Some skratching

[JustRob]

[Steve]

Wicked man!

[Deft]

Good stuff, and more importantly an excellent choice of mixer.

[JustRob]

Thank you Steve and Deft for checking out my video

[Jam Burglar]

Dope! Nailed that.

[flowerpot]

Sounding good and in control. Possibly felt you were holding back a bit in order to stay composed.

[JustRob]

Wicked man!

Thank you; from watching this video, I can see much areas to improve tho'...

[JustRob]

Good stuff, and more importantly an excellent choice of mixer.

This is probably one of the better analog mixers I've utilized. My only concern with it, and I don't know if others have encountered this, when I hook up an effects unit and try to use the wet/dry fade, there is no effect to the channel selected and I would have to push the fade all the way into wet to have some sort of effect, which ultimately causes the channel volume that is selected to drastically drop in sound. Has that happened to anyone else?

[JustRob]

Wavy and funkee.

I'm trying to develop better syntax; instead of run on sentences, break into simple chunks of phrases, if that makes any sense

[JustRob]

Dope! Nailed that.

I'm certainly trying! Have a lot of time now to refine fundamentals and basic technique execution

[JustRob]

Sounding good and in control. Possibly felt you were holding back a bit in order to stay composed.

Thank you! I record myself executing at higher tempos to see if I have developed more control due to heavy practice at the actual bpm of a track (50 to 60ish). So, no double timing in order to gain better controlled execution of techniques.

[Shimmer]

Class scratching man!

[JustRob]

Class scratching man!

Thank you Shimmer! I've had to retrain going at a slower tempo today (75 to 89ish) due to overtraining in uptempo speeds the past week. I try to maintain a delicate balance between uptempo and downtempo because with that control it is possible to do progressive gradation in your cuts allowing better scratch expression I hope that makes sense

[Deft]

 

Good stuff, and more importantly an excellent choice of mixer.

 

This is probably one of the better analog mixers I've utilized. My only concern with it, and I don't know if others have encountered this, when I hook up an effects unit and try to use the wet/dry fade, there is no effect to the channel selected and I would have to push the fade all the way into wet to have some sort of effect, which ultimately causes the channel volume that is selected to drastically drop in sound. Has that happened to anyone else?

What effects unit are you using? I've got a Xone filter running on mine and no problems with routing or wet / dry balance.

[JustRob]

 

 

Good stuff, and more importantly an excellent choice of mixer.

This is probably one of the better analog mixers I've utilized. My only concern with it, and I don't know if others have encountered this, when I hook up an effects unit and try to use the wet/dry fade, there is no effect to the channel selected and I would have to push the fade all the way into wet to have some sort of effect, which ultimately causes the channel volume that is selected to drastically drop in sound. Has that happened to anyone else?

What effects unit are you using? I've got a Xone filter running on mine and no problems with routing or wet / dry balance.

 

I have the Pioneer rmx-500; was it a logically good choice to acquire? I did research a bit on the unit before committing to buy just to make sure it would be somewhat compatible with my board.

[Deft]

OK I'll take a quick look at the RMX and give an opinion on how I would set it up.

[JustRob]

OK I'll take a quick look at the RMX and give an opinion on how I would set it up.

Wow, thats kind of you to do, Deft! Thank you 🙏

[Steve]

Thank you; from watching this video, I can see much areas to improve tho'...

Of course man.

 

I enjoy a particular style of scratching that combines old and new, easy and complex, and that's why I liked your video. You're obviously not 100% there in terms of where you wanna be, but you're a good way down that path.

 

How long have you been scratching?

[Deft]

Re: The RMX and the Scratchbox effects loop. There's nothing too crazy going on with that effects unit. A few things to note (apologies if you already know this):

 

The send/return loop on the Scratchbox uses slightly unusual connections for a dj mixer. The connections are more traditionally used for effects inserts.

So you have a 1/4" jack for each channel (L & R), and each of these cables handles both the send and return in the same cable. This means you need to have a 1/4" TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) jack connector, not a 1/4" TS jack connector. This is because you need one connector for the send, one for the return and one for the ground. I guess you must have the right cables as its working.

https://missionengineering.com/what-is-a-trs-cable/

You just want to make sure the correct part of your Y cable (from each channel!) is going to the inputs on your effects unit (so 1 part of the Y from each cable should be going to the RMX inputs). One part of the Y will be the send, the other return. So just check you are doing it consistently and maybe disconnect the output of your effects unit to double check it is getting a signal from both L and R when you hit FX insert on the Rodec and move the FX-Insert MIX to WET on the Rodec.

If this is all OK the only thing left to fiddle with is the input level switch on the side of your RMX (It looks like you can move it between -10dB, 0dB and +4dB). It's not obvious to me whether this is to do with expected input level from your mixer or the output level of the RMX unit (they will have the opposite effect). So, just switch between them and see what happens to the loudness. It will either get louder or quieter, though might make it distort. The Rodec send/return loop should output at 0dB so that is probably the expected setting.

The wet/dry fader on the Rodec determines the balance between normal audio and that returned from the RMX unit. Depending on the type of effect you are using and whether the RMX intrinsically does some of its own wet/dry balancing, you might find you just need to leave it on wet on the Rodec. You shouldn't get a massive change in audio level though. That's why I'd double check you are definitely sending both L & R channels successfully from the Rodec and the input level switch on the RMX is OK.

[JustRob]

 

Thank you; from watching this video, I can see much areas to improve tho'...

Of course man.

 

I enjoy a particular style of scratching that combines old and new, easy and complex, and that's why I liked your video. You're obviously not 100% there in terms of where you wanna be, but you're a good way down that path.

 

How long have you been scratching?

 

That's not a difficult question to answer, but not easy either. I've been dj'ing since the early 90's, April 93' to be exact. When I was initially being brought into the fold, one of the first things I did was attempt a scratch, which was a major disappointment, but it also spurred some wisdom from my friend who was teaching me: how do you expect to convey your scratches if you do not understand music structure? So obviously mixing was and is the first block of my foundation, then followed by scratching, which I had learned a bit of during my formative dj years. However, that style of scratching done then was very limited due to no coordination or understanding of execution concepts in my scratch technique. Like many, my perception was to just practice until it's acquired through rote. Many years I scratched that way, until one day I decided to start from the very beginning and relearn the scratches, this time with the intent to have a clear understanding of execution awareness and concept comprehension. The beginning for that part of my scratch journey was December 2017. I think it was the following year, around August I think, that I was able to execute the scratching in my first video I had posted to DV. Since then, being aware on all aspects of technique execution has helped me immensely in learning and discovering our artform. Hope that wasn't too long

[JustRob]

Re: The RMX and the Scratchbox effects loop. There's nothing too crazy going on with that effects unit. A few things to note (apologies if you already know this):

 

The send/return loop on the Scratchbox uses slightly unusual connections for a dj mixer. The connections are more traditionally used for effects inserts.

So you have a 1/4" jack for each channel (L & R), and each of these cables handles both the send and return in the same cable. This means you need to have a 1/4" TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) jack connector, not a 1/4" TS jack connector. This is because you need one connector for the send, one for the return and one for the ground. I guess you must have the right cables as its working.

https://missionengineering.com/what-is-a-trs-cable/

You just want to make sure the correct part of your Y cable (from each channel!) is going to the inputs on your effects unit (so 1 part of the Y from each cable should be going to the RMX inputs). One part of the Y will be the send, the other return. So just check you are doing it consistently and maybe disconnect the output of your effects unit to double check it is getting a signal from both L and R when you hit FX insert on the Rodec and move the FX-Insert MIX to WET on the Rodec.

If this is all OK the only thing left to fiddle with is the input level switch on the side of your RMX (It looks like you can move it between -10dB, 0dB and +4dB). It's not obvious to me whether this is to do with expected input level from your mixer or the output level of the RMX unit (they will have the opposite effect). So, just switch between them and see what happens to the loudness. It will either get louder or quieter, though might make it distort. The Rodec send/return loop should output at 0dB so that is probably the expected setting.

The wet/dry fader on the Rodec determines the balance between normal audio and that returned from the RMX unit. Depending on the type of effect you are using and whether the RMX intrinsically does some of its own wet/dry balancing, you might find you just need to leave it on wet on the Rodec. You shouldn't get a massive change in audio level though. That's why I'd double check you are definitely sending both L & R channels successfully from the Rodec and the input level switch on the RMX is OK.

 

Thank you for researching that information, Deft. I'll do what you've listed here and report back once I'm done. Thank you again!

[JustRob]

 

Re: The RMX and the Scratchbox effects loop. There's nothing too crazy going on with that effects unit. A few things to note (apologies if you already know this):

 

The send/return loop on the Scratchbox uses slightly unusual connections for a dj mixer. The connections are more traditionally used for effects inserts.

So you have a 1/4" jack for each channel (L & R), and each of these cables handles both the send and return in the same cable. This means you need to have a 1/4" TRS (tip, ring, sleeve) jack connector, not a 1/4" TS jack connector. This is because you need one connector for the send, one for the return and one for the ground. I guess you must have the right cables as its working.

https://missionengineering.com/what-is-a-trs-cable/

You just want to make sure the correct part of your Y cable (from each channel!) is going to the inputs on your effects unit (so 1 part of the Y from each cable should be going to the RMX inputs). One part of the Y will be the send, the other return. So just check you are doing it consistently and maybe disconnect the output of your effects unit to double check it is getting a signal from both L and R when you hit FX insert on the Rodec and move the FX-Insert MIX to WET on the Rodec.

If this is all OK the only thing left to fiddle with is the input level switch on the side of your RMX (It looks like you can move it between -10dB, 0dB and +4dB). It's not obvious to me whether this is to do with expected input level from your mixer or the output level of the RMX unit (they will have the opposite effect). So, just switch between them and see what happens to the loudness. It will either get louder or quieter, though might make it distort. The Rodec send/return loop should output at 0dB so that is probably the expected setting.

The wet/dry fader on the Rodec determines the balance between normal audio and that returned from the RMX unit. Depending on the type of effect you are using and whether the RMX intrinsically does some of its own wet/dry balancing, you might find you just need to leave it on wet on the Rodec. You shouldn't get a massive change in audio level though. That's why I'd double check you are definitely sending both L & R channels successfully from the Rodec and the input level switch on the RMX is OK.

 

Thank you for researching that information, Deft. I'll do what you've listed here and report back once I'm done. Thank you again!

I think the issue stems from within my board, and not from the effects unit itself. I bought another effects unit, this time a korg kaoss kp3+ which has input volume increase capability. After connecting it correctly, the lack of volume was still there, unfortunately. I do have my 07 pro ISP which I can use, so I'll do some cuts on that one with the effects board connected and utilize my scratchbox for community get togethers and such

[Shimmer]

 

Class scratching man!

 

Thank you Shimmer! I've had to retrain going at a slower tempo today (75 to 89ish) due to overtraining in uptempo speeds the past week. I try to maintain a delicate balance between uptempo and downtempo because with that control it is possible to do progressive gradation in your cuts allowing better scratch expression I hope that makes sense

Yeah, I get ya. Good way of thinking. I could do with thinking like that. I rush too much and I’m very impatient. Bless