Novation Dicer provides compact Cue Point and Looping control for the digital DJ. Supplied in pairs, the compact USB-powered devices are compatible with any Scratch Live setup, whether using turntables or CDJs. Locking straight into the Technics SL 1200 series’ 45-adapter hole, the two Dicers place backlit soft-touch ‘dice’ buttons right where they’re needed - on the decks, just inches away from the vinyl.
Don’t use Technics? Dicer’s 45-adapter mounts also detach, and with Novation’s reusable ‘DJ putty’, they can slot into even the most cramped of DJ performance set-ups, sticking directly onto CDJs, the mixer, your laptop, or anywhere you can think to put them.
Dicer is plug and play – there are no drivers to install and no setup required. All your favourite Serato cueing and looping functions have been pre-programmed by Serato themselves. Just load up Serato Scratch Live, plug-in your Dicers and you’re ready to roll. For the more advanced Serato Scratch user, 20 extra functions can be assigned however you like; triggering samples for example.
Each Dicer features five ‘dice’ buttons that hook into cue point and looping control within Serato Scratch Live. You can jump between three performance modes at the touch of a button. The first of these is ‘Hot Cues’. Each of the five triggers can be quickly set to different cue points in the track, ready to be triggered at will.
Dicer is also ready to control Serato’s ‘Auto Loop’ and ‘Loop Roll’ functions. In Auto Loop, the five ‘dice’ buttons are assigned to loops of varying lengths to be activated during playback. Loop Roll takes control of repeatedly halving the loop length, with five steps assigned to the five buttons, from 1 beat down to 1/16 of a beat, delivering the ubiquitous ‘stutter roll’ effect so popular with today’s digital DJs. Default loop lengths provide a great starting point, but of course, each of Dicer’s five buttons can be set to have any length available.
Dicer is also fully MIDI assignable. The five ‘dice’ buttons combine with the three smaller mode buttons and a shift feature to provide up to 60 functions from a pair of Dicers. These can be assigned to work however you want them to, within almost any DJ software, including Traktor Scratch Pro. They can also be used to control a standalone sampler, trigger drum software, or even browse through your playlist.
Dicers come in pairs and work over a single USB port, with a mini jack cable to transmit data and power between them, providing dedicated control for each deck over a single L-shaped micro USB cable connected to the computer.
With Dicer, setting cue points and triggering loops is now closer to hand than it’s ever been, helping you take your DJ performance to the next level. Finally you have the control you need, where you need it, ready to make the most of your Digital DJ software.
To complement the launch of Dicer, Serato have made available a public beta version of Scratch Live 2.1, which can be downloaded from users' Serato.com accounts. Scratch Live 2.1 automatically maps Dicer to key software functions and provides full LED feedback. Users of the current 2.0 software can control all cue-point and looping functions, but will need to use Scratch Live's 'MIDI learn' function to assign Dicer's pads to software controls.