Serato SL2 Quick Start Manual

SL2 QUICK START

Step 1:
Connections

This Quick Start guide will get you the
basics. Still, we really want you to read
the manual.

1. Connect your CD players or turntables

to LEFT and RIGHT DECK INPUTS on
the SL2.

2. If you are using turntables, connect

their ground wires to either the ground
post on the SL2 or your mixer. Turntable
ground wires are important for Scratch
Live to run properly.

3. Set the INPUT to either CD or PHONO

with the switch on the SL2.

4. Connect the LEFT and RIGHT DECK

OUTPUTS from the SL2 to Line-level
(CD) inputs on your mixer. You may
need to set a switch on your mixer
for Line-level input. Note: If Scratch
Live audio is excessively loud or
distorted, the SL2 OUTPUTS have been
connected to phono level inputs by
mistake.

5. Using the provided USB cable, connect

either USB on your SL2 to an available
USB 2.0 port on your computer.
Connect directly to your computer and
not through a hub or splitter.

CONNECT TWO

TURNTABLES OR CD

DECKS TO SL2 INPUTS.

SET THE CD / PHONO

SWITCH ON THE SL2.

LINE-LEVEL

INPUT 1

USB

G

LINE-LEVEL
INPUT 2

RANE SL2 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • QUICK START

1

Step 2:
Install
Scratch Live

Mac

1. Insert the Software Installation CD-

ROM and double-click the Scratch Live

Installer.mpkg icon.
or
Launch the installer you just

downloaded from serato.com.

2. Follow the on-screen instructions. Once

the installation is complete, Scratch Live

will appear in your applications list. You

may like to drag the Scratch Live icon to

your dock for quick launching.

3. Plug in your SL2. No extra installation is

required to use Scratch Live.

4. The optional Rane Device Drivers

are required for other software you

may have that uses Core Audio to

communicate with your Rane device. To

install the Core Audio drivers, double-

click the .pkg le inside the appropriate

product folder in the Rane Device

Drivers folder on the software installation

CD.

Windows

It is important that Windows users install
the SL2 drivers as well as the Scratch Live
software. The easiest way to do this is to
allow the Scratch Live installer to do all
the work.

1. Connect your SL2 before you insert
your installation CD. When you rst

connect it, Windows will attempt to
install the drivers via the hardware
wizard. Cancel and close the hardware
wizard.

2. Insert the Software Installation CD­ROM. Make sure your SL2 is connected
rst. If a window doesn’t open
automatically, browse to the CD drive.
Run setup.exe.

or
Launch the installer you just

downloaded from serato.com.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions. Once
the installation is complete, Scratch
Live appears in the Start Menu under All
Programs > Serato > Scratch Live.

Because the SL2 was connected prior to
installing Scratch Live, no extra hardware
installation is required.

Additional Windows Drivers

Once Scratch Live is installed, any
additional hardware that is connected
will be recognized and the drivers will be
automatically installed.
If you add a Rane device and need to
install its ASIO driver, plug it into a USB,
and select: Start > All Programs > Serato
> Scratch Live > Install ASIO Drivers.

Rane Device Drivers

The Scratch Live installer includes drivers
that allow your Rane SL2 to work with
other audio applications that support
Core Audio (Mac) and ASIO (PC). Driver
updates are also available to download
from the product’s page at rane.com.
Once installed, you will have the option
to select the SL2’s inputs and outputs in
the audio settings of other applications
when Scratch Live is not open.
When using Serato Scratch Live,
proprietary Serato drivers are used in
place of Rane ASIO (Windows) and Core
Audio (Mac) drivers. The included Rane
drivers are used when Scratch Live is not
running, and will not run the same time as
Scratch Live.

NOTE: These drivers only work with
audio applications that are compatible
with these audio standards (ie. some
DAWs might not work with 64-bit drivers,
you also can’t use these to output core
Windows sounds).
Rane ASIO and Core Audio drivers
allow the SL2 to act as a 4-in 4-out
external USB sound card for use with
multiple third-party software applications
supporting Core Audio or ASIO. These
drivers are multi-client, meaning they
allow multiple applications on a computer
to share the device at the same time.

ASIO (Windows)

The driver Control Panel may be launched
from the Windows Control Panel. Select
Start > Control Panel > Rane SL2.

Core Audio (Macintosh)

To launch the SL2 driver Control Panel,
open the System Preferences window.
Locate SL2 in the “Other” section and
click the SL2 icon.

2

RANE SL2 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • QUICK START

Step 3:
Calibration

When setting up Scratch Live in a new
location, calibrate the software to the
background noise picked up by the
needles, cables and CD players.

1. Put one Virtual Deck in INT mode, load

a track, press the  play button, and
turn up the mixer volume and sound
system as loud as you will be playing
your session.

2. When using turntables, place the
needles on the records with the motors
off and switch to the SETUP screen.
When using CD players, pause the CD
and switch to the SETUP screen.

3. Press and hold the Estimate button
for each side, letting go when the
threshold setting is stable (usually about
one second). In situations with lots of
background noise, the threshold will
need to be higher.

4. Start the turntables, and adjust the
L/R Balance and P/A Balance next
to each calibration scope to adjust the
shape of the inner ring. Use the scope
zoom slider (1x to 16x) to zoom in or
out as necessary. Note: If you have
trouble getting the rings circular, try
cleaning or changing your needles. If
the image appears as a line, then one
channel of the turntable is not working.
See examples of “Scope Reading and
Fixes” in the manual.

5. Check the percentage (%) in the bottom
right corner of each calibration scope,
indicating the percentage of readable
signal — this number should be close
to 100% when your system is calibrated
properly.

These are the basics of calibrating. If you
run into any problems or questions, we
really recommend reading “Calibrating
Scratch Live” in the manual. If you aren’t
seeing good circles, refer to “Scope
Reading and Fixes” in the manual.
After your setup is calibrated properly
you are ready to import music. See
“Importing and Playing Music” in the
manual to get started.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you aren’t getting any sound,
disconnect all cables and start fresh. For
now, let’s keep it simple and get Scratch
Live running.

• The SL2 outputs connect to a “LINE”

or “CD” input on your mixer. Set any
phono/line switches on the top or the
back of the mixer to the “LINE” or “CD”
position.

• The little switch on the SL2 needs to
match what is plugged in — Switch to
“PHONO” (turntable) or “CD” (line).

• If you aren’t hearing audio, you should
at least see the waveform move on
the screen as the control vinyl or CD is
playing. The meters next to the Virtual
Deck should display sound levels. If not,
check that you are using ABS or REL
mode above the Virtual Deck.

• If nothing is moving onscreen, re-check
connections and see “Troubleshooting
and Frequently Asked Questions.”

• Make sure you are playing the control
vinyl from the beginning (outer part).
When using the control CD, be certain
you are playing from the beginning of
Track 1.

• In Setup, set the “Vinyl Start Offset”
knob in the Vinyl Control tab to 0.

• If you hear music in INT mode but not in
ABS or REL mode while using control
vinyl or CDs, see “Scope Reading
and Fixes” in the manual. A common
problem is seeing a straight or diagonal
line in the scope. This means you are
either getting an uneven stereo signal or
a mono signal. Scratch Live needs an
even stereo signal to function.

• Many things can cause perfect circles
in one scope but a straight line or
nothing in the other. A bad needle, loose
cartridge-to-headshell wiring, dirty
contacts between the headshell and
tonearm, dirty control vinyl, dust bunny
on the needle, or loose RCA output
wiring.

• Start by taking the needle from the
“good” turntable and put it on the “bad”
turntable. Does it now play ne? If so,
you need a new needle. If not, put the
“good” needle back on the “good “
turntable.

• If we have established good playback
from one input of the SL2, plug the
turntable giving the problem into the
“good” SL2 input. If the turntable
still gives you a line or nothing in the
scope, the problem is somewhere in the
turntable cartridge, tonearm or its RCA
cable.

• If you are using a CD player, try
replacing its RCA cable to the SL2
inputs.

RANE SL2 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • QUICK START

3

Keyboard Shortcuts Actions Accessed Directly from the Computer Keyboard

KEY ACTION

ctrl - L

ctrl - R Reveal - the highlighted song is opened in a le browser.
ctrl - F Find - moves the cursor to the search box.
ctrl - A Select all.
ctrl - C Copy text in edit mode.
ctrl - E Edit text.
ctrl - V Paste text in edit mode.
ctrl - X Cut text in edit mode.
ctrl - Z Undo last track load.

shift - ctrl - 
shift - ctrl - 

ctrl - P Add tracks to the prepare window.
ctrl - N Start a new mic recording.
ctrl - O Open the track in your default MP3/WAV/OGG/AIF player.

- or + Zoom the main waveform display.
ctrl - or + Zoom the library text size.
tab Alternate focus between crates or songs.
ctrl - del and

ctrl - backspace
alt - del and

alt - backspace
ctrl - shift - del and

ctrl - shift - backspace
ctrl - shift - / Toggle the input reverse switch
esc Clear search string if searching, or exit Scratch Live.

Locate the current track. This will highlight the track you most recently loaded.
Pressing ctrl - L again will alternate between the tracks recently loaded on both decks.

Move focus up / down through the library or crates. Note that if you have a song highlighted in the song view, and
use shift - ctrl -   you will move up or down through the library or crates. When you release the shift or ctrl key,
the focus will go back to the song view so that you can move up and down through songs using  .

Remove track from library., remove track from crate, delete crate (does not delete the le).

Remove track from crate and from library.

Delete the le from your library and send to the recycle bin.
(Note to iTunes users: les in your iTunes library cannot be deleted this way).

SP-6 SAMPLE PLAYER

Load to sample slot
Play sample slot

LEFT DECK ACTION RIGHT DECK
ctrl -  or shift - 
ctrl - shift - 
shift - alt - 
ctrl - , (comma) Place a cue point. ctrl - . (period)
ctrl - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Place a cue point in a slot. ctrl - 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Jump to cue points slots. (rel and int modes) 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
F1 Switch deck to absolute mode. F6
F2 Switch deck to relative mode. F7
F3 Switch deck to internal mode. F8
F5 Key lock on / off. F10
Q Play / pause reverse. A
W Play / pause forward. S
E Pitch down. D
R Pitch up. F
T Bend down. (rel and int modes) G
Y Bend up. (rel and int modes) H
U Censor. (rel and int modes) J
I Go to temporary cue point. (rel and int modes) K
O Set / adjust loop in-point. L
P Set / adjust loop out-point. ;
[ Loop on / off. '
ctrl - [ Jump to selected loop. ctrl - '
alt - Q Load previous track. alt - A
alt - W Load next track. alt - S
alt - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Auto loop on / off. alt - 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
ctrl - alt - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Loop roll. ctrl - alt - 6, 7, 8, 9, 0
alt - E Rewind. (rel and int modes) alt - D
alt - R Fast forward. (rel and int modes) alt - F
alt - O Previous loop. alt - P
alt - L Next loop. alt - ;
alt - space bar Activate the tempo tapper. alt - space bar (x2)
ctrl - I Set temporary cue point. (rel and int modes) ctrl - K

slot 1 slot 2 slot 3 slot 4 slot 5 slot 6

ctrl - alt - Z ctrl - alt - X ctrl - alt - C ctrl - alt - V ctrl - alt - B ctrl - alt - N

Z X C V B N

Load the highlighted song to a deck.
Load the track currently on one deck onto the other deck as well (instant doubles).
Unload the track from a deck.

ctrl -  or shift - 
ctrl - shift - 
shift - alt - 

RANE SL2 FOR SERATO SCRATCH LIVE • QUICK START • PART 21317