expansions did not include serato dj pro but all the elements of dj suite were included. Now that they have added serato IOS, they wan’t to kick us out
I completely agree with you about the Serato situation. I actually stopped using Serato years ago, but I understand your frustration. Having to pay again for features you previously purchased doesn’t seem fair to loyal customers.
Regarding the browse knob, you’re absolutely right. On traditional DJ controllers, turning the browse knob usually opens the DJ library, making it easy to navigate your music. However, I think djay Pro on iOS still has some frustrating limitations when it comes to crate and playlist management.
For example, imagine you’re playing music from one playlist and want to quickly check another playlist. In djay Pro on iOS, you have to exit the current playlist before opening another one. The bigger problem is that when you return to the previous playlist, it doesn’t remember where you left off. Instead, it opens the playlist from the beginning, forcing you to scroll through the tracks again to find the song you were looking at or playing before.
This makes navigating between playlists unnecessarily time-consuming and frustrating, especially when DJing live and trying to maintain the flow of a set.
Another issue is that djay Pro doesn’t seem to remember your preferred sorting order after you close and reopen the app. Having to adjust your library sorting preferences repeatedly is inconvenient.
djay Pro on both iOS and Android does not allows you to sort tracks by BPM and musical key, which is a useful feature for DJs who mix harmonically or organize their sets by tempo.
Overall, I think djay Pro has great potential, but its library management needs improvement. It would be much better if we could switch between playlists seamlessly, return to exactly where we left off, and have our preferred sorting order saved between sessions. These may seem like small details, but they make a huge difference in a real DJing environment.
