Thread: How the funk do they do that?!

I'm not too bad at scratching vinyl but i watched this as i'm waiting for my Numark CDX's in the post & can't get my head round how they scratch like that with what looks like mininal effort

Any tips from anybody?

*Edit: It appears to be more to do with the crossfader than the actual manipulation of the deck? I got my new crossfader today & had a crack on my TTX1's & i was absolutely shite

I got nothing

Originally Posted by Leonized

*Edit: It appears to be more to do with the crossfader than the actual manipulation of the deck?

mate...........

i think you will find thats how its done

Originally Posted by Renegade Radio

mate...........

i think you will find thats how its done

I put loads of effort into my scratching & use the crossfader less than i scratch... I actually sweat when i get carried away

My goal for tomorrow is a few hours scratching & mixing... Found out earlier today i can have the pitch at +10, +20 & +50 on my decks

I'm also looking at some new slipmats but i'm not sure what to get... I know what designs i like but there's thin felt ones, promat ones & a couple of other types... Way over my head

you need to put all your effort into one or the other fella.....

tighten the mix and work on sets................. or tighten the scratch and work on 10 min showcase clips.


takes a fuk long time and work to do both and blend em innit.

gotta walk b4 ya can do the tripple jump

Originally Posted by Renegade Radio

you need to put all your effort into one or the other fella.....

tighten the mix and work on sets................. or tighten the scratch and work on 10 min showcase clips.


takes a fuk long time and work to do both and blend em innit.

gotta walk b4 ya can do the tripple jump

I like to go in all guns blazing

I'm going to have a crack at mixing in reverse too

The 4 tracks on the flip side of DJ Excel - Just when you thought it was safe will be perfect for doing that

good luck mate

Originally Posted by Renegade Radio

good luck mate

It'll be absolutely shite but i'll have a laugh doing it

I've got 2 decks for mixing & a 3rd for scratching... Tomorrow will be just fucking about & having a laugh, after that i'll put my serious head on & knuckle down to hone my skills

Originally Posted by Leonized

I like to go in all guns blazing

I'm going to have a crack at mixing in reverse too

The 4 tracks on the flip side of DJ Excel - Just when you thought it was safe will be perfect for doing that

go for it mate you nutter

Originally Posted by Leonized

I'm also looking at some new slipmats but i'm not sure what to get... I know what designs i like but there's thin felt ones, promat ones & a couple of other types... Way over my head

Tip for Leon..........dont go and spend loads on expensive slipmats or butter rugs,just buy the slipmatts you want,once home you find the slipmatts to thick or stiff to scratch with,then go out buy some cheep greaseproof paper,draw out two templates of your turntable wheel,cut them out and place them under your slipmatts and hay presto you have made something that will resemble butter rugs for a fraction of the cost !!

hope this helps you fella

that, my friend is called the crab, one of the hardest fucking scratches to do. i can crab with thumb and 1st 2 fingers but i can't get all 4 going. you have to continuously push the X-fader back to the side with your thumb whilst flicking it back into the middle with your fingers. a tricky move. sounds wicked though, and obviously requires very little deck manipulation.

hard to do, its like rubbing your belly whilst tapping your head

Originally Posted by Nixxie

Tip for Leon..........dont go and spend loads on expensive slipmats or butter rugs,just buy the slipmatts you want,once home you find the slipmatts to thick or stiff to scratch with,then go out buy some cheep greaseproof paper,draw out two templates of your turntable wheel,cut them out and place them under your slipmatts and hay presto you have made something that will resemble butter rugs for a fraction of the cost !!

hope this helps you fella

Nice one Nixxie mate, the slipmats on my TTX1's are about 5mm thick & are great for the torque on em... It takes about half a second to go from forward to reverse & vice versa, so when i'm playing 2 tracks in reverse & press the button on them both to go forward simultaniously you barely notice it

Originally Posted by dj Euphoria

that, my friend is called the crab, one of the hardest fucking scratches to do. i can crab with thumb and 1st 2 fingers but i can't get all 4 going. you have to continuously push the X-fader back to the side with your thumb whilst flicking it back into the middle with your fingers. a tricky move. sounds wicked though, and obviously requires very little deck manipulation.

Cheers Jay mate, i've been wobbling the vinyl really fast & doing that technique with my fingers on the fader (i can only manage 2 fingers) & i'm starting to get to grips with it... Slowly

Originally Posted by Leonized

I put loads of effort into my scratching & use the crossfader less than i scratch... I actually sweat when i get carried away

My goal for tomorrow is a few hours scratching & mixing... Found out earlier today i can have the pitch at +10, +20 & +50 on my decks

I'm also looking at some new slipmats but i'm not sure what to get... I know what designs i like but there's thin felt ones, promat ones & a couple of other types... Way over my head

Heard that Renegade Radio do slipmats.....

Do I get a t-shirt for my marketing skills?

Originally Posted by txtpest

Heard that Renegade Radio do slipmats.....

Do I get a t-shirt for my marketing skills?

I'll give you two thumbs up

I like these for my TTX1's
HV10597.jpg

These for my CDX's
4181431124_6188febb21.jpg

Originally Posted by txtpest

Heard that Renegade Radio do slipmats.....

Do I get a t-shirt for my marketing skills?

nice try


but your correct............... silkmats.... very silky and perfect if your into scratching and come with 3 different graphics


Renegade Wax slipmats - Custom Slipmats by Slikmats

For me it was all in the thumb pressure, learning how to tap the crossfader against the thumb with your fingers to control how long the channel is open, while watching and manipulating the vinyl with the other hand to find the cues at first (after I figured out how to setup the crossfader curve and mixer settings lol). Once you get comfy doing that it should make more sense trying to manipulate the vinyl with your other hand to create more effects.

I like the Zomo, Sicmats, Dr Suzuki and Slikmats kind of mats with at least 1 sheet of greaseproof/baking parchment/teflon underneath. Beware of the cheap printed felt mats on eBay and the DMC crap from places like HTFR, they use that thick Tshirt printing paint which forms a hard skin ontop that will crack and peel after a while and scratch your records. The better ones are printed using ink that penetrates into the felt without creating a skin ontop to crack/peel and damage your tunes.

RR is that your company? I need new mats. Mine are really thick felt and when I have record on the deck and wipe it with the anti-static cloth the slipmat ALWAYS sticks to it and comes up with the vinyl when I take it off or flip it over. The thing is it attracts more dust to the other side of the vinyl when I take the mat off because its become static it takes some of the dust off the slipmat and sticks it to the poxy record.....Its a never ending fiasco! I don't have dust covers/cases for my decks and when I don't use them I flip the mats over to the blank side to stop the dust getting onto the logo side I use.

Originally Posted by dj Euphoria

that, my friend is called the crab, one of the hardest fucking scratches to do. i can crab with thumb and 1st 2 fingers but i can't get all 4 going. you have to continuously push the X-fader back to the side with your thumb whilst flicking it back into the middle with your fingers. a tricky move. sounds wicked though, and obviously requires very little deck manipulation.

Thats called a Twiddle mate not a Crab. Crab is 4 fingers and the thumb as a spring.

na mate, not our company just a partner. they are the nuts mats though, ask anyone from rr thats got some.

as for your dust on decks problem....

i dont have cases or covers for my dex either.... and they are propa dust and cat fur magnets.....

what i have done is lay a flag (one of my ICF ones) over the whole setup to protect a lil bit from the cat and dust and it works well nuff.

Originally Posted by Bar

RR is that your company? I need new mats. Mine are really thick felt and when I have record on the deck and wipe it with the anti-static cloth the slipmat ALWAYS sticks to it and comes up with the vinyl when I take it off or flip it over. The thing is it attracts more dust to the other side of the vinyl when I take the mat off because its become static it takes some of the dust off the slipmat and sticks it to the poxy record.....Its a never ending fiasco! I don't have dust covers/cases for my decks and when I don't use them I flip the mats over to the blank side to stop the dust getting onto the logo side I use.

Originally Posted by Leonized

I put loads of effort into my scratching & use the crossfader less than i scratch... I actually sweat when i get carried away

My goal for tomorrow is a few hours scratching & mixing... Found out earlier today i can have the pitch at +10, +20 & +50 on my decks

I'm also looking at some new slipmats but i'm not sure what to get... I know what designs i like but there's thin felt ones, promat ones & a couple of other types... Way over my head

RR Slipmats perhaps?

As for scratching, I never really got into it. I tried it back when I was mixing hardcore, but didn't really put the effort in to get good at it. I just stuck to mixing and practising my skills there.

Good luck with the scratching but it will probably take years for you to perfect all the different scratching techniques.

Originally Posted by China-Rising

As for scratching, I never really got into it. I tried it back when I was mixing hardcore, but didn't really put the effort in to get good at it. I just stuck to mixing and practising my skills there.

Good luck with the scratching but it will probably take years for you to perfect all the different scratching techniques.

I've been practicing alot, but i know for a fact i can't do it that good even if i practiced every day for a thousand years

Just going to stick to the easier scratching that i can do

I had a look at those RR slipmats & they are nice... But i think i'll order some custom ones with my own design & stick the RR logo on them... If that's ok Dan & not a copyright infringement?

Originally Posted by Leonized

I've been practicing alot, but i know for a fact i can't do it that good even if i practiced every day for a thousand years

Just going to stick to the easier scratching that i can do

I had a look at those RR slipmats & they are nice... But i think i'll order some custom ones with my own design & stick the RR logo on them... If that's ok Dan & not a copyright infringement?

I think it may mainly depend on what mixer you use, I noticed in the video he was using a rane mixer which are renowned for their crossfaders and very popular with the turntablist dj's, I reckon if he was using a cheap old mixer with a crappy x-fader he wouldn't sound half as good,