I’ve seen there are a few of you out there to have a little experience in this whereas I have none.
Currently I’ve messed about a little on my VCI100SE & TP with little success - I’m a hamfisted bugger at the best of times and those wee platters aren’t conducive to me being any good.
My theory is learn how to use vinyl (and TSP), and then apply it to the VCI or tweak my gig playing setup.
My question is : when you were learning was it a case of trial and error, or did you have someone who knew teach you? I’m lucky enough to good mates with a couple of the Ninja Tune Solid Steel DJs, who would teach me for beers I reckon, but at the moment I’m so shite it’s embarassing - I’ve got a good sense of rhythm (played drums for a decade, and don’t rely on the sync button) but I think it’s coordination that’s lacking currently.
I’m not wanting to do a Craze-esque two minute mind bending routine, but I’d like to be confident enough to bang a decent scratch in as a transition, or to drop a vocal or somesuch over another beat.
I’ve gotten lessons about scratching.. no major Craze scratches but just baby scratches to bring about a transition and to do the necessary stuff.. maybe drop it in for some cool sounds
But ya.. i’ve tried with trial and error and my technique was just terrible.. it only took one lesson to correct my technique and that allowed me to practice more by myself
Angelo’s vids are some of the most user friendly ones. Q-berts are pretty good. I’ll tell you unless you are using an NS7 or VCI-300 its gonna be VERY hard to pull of a scratch you do on vinyl. One of the easiest pieces of gear i’ve found for scratching was an NS7. There’s no tone arm, no needle jumps, no worries of slipmats not being buttery enough, etc. A shitty scratcher can pull off some decent sounds with it…the trick is learning how to use your fader. You can learn some decent scratches with a bit of practice, once you get comfortable with the feel of a turntable you’ll see how much easier it gets.
I’m not very good either, but I am getting better all the time.
As silly as it sounds, it really is some Karate Kid shit. You do one simple thing, OVER and OVER and OVER. You are creating muscle memory. Guitar players, trumpet players, drummers, all learn in this manner.
It is especially noticeable on something you do that seems simple yet you have trouble executing it consistently, for example like a delay fade out technique. You just do it constantly until it finally clicks, and then you do it a whole lot more.
Youtube has some great basic vids as mentioned earlier. And as with most things, mastering the basics is the foundation for doing “fancy” tricks.
If your a drummer, you should know what it takes to spit the mind into 4 rhythms and create a bitchin fill? It was tough the first time but after about a million times it was a mindless effort.
Those DJ Angelo vids are awsome. First time I’ve seen 'em. Including the scratch he’s just shown you in a pattern with scratches you’ve already learned is agreat teching technique.
