How often should I clean my records and needles? Thanks again!

Anyone?

This article by Robin Smith from Remix mag has some good info...

remixmag.com

Use Caig's 'CaiLube MCL' fluid on your faders!

For Vinyl: Get a record brush and wipe the dust off before each play. Cleaning with something like Groove Glide should occur every month or two.

Thanks for the info guys! Great article! Much appreciated! So just how loose should your faders be for scratching?

If by "loose" you mean easy to move yet smooth, I'd say the looser the better.

It means you can "flick" the fader and achieve really fast fader movements with just your fingertips.

Thanks for the feedback Josh! My faders are very loose and smooth is it must be all butta!

depakote- what kind of fader are you using?

The faders that came with the Vestax PMC. Can you upgrade?

What mixer exactly are you using? And when did you buy it, there are several models out there with different faders.

I am using a Vestax PMC-05 Pro 2 just bought it a couple months ago but it was used (in very nice condition however).

I don't believe you can on that paticular model. The Vestax PMC-37 Pro uses a higher quality PCV (VCA) fader, but that can't be used with your PMC-05 Pro II. Order a new fader as a replacement (you'll thank me for this later) because PCV faders can, and will, wear out fairly quickly - especially if you scratch at all. By contrast, Rane and Ecler both use 'no-contact' magnetic faders on their scratch mixers that should never suffer from crossfader bleed.

Thanks for the info Detroit! Much appreciated! I wonder why you see most scratch DJ's using Vestax mixers opposed to Rane or Ecler?

Vestax targets a slightly different market - their models are, on average, 50% cheaper than Rane. Vestax was making scratch-style mixers for years before either Rane or Ecler... that gave Vestax a strong foothold in the marketplace. Rane offers what is considered the 'cream de la cream' in scratch mixers: the TTM 56. Ecler has been making steady inroads with it's HAK series, but suffers from lack of a well-known brand name.

depakote, I use a PMC-250 and I know that the crossfaders as well as the actual line faders are replaceble. Vestax even sells knobs to replace the line faders. This was a big reason in getting a Vestax, since my Numark headphone fader was not replaceable, and once it went out, the cue was useless, which makes it useless for a dj mixer, even though I still use it when we do a 2 x 4 setup for the mix between 2 other mixers, before it hits the PA.

Do they have the new P&G faders? If so, try this article here vestax.co.uk

Thanks for the feedback guys!

I've got one of these:
www.needledoctor.com
and It's the nuts. I'd like a nitty gritty like this:
www.needledoctor.com
but at over $700 I think I'll stick to the manual 'analog' method for $40 as above :-)

Also, for your needles, check out

www.needledoctor.com
looks pretty funky

www.needledoctor.com
looks like nail polish (heard lots of good things about it)

www.needledoctor.com
is just another option slightly cheaper

I once found an article on the net which was a recipe for making your own vinyl cleaning solution. It was 50% methylated spirit and 50% distilled water. It seemed to work fine for me so you may want to research into some home brew methods which are MUCH cheaper than the commercial stuff! :-)

stu

I'm still using my HAK 320 which i got five or six years ago. No complaints at all. The gain and eq controls are very very powerful, rock solid build quality too. When you look at the price - i'd say it beats vestax there (never tried rane mixers so i'm not going there!!!). Mine's got the old faders which seem ok but i've only been heavily scratching for a few years now (replacement x-fader only £30!!!), if the new faders are as good as Ecler make out - that'd make the new models serious contenders. I think the A+H probably wins over all others at the moment however.
Just wanted to put my word in - Ecler haven't really got a big name or rep - but i'd recommend them any day....

Also - i've watched a Qbert 'how to scratch' DVD where he recommends good old WD40 (oil) for fader cleaning.

I'm still using the technics 1200 dmc mixer. The fader wears out in like 6 months but I been sticking with that since it came out.

Does anyone know if the Stanton sylus cleaner is any good?

I refuse to buy stanton products! Final Ass Arrgh!

Word.

It's just a $10 cleaner, I think you guys are getting a little carried away!

I heard the cleaner works only about half the time. *lol

depakote, its not about the $10, its b/c as an ex FS user you feel like you were played and fooled by stanton. They wont see a penny from me, unless they change their attitude towards customers.

the best widely available scratch mixer, without a doubt, is the rane ttm56, its build quality and component quality make the vestax 07 look like a toy. there is a good reason for it being expensive.

the only scratch mixer that could maybe better it for sound/component quality is this,

www.asisphonics.net

it doesnt look like much but if you know anything about rodec you know it is serious stuff!

Wow, that rodec mixer looks awesome, very promising.



Just wanted to add, that I think the TTM56 doesnt have a good design, it looks cheap, the 07 looks muuuch better. Plus I dont like the layout of the TTM56, confusing positions of the gains vs. the High-EQ-knob.

Mee too

So Final Scratch was really that horrible a product? Funny how some people say it was much more stable than SSL though.

No but the suport was nonexistant. And here you can chat with the actual developers of this program and they will make modifications almost on the spot regaring actual user complaints.
I have never seen support like this. But then this is a program that is way ahead of its time.

KFunk- Which Numark was it? I am noticing that I am using my PPD01 so much that I am starting to wear the finish off of it and have already replaced the channel crossfader once. I love the headphone crossfader, but am scared it will eventually render the mixer useless.

3pm, It is the Numark DM1800X.
A Picture
www.cuttinthebutter.com