On this episode of the share the knowledge podcast for DJ's we talk about is there such a thing as too much scratching. What are some good ways to read the crowd and what equipment do I use when I record mixtapes now, I have the answers to that and a lot more. So let's get started right now for the last 26 years. I've been rocking stages playing clubs and having a lot of fun as a DJ and turntable is and in that time I've seen and learned a lot now it's time for me to share that knowledge by answering the questions that Can help you become a better DJ. I'm DJ t11 and this is the share the knowledge podcasting DJ's one two, one two, what's going on Welcome Back to the Sheridan College podcast for DJ's. I'm your host DJ tlm. And this is episode 7. This is my Q&A show. I try to answer as many DJ related questions as possible to the best of my ability. Now, I have over 25 years of DJ experience and I've been a tour DJ for over 20 years I've been producing for It's some years as well. I've organized events. I've done a lot of things within the hip-hop music industry. So I know some things and there's plenty of things that I don't know and I'm learning on a daily basis. I'm also kind of a tech nerd especially when it comes to DJ related Tech. So I love to try out new stuff. I like to review stuff. I do that on my YouTube channel called the JT lime TV. So if you're new to the podcast and you haven't checked out my other At forms, make sure you check out the gtlm TV on YouTube and you can follow me everywhere. The handle is DJ tlm on all social media. Oh, yeah before I forget to mention I restarted a relaunch my newsletter and I actually sent out the first one today. So if you're not subscribed to the newsletter, you can do that by going to my website djt. Alarm.com and subscribing right there. Now, I started my newsletter. I'm almost ashamed to say but at the end of 2015 I sent. One newsletter and that was it. Yeah. I thought it would be a good idea but I didn't really have it planned out. And the way I went about it is I made it way too difficult way too much work to make it happen and it just didn't happen again. So yes, it's almost four years like three and a half years ago. So I'm just going to disregard that and start from today. I sent it out today and the newsletter is going to be a Weekly Newsletter and that's going to just highlight. Everything that I did in the week before from all platforms. So if you're only following me on YouTube, you might be missing out on something that I post on Instagram that could have been interesting like a short performance clip or the podcast that I drop on anchor SoundCloud Apple Spotify. You name it? I have people that follow me on one platform and miss out on the other content. So the Weekly Newsletter is going to give you a nice overview of everything. I did on all platforms. Now, I'm not talking about every Instagram post only if it's Thing interesting it's going to be mostly about the YouTube videos the podcasts and if I release new beats on Spotify or SoundCloud that's going to be on there as well. So just to keep you up to date in case you miss out because you two even if you're subscribed and even if you have the notification is activated, it doesn't always work. We've seen that happen. So that newsletter is going to be your Sure Shot to make sure that you get everything every week including sometimes maybe special giveaways or other things like that. I'm going to be dropping those to the newsletter first and maybe later on on platforms as well. So you're going to have the first you're going to be front row for things like that as well. So check out the website for the DJ tlm newsletter. All right. So the first question is, I've been DJing for years and was wondering what advice you have for your timing video meaning like what happens if you lose count do you just wait for the one after the phrase you Counting and start over. I think that's a great question. Well, look, I like to talk about Connor music. I like to talk about how it is one of the fundamentals and actually in my mix tutorial series on YouTube that is part 1 in the playlist before the actual introduction. I want people to start with the counting music video. You need to understand about Beats bars and phrases and you need to practice counting music. So at first that is going to be 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 three four that's going to get you started mind you I'm talking about music with that 4/4 time signature. If you have no understanding of what I'm saying, you need to check that video, but most of the music we play has the same time signature and in that time signature you have four beats for every bar. All right, so we start with counting the Beats then you start counting bars. Then you start learning about phrases the structure songs and all of this is necessary for you to create a sense of timing for your transitions. But I understand that sometimes if you're not trained enough yet, you might lose the count this could happen and it is actually a sign of not being skilled enough at counting it. So yes, it is possible to if you lose the count on the phrase to just wait and see if you can find that one. Again. If you have enough time in the track you could do that. I remember when I started out first playing at parties House Parties, we will bring our And and I would DJ I will get nervous and sometimes I would basically either lose count or I couldn't match the beats fast enough the next verse would start. I would have to wait and hopefully I would get it and I admit there's been a couple of times and you might have been there as well that I was almost at the end of this song and I did not have my Beats match yet. And then you hear that dreaded fade out when the song ends and you're not ready. I hate it that everyone looks at you. It's part of the game though you learn from it. But at a certain point you should be able to just find the count and keep the count without even counting. So yes, the answer is if you lose count you need to just listen to the track again find that count again, see if you can recognize where a new pattern begins where a new phrase begins and take it from there. Now if you know the songs it should Also helped out a lot. So if you're listening to the song and you forgot the count, but you know the song you should be also able to tell when the next course is coming in. That is why it's also so important to know your music now in my case. I'm talking about course as I play a lot of hip-hop and R&B you're dealing with courses verses choruses and of course, maybe an intro and outro if you're playing all the types of music, you might be more into having like intros breakdowns drops. You name it. Build up all of those things are recognizable. So anytime you hear that new Switch. You also know that you can start your count there again, but it all starts with actually really mastering how to count music because once you master it, you're not even counting anymore your whole system can just tell I don't count. I haven't counted in years now. Let me correct myself. I haven't counted four years what I'm doing transitions, but if I New music and there's a new track that has a start that is a little bit different than the normal. So it doesn't start on the one but it has like a really unorthodox drum roll type of start then I'll have to take a couple of listens count while I play it to find out how it exactly comes in once I know I know and then that's done when it comes to Transitions. I haven't counted music in years. So keep on Saying and you should be able to get there as well. And then we're not even talking about losing count anymore. Now. The next question actually falls right into place with the last one and the question is how do you drop a track without mixing? Well, once again, here we are if you know how to count music and if you know your music, you know when a certain phrase of the song ends, so let's say in this case, you know when the chorus of song One And so you have song to ready on the one and you wait for that course to end and when the new phrase is about to come in. So the new one after the hook comes in. That's where the new track comes in. I do a lot of my mixes that way so I'm basically not even mixing. I'm dropping during the warm-up. I do a lot of mixing but during the high part I mix some tracks but a lot of times I will just throw it in drop it onto one. So you counting and once you get to that last Council that last one two, three four one that's what a new one comes in. That way. You're still doing the same timing. If it is in the same tempo or about the same tempo people can just continue in that same flow. Now keep in mind if you're playing a track that is in a totally different Tempo than the last one. You can still drop it on the one but in that case, I would not let the other track play on. All the last count what I mean by that is if you have one track was playing at let's say 95 BPM that track is playing if you let that play until that last one, two, three four, and on the one you drop a track that's 120 BPM that's going to shop the crowd like crazy. So if it's a familiar song, like I said during the hype I might drop on the one a lot if it's a familiar song, I know people are going to be singing that hook. I'm might even have a microphone ready to sing along as well. I'll take out the track for the last couple of counts. Let them sing the last one or two lines of the song without a beat there that way the impact of the new track is going to be totally different and especially if it's also a well-known track, you're not even thinking about the tempo anymore. They just sang along to a line and then a new Banger comes in and even though it's a different Tempo it should We'll work like normally that works for me, but don't let it play right until the end and drop it because then 95 to 120 is going to sound crazy. But again, it's all about knowing your music know how to count music making that a natural feeling and then dropping it on the one without mixing becomes very easy, and I actually have a video about this and I think the video was called mixing versus dropping it on the one you have to check my channel. If you go to my YouTube channel go to the search box and you type in dropping it on one or drop on the one you should probably find it that way and I actually show you an example where I'm mixing and where I'm dropping it on the one without mixing. So in last week's episode I talked about not taking shortcuts because someone asked me a question if I had tips how to speed up the learning curve and this week. I have a question that kind of boils down to the same thing, but there's a longer story attached. So let me just start with that story. I'm 24, I started DJing when I was 19, but my whole equipment was stolen and the problem was I loaned the money for it so I couldn't afford a new one. So I had to quit before I even start for years. I was planning to start over but money was a big problem in college also. So for five years, I did nothing. I lost five years and now my thinking is that even if I start now I could never be as good as I would be if I would have started at Team because five years is a lot of time and also every DJ and producer says that you always learn and that it takes a lifetime of learning. So my logic is that I will always be five years behind like one of 26 27. I will never be as good as I would be if I started at 19 because the five your backlog and even when I'm 30, I will never be as good if I would have started at 19. So what do I do? Is there any way to contact? Compensate lost time any tip for faster DJ and production learning. I really had the passion. But when I think I lost five years I just lose desire only because I think I will never be as good and I will never have the skill that I would have had if I started at 19. All right, I think it even continues with more of the same, but the message is pretty clear. So let's just start right here. You shouldn't be living It regret that's a terrible thing to do and especially because it is something that happened and it was out of your control. So stop thinking about what if I started at 19, that's not the case. You're starting at 24. So let that go stop thinking about that and let's be honest if you're going to use that as the mindset then I could always say what DJ's who started at 13 does it mean that they're all better than you because they started earlier. They have more of a head start now the answer is no not really and the answer and hopefully this will make you feel better is also that there's plenty of people who start later than 24 in their 30s in their 40s. Look here's the thing. I understand that you're always learning concept and it's true. I'm still learning every day, but a lot of things I'm learning now. I I've learned five years ago because five years ago, those things weren't around other things are learned through experience. But then again, I know DJ is that have been DJing as long as I have but we both have a different level of experience. We've both been through different things. I started at the same time. I certain DJs and in that time all they've done is play at local bars and clubs. That was their thing perfectly fine in that same time. I played at local bars and clubs. Played at venues throughout the country festivals small and very large. I've toured all across the country and other countries and Europe and abroad like overseas and I've done 3500 live shows besides my DJ career and I've organized my own events. Like I said in the intro, so my experience is not the same as another DJ who started at the same time. I did like 26 years ago it all. Pain, so how long ago you started that's only part of the equation. I shouldn't worry about that. Now, here's the thing. There's not really a thing you can do to now win back those five years, but that should not be your goal at all. You can learn now. If you start now just start learning now and 24 is still very young. But again, let me just add you could start at 30 40 or 50 as well. The only thing is is once you get older The Nightlife might not be as appealing anymore compared to when you're 24, but don't let it bother you and don't think about time that you lost and try to win that time back just focus on the now and keep in mind that now there's access to a lot more educational material that you would have had five years ago tips and tricks videos tutorials, and I'm not even talking about just my own stuff on YouTube, but there's plenty of other videos out there the DJ courses that are available nowadays you can get lessons online you name it? So a lot of stuff people can do now wasn't even possible five years ago ten years ago. So just go for it. If you have the feeling that this is what you want to do just go ahead and do it enjoy it and don't let the negative thoughts of something that happened that you can't change anymore. It already happened effect. You just enjoy the moment and live in the now learn all you can and yes, you will continue to learn over time. But what people mean when they say learning over time of you keep on learning a lot of that doesn't really have to do with the fundamentals. The fundamentals are the same. So you start there you learn the fundamentals of DJ and you learn the fundamentals of producing or making music and take it from there. But the experience that you will gain on top of that that's going to be different for everyone for some people is not going to go beyond the bedroom for some people. It's just going to be the local youth center and for others. It's going to be touring the world the Here is where everyone is different. But even that nowadays you can learn from other people's experiences. Well through podcast interviews you name it. Don't sweat it get started and get into it and don't look for shortcuts start with those fundamentals and take it from there. That's all I can add to it have fun doing it and that's what it's all about. Alright. So I like this question. This is another question from the Instagram topic and the question is is there such a thing as too much scratching now, I gave the short answer. Sir there and the answer was yes, there is such a thing as too much scratching but let's just get into that a little bit. First of all, I assume that we're talking about DJ who plays for people to entertain those people playing in a club letting people dance you name it in that case. There is definitely such a thing as too much scratching and I've seen this happen plenty of times now, I started playing for people. I also got really interested in turntablism guy. Into that got into battles met a lot of DJ's from the battle scene here in the Netherlands. And at a certain point, I was already playing in club that have a certain point some of those DJ's also started to take on Club gigs and with some of those DJ's you could tell that they were still so used to their battle days that they were cutting it up in between every song and adding even more turntablism like back spinning every song they throw in but do a lot of scratching but to a point that it turns into a performance when they're supposed to be entertaining the People by letting tracks play and what would happen is people stop dancing and start looking now, that's a cool thing if it's a showcase if it's a club night and people are dancing and they're interrupted because they have to look that's cool if you do once but if it happens two three four times, they're not standing still because they're watching anymore. They're standing still because there Waiting for that annoying DJ to stop scratching. I always credit myself for finding a nice balance and using turntablism in my club sets. But in a subtle way, I still got to have my fun but it's in a way that people still have a good time and it's not like bothering them. It should add something a little extra flavor but not overtake the entire set. So yes, you should definitely watch it if you're playing like that. In front of people now if you known as a Scratch DJ and you're being sold you're being put on the bill as the DJ who's going to do. Let's say a Red Bull freestyle showcase or something like that. Now that might include a lot of scratching in there. But even with the rebel freestyle set sets they're still made to have people dance. But if it's like marketed as a turntablism showcase, you can scratch for 5, 10 15 minutes people probably came to see that that's a different story now if you just described DJ. I don't know. It's probably not such a thing as too much scratching and I know some people who like to scratch all day and night but that's mostly in the confinement of their own little Studio or house. And when it's that time you can do whatever you want to do but in a club take it easy, so when it comes to my style of DJing freestyle DJing, there's one very important element to make that work and that is reading the crowd now. I have a question about that on the question is what are What are some good ways to read the crowd? I don't know. I can't really say that I can name different ways to read the crowd. I basically use my senses and do two things. I use my eyes and I use my ears. That's it. You're reading the crowd and what that means is you're looking at their reaction to what you play. So let me just explain I play Freestyle. If you don't know what that means. That means that I do not play with prepared sets. So of course, I know what type of music I brought on the Top or on my flash drive, so I know what I have but I don't know exactly what I'll play and when I'll play it now if I'm booked to do a certain type of event, of course that will narrow it down. So if I'm playing a 90s hip-hop R&B party, I already know I'm in those 90s hip-hop and R&B folders. So that's pretty specific and I already know that the crowd coming in is going to like that style of music that makes it a lot easier. I don't have to do the same amount. I love reading the crowd as I would if I'm playing like an open format party where anything is possible and you're not really sure what type of crowd is attending. So taking it back to that first example, it's a 90s hip-hop R&B party. If I'm playing the warmup. I don't really have to read the crowd. I know the type of songs. I'm going to play it's going to be 90s hip-hop R&B with a nice smooth Vibe not too much energy because this is the warm-up. There's not going to be a full - for yet because We're still coming in. I'm just going to set the tone set the mood and play some nice tracks that will fit for that part of the evening. Now as time goes on. I'm going to start to add a little bit more energy even in that phase. I don't really have to do a lot of reading. But at that point my goal is going to be to move people more towards the - floor. So the only thing I'm doing then is I'm selecting a couple of tracks and those tracks have one goal. They're supposed to get people on that asked for how play one or two and they're not moving yet. I might just adjust the strategy and look for something maybe a little more hype or I just think of something else to do some other track to play but that's the only reading I have to do are they going towards that dance floor? It's the Dance Floor filling up if the answer is yes. I'm doing my job. The answer is no I have to just come up with a different plan. Look for some different tracks now during the high part of the evening. I don't really have to look I will look but you're also using your ears a lot because you're throwing in the bangers and most likely if you're hitting them with the right bangers. You're going to get the nice. Oh our reaction from the crowd. There's singing along to the hooks. Now, if you hear them singing along to a couple of hooks, you know, I got you. They're in there having a good time. I know what type of tracks to play. So now if I'm playing like an open format type of event there's all sorts of Music being played. I'm going to have to pay more attention and really take a close look to see what type of people I have. So I'm going to try a lot of different genres and while I'm playing if I'm playing let's say I'll play a couple of dance hall tracks. It's going to be very easy to see if there's a reaction because if they like dance hall you're going to hear a reaction and you're going to see a different type of dancing going on so I can They like it or not. Sometimes you do it. You see no one moving like okay. This is not the crowd for that and I might try something totally different but I'll try a couple of styles and I read that crowd I watch to see how they're moving if they're moving and after that maybe also of course use my ears, but mostly just looking at the reaction that would read in the crowd means you're reading their reaction. So that's what I do. I don't have Current ways beyond that looking listening now. I'm interested if you're watching the video and if you have different ways to do it, let me know in the comment section. So we have a question about the equipment and the question is what equipment do you use when doing mixtapes now if we're talking about what equipment I use to play the tracks that's going to be different. I've recorded mixtapes with all sorts of equipment with turntables with ns7 controllers with Jay so I've done different stuff. I've used other controllers as well mostly turntables though and especially turntables with DVS in the later years, but my first mixtape series my first ten and even some other projects that was all just turntables real vinyl and my first couple of mixtapes we're talking about using turntables vinyl and recording it on a cassette deck. So my first series of ten mixtapes over the first couple of years all cassette and the first five I think, Or six were with still the master being a cassette and I would duplicate those after that. I got myself a nice MD recorder a mini disc recorder that will be my master and then I would still dubbed the cassette because that's what people were still buying now after that it became digital. So when it comes to recording mixtapes in the digital era, I've done different things either. I would have my DJ set and I would connect the output of my mixer to an audio interface that was connected. To my computer and then I would record with some type of recording software a lot of times. I would use Cubase and that was my preferred doll at the time use that for recording. I've also done mixtapes where I recorded an audition and I've even used audacity. So there's all sorts of well recording software production software that has recording capabilities. So take a DJ set and then have your output go into your computer through an audio interface now in the The easier way to do it and that's what I do nowadays a lot as well. If I'm recording a one-take mix. So basically a quote-unquote live mix I'll record within the DJ software. So if I'm using Cerrado, I reckon record in Cerrado, I can do the same interactive rekordbox. You name it. So recording it inside the software while you're playing but if I'm recording a mixtape and I want to do like a track-by-track recording all use some recording software on a computer to record what I'm doing with the physical set last way. I've also requested What it mixes again live mixes is just a take audio recorder that I have connected to the DJ set at the venue and then just record it. So my zoom H5 has the option to record wave 24 bit. So you get nice quality. I'll take the recording output on one of those djm 900 and just record the audio like that that is a way and another way and I've done that basically only once yet at home and that is to reuse the The what's it called? Again Pioneers Rec app. I have a review you can check that out on the channel as well. The rec app allows you to record digitally from a couple of pioneer mixes including the 900 Nexus to you. Just take a USB cable plug it in the top connect it to your iPhone and then it'll give you a nice digital recording and there's a couple of advantages to that. So check out that review for all of that. But you have a lot of different options and when it comes to my personal use I've used We all of them. So I guess it all depends on your situation. Are you recording at home in the studio? Are you using DJ software? If you're not using DJ software you're going to need another computer to record on or if you're recording a one-take mix you could also use an audio recorder, whatever works and the same thing applies to meet whatever works if I'm recording here. I don't have a second computer to record. So we'll have to record within the DJ software to make that work if I want to do a one track recording. Mix session so I want to record track by track. I have to bring in a second computer to do that. So it all depends on the situation and how much you have available to you. So I did receive a question about tone arms and the question is now that I got my replacement RP 8,000. Can you talk about proper tone arm setting and height on turntables. I would like to hear from you about it. Here's my thing. Now if you listen to the podcast it's going to be really hard to show you about. My honest answer is when it comes to proper turntable treatment handling setting I was never really into it sounds crazy, but when I started with turntables and I got into turntablism, I only have one goal. I wanted to make sure my needle didn't Skip and basically what I would do is I would have my weight as heavy as I could set it so that the needle will be pressed on the vinyl as as hard as possible. So I would have that all the way screwed towards the middle not have the weight all the way out to the end because then it's going to make your needle your cartridge lighter and have less pressure on that turn vinyl. So set it to the heaviest so would have the most pressure on that vinyl when it comes to height. I think I always put a quite high but it dependent different turntables reacted differently. Every time I came to Club it all depended on how that turntable was somewhat treated like awful somewhere. Just some were just all messed up because DJ is back in the days used to mess around with the turntable. So if you have like a resident DJ, sometimes they would open them things up and change stuff and you could tell like you would have two turntables and you have them both playing at plus-2, but they weren't playing at the same speed because DJ's were messing around with the turntable. So I would just try stuff put the the height of the entire tone harm little bit High weight as heavy as it could be and that a certain points I use needles and I found that the heaviest didn't work anymore and I actually had to put it a little bit lighter. So it depends on the needles as well because my m47s reacted differently than some of the other fall needles and definitely when I was using my Statin 500, so I would have to have it at the heaviest put a coin on top of the head shell as well. Do all sorts of things. Have that little anti skating wheel on there as well. I never never had a correct setting for that. I tried a couple of different things and especially at a certain point. I didn't even really move that one unless I had some real trouble and the turntable just the needle kept on skipping then I would try stuff but sometimes I will come into a club. I would check my needles I'll put the needles on the tone arms and start playing and if I found that I had an issue. Shoo, then I would start to adjust stuff. So I'm a horrible person to ask and I know the DJ's out there who are very specific and they'll bring their little app on their phone even nowadays to check to see if the rotation is correct and they have the perfect height for the turntable for the tonearm for their needle and their vinyl you name it. I'm not that guy. That's a crazy thing. I'm definitely into Tech and I like to explore but I'm never one to read. Manuel's especially back in the day sometimes I do now because things got more complicated I just went on an experiment and if something worked it worked and I used it that way so I don't have a better answer than that. I'm sorry. All right. I want to ask you this question right here because this is a question. I see a lot in different shapes forms and sizes, but it all comes down to the same thing. So the question right here is what's a good track to practice beat juggling on a controller now the reason I say that Has all sorts of questions like this is a question that I would consider similar is when people ask me what's a good sound to practice scratching or what's a good song to practice mixing? The answer is a lot now, I'm not going to say every song is as great to practice mixing or every beat is as great to practice beat juggling or every sound is as good to use for scratching, but the Answer is there's so much you can use now certain cases with scratching you could scratch with every sound but not everything is going to sound as good and if you want to practice certain techniques like the transform scratch, you cannot use like a very short sound for that or kick drum or kick drum is not going to work for the transform scratch. Not that well you want to have preferably a longer sound that you can really chop up into a lot of pieces. Now, if you're practicing the Baby Scratch, you could have a kick drum to practice that is it going to sound as As good if you're doing a scratch performance know then you want a different sound but hopefully you catch my drift same thing with practicing mixing. You can mix with any music if you want to start easy, you might want to start with some house music with some for to the floor drum beats because that is easier than using for instance hip hop where the drum patterns are different. But you have a lot of options a lot of choice don't start with live music like old soul funk that's going to be harder. So if you want to start simple take something else If you want to make it harder use live music I've talked about that in plenty of videos as well. But in this case if we're talking about beat juggling there's a lot you can use but I think the best thing to start with is to try and find something that is a little bit clean what I mean by that is start with something that has a nice drum pattern in there, but not too many sounds like it doesn't really matter. You could use something with a lot of sounds but if you're practicing right now you want to keep it. Simple if you have too many sounds in there, it might get a little bit confusing. If you only have a nice clean drum pattern like just the kick and the snare that's easier to focus on but it doesn't matter if you're using turntables or controller. What type of beat would be good to use. I have a couple of Beats on my SoundCloud that aren't too fast. So the tempos pretty okay and that basically have just drums in there. So that's a good place to start in my opinion. Not some DJ's might approach this totally different and I'm not really up to speed with all DJs and turntablist practice regimen but for me if I'm practicing be juggling basic techniques, just some drums now. Once you get a little bit more advanced you want to have something extra in there like a melody or at least some sounds because then you're going to use those sounds to manipulate and really transform it into different Melody. You name it? You can use a lot of things. I'm having trouble just to think of of like an example track, but that's my whole point. It doesn't really matter if I want to start practicing be juggling right now. Just some Basics with the kick and the snare. I'll just open up the folder with instrumentals and I'll find some kicks in drums on Plenty tracks that I can use. So don't Focus too much on on that just find a nice track with just a nice clean beat to start with so that's why I'm going to end episode 7 of the shared knowledge podcast for DJs in 2019. I hope you enjoyed the episode and I hope My answers were able to at least get you started help you on your way or give you the information that you need it. Now if you want to ask me questions, I'm on social everywhere to handle is DJ tlm. Check out my YouTube Channel DJ tlm TV, and you can also reach me by email share the knowledge at the JT alarm.com. Make sure you subscribe to the newsletter by going to my website DJ TL m.com to get that Weekly fresh update with everything I've done in the last week and That's basically it I'll be back next Monday with a new episode until then have a lot of fun and practice practice practice.
Welcome to season 2, episode 7. Sign up for the DJ TLM newsletter: https://www.djtlm.com/newsletter/  In this episode I talk about: - The DJ TLM newsletter. - How to drop it on "the one". - What I use to record mixtapes. - Is there such a thing as "too much scratching"? - My preferred tonearm setting (which I don't have). - Does starting "later" mean that you can't become the best you could be? - What to do when you lose the count during a mix. Feel free to jump in the comment section and join the conversation when you see a question that you can answer. 