Ableton and Serato presents The Bridge, the first result of the partnership announced in October 2008 between Ableton Software (the makers of Live) and Serato Audio Research (makers of Scratch professional DJ solution).

The Bridge spans the gap between music production and DJing, creating a natural link between Ableton Live and Serato Scratch Live or ITCH. The Bridge provides a powerful fusion of DJ and production tools, opening a world of opportunities for DJing, remixing and live performance.

You can cross the Bridge in either direction:
A. Ableton to Serato
The Bridge provides Ableton Transport Control (ATC), giving you turntable-style control of your own multitrack productions. Simply drag an Ableton Live Set to a deck in Scratch Live or ITCH and use your turntables, CDJ or ITCH controller to control the transport. With ATC, Scratch Live or ITCH provides your productions with deck control, mixing, nudging and DJ style looping, while you can remix, mute/solo tracks, use virtual instruments, change drum patterns, manipulate audio, tweak effects and launch loops on the fly in Ableton Live.

Activating the ‘Ableton View’ in Scratch Live or ITCH opens a representation of Live’s Session View, where you can launch clips and scenes, control instruments and devices, mix, mute and solo—all from within your ITCH or Scratch Live user interface. If you need more detail, just switch to the full Ableton Live application for complete control.

The Ableton View displays critical information from your Ableton Live Set, including:

• Clips, including clip name, color and play buttons
• Track levels
• Level meters
• Sends A and B
• Device control for effects
• Track solo, arm and mute

The Ableton View can be customized to show 4, 5, or 8 scenes, and 4, 6 or 8 tracks.

B. Serato to Ableton
Play your mix rather than cut and paste in a DAW. Forget about having to start a mixtape from scratch because of a mistake at minute fifty-nine. The Bridge is the ultimate mixtape creation tool, letting you export your Scratch Live or ITCH mix as an Ableton Live set. Depending on your Serato hardware setup, fader movements, EQ tweaks and Crossfader cuts on your DJ mixer are recorded as automation and can be edited after the tape stops rolling.

Before you start your DJ set, choose save as ‘.als’ from the recording menu within Scratch Live or ITCH. Instead of recording an audio file, you’ll get a fully automated Ableton Live arrangement, complete with song placement and automation data.

You can edit your Ableton Live Set as much as you want: add new loops, apply effects, adjust your timing, smooth out your fades and obviously, correct any slip-ups. Not only does The Bridge make things easier, you also get a world of additional tools for tweaking your mix to perfection.

The Bridge – Pricing and availability
The Bridge is free for anyone who owns both:

• A registered version of Serato Scratch Live or ITCH hardware and
• Ableton Live 8 or Suite 8

More info: Ableton, Serato

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Tags: dj, mixtape, scratch, the bridge

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 9:58 am and is filed under Ableton Software AG, Software, Winter NAMM 2010. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.