Hi all, this is the second part of Articles on how to be a "Turntablist", also from Remix Mag, Enjoy:)
In this issue, we'll explore the quirks and queries surrounding equipment setup for optimal turntablist-style scratching.
CABLES
One important but often overlooked part of hooking up your equipment is the quality of, and care for, the cables that connect everything. DJs may spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars purchasing top-of-the-line audio equipment, only to hook it all up with dime-store cables. Remember, your sound is only as good as the weakest link. Buying inferior cables may save you a few dollars, but it can prevent your high-quality equipment from performing at its best. Don't cut corners in this area.
Invest in at least one set of high-grade RCA cables and keep them in good shape. Coil them when they're not in use, and avoid crushing or kinking them. If your turntables have hardwired RCA cables, keep them and the thin ground cable well maintained and damage-free. This is especially important if you use flight cases — they're notorious for chopping off the cables when an inattentive DJ closes the lid without first tucking everything safely into the case.
MAINTENANCE
Keep your equipment clean and free of dust. Use some old bedsheets or T-shirts as dust covers for your mixer and turntable, and follow a regular cleaning plan. Invest in a can of compressed air for blowing the dust out of any moving parts. Take particular care of the faders on your mixer — dust and dirt will quickly degrade a fader's performance.
A small investment in the care and cleaning of your equipment and cables will pay off in increased life expectancy for your DJ setup.
TURNTABLE SETUP
To achieve a skip-free scratch environment, you need to set up your turntable for optimal performance. This involves concentrating on four main areas: general turntable location and setup, tonearm care and configuration, platter and slipmat setup, and headshell and cartridge setup.
General Turntable Location and Setup
Place your turntables on a level, solid surface. If a turntable has adjustable feet, make sure you have all four dialed in so that the unit is wobble-free. If you use a flight case, consider leaving the turntable in the bottom half of the case — this will both protect it and make it easy to position. DJs often unscrew the hinges of a turntable's plastic dust cover so that it can be removed quickly and easily.
Tonearm Care and Configuration
Make sure the tonearm suspension mechanism isn't loose. Any wobble is a surefire skip inducer and, more important, indicates a problem with the tonearm. These mechanisms are famously hard to adjust. If you are not confident that you know how to tighten it down without breaking a component or crushing the bearings, consider taking your turntable to an authorized dealer for servicing. The cost of doing this is far lower than having to replace parts should you break something.
It is important to fine-tune your tonearm's user-adjustable settings. Not all tonearms have the following settings, but if yours does, here are some recommendations for a turntablist DJ's setup:
* Tonearm height ring: DJs debate the proper setting for this device. I find that the tonearm works best for my scratch technique when I adjust the ring to its highest setting. (Note that the thickness of your slipmats affects this setting.)
* Antiskate control: Adjust it to the maximum setting. This reduces the likelihood that the needle will jump forward during heavy scratching.
* Balance weight installation and adjustment: For additional tracking weight, some turntablists install the balance weight in a reversed position. Doing this will give it more weight but will wear out records and needles more quickly. Follow the recommendations of the cartridge or needle manufacturer, and if things skip too much, practice scratching with a lighter hand instead of with a heavier tracking weight.
Platter and Slipmat Setup
Get rid of the rubber mat that came with your turntable and replace it with a slipmat (typically a circle of thick, feltlike material). To increase the slip effect, some DJs polish the platter surface or place waxed paper or thin plastic disks between the slipmat and the platter.
The goal is to create a friction-reduced vinyl-to-platter relationship that enables the DJ to both hold the record stationary and spin it back and forth without affecting the turntable platter's rotational velocity. This is particularly important for belt-drive turntables, as the constant strain of the DJ's holding down the record can wear out the motor or stretch the belt.
Headshell and Cartridge Setup
Start off by following the manufacturer's setup recommendations, and then make adjustments from there. Often you need to screw in a small, flat headshell weight between the cartridge and the headshell to achieve the correct tracking weight for your cartridge.
The specifics vary for each cartridge, but basically you should track at the lightest weight possible without causing skipping. The heavier the weight you exert, the quicker your vinyl will wear out.
Many turntablists “toe in” their cartridges by mounting them in the headshell with the front end turned slightly toward the record's center (no more than 10 degrees), so that the needle skips less. The more you toe in, however, the faster the needle will burn your records — leading to the crackly sound you hear on frequently scratched areas.
MIXER MAINTENANCE
Most mixers require a break-in period, during which the faders may not feel loose enough. You may even hear a little static when you're scratching. The fader will eventually loosen up, resulting in better performance. The current crop of turntablist mixers employ various contactless fader technologies that should reduce problems such as static and bleeding.
Ideally you'll want to position your mixer with the surface at the same height as your turntables. Although most new mixers are specifically designed at this height, older rack-mountable mixers may not be. In that case, leave your turntables in the bottom half of a flight case and rest the flanges on the side of the case to create a level surface between the turntables and mixer.
Rigorous scratching may cause your mixer to move around during a session. If this happens, put some double-sided tape on the mixer's feet to hold it in place.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
To optimize the sound quality and prolong the life of your equipment, you must hook up everything correctly. Read the manual for each piece of gear to be sure you understand the essential hookups.
For turntables, it is vitally important to hook up the ground cable to your mixer's ground post to eliminate hum. Also, make sure to hook the turntable's RCA jacks to the mixer's phono input rather than to the line-level input — the signal strengths are different.
EQUIPMENT PLACEMENT
Most turntablists prefer to turn their turntables 90 degrees counterclockwise from the normal standard position. This moves the tonearm to the back, out of the way of speedy hands. It also positions the turntable platters as close together as possible.
In mixer placement, you commonly see the mixer positioned between the two turntables. Some DJs, however, prefer to place the turntables together and the mixer to their left or right. This layout may be tempting, but I recommend you first become comfortable with having the mixer in the center. Such placement requires a more ambidextrous scratch technique — each hand will have to do both fader work and vinyl manipulation, depending on which turntable you are scratching. In the long run, you'll benefit from this setup: you'll develop more skills, achieve greater flexibility, and enhance your creative potential.
I hope you're now better equipped with the knowledge you'll need to maintain and configure your equipment for optimal turntablist performance. But keep in mind that these recommendations are far from written in stone. Experiment with various options, using the ones I've suggested as a starting point. Invest some time in playing around with your setup — you'll become more familiar with your equipment and find a configuration that's perfect for you.
Tips and Tricks - Turntablist Part 2
Monday, 27 July 2009Posted by WIN at 21:09
Labels: Tips and Tricks, Turntablist
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