Advice about cdj's

[asaf lavie]

Hello, I'm a keyboard player and I want to incorporate scratching into live shows I do with bands.
I'm not intersted about the other aspects of djing, just scratching. a few questions:

1) what do I have to look for in a cdj? whould every cdj be suitable for me? any recommendations?
2) I noticed that when djs scratch they have one hand on the cdj (or vinyl) and the other on a fader that from what I understand
controls the volume. would I have to have a mixer? doesn't the cdj have a volume control?

Thank you for your help, I'm new to this and can use all the help I can get.

[fullenglishpint]

If you want to learn to scratch, use vinyl not CDJs. And yes you'll need a mixer. Look up scratch tutorials on YouTube, and trust me when I say it is nowhere near as easy as it looks.

[photojojo]

Do you want to actually scratch or are you just after that sound? If your just after that sound and don't care about looking like your scratching then there's ways to get close with the gate effect in Traktor.



That said it's nowhere near the same as actually scratching.

[asaf lavie]

The scratch in the video you posted doesn't seem to be very controlled. I reserched the subject a bit and I know that many people say that vinyl is the only "real" way to go, but I saw people scratch with cdj's and get excellent results. I'm going with the cdj because it's more portable and doesn't require me to buy tons of vinyl records.
I'm going to look at some cdj's in a few days, do you have any advice for me about what I should look for/look out from in a cdj? (keep in mind that I need it only for scratching)

[Otacon]

the only cdj's id advise for scratching would be the high end pioneer. But with vinyl you wouldn't need a bunch of vinyl if you use timecode

[deevey]

the only cdj's id advise for scratching would be the high end pioneer. But with vinyl you wouldn't need a bunch of vinyl if you use timecode

Denon's 5500/3500/3900 or a Numark CDX/HDX trumps the Pios anyday for scratching IMHO due to their rotating platters and actual Vinyl slippage

[Otacon]

ahhh didn't even think about those. better choice to go with moving platter

[fullenglishpint]

If you're set on using a CDJ or equivalent rather than a turntable, make sure you get a high end one. Scratching will give your platter a hell of a workout and cheaper ones won't last.

Not wishing to beat a dead horse here, but I can pretty much guarantee that all the guys you see on YouTube doing hardcore scratching on CDJs learned how to do it first on turntables. As an absolute minimum I'd want a CDJ with a moving platter as others have suggested, static platters don't give you the tactile feedback you need.

[asaf lavie]

a friend let me borrow his "numark mixtrack" controller and it's gets the job done great!
do you guys know any sites I can download good samples from?

[kooper1980]

Can you post a demo of what you have achieved in 4 days? I find it hard to believe you've gone from wanting advice on what equipment to buy, to all of a sudden realising a mixtrack "gets the job done great!"

Hats off to you if you've achieved suitable sounding results in that short space of time.