help me figure out this turntable stuff

wassup?

aight here's the deal. after watching tons of beat making videos and stuff, i notice lots of people spin their turntables while sampling. for example, instead of sampling the whole song into the mpc, i see cats sampling piece by piece. like they'll sample a piece, then spin it back and sample the next piece, then spin it back and so forth.....

here's an example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHOXXsu4ehc&search=mpc
(at around :20 seconds is when he starts with the turntable)
see how still his tone arm is still when he moves the record? my arm bounces and moves all around for some stupid reason...

anyway, I am currently using a Gemini TT-02. basic turntable nothing expensive or real great. I notice though that the slightest movement of my record (like when I try to spin it back some) makes it skip. the needle does NOT stay on the record. Also, my record dosnt stay put when I try to spin it (i guess thats where a good slipmat comes in?). am I making any sense so far?

so here are my questions:
- What do I need so I can do some basic cuts over a beat?
- Can I do it with my Gemini TT-02?
- Do I need to have the tone arm "weight" (is that what its called??) in a certain position for my arm to stay put?
- Im sure I need some kind of DJ mixer, right? something with a fader?

I watched this tight Just Blaze video and towards the end he started scratching over the beat he made. He only had one turntable, but it looked like his table had a built-in fader or something? i dont know but here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS6ZGAhsM64&search=mpc

how can i do something like that with my Gemini? my bad for the long post but im totally new to this and I want to get started this weekend. thanks to any help yall can give me

peace fam

Good find on that video.



Not sure about the turntable questions... would be interested to hear some answers myself.



ronJ

get a better needle

so thats just what it boils down to. just that simple? so I get a new cartridge, pop it on my table and my problem is solved?

so no need for a new turntable? appreciate it.

belt or direct drive?

get a new TT.

a $125 TT is not going to be too forgiving for backcueing

Yea man u need a better TT. Get a direct drive Table. One of the main reasons why your needle is jumping is because u have a belt drive table and the platter is not sturdy enough to stay level when back cuing. You should be able to push down on the platter and the platter should not move. In the mean time u can tape a couple pennies on top of the needle for added weight, But Please Be careful when doing this because the added weight of the needle can ruin the record if u scratch continuously in one spot.

aight yea i figured that. I already changed my cartridge before. remember jaem? u helped me on that. that didnt solve my problem of the arm bouncing up and down when I touch the record....

i figured i needed a new one. im thinkin about coppin one of those dj packages. the ones that come with 2 tables a mixer and some other acessories. just to start off. appreciate the help fam

Those packages are usually belt driven, belt drives are cheaper than direct, quartz driven. For blending, maybe cool, but trickin and scratching, I'd save up for better.

- What do I need so I can do some basic cuts over a beat?
Turntable, better off w/ direct drive, quartz drive.

- Can I do it with my Gemini TT-02?
If it's direct, quartz, has a weighted arm or weight in the back, good catridge you should be good to go.

- Do I need to have the tone arm "weight" (is that what its called??) in a certain position for my arm to stay put?
Yes, along with a decent catridge you'll be good to go.

- Im sure I need some kind of DJ mixer, right? something with a fader?
A fader for scratching, maybe a hamster switch (line cut off/on above the line level fader) for more intricate fast cut off trickin.

Lampdog wrote:Those packages are usually belt driven, belt drives are cheaper than direct, quartz driven. For blending, maybe cool, but trickin and scratching, I'd save up for better.

- What do I need so I can do some basic cuts over a beat?
Turntable, better off w/ direct drive, quartz drive.

- Can I do it with my Gemini TT-02?
If it's direct, quartz, has a weighted arm or weight in the back, good catridge you should be good to go.

- Do I need to have the tone arm "weight" (is that what its called??) in a certain position for my arm to stay put?
Yes, along with a decent catridge you'll be good to go.

- Im sure I need some kind of DJ mixer, right? something with a fader?
A fader for scratching, maybe a hamster switch (line cut off/on above the line level fader) for more intricate fast cut off trickin.

thanks dogg! last night when i got home i tried moving the weight around on the arm. i tried it in different positions. i had it the farthest it would go up the arm and it seemed to be more stable...but it must have been too heavy on the stylus because it started scratching my record. i look at it and the actual cartridge was against the record. so I took the weight back and just left it where I originally had it. So now I know that has something to do with it.

appreciate your time lamp

The cartridge shouldn't be touching the record.
Some records move up and down as they spin, you gotta judge by trial and error that distance with your records, set the cartridge where it rides over the record but while the record is spinning moving up and down the stylus always maintains contact and the cartridge never touches the records, it's a balancing act really, trial and error at different weight settings is what it comes down to, no one can tell you exactly.

Some stylus have more bounce in them though and MADE for rough scratching and trickin.

yea as soon as i saw the cartridge draggin i moved the weight back. lol i put on this cruddy ass extremely dirty beat record just for that reason. but yea, im gonna replace the whole thing once im ready. i just bought another module so Im gonna wait another 2 weeks probably..

thanks for the tips man

For me it's eaiser just to lay down the whole part on the pc, and chop it up in there, so you dont have to worry about finding the right place on the record. For the drums ive seen alot of cats chop up break beats and it sounds way cleaner than just bangin one out straight samples of kicks,snares,perc sounds and stuff. is the quality on the mpc 1000 less than a 2500 or 4000.

please don't get one of those package deals. you're gonna get $500 worth of shitty equipment and wish you hadn't bought it 2 months down the line. You could spend a little less on one nice turntable that will last many years longer than an package tt. Buy quality gear or you'll spend more in the long run on multiple pieces of shyt. I think at first he was getting his levels right on the sample. When i'm in that stage of sampling i'll take a few passes to get the levels right before keeping the sample.

yea i see what your sayin. i dont imagine they're top quality tables if they come in a package like that. i dont know much about this stuff.. all i've every used was gemini beginners tables. all i do is sample with them but i want to start doing some small scratches. yea ill probably wait.

yea when i sample i usually just sample the whole part i want then chop it in audition. but looks like all them sample into the mpc. i used to but not anymore....

ill probably build up some cash and buy something quality. thanks for the tips fellas