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Get busy using Scratch Live to DJ Ableton sessions.

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• Review

The yawning chasm between the workflows of DJ gear and pro-audio production tools has been one even Evel Knievel would have been unwilling to jump, (even on a re-imagined Tron Light Cycle).

If DJ/producers wanted to mangle beats like a turntablist, right there within their on-screen arrangements, there were little in the way of realistic solutions on offer.

The idea of taking a live recording of a two-or-more-channel, plus effects, DJ set and being able to entirely unpick and polish every single crossfader and upfader movement is one that isn't exactly new - hand-held DJ device Pacemaker offers post-mix tidying, but never to this extent and between such established DJing heavyweights.

When a digital DJing system announced it had teamed up with a popular DAW and solved the problem, the gasps of forum users could be heard all over the internet. The resulting, stealth-like work yielded a new protocol: The Bridge.

Imagine it operates on similar principals to ReWire, in such that it allows the control and transfer of data between digital audio-related software, then times the idea by several large numbers.

They say it enables you to seamlessly DJ selections from an Ableton Live set, or doctor and tweak recorded Scratch Live mixes like a track. Full integration between Serato and Ableton? Cue mass DJ light-headedness and fainting behind the decks.

But does it live up to the hype? Let's put it to the test from both angles.

Perform your beats

At the foot of the Ableton side of The Bridge you launch both programs and an Ableton Live Transport Track appears in your Serato library. Dragging the Transport Track on to one of the virtual decks means you're now ready to use the deck to control Ableton Live's tempo and playback.

Now, in Ableton, the transport 'Stop' is greyed out to show sync with a master i.e. Serato. Pressing play on your deck will start Ableton's transport, with all active clips playing as standard - and responding to any control vinyl scratches and speed adjustments.

The innovation here is that as well as playing out your clips, effects and devices, The Bridge gives producers the medium of traditional DJing to handle their multi-track sessions with. It's like Ableton has been given the ultimate DJ controller: the turntable.

What makes it next level is that every effect or instrument on the channel is pulled through to Serato's interface, where you can scroll through and adjust effects from one window. With smooth functionality you can mix tracks, trim the parameters of effects and virtual instruments, or cut up or launch loops using an Itch controller, or the encoded vinyl or CDs of the Serato Scratch Live hardware, on-the-fl y, and with your hard-earned DJ skills.

Controlling Session view tracks in Serato is a piece of pie, and the way you can drop in Serato library tracks alongside Ableton clips into your mix means you can really layer up the sounds and get away with some creative mixing, like beefing up transitions with extra drum loops and acapellas.