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Is it worth the effort? I've got a stanton direct drive STR8-80 and a Vestax mixer... I'm mostly a VCi-100 DJ (started digital) but I feel it's essential that I learn.
Is what I have suitable to learn the basics? It seems whenever I try, I loose the sample I'm scratching... it just jumps to another place on the record. :confused:
To get those cool sounding cuts you need to be able to adjust the crossfader slope. So i would guess that you can adjust this on your vestax mixer. Second the records you use are very important to tracking the groove, preferably records that are made to scratch with(Better pressings). Also they must not be warped in any way as to cause the needle to jump.Third scratching with real vinyl and digital are 2 different worlds. Real Vinyl requires more touch and feel when scratching, movements should be nice and fluid as opposed to abrupt and Heavy handed. As far as the equipment that should be fine as long as the needles are good and mounted straight. Some people use weights(A Quarter, nickel....) on the head shell to track the groove better.
Check this out, helped me out a lot in the early days...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dALMrIRhle8
You can definitely learn to scratch on what you have. It just takes a LOT of practice. I learned how to scratch on a belt-drive gem sound deck, then when I finally got some 1200s they were like butter under my fingers. If you can, pick up a copy of DJ Rectangle's Ultimate Battle Weapon. It's got like 2min of the ubiquitous scratch sample on the end of the B-Side so you can work on your crossfader hand separate from your record hand. Practice doing quarter notes, eight notes, sixteenths and beyond with the crossfader then work on your record hand.
agreed you can definitely scratch on low end gear. I'd recommend it actually its sort of like training wheels. if you can get light and quick on this gear you'll be even better when you get on some technics and a decent crossfader.
MrBlenderson, this video made my morning. I just knew that *had* to be Q-Bert :)
On crossfaders : an adjustable slope is one thing but be aware of where the cutting point is so you don't crab two millimeters before. Gotta go find some tips on credit-card modding for that.
Yeah...I have the STR8-100's. And they fine!
Use the VCI100 as my mixer....but the lag is a bit shitty on the XFader.
I find the Xfader on my APC40 is a bit better.
Need to do the mod to get better performance.
If you using DVS...make sure you are gentle with the record....and you will get less skips.
on my decks....I can be ROUGH and it don;t skip.
Its all about how you set it up really.
Awesome advice guys. See, this is why I love this forum. No nonsense! lol
I'm going to watch some of the old Qbert videos and learn a thing or two, and also try the quarter on the head of the needle. I think I might need a new needle actually, they weren't new when I bought the TT used.
It should be noted however I'm not using timecode or anything, I just want to learn analog style so that I can eventually work toward timecode/scratching on my vci100/etc.
Any more tips? I love those old Q videos too BTW. So funny :D
If your prob is jumping around to different spots on the record all the time...I'd say the most important thing is the right needle. What do you have?Quote:
Originally Posted by Villinus
I remember saving up for a whole DJ-in-a-box set over the summer as a teenager...then being SO pissed that I could not be the Qbert in my head with the belt driven tables and noname mixer.
You've got a vestax and direct drive BUT...if you dont have the right cartridge you can still be screwed. I bought a Shure at 1st since Qbert had one then just bought an Ortophon. Not too much fussing about with it and I was able to do what I wanted.
Also remember...if the records you are using are old and worn, its going to be harder for the stylus to keep in those grooves while you are twisting and turning. A nice, clean relatively thick (not too thick) piece of vinyl should be good for practice and to scratch up.
I feel your pain though man...I remember getting SO PISSED when I didnt have the right setup and wanting to throw my shit against the wall. lol
Definitely agree that the right cartridge is a big part of it. Pick up a new set of Shure M447's, I think they're like $60 a piece. There are plenty of other great ones out there and once you feel confident in your skills you may find that you like an Ortofon or something else better but IMHO the M447 is the best one to learn on.
SAME exact thing happened to me, it was an ion dj package... Got the vci-100 few years later but im still itchin to learn how to scratch. Would anyone recommend i try learnin on the vci, i saw a dude scratch the DJtechtools Intro for the Button Tutorial with a vci and it sounded badass!Quote:
Originally Posted by rvltion909