Lets not forget that this is a thread about scratching... on a TRANCE forum. Of course on this forum most people are heavily into trance, which is not associated with scratching. In fact, scratching over trance is just plain shit, and sounds awful.

Scratching is mainly for hip-hop and drum n bass. The sounds made in scratching complement these styles of music, whereas it does not in trance.

Scratching and beat mixing are two different skills. Ask a hip-hop turntablist to seamlessly mix together two progressive trance tunes so you can't tell the change in record, and chances are he couldn't do it. Ask a progressive trance DJ to use some mad skratch skillz with a couple of hip-hop records, and you know what the result will sound like.

Some people like scratching, some people don't. That's how it is. Personally, I would love to be able to do it. However, I can't. I've tried it, and it sounds shit. Perhaps with more practice I could, but I can't be arsed.

The argument about wearing out your records and needles can be taken both ways. Of course, scratching wears out both faster, but this is to be expected. Trance/house DJ's expect to have their records and needles last longer, and scratch DJ's expect to have to replace them more often. And for practicing, what do you think they do? Use their brand new, expensive needles and latest tunes? Of course not. If you want to practice scratching, you get a pair of cheap Stantons that you can just cane the hell out of, and a couple of old "why did I buy that" records that you can also cane the hell out of. You save your decent stuff for when you need it.

Ok Johnny. I see your point. But what I think happened was a for of miscommunication.
I didn't mean scratching over my trance and house 12". I've put in lots and lots of effort and tons of money to have my collection as of right now(which I'm very proud of, albeit it's not a Carl Cox number of records), so chances are that I'll be trying to save these as much as possible.
Scratching over beats and cuts from hip hop records is what I'm talking about. I just find the way that the true turntablists cutting and mixing their acetates amazing and fucking off the hook. If you've seen Qbert live, or Mix Master Mike, you'll know what I'm talking about.
That's the reason why I brought up the issue of beatmatching. It takes a hell of a lot more talent, physical agility and coordination to scratch and juggle than it does to line up two records with each other. Yeah, it does require effort and skill, but only so much...with scratching, your actually creating something totally different from something else, and your potential and results are bound only by your imagination.
And scratching isn't just cuing the record back and forth and 'wiggling' it over a beat...scratching comprises an aspect of turntablism along with our current trance DJ's as well. Just like beatmatching isn't just making two records go at the same pace, scratching is much more than just backcueing and what not.
As for you being a DJ since 1976... all I got to say is: respect.

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Originally posted by dJohn Ok Johnny. I see your point. But what I think happened was a for of miscommunication. I didn't mean scratching over my trance and house 12". I've put in lots and lots of effort and tons of money to have my collection as of right now(which I'm very proud of, albeit it's not a Carl Cox number of records), so chances are that I'll be trying to save these as much as possible. Scratching over beats and cuts from hip hop records is what I'm talking about. I just find the way that the true turntablists cutting and mixing their acetates amazing and fucking off the hook. If you've seen Qbert live, or Mix Master Mike, you'll know what I'm talking about. That's the reason why I brought up the issue of beatmatching. It takes a hell of a lot more talent, physical agility and coordination to scratch and juggle than it does to line up two records with each other. Yeah, it does require effort and skill, but only so much...with scratching, your actually creating something totally different from something else, and your potential and results are bound only by your imagination. And scratching isn't just cuing the record back and forth and 'wiggling' it over a beat...scratching comprises an aspect of turntablism along with our current trance DJ's as well. Just like beatmatching isn't just making two records go at the same pace, scratching is much more than just backcueing and what not. As for you being a DJ since 1976... all I got to say is: respect.

DON'T COPY Q BERT!

There's this plague in the turntablist world is that every newbie ( which you are! ) wants to copy Q Bert cause he's the shit he's got style etc etc...
and today to many newbies copy him and actually manage to get a level near his only to try to bust out there shit during ITF or DMC competitions ....

The stuff you're talking about is pure turntablism, inaudible to the untrained ear , and unknown outside of the inner circle.

Tap into some mixtapes to get a good feel of scratching to mix, and not to give everyone a headache while trying to bust it out technically. The supperrappin Cds ( there's two of them ) are excellent and I'd deeply suggest them to anyone who had any form of interest for lyricist vibes.

btw anyone seen the movie Wavetwister by the ISPs ?

oh and by the way don't forget what you said to start out with :

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Naw...just wanna learn how to scratch. Maybe I'll scratch over trance sometimes, but as for right now..pure cutting.