I started Dj’ing at home way back in 1990, I had myself an old hifi system which was popular at the time, the type with the tape deck on the top and radio tuner on the front and of course it had a turntable. It was a direct drive platter but not like the Technics DD, it had a motor and wheel which ran against the inside of the platter and did prove to be quite responsive. By chance i managed to get another one quite similar for nothing and i started playing vinyl on both of these systems and using the volumes to attempt my blends. At the time i thought this was great and was oblivious to the fact that it was complete utter poop. but i continued.
a little while later i managed to get myself an old Roclab MRT60 (which i have kept till this day) and i wired the turntables directly to it away from their native sound systems which was a major improvement, i then got some old volume knobs and pcbs and mounted these to the turntables wiring them to the power supply. I instantly had pitch control albeit it would run from 10 rpm to about 80 in half a turn of the knob
a little while later i managed to get myself an old Roclab MRT60 (which i have kept till this day) and i wired the turntables directly to it away from their native sound systems which was a major improvement, i then got some old volume knobs and pcbs and mounted these to the turntables wiring them to the power supply. I instantly had pitch control albeit it would run from 10 rpm to about 80 in half a turn of the knob
Still my mixes were completely C@&p but i persevered and recorded every mix on tape to make my mates endure later on whist taking plenty flack about the quality of my mixing.
i eventually picked up a really cheap Akai deck and a Soundlab one, they had pitch and i persevered to learn myself how to mix.
One day i went in to Cash convertors to ogle the 1210s that were always on sale there and i noticed on i thought i could afford, being on the dole at the time money was very tight but i managed to get the odd days work here and there and i eventually paid it off quicker than i would have if i was paying the agreed £5 a week so i now had one 1210. i then got an offer from a friend that had a 1210 but broken pitch control and i brought it off him very cheap, like about £100 at the time. so off i went down to Garlands down in deptford and i got myself a new pitch for £20 and a soldering iron. I had a quick 5 mins working out out to solder and i installed the pitch and could not believe my eyes when it worked lol. first time doing anything like that and it worked and it is the same pitch that is in my deck today. almost 28yrs later.
so i now had one 1210. i then got an offer from a friend that had a 1210 but broken pitch control and i brought it off him very cheap, like about £100 at the time. so off i went down to Garlands down in deptford and i got myself a new pitch for £20 and a soldering iron. I had a quick 5 mins working out out to solder and i installed the pitch and could not believe my eyes when it worked lol. first time doing anything like that and it worked and it is the same pitch that is in my deck today. almost 28yrs later.Since those days i have continued to learn to mix and hopefully mastered it now, except scratching which is one of my desires but i just cant do. i have gone through many genres of music, starting with old house, on to hardcore, jungle, drum and bass to Garage, then Trance and eventually i went back to DnB and that is where my heart is now along with my old skool hardcore.
i can pretty much mix any genres of dance music now on vinyl
I never plan my sets, you will never hear the same sets from me, i start with two tracks picked and i freestyle my way through a set every time. That’s just the way i mix and i can change up or down as and when i want.
this last year i have also been getting into producing and advancing well now i’d like to think. I am using Ableton live 10 alongside Native instruments Komplete collectors series. i use a maschine MK3 and Komplete S49 Mk2 keyboard to lay down my tracks, really experimenting still with various styles and genres, mostly Dnb though. You can find all my tracks as free download on my soundcloud. Just search for djskinzdj or https://soundcloud.com/djskinzdj
Back in 2010 i took part in a competition on London’s Kiss 100Fm and won a set in their studios in Winsley street, i kind of expected my future to take off after that but nothing happened and i got on with everyday life.
I was heavily involved with Fantasy FM up until recently and now stream on OnlyOldSkoolRadio.Com directly from my pages live on facebook and audio to the website which also has a great chat room.
Anyways, hope you liked my story. take care.