Gizmo

I did begin to think that this was some insane publicity stunt, but the Grandmaster Jay wiki goes way back and makes silly claims even back in 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Grandmaster_Jay&offset=&limit=500&action=history Whatever the state of play, the whole DJ world knows about Beamz. Next up - Beamz by Mitchie Hawtin, the legendary Techno DJ you think you've heard of.

I miss cue burn. I was a sign of just how much work had gone into a routine. Or how crap someone was at setting up carts.

Think back - before produced routines, battling was in a rut. Because of produced routines, battling is just in another rut. Wouldn't an all vinyl category just mean jumping from one rut back to another?

I just got a Vestax cutter. More out of fascination, and because it's cool to say "I've got a vinyl cutter". But it seemed to be a shame that it was sat in a box at Vestax UK. So for now, it's sat in a box in the worxlab. Once I get a sturdy bench and a clue on how to use it, I'll chew through the 100 blanks I have in no time.

There are signature products that the DJ never even saw until their face was used in the ad.

Required viewing for DV. Let's see where the internet is at in 15 years time. What we're doing now will look like this.

Therefore playing digital audio is not DJing?

The time is right for kilts and lederhosen at DMC.

Battling needs to ditch the country based final. I want to see the best in the world on stage, even if that means that 3 of the top 10 are from a single country. My idea would be to still run the local live events and film them. From the top 3 of each country, put the videos in a single pot, have them all judged by a single set of world class judges to narrow the field to a final live event. I wouldn't put it to public vote. I would also insist on a different set between local and world events. This would guarantee a killer final, and would drastically reduce the amount of people DMC would need to fly in to compete. I'm sure there are holes in this plan, but on the face of it, it could work really well.

This is the ridiculous nature of the ban - there's always a way round it. I used KAT for US TV programs, but since that was banned, I use come.in and their extensive list of proxies. Close one down and another pops up, and that's exactly the way it always will be.

Audiophiles will be weeping at the wrong type of card being used for the cone.

Beats Pros and Mixrs really are very good, like up there with the best good, but in Europe just too expensive. In the US, you can get Mixrs for the same price as HD 25s.

I want to see Rucker on MOTM.

Cannot wait to watch this. From the vibe I've picked up on Facebook, Chris Karns is not happy at all. And it looks like they rip mercilessly into I-Dee, unless of course that's just terrible trailer editing.

I don't know why they ever thought they'd get away with it.

I never got the white vinyl craving myself. Maybe it sets you apart as a DVS master because you can still and for that reason, im out. i've never liked coloured vinyl for actual rekkids. For Serato/Traktor tho I can see the appeal. they look cool but in that "i'm making life harder for myself therefore respect me" sort of way Which would explain my white Serato vinyl is so sought after. It must the ultimate in DVS Godliness.

King Breaks come in all sorts of colours. Look pretty but doesn't aid scratching or cueing at all.

I once saw a program about the Beatles where they isolated Ringo's beats from the rest of the music. There's some cool breaks in there.

Nothing at all. I'm simply saying that some just want to scratch, rather than immerse themselves in the culture.

I feel it's important to split scratch as a technique from scratch as a culture. Controllers are judged by how well the platter and crossfader perform, and a growing number of DJs use them to play out, because it's more convenient. But if the same DJ were to turn up to a Hip Hop event, they'd lose a lot of credibility. I agree entirely that controllers are the gateway drug to scratching, but perhaps not the culture of the scratch DJ itself. For that, you must have the passion for vinyl, digging and falling in love with the history of the scene. For a lot of DJs however, they just want to have the best possible scratch experience rather than become that guy who cruises charity shops with a Handy Trax every weekend.

There were dublights as well: http://www.dublights.net/shop/dublight-illuminated-vinyl/ It was all systems go up until BPM this year, then it all appears to have fizzled out. I actually preferred these because the LEDs are sandwiched in the vinyl, so you could use them as markers. And even though there's a skratchworx logo on them, I've yet to see a pair.

I'm going to leave this as a parting shot. Love this track:

A while ago (2-3 years?), we designated 28th January to be Big Daddy Kane Day. It popped up in my calendar this morning (yes I really am that sad). So in honour, I present for you my favourite but lesser known version of Raw, complete with Kool G Rap. Kane is at his absolute finest form on this one - lyrical dexterity, energy and delivery is unparalleled in my book.

As you can see in the picture, when I had them, I pushed the screw all the way forward and then balanced with the weight. Absolutely solid as a rock.

http://djworx.com/book-review-groove-music-mark-katz/