[NA]DJ-ing[really, really NA]

[Let'sgoflying!]

I have stumbled across this form of music and am just scratching my head about how it works (for the sake of musical education, I wanted to understand it better).

It looks to me like one platter is playing unaltered background music, and another is playing some other music which is modified by the physical manipulation of the platter - apparently to generate mostly a series of repetitive sounds from a small section of the music.

I have no idea what sounds are generated by the switches and knobs in the center section.

(Hoping to have an intelligent discussion unsullied by the usual interjection of {typically harsh} personal opinion.)

 

[denverpilot]

Totally depends on the equipment. Most have a mixing slider in the center to bring in and out the record players, mute buttons, sometimes a reverb channel.

There’s usually a “pad” off to one side with a matrix of buttons that can be programmed to do digital loops, cut in effects from a computer, synth and sample sounds, and a sequencer to time it all together.

That’s the basics. Some of the DJs have systems that cost into five figures.

 

[flyingron]

I was a DJ back in the glory days of disco. The "mixer" had levels for each turntable plus a "cross fader" that allowed you to slide from now side to another.
Now, the idea was to keep people on the floor dancing. You'd pick albums that had about the same bpm (or even in some cases, the same song) and then you would physically manipulate the record to adjust the speed to match the beats and while working the slider. Best to do it with belt drive turntables as the direct drives often would fight you too much trying to hold the speed. You could still get around this by using a slip disk (essentially a piece of felt rather than the usual rubber under the record).

As time went on, there became more flamboyant ways of mixing (notably he abhorrent scratch interfaces) often done to mix instrument tracks under someone else rapping live.
When CDs and other digital forms came out, they added essentially a big "jog disk" to the console. This would allow you to electronically manipulate the speed (and change direction) as if you were doing it to a record.

 

[Kelvin]

OP, your video show a guy who as made skills at scratching. That is old school and he is VERY good at his craft.

That said; most "DJ's" aren't.

I am in the event production business. Back in 2000 I spent about 600k on a new sound system. It killed...the first use was with Tony Bennett.

The salesman was a seriously funny guy and pulled the he** out of my chain about a week after the first gig...sent me this video...set up like this...

Perspective customer.

We still laugh about it...

 

[flyingron]

I got started in the late 70's. I lived with a DJ and he got me started. I did sound for him and three or four others. If they didn't get to the club on time, I'd start mixing records (usually the schlockiest "white" disco I could find) nad have the guy show up aghast and try to mix his way out of that mess.