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Best DJ record decks for a beginner?

FYI: I've been running Offline nights at the Albert for years and we've been using ultra cheapo decks the whole time with at least one DJ beat matching on them. One thing to consider with cheap decks is that they much more susceptible to jumping if you've got a dancefloor moshing like a herd of elephants right next to them (same applies to CD decks too).

No prob if you're on a solid table though.
 
FYI: I've been running Offline nights at the Albert for years and we've been using ultra cheapo decks the whole time with at least one DJ beat matching on them. One thing to consider with cheap decks is that they much more susceptible to jumping if you've got a dancefloor moshing like a herd of elephants right next to them (same applies to CD decks too).

More likely to get feedback from them as well.
 
Oh yes. They howl like a Barnsley fan at Wembley. Of course, if I could be arsed, I could fill them up with concrete to make them more sonically isolated, but I've got a lot of better things to do.

A quick and cheap fix is to put half a squash ball under each foot.
 
If you can afford it, get the technics (about 350 second hand), otherwise I'd look at getting a "not quite bottom of the range" pair of direct drive KAMs. They're nowhere near as good, but ok for the money, about 180-200 quid new with mixer, less second hand.

There's always loads on ebay too. They have a turntables category.
 
....cut the ball in half, resulting flat side goes on the table.
Yeah, I know that, but the decks are so lightweight they don't 'sit' on the ball firmly enough - so if someone knocks the table, the deck goes flying!

Still, since I moved the decks away from the bass bin it's not been so bad.
 
Just To Add. He You're On A Real Budget You Could Always Do What I Did. Buy The Cheapest Decks On Ebay Individually. They're Cheaper As Singles Than As A Pair. Then Buy The Cheapest Mixer. I Did This And Got A Complete Set Up For 5o Quid. One Of The Decks Is A Reasonably Decent Top Of The Range Kam Too. When Looking At Cheap Decks The Most Important Thing Is Torque. Technics Are About 3 Fwiw.
 
Yeah, I know that, but the decks are so lightweight they don't 'sit' on the ball firmly enough - so if someone knocks the table, the deck goes flying!

Still, since I moved the decks away from the bass bin it's not been so bad.

Hmmm, in that case I'd try the half ball the other way up, but gaffer tape it to the foot of the deck...
 
Just To Add. He You're On A Real Budget You Could Always Do What I Did. Buy The Cheapest Decks On Ebay Individually. They're Cheaper As Singles Than As A Pair. Then Buy The Cheapest Mixer. I Did This And Got A Complete Set Up For 5o Quid. One Of The Decks Is A Reasonably Decent Top Of The Range Kam Too. When Looking At Cheap Decks The Most Important Thing Is Torque. Technics Are About 3 Fwiw.
Why Have You Capitalised Everything In Your Post? It Looks Very Weird.

Or Is It The Title Of Your New Book?
 
It's not a bad deal at all, but they need cartridges, lids, some technical attention and if you're not local you'd have to go and pick them up.

Cartridges - Obviously.
Lids???
Nothing technical needs attention. Who needs +8%??? you playing scooter tunes??

:D:D
 
Cartridges - Obviously.
Lids???
So that's £50 to £100 for the cartridges, plus a cab/car all the way to Portsmouth and back for a pair of well-worn old decks that could fuck up at any time with a bent tone arm and a broken light and no lids (some people like to have TT lids, you know).

It might be a bargain if you live around the corner, but it's not not so cheap if you've got to drag them half away across the UK.

I'd still strongly recommend that the opening poster ignores your Technics obsession and follows the far more knowledgeable advice given from skratchworx.com in the post earlier.
 
So that's £50 to £100 for the cartridges, plus a cab/car all the way to Portsmouth and back for a pair of well-worn old decks that could fuck up at any time with a bent tone arm and a broken light and no lids (some people like to have TT lids, you know).

It might be a bargain if you live around the corner, but it's not not so cheap if you've got to drag them half away across the UK.

I'd still strongly recommend that the opening poster ignores your Technics obsession and follows the far more knowledgeable advice given from skratchworx.com in the post earlier.

New carts? you can get them dirt cheap!!!

I don't have a Technics obsession. I've had decks of all makes and all budgets thankyou. It's informed advice, is yours?

Fact is, yes, those decks might have a few small issues, but they're as close to bomb proof as you can get (minus power cable, audio cable shit :mad:) there are many ways of getting to Portsmouth without a cab. There are also many ways of understanding that someone else has an opinion different than yours ;):D
 
Fact is, yes, those decks might have a few small issues, but they're as close to bomb proof as you can get (minus power cable, audio cable shit :mad:) there are many ways of getting to Portsmouth without a cab.
You'd have to be pretty strong to carry a pair of Technics decks on public transport, and without those lids you could fuck them right up. A nice pair of decks would be like a mugger magnet too - and then there's the time involved and the transport costs of gallivanting around southern England.

No one's denying that the Technics aren't great decks, but the poster has very limited funds and isn't even sure if this DJing lark is for him, so asking him to spend a ton of cash or go traipsing around the country chasing deals sure doesn't seem like useful advice to me.

Oh well. At least you've stopped the personal abuse today.
 
At least you stopped bringing my finances into it.. geezus....

150 quid for 2 Technics 1210's????... fuck, I'd front the cash for him and drive him there if I could!!! ;)
 
i have an old pair of numark TT1s the OP can have for free until they buy some technics :) they've seen plenty of use, don't keep time perfectly (the cheap numarks that i've used rarely do) and don't come with carts- but have good torque on the motor. i'll have to dig them out of storage. i paid proper money when i was young and dumb for them, they are now worth nothing, this is how everything but technics depreciates.

pm if you're interested, no carts included.
 
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