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Old 01-30-2020, 03:45 PM
M|X|Y M|X|Y is offline
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Default Re: "I'm a Lumberjack DJ Ad-Rock"

WOW.. thanks for this



Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir SkratchaLot View Post
The "terminator" scratch originated from DJs using the phono/line switches on their mixers as an "on/off" switch. On the old-school mixers, the crossfaders had gentle curves for mixing but the phono/line switch would give an instant "on/off" to sharply chop up the sound.

With the "terminator" scratch, the record is generally moving more slowly and the line switch cuts on and off in fast succession to chop up the sound.

Here's a good example of DJ Aladdin using this style at the 1989 DMC. https://youtu.be/JqnoAyMTtZM?t=113 Using the line switches was a big thing in West Coast Scratching in the mid 80s but a lot of east coast DJs used it too and I think Cash Money out of Philly invented it.

In Philly, the "terminator" scratch is more frequently called the "transformer" scratch (demonstrated by DJ Jazzy Jeff on wax in 1987 -- https://youtu.be/MEAPHZd7p-Y?t=226). In the DJ world, most people refer to the technique as "transforming" instead of "terminating".

Around 1988 Grandmaster Flash put out the "Flashformer". You could connect it to your mixer and get the same type of effect but with buttons instead of switch. https://www.flickr.com/photos/djpedia/5612063762

So, that chopped up "transformer" type sound is the "terminator style". Yauch used this same "terminator style" for the scratching on Jimmy James and also used the effect on his bass at various times.

These days hardly anybody uses the line switches very much anymore because crossfaders now have super-sharp cuts on them for scratching. It's faster to use the fader and you can (generally) get the same effect. But the transform scratch is considered to be one of the basic, building block scratch techniques.

What you're hearing Adrock do on Fingerlicking Good are mostly "chirps", which only have one fader "click" (as opposed to lots of "clicks" for a transform) but typically use a faster record hand movement. https://youtu.be/dRMNXx5gyrw
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