I use Serato and the fuckers have just discontinued support for my very loved, immaculate condition, fairly new allen and heath mixer
"discontinuing support" means if i update serato to the latest version it no longer works with the mixer
"no longer works with the mixer" means i can no longer just plug it in directly via a USB cable.**
There is a way around this in that i also have a Rane SL4 soundcard box which means in theory i can use it with any mixer (the sound comes through though missing a few bits of functionality, like when you cut the bass out it shows visually on the colour of the waveform on serato - there might be other functions i cant think of)
Rane boxes are also no longer supported and its more old tech which feels vulnerable.
I bought mine secondhand for cheap because people have moved on because of being discontinued. You need drivers to install the box, should still be available, but...
**I'm pretty livid about this tbh, my serato/A&H combo was working just now and so surely can work again despite any updates to Serato. "Discontinuing support" is an act of vandalism really, they've deliberately removed it as a way to sell new mixers I cant see any other reason. I particularly suspect (this is just my made up story, not based on fact) that Pioneer are trying to complete their dominance and doing deals behind the scenes to stop/reduce compatibility with other brands.
IIRC having looked into this in anger, Serato promise to maintain support for 10 years on a bit of kit. My mixer isn't 10 years old but that was the date of first manufacture
I really love Serato, its a brilliant programme. It shits on Rekordbox IMO, but the industry standard is Rekordbox and Pioneer equipment. I dislike them both. Massively overpriced monopolistic crap. Rekordbox you can't even buy, you have to rent it (though ive got a cracked copy)
Anyhow my advice is decide which software you're going to use (Serato the best IME) and then look at the list of which mixers are supported and try and max out that ten year window.
But also industry standard is Pioneer, and there's a real case to be made to say get (a cracked) copy of Rekordbox and a Pioneer mixer, and then you also have compatibility to use Pioneer CDJS which is what most clubs have, and will be fully familiar with mixers when playing out
Having an external soundcard, like a Rane box, is useful to have for when you come into contact with a mixer that isn't compatible. Literally ran into this problem on Saturday night, the venue had an old A&H analog mixer. Wouldve been screwed without it.
Buying a mixer with an internal soundcard for home is great, but having a soundcard too for those situations is also useful
Hope that all makes sense
