You wanted a four channel Sixty-Two and now it’s here! If you’re a fan of the revolutionary Rane Sixty-Two mixer and its innovative built-in software controls, you’re going to love the Rane Sixty-Four. The control layout is similar to the Sixty-Two and just as easy to use. If you’re new to mixer/controller hybrids, the Sixty-Four may look a little intimidating at first, but with a quick walk-through, you’ll be able to jump-on the Sixty-Four for the first time like a pro.

the control strips

Like the Sixty-Two mixer, the Sixty-Four includes two control strips along both sides of the mixer. These control strips include software controls for assigning deck controls, navigating and scrolling your library, loading tracks, looping, deck syncing, activating Slip mode and triggering cue points and SP-6 samples.

control assignment

The control strip on the left of the mixer controls decks 3 & 1 and the control strip on the right controls decks 2 & 4. To toggle control between decks, press the Deck 3 / 1 button to assign the left-hand controls to Deck 3 or Deck 1. Similarly, press the Deck 2 / 4 button to assign the right-hand controls to Deck 2 or Deck 4. The Control LED under each Source Selector switch shows the currently assigned Deck.

library scroll and load

Navigating your music library and loading tracks quickly and easily without needing to touch your computer is a must. Each control strip includes dedicated library Tab buttons and Scroll / Load knobs.

The Tab button moves the cursor within Serato DJ to the Crates column. If you need to jump to another crate, simply press the Tab button, rotate the Scroll encoder to highlight the desired Crate and then press the encoder down to select it. Pressing Tab again returns the cursor to the song column. Once inside a crate, turn the Scroll encoder to select a song and press the encoder down to load it to a deck.

auto loop and loop roll

Need a longer intro or outro for the track you’re playing? The power of auto-loops makes extending or repeating parts of a track easy. Use the LOOP encoder to select the desired auto-loop length and press the Loop button to engage the loop. To turn the loop off, simply press the LOOP button again.

The loop ROLL button performs a standard auto-loop, but when the loop is turned off, the playback position is returned to the position where it would be if it had not entered the loop. The other difference between loop-roll and standard auto-loop is the ‘Roll’ button is momentary. The loop is engaged when the button is pressed down, and disengaged when the button is released.

slip

If you’re familiar with ‘slip-mode’ found on some CDJs, Slip within Serato DJ has the same effect. When Slip Mode is active you can manipulate the audio as normal (e.g., Scratch, Loop, Cues, etc.). When you deactivate Slip Mode, the playback position is returned to the position where it would be if Slip Mode had not been activated, just like the loop-roll feature.

sync

Sync, an exciting feature a lot of Scratch Live users have been waiting for is finally available to Rane gear lovers. Each virtual deck within Serato DJ can be tempo or beat synced together with a press of a button.  To turn sync on for a deck, simply press the Sync button. If Sync is already on, pressing Sync again re-syncs the Deck. To turn sync off, hold down the Shift button and press Sync once.

loop and cue triggers

Loops and cues are two of the most useful features within DJ software. Two banks of four software triggers are available for Loops and Cues. Serato DJ allows you to save preset Loops and store them in Loop/Cue Slots, just like saving cue points. Once your loops are saved, you can use the Trigger buttons to jump to or between preset loops. Using preset loops in this way lets you jump to different parts of a track (e.g., between chorus’ and intros to create on the spot remixes) with ease.

Cue points within Serato DJ are triggered using the same Trigger buttons. Being able to immediately jump to a set cue point on the fly is a great timesaver when you’re in the mix. You can even jump between multiple cue points to create cool track re-edits and drumming effects.

The Bank button selects Trigger Slots 1-4 or 5-8. The colored line on the panel matches the color of the Bank button for 1-4 (orange) or 5-8 (red). These triggers are assigned to the eight Loop/Cue slots available in Serato DJ. Pressing the Shift  button and a trigger button will delete the associated Cue or Loop.

layers

To create customized MIDI mappings with the Sixty-Four is easy. There are four MIDI layers available. To select a layer, press and hold the Layer button and press button 1-4. A layer can be unique for each Deck and for each USB port assignment. This means you can have custom MIDI mappings for all four decks on two different computers. To avoid interference between connected computers, each channel has a Source Select switch to route MIDI and audio to the appropriate USB port, allowing independent MIDI assignments on each computer.

When the Layer button is pressed, the current Layer 1-4 button is lit. Layer 1 maps the triggers to Cues and Loops (MIDI channel 1). Layer 2 maps to SP-6 Sample Triggers (MIDI channel 2). Layers 3 and 4 are user-assignable to remap as you please. For example, you can map Layer 3 to video controls and Layer 4 to trigger software effects.

Eight years ago, we set the standard for mixer/controller hybrid DJ mixers with the revolutionary TTM 57SL. Two years ago, we introduced the next evolution of DJ mixer/controller hybrids, the much loved Rane Sixty-Two. Now, the revolution continues with the Rane Sixty-Four mixer for Serato DJ. How will you harness the power of the Rane Sixty-Four mixer?