Turntable Help

[DazeL]

Having never actually touched a turntable I went on craigslist looking for my very own pair, I found 2 Numark CDX turntables for $200 (I think total for both), was wondering if that is a good brand/turntable, I did some research but my current knowledge prevents me from fully understanding most of what I read. Another thing I was wondering was are there turntables that are better for advanced/beginners? And how would I go about knowing which is better for which.

[PinUp]

Just buy Technics, you will eventually end up upgrading to them anyway

[concave]

Numark CDX is a Turntable-like Cd player, not a real Turntable mate

[DazeL]

Is that what a CDJ is? are those frowned upon normally/would it serve the same purpose as a turntable?

[AxeD]

If you don't care for vinyl (feel) you're probably better off getting cdj's. Cdj's use cd's and newer models can also read mp3 or wav's from
a usb or something.

I frown upon cdj's.

[droogie]

Is that what a CDJ is? are those frowned upon normally/would it serve the same purpose as a turntable?

Get technics turntables,they are built to last forever,seriously.

CDJ's wether people admit it or not,will hamper your ability to learn to beatmatch.It's to easy with a CDJ and involves no learning and grafting.

By all means move onto CDJs after a year or more of battering ur decks

[Eplo]

Is that what a CDJ is? are those frowned upon normally/would it serve the same purpose as a turntable?

Get technics turntables,they are built to last forever,seriously.

CDJ's wether people admit it or not,will hamper your ability to learn to beatmatch.It's to easy with a CDJ and involves no learning and grafting.

By all means move onto CDJs after a year or more of battering ur decks

i dont think its that much easier, it is a little, but if you're really tight on cdjs you'll be good with vinyl as well

[DazeL]

Thanks for the input so far guys, but that just brings up another question for me now...Are technics that good? $200 for 2 turntables (the Numarks I saw) does sound very tempting, and I am not 100% sure how much I plan to DJ yet.

[hiat]

I've had my Technics for 12 years and are as solid as the day I purchased them. Trust me - if you take good care of them they WILL last you forever. Totally worth the investment. And also - stick with vinyl. The sound quality is better and just loads of fun to play with rather than CDJ's (fucking boring). You'll soon learn that vinyl is a way of life.

[wobbles]

be ready to shell out a lot of money for vinyl tho, maybe get timecode vinyl for all your digital stuff

[Intended Malice]

Thanks for the input so far guys, but that just brings up another question for me now...Are technics that good? $200 for 2 turntables (the Numarks I saw) does sound very tempting, and I am not 100% sure how much I plan to DJ yet.

Numark quality is terrible, though. The CD readers/internal components/grounds and soldering in them are garbage, I recently refurbished an Axis 9 back to life it almost wasn't worth it now that I look back on the costs and frustration to getting it back to life. And this is supposedly the stout version of their 'flagship CDJ.' Pathetic craftsmanship and even worse reliability is what you will get for those $200.

This is just a suggestion as I thought I'd pick up some Stantons and Numarks for a few quid, too: try out an SL-1200 before you decide, seriously everything else feels like a poorly constructed toy afterward. There is a reason they have held there price, and continue to appreciate in value, after they've been discontinued. Its not just hype, I thought so, too, until I tried them out for myself.

Though the average $1000 price tag may seem like a lot, it did to me anyhow, consider them a lifelong purchase and they pay out in the long run. If you're any good at repairs you can get better prices for ones with repairable platters, buttons, LEDs or broken tone arms, that's what I did. There are tons of info, even walkthroughs on youtube. They only thing I'd stay away from is a broken pitch, after my research on them its almost likely you'll never get it to work right after its been broken and will likely end up throwing as much time/money to get it as close to functional as it would be to buy a good one.

Here is a 100+ page with DIY's, info, and porn on the SL-1200 (all versions). Tons of info of you need convincing,

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showth ... p?t=227910

[PinUp]

If you want CDJ's get pioneer CDJ 800's or better! Don't waste your time on "beginners" set ups as you will soon outgrow them and want to upgrade plus pioneer and technics are generallly what you'll find in clubs so when you start getting shows you'll feel more comfortable! If you're worried about price buy second hand, you can always sell them yourself if you decide mixing isn't for you.

[djamesh]

I bought myself a numark mixtrack pro controller, and after 6 months of using that and virtual dj, I knew that I wanted to start djing as a hobby, so upgraded to technics. I'd personally recommend doing something similar, cause a mixtrack pro is only about £150, so its no big loss if you realise you don't like djing that much. All down to your preference though.

I liked being able to get a good sounding mix very easily using the sync button and such. It taught me about phrasing and keys, and then I started learning to beatmatch afterwards.

[Teknicyde]

I liked being able to get a good sounding mix very easily using the sync button and such. It taught me about phrasing and keys, and then I started learning to beatmatch afterwards.

Thats lazy and backwards and your everything wrong with djing.

[Raad]

I liked being able to get a good sounding mix very easily using the sync button and such. It taught me about phrasing and keys, and then I started learning to beatmatch afterwards.

Thats lazy and backwards and your everything wrong with djing.

Umm, how is that method of learning how to mix a bad one? He just used the sync button in the beginning to get the basics of mixing and then started to learn how to beatmatch when he got a pair of decks.

Don't be an elitist fuck.

[deezlo]

lol elitist?learn to mix by ear(the only way to mix,no exceptions) not push a button then press play.

mix by ear not by sight,or get laughed out the front door any time you play live

[DazeL]

Wow I was not expecting so much feedback thanks guys, I'm still on the fence about it I'm probably not going to buy the cheap pair now, but you guys keep recommending more expensive turntables to a full time student whose still not completely sure if DJing is what he wants to do or if I should just stick with producing haha but seriously, thanks for all the input it might have saved me from wasting money

[DazeL]

Another thought I just had, was that I already have Ableton Live, would it be wrong/unreasonable to think I could just put together mixes on that for Live shows and sit back? (I may get laughed at for this but he is one of my favorite artists from way before electronic music) I was doing some Skrillex research and doesn't he basically do that? Just with a MIDI controller for I'm not exactly sure what?

[teamhobson]

Another thought I just had, was that I already have Ableton Live, would it be wrong/unreasonable to think I could just put together mixes on that for Live shows and sit back? (I may get laughed at for this but he is one of my favorite artists from way before electronic music) I was doing some Skrillex research and doesn't he basically do that? Just with a MIDI controller for I'm not exactly sure what?

No, just no.

[deezlo]

lock it up