Skip to main content

Toothpick trick?


Does the tooth pick trick work when a record is scratched and the records skips?

One of my favorite records started skipping. The Disco elements vol 2, on a track called progresso disco time, just after the intro. So how could I fix it from skipping? On Youtube there are a quite a few tutorials on how to repair a record if the vinyl gets scratched. The needle jumps out of its position and continues into a wrong place of the song. I found a tutorial called the toothpick trick and how you can re groove a vinyl with a toothpick by gently rubbing it along the groove. But in the same direction as the groove moves. The toothpick didn't do the trick. I had difficulties finding the right scratch since there were more scratches on the record (most are just superficial and didn't affect the playback). When replaying the song I guess it re grooved the record just by playing the record many times. The record probably had lots of dust and made the record skip because of that.

Next time a record skips I will definitely try the toothpick trick again.


Popular posts from this blog

Add some vocals to your mix.

Add some vocals to your set. With a microphone you can easily add flavor to a mix. You can use the vocals to transition to another track, with a small paus between the songs you can drop the vocal just before the next song comes in. Most DJ-mixers have a microphone input. But make sure  not to overdrive the microphone when speaking, or the sound might go into cheap karaoke style. There are useful techniques when speaking into a microphone by holding your thumb inbetwen the microphone membrane and your mouth, this is to reduce the "pop" sound or just by turning the mic at a 45 degree angle. Using these techniques will make your vocals sound cleaner. Have a notepad with some words are maybe rhymes written on it, just to know what to say when you want to drop the vocals. If mixing and speaking is not possible at the same time, then wait until after you transitioned the track into the other, the intro to the next track is often not as busy as a Chorus section. Also do speak
Read more

using as few records as possible in your dj mix

Most of us wants to have a giant record collection, but when a gig is coming then you have to carry all the records to the show. This article is about using minimum amount of records in a dj mix. Lets say you play a 2 hour dj show. that means you need +- 50 records in a crate. If you only have 10 records, would you make it thru a dj mix then? If a housesong is aprox 6 min long and you want to make a 60 minute dj mix. then you'll need 10 records for the dj set. 10 records is not much for a mix. What you can do is mix in the b sides too, but then the same artist will appear again in the  playlist. You can also play certain songs to the 3 minute point, then mix in another record and then a few song in the set you can reuse the previous song from the 3 minute point again, from a break of the song. Or play the best song first and last to extend it. Playing both the b-sides and reuse the same song as earlier will stretch the length of your mix. Buying an EP costs about the same as a 12&q
Read more

Cassette reflections

Cassettes started to make its way back again after the resurgence of vinyl records in 2017. Music genres like hip hop, punk and dance Music, were a great part of making it popular amongs Music listeners again. The format was more or less gone and absolete before that. In postmodern Music culture there are allways retrotrends coming back every now and then. That ment a format of the past were all of sudden supertrendy and its characteristics were in spotlight to how music should sound. Music is very much focused on whats right. That ment also looking at a format that was so wrong that it became "right". The only stock left from The BASF Company that manufactured magnetic tape that remained in the 2010's were embraced by small indiependent companys to rescue the format for new music listeners. A format isnt all about its sonic quality, but also about its culture around it. The audio cassettes were a great part of hip-hop Culture in the 80's. The mixtape movement cr
Read more