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Ok i use a whole midi setup and it suits me just fine but would love to mix on decks as came straight in to the digtal world now i cant really afford to go have a set of technics so lookingf or a cheaper pair of decks that will do the job with timecode
all so when it comes to decks what is the most importent part
needle? cart? etc... i know they have to be direct drive for TT but thats as far as my brain goes on decks.
You get what you pay for with decks. It's not as easy as pulling 'em out of the box and playing with 'em. You have to set 'em up to suit yourself. This means balancing your tonearm, setting the weight on the tonearm, setting the anti-skip, setting the orientation of the carts (if you go for headshell mounted carts), etc, etc...
As far as which decks to buy - if you can afford 1200's/1210's you should go for 'em. Second hand/used is an option for Technics - they're built to last!
Best bet is to get to a shop, and try out as many decks as you can. You're right about the direct drive, though.
You get great bang for your buck on used PDX-2000s (Vestax) - and for scratching, they're shit hot.
as i say i dont think i would play out with decks but its just another talent and skill to have its like i play guitar drums and bass,you never know when its gonna come in handy
dont really have any dj shops round here so its hard to go and try and if there is any shops stocking turntables they tend to be them crappy numark ones
In all honesty, there is nothing quite as nice as Tech 12 M5G's (i hate the mkII's).
But they are tough to find because no one wants to give them up.
Try some of the old stanton str8-80's. They don't make them anymore, but you can find them pretty cheap on ebay.
NUmark TT500s/TTX, Vestax PDXs, Stanton Str8s/STs, Gemini TT-04, they will all do you fine.
I think you should get some tech 1200/10 in any variation you see fit.
I don't know your budget but generally speaking they can be bought fairly cheap on the S/H market. They hold their value so can be easily sold on.
Another option for the same dec is to buy a broken one or two and repair it yourself. There are pretty much spare parts for every component on the dec as well as manuals/ tutorials on how to fix them.
If you do decide to go the S/H route, here are a few things to check:
- Make sure the platter doesn't wobble when it spins.
- The pitch is working correctly - this can be checked by using strobe and the dots on the side of the platter.
- There is no damage to the tone arm assembly and it's tracking correctly - Check out how to adjust the tone arm to know if it is tracking correctly.
cheers for all the input much love
on a side note when i get the TT's can i plug them straight in to a soundcard like the inputs
as i know most setups are TT's in to mixer then out of mixer in to sound card
but i want o use a midi controller to mix so can i plug the cables straight from the TT's in to the soundcard or am i gonna need a mixer?
If you want to learn to beatmatch on decks get the cheapest direct drives - they'll have less steady pitch and will force you to learn quicker. Then later on, go for the 1210s.
If you sound card has phono inputs then you should be fine. If your sound card doesn't have phono inputs then you'll need a pre amp before plugging them into your sound card.
Picking up a pair of technics second hand is the best way to get them. They have good resale value and are made to last.
I picked up a pair of 1210 M5G's, which were repainted in a horrible white colour scheme, for less than half price. They work perfectly though.
This is a really good idea and better if you get belt drive tt just because it will force you to hear and correct drifts when mixing.Quote:
Originally Posted by lethal_pizzle
Firstly my personal experience would say not to do this because it requires constant monitoring (some thing I wish I never did - Tinnitus is horrible). Secondly if you do decide to swap over to some better decs such as the Tech 12s it will be difficult to get rid of the cheaper decs as I found out in my younger days.
My advice is to go for the tech 12s as their rock solid pitch will help in saving your ears and they hold their value so if you do decide tt are not for you, you will be able to get rid of them for very similar money you paid (unless of course you've paid way more than their value).