Choosing The Right DJ Slipmat | Skratch School

In this video we look at a wide range of options for turntable slipmats, and weigh the pros and cons of different types to help you decide what you need. You'll also learn more about the turntable platter and how it works. All of this will help you in your quest to have the cleanest cuts possible.

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[Perplexer]

Finally found a video explaining the strobe light and those rows of "dimples". Thumbs up!

[Djtonydraper]

In my 30yrs as a DJ I must have tried every slip mat on the planet.. Nothing better IMO than the butter rug for cutting/scratching. Great product.

[djbeatmarshall]

My man., the intro about the strobe light the platter dimples was priceless. Nice video. 👍🏼

[boogiedownbronx]

I think the part you said about the strobe light and the dots and pitch control is something lots of newbies to turntables don't know about. It is extremely important that the dots are aligned according to the pitch. If its not aligned any longer it means you need to reset the pitch control which is plausible if you know how to do it. If that doesn't work it means the pitch control needs to be replaced which is more costly. Also, if the dots are not aligned it means the record does not play at the correct speed level.

[rapfreak]

I started off a couple decades ago with the blue Stanton felt slipmat with wax paper cut to size underneath.

[turfoidgaming]

What do you recommend for actual mixing? (Beat mixing)

[itimmy]

Don't EVER throw away the rubber mat! if you're looking into ripping vinyl especially the music that isn't yet available in mp3 format. That rubber mat comes in handy because it can help with recording. If you live in an apartment and have recorded records but still can hear foot steps or people stomping in the background? This can help minimize that and just record the music.

[nankduggets]

Love the dr Suzuki’s, have had them for 6years... need to try the kingdom elements. Tried the butter rugs, not bad but the dr Suzuki’s are better. I use the butter rug on my third tt cause I don’t have another dr Suzuki. Also I use to use the thud rumble fly paper and thought it was nice for a while, but just the dr suzuki alone has given me the best results out of what I have tried.

[AveMcree]

NEVER THROW AWAY THE RUBBER MAT. It has a purpose for when you have warped records and grounds static... Most of the slipmats you will buy will have static that will effect the play quality of the vinyl. IDK why dude would say that.

[josht]

Do you know if those Dr Suzuki Red Bull mats are printed on a tablecloth mat or the mix version of their mats? Thanks for the tut!

[DJGrandGroove]

I find that adding Plastic underneath your slipmats build up a static charge that eventually collects on your Control Vinyl. This eventually causes your stylus (if you use Ortofons) to become a Dust Magnet and interfere with your mixes.

[cjsocool]

I have two Technics SL-1200 MKII DJ turntables & I spin at home. I have the original Technics slipmats. Under those I have Dr. Suzuki slipsheets, is this good?. Seems to work fine.

[djkoz]

I have a pair of Butter Rugs, but they still grabbed the record too well at least on my tables. I wasn't able to back spin the record really it would only spin about halfway before starting forward again.

So I purchased Tablecloths Mats and they are super slippery.

[Bronxio]

Great video, didn't know about the kingdomelement ones! Maybe I'll try them in the future.

Some points I would like to add from my own experience (and I'm aware they could sound weird):

- I have Numark TT500 turntables. These have different plates than Technics, Reloop and others (they have an "antidrag" sign on them, and feels good actually to me). The plastic layer worked fine on my former turntables (Vestax 2000 MkII Pro), but they offer more resistance on the Numarks... they're counter-prductive here.

- With the Vestax, I always used their included slipmats. Now with the Numarks (second hand, no original slipmats included), I bought cheap ones (JBSystems, not very thick) and I'm happy for mixing (not the best for heavy scratching, but enough for back spinning and medium scratching). I bought Butter Rugs and I like the "instability" of fast sound replays in scratching (I mean they not sound exactly at the same speed at the beginning when I release the vinyl to play it regular). But... too thin, I agree (and I don't like to have the needle in diagonal if I don't see it necessary, and the tonearm can't be set lower). So, for heavy scratching I use both slipmats at the same time (Butter Rugs below, JBSystems above) and I'm happy with this! :P

- I tried an old Dr. Suzuki and looks good, but that one was as thin as the Butter Rugs. Haven't tried the new ones, surely they will feel good to me.

[Hershizzle]

Any advice for VTA adjustment on a technics? Without the thick rubber mat the lowest tonearm height is too tall! The best answer I can find online is to just use the rubber mat underneath or install shims on the cartridge!

[Solarsystemrdffdfyyhh]

Listen up to all you youngsters. Before djing became mainstream and you actually had stores with Dj supplies we would search for the best with what ever we had. So he is what I found, if you go into a art store look for something called acetate. The film or plastic part cut it out and place two of them underneath the slip mat. Slick! Nothing else was better but maybe now something new.

[Waynestarr]

I've been using Butter Rugs by Thud Rumble for years now. Greatest slipmat ever in my opinion.

[flyagaric]

Thanks you Bastid, I needed that. And learned something about strobes. Cheers.

[christopherhamilton]

@skratchschool what do you do ab static? My Dr Suzuki slip sheets and my control vinyl have mad static built up .. the sheets are sticking to the platter. What do you do for static? Thanks for the info.

[DjTooBig]

I been using butter rugs for a few years now looking forward to trying these new ones