Just recently received this question from one of my YouTube Subscibers. As I get asked some of this frequently I thought I would answer publicly so that others can benefit and some of you more experienced scratchers can give advice in the comments. It’s more powerful that way.
So here it is:
Hi, I’ve been watching your scratch tutorials, they are by far some of the best I’ve seen. wondered if you might help me out?
Do you make a tutorial for ABSOLUTE beginners? I’ve been offered a set of TT500 decks for a real cheap price. I play a lot of musical instruments, I’m primarily a drummer. Always loved the sound and rhythmic qualities of scratching, thought I’d try it out. Never done it before because it seemed expensive, but for so cheap, even if it’s not for me, I can give it a go.
So I need 2 decks, mixer, amp / hi-fi to play through, and then what? Slipmats, needles, cartridges, sample vinyl? I saw where do you play beats from? I see in many tutorials the 2nd deck isn’t going, I assume you put an mp3 through the mixer too? If I’m a right handed drummer, which hand is best to use for the record and which for the crossfader? which need more rhythm control?
I know this seems really basic, but it’s stuff I don’t know.
Thanks for getting in touch! Glad you like the tutorials. They do jump in assuming that you have got a scratch set up but I realise that many people need assistance with this part too.
Is there a tutorial for absolute beginners? – Not in terms of equipment and set up and basic concepts, but I will cover that at some point. The first scratch to learn is the Baby Scratch. I understand what you mean about drumming. I actually always wanted to be a drummer but we didn’t have room for a kit and ended up scratching which does have similar qualities as it is so rhythmical.
Equipment you need:
- 2 decks (direct drive with high torque if possible)
- Mixer (one with a sharp cut in or adjustable curve)
- Amp + speakers
- Slipmats (I use butter rugs)
- Needles / cartridges (Try Shure m447 for a good scratch needle)
- Scratch vinyl – my personal favourite is Super Seal by thudrumble
- For other great scratch records look here
Normally you play the music to scratch to on the second deck, but as you have noticed in my tutorials sometimes you are correct, I use a line in to play an mp3 or similar off a computer or other device / serato scratch.
Cheap vs Expensive / Basic vs Quality – Equipment
In terms of cheap equipment, I went down this route myself. Whilst it did allow me to see if I wanted to pursue it seriously, I did outgrow the equipment extremely quickly. The crossfaders broke and the cheap direct drive turntables just were not built well enough to withstand the rigours of scratching. So whilst I understand that you don’t want to spend alot on something that you are not sure that you want to invest in, just be aware that you might outgrow this equipment very quickly and need to spend more on some serious kit (e.g technics / vestax decks and a decent mixer like vestax / rane / ecler). Unless you can sell your old equipment you may lose some money but I preferred to look at it like I was paying to do a course before I committed myself.
Record Hand vs Fader Hand
Which hand to use on which deck is the next question. I never really thought about this and just did what felt natural. Some people think that it’s best to use your dominant hand on the record, whilst others think it should be the crossfader hand. I can see both benefits. Qbert and D-Styles I believe use their dominant hands on the record. I have my dominant hand on the crossfader. So see how you feel. Or learn both ways! What do the rest of you readers think?
Hope that helps.
If anyone has any further advice please post it in the comments below.
I leave you with my free Video Scratch Tutorials playlist (9 Videos):
Plus you can get my free How To Scratch eBook sample here
Happy Scratching!
– Short-E
For a cheapish mixer I highly recommend the American Audio Q-D5 MKII. The build quality is high and it has a good amount of features. The optical fader is very smooth if you lube the rails and it will last a long, long time. I’ve owned a Q-D5 MKII for a year and I’ve abused it every day.
Happy scratching,
Keith
The gear question is a really important first step. Like Short-E, I started on a set of lesser equipment: a set of TT100s and a Stanton pro-30 two channel mixer. At the time, I was significantly more interested in beat matching and mixing than I was in scratching, but when I caught the itch, I overhauled my entire set up almost immediately because entry level equipment just could nothandle scratching in any long term.
I don’t know enough to about the TT500s to offer great advice, but my TT100s didn’t have an adjustable tonearm height, which meant that I had a huge problem with skipping, since I was unable to adjust the angle of incidence of the cartridge to the record. These eventually got replaced with 1200s. I also had some mid-grade needles that held me over for a little while, but when I got seriously into scratching about 3 years ago, those were demoted to back-ups and I bought the thud rumble Ortofons. It made an ENORMOUS difference, since they are more stable.
So here’s my best recommendation. Get those cheap decks, and pay the investment forward on needles and a mixer. The nice thing about mixers especially is that you can get a solid mixer like Vestax PMC07pro or a Rane TTM56 used, and sell them used if you decide not to go that route, since they’re tough. Needles can be a little tougher to find at a reasonable price though, I have to admit. But again, you may be able to ebay those up if you decide to not pursue it seriously. This puts you in a position to be ready if you want to kit up to some 1200s or some PDXs, and you’ll already be comfortable with your fader.
Just a note, I had my old equipment for about 5 years and was pretty happy with them for mixing, but after serious scratching for just over 6 months, I had pretty much trashed my entire set up, especially my crossfader. Good equipment will handle learning how to use it and beg for more. Aside from that, I totally agree with Short-E!
With regards to your dominant hand, it’s a difficult one to answer.
I spent the best part of 17 years using my dominant hand (right handed) on the record, and as I was mainly just playing in house / dance music clubs, and not really trying to advance my scratching skills, this was ok for me.
After I eventually got bored with playing dance music in clubs i decided to go back to my roots and re-learn the art of scratching. It was a this point that I found my weaker (Left hand) was pretty much useless on the fader for the more advanced scratch patterns that are now the norm from the days when I first learned to scratch in 86-89, showing my age now! lol
I found that it was much easier and quicker to learn the more complex fader movements with my strong hand, but in doing this, I have had to, and I’m still learning the record control with my weaker hand.
So, it’s a bit of a trade off really, fast control on the fader versus complete record control, and which ever way you choose, it WILL take quite a bit of time to bring your weak side up to speed, so it’s down to you which route you want to take, do you want to spend time gradually building up speed in you fader hand, or building up record control?
Personally I think having you stronger hand on the fader will give you more immediate results, especially with a decent mixer like a Rane TTM56, but it’s a personal preference and everyone is different!
Good luck! It’s a wonderful thing to be able to scratch!
Nice write-up. I can highly recommend the vestax pmc06. It’s very solid mixer that isn’t as expensive as some of the higher end vestax or rane stuff. Let me rephrase that. It is the high-end stuff, with everything that you don’t really need thrown out. For that, it rewards you with a lower price and more space for turntables or records (which might be important if you have insufficient desk space). Most importantly: the faders are really solid. It also doesn’t hurt that a certain Short-E was seen using one for a very long time. ^^
Thanks so much for all the comments people. Some really good stuff in there. – Short-E
I have to agree with Welly, my story’s the same and on top of that I have my fader reversed just like Short-e… It’s just the matter of preference really…
I’m a total beginner to. 2 months ago I was fortuned enough to buy 2 used technics SL 1200’s, after a long debate with myself I decided get these instead of a single new TT that might be de equivalent of Technics for a much higher price. Also it turned out that (at least in the Netherlands) you buy a used technics SL 1200 for under €250.
I went for a cheap Berhinger mixer for under 100 euro, but it has reverse & crossfader-curve, so, no sweat..
After 2 months of practising about +/- 1 hour a day, I still find it very hard to master the crossfader, I’m starting to believe that the ability to handle the crossfader is key to proper scratching. So now, when I practice, I’m focussing on stabs and chirps rather than just jamming away to improve my crossfdaer control…
A noticeable upgrade for my record-hand side was replacing the worn-out techincs slipmat with butter rugs, you get much more feel and control over the record!! I can definitely recommend this!!!
Happy scratching!! 🙂
Hey Arnoud!
Thats awesome you got into scratching and got some Technics!
The butter rugs do make a difference. Have you had a go on a crossfader of slightly higher quality? You might see a difference too.
Keep practicing and happy scratching as always!
– Short-E
I am also brand new to scratching and i went the digital route (portability). I picked up the Pioneer DDJ-SX. I know this might be comparing apples and oranges, but would appreciate any advice i can get. Short-e, your videos are awesome! Thank you!
Welcome Wes! No its cool the principles are the same. Did you see all the articles on the topic?
https://studioscratches.com/can-i-scratch-with-traktor-kontrol-s4-part-1/
https://studioscratches.com/dj-happee-interview-scratching-with-traktor-kontrol-s2-s4-part-2/
https://studioscratches.com/scratching-with-traktor-kontrol-s2/
I’ll get my hands on a decent controller one day and give it a shot!
Hello all. I’m hoping to get a few ideas on fingers not gripping the vinyl when I’m practicing scratching. I have to keep licking my fingers, thats not good. Any ideas would be great. Thanks
Hey! Some people use this: http://amzn.to/1FUkul8. You can get these rubber things for your fingers but I can’t find the link. I’ll ask around. There’s also this thread! https://serato.com/forum/discussion/196976
Found the product! Stabberz! http://nindjagear.bigcartel.com/product/stabberz
Thanks for the reply so fast, I’ll take a look into amzn from Amazon. Please let me know about the other item. Keep on scratching bro and sisters.
Found the product! Stabberz! http://nindjagear.bigcartel.com/product/stabberz
Hello, i can get a RP-4000 or a Numark TT200 , what i should get?
Hey Clown, I have to be honest and say that those tables might struggle to stand up to the rigours of scratching. I recommend checking out this free guide for a better idea, and saving a little while longer: https://studioscratches.com/scratch-dj-equipment-guide/
About turntables:
The turntables I got were (in this order): 1x Akiyama DJ-2000, 2x Vestax PDX-2000 MKII Pro and 2x Numark TT500 (second hand). Akiyama was not good to do something more than a baaaaasic baby scratch (low torque, the generic included needle not gripping enough for fast scratches), Vestax are recommended and personally I like the Numark features (and prefer their stopping than from the Vestax). But I have to say that I would fear a little using Numark for live events (I would prefer Vestax for that), because you know, Numark has good ideas and features, but they don’t (or at least they didn’t) invest the highest in quality components (I got the Numarks since a few months by the moment, hope they’ll work several years without being a brute -stopping the motor with the hand and things like this that I never do).
Also I tried the legendary Technics 1200 in hip-hop concerts (the ones that the dives got) and, although they hasn’t a so high torque as the Vestax and Numark, I felt that they are a really good “all-purpose” turntables (turntablism and club mixing), stables and very reliable. But you know, after tried the +/-50% pitch in the Vestax, I don’t want to let that go; but I think that the Technics are the most reliable ones (and maybe the ones with the more precise pitchfader because they are analog, but this is more important for club DJ’s than for turntablism DJ’s, I think)
If I would begin and want them to last (because features and quality), I would invest in “super-oem” ones like the Synq X-TRM1 (or variants in other brands, but are the same original manufacturers -can notice because the design- like Audio Technica AT-LP1240-USB). If this is too much, maybe the Audio Technica AT-LP120USB or Stanton T92 USB will be enough, but can’t guarantee because the torque…
About if straight or S-shaped tonearm, if just want to scratch and/or use DVS, straight would be ok; S-shaped got the best sound quality for regular vinyls (I mean no timecoded ones for Digital Vinyl Systems, for these the tonearm doesn’t matter for this) but worst stability for heavy scratching. If not sure, I recommend S-shaped first (DMC championships are taken with Technics, with S-shaped tonearms)
About mixers:
Although I haven’t tried them personally, I think that DJ Tech DIF-1S (DIF-1M if want to listen to the scratches through the headphones/like the channel filter feature/want MIDI controls for scratching tracks from the computer with a Digital Vinyl System -bought apart/want balanced master output) and Epsilon Inno-Mix are good first-time options (enough quality and scratching features to don’t regret about the investment)
About record and fader hands:
I don’t think at all that there’s a systematic way to choose the better hand for each part. I agree with Short-E: better use the hands in the way that feels better, no need to drive oneself crazy about this. I started without mixer (after three or four months I bought my first mixer and started to cut) and, because I’m left-handed, the left is my record hand; but I think that it could be also ok in the other way if I started with the other one… just another path to get the same.
Hey Bross, thanks for sharing your experience and contributing to the discussion. Great to hear and much appreciated. It definitely helps to hear real work experiences.
Dj Angelo has really good tutorials, including 1 on equipment set up. Also I have a Z2 mixer,a Stanton str8 150,and an Audio Technica 1240. Strong motors on the tables, and good price.