Rane and Serato announce SL3 – Fresh from the Musikmesse 2009:

The new Serato Scratch Live 3 package by Rane is available in stores now!

The package got introduced at Musikmesse 2009 in Frankfurt and is the long awaited update to the original SL 1 audio interface that addresses some of its common problems.

The Rane SL 3 is the new audio interface for Scratch Live. Enhanced by studio grade preamps and 24-bit audio processing, new auxiliary input and output (which replaces a mic input) allow DJs and electronic musicians to intensify the mix with the Scratch Live SP-6 Sample Player (New in Version 1.9).

The auxiliary input shell provide a live input feed for more creative sampling and recording.

E.g.:

* recording the master output of the mixer back into the computer.
* Recording audio sources and sampling inside serato
* Routing the mysterious third deck which is supposed to show up sometime soon out to a mixer

The new SL3 hardware has a number of improvements including:

* New, Compact Hardware Design
* Higher output improves ability to easily match levels of various source types
* Improved Dynamic Range (104 dB)
* Improved audio performance (24 bit converters)
* Galvanic isolation prevents computer noise from interfering with audio path
* USB 2.0 high speed audio interface
* Aux Input for Live Mix Recording or LiveFeed
* Aux Out channel allows use of Sample Player as a virtual deck
* High-grade Phono Preamps upgrade performance of most mixers
* Software switchable Direct Thru Connections for simplified connections
* Independent Line/ Phono-level selection for each input for greater flexibility
* Includes International Power Supply
* Soft Carry Case Included

I just took a glance at Google on how much the package costs right now in Germany.

799 EUR (a little more than 1000 USD)… Not really a hot offer in my opinion.

I took a look at the system at the Musikmesse and I am quite interested in the package. I hope the price will go down after being on the market for a while.

Also I am really excited about the partnership of Serato and Ableton. Everybody is awaiting some information on how they will integrate these two systems. I am really curious about it, because I think these two systems could be a good solution for myself.

A lot of people (including myself) were hoping to get some news on this topic at Musikmesse in Frankfurt. Unfortunately no news yet… But I will monitor this topic and hope to get more info in not too long.

More information and lots of vids at Rane:
http://www.rane.com/djs.html

Article at djtechtools.com:
http://www.djtechtools.com/2009/04/01/serato-sl3/

Demo video from serato.com:

New Rane Serato Scratch Live SL3 Unboxing: