Analysis of Product Design | 40122524

02 03
WAX +
NEEDLE
The traditional method of
mixing and scratching
grouded in haptic feebac.
Analysis of
product
design
Looking into the haptic qualities of dj equipment
Where other systems such as hi-fi’s and personal music devices have transitioned into predominantly touch screen
devices, DJ equipment despite attempts to completely digitise the genre, has found a happy medium retaining
almost complete physical input over the vast majority of controls and stayed true to its touch based roots.
From a purely technical standpoint, analogue controls
offer far greater precision. When you twist a knob or
slide a fader there is a one to one relationship that cannot
be equaled by moving your finger on a touch screen,
which will undoubtedly have at least some latency
between your movement and the change in music. This
traditional method of operating mixers is far superior
because of the palpable controls, the user can feel their
way around without having to be inherently focused
on the controls themselves, and once familiar muscle
memory will determine along with audio feedback how
far to turn the knobs or slide the faders without a second
thought. Especially in turntablism there are certain
aspects of the art form that cannot be performed without
using wax and needle with your hands such as a tweak
scratch, which is performed with the turntables motor off
and the platter spun manually whilst the DJ manipulates
the vinyl. Similarly the hydrophonic scratch has the DJ
rubbing their thumb in the opposite direction from their
fingers creating a reverberation effect on the forward
momentum of the turntable, these examples and many
other are simple not possible without the pure and haptic
qualities of turntables and vinyl.
Moving onto vinyl
itself. Nothing can truly
match the feeling of the
vinyl under your fingers,
lifting the needle on to the
record and hearing the first
click and pop. You can literally
move the music with
your hand, drag it back,
slow it down or speed it up
all with a flick of the wrist
allowing various methods
of directly manipulating
the music in a creative
manner. These methods
when performed with a
certain amount of skill
can be compared to and
as creative as any musical
instrument.
Vinyl is music in its
most physical form, it is
a tangible sound format
where you can actually see
the changes in the music
if you look closely, and it is
these same ridges you see
that contain the music and
at the same time give such
a tactile feeling with just
the right amount of grip
whilst controlling the vinyl.
This has been emulated
to varying degrees
using jog wheels on CD
decks and MIDI controllers,
the vast majority
of which are stationary.
These allow nudges
forward and back of the
music along with spin
backs (and forwards),
however audio produced
is digitised noises and not
actual music being manipulated.
This was then
improved upon by Denon
and subsequently technics
with CD decks which had
rotating platters giving a
more natural feeling of
control over the cd something
more akin to vinyl,
however it was always going
to be an emulation and
never a replacement for
the tactile feel of real vinyl.
“vinyl is music
in its most
physical
form”