Jam Burglar

Yeah, I kind of agree. Personally, I do still listen to tapes, but I don't understand the recent clamoring about them. Given the choice of physical media, I'd rather have a CD. But supposedly people want tapes.

Thanks TBear. The amazing thing about that was it was literally just us freestyling on two afternoons. There was no planning whatsoever and that's why there's "mistakes" and whatnot in there. We recorded it because we figured we might be able to listen back later and maybe build on it but Unown went and made an album out of it without us knowing. I think we're going to put it out on tape sometime soon.

I liked Tribe Called Quest's latest album a lot (I know it's pretty old now but I guess that says something about how hard it is to make a good "comeback album"). D-Style's latest album was excellent.

I do mine by albums, 12"s, 45s, then by genre, alphabetically. Otherwise I have a hard time finding anything. New arrivals tend to get set apart until I can go through them. I have a few shelves upstairs for heavy rotation. Then I may break out crates for sets, projects, etc. I'll also set aside space for records with samples I think I will probably use.

Dope!

Almost every day. I rarely mix unless I'm working on a tape but I scratch 10 minutes or more on most days. I'll make quick beats on a drum machine and vibe out. I've got a few long-term projects I plug away at. I signed up to Beat Junkies TV and take classes, mostly with D-Styles, but also Melo D, Babu. Been doing their monthly challenges and Zoom meetings. I feel like I've advanced a lot this last year.

I would just put new faders in the Elcer. If you don't need DVS and want something different, I still highly recommend the Rane TTM-56 (out of production but still a beast). They did everything right with this mixer and my original from 2003 is still running (I did have to replace the capacitors in the power supply a few years back). Fairly cheap on eBay and the faders pretty much last forever. If you want DVS, I agree most people are using Pioneer and Rane these days. Yep, M-447s are gone. If your old ones are still good I would keep those.

"Turntablist" album vs. "Scratch Composition" album is different for me. For me a "Scratch Composition" album is where all the elements are straight up composed on the turntable using scratching/juggling. I think Phataz would take the title for there. I see a "Turntablist" album as being broader and basically just meaning containing heavy amounts of turntable elements. So, I would consider "Wave Twisters" a "turntablist" album that has some "Scratch Composition" tracks on it. I would consider Grandmaster Flash "Adventures on the Wheels of Steel" a "turntablist" song. I'm trying to think of who might have done a full album prior to the Faust one that qualifies. I'm not all that familiar with "Fathomless" but it doesn't sound like all those drums are scratched. To go on a little tangent here. In either category, I think you'd be hard pressed to find any studio album that doesn't use multi-tracking/looping/punch-ins, effects, etc. I've thought about the use of studio tools in scratch composition a lot and had back and forth with D-Styles and other turntablists about it. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter as much as I once thought it did. It almost seems like a non-issue to a lot of people. The main thing is, if you ever plan to perform the album live, you need to keep that in mind when recording so that you can reasonably do that. If the album/track is so studio heavy that it would be virtually impossible to perform live, then that concern goes out the window and it's purely about creating the sound you want. For example, there are tracks on Phantaz that they had to strip down for live performance. On the other hand, ISP's 13th Floor was created with the live performance in mind. Or, if you do like the DJ band thing, then it's more straight forward because you're pretty much composing based on the musicians in the room. However, even if you plan to perform live, you're still going to be using studio tools on the album. If you want tight drums, chances are you will not be trying to do drum the whole track non-stop in one take and doing it again and again until you get it right. You're going to be copying, pasting, etc., and probably looping if you want a track to sound like a golden era hip hop cut. I don't see it as "cheating" as much as I once did. All musicians use studio tools when making records. The Beatles could not perform Sgt. Peppers live and make it sound like the record. So yeah, blah, blah blah.

Nice!

I know the records are new, but did you put paper in the spindle hole to make sure they are tight in the spindle? Also, you might need to "break in" the needle. Letting it sit on a record while not in use can help with that process.

I think DJ Delightful is going to make some noise in the battle scene.

Thanks. I wondered who would know about Peter, who is probably the most unappreciated contributor to scratching I can think of.

Sorry for the link. I can't figure out how to embed

Quick scratch composition for Billy Jam's show on WFMU (for their Fall fundraising event). https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGvXHcigj5r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Sick!

Building on the concepts and expanding things a bit. It's pretty cool.

Jon, does this have a hardware effects loop? Looked at it briefly the other day but couldn't find anything.

New 545 in the works

Rasteri is also a super sick scratcher.

I'm just going to say this because it needs to be said. "Here We Are One Time" is better than every album DJ Shadow has put out since Private Press.

This is my main concern with the Jicos and I never got much info from other people. Most of the people I've heard comment about them (the Jicos) are saying they're using them for DVS so that really doesn't tell you anything about sound quality. While I agree with Deft that the best way to sample is to use a nice stylus, if I'm scratching I'm probably going to be recording straight off of the 44-7.

Dope! Nailed that.

I hear a lot of people talking about the Jico.

Dope!

I don't have any magic bullet answer but if it was mine I would start by trying the detoxit and if that doesn't help check the soldering to see if there is a cold or cracked joint. If the reflowing the solder didn't help then I'd probably try to replace the button. Also, these mixers are getting to an age where capacitors are failing. I had to recap the power supply on mine a few years back. If all of this is over your head it wouldn't hurt to send the mixer off for servicing.