Recently I was asked about turntables and digital DJing. It turned into a very interesting journey. As I consulted about what to purchase and what to not purchase, I realized, there is no where for someone to go for these answers. For someone who is completely new to the subject, there really isn’t a friendly way to find the answers you are looking for. So, here is my attempt to provide those answers. Do keep in mind however, that I am by no means an expert on the subject. A lot of people may disagree with what I have to say, but, I’m just here to help, so take what you like from it.
Getting into spinning records is pretty much the same regardless as to what kind of music you are interested in. If you want to scratch, play techno, house, acid, or just experiment, the answers are all the same. The DJ has evolved in a very strange way over the past few decades. At various points in that evolution some DJs have branched off and remained in a certain phase, while others go on to rest in other phases. It is my personal opinion that the final phase is that of the turntabilist. This is the end of all paths that the DJ travels. By no means does a DJ have to be a great turntablist to be a great DJ. A DJ is great based on many things, music selection, scratching, beat matching, it all has an equal importance. Scratching is going to be useless to a DJ who is only playing records at a radio station. Just as music selection might not be of the greatest importance to the scratch DJ. These issues are not what I’m going to discuss or would wish to debate. The point of it all is that the type of music or type of DJ that you wish to pursue has no affect on the gear you own. I believe that if you are going to pursue any path, that your gear should prepare you for the end of all paths, the turntabilist.
The turntabilst is one that uses the turntable as an instrument. A DJ plays the records and the focus is on the music on the record itself, not on the creation of music with that record. A musical instrument should always be afforded a certain amount of respect. So it is important that we take this approach when we talk about purchasing gear. You are not just buying a record player. This is the device you will use to communicate with your audience.
If you would like to learn more about the origins of the DJ and turntablism I would recommend checking out the movie Scratch. It provides an excellent history of the evolution of the DJ and is always an inspiration for me.
I imagine a lot of purist and old school DJs feel that digital DJing is sacrilege. I think that there is a certain way you can approach it that is sinful. My hope is to keep people from making those mistakes.
Onto the meat. Money. People want to do this cheap. They will rush out and buy the first pair of Numark belt driven battle pack super kit they find. That, would be a waste of money. The flip side is the digital side, rushing out and buy a cool looking controller. Both of these are mistakes. Research is the most important thing that needs to be considered. Before you buy anything, read reviews, watch YouTube videos. Learn all that you can about it.
Turntables, the elitism you will encounter on this subject can be overwhelming. If you don’t know how to match a beat going out and laying down $500 a table might not be the best idea. The second hand market is thriving, eBay is your friend. If you must go the turntable pack route the things you are looking for are Direct Drive tables and a mixer with a three frequency equalizer (high, mid, and low). At this stage brands are not as important as many people will lead you to believe. If you are going to be scratching then investing in some low end tables with high torque should take care of you for now. If you are just going to match beats just about any direct drive table should do the trick. Many people are going to see the belt drive and that very affordable price and just say screw it. Don’t do this, please. The difference in the feel between belt drive and direct drive is too great. I’m sure many people will tell you that expensive belt drive is as good as cheap direct drive, but just ignore them. Belt drive is taboo, and you are investing in something here. What you are actually investing in is resale value if you are going this route. If you decide that DJing is for you, if you have the extra cash, or if you just don’t have to go the turntable package route, there is only one set of tables for you, Technics. If you buy anything else, don’t let them leave your bedroom, and cover them with a blanket if anyone you respect comes over. Trying to DJ in public on something other than a pair of Technics should make you feel embarrassed. I imagine it would get you beat up in some places. So let’s say you bought the crappy tables and want to upgrade. A lot of people will tell you that you wasted your money. Catch is, the second hand market for turntables isn’t all that bad. You will make back some of that money. Consider the money spent an investment in your education. Technics cost around $500 brand new. You should be able to find them on eBay for around $250 each. This is a pretty good rule of thumb for most gear. Expect the resale value on your crappy tables to be about half of what you pay for them. If at all possible, buy the Technics first.
If you do buy used you may find that your tables lack needles. You can spend hundreds of dollars on needles if you are not careful. A pair of Shure M44-7’s run about $50 each and should be a decent balance between sound quality and holding up while scratching. The M44-7H is a little more geared toward scratching but costs around $80.
The mixer. This one is pretty simple, as I mentioned above go with a three frequency equalizer (high, mid, and low). You can go with two or three channels depending on if you want to have any external gear. Three channel is typically the best because it prepares you for any future expansion, but two is really all you need. There are a few brands to avoid here, Behringer is one of them. Go with some names like Numark, Gemini , or Vestax if possible. If you just do two channel you should be able to find something for under $100 new. Over that will take you to at least $150 and beyond very quickly.
The digital DJ setup is a little more tricky. You can go in a lot of directions with this. The Pioneer CDJ revolutionized the digital DJ world. These are amazing machines, but cost a small fortune. Most USB based controllers are terrible when it comes to digital DJing. If they lack an internal audio source, which most of them do, you will need some other way to cue music. This is an essential function for a DJ, listening to one channel in the headphones while the other plays to the audience. This is how you beatmatch and simply find your place in a track. Also, beware of controllers that come with crippled software that costs hundreds of dollars to upgrade to a full version. In my quest to find a decent low cost digital DJ solution I did not find anything that could accurately replace the feeling of using vinyl in the controller world.
This leaves us with the Virtual Vinyl world. I can only recommend one of these for beginners, and that is because of price, Torq. $300 or less is pretty hard to beat in the Virtual Vinyl world. Most of these systems cost between $500 and $800. I don’t consider these to be entry level prices. Since I’ve never used it I’m basing the advice on reviews and research, not experience. So please, do you your own research and try to test out a setup of Torq if you can, don’t just take my word for it. However, if I were buying any Virtual Vinyl software, Torq would be it.
So, where does that leave us? $600 for tables, $100 for mixer, and $300 for software. This is a pretty big investment for someone that is curious about DJing. Beware of cutting corners though. You can definitely get the cheaper turntables or go with a digital controller setup, and maybe you will like it, maybe you will love it, but in the end, you will be missing something. Cheap tables will need to be replaced and equally priced digital controllers will lack the tactile feel of tables.
I have been very saddened by how slowly the digital DJ world has progressed in the past few years. The only hope I’ve seen for the digital DJ recently is Numark’s NS7 with it’s $1300.00 price tag. I must admit, this is a piece of gear I’m considering. I’ve owned tables in the past so I know what I’m getting into though. For me, the $1300 investment would be worth it. For the beginner, this might be a bit to take on all at once. Once it hits the used market though, it might really be a good place for the Digital DJ to get a start. It is a comparable price to the setup I’ve outlined here and the feel and performance is supposed to be outstanding. Until it hits the used market though, and I’ve done my research, I won’t be taking the plunge.
If you walk away from this with anything I hope that it is at least a basic knowledge of where to start. I encourage you to not take my word for anything. When making any investment it is always best to do your own research. Hopefully, I have provided you with enough information to get you started on the right path. If you have any further questions, no matter how silly you think they are, feel free to post in the comments. The goal here is to help the beginner.
Good luck, and happy spinning.
later,
-junc
