Environmental issues are hardly a hot topic in the DJ industry, but they should be. So we're making it our goal to bring these matters to the attention of everyone, and are starting with the plastic waste of shrink sleeves on vinyl. Why do we have it? Do we even need it? Is there an alternative?
OG skratchworxer and resident needle nerd ProfessorBX took a jaunt from his LA home to pay homage to the DJ industry at NAMM. There, he hunted down Orfoton's new Concorde MKII range, and got deep into it with Louis from Ortofon. What follows is a summary, ahead of a suitably nerdy future review.
Despite the Technics 1200 being the only turntable you'll ever need (according to some anyway), this hasn't stopped Denon DJ from having a bash at their own version of a DJ turntable. The VL12 Prime pleases purists, but also pushes the bar enough to generate a bad case of GAS. Mark puntastically takes some for a spin.
DIY and modding are key tenets of the portabism scene. Normally it's hardware tweaks, but established player Bihari Designs has made the snappily named "The Ahhh Fresh "Print It Yourself" Picture Disc" — a clear 45 full of the scratch sound standards, with a self adhesive back, ready for you own printouts.