so i just switched from a controller to a turntable and started practicing and i’m just realizing this isn’t going to be as easy as i thought it would be. while it does takes practice to become good at using a controller, it’s just buttons and you dont really need to train yourself how to push a button. with the turntables i have to train my hands to work with the turntable successfully. i feel like its gonna take weeks of practice before i can confidently make a basic mix every time without causing the needle to skip or pushing down too hard and stopping the platter or doing a million other things wrong. anyone have any tips that might make this transition easier?
Also, dont fall into the trap of pretty and cheap slipmats. I used them for a while and they really held me back. I moved to sicmats and never looked back.
Be light with your TT’s, the heavier your hands are the harder it is to cue as you’ll slow down the platter quite a bit and it might take time to get back up to speed. Thus, putting you out of phase.
Try practicing vinyl control with and without putting the needle on the record, so you can calibrate the amount of pressure you’re giving without risking the records. Then play it, go a bit lighter, and adjust.
Do it with records of different weights. On different sides too, they don’t necessarily have the same amount of drag. At 33 and 45 rpm.
Don’t be afraid to touch the record at first, subtlety will come later. don’t use your whole arm.
Spin back the record, do as if you were seeking through the tune backwards and forwards.
Practice nudging the record while it’s playing to see how and where. Tip : maybe don’t apply as much pressure the closer you get to the center of the record, this is where you’ll want to go really easy.
Which TTs?
With your hand on the vinyl stopping the vinyl from spinning, the platter should be able to freely rotate at the normal speed under the slipmat. Change your slipmats or add layers or greaseproof paper or something similar under your slipmats if the platter speed is reduced by holding the vinyl.
Practice rocking the beat by pulling back the vinyl and releasing it so it sounds the right pitch on release and doesn’t speed up or slow down as the platter takes over.
With 2 copies of the same track set to the same pitch, practice slowing the platter gently with a finger on the edge of the platter, and speeding up the platter by placing a finger on the sticker in the centre of the vinyl and rotating the vinyl to speed it up for a few seconds to get it back in time again. As you do this you should get a feel of how much pressure to use to speed up and slow down the track and how much pitch bending you can get away with, without altering the sound too much.
Try to use tracks with a some sharp sounds to line up when getting the hang of beat matching. A bass kick is too long to tell whether its in time or not so if I’m mixing breakbeats I’ll cue up the snare or rimshot sounds. House and techno beats are easier to beatmatch when learning imo with a pop pop pop beat.
For actual beatmatching, this guide on riding the pitch is worth a read http://www.clubbing9ine.com/Tutorials/riding-the-pitch-control-pitch-bending.html
The other recent threads on beatmatching have a couple of other techniques in, which you might find helpful tooo
I recently picked up a cheapie SSL box and have been having a play with it - I thought I was quite good with vinyl as I’ve been using TTs with TSP2 for a while, but Serato has fewer visual cues (which I didn’t realise I was using in Traktor) which has made mixing harder.
Your probably refering to beatmatching and its difficulty. At first, I had no idea how to go about this, but believe me, you will get better, I still have a hard time doing it well, and I’ve had my tables for several months. To learn anything in the DJ/Production world takes nothing more than the ability to force your way though it. Its hard but if you don’t sputter out, you will find yourself at the top.
beatmatching starts with dropping the next record in correctly…i stole digweeds style of reaching to the top of the record and holding on it’s edge with 3 or 4 fingers and starting it on speed on beat with a quick flip of the wrist…
turning or pinching the spindle also helps with minor adjustments…ride that pitch control…
Yeah man, heard those are the dogs. I never bothered with them though as I dont really scratch.
Ive been weaning myself onto the pure vinyl experience slowly over the past few months. Got DVS, used the phase tools and BPM to my advantage and learnt how to manipulate vinyl. Took away phrase info recently with barely a blip in my skills. About to take the plunge into removing the BPM readout too.
Proper vinyl skills are sick, but I couldnt do without cue points. I’ll never be a true vinylist, but at least I can pretend
Turntables are really cool because you like ‘feel’ the record a lil more and it gives you the ability to scratch, mix, and beatmatch. They do, however, take a lot more practice to be able to handle them with confidence. Once you get it however, its really cool.
Just practice. I need practice with turntables too. Your not alone
You joking?! Serato has loads, but it took me ages to work out how to use them lol. It has about 4 different things to take the place of Traktor’s phase meter.
That’s mad oldschool bro! lol. That’s how one of my original DJ teachers taught us how to spin, with a couple of those old records with stickers for about two or three weeks. Lol. Those take a lot of practice!
