Turntables

lil-tee · Post by **lil-tee** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:39 pm

my opinion is that you are doing the right thing by looking at cheaper decks to start off with. You have a slightly higher price range than I had when I started so you should be able to cop a decent pair.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:52 pm

sickboy leeds wrote:Thanks for the advice everyone.
I would love to have some technics but I currently have no source of income that I can save up, so I think for the foreseeable future technics are out of the question - Im finding single 1210s for the price Im looking to spend on a pair of decks and a mixer haha.

My mate bought second hand technics as his first turntables and he said that they are definately worth it but equally if I can't afford them then cheaper turntables could be a good place to start - like when you start playing guitar you don't need the best guitar to start off with.

Does anyone think it would be worth getting cheaper decks that I can afford rather than waiting for technics, because it will be quite a long time before I can afford them. I know overall it would be more expensive to buy cheap decks and then buy better decks later, but Im not sure I want to commit £350+ for a pair of techs... that is a lot of money to me at the moment.

play on your friends and save for your techs

dnab · Post by **dnab** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:58 pm

I started off too with a pair of cheap direct drive turntables and managed to recently get myself a pair of second hand 1210s off ebay for £300. This is going to sound strange, but I wouldn't have done it any other way for learning. I thought my old tables were sweet until I started playing on 1200s and realised that they were nowhere near as good, they kept jumping slightly in pitch and the torque was horrible compared to the Technics.

I think in a way learning on cheaper decks can improve you faster as you're having to constantly adjust your mixes and are forced to develop a good ear fast. After playing on low quality decks you'll be able to jump on to Technics and feel as though you just improved by 100%.

I'm sure there are some good lower end tables out there, but there's nothing like playing on some quality decks. If you do decide to go the cheaper route, just don't go for belt drive no matter how tempting the offer is.

lil-tee · Post by **lil-tee** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:00 pm

DNaB wrote:I started off too with a pair of cheap direct drive turntables and managed to recently get myself a pair of second hand 1210s off ebay for £300. This is going to sound strange, but I wouldn't have done it any other way for learning. I thought my old tables were sweet until I started playing on 1200s and realised that they were nowhere near as good, they kept jumping slightly in pitch and the torque was horrible compared to the Technics.

I think in a way learning on cheaper decks can improve you faster as you're having to constantly adjust your mixes and are forced to develop a good ear fast. After playing on low quality decks you'll be able to jump on to Technics and feel as though you just improved by 100%.

I'm sure there are some good lower end tables out there, but there's nothing like playing on some quality decks. If you do decide to go the cheaper route, just don't go for belt drive no matter how tempting the offer is.

I could not agree more with this guy.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:01 pm

yea i will say this learning on shit direct drives or even belt drives will make you solid on any top end deck real quick
just would advise practice on friends if possible and buy only once rather than twice and hassle of selling cheap decks

JFK · Post by **JFK** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:38 pm

I got a pair of Numark TT500's off of ebay for £300. They are fucking awesome in every way. Solid construction, unwavering pitch control etc

The feel of them does differ from Technics, no surprise there, but not so much that if you practice on TT's at home you will be "all at sea" on a set of Technics in a club. When you get around to playing out the decks feeling slightly different will be the least of your worries believe me! The mixer being totally alien and the sound system being 10000 times larger will be the main issues.

Agree on the belt drive decks and battle packs being shite tho. Toys for babies Im afraid.

Peace

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:43 pm

long as you stick to good habits like riding the pitch...

s i c k b o y · Post by **s i c k b o y** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:27 pm

yeah im not going for belt driven. could anyone have a look at this deal and let me know if it seems to be any good? I can afford this and it seems to me to be a good choice...

www.djdeals.co.uk/prod-details.asp?AID=2063

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:37 pm

never even heard of kam tbh

minifletch · Post by **minifletch** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:18 pm

Hi, im kinda in the same situation as sickboy leeds.. wantin sum cheap turntables n a mixer

u all seem to talk about belt drive and direct drive, is there no point in getting a pair of belt drives even for a 1st pair?? ..for a complete and utter beginner, AKA me

I found a cheap pair of Numark TT1610's and a mixer for £180 on HTFR, but there belt drives...

what do u recon??

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR42703

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:19 pm

waste of cash unless just sampling or playing recs

lil-tee · Post by **lil-tee** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:20 pm

MiniFletch wrote:Hi, im kinda in the same situation as sickboy leeds.. wantin sum cheap turntables n a mixer

u all seem to talk about belt drive and direct drive, is there no point in getting a pair of belt drives even for a 1st pair?? ..for a complete and utter beginner, AKA me

I found a cheap pair of Numark TT1610's and a mixer for £180 on HTFR, but there belt drives...

what do u recon??

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR42703

DO NOT get belt drives. I'd only recommend belt drives to an elderly couple wanting to play their old lp's.
They wear out too easy, they aren't built for records to be cued on them.

reignstep · Post by **reignstep** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:23 pm

I bought these as starter DJ set, custom made by the shop and I haven't had any complains so far about it. Price is €523,- , I'm not sure how much that is in £.
The site's in dutch but you should be able to find the names of the turntables + mixer:

http://www.new-line.nl/webshop/view.asp?i=14267

minifletch · Post by **minifletch** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:31 pm

They wear out too easy, they aren't built for records to be cued on them.

Thanks for the advice.. il look into some direct drives then

Does any1 know if 'Kam' are a good make??

lowpass · Post by **lowpass** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:43 pm

Not to sound funny but if you have no source of income then what exactly are you going to do with your decks? vinyl costs a lot

reignstep · Post by **reignstep** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:46 pm

Lowpass wrote:vinyl costs a lot

+1
I quit my student job a while ago, and guess what, it's been a while since I bought any new releases :/

ninjadog · Post by **ninjadog** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:19 pm

I would stay away from those kams, or any battle pack in a box. You will just get frustrated with the needle jumping every time you put a hand on it to scratch. Cheap mixers will also have cheap crossfaders that will bleed, meaning when one channel is supposed to be off you will still hear it.

What is the main thing you will be doing any way mixing or scratching? If mixing you can get away with shit decks, but with scratching you need something half decent.

I also recommend the Numark TT500, at least get one of those to scratch and get a shit deck if you have to for now. Although after 3 years my pitch fader has stopped working on my 500...My next decks will definitely be 1200's

Maybe cop a Numark mixer as well, I have the old DXM06 and those are cheap as hell these days and I have never had a problem with it. There are cheaper ones without any features as well. But make sure you can replace the crossfader. And make sure you can adjust the crossfader curve; how fast the sound cuts in or out.

Just remember you are getting into an expensive hobby where you need specialized gear.

deadly_habit · Post by **deadly_habit** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:24 pm

yea simple 2 channel battle m2 or m3 numark

minifletch · Post by **minifletch** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:59 pm

ninjadog wrote:What is the main thing you will be doing any way mixing or scratching?

Mixing to start of with, dont wanna jump into scratching straight away lol learn the basics first

Thanks for the advice though, il have a look around local cash convertors n stuff n see wot i can find

Lowpass wrote:vinyl costs a lot

Yeh i know man, I have a little income from my college, and im looking around for a job now, jus kinda looking for sumthing cheap to start off with

, which is apparently better according to DNaB

DNaB wrote:I think in a way learning on cheaper decks can improve you faster as you're having to constantly adjust your mixes and are forced to develop a good ear fast

omm-0910 · Post by **omm-0910** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:27 pm

+1 for the second hand technics

In the event of a nuclear war, the only things left will be cockroaches and technics. They're built like tanks.

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