Disc Jockey Setup

Beatmatching involves synchronising two or more tracks so they have the same tempo and are in phase. The DJ adjusts the speed of one track to meet the other using the pitch slider.

Scratching involves two tasks:
- moving a record back and forth
- moving a crossfader back and forth.

I also just wanted to post some images that show a traditional scratch disc jockey's setup.

A general setup will have two turntables connected via an audio mixer, hooked up to an amplifier. The DJ also sets up headphones so he/she can listen to a track independently of the music being heard by the audience, in order to cue, beat-match and set it up for mixing.

Each turntable will have a different vinyl with a different musical track on it. The vinyl is read according to the needle's position on the vinyl. There is also a pitch slider on the turntable, which is used for beat-matching. The faster the speed the higher the pitch and vice versa.

The audio mixer comprises of a cross-fader (for overlaying the audio from each track). There is also a channel volume fader for each turntable.




A few other things to note: The platter spins at a constant normal speed. This allows for continuous manual modification of speed, including a complete stop.

There is visual feedback when a DJ is mixing. The needle indicated the temporal position within the song. The pitch slider position indicates the platter speed.

There is quick random access to a particular point within a song through needle placement. There is auditory feedback through changes in the musical output when a record is accelerated, slowed or scratched.