Under £150

If you are looking for a basic (cheap) pair of decks that give you the basic feel of what is involved in "being a DJ" you should spend no more than £185-220 for your first pair of decks. These will be basic belt drive decks (a simple mechanism involving a rubber belt wrapped around the platter and connected to a standard torque motor) and should be from a reputable company and dealer.

equipment/soundlab1600.jpgequipment/soundlab1600.jpgFor beginner decks I recommend Soundlab DLP 1600's. These are entry level belt driven turntables, a good set of beginner belt drives at a very reasonable price. These obviously cannot compete with direct dirves on test but for basic cueing up these perform respectably. The straight out of the box philosphy is reinforced by the fact that they come complete with a cartridge already mounted on the arm and a Soundlab slipmat. The DLP doesn't observe the standard layout of most decks designed for DJing, however the layout is easy to use and simple to understand. There is no height adjustment for differing cartidges but a 12v gooseneck light is included. It is unfair to compare these decks to more expensive direct drive ones, however these are sufficient to let you grasp the basic concpets of DJing and find out whether it is something you wish to invest some serious money in!

equipment/numark1910.jpgequipment/numark1910.jpgThe decks I recommend for the mid class range for job are the Numark TTL1910's. These are a reasonably priced direct drive unit. These follow the basic design concepts set by the groundbreaking Technics 1200's. The colouring is unique with a deep purple aluminium case and silver controls. The platter is steady and responds well to coaxing with virtually no jumping or the arm. Anti skate conrtol is included, though the arm isn't height adjustable. The arm is farily steady and start up time is reasonable and the platter offers reasonable amount of resistance. Generally this deck is good value for money and one of the cheaper ways to get the direct drive status.

equipment/vestaxd3.jpgequipment/vestaxd3.jpg1) It has to be Vestax. Technics are so set in there ways and are not bothering to compete with the wrath of the Vestax Corporation. You want serious mixing pressure then I recommend the Vestax PDX D3. The stability of deck is astounding and pitch fader is smooth and accurate to increase your accuracy. The high torque motor is strong and stable therefore giving you a strong platter and a smooth play of your precious vinyl. The Vestaks flaunt convention with additional features found nowhere else - an LED pitch control read-out, direction reverse mode and a four way joystick which can be used to control the speed of the deck as follows: moving the tick left or right will adjust the speed of the deck as using the pitch control arm, whereas moving the stick up or down gives the platter a slight nudge or slows it down slightly. the system works well and with a bit of getting used to seems almost too easy! Vestax are continually pushing forward the boundaries of DJing by responding to what DJs are asking for, however vestax are some of the priciest decks on the market.

equipment/technics1200.jpgequipment/technics1200.jpg2) Technics (1200's or 1210's) are the industry standard, the type you are guarunteed to find in most clubs (Vestex being the only exception). The fundamental design has barely changed since 1979, the only difference between 1200s and 1210sis the colour (10s are dark grey 1200s are light grey). But this is because the orgional design was so damn good, why try and fix something that aint broke? Technically they are excellent with a driect drive motor, +/- 8% pitch adjustment and starting torque within 0.7 seconds at 33.3RPM. One of their greatest assests is their ability to withstand all forms of punishment. they just seem to last forever, whatever they are put through.