Stress-testing your setup

It’s worth putting your Scratch LIVE in the worst-case scenario so you know how far you can push it on the night. If you’re not going to be using your own computer at the gig, it is important to gain access to it so you can be confident that everything is in order.

Some things to try (all while two songs are playing):

- Rapidly scrolling through your library
- Copying songs from a CD-R of tracks onto your hard drive
- Backspinning through one track as fast as you can
- Playing songs from an audio CD in the CD-ROM drive

If you get drop-outs, try adjusting your USB buffer size, disabling extra processes like WiFi, power management, Bluetooth, Antivirus etc.

If you’re still getting dropouts, before you rush out buying new gear, come onto scratchlive.net and let us and the other users know what’s going on. It’s a great resource and the people there really know what they’re talking about. Chances are someone else has already gone through what you are.

Disk System

Play two wave files and needle drop through them, see how it performs. Wave files are large and therefore read from the disk a lot. They also sound great and are (slightly) easier on the CPU than compressed files.

CPU

Needle dropping through compressed songs like MP3s and backspinning rapidly can test how your CPU performs under load. Remember to disable useless background processes like your anti-virus and power management systems which will slow down your CPU on purpose.

Needles/Vinyl

DJ for a couple of hours. Now check your setup screen, are those scopes still nice and clean? Do you need to brush your needles and records? Unlike with normal vinyl, you won’t get the usual cues something is going awry; e.g., if your tracks are getting summed to mono by a faulty tonearm connection, with normal vinyl at least the music won’t stop, with Scratch LIVE that would mean having to switch to internal mode as you won’t be able to track the record correctly any longer.

Temperature

After the DJing session above, feel how hot your computer is, especially underneath. If it’s hot, you should consider getting some extra cooling. A desk fan pointed at the laptop can be all you need, there are also 3rd-Party coolers which will do a great job of keeping your laptop cool. Remember, it can often get hot at venues and micro-electronics such as that in your laptop can malfunction.

What to pack

Essentials

SL 1
Control Vinyl and CDs
Laptop
Laptop Power Adapter
External Drive(s)
Laptop Stand
Headphones
Needles and Headshells
Your keys

Optional Equipment

SL 1 external power supply
Slipmats

Back-up music sources

Take a few records or CDs and maybe an iPod to your first gig so you can play with the confidence of a backup (I doubt you’ll need it!).

Maintenance Equipment

Record brush
Needle Brush
CD/Monitor wipes
Flashlight
Pack duct tape for taping down things like your
SL 1, fan etc.
Spare RCAs, Headshells if you got them
Deoxidising spray if you have any (club mixers can often have noisy faders)