Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Hello dirties ;)

2 years that I'm waiting to launch myself into the evil world of djing. I'll probably buy my stuff this friday, and I've already bought and received a little pack of 12" (with some treasures, techno or not).

I'm posting here because I have the financial opportunity to buy the new M5G instead of the legendary MK2, and I want to ask you if these new models are really interesting ?

I had the chance to try some times the Mk2 at the house of a friend who's djing in trance/dance style. In this kind of mix I find the Mk2 cool at this, but I've heard the M5G is really interesting for the new pitch system; if someone can explain that innovation to me :o

Thanks !

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

the mk2 has a very annoying detent at 0%. You can remove it, but I'd rather have the quartz lock and wider range pitch adjust.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I want to buy a pair of MKII`s ;)

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

is it really worth the extra to buy a new pair of M5G's when you can get a decent pair of mk2's (or mk3's) for a good second-hand price? after all, you find mk2's in bars and clubs.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

amazing things have been done with MK2's. if you're just starting though, you should really consider the digital route. Traktor, Final Scratch or at least CDJ's. so many more options and more creative opportunities. vinyl is expensive and heavy.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

yes, but vinyl smells good. i didnt go down the technics route, im very happy with my stantons. on lots of dj forums there are tons of threads attesting the superiority of the top of the range stantons, numarks etc vs technics.

the torque and build quality has been matched. i would say the one remaining thing that technics have over any other turntable, is resale value.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

mk2's are virtually bulletproof. If you can find them used at a decent price, they'll do fine.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Yeah I've considered this way but hell yes I prefer have a vinyl in my hand instead of a mouse to click on. But digital route can be the next step ;)

So Mk2 ?

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I'd not get the MK2. Get M3D's or the M5G's. If I was in the market right now I'd DEFINATLEY get the 5's. They let you select between the traditional +/- 8% pitch or a more radical +/-16% pitch range, which opens up a whole lot of opportunities for mixing in wierd stuff. I played on them this weekend and am now considering selling my m3's to get 5's. That detent at 0 pitch on the MK2 is ultra annoying though.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

if i were just starting in the DJ world, i'd shun vinyl alltogether. digital is the way forward and the most creative way to go. unless you already have a huge library of records and a ton of income to devote to buying vinyl, you'd be better off taking that money and putting it towards a laptop and software. don't try to be cool by playing vinyl. there's nothing cool or special about it. sure records are nice, but so are loop points, cue points, built in effects etc. unless you want to battlescratch, i'd go digital.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

btw, the whole "rather have a vinyl than a mouse to click on" thing...this is all about Ego and How You Look rather than how good or creative you are at mixing. don't worry about how you look. you don't need a mouse to run Traktor. you can program an external device or keyboard to controll all necessary functions.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Even if you go all digital, you should probably pick up a cheap turntable to encode vinyl with. There's plenty of stuff that doesn't come out as bits even now.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Don't buy turntables, buy bongo drums. That's the way of the future. Drum circles are going to be massive in '07.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

No it's not.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I do not agree with the digital way..
I have been djing for many years, and always stuck to vinyl. (Almost)

Lately I have been really short on money, being a student and having a girlfriend livining in another city, I have spent most my money on travel and stuff, so the vinyl budget has worn thin, so I had to take the step to get into traktor and ableton, and it's fun! Great fun.. but it will never bee as fun as vinyl. It was way cheaper for me to just download mp3's, stick them in my laptop and go play, but after a while i had myself digging up my old vinyl again, and lately i have started to buy new ones again.. just more selective on whay i use my money on. I can't tell you how good it feels to be back on playing, feeling, smelling and touch real music again. :)

I see the thing about digital mixing, and it may be the future, but I'm glad i still play vinyl. I might mix the two in the future, and stuff like final scratch looks great, but i haven't tried it yet.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I too would go with the digital way. Giving yourself a hernia is no fun carrying around several tonnes of black plastic. Plus its a real bitch when your favourite records get scratched. Spend the money on a laptop + Serato Scratch. But buy that 2nd hand mk2 for ripping...

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

If you're going to be ripping, do NOT buy a 1200. Buy a decent belt drive turntable and really nice carts.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

does anyone the digital scratching aspect funny? it's kinda like vegetarians eating tofu that is shaped and tastes like meat

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

To use something like Serato or Final Scratch you would need 2 decks anyway though, so he should buy those decks he was talking about either way. Then he could choose the way to go after that..

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

er.....WRONG!:D

I love my mk2's........

all this electronic stuff is not real dj'ing.........

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Sums it up for me really. dj's walking into a club with a memory stick? WTF is that all about:eek: ....may as well not have a dj at all

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

No its just a method of control. People are more likely to take it up if its a similar technique to vinyl scratching.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I've not a problem with my ego, I'm just self loved, hugely beautiful, very clever and a beast in the bed



:D




(No this is true; I really prefer vinyl :o )

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Don't knock Serato or Final Scratch until youve tried them tho. Awesome possibilities.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I agree 100% with the last two sentences of your statement. Creative controllers are the way to go, and as far as I see it the future....

But I'm going ot take a geuss that you have never actually DJ'd. Because there is something magical about the process of maniuplating vinyl that isn't an ego thing. Perhaps a how you look thing ,but that's not a bad thing, that's called stage presence, and is just as much a part of performing as the content.

Truth is someone clicking away at a laptop provides one of the most BORING stage presences on the face of the earth.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

i thought the whole point of DJing is to move people with music.

nobody goes to a club and says "boy i can sure feel that vinyl/mp3/cd"

:p

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

BINGO!

If you feel like getting into vinyl, like that's gonna make you happier, then go for it. Nothing stopping ya.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

All DJs have shit stage presence. Even if you have a laptop you can stand up and put your hands in the air trance-DJ style. If stage presence aint ego then what is? I have DJd with vinyl and ive also been lucky enough to have a go with Scratch and life is so much easier and the opportunity to really fuck with the music is there so much more than vinyl.

Sure, I loved DJing with vinyl. Its simple stuff. But I sure didnt like carrying shitloads of records around, hated it when they got scratched and/or lost. Cant understand anyone willingly starting to buy vinyl now tho. Its old hat. :p

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

there was an interview on AZN TV with DJ Qbert recently and he was showing off some of his gear......in the middle of his deck is a cd turntable.
the interviewer asked him something like she thought he'd only work with vinyl....and his answer (i'm paraphrasing) is that the same techniques he uses for vinyl still apply when working with the CD, it's just another piece of equipment he can play around with to make different sounds.

i just thought that was interesting since he's a prominent turntablist and i never expected him to have a cd turntable.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

does he actually use that bizarre QFO thing?

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Totally. The technology we choose for the mix must be a choice and not an obligation. I'm going into traditionnal way because I think there's a time for everything, if things are going good and that I would have a different way of seeing the mix, I'll probably go into digital. But i'm not already to that question.

I remind you that the target of this topic was to choose between M5G or Mk2 and only 2 guys answered to that :p

However the progress of this topic is really interesting, it's informative to have so many advices about the new mixing technologies.:cool:

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

WRONG! I started djing in 1991 and have had gigs off an on since then, all of them playing strictly vinyl. I'm assuming I was djing in front of crowds before you were old enough to go to clubs. Vinyl is awesome. In fact i've got a few thousand pieces of the stuff to prove my love. As I said before, for the person just getting into it at this late stage, the options are broad and choosing to go the vinyl route is mired in a classical tradition and tainted by the luddites position that mixing with software is less real than manipulating vinyl. There's nothing "magic" about manipulating vinyl. In fact, if you're a good dj, you don't have to touch the record at all. The best beat-matchers ride the pitch control, if they have to adjust the tempo. Touching the record or the platter is asking for trouble and a sign of an out-of-control dj.

Vinyl is expensive, limited in availabilty and extremely heavy. If the person asking for advice wants to be "cool" and a "real dj" then that means they should go old school and buy two turntables and start saving money for vinyl. It's impossibly expensive to keep current with vinyl unless you're getting paid to dj a several times a month. My next gig will involve vinyl and Traktor and probably some CD's to try to curb the "boring dude with a laptop" stigma. Even though my mixes are better than 90 percent of the jacks using vinyl only, i'll still have to prove myself when the apple logo lights up. Choosing the vinyl route for a starting point in 2006 is antiquated in my opinion. It's wanting to be accepted and feel like the old school. It's essentially an ego thing, as i mentioned before. It's certainly not about wanting to be the best Dj you can be. Unless you're eyeing Qbert as a role model, you'll be better off in the long run if you embrace the new technology today, rather than tomorrow. You don't have to slump behind the laptop screen and click a mouse. There are no rules limiting your presence behind the mixer. If the tunes are hot and you've got a good attitude, the crowd will support you. Have you ever seen Thomas Fehlmann live? Skinny old man behind a G4 Powerbook who has the crowd eating out of his hands 5 minutes into his set. Is it because he's "manipulating vinyl"? Hell no, it's his attitude and killer sounds. Ever seen a boring Dj use vinyl? Just making a point that it's not the tools you use, it's...uh...how you use them. Cliche but true.

12"s cost appx. 10 USD. For that you get 1 maybe 2 tracks you can play. MP3's are everywhere and generally can be had for no money. I have enough online resources to find every track I want without having to pay a penny. I do have 2 technics for encoding old vinyl and some new stuff i have to have because i'm a collector (Villalobos' Ascho EP). It's your choice ultimately, but in my eyes, vinyl dj'ing has gone as far as it can go and digital mixing is the way forward.

good luck no matter what you choose.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

qbert isn't the only one. dj craze adopted FS as well (see an introduction here). and i know that amon tobin who's touring with FS gear as well.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I think I'm fucking lost in my choices now. The facts you say are really true and I don't really know what to do. I'm not poor but hell yes, vinyls are expensive... and heavy.

I'm going to reevaluate the situation...

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

I would like to humbly suggest that there are other reasons besides ego, but I'm not the authority that BLD is.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

well obviously digital dj'ing is cheaper if you only play shit you download for free. way to support the scene that gives you all these free tracks you're cashing in on.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

way to go, biz! :rolleyes:

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

as anyone who knows me can attest, i spend more than 300 USD per month on music. Some vinyl, mostly CD's, mostly used. How much do you spend a month on music? Just because I download a ton of music, doesn't mean i'm not supporting the scene. I'd be willing to believe there aren't many people on this site, bar MattVal and couple others who dedicate as much of their wages to buying music.

should i not download the scandanavian 12"s that get pressed in copies of less than 5000 and never appear at my local shops? should i only play things i can buy in the shops? i don't know where you guys live but a majority of the things i want don't appear in my local racks and when they do, they're very expensive. i guarantee you I support independent artists as much or more than any other poster on this board. swing by my place and i'll show you my collection of actual store bought cd's and vinyl....then we'll marvel at my immaculately tagged and organized digital collection.

i'll put on the tea.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

singles are now being released in digital format (as either mp3s, wav files, etc). some cost less than their 12" equivalent, some cost about the same as the 12" version (such as if you were downloading from a UK site)...minus the cost of shipping/driving around town looking for it.

not all of the tracks you might be looking for will be available in digital format.

Re: Technics: Mk2 or M5G
 

Oh well then I'll answer that too....

That detent on the MK2's is totally whack and annoying. Get something without it. Be it a used M3D if yer on a budget or spring for the m5g.