ATOT DJ's: what's the difference between a 1200 and some regular home stereo one

[dpopiz]

what's the difference between a real "DJ turntable" like technics 1200 and such, and just a regular turntable you'd use for your home stereo?

also, is there a cheap way to make a regular turntable work more like a fancy DJ model?

 

[alkemyst]

features. Some of the better record players have all sorts of reverse, special speed, special tonearm, stronger platters, etc.

Before made for DJ turntables came to market people did just that....made their regular player work it.

I am not a DJ but I had friends that got by before laying down cash on a real 'dj' set.

Å

 

[Nocturnal]

Pitch control is one of the many features that I know of. A 1200 is a direct drive turntable whereas majority of home type players are belt driven.

And to answer your question in regards to cheap tables, there are no current hacks to make any table run like a 1200. Your best bet is to purchase a 1200. I learned a hard lesson when I purchased these belt driven DJ in a box package set. You can't slack on your TTs. You should invest in a pair of 1200s from the start if you wish to DJ.

 

[dpopiz]

well, it's not that hard to find direct drive ones for a lot less than 1200s. is the direct drive and pitch control the only major differences?

 

[axelfox]

try mixing on some regular home stereo one

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: axelfox
try mixing on some regular home stereo one

 

[dpopiz]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: axelfox
try mixing on some regular home stereo one

mhm...
anyway what's the difference besides "ooo you just know it's better because it says 1200"?

 

[Ticks]

well, if you want to scratch for example...stop the platter on a home TT..it will take 1-2 seconds to get back up to regular speed and sound ridiculous. Take a 1200...the EXACT milisecond you take your hand off the platter it is back on at full regular speed with no obvious break in sound.

 

[eakers]

direct drive vs. belt

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Originally posted by: dpopiz

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: axelfox
try mixing on some regular home stereo one

mhm...
anyway what's the difference besides "ooo you just know it's better because it says 1200"?

Couple of things:
1. Start/stop times. You can cue up a record to the exact spot you want to begin playing at and hit the stop button or hold it with your hand. As soon as you let go or hit the play button you're instantly up to speed, you don't have to wait the second or two while the table spins up to speed.
2. Pitch control. With regular record players you have usually only 2 speeds: 30 and 45. With real tables you have the two basic speeds and then you have a slider to adjust the exact pitch (usually + or - 12% of the baseline speed). If you are doing real DJ'ing and beatmatching you cannot live without this feature.
3. Ruggedness. Turntables are meant to be beaten around. Grab the table and stop it, spin it more quickly with your hand to get up to a certain point, scratching, or just the rapid push forward/reverse until you get it right on beat with your other record. Do this on a regular record player and you'll burn it out quicker than you can say "I'm an idiot."
4. Design. Record players put the tonearm right where your hand would be if you were scratching or cueing up a record. You'll knock the arm off and probably scratch your record. Tables are designed for the DJ and place the parts that have to be there out of the way so that in the end it's just you and the record without a lot of other crap in the way.

You don't need 1200's when you are starting, but it is highly recomended because that's what EVERYONE uses. If you ever play any club 99% of the time that's what they have. The reason is because they are perfect. You can start with a good set of Gemini's that are direct drive, but sooner or later you will be buying a set of 1200's. If you know you want to DJ, spend the few extra bucks now and get what you need now. The added benefit is that you don't have to get used to the "feel" of a different type of table down the road if you've always trained on techniq's.

EDIT: 5. NEEDLES! The shape, angle, and texture of your needle means a lot if you're trying to save your records and DJing. Regular record player needles are meant for one direction with not a lot of excess movement. You'll break them or mess up your records very quickly on a regular record player. Turntable needles are designed with the abuse of DJing in mind from the beginning (consequently the ones I use are hella expensive, but they are worth it )

 

[dpopiz]

ohh I forgot to mention something important. I'm not concerned with using one for mixing and beatmatching and such, I just need it for one purpose: to provide scratching effects.
for example the torque probably doesn't matter to me because I'm not going to ever be using it to just let the record play, only scratching.

 

[SweetSweetLeroyBrown]

do you have a record collection?

if not, you might want to look into those cd turntables

 

[SweetSweetLeroyBrown]

and yes...pro DJ's also use cd turntables these days

 

[bentwookie]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
ohh I forgot to mention something important. I'm not concerned with using one for mixing and beatmatching and such, I just need it for one purpose: to provide scratching effects.
for example the torque probably doesn't matter to me because I'm not going to ever be using it to just let the record play, only scratching.

if that's all your doing, do this hack..get a plastic record sleeve that usually comes with records(some have paper). Use the record as a template to trace a circle. Cut it out, thus giving you two circles. Realign the record with the two sheets and poke a hole in the center of the sheets. Place these on your standard turntable and whatever record you want on top. the plastic sheets acts as a float, letting the belt drive to remain running..while you hold or scratch the record. Why do you wanna have a scratching effect anyway? are you the new Pdiddy?

 

[IshmaelLeaver]

The 1200 is used because:

-It's built like a tank
-It's an integral part of hiphop culture
-Nearly all competitions use 1200s

It's actually lacking in features (in regard to scratching), but it's what everyone uses.

Yes, some pro DJs use CD decks. However, we are talking specifically about scratching...

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Originally posted by: bentwookie

Originally posted by: dpopiz
ohh I forgot to mention something important. I'm not concerned with using one for mixing and beatmatching and such, I just need it for one purpose: to provide scratching effects.
for example the torque probably doesn't matter to me because I'm not going to ever be using it to just let the record play, only scratching.

if that's all your doing, do this hack..get a plastic record sleeve that usually comes with records(some have paper). Use the record as a template to trace a circle. Cut it out, thus giving you two circles. Realign the record with the two sheets and poke a hole in the center of the sheets. Place these on your standard turntable and whatever record you want on top. the plastic sheets acts as a float, letting the belt drive to remain running..while you hold or scratch the record. Why do you wanna have a scratching effect anyway? are you the new Pdiddy?

Fair warning: if you do this you will go through a needle for your regular record player almost every time you play with it. Look into replacement needle costs before you attempt this hack. Record player needles are not meant to be replaced all that often, and as such the replacement cost is pretty high.

 

Technic 1200s are the industry standard. They are built rock solid, take extreme abuse, and last eternally.

Do not accept anything less.

 

[dpopiz]

grandcow: why would that hack mess up the needle? or do you just mean that scratching messes it up? I could get one of these "dj" needles on ebay for about $25

 

Originally posted by: dpopiz
grandcow: why would that hack mess up the needle? or do you just mean that scratching messes it up? I could get one of these "dj" needles on ebay for about $25

$25 isn't going to get you a good needle.

 

[nan0bug]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal
Pitch control is one of the many features that I know of. A 1200 is a direct drive turntable whereas majority of home type players are belt driven.

And to answer your question in regards to cheap tables, there are no current hacks to make any table run like a 1200. Your best bet is to purchase a 1200. I learned a hard lesson when I purchased these belt driven DJ in a box package set. You can't slack on your TTs. You should invest in a pair of 1200s from the start if you wish to DJ.

Not necessarily true. There are cheaper turntables that will do the trick. Numark, Vestax, and Gemini (although only their higher end stuff) are all worthy of a look and will probbably cost a lot less than a brand new set of 1200s.

 

[ThaGrandCow]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
grandcow: why would that hack mess up the needle? or do you just mean that scratching messes it up? I could get one of these "dj" needles on ebay for about $25

That hack assumes that you did not put out money for a new needle, you're just using the one that came with the player. Assuming that you bought a decent DJ'ing needle and were somehow able to get it ghetto-rigged into the slot for the needle container (think proprietary interphase), you've now got a good needle connected to a table that still wasn't meant for the kind of abuse that scratching or any other DJ techniques will put on it. End result is still going to be breakage, very quickly.

No matter what you do, a record player is still just a record player, it'll never be a turntable.
Best example I can give is ricing up a Civic to race a Ferrari. If you put enough money into it and a big enough shot of nitrous into the engine, you might be able to win the first race. Hope you wern't expecting to enter into anything other than the "melted lump of metal that used to be an engine" fashion contest afterwards though.