For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
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By monkiusz Sun May 13, 2018 3:04 pm
Hello, here’s my current setup:
- MPC Ren
- Numark M2 mixer
- Technics sl-q3 (with it’s original cartridge)

So here is my question - is my turntable good for some scratching practice (if I change it’s cartridge and needle) or I could screw up something by trying it? It’s oldschool direct drive Technics but not designed for dj’ng purposes and I use it for sampling and listening, you know...

I can buy second turntable just for scratching but maybe it’s not needed? I’m on a budget so I can afford Numark PT01 Scratch or used AT120 usb.

And second question - if I choose to go with PT01 could I use a fader from my Numark M2 mixer (bought recently mainly for EQ purposes when I’m sampling) for scratching instead of „fader” thing it’s comes with? Both faders aren’t perfect I know and there is an option for modding PT01 but I don’t care so much about mobility so maybe I should buy innofader in future for my Numark mixer instead of modding PT01 / or to use it with my current turntable?

EDIT: http://www.retrotronics.co.nz/detail&id=885

It’s really the same motor as Technics 1200? If yes - this turntable should be good also for sratching with proper cartridge and stylus? :fku:
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By Ill-Green Mon May 14, 2018 7:41 am
Any turntable can be good to practice. But that platter looks mighty heavy to scratch on. Probably will build your wrist like Hercules that you'll scratch like lightning on some 1200s. Its doable for now I guess.

For a turntable on a budget and quality built like a Technics, look into a Stanton T.62 mkII.
By SILIS101 Mon May 14, 2018 11:04 pm
A stock PT01 Scratch is dope but if you want a useful fader, you'll need to upgrade to the Jesse Dean or any other number of aftermarket compatible faders. When I say "useful fader" I mean, (my opinion) the stock fader has too much slack in the cutoff and it's not adjustable.

If you want to use a real cartridge you have to buy a modded tonearm assembly.

You can spend a lot of money modding a PT01. You may justify going with the turntable IllGreen is pointing out above.
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By monkiusz Tue May 15, 2018 10:09 am
Can get used Stanton STR8 150 for $333, maybe I will go with that route.
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By tapedeck Tue May 15, 2018 6:00 pm
monkiusz wrote:Can get used Stanton STR8 150 for $333, maybe I will go with that route.

thats a great turntable.
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By Ill-Green Sun May 20, 2018 12:36 pm
tapedeck wrote:
monkiusz wrote:Can get used Stanton STR8 150 for $333, maybe I will go with that route.

thats a great turntable.

Excellent indeed. Has a reverse switch to play records backwards. Prior to buying the T.62mkII, I was set to buy the S arm version of the 150. My decision to pick up the T.62 over the 150 was because its a true analog turntable, where the 150, though analog, is pushing the sound through D/A converters to achieve its timestretch feature, which makes it a digital turntable. Does it matter? Not really, I'm just from the old skool of hard knocks :smoker: :smoker:
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By tapedeck Sun May 20, 2018 3:43 pm
Ill-Green wrote:
monkiusz wrote:Can get used Stanton STR8 150 for $333, maybe I will go with that route.

Excellent indeed. Has a reverse switch to play records backwards. Prior to buying the T.62mkII, I was set to buy the S arm version of the 150. My decision to pick up the T.62 over the 150 was because its a true analog turntable, where the 150, though analog, is pushing the sound through D/A converters to achieve its timestretch feature, which makes it a digital turntable. Does it matter? Not really, I'm just from the old skool of hard knocks :smoker: :smoker:

you can turn the timestretch off though and now you are still analog. the digital spdif connection is really nice to have though. the timestretch sounds like shit btw.
the one s-arm 100 i used, it has a malfunction where whenever you turned the timestretch on, it would spit out hot digital garbage (like seriously harsh noise) out of the analog outputs. :mrgreen:
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By monkiusz Wed May 23, 2018 9:03 am
Ok so I bought ST 150 (S-shaped arm), first generation (not mk2). Which cartridge will be better for sampling and scratching - Shure 44-7 or Ortofon Q-Bert?
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By tapedeck Wed May 23, 2018 1:55 pm
monkiusz wrote:Ok so I bought ST 150 (S-shaped arm), first generation (not mk2). Which cartridge will be better for sampling and scratching - Shure 44-7 or Ortofon Q-Bert?

either is fine.
where are you finding shures?
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By monkiusz Wed May 23, 2018 2:18 pm
There are some in polish (I'm from Poland) online stores. It's not like Ortofon will be better for both sampling & scratch?
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By tapedeck Wed May 23, 2018 2:36 pm
monkiusz wrote:There are some in polish (I'm from Poland) online stores. It's not like Ortofon will be better for both sampling & scratch?

no - either will be fine.
the 44-7's have a pretty extreme eq though - whether you like that or not you'll just have to see.
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By monkiusz Thu May 24, 2018 5:18 pm
So today I’ve received my new turntable. It has Ortofon Groovemaster v3 needle. And in comparission to my previous cartridge (Technics 207c) it has a lot of bass. I must eq it down with my mixer. But it’s not cartridge for sratching so I will probably get soon Ortofon Qbert and decksaver for it. Thank you guys for your help!