i.e. like Final Scratch.

I know there are many available now.

can someone give me a breakdown by price and functionality?

serato is my favorite, usually runs $539 or so.

you can also use traktor scratch, i think its cheaper and it works differently (you need a soundcard with dual rca outs i believe) don't know the price.

i think final scratch is gone now.

http://www.native-instruments.com/index ... torscratch Traktor

http://www.stantondj.com/v2/fs/whatisfs.asp (i guess i was wrong about FS)

http://www.serato.com/products/scratchlive/ Serato

also looks like the newer version of Traktor has a box that comes with it as well to decode the vinyl. i know you used to be able to just run it with an audio interface and that may still be the case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_Emulation_Software


but really i've used serato more than any of them and it is my personal preference. haven't used the newest final scratch but 1.5 is shit. traktor i've messed with minimally.

what functionality are you looking for specifically?

Serato is hands down the best software out there. I wish I could get my hands on it or try it out at least once. From what I've seen it's very user friendly but your going to need a big hard drive and a stable laptop.

I own FS2, have played on Molina's Serato, and have also used Sean / Andy's Torq. I see no difference. Torq is like $250 whereas Traktor and Serato are over $500. FS1 & 1.5 was crap, but most of the issues got resolved when FS2 came out. When Stanton & Native Instruments parten ways, Traktor Scratch was born. Serato has always been quality and Torq is just as impressive IMO. I've heard that the sound quality with Torq isn't as good, but I couldn't tell the difference.

That's just me though

I used Joe's FS2 a few times and loved it, but I don't like hearing the "USB noise" over the loudspekers when you pull hard drives out. I also don't like that it depends heavily on system resources. The scratch amp doubles as a nice low-latency sound card though, so that's a plus.

I used Torq on Sean's laptop and it stopped reading my hard drive healfway through my set so that annoyed me. It seemed very resource-intensive as well.

Serato has never crapped out on me once and its a very wysiwyg product.

They're all good though, but I prefer Serato.

Uh...how do you have an opinion of the software if you've never tried it?

Even though I got a deal on Torq, I would've bought it for full price anyway. For me it's been the most stable and user friendly. But that's just me, and I've also used FS and Serato.

I've had serato freeze on me temporarily a couple times when adding a whole lot of tracks to a crate at once, but never full out crash.

word, wtf

All are prone to hiccups. Just have plenty of RAM and you'll be ok.

i've seen joe tear it up on FS2 here at my house with no problems ... i have serato and love it .. never had any problems.. i've been playing a little bit with traktor 3 and a midi controller and it's fun, but nothing like having the vinyl feel

Word of mouth, watching others use it, and reviews. Not a strong opinion hearing it from me but pretty much what you're going to hear from anyone when asked that question. Almost like asking what's the best Pre-built computer to get for gaming? Dell, Alien Ware, Falcon, HP, etc.

I've used Tracktor and Final Scratch before though. From what I'm told (and seen), Serato is almost the same but more bare bone. Yah I admit I haven't had a chance to try it but I've never heard anything bad about it.

You can't necessarily say it's the best though. It's all subjective really. I think between Serato and Torq you're going to have the best chances for success due to lots of support in the form of software updates and whatnot. Not to mention M-Audio and Rane aren't chumps in the audio/production department.

check this out, im saveing up for one... http://www.vestax.com/v/products/players/vci100.html

^^be careful and try before you buy. some of those systems are really good, most are crap.