Slip mats, just for looks, or is there more to them?
As the title says, I’ve recently bought a pair of technics and need some new slip mats for them.There are so many on the internet and eBay, are they purely just for looks or are certain ones better for mixing? I don’t scratch so don’t need the really thin ones for that.Which are the best ones for mixing?Or the best quality ones?Ive seen these ones on eBay, what’s hour thoughts on these?
I use thud rumble slipmats (I use butter rugs and flying carpets, but also have trip mats) because they perform best for me when scratching and juggling. You can get white ones and decorate them however you like.
SLIPMATS purpose is for back cueing and scratching. Lets it slip enough to keep the platter moving when your holding the record and grips good enough to instantly catch when you release the record. Turntables vary in torque even between same brand turntables. I’d recommend Dr. Suzuki Table Clothes they have adjustable sheets to put under the slipmat to vary the gripi-ness.
Dr Suzuki, Sicmats, Zomo slipmats are all good for normal mixing.
If you want them more slippy for scratching add a sheet or 2 of baking paper between the platter and the mats, or buy some butter rugz. Any paper will do really, apart from waxed paper as the wax will rub off onto the platter and the underside of your mats.
Stay away from the screen printed ones where they’ve used paint that sits on the top as the paint can scratch your vinyl and the layer of crusty paint on the top makes no sense, to me. Ideally you want the vinyl laying on a nice soft surface instead like the underside of those kind of mats, so I turn them over or use my own mats if I turn up to find decks fitted with those kind of mats.
Ink printed or dyed mats are much better as the ink or dye penetrates the mat leaving the top nice and soft and doesn’t flake or crack and wear away like the the paint ones do.
I like regular felt mats for all-round DJ use. I find Butter Rugs and the like too slippery for mixing, although a lot of it comes down to taste and what you’re used to.
The worst slipmats I ever bought were made by Vestax. They bought out these mats that were supposed to “revolutionise” the slipmat game. They were really thick and made out of a plastic-type material. They were expensive too - I’m sure they were about £30 a pair and that was years ago, back when the PDX-2000 MK1 first came out. They absolutely SUCKED though, haha.
I like regular felt mats for most mixing as well. I have some dskreet ones which are nice and have cool prints. Also have butterrugs but find they are too thin and slippery for normal mixing and if a record is slightly warped it is useless on them where it may work fine on a felt mat.
I’m 100% Sicmats. The feel of them underneath my vinyl is far better than the likes of the Technics official ones that i have three pairs of but hate them all..
Mate you’re not a scratcher so forget butter rugs or frosted plates or magic carpets, you won’t like them.
Sicmats are cool but honestly, there is nothing wrong with a pair of good old technics mats. Not the cheap fuzzy ones, the ones with the thin screen print like the Technics DMC mats.
Anything with a heavy print is bad. In fact for years I turned them over and used the blank side.
I had some Stussy mats once. They cost a fortune. They were shite.
They look ace, I have a pair but just for display when Im not using my decks. The yellow screen print is like enamel paint and just as thick. They barely move under the vinyl.
The purple DMC with ‘Technics’ and a purple circle are better.
I’ve tried pretty much every slip mat out there, and every technique to make 'em more suited to scratching (I’ve got TONS of circles of different stuff (plastic, paper, card, record sleeves/liners, etc..) that I’ve put UNDER slipnats to improve 'em!). One that I’ve often done is made the hole in the middle just a little bit bigger, by putting in a pencil and giving it a few turns…
I’ve always gone back to some proper old slipmats, by a company called Synergy (they’re long goneslight_smile:. They’re 2 layer mats, with a tight weave, printed top, and really loose weave, fuzzy bottom.
They are by far the nicest mats’s I’ve ever used. I’m using the same ones that I got from Richer Sounds with my first decks (Limit SQ-2000 - anyone remember those?!?) 16 years ago!!!
But, when I moved to Timecode, I realised exactly what Karlos has stated. The soft, rubbery print on top of the mat actually grips the record. I have clear timecode so this was a but of a revelation to me. However, the soft, loose weave bottom glides nicely over the platter…
I’ve kept using them. I love the feel, and after all this time, I’m just used to how it feels underhand. The printed top is like padded rubber, and doesn’t cause any damage to the records.
There’s no short cuts on this one, I’m afraid. You just have to keep trying mats out until you find the ones you like.
slight_smile:. They’re 2 layer mats, with a tight weave, printed top, and really loose weave, fuzzy bottom.