Decks & pieces
DJ Kid, drum & bass man extraordinaire and resident at Jungle Magik, gives us an insider’s view on the best turntables and
mixers available.
rom a yery young age I had
an interest in music and can
still remember trying to get my cousin's l-‘isher Price record deck to play the disks backwards. Then one Saturday morning my life changed and my path was set when l was watching kid‘s TV show The Wide Awake (711/). l saw this l).l called (‘had Jackson who had just
been the crowned the l‘irst eyer
l)f\l(‘ champion. .\'ow. lo years haye passed since I lirst played out in a club liye and in
that time l'ye gained a wealth oi experience with a whole yariety ol‘
equipment. In an age when manulitctures continue to battle it out for supremacy in the marketplace there has neyer been such a huge range to choose from. Whether you fancy yourself as a pub or club 1)] or you just want a new hobby. here's my guide to what's hot in the world of the DJ equipment.
1 Technics SL1200/SL1210MK2
Back in l‘)(i‘) Technics introduced the world‘s first eyer direct driye turntable. the SPIl). This was a standard rel‘erence player and wasn‘t superseded until 2| years later by the Sl.12()() and Sl.l2l(). There is no question that Technics has remained king ol‘ the hill when it comes to turntables designed for l)Js. The industry standard and a true pioneer that Dis all over the world swear by.
2 Numark DM1002 MKZ
.\'umark haye been the most reliable mixers l haye come across and they stand up to a proper beating. Both channels on this mixer ol'l'er three band liQ top. middle and bass and you also have the kill switches
which cut either ol~ these parts of
the music out. You also haye a great microphone input which I‘ve
always found yery usel‘ul. even il’
it‘s just for the kids to haye a laugh with. For me this is the best priced mixer on the market.
3 Vestax OFO Hybrid
A turntable with a built-in mixer'.’ Is that possible'.’ When legendary [)J/turntablist QBert is inyolyed anything is possible. This guy has taken scratching to a whole new plateau and is reyered throughout
the world as the best there will eyer
be. It you lancy getting into the ancient art or you just want a piece of kit that looks the bomb then this
@4
i z / \ 1. Technics ’~ “ SL 1200MK2 \ remains ‘king \ of the hill‘ in / the world of
DJ turntables according to DJ Kid. It costs £369 at Hard to Find Records. 0121 687 7777, www.htfr.com; £345. including a free Stanton 5058K cartridge and stylus. at DJ Superstore. 01702 520020, www. djsuperstore.co.uk
2. Numark DM1002 Mk2 mixer is the ‘best priced mixer on the market‘. It has two phono outputs and one mic output. Get it for £89 (inc VAT) at DJ Superstore. 01702 520020. www.djsuperstore .co.uk.
is the turntable you need. Designed in conjunction with QBert and DJ Yogal‘rog. this is the l‘irsl deck solely designed Tor the scratch 1).]. One ol‘ the main l'caturcs ol' this spectacular piece of kit is its tone arm. which will not skip no matter what angle the deck is used at. and can exert be play ed across the body like a guitar. With a whole array ol l‘eatures including reyerse button and a pitch control that goes all around the platter there is no doubt in my mind that. outwith Technics. this has to be the most innoyatiye turntable in the world.
4 Pioneer CDJIOOO
Digital Deck
Still ruling club land at the moment is the Pioneer (‘i).il()()(). This (ii) dcck l'ecls pretty close to actual Vinyl so it’s an easy transition should you make the jump. .\lost l).ls around the world prel‘cr Using this piece ol~ kit to any other (‘I)
i220 m. w THE LIST 1 13
3. Wextaxx OFO Hybrid ‘Iooks a bomb'. but it also costs an explosive £849 at Hard to Find Records. 0121 687 7777, www.htfr.com. and the same price at DJ Deals. 01483 502 121, www.djdeals. co.uk