CDJ to vinyl switch?!

DJ Gear & Hardware CDJ & Vinyl DJing
1

CDJ to vinyl switch?!

Hello all,

I would like to switch from CDJ’s (1000MKIII) to vinyl decks since a lot of the music I like is released on vinyl only.

What decks should I be looking at? Technics would be to expensive (altough picking up some old technics and refurbishing them sounds like a lot of fun).

At the moment I am looking at the Reloop RP2000m, will that do the trick?

Don’t need any fancy things like adjustable pitch range or keylock, just want a plain and simple deck. Also, I don’t scratch and don’t intend to do so in the near future.

Greetz,
Jordi

2

the RP2000m would do fine if you could find a direct drive thats cheaper even better. if you pick up techs they’re better those are time tested to last you a long time but because they are discontinued you might have some issues getting parts in the not so near future just a thought to remember

3

Would the RP2000m have enough torque? I’ve just read some reviews saying it doesn’t have sufficient torque for cueing :unamused:

4

Those Reloops are a very basic, budget table. They lack things like arm height adjustment.

You would be much better off hunting for a pair of used Technics at a good price. If you are patient and persevere, you’ll probably score a pair not much more than the Reloops.

Even cheaper would be a used pair of Vestax PDX-2000s, PDX-2300s or PDX-D3S.

And you’ll often find Super OEM tables used at very cheap prices too, especially if you look beyond the really obvious Stanton 150s.

With turntables it really is, buy right, only buy once, and with the state of the used market today, there’s really no need to settle for anything less than a top flight pair of decks.

I came very close to picking up a pair of PDX-2000s last week for £160GBP the pair, for example. In the end decided I just don’t have room for any more decks.

5

Funny you should say that Mojaxx as I picked up my pair of PDX2000mk2s for £175 despite meaning I currently have 5 TTs! :expressionless:- they were simply too good to pass up. I think the PDXs must currently be one of the best bargain second-hand buys out there as a result of the obsession with Technics.

As for the OP, if you are at that kind of budget then as Mojaxx said, look out for second hand examples of the Super OEMs (Stanton ST/STR150, Reloop rp6000, Numark TTXusb, etc), Vestax PDX2000/mk2, or a pair of Technics if you can find a seller that isn’t in cloud cuckoo-land over values.

(It’s worth keeping in mind that the Vestax PDX 2000s/3000s were pretty much the alternative high-end turntable to Technics for many years- a fact that simply isn’t reflected in their respective second hand values).

All those TTs should be a safe bet second hand, as all quality turntables should last (my PDX2000s for example were originally brought second hand way back in 2007 before I acquired them last year and they’ve yet to be serviced).

I would definitely recommend going that route (second-hand for quality turntables) ahead of paying the new price for budget turntables. There are simply so many quality turntables out there (including the millions of pairs of Technics) and they last so well, that there is simply no reason to buy budget turntables- the only time I would advocate this is if you absolutely have no budget what-so-ever then there are some passable older direct-drive decks available for £50 for a pair.

In my opinion, spending £350 for a pair of new Rp2000s is false economy when you could get a pair of much better turntables second hand for the same (or less) money.

A good place to keep any eye out for turntable bargains is second-hand electronic stores- these places often seem to treat turntables as out-dated relics and price them accordingly. A place local to my girlfriend were selling a pair of PDX3000s (that looked pretty much new) for £450 when most places are still selling them new for over £500 per deck!

Local classifieds will be your other best bet in my experience- Ebay etc can work but it has a much larger audience which will push the price up of any potential bargains.

Whilst Technics are indeed fantastic decks (I own a pair) there are definitely comparable, if not better turntables out there now, and as you mentioned torque i’m pretty sure they actually have the lowest of any of the TTs mentioned above. However, it is way more than sufficient and they do have the nicest pitch fader of any turntable I’ve used, period.

Just don’t be fooled by the people charging crazy prices for them on the basis that they are ‘classic’ and have been discontinued- they are the most numerous DJ turntable out there and so finding a second hand pair for sensible prices is straight-forward enough if you watch the classifieds for a couple of months.

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Ok then I guess its better hunt down some Tehcnics at a good price!

What do you mean by ‘‘Local classifieds’’?

I live in the Netherlands, on an Island called Terschelling so unfortunatley no second hand electronics stores around here.

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Be patient and search locally, you’ll find some in your budget eventually.

TTs are unwieldy and heavy, a lot of people can’t be bothered to ship them, so that’s where the real deals can be found.

I 100% endorse everything Irrational Fear added.

The reason I didn’t pick up those 2000s is because I already have 5 turns… 4 Techs and an ST-150. I think 5 is probably enough for anyone…

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Two TTs would do just fine for me :wink:

Don’t see me using 4 at the same time!

And budget wise, I’m selling those CDJ1000MKIII’s, hopefully that would get me the money needed to by some 1200/1210’s or OEM TTs!

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Too true, I’m supposed to be moving everything to a new house next month which should be fun!

OP- it does narrow your options down a little bit, but I’d have thought you must still have some kind of online local ads that you can search by area? Try doing a search and see what comes up.

Like I said, it doesn’t have to be Technics- any of the Super OEM turntables (do a search for a complete list of these) are more than comparable (many would argue even better) and will probably be similarly priced to the Technics second hand.

Likewise second-hand Vestax PDX series are also going to be of the same standard and will probably be half the cost of Technics/Super OEMs, they just won’t be quite as common.

Any of those TTs will be a great choice, and will give you a few more options to consider if you live in an area with more limited availability :slight_smile:

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deflits980, where are you based?

Henley Designs, the UK Reloop distributor, are clearing stock of the RP-6000, a proper Super OEM table.

The resale value on a pair of CDJ-1000s should easily get you enough for a pair of those at that price…

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Netherlands, Terschelling (small island)

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Oops, just re-read the thread and saw you posted that already…

There must be a Dutch equivalent to Gumtree or Craigslist, I would hope? Try and find something like that.

Another source which can be good is pawn shops and the like. Next time you’re on the mainland check some of those out. And don’t completely exclude eBay. If you have a list of deck models you fancy, do searches for them and save those searches. I bet you’ll find something suitable soon enough.

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Finding real bargain deals online seems hard, since sellers can easily check what a product is worth.

I guess my best bet is a trip to the mainland and check out pawn shops and second hand product shops.

Thanks guys!

For the time being, practice and enjoy on my cdj’s (not using autocue, no bpm readout, no pitch readout and not using the play/pause nor cue buttons) so that I’m ready when some Technics arrive!

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i played on the 2000s and it might have been that they have been used, but they were pretty bad, torque was next to none…

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Thanks Johney for the warning, going for the Technics :smiley:

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Those 2000s must have been really knackered, because they have nearly double the torque of a 1200… I had a 2300 with the same specs, and the torque was huge…

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This^^

If the Vestax have any faults then torque certainly isn’t one of them!! :expressionless:

The PDX 2000s were rated at 2.7kg/cm torque compared to 1.5kg/cm (I believe) for the Technics 1200/1210 mk2.

My PDXs still feel it after nearly 10 years too.

I’m pretty sure the Stanton ST/STR150 can be set to up to 4.5kg/cm of torque which is crazy.

In reality though, the 1.5kg/cm torque of the technics is still more than adequate- indeed I’m pretty sure this was the highest torque of any turntable out there for a fair while!

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Listen up - NOBODY that can scratch ever said “I can’t scratch on these - the torque is too low”.

If the torque is too low, either a) the motor is dead/dying, or b) YOU ARE AN OAF and you’re pressing down TOO HARD with your record hand!!! And a) only happens because of too much b)!

The amount of pressure you need to apply to the record with your record hand is next to NONE. It is LITERALLY the grip of your finger prints that holds and moves the record. That’s why DJ’s lick their fingers sometimes.

Here’s the killer - the 2000’s have got SO MUCH TORQUE that learning on them actually puts you at a disadvantage. 'Cos, unless you also get to play on 12010’2/1200’s, you never get that “soft touch” that you need…

Once you’ve developed that soft-touch, you’d be surprised how much force you actually CAN apply to 1200’s/1210’s before it starts to affect the platter speed.

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I agree 100% Patch. My first TT was my Gemini SA600mk2 and I’m a big advocate of the idea that the lower the torque TTs you learn on the easier it is to develop a light touch.

I was merely responding to Johney’s post about the 2000s he played on- I didn’t want people reading this thread to deduce from that comment that PDX 2000s in general are low on torque (particularly vs Technics) when in fact it is very much the opposite!! :slight_smile:

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I wasn’t responding to any post in particular, mate.

The best thing anyone can do that wants to scratch, is buy the first, cheapest pair of TT’s that they come across. :wink: