Vinyl records hold a special place in a DJs heart. They not only help seize the rich legacy of Djing but often supplement mixing making any set special and memorable. If you’re interested in ACTUAL Djing, you need a system that allows you to play and record the vinyl seamlessly.
A DJ turntable with the necessary ports and input points can be a great way to play these vinyl records and to couple them with your laptop for DJing. The Numark TTUSB can be an ideal pick for such DJing, as it comes packed with some amazing features that can attribute to an enjoyable vinyl experience.
Here are some things that make the Numark TTUSB a good option for DJs.
Numark TTUSB: Design
Feel like a rebel or add a touch of extravaganza to your booth, the Numark TTUSB is designed to please all kinds of DJs. It comes with a silverish gray base and has an unusual shape that sets it apart from the other DJing turntables.
It has a plastic body that makes it lightweight but also susceptible to easy damage. The lightweight makes it incredibly portable and suitable for DJs who are always on the move. For optimal performance, the system has been given a belt-drive motor that rotates the record at maintained speed with ideal stability.
There are numerous buttons on the deck that let you control the system while playing the record. It also has two start/stop buttons for playback control along with the power button. The tone-arm is made of metal and has a gimbal counterweight for an even balance.
Most of the connectivity ports are the back of the turntable while there is a 1/8” stereo input on the top. It has a pitch control key on the side like the other standard DJ turntables with a +/- 10% pitch manipulation.
Apart from the power cord, the company has also attached the RCA cables to the system eliminating the need of buying sperate cables or misplacing the ones manufactured by the company.
Numark has got rid of the dust cover lid for better aesthetic appeal, the decision taken by the company has received mixed reviews from the users.
Numark TTUSB: Features
Numark TTUSB is packed with numerous features that can help DJs during their performance or recording.
Motor and platter
The best thing about the turntable is the belt-driven motor that maintains the speed of the platter and is designed to run for a longer period of time even with prolonged use. The platter is made from aluminum and evenly balanced.
Whereas the fabric slipmat works well with scratching and has very little to no chances of skipping a beat.
Tone-arm
It has an S-shaped tone-arm that is designed to sit well on the different vinyl records while the gimbal counterweight at the end maintains the balance and pressure of the arm.
There is no cueing lever attached to the tonearm to place it on the record. This means you have to lower it using the finger elevator attached to the headshell. Since it is a manual turntable the cue arm requires a little attention, as you will have to keep the tone-arm on the rest.
It has a pretty basic level cartridge installed at the headshell which is acceptable considering the price of the turntable. You can replace the stock cartridge and use a better one for improved sound transmission.
Pitch control
The keep it professional for the DJs, the company has also included a pitch control key on the side of the turntable. It has a pitch range of +/-10 that can be toggled with the large slider control.
Speed
There are two different speeds that can be operated on the Numark TTUSB. You can choose from 33⅓ and 45 RPM option buttons given on the top of the system. You can also record the 78s record using this system with a simple trick.
All you have to do is play your 78 records at a slower speed and then tweak the result using a software to match the original speed.
Connectivity
The company has taken care of connectivity in a great way by including all the necessary connection systems in the turntable. It has a built-in preamp that eliminates the need of connecting the turntable into the amplifier and then into your performance speakers.
You can also use the preamp as a phono stage. It also comes with a USB port that can be used to connect the turntable to a laptop. Apart from the 1/8” mentioned above, the TTUSB comes with RCA line inputs that you can use to connect in the different kinds of sound systems.
The lack of headphone jack in the device can be the biggest problem for DJs. It can be solved using different tools and alternate methods.
Recording software
The company also gives you a recording software ‘Audacity’ that can be used when connecting the turntable to the laptop. The files recorded from the turntable are saved in an MP3 format and if you are an Apple user you will have to convert the format of these files using iTunes.
Numark TTUSB: Video Demo
To get a better insight into how the Numark TTUSB functions and to know the kind of benefits offers you can watch this video:
Numark TTUSB: Performance
The Numark TTUSB is a great turntable that can be used for scratching, beatmixing, and even LP conversion. When talking about the performance of the system, it would be fair to say that the system performs pretty decently.
There might be times when the recording and the playback might sound distorted, this could be due to the standard quality pin and cartridge that has been included in the system.
The system looks great and the portability is clearly unrivaled and can be used by intermediate or advanced level DJs too. You can find better systems at a lower price that have the finesse you need for DJing.
Numark has played it well with the high-performance motor and belt drive system. The belt drive system does have one major bleeding point that is- less direct feedback.
It comes with an open-source free software for recording the music from the vinyl to the computer. The software has a simple and outdated interface that can be used with any kind of operating system.
The pitch key works amazingly well while the lever has some amount of stiffness at the start. It can change the pitch drastically and has an LED light beside it to denote the normal pitch.
It is very easy to assemble the system and the start-up time is pretty fast too. This can be helpful for DJs who have multiple gigs in a day and require easy to assemble DJ equipment. If you are assembling it for the first time it might take 20 minutes to dial in the tonearm balance and to set up the anti-skate.
Considering the fact that it has to be operated manually, you will have to move the pin manually to change the track.
Numark TTUSB: Conclusion
The Numark TTUSB can be a good option for beginners and DJs who are looking to pick up a new skill. Its features suffice the requirements of a professional DJ equipment thus making it useful for gigs too. You can take it for small events and house parties where you wouldn’t want to use the advanced equipment.
I hope the above information has helped you learn more about the Numark TTUSB and has enabled you to make an informed decision. If you have any queries or suggestions, you can write them in the comments.
