Re: Scratch - the movie

[Hans Lindauer <hans@ernieball.com>]

In November I played around a little with the Pioneer CDJ-1000 at Guitar
Center, and I was really impressed with its sound and features, although
it would take me some getting used to, being accustomed to spinning with
vinyl; the visual and tactile cues are somewhat lacking at this stage in
the technology.  Later that night, we went to see a show featuring
Q-bert and Cut Chemist, and Cut Chemist was using a pair of CDJ-1000s to
perform his set!  Apparently he was still getting used to them (he was
trembling visibly), but his set managed to convince me that CD DJing is
now possible without compromising the ability to use techniques
previously only possible on vinyl.  I believe that the CDJ-1000 has a
built-in loop function, from what I remember.

I saw a number of different versions of those vinyl-controlled computer
systems at NAMM, and they look very cool too.  Apparently the vinyl is
cut with encoder bits which tell the computer where the needle is, and
the computer keeps playback at the corresponding point in the sound
file.  On these systems, you can definitely load a loop into the
computer for manipulation - I checked.  I'm not sure how these systems
deal with needle skippage, since I never got to try out a working system
:(  The guys at the demo booth were making it look awfully tempting,
however.

-Hans


Richard Zvonar wrote:
> 
> I caught an early show of the documentary film "Scratch" at the Nuart
> in Santa Monica. It's (I think) a fairly comprehensive look at DJ and
> turntablist scene. Although it didn't make me want to wear my hat
> backwards, I was impressed by some of artists profiled, such as Mix
> Master Mike and DJ Qbert.
> 
> I've been looking at some of the DJ technology, and some of it really
> is remarkable. For those who really need to get their mitts on vinyl
> but want to push the envelope there are disk cutters and even a
> system that allows you to control a computer playback system from a
> special vinyl record. There are also a number of very advanced CD
> players that allow most or all of the vinyl spinning techniques, an
> then some. I wonder if anyone on the list is familiar with these
> systems, such as the Pioneer CDJ-1000 and Numark Axis 8. I'm also
> curious about some of the more advanced DJ mixers that include
> sampling functions.
> --
> 
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