[youtube id=”_MoyM8RFBEU”]
In the age before DJWORX, we were skratchworx, and in that time the Scratchophone appeared, and continues to be developed to this day. Thierry Alari is the mastermind behind what is essentially a turntable and mixer in a custom drum, that allows for fully mobile scratching. After a number of iterations, the Scratchophone v2 is alive, and a new video shows it off.
The Scratchophone is about as boutique as the DJ world gets. Yes, you can customise your gear, but this is a completely hand made custom job, and was an all-in-one DJ unit before all-in-one controllers had even hit the market. As the video shows, the Scratchophone is a Numark TT500 turntable and either Numark M1 or Stanton SMX1 mixers pulled apart and put back together again along with speakers and an Innofader into a single custom drum. It still needs power of course as putting a battery inside capable of powering it for any length of time just isn’t practical.
Here’s the thing — you’ve really got to want one. The base price is just about $3K, and that’s before adding in 2 colour cases, decals, a Vestax VMC02 mixer upgrade or a flightcase, which can take the price up to nearer $3.8K. That said, it’s meant to be exclusive, and you can rest assured that you’re joining a very select club. I’d do it in a heartbeat if I had that kind of cash spare, but I fear it would become an expensive ornament, much like the QFO when I had that.
I must applaud Thierry’s continuing efforts though. The Scratchophone is a stunning testament to his vision, and against the odds of the torrent of controllers has continued to develop and evolve his dream into a true objet d’art worthy of being exhibited, let alone played with. Good work sir!