Master Output Level

The Master Output Level control sets the final volume level of the main mix at the software output before it is sent to the hardware. The output level can be adjusted from -12dB (all the way to the left) to +12dB (all the way to the right). The green, yellow and red audio meter next to the control displays the audio output level after the Master Output Level Control is applied.

Control + click the Master Output Level to reset to 12 o’clock (0dB). When audio is at this level all green segments on the meter are lit. Alt + click the Master Output Level to reset to the +3dB “no headroom” setting. When audio is at this level all green and yellow segments on the meter are lit.

Audio above the +3dB headroom level (i.e. ‘in the red’) will trigger the Serato DJ Lite limiter to avoid clipping, the output audio level will not increase further although the meter will continue to show how much audio is over the limiter threshold by lighting red segments up to +9dB above the 12 o’clock setting. Lit red segments indicate that the limiter is actively affecting your audio, which can degrade the quality of your sound. Keeping the level out of the red is recommended at all times.

Track & Track Overview Display

When a track is loaded, the track name, artist, remaining time and current BPM are displayed in the track title bar. If any of this information is not contained in the file it will not be displayed.

• Track Time: The currently loaded total remaining track time is displayed.
• Current BPM: Shows the current BPM.
• Tempo Range: Displays the current tempo range as determined by connected hardware.
• Tempo Adjustment: Shows the current tempo increment ranging from -% to +%.
• Edit Grid: By clicking on Edit Grid, you can open the Beatgrid Editor.

The Track Overview area provides a complete overview of the waveform of the track and includes a marker to show the current position within the track. This view is useful for finding transitions within the track. The waveform is colored according to the spectrum of the sound; red representing low-frequency bass sounds, green representing mid-frequency sounds and blue representing high-frequency treble sounds. You can jump to different positions within the track by clicking on the track overview display. Grey lines behind the overview show the length of the track; a thin grey line every minute, and a thick grey line every 5 minutes. If you have not analyzed your files the overview will be filled when you load the track onto a virtual deck.

TIP: Analyze files before you play.
SEE ANALYZING FILES FOR MORE INFORMATION

Main Waveform Display

 This area provides a close-up view of the track, including color-coding to show the frequency of the sound; red representing low-frequency bass sounds, green representing mid-frequency sounds and blue representing high-frequency treble sounds.

Click and hold on the waveform to ‘scrub’ or make fine adjustments to your position within the track. The main waveform is zoomed around the current position in the track. The waveforms scale with the pitch slider on your Serato DJ hardware to make it easier to see when beats are aligned and in time.
TIP: Use the + and – keys to zoom in and out.

Beat Matching Display

The beat matching display provides a helpful tool for beat matching songs. Serato DJ Lite accentuates the transients in the track, so that they can be easily matched. When two tracks are matched, the markers will align.

Auto Play

You will find Auto Play in the bottom left hand corner of the main screen once your compatible hardware is connected. When Auto Play is enabled, Serato DJ Lite will automatically load and play the next available track from the currently selected crate, once the currently playing tack ends.

Active Deck Indicator

When using 4 deck Serato DJ Lite hardware, you will notice the 2 visible decks have a green border. This is referred to as the active deck indicator. This means that all controls on your Serato DJ Lite hardware, and all Keyboard Shortcuts, will apply to the visible decks, which have the green border.

You can use your Serato DJ Lite hardware to change the active deck, or your keyboard. Selecting your Active Deck will determine which deck is displayed when you have 4 decks.
TIP: Use the keyboard shortcut ~ (tilde) to toggle between having 1/2 or 3/4 as your active decks.

Practice mode

Practice mode can be used to mix two tracks in Serato DJ Lite, and allows you to practice combinations without compatible hardware connected. Controls become available in the user interface, and can be modified with the mouse or keyboard shortcuts.

Practice mode controls

 Practice Crossfader: Controls the blend of both decks audio. Hold Shift while clicking and dragging to make fine adjustments, hold Control (Command) while clicking to reset.

 Volume Upfader and Input Gain Level Meter: Volume Upfader controls the volume of the corresponding deck. Use the LED strip to monitor the audio signal and avoid audio degradation by keeping the LED level out of the red.

 BPM and Pitch Slider box: Shows the tempo of the currently playing track in beats per minute. This figure reflects changes in tempo slider movement. Using your mouse, click and drag up or down inside the BPM Pitch Slider box to make the BPM adjustments. To make fine adjustments hold Shift and click and drag. Use Control (Command) while clicking on the BPM Pitch Slider box to reset the pitch to zero %.

Bend/Nudge +/-: Click to adjust the tempo momentarily, nudging the track forward or backward in time. Control (Command) and click to make permanent fine tempo adjustments.

Serato Play

Serato Play is an expansion pack for Serato DJ Lite that allows you to mix without connecting Serato primary
hardware.
Using keyboard shortcuts or the mouse, the user can adjust EQ, crossfader, and filter to manipulate the mix,
using 1, 2, 3, or 4 virtual decks. Click the button below to enable Serato Play:

Serato Play controls

EQ: Click and drag on knobs to increase or decrease the level of Low, Mid, or Hi frequency bands. Hold ‘SHIFT’
while clicking and dragging to make fine adjustments.
Hold ‘CONTROL’ (or COMMAND on macOS) while clicking on a knob to reset it to the default position, or click
on the white dot above the knob, which will turn blue to indicate the EQ is not being applied and has been reset.

Channel FX Depth: Click and drag on this knob to the right & left to apply the Channel FX in different ways.

NOTE: Channel FX is set to be a Filter by default, but you can change this by adjusting Channel FX in the FX panel.

Hold SHIFT while clicking and dragging to make fine adjustments.

Hold CONTROL (or COMMAND on macOS) while clicking on a knob to reset it to the default position, or click on the white dot above the knob, which will turn blue to indicate the FX is not being applied and has been reset.

Crossfader: Click and drag the crossfader to the left or right to blend audio between channels.
Hold ‘SHIFT’ while clicking and dragging to make fine adjustments.
Hold ‘CONTROL’ (or COMMAND on macOS) while clicking on the crossfader to reset it to the default, middle
position.

Serato Play settings

Use Split Headphone Cable: Enable this to allow pre-listening of audio via the use of an audio splitter cable.
Used to Cue songs through your headphones, while monitoring the master output, independently of each other.
Click the button in each deck, once the Split Headphone Cable option has been enabled, to send deck
audio to the headphone output when using a splitter cable.

Use the Cue Level control to adjust the audio level of the headphone cue output.

Serato Play Hotkeys: Enables Serato Play Hotkeys Mode. This mode allows for control of mixer features and
basic playback functionality using keyboard shortcuts. Click on ‘View Keys’ to display keyboard shortcuts.

Crossfader Assign: Click to Assign the channel output to the left or right side of the crossfader. Unassign the
crossfader per channel by clicking the appropriate button again.