[warra]

Im looking for a relatively cheap turntable ($300 or less). I was looking at numark and technics since they are the only ones i really know. Is there a better brand on the market? Im looking for something durable and that would get the job done. More or less im just starting to scratch, so I don't need a real advanced one. Basically, I want a turntable for the amateur dj which would give me most for my money.

[IceEnclosure]

dunno, but I went to see DJ Z-Trip last night, it was AWESOME.

[teknopimp]

check out guitar center.

[andreas_g4]

If you are not into electronic music, where perfect synchronization is essential, you can get a cheaper turntable than the Technics SL-1210 MK II (which I would recommend, since they're in every club).

[E's Lil Theorem]

With the sort of money you want to spend, I'd say your choices are very limited. Whatever you decide on, just make sure they're direct drive turntables.

Is all you need tables? If not, maybe you should take a look at those "all-in-one dj set" thingies. Some of them aren't that bad. I mean, you wont have the best of the best, but they're good enough to get your feet wet. And, most of these are less than $500 or so. After a couple of months, if you decide to stick with it for that long, then maybe you can upgrade your equipment. As a turntablist DJ, most likely you'll want to upgrade your needles, then your mixer and so on.

[warra]

ELT, do you have any recommendations.

[EFFENDI]

Used 1200s would be my first suggestion. You can often pick them up for around $300-400 a piece. Gemini and Stantons are fairly affordable and pretty decent quality. Usually you can upgrade needles, cartridges, and arms later on, which will make a difference in performance.

As some others said, direct-drive is a necessity if you are going to be doing any scratching or heavy mixing.

Long live vinyl.

[sugar_coated]

to becom a dj you have to meet a dj at somepoint.

[EFFENDI]

to becom a dj you have to meet a dj at somepoint.

Untrue.

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally Posted by warra

ELT, do you have any recommendations.

A Google search lead me to this: Numark BP Battle Pak All In One DJ System, $400.

Product Description

Battle Pak v. 4

Features
(2) TT1625 multi-directional direct drive turntables with aluminum platters

DM950 2 channel + mic mixer, EQ on each channel, slider style cuing

HF125 flexible 7-position dual headphone

(2) Groove Tool™ cartridges and slipmats

For $400, not too shabby either.

[zoroaster68]

Look into Stanton TTs. I've been spinning since 2000 or so, on and off. I have a pair of Stanton ST8-80s, they have more torque than a technics 1200, and they're very nicely constructed. They're a LOT cheaper too, because the entire shell isn't metal, just plastic. Here's a pic:



They're a few year old now still work fantastic. Numarks can be had pretty cheap also, but they're just basically shitty. Not gemini shitty, but still pretty shitty. They look like some ghetto nike melted plastic shoe also, and they dont' seem very well built at all. The stantons are pretty solid.

Oh, I'd avoid those 'boxed' sets. Build your own. Those sets usually include really cheap accessories that you have to replace anyways.... for example, that mixer. 2 channels!? What a piece of crap. What if you wanted to hook up your ipod? Or a mic? Or anything other than the tts? Crap outta luck. Get at least 3 channels, and get a mixer that suits your style. I picked up a quasi cheap Numark 2002X 3 channel mixer. It's built really well, but it it's crossfader isn't really made for scratching. Oh, it was also ths special edition so the whole face was chrome for the extra bling.

[zoroaster68]

Originally Posted by E's Lil Theorem

A Google search lead me to this: Numark BP Battle Pak All In One DJ System, $400.

For $400, not too shabby either.

Basically crap tts, total crap mixer, and total crap headphones. Yech. So you're paying $400 for... crap.

I spent $300 on TTs, $130 on a mixer, $110 on headphones, and I have a pretty decent fairly high quality system. Super fancy? No. But defintely not crap.

[budster101]

Have a look here.

[zoroaster68]

Originally Posted by andreas_g4

If you are not into electronic music, where perfect synchronization is essential, you can get a cheaper turntable than the Technics SL-1210 MK II (which I would recommend, since they're in every club).

The reason people like 1200s isn't because of music synchronizations, any record player with adjustable speed can do that. The reason people like 1200s is because they have a lot of torque, which means they spin up fast. Another reason is they're extremely overbuilt, metal everything, and thus, very heavy. Newer designed tables such as my stantons have even more torque than the 1200, and they can be had for less than half the cash. To me, that's a better deal.

[rjenkinson]

DJ's?

-r.

[IceEnclosure]

I've seen lots of turntablists (people who scratch n' stuff) using Numark turntables. I can't pretend to know much about turntables, but I know if some of the best scratching deejays in the w o r l d can use them, so can you.

on the same thought, I hear that technics aren't great for scratching.

needles of course, quite important consideration regardless of the make of turntable.

[IceEnclosure]

whoops.. while I clearly recall seeing Z-Trip a year ago using Numark, last night it seems he was on Technics:

[warra]

Originally Posted by zoroaster68

Look into Stanton TTs. I've been spinning since 2000 or so, on and off. I have a pair of Stanton ST8-80s, they have more torque than a technics 1200, and they're very nicely constructed. They're a LOT cheaper too, because the entire shell isn't metal, just plastic. Here's a pic:



They're a few year old now still work fantastic. Numarks can be had pretty cheap also, but they're just basically shitty. Not gemini shitty, but still pretty shitty. They look like some ghetto nike melted plastic shoe also, and they dont' seem very well built at all. The stantons are pretty solid.

Oh, I'd avoid those 'boxed' sets. Build your own. Those sets usually include really cheap accessories that you have to replace anyways.... for example, that mixer. 2 channels!? What a piece of crap. What if you wanted to hook up your ipod? Or a mic? Or anything other than the tts? Crap outta luck. Get at least 3 channels, and get a mixer that suits your style. I picked up a quasi cheap Numark 2002X 3 channel mixer. It's built really well, but it it's crossfader isn't really made for scratching. Oh, it was also ths special edition so the whole face was chrome for the extra bling.

Is the plastic construction durable, as in will it last for 4 or 5 years?

I'm assuming the st8-80 has three channels. Would I be able to hook up my pb12 to it?

[zoroaster68]

Yeah, they're very thick plastic. If you drop something on them, or drop them off the table, i'm sure they'd break, but so would a 1200. There really isn't a point in using metal for the case other than it looks cool. As for 3 channels... not sure what you mean. The needle is stereo. The output is stereo. My mixer has 3 channels of stereo sound, so I guess you could say that's 6 inputs if you split up the left and right channels.

[warra]

yea, thats what i meant, sorry for the vagueness.....is that even a word?

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally Posted by zoroaster68

Basically crap tts, total crap mixer, and total crap headphones. Yech. So you're paying $400 for... crap.

I spent $300 on TTs, $130 on a mixer, $110 on headphones, and I have a pretty decent fairly high quality system. Super fancy? No. But defintely not crap.

Hey, the man is just getting started. For that, that system if fine. Like I said, if he later wants to upgrade his system, which is a guarantee if he sticks with it, he can do that. By then, he'll be in the know of all the things you're preaching. It's not how I did it, but I know plenty of DJs who have.

[zoroaster68]

Sorry dude. $400 for crap everything doesn't seem like a good deal when spending $500ish on seperates = nice decent equipment.

[budster101]

SHURE

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally Posted by zoroaster68

Sorry dude. $400 for crap everything doesn't seem like a good deal when spending $500ish on seperates = nice decent equipment.

Well, that's the thing, to me, it's not crap. The tables are decent, direct drive ones. The mixer may only have two channels, but if he's just learning, the fader itself will be worth it because of the amount of use (and misuse) he'll put it through. And, the headphones? Well, he's not going to be needing anything top of the line for what he'll be doing the first few months as he learns the ropes. Now, the big finish: he doesn't have to shop around for the individual parts. He may end up getting screwed if decides to get some used equipment that'll break on him only after a month or so.

After he learns what he likes, begins to understand the little details about making the right sound, then he'll move on from the boxed set.

[teknopimp]

so you want to be a dj

[zoroaster68]

Sorry dude. $400 for crap everything doesn't seem like a good deal when spending $500ish on seperates = nice decent equipment.

[zoroaster68]

Oh yeah, to store your records, I have one of these:

http://www.needlz.com/accessories/mrb.asp

and a hard case... I outgrew the softcase, so now I'm actually using it for art supplies for school. It's a REALLY REALLY nice way overbuilt bag though, I love it.

E's Lil Theorem: Again, it's CRAP. He's getting bottom of the line direct drive tables, an ULTRA bottom of the line mixer, and total junk headphones for $400. I paid about $300 for BRAND NEW stanton str8-80s off from ebay, about $130 for a brand new numark 2002x chrome 3 channel mixer, and about $110 for a brand new set of MDR V700 sony headphones. So basically I have the industry standard kick ****ing ass headphones, very decent turntables, and a decent mixer with a lot of options for only about $540. If I wanted to sell it, I'd get the majority of my money back. With the crap DJ in a box stuff, you'd get jack. The headphones are junk, the mixer is junk, and the turn tables are the base models. Blech.

[E's Lil Theorem]

Originally Posted by teknopimp

so you want to be a dj

Originally Posted by zoroaster68

...
E's Lil Theorem: Again, it's CRAP. ....

Again, I don't think so. But, I'm sure warra will benefit from the discussion.

[teknopimp]

seriously, you are better off investing in quality gear. it will cost more in the long run to buy cheap equipment now and end up giving it away later. for turntablist stuff Vestax rules.

[zoroaster68]

Originally Posted by teknopimp

for turntablist stuff Vestax rules.

Why?

[Nivag]

this is what i've got

the Stanton ST 150 -
very nice decks but i wouldn't want to be carrying them around too often, they weigh a ton!

[Troll]

Vinyl is so 20th century.

http://www.ableton.com/

Try that. There's a free demo.

[warra]

Nivag, i really like that turntable. How much did it cost you?

[EFFENDI]

so you want to be a dj

teknopimp, that was classic.

[Nivag]

Originally Posted by warra

Nivag, i really like that turntable. How much did it cost you?

i paid £349.00 from http://www.decks.co.uk

[warra]

What about those other Stantons on decks.co.uk, are they good?

[zoroaster68]

That deck he has is basically a SR8-80 with an adjustable (read useless) tone arm.