Why now is the time to go old school

0:01 It's about my outlook on vinyl and why I think you should use vinyl

Alright ladies and gentlemen, now I have banged on about this before and really I can't emphasise this enough. So this video potentially could inspire you, motivate you, it actually could piss you off as well but I'm just going to be honest and open. It's about my outlook on vinyl and why I think you should use vinyl. Now I get... Constant emails from people. Another reason why I'm doing this video again, but in slightly more depth about using vinyl because there seems to be yet again another uptake in people wanting to use vinyl. But at the same time, there's a lot of people out there, a lot of DJs who will get a couple of turntables, some virtual vinyl, use their laptop and then they think they're using vinyl.

No, they're not. Because what you're doing is you're still using a laptop, you're relying generally on the software and of course as you and I know, well if you don't know, but even if you're using virtual vinyl, the software can beatmatch for you, it can find the key of the tracks, it can do... Many things, whereas if you are a vinyl purist like myself then it's down to your ears and believe me I make mistakes. So first of all let's imagine you're listening to, if you've got the time that is, 10 mixes on YouTube or 10 mixes on SoundCloud, Mixcloud, it doesn't matter you know. And eight or nine of them are like pristine. They're fantastic. There's no mistakes. You know, they're all in beat and key. They're all in phrase. It sounds great. They've got a nice kind of vibe and energy, a lift, a fall. You know, they take you on a journey. Yet one of the mixes is a little bit off. You know, maybe it's a phrase slightly. Maybe the beats go off a bit, come back in. Maybe there's a track in there that shouldn't have been in there.

2:16 You see, when you hear a set and there's no mistakes, absolutely

That's the mix I like, because after a certain time of listening to DJ mixes, you've got to come to the conclusion that are they really doing the mix themselves or are they relying on the laptop? You see, when you hear a set and there's no mistakes, absolutely. And when I say no mistakes, there are... None. Every time another track comes in, it's on point. Every time it goes out, it's on point. Phrase mixing is fantastic. You know, everything about it is spot on. You have to ask the question, did the DJ do it or were they relying on the laptop? Even to the extent when you see people using vinyl. Because unless you can see them take vinyl off and put another one on, sorry, if they do that, then you know they're using real vinyl. But if they don't do that and you watch a DJ doing a vinyl set and all they're doing is moving the needle, the stylus across to the beginning again and then pressing some icon on the laptop and off they go, then in my mind...

Let me know in a comment at the end of the video if you feel the same. They're not really a vinyl DJ. You see, I don't really personally understand why people would want to have the expenditure of vinyl turntables yet still rely on the laptop. Now something that is very important and it's happening more and more around the world and that is that nightclub owners, bars, just general people Who book a DJ? If you are a vinyl DJ and you've got all the old school vinyl, then in a way you could probably promote more of a fee because you're a little bit more exclusive. If we go back 20 or 30 years, there were tens of thousands of vinyl DJs. There were loads of DJs who used CD and there were practically none, well no DJs who use a laptop

5:06 Controllers, they could go back

I'm not sure exactly. I mean, maybe you can let me know in a comment when laptop DJing exploded. But if we go back to the mid 90s or perhaps even earlier than that, there weren't any programs. You had to use vinyl or CD. So it was no big deal. Now, on the other hand, there are nightclubs around the world begging for real vinyl DJs because it's real. You see, I bet you a lot of top DJs now that do these wicked sets. If you gave them a set of Technics 1200 turntables and a bunch of vinyl, they would die a death. Whereas the old school DJs who have grown up and used vinyl and then go on to controllers, they could go back and do it no problem. So what I'm trying to say in this video... If you're going to use vinyl, try to stay clear of virtual vinyl and concentrate on using real material, real records. Now I've got this set up here because earlier on today I gave a DJ lesson online. The guy wanted to learn about mixing on vinyl but if you look at a lot of people who use

Virtual DJ, Serato, Traktor. They've got vinyl turntables or they've got a controller. It doesn't matter. If they're using a laptop, just take a look. Nine times out of ten, they've got the laptop right in front of them. And in my mind, that's the wrong place to have a laptop. It needs to be away to the side because what you should be concentrating on is the crowd. And where are they? They're right in front of you. Not a screen. Alright, so what do you think? Now, please post in a comment, let me know. Now, admittedly, you know, let's be honest, vinyl is expensive, okay? You know, it's not like back in the day when you could go to a record shop and pick up a white label for three quid, you know, four, four and a half dollars. Nowadays, you know, and also there are not many people now producing vinyl.

7:01 Record shop and they are still

Back in the day, that's all there was. I worked on a radio station. I had a dance show for 10 years and I used to get hundreds if not thousands of tracks per year on vinyl. Sometimes they'd send me two copies. Nowadays, you know, you go to a record shop and they are still producing and making vinyl but it's not as much as they used to. And I've seen some of the prices of these records and I'm like £30. For an LP or £40, or £12-£15 for one 12 inch. Now for someone who wants to start buying vinyl and get into it, that's really expensive, but there are ways around it. Now my recommendation is to go on the likes of eBay and look up job lots. Now maybe you're a prolific house DJ, you go on eBay, you look at a job lot of records

And you notice that there are five tracks there that you want, but there's 50 12-inch singles and the price to buy them is say £100. Now that's a pretty good deal because again, the more you buy, theoretically the cheaper they will get. So you go and buy them, you keep the ones you want, you have a flick through, you maybe keep a few others, and then if you've got the time and the notion, sell the rest and make your money back. Take a look at 7-inch singles. Get a bunch of 7-inch singles. Also, go to the likes of car boot sales. I think in the States you call them garage sales. Go to second-hand shops and have a rummage. If you go to a second-hand shop and maybe they've got 7-inch singles at 50p, 20 pence each, get 100 of them and see if they'll do a deal for you.

8:54 Styles you like

Look through the LPs. Now, also don't just concentrate on the styles you like. Try and get an eclectic mix because you never know someone could book you as a vinyl DJ and you may end up working in a venue where there are all ages of people. But lastly, I want to finish off this is this is quite cool. Many years ago, I was asked to do a wedding And I said, it was a family member. I said, I'll do it for free so long as I can bring the vinyl turntables and play what I want. I didn't just play what I wanted as in stuff that the people wouldn't like. I made sure it was commercial orientated. But the amount of people that came up to me and were like, wow, this is amazing. You're a real DJ. People loved the fact that they could see the DJ, the vinyl, how it started.

So think about that. Now, maybe you can't afford Technics. Well, why don't you maybe consider looking in to get the old Citronic double deck systems? Now, maybe they don't have Technics direct drive, their belt drive, but how about this? Get yourself an all-in-one unit like a Citronic Trent. Autama. These were all in one. They had the mixer in them, the turntables, some had cassette players, some of them even had internal amps. Get yourself some old lighting, some, you know, some, I think they're foul lights, basically light bulbs, a mirror ball, a couple of pin spots. Buy a whole bunch of old school disco and go out as an original old school DJ. And I can't guarantee people will book you. But you are going to be one of the few amongst the many who have just got a controller, CDJs or a laptop. Now please in comments let me know what you think. Do you think vinyl DJing is dead? Do you think it's never died? Do you think it's coming back? Or do you also think that it's always coming back? You know, a year ago I heard vinyl was coming back.

Five years ago, I heard it was coming back. Ten years. In my mind, it's never really gone. It's always there. Let me know in a comment. Thank you for watching. That's Pinkie Ella. Practice and enjoy. Thank you.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.