OLD SCHOOL
Imagine the scene — I’m just 18 years old, and have landed my very first job in a drawing office. I was given a white coat, a professional engineering drawing board, and a set of drawing instruments — a tool kit that would see me me venture off down the road of being a fully qualified production engineer. From noob to pro, I learned how to design products, and the machines to make them on my trusty and imposing draughting machine. It was my tool kit and my home for 7 years, in which time I not only learned the manual craft of draughtsmanship, but also combined it with my more creative and artistic tendencies to push out illustrations that said more about me than just raw engineering drawing ever could. I learned the basics, and then embellished.
Sadly none of these drawings exist anymore. The company is long closed, and a housing development full of 2.4 child families exists where the drawing office once stood. But that creative voice is calling nay shouting my name, and as I find myself without a manual creative outlet, I’m treating myself to a proper A0 draughting table for my 50th birthday, and dusting off my pens and pencils with a mission to recreate iconic DJ gear (and maybe design some new stuff too) in hand measured and drawn form. They will be labours of love, and when they’re framed and hanging on the Worxlab wall, I’ll be able to stand back and say “I did that” and be proud. I’m particularly relishing my first project — an exploded projection of a Pro X Fade.
NEW SCHOOL
I was conveying this desire to break out pencils, pens, and paper again to a good friend of mine, who must have only half read the Skype messages, because back came a stream of words and images about how amazing Google Sketchup is. And I have no doubt that it is, as are all the other similar drawing and 3D computer based applications out there. The ability to construct simple shapes, and have them fully and automatically dimensioned is amazing. I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve lost having to manually stencil instructions. Even the simplest of things is that much easier and efficient with modern systems.
And then you move onto the things that couldn’t be done with pen and paper — the generation of 3D models, not just in wireframe but in full photo render form. And being able to generate animations, and exploded view videos is mind-blowing. These new tools not only time save and minimise errors, but they also make the impossible possible.
But my desire to draw again is not about the quickest and most efficient route to a perfect end result, but is all about using my hands to create something from nothing with just my hands. For me this is a very manual activity, one where I can practice my manual drawing skills to imagine something manually that I can be proud of. It’s about applying a craft that I’ve practiced over the years to create something by hand, and feel a sense of achievement that I can do that.
TRUE SCHOOL
Now… if I wanted to design products in a professional environment, I’d be availing myself of the latest CAD and 3D design tools available, frankly because they’re a hell of a lot easier to work with, and offer a level of productivity and functionality that a drawing board and a piece of paper cannot hope to provide. You can do more, and do it quicker.
And I have no issue with trainees learning and using said computer systems exclusively either. Do they need to know about the finer points of isometric projection? Are they a better engineer if they have a solid understanding of the chemistry of an ozalid blueprint machine? Of course not. Nor does their design and engineering skills come down to their knowledge of software, or even the ability to draw a vacuum forming machine with a pencil and t-square either.
THE EPIPHANY
When I reflect upon the conversation with my friend, the parallels with DJing (and any other industry transformed by technology for that matter) were crystal clear. Being able to draw with pencil and paper does not make me a real engineer, nor does putting anyone in front of the most expensive CAD and 3D workstation that auto dimensions and renders 3D make them fake engineers either. These are mere tools, and an engineer’s skills come from practical experience and knowledge of their chosen speciality.
More than anything, this epiphany demonstrates to me that there are two things at play here, and they can be in conflict with each other, and that’s the process driven vs results driven dilemma. As a creative type, I love to use my hands, but I appreciate that it’s the long winded way that’s fraught with potential problems. It’s so much easier to throw some lines up on screen and just get it done. But my endeavour is all about using my hands. It’s not efficient, and might go wrong, but that’s not the point.
Here’s the thing though — nobody can sit down in front of a drawing board or a computer screen and create things without first having a solid grounding in mechanical and production engineering. They need to understand about using materials, and what can and can’t be achieved with production processes. They can’t just press a button and out the other end comes a finished working product — it needs a skilled experienced person to do that. But those skills are nothing to do with using a pen or a mouse.
Summing up, I say this — absolutely use all the tools available to you, because you can do so much more with them than previously thought possible. But just remember that sometimes, it’s more fun and fulfilling to do it by hand.
Dear Mark,
While I applaud your valiant efforts to pound some sense into people’s skulls via analogues, I’m afraid the effort is in vain.
Considering how long the DJ community has been beating this dead horse without any real headway, I predict the comment section will look like something like this:
“Yeah man, agreed 100%. People should pay their dues and learn to DJ the real way with turntables and manual beat matching.”
In other words, missing the point not by a mile, but by a parsec.
I have no doubt about that, so people can expect me to say “go back and READ the article”. ;)
yea, because there is no correlation between the junky “broken out of the box”, “need to be rebuilt or re-engineered before being used” products so common today and the “automated” way they are designed.
your comments never fail to make an impression. i’ll let you guess what type of impression it is.
Dude, seriously. What the f**ck are you talking about? Not a single syllable in your incoherent rambling makes the least bit of sense nor is in any way relevant to what I or Mark Settle wrote.
I was wondering why on Earth you talk to me like you know me, so I checked my Disqus history. Apparently you have a long history of spewing incoherent nonsense and I have pointed it out to you in the past.
The fact you have held a grudge for THREE MONTHS about some random Internet comment is scary and sad. Just get over it.
PS: I’m genuinely curious to know what kind of pharmaceuticals does it take that the stuff you write somehow makes sense in your head.
This isn’t relevant to the post Steve.
Look at photography … in the end the picture is the most important – not the manual / semi or full automatic mode the picture is taken in.
Digital photography makes everybody a photographer, yet some people have a better eye, better framing and make great pictures.
Cheap gear and sync make everybody a dj, yet some people have a better ear and a better way to sell their set to a crowd.
In this case, it would be like comparing the manual skills of film photography and dark room techniques vs digital photography. Again, I can see how people can love developing film, and it is a real skill. But I’m happier with Photoshop.
Came here to point out this analogy exactly. I’ve done my fair share of both digital and darkroom work, leaning more towards the Photoshop side of the spectrum. Digital is my preferred way of working because frankly its convenient, faster, produces consistent results, and is lower cost in the end. But I can’t argue with the fun and and the enjoyable element of chance when hanging a finished print under a red light.
One of my favourite articles!
Sometimes you can find a happy medium between the intrinsic pleasure of creating something using manual tools and the polished/professional end product of the latest technology. More often than not, the situation you are in will lend itself more towards one than the other, and it’s about recognising which method is more appropriate for that specific scenario.
I definitely share your opinion in this. I like my turntables but also my Kontrol S8. I can do more with my S8 than with turntables which is the reason that I mostly DJ digitally.
But the more important aspect is, that great motivation leads to great results. If I am in the mood to touch vinyl, I definitely will. Because I enjoy what I am doing and this would lead to the best result. Not the most complex, nor the most flawless, but for this special moment the best.
Use what gear you want, but put the right spirit in it.
Something else that is revolutionising CAD is 3D printing.
Another great read!
I personally love the benefits of new tech and the particularly the convenience it brings (who wants to go back to floppy discs for instance?) but equally don’t view old or manual processes as automatically defunct when they superseded by newer technology. I think you have to appreciate that both have their pros and cons and ultimately decide what works best for you from each world.
SketchUp? Who uses that crap?
I know right? I’d rather use a pencil. ;)
I still use the 3 view that my grandfather taught me when I was a kid for rough sketches. I find it fun, there are some good memories attached to the skill and a greater sense of accomplishment when something is done by hand.
Couldn’t agree more after recently selling my Traktor S4 with all it’s syncing ‘bells and whistles’ and going back to an ‘old school’ (relative term!) set up of a TTM57 Mk1 and 2 x turntables. I do admit that’s it great to get a feel for vinyl again (and there is no replacement when wanting to complete the more technical scratches) but after 3 years of the S4 I must admit to missing the ease of mixing many tracks in quick succession and not constantly beat matching. I started on vinyl in 1990 so have had plenty of practice but new technology ALLOWS more creativity, particularly if you don’t have hands as quick as a DMC champion. But all the beat gridding and auto sync won’t necessarily save you if you’re mixing live music or anything created in the 70s or earlier :) They are all TOOLS at the end of the day, designed to increase creativity and not replace it. Just need £1200 for that Pio S9 now…..
I think the perfect DJ product is one that creates the illusion of doing real craftmanship, moving stuff, feeling it. The newer high-end CDJs are the perfect example. When using CDJ2000nxs you feel like you are really working the music, while in the end you are standing in front of 2 big plastic midi controllers with a built-in computer that make beatmatching as easy as the most easy-to-use ipad app.
Same probably goes for a drawing programm (e.g. with a drawing pad) it should feel like doing really hard stuff but be as easy as possible…
I was one of the die hard vinyl purists, I still have my Technics and nearly 30 years of vinyl collecting and love them dearly, but I have bought a Traktor S8, for bars, party’s etc, just because its so simple just to take a controller & laptop, now i can dj, and enjoy the party, but you feel like your totally cheating at mixing, but i feel who am I trying to impress by taking turntables, I already know I can mix, been doing it for decades.
This raises an interesting point. New technology can make things easier, but often at the expense of the fun of the process. I’ve lost count of how many people have moves back to CD or vinyl because they want to feel like they’re doing something again. As I said in the piece — yes I can really quickly put together drawings in CAD packages, but there’s no challenge — it soon gets boring.
If you are just using the S8 and feel as if you are cheating, change the way you play. Challenge yourself, have fun and be creative.
If it’s a work gig that you speak of, an easy night isn’t so draining and makes for a quick tear down.
You said it yourself: “I already know I can mix”.
Mixing isn’t beatmatching, so you’re not cheating. :-)
I must admit, there is a personal satisfaction when I lock 2 pieces of vinyl. It’s enjoyable, but I have to say that it’s also nice not having to compensate for the eliptical push from an electric motor when using my CDJs.
Sync in Traktor has its’ place as well, as a Live 4 through 7 user I enjoyed cutting loops from old music and created some of my own beats and synth lines to layer. Traktor is an intuitive interface that encourages live looping and remixing. It was this spontaneity that attracted me, at that point sync becomes the same tool as using a global bpm in Ableton.
I guess my point is this… do what you enjoy.
Funny. Sometime back, on one of these never ending vinyl-vs-digital, TTs-vs-controllers, sync-vs-manual beatmatching debates, I wanted to give this very same analogy of current drawing office technology vs what we used back in the day.
I work in an architect’s office as a CAD technician. I was schooled and trained on a drawing table and drawing tool sets and as the technology evolved, transitioned into CAD. Being a technician I am required to provide detailed drawings that will be used during construction, and at times I am also required to do 3D render images during design stage. I am not very good with renders, but nobody in the office can produce detail drawings like I can.
Now, here comes these kids, fresh off college, seeking internship. They are vibrant with lots of new and imaginative ideas. They produce top notch renders and designs that can sweep a client off their feet at a glance. Thing is, tell that kid to explain to you, in a very simple diagram, how a part of his design is going to be constructed. He starts fumbling for words, he is lost. You explain it out to him how that particular design is not workable, cannot be constructed or is not sound structurally. But I did it on the computer, he says. Yes, coz all you did is project forms, lines and curves and voila, you have a building, you explain.
The same applies in the music/DJ industry; there are those who grew and trained from a vinyl background, transitioned to CDJs and then to controllers. They have all the skills and can use any tool or equipment thrown their way. Then there are the noobies, all they wanna do is fill their laptops with thousands of tracks, plug in a controller, press sync and get rolling. The argument is not about sync or goddamn vinyl, but can you fill a dancefloor regardless of the equipment you have in hand.
Well said!
Wonderful analogy.