So does anyone spin just vinyl anymore?

[djlotus]

I use a combo of vinyl and DVS. Pretty much the same to me at this point. When I am feeling nostalgic for some groovy older house I'll play my old vinyl for weeks at a time.

[Lineypirate]

Depends what I'm mixing....

D'n'B or some old school UKG; Vinyl all the way. House / Electro / Dance? Probably DVS to be honest. Although if I have a the same tune on vinyl as I have on my hard drive, I'll always spin the wax version. This is because, for me, DVS is just a tool to play all my tunes that I don't have on vinyl as if they were vinyl.

[mbthegreat]

I've been playing out for about 2/3 years and I play exclusively vinyl. Don't own DVS or CDJs, just a pair of turntables and a mixer. Even in the short period that I've been playing in clubs there seems to be less people playing proper vinyl, but it's still certainly alive and kicking, at least within the genres I'm interested in. I occasionally use CDs for tunes I can't get on vinyl, but seeing as I've got no way of playing them outside of clubs it's pretty rare.

Started off playing DnB, which, as has been said, has ties to vinyl. Moved on to dubstep, which again had the vinyl culture. Now I'm playing what I call "UK Bass" for lack of a better term, and while there is less on a vinyl culture there is still a lot of music that doesn't get a digital release. Probably a hangover from dubstep*.

Everyone talks as though it is impossible to play vinyl, but it's no more expensive than it ever was, no more heavy, and still just as easy to buy. The biggest problem is club turntables tend to be a bit knackered, but DVS is going some way to correct this. Wherever there are DJS that want to use them, there will be a motivation for club owners to get them serviced.

*UK Bass is sort of the flipside to "American Dubstep" (brostep included), while there is still a sizable dubstep scene in London (which I'm told is called "dungeon step"), FWD etc, a lot of the people who were making exciting music a few years ago have gone one of two ways. They've either gone into the cheesy, noisy, shittastic side of things, or abandoned the half time and dropped down into 130bpm land. I've ended up following the slowdown. It's retained the vinyl culture in a big way though, lots of stuff that's pretty hard to get downloads of, or the download comes out a long time after the original promo drops. Even got vinyl only labels like Swamp81.

[dskreet]

"DVS is just a tool to play all my tunes that I don't have on vinyl as if they were vinyl."
-Lineypirate

This exactly how I feel. My laptop is never in front of me, always to the side out of the way.
I started spinning vinyl in 1996, and never moved to cds. I actually held out on Serato up until 2008 or 2009. I was a vinyl purist, but when tracks started to be released digitally only I had no choice but embrace the new technology.
I load a track, and cue the record. No hot cues, no loops, just Absolute Mode.

[keithace]

cost is what motivated me...i used to order records once a week or so from dancerecords.com and would get free shipping with orders over 50 bucks...for that same 50 bucks i can get 30 or so tracks from beatport or 40 plus odd itunes...

i have recently moved to an external mixer and have hooked up one of my turntables so i can play alot of tracks that made it to digi (naked music, greyhound, dubtribe, etc) music that still holds up with todays deep house sounds...very excited about that...

does doc martin still spin only vinyl? i miss going to wax records in los angeles...

[Dj_4-$hure]

^You still got Amoeba.

[dskreet]

^True. But not the same, nothing like being a regular at a small record shop, and the person behind the counter hands you a stack of new vinyl that they set aside for you. I miss that personal aspect of vinyl collecting.

[djproben]

I still spin vinyl at home pretty often and prefer it as well, though I enjoy all the possibilities of digital that aren't there on vinyl. Last time I spun out it was an all-45 set (I turned 45 that day so it was appropos).

And yeah Amoeba is great but there used to be a ton of specialty record shops that were put out of business when they came to town! Doc Marten's Wax on Melrose was pretty close to a few other great ones that are long gone - This Is Music (fantastic house collection) and the dnb powerhouse Beat Non Stop (I remember digging through a pile of records that DJ Rap sold there years ago; think I picked up a couple but I couldn't tell you which). And before there was Amoeba there was Aron's Records which at the time seemed huge.... Ahhh I wax nostalgic about LA wax

I still buy way too many records but I tend to stay away from new stuff because of the prices; but I should rethink that considering I recently spent $70 on $2 records that mostly turned out to be shite. Another thing that sucks about Amoeba is no vinyl listening station! And they wrap records in so much damn plastic and tape it would be impossible to listen to them anyways....

[Hypernia]

It is freeing ditching the computer, its easier to listen to the tracks rather than be thinking about which cue point you need or being distracted by waveforms.

This explains how I feel completely. I haven't been djing for very long, but I started with Traktor but ended up obtaining some 1200's. When I mix on traktor I feel limited and dull (doubtful that makes any sense). But when I can actually look at a record, pick it up, put it down, and play it with no distraction of a screen, I feel so much more genuine and alive. Being able to hold the music and physically search for it is a beautiful thing that puts a smile on my face.
On top of that, I feel like playing vinyl is so much more rewarding (personally, STRICTLY, I know not everyone feels the same). I don't play strictly vinyl, as I can obtain much more music that I want digitally. HOWEVER, I have a "local" record shop that stopped stocking vinyl a few months ago and have been having a sale ever since. Any record for 2$, no limit. Oh, and there's a guy that works there occasionally that gives em to me for a buck, so that's pretty dope. The issue is that by local, I mean an hour and a half drive one way which is hard to make between school and work and a lack of gas money. When I get to drive down there I usually spend about 40 bones (20 if the other guy is working) and snag like 20 records. I'm usually the only guy there too so I don't have to worry about sharing space with anyone. I need to take more advantage of this

[keithace]

I still spin vinyl at home pretty often and prefer it as well, though I enjoy all the possibilities of digital that aren't there on vinyl. Last time I spun out it was an all-45 set (I turned 45 that day so it was appropos).

And yeah Amoeba is great but there used to be a ton of specialty record shops that were put out of business when they came to town! Doc Marten's Wax on Melrose was pretty close to a few other great ones that are long gone - This Is Music (fantastic house collection) and the dnb powerhouse Beat Non Stop (I remember digging through a pile of records that DJ Rap sold there years ago; think I picked up a couple but I couldn't tell you which). And before there was Amoeba there was Aron's Records which at the time seemed huge.... Ahhh I wax nostalgic about LA wax

I still buy way too many records but I tend to stay away from new stuff because of the prices; but I should rethink that considering I recently spent $70 on $2 records that mostly turned out to be shite. Another thing that sucks about Amoeba is no vinyl listening station! And they wrap records in so much damn plastic and tape it would be impossible to listen to them anyways....

when can i come over? i will bring the beers...