DJ Equipment: Weapons of Mass Scratchin'
Playing a turntable - and to be a DJ, playing two turntables and a mixer - has been a vital part of the music scene for over 20 years, and yet some people still have a hard time accepting the turntablist as a musician. Like any other instrument, the DJ setup requires a lot of learning, practicing, and coordination development. Accurate movements of both hands, a lot of physical movement of the whole body and a great ear for rhythm and harmony are needed to combine and recombine sounds in new ways every time the power's turned on. Gaining skills takes time, even if you already play another instrument. The equipment, however, is something that you can't bring along from other instruments.
Anyone who's played their instrument longer than a few months can tell you things about it that you never dreamed of. Details, details. Like sports and cars, musical equipment has its own "gear heads," people who really get excited about every tiny nut and bolt of their instrument. We won't get into every molecule of the equipment here, but we will take a look at the basic stuff you need to get into being a DJ.
The Basic Setup
Every DJ needs a basic setup, and it isn't hard to find the gear you
need to get started. What do you really need? Glad you asked. Here's
list of the things you need to get together before you make your first
scratch:
- Two turntables
- Two slip mats
- Two phono cartridges
- One DJ mixer
- Headphones
- Stereo playback system
- Cables for connecting the equipment
- Records
It's not a lot of equipment, really, and actually some of it fits together. For instance, you put one slip mat and one phono cartridge on each turntable. As for cables, well, you have to connect any audio equipment, so this is kind of like wiring up a home stereo. And records? The number is up to you, and your collection of records will reflect the variety of sounds you want to make.
Shopping for the basics at your local music store is simplified if you purchase an all-in-one kit, often called something like a Battle Pack. It comes with two turntables, two slip mats, two phono cartridges, one DJ mixer, a set of headphones, and all the necessary cables. Prices for these setups range between about $400 and $500. Of course, you can buy turntables separately (ranging from less than $100 apiece to more than $1,000, depending on quality and features), as well as DJ mixers (less than $200 to over $1,000, again depending on features). For a beginner, though, the most "bang for your buck" comes from an all-in-one kit. As you learn to DJ and get the techniques under control, you'll probably explore different equipment.
What do you look for in these things, especially if you want to choose your own components? Here are the basic pieces and some of the features that make them useful to the DJ.
Turntable
Without a doubt, the turntable is worked pretty hard, and that's why a
DJ turntable instead of a typical "home stereo" turntable is the best
bet for your setup. Most DJs have two turntables so that they can
create complex rhythms and melodies. All turntables have a platter, the
large, flat area where you put the record. However, there are two types
of turntable: direct-drive and belt-drive. The direct-drive has its
motor connected to the platter, while the belt-drive type has a
separate motor and a belt (like you'd find in a vacuum cleaner--sort of
a thick rubber band) that transfers the motor's speed to the platter.
Belts can wear out, so a lot of DJs prefer direct-drive models.
A turntable should have these features if you want the full range of sounds and techniques to be available to you:
- On/off switch
- Start/stop button
- Speed selector
- Variable pitch control
- Cue lever
- Tone arm
- Tone arm weight
- Tone arm height adjuster
- Anti-skate control
The on/off switch supplies power to the stylus, but doesn't turn the turntable motor on and off, which makes it useful for some techniques. A start/stop button is useful for engaging or disengaging the turntable's motor, so the platter can spin or not spin as you need it (Sometimes there's a forward/reverse switch for playing records backwards.) A speed selector lets you choose 33-1/3 rpm or 45 rpm settings ("rpm" stands for revolutions per minute, or how many times the turntable's platter turns in 60 seconds). Most 12" vinyl records play at 33-1/3, while most 7" vinyl "singles" play at 45 rpm (a lot of people used to just call them 45s).