Serato Itch 2.0 is the long awaited follow-up to version 1.7. For those not already using Itch, it is Serato’s offering for controllerists to use without needing time-coded vinyls and an expensive Rane mixer. It may look the same on the surface, but Itch is customized to perform in a specific way with each controller it ships with. This ease of plug and play use is part of its charm. Itch 2.0 now takes those features and expands on them, giving the DJ more customization in regards to the interface and more options to experiment with. First, we’ll take a look at the positive changes before going into what is still lacking.

 

The Good
• Updated interface with a new look. Now you can customize the look of Itch to however you would prefer it. You can choose to have the screen either white or black, to show the effects and samples or to hide them, and how you want the waveforms to appear. This makes for a much sleeker interface that allows you to put the information exactly where you want it.
• SP-6 Sampler. Scratch Live already had the sample decks, but for some reason this was lacking in Itch. Now, with version 2.0, Itch users have access to six sample decks to assign whatever samples they want to use without needing to load them onto one of the main decks. Expect many controllers to take advantage of this new offering.
• Four Decks. This has become an expected addition to every DJ software out there, and now Itch is fully in the game, too. With the addition of the sampler, this also means you truly will have four separate decks cleared for your music. Now you can be as creative as you want and mix four tracks at once, or simply use the extra tracks to cue up songs way in advance. It’s all up to you.
• Sync. Itch 2.0 makes it easier than ever to sync all your tracks together. When synced, cueing up a new track automatically locks it into position to keep your tracks from drifting apart. Just be careful when using this feature with badly beatgridded tracks.
• Smart Crates. Just like iTunes does with Smart Playlists, Itch 2.0 now has a feature that makes song management incredibly convenient. Add to that the fact that it easily detects song files stored on hard drives, and you’ve got a crates system rivaled by none.

The Bad
• No Extra Controllers. One of the biggest problems to using Itch is that you need an approved Itch controller to even put it into DJ mode. Unless you count using a mouse and keyboard as separate controllers, don’t expect to be able to use more than one midi controller with Itch. This could have been a very useful feature, especially when it comes to the new SP-6 sampler.
• No Remapping. So let’s say you’re fine with using just one controller, but you’d like to be able to customize what each button does, or at least change some of the buttons you don’t use to cue samples. Well, you can’t. Itch is great in that you can just plug in a controller and start playing right away, but its fault is that it stays there and doesn’t let you change the hardware to the way you want it.
• No New Effects. This may not be a big deal for those coming from Scratch Live, since turntablism is more in effect there, but for the controllerists out there, Itch’s lack of effects makes it harder to play the way you want to play. With several other programs out there offering great effects, there’s no reason to not include them in Itch.

Serato Itch 2.0 is in many ways a big improvement. It makes things easier and more convenient, and if you’re already an Itch user, it’s free to upgrade, so there’s really no reason not to give it a shot. If you don’t already have Itch or an Itch controller, though, there are other options out there that are worth looking into, especially if full customization of your controller is what you’re looking for.