Who scratches here?

[smiTTTen]

A couple of months ago I decided to start learning to scratch, properly. Not just pushing the record around and hoping for the best (which best describes the previous 17 attempts back in the day). I have consumed hundreds of hours of videos on Youtube, been reading books, signed up for Qbert's SkratchU and practice whenever I can which unfortunately is maybe half an hour a day. I am definitely off the blocks skills-wise but still in skratch primary/elementary school.

So who here scratches?
Are you beginner or Grandmaster?
What are you learning right now?
What's been the hardest technique for you to learn?
How did you or do you learn?
What's your setup?
What do you scratch to?
Would you like to go to dinner?
- I edited this list as I had a repeat question on setups.

Would love to hear people's stories and views on this!

[JesC]

1. So who here scratches?
   I do
   
2. Are you beginner or Grandmaster?
   well, im ok.
   
3. What are you learning right now?
   triple flare
   
4. What's been the hardest technique for you to learn?
   ablity to scratch with my right hand
   
5. How did you or do you learn?
   practice & watching others do it live
   
6. What's your setup?
   SSL/Rane 57/12 MK2/Dicers
   
7. What do you scratch to?
   Slow - Mid - Hi BPM 160 - 200 bpm hardcore
   
8. What kit do you use?
   same as above
   
9. Would you like to go to dinner?
   if your buying, yes

[Dj_4-$hure]

I scratch almost on a daily basis usually for an hour. I've been scratching for a year now, and love every second of it. Not a grandmaster but definitely not a begginer. Sometimes I'll be like damm!, that was ridiculous, and other days I'll be like, man I need more practice, but then again I'm really hard on myself (really critical). As a teenager (14), I would always pretend to scratch when I heard someone scratching on the radio or any song that has someone cutting it up. No joke, I would immitate scratching on some velcro or anything that would make a scratch like noise, I was obsessed. Finally at age 24 I was able to buy my first dj setup, but it was a controller, NUmark total control. A year after that I FINALLY! was able to trade something for some Vestax pdx-A1s TT's. Got my self a vestax 002xlu black mixer, installed an innofader pro in it and have been scratching ever since.

I mainly scratch on feel, sometimes just close my eyes and get into it deep, I mean seriously If you can see me when I scratch, you would see the soul steaming out of my hands. lol. I learn from watching some Q- vids and looked up to dj Babu also. Don't get into the technical side of things, because then I'll get confused (work with the left side of my brain better) so I mainly go on sound, but would like to learn it one day. Right now I'm trying to learn how to crab scratch. I mainly scratch to breaks, hip hop instrumentals, and sometimes I'll even scratch to some house music, EDM, but mostly hip hop. I'm hoping one day I'll be able to upgrade to a Vestax 05 pro 4 black, so please pray for me, but untill then I'm fine with what I got and make the best of it. And no I will not go to dinner with you, but will throw down a session if we ever bump into each other. Peace!

Just keep it up man, it seems like you're really into it. Good luck!

[smiTTTen]

Either of you guys got any videos of you scratching? . Would love to see your styles. I am going to be foolish enough to share the first (and currently only) video I have. It was done three weeks into learning this stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dQPLB8AXI4

I am a lot looser now and have a few more scratches down. I will post something newer when I get some time.

[Nick Bike]

i'm for sure no grandmaster, but i like to use some scratching to add some extra spice to the mix. instead of going for perfect 2 minute freestyle sets, i'm more concerned about being able to do basic & intermediate stuff really well with both hands (aka, techniques i will use in a club w/o going over the crowds head).

it's a slow process but i'm getting there. there's usually some in my mixtapes (except my chart mixes).

[jimbrowski00]

I scratch! I'm and advanced intermediate :P

I feel like scratching actually warms me up for throwing down a dope set... I wish I could always rock out on my headphones for a few minutes before I actually play.

Anyways for me the hardest thing was moving from basic scratching with my dominant hand (right) on the record to dominant hand on the fader scratches. I came up before flare scratches existed so it was scribbles, baby scratches and transformers. I had to re-learn everything when I picked up flares... my brain would just not accept the reversed fader movement (and I refused to hamster my fader)

anyways... I would very highly recommend you check out dj angelo's youtube channel. He has fantastic tutorials and teaches them in the right order for you to master them. I'm always critical of dj's who can crab but cant do a one click flare, or chirp to save they're life!

[smiTTTen]

Agreed on the flares! You'll be delighted to know that my flares are awful but my crabs are truly diabolical so it seems I am doing this the right way

[jimbrowski00]

It's a trap! I sounded like a dumb ass going back and forth doing reaaaaallllly slow one click flares over and over and over again until one day I got that hand brain connection and it started to click...

another scratch that I've never been able to learn is an autobahn... that scratch is super sick!

[djproben]

So who here scratches?
me, sort of

Are you beginner or Grandmaster?
been doing it long enough to be the latter but I still sound like the former because I suck at practicing

What are you learning right now?
flare combo patterns (2-click/1-click) but they still sound crap

What's been the hardest technique for you to learn?
chirp-flare combo triplet but I actually have that one down now, sort of.

How did you or do you learn?
messing around at first (meaning for about 6-7 years); eventually taking classes at Scratch Academy LA a few years ago; since then back to messing around. Have a pile of VHS videos I watched back in the day.

What's your setup?
too much stuff that I eventually will put on the show your setup thread; the core is technics 1200s and a DB4 (with innofader installed). Did most of my learning on the TTM-56.

What do you scratch to?
Bulldog Breaks vol. 1-3. Found fresh copies of 1-2 at Beat Swap Meet LA a couple weeks ago for $2 apiece; boo-yah! Don't sleep if you see these; straight up funk grooviness with steady beats different tempos roughly 85 to 120.

What kit do you use?
as above; carts are M447s

Would you like to go to dinner?
hell yes I'm starving. can we hit the booty clubs after?

[synthet1c]

• So who here scratches?
  I do
  
• Are you beginner or Grandmaster?
  Intermediate
  
• What are you learning right now?
  beat juggling & up to 220 bpm 1 click flares, but mostly forgetting techniqes and having a more freestyle approach to scratching
  
• What's been the hardest technique for you to learn?
  beat juggling & double time 1 click flares
  
• How did you or do you learn?
  practice & youtube +100 on djangelo's vids
  
• What's your setup?
  Staton ST150's, m447's, Reloop Digital Jockey 2, VDJ, Serato records
  
• What do you scratch to?
  hip hop instro's 80-100bpm, party breaks 100-120bpm, breaks 130 - 145 bpm, dubstep 140 - 150bpm, drum n bass 180bpm
  
• What kit do you use?
  what's with all the questions
  
• Would you like to go to dinner?
  Yep, but I don't put out on the first date

Word of advice, avoid at all costs learning to do crab's, 2 and 3 click flares before you get double time 1 clicks down, you will get stuck into not learning them because it's much harder to get the co-ordination down at high speed