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Bumpy knuckles technique help


Steve

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I haven't turned my decks on in a long time, but the last time I had a cut, I tried to use the BK technique to do tears, but I just couldn't get it to work. I understand the idea behind it and it clearly works, but when I tried it, nothing really happened.

 

Any tips?

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First off: I can't do it anywhere near as cleanly and fast as some people on here but it has helped me to practice 1-Click Orbits with my normal fader hand on the record and vice versa. I do 1-Clicks with my thumb and the cross fader set to normal and it has helped me to improve my timing for Bumpy Knuckles Tears. Also, I feel like it's important to think of a snapping motion of the thumb so that your thumb only hits your index finger (I don't hit across all fingers, just the index finger for now) for a moment and immediately goes back into the original position.

So yeah, my technique can certainly be improved upon but for now, this seems to work better than the stuff I tried earlier. :)

Also, switching between 1-Click Orbits and Tears or replacing clicks with Tears is something you might want to try.

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My technique is that I think of it like transforming, where when your hand is on the record no sound is made unless you do a knuckle movement. 1 knuckle movement up = 1 sound, 1 knuckle movement down = 1 sound. You have to train your hands to isolate each sound so 2 forward 2 back = knuckle up/down forwards, knuckle up/down back. Try to do them really slow and controlled. To get the flare-y type sound I think of the knuckles like a fader where the sound cuts when your knuckles are up, and flatten your hand back down as soon as you bend your knuckles up for the click.

It's a pretty varied technique though, I've seen people who do them the exact opposite of me where their default position is knuckles bent as opposed to knuckles flat. Also some variations you just wanna whip your hand around and try to re-create the same sound over and over until it hones in and becomes something useable.

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Technique wise I can't elaborate on what's already been mentioned. I think it was Eric's clover tear penis cream thread (of course) that got me on the right track, kicking out the pinky really helped getting the hand movements down.

 

It's such an unnatural hand movements to learn, hence its a complete cunt to make progress in the early stages

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Cheers fellas. Usually with any scratch technique I can sorta do it when I first try it, or maybe I can do it 1 out of every so many tries and only when I do it really slowly, but with this it just seemed like my hand movement had no effect at all.

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Cheers fellas. Usually with any scratch technique I can sorta do it when I first try it, or maybe I can do it 1 out of every so many tries and only when I do it really slowly, but with this it just seemed like my hand movement had no effect at all.

 

Watch Enfoe break it down for Mr Viktor:

 

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My tip of the day is to keep one's fingers loose and relaxed. Keep your wedding finger and big finger on the record. Let's the forefinger and pinky flap about. They'll sort their own shit out when they're ready.

 

Try holding the record with a flat hand in the middle of a sample and raise the knuckles up while keeping your wrist in the same position. This will bring the record back. Flattening the hand will push the record forward. You can also start with raised knuckles and do the opposite motion.

 

You can also try getting a scribbling record sound by flapping the knuckles up and down while keeping the fingers relaxed. It sounds shit for a long time but the pay off is pretty great.

 

Save the tear style stuff for another day. :)

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I found it helpful just to do baby scratches from the knuckles first, making sure you snap your hand between open & closed. It's useful in its own right as it gives a different sound, but it helps build up useful muscle memory.

 

Also, for some reason think it's easier to do odd numbers of tears. So a 3+1 combo is easier than 2+2.

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Good thread! I learned about Bumpy Knuckles from EricUk via YouTube around 2008. I told him it helped my tears, as well as really improved my chirps. Meant to tell him to check out DV, but that's as far as I got. Eric, do you remember Ungrateful Grandchild on YouTube?

 

Anyways, I just started doing these again, and damn, I'm getting such a nice slicing sound, and bubbly...if I want it. It's not on point, but all in due practice. What's helping me perfect my tears is just tearing to the beat, pausing, and then repeat. Achieving silence while pausing is key, as this helps separate the sounds and thus builds control. Later I'll work in some crafty combos, but for now, I'm just having fun tearing shit up to misc. music.

 

Peace.

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  • 5 years later...

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