Serato Lessons
Cue Points in Serato Studio
Cue Points in Serato Studio are a concept that requires understanding if you have not encountered them in other Serato Products, such as Serato DJ.
Simply put, a Cue Point is a marker on a track that will take you to that point in the sample (whether on a sample deck or drum decks) whenever that cue point is clicked / triggered. You have up to 8 cue points per sample deck
Other key areas to note that relate to cue points are above the Parameter and Pad Tools panel. Note: These relate to individual cues within your sample deck● Attack: Adjusts the time it takes to reach the Cues peak volume (0.00ms-10s).● Release: Adjusts the time it takes for the Cue to drop from its peak volume to silence (0.00ms to 10s).● Reverse: Allows reversal playback of the selected Cue.● Favourite: Prevents a cue from being overwritten - particularly useful for experimenting with samples, and removing less useful cues.
The cue handle at the bottom changes the end point of the sample - if it is the same as the beginning cue point it will play until the end of the sample.
If this handle is dragged, it will only play the shaded selection shown.
11
Autoset
Autoset is very useful for quickly finding cue points, and also experimenting with random variations of samples.
The different modes are:
● Find Samples (Default): This mode uses an algorithm to find regions of the sample that are more suitable for sampling eg. On the beat within the region
● Set Random: Creates Cues at 8 random positions on the sample.
● Serato DJ: Imports Cue points set on file from Serato DJ.
● Set Slicer: Creates 8 consecutive Cue points in a row (a domain), with a set length, starting from the current playhead position. The starting position can be adjusted using the Slice Regions controls that appear after using the Slicer Autoset mode - via the left and right arrows. The length of each Cue can be set using the beat value and the two left and right arrows. Cue length can be changed to several values between 1/16, and 16 beats - adjusting the length will immediately reset all Cue points to match the respective setting.
● Set Endless Slicer: This mode creates 8 consecutive Cue points in a row without a set length, starting from the current playhead position and playing through until the end of the audio file. The starting position of the clip can be adjusted using the Slice Region controls that appear after using the Slicer Autoset mode - via the left and right arrows. The length between each slice can be set using the beat value and the two left and right arrows.
Practical Task
Cue Point Experimentation
This exercise should take no more than five minutes with your students.
For this exercise, select a long Sample - eg. longer than 32 bars.
Student Steps:
Find Samples. Drag the sample to the Sample Deck. To start with, get students to use the default setting - Find Samples. Allow students to spend 1-2 minutes on this exercise.
Random. Repeat the above steps, using the Random autoset instead of Find Samples. Whilst on this step, make sure students use Favourite on any particular Cues they favour, then click Random again.
Set Slicer. Ensure students select a playhead that will generate an effective result, for example the downbeat of a sample. Then get them to experiment with changing the length of Cues using the associated arrows.
Set Endless Slicer. Allow students to experiment with this mode, noting that playback of Cues will continue, rather than stopping per clip (as it would with Set Slicer mode).