blackgold9
Hey guys. Just posting a link to an attempt i made at scratching hip-hop with the dj console. Can somone with a little more experince give me any hints(other than better coordination). Not having the preassure response of the xp10 sucks :(
The first song didnt go so good in the set, but i warmed up for the other 2.
anyways.
here's the link
http://stephen.thetanu06.org/soundplayer.html
The first song didnt go so good in the set, but i warmed up for the other 2.
anyways.
here's the link
http://stephen.thetanu06.org/soundplayer.html
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 1:42 am
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
not bad ;)
have had some fun scratching with the Hercules console myself...
its soundet cool, and practice makes champion ;)
there are many "techniques" for different types of scratching, involving "cuts" with crossfader to make even cooler sounds..
u can see a few great videos here :
http://www.virtualdj.com/forum/display.html?topic=4711
have had some fun scratching with the Hercules console myself...
its soundet cool, and practice makes champion ;)
there are many "techniques" for different types of scratching, involving "cuts" with crossfader to make even cooler sounds..
u can see a few great videos here :
http://www.virtualdj.com/forum/display.html?topic=4711
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 2:03 am
blackgold9
Thanks, and trust me, i HAVE been practicing. Its HARD. But hey, im putting in the time. Maybe one day ill be audience ready :) (right now its all personal entertainment)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 2:07 am
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
yeah... but it was pretty cool your scratchin ;)
try using vocal samples for scratch also, it makes very cool sounds ;) a lot of dj's have dedicated vocal sampler vinyls that they use for scratch....
like the famous "oh yeah" vocal, that's been used in soooo many songs as a scratch
or even an accapella version of a song, or scratch samples can also be cool (dj's use this too)
U can find lots of great samples for scratch if u search on the net.. for "dj tools", "dj samples", "scratch tools" etc ...
and it is HARD ;) its an artform, and it's just plain AMAZING to see guys like Granmaster Flash in action.. wow :)
try using vocal samples for scratch also, it makes very cool sounds ;) a lot of dj's have dedicated vocal sampler vinyls that they use for scratch....
like the famous "oh yeah" vocal, that's been used in soooo many songs as a scratch
or even an accapella version of a song, or scratch samples can also be cool (dj's use this too)
U can find lots of great samples for scratch if u search on the net.. for "dj tools", "dj samples", "scratch tools" etc ...
and it is HARD ;) its an artform, and it's just plain AMAZING to see guys like Granmaster Flash in action.. wow :)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 3:27 am
Homeboy
I myself am just getting more into using the tables and I have to say feel the music and the crossfader is your best friend.
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 7:13 am
erxon
@ blackgold9
1 piece of advice, lower the level of deck B where you scratch. The sound was a bit to loud, so scrathces were coming out more as an annoying surprise than a good addition. It's better with song 2 and 3 as you said, but still you need to find better samples to scratch on. Try isolated beats (kick, clap), and as The-Norway-DJ said, use especially good vocals (and other solo sounds). Oh and try using the EQ too, sometimes with slow scratching levels become too low (and too loud), so it doesn't sound nice. Experiment ;)
And have fun ;)
1 piece of advice, lower the level of deck B where you scratch. The sound was a bit to loud, so scrathces were coming out more as an annoying surprise than a good addition. It's better with song 2 and 3 as you said, but still you need to find better samples to scratch on. Try isolated beats (kick, clap), and as The-Norway-DJ said, use especially good vocals (and other solo sounds). Oh and try using the EQ too, sometimes with slow scratching levels become too low (and too loud), so it doesn't sound nice. Experiment ;)
And have fun ;)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 10:39 am
blackgold9
Thanks for all the advice guys. i can't seem to feel the crossfader for scratching, so i guess i just need to practice. Right now i use the channel fader. I wish the hercules skin had the gain option, but it dosent. Can any console users reccomend another skin to use?
The most challenging thing for me is scratching while the deck plays (since you can't really "hold" the record in place). Making sure you release at the right point, compensating for the pause before it starts playing again was next to impossible at first, but has gotten progressively easier. I started using the beatlock function (and it seems to me scratching is the ONLY time beatlocking is usefult), but realized you can be much more flexible with out it, is just harder.
Anyways, thanks again for all the tips.
Anyone else here do specifically hip hop? (the short intro/outro's make them notoriously hard to mix in my opinion)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 1:52 pm
blackgold9
Also, ive noticed the flash player is screwing up, so the directlink is http://stephen.thetanu06.org/sound1.mp3
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 1:55 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
yeah...
the Hercules can make some awesome scratch sounds, BUT it does not have a tactical plate (that will stop the song and stay stopped when u hold the jogwheel, like xp10), so u kinda have to invent some new ways of scratching, and compensate...
Hercules is not 100% like vinyl (like xp10 is), but u can make your own way of scratchin, and still sound good.. but the "drifting" is the big problem.. hard to make it stay
i have seen some make shorcuts to improve the scratch with hercules:
(1) a go to cue shortcut : by the press of a button, go back to where u want the scratch to start. So pressing it will make the scratch start from the same point each time
(2) a mute shortcut : to make cool scratch sound, for example "remove" sound when u take jogwheel backwards and only play the forward scratch sound etc
play around ;) with EQ settings etc... can be different from scratch to scratch.. for example on some samples, I kill the bass, to make a high clear vocal scratch...
Scratch is a bit of feel, and a whole lot of pratice :)
By the way, I'm not a hardcore scratch dj, still trying to learn and practice like u ;)
the Hercules can make some awesome scratch sounds, BUT it does not have a tactical plate (that will stop the song and stay stopped when u hold the jogwheel, like xp10), so u kinda have to invent some new ways of scratching, and compensate...
Hercules is not 100% like vinyl (like xp10 is), but u can make your own way of scratchin, and still sound good.. but the "drifting" is the big problem.. hard to make it stay
i have seen some make shorcuts to improve the scratch with hercules:
(1) a go to cue shortcut : by the press of a button, go back to where u want the scratch to start. So pressing it will make the scratch start from the same point each time
(2) a mute shortcut : to make cool scratch sound, for example "remove" sound when u take jogwheel backwards and only play the forward scratch sound etc
play around ;) with EQ settings etc... can be different from scratch to scratch.. for example on some samples, I kill the bass, to make a high clear vocal scratch...
Scratch is a bit of feel, and a whole lot of pratice :)
By the way, I'm not a hardcore scratch dj, still trying to learn and practice like u ;)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 2:41 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
also..
try use the invert pitch/volume in setup
that will give u a nice "cut volume" slider where the pitch usually is :)
so that u can easily cut sounds from your scratch deck ;)
having the scratch deck on pause will also make less "drifting away"
also, its about finding the right part of a song / sample to use for a scratch... there is a huge difference between a random try, and finding a part that makes really cool sound
try use the invert pitch/volume in setup
that will give u a nice "cut volume" slider where the pitch usually is :)
so that u can easily cut sounds from your scratch deck ;)
having the scratch deck on pause will also make less "drifting away"
also, its about finding the right part of a song / sample to use for a scratch... there is a huge difference between a random try, and finding a part that makes really cool sound
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 2:56 pm
blackgold9
trouble with having it on pause is that you can't actually scratch into the sound. Like in one of those songs i was scratching on the word "boy" on the b deck. If i didnt have it playing, you wouldnt be able to hear the word. Im going for the scratch-sampler approach (playing the sample by scratching to it). I've heard it donefairly often, and thats what im trying to emulate. I've been trying to find just that right speed to spin the dial to hear the sample properly in pause mode, but i can never get it done.
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 5:28 pm
vbjack
Granmaster Flash - WOW, that is going way back - I met him once in a club in the city (manhattan). He is awsome to watch. I also had a block party to DJ many years ago and I had DJ Scribble do a set on my crappy tables - that was fun, that was when he was in "Young Black Teenagers".
As for your post - like everyone says just keep practicing. The hercules jog wheels do take a lot of practice to get them to scratch really good - it is all a technique. if you listen to the type of sratch you want to do from another song, just keep playing it over and over and trying it yourself until you get it right.
-JaK
As for your post - like everyone says just keep practicing. The hercules jog wheels do take a lot of practice to get them to scratch really good - it is all a technique. if you listen to the type of sratch you want to do from another song, just keep playing it over and over and trying it yourself until you get it right.
-JaK
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 7:34 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
yeah... I saw Granmaster Flash at a club here in Norway 2 years ago... still amazing in his older days!! :)
it's just plain wicked to the The Man play with his 2 turntables and crossfader... woooooow!!!!! the king ;)
mr Scribble is awesome too :)
it's just plain wicked to the The Man play with his 2 turntables and crossfader... woooooow!!!!! the king ;)
mr Scribble is awesome too :)
Posted Fri 23 Jul 04 @ 8:26 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
now, this IS great..... :
- in setup, choose (joy) stick for scrach
- turn off jogwheels for scratch....
now, in regular play, the jogwheels are for nudge (speed up/down song)
BUT HERE IS THE TRICK:
- use (joy) stick to stop the song
- scratch with jogwheel (yes!! it is scratch when song is stopped, even if not checked)
- release (joy) stick to play song again
Wow!! more close to vinyl with Hercules than this, is not possible!! :)
now you kinda have a "touch sensitive" plate through the joystick (will stop the song as long as u hold it, and play the song when u release the stick) - and REALLY nice of the VDJ team to make a instant switch to scratch for jogwheels, when song is stopped with stick ;) NICE
try this u all, its GREAT!!!!!
- in setup, choose (joy) stick for scrach
- turn off jogwheels for scratch....
now, in regular play, the jogwheels are for nudge (speed up/down song)
BUT HERE IS THE TRICK:
- use (joy) stick to stop the song
- scratch with jogwheel (yes!! it is scratch when song is stopped, even if not checked)
- release (joy) stick to play song again
Wow!! more close to vinyl with Hercules than this, is not possible!! :)
now you kinda have a "touch sensitive" plate through the joystick (will stop the song as long as u hold it, and play the song when u release the stick) - and REALLY nice of the VDJ team to make a instant switch to scratch for jogwheels, when song is stopped with stick ;) NICE
try this u all, its GREAT!!!!!
Posted Sat 24 Jul 04 @ 1:10 pm
blackgold9
Great tip Norway! I wish there was a way to do that and work the fader at the same time :)
Posted Sat 24 Jul 04 @ 1:44 pm
Rune (DJ-In-Norway)
lol ;) yeah... u need some finger-skills to do that ;) lol
but if you invert pitch/volum, you will have a volume slider right next to the stick ;) so its possible.. but still, would be nice with an extra set of hands.. LOL ;)
I managed somehow to hold the stick with one finger, and use the rest for the volume slider (pitch slider inverted), and use other hand on jogwheel... lol
maybe with some practice...
but the best part is that this makes the song stopp, for a slong as stick is pressed, and start when released.. so its a start... ;)
but if you invert pitch/volum, you will have a volume slider right next to the stick ;) so its possible.. but still, would be nice with an extra set of hands.. LOL ;)
I managed somehow to hold the stick with one finger, and use the rest for the volume slider (pitch slider inverted), and use other hand on jogwheel... lol
maybe with some practice...
but the best part is that this makes the song stopp, for a slong as stick is pressed, and start when released.. so its a start... ;)
Posted Sat 24 Jul 04 @ 2:24 pm