A hard drive hack for turntablists

Whether you're a budding mix-master banned from touching your mom's old LPs, or a full-fledged master of the cross-fade looking to get some bodies movin', you need a turntable of some sort. Sure, a couple Benjamins will get you into a decent setup, or you could also make do with a webcam and a flat surface, but, if you're looking for something with a smooth feel on the cheap, the solution is the hard drive sitting in your closet that's too small even for backup duty. A group of students at universities in the UK, Austria, and New Zealand all worked together to come up with a homebrew digital DJ interface, and the above HDD-cum-turntable sits at the center. The weight of the disk plus the quality of its bearings won the crew over, and with "a few op amps, resistors and a programmable microcontroller of some kind" you too can be mixing in no time. Full instructions are at the read link, and check out the video below for a little platter-scratchin', oscilloscope-watchin', "wicky wicky" action.

[Via Hack A Day]

[ctbear @ Nov 13th 2008 2:52PM]

hey! we use the same oscilloscopes in my lab as well

[Sam Stone @ Nov 13th 2008 2:56PM]

"Ain't nothin' but a hard drive paarrtyyy!"

[StalematE @ Nov 13th 2008 3:04PM]

HDD cum turntable?

[StalematE @ Nov 13th 2008 3:10PM]

is that like jizz spin-art?

[CraigJ @ Nov 13th 2008 4:23PM]

No.

From Latin cum (“‘with’”).
Preposition
cum
1. Used in indicating a thing with two roles, functions, or natures, or a thing that has changed from one to another.

[EricC @ Nov 13th 2008 8:19PM]

@ stale: I can't believe we're discussing this, but the word you're thinking of is "come." Craig already provided the definition of "cum."

[Konstantin @ Nov 13th 2008 10:24PM]

tee-hee, cum.

[GingerFox @ Nov 13th 2008 3:17PM]

I really think people have too much time on their hands lol arnt there at uni? shouldn't they be learning, no? ok:)

[jorvay @ Nov 13th 2008 4:15PM]

I'm pretty sure the students that worked to create this little device learned a hell of a lot more than they would have from simply reading some books and writing a few tests. Labs and hands-on projects (like this one) are fundamental components of modern scientific education.
I remember having to study reinforced concrete beam failure for days/weeks/months. But it wasn't until I got into the lab, took a beam that I designed and poured myself, and crushed it with a giant hydraulic press, that all the science really sunk in. I certainly wouldn't be wearing my iron ring without the practical-application components of my education.

[Drew Green @ Nov 13th 2008 3:18PM]

Cool and all, but how bout a video of it actually being used as a turntable?

[absurdio @ Nov 13th 2008 11:18PM]

No way! Did you see the way it made those arrows appear?!! They were facing two different directions, even!
Just like real DJs!

DJs love arrows.

[djmere @ Nov 13th 2008 3:19PM]

attack of the clones for real.

can't wait for the new wave of dj posers to emerge


www.oaklandfaders.com

[Harlo @ Nov 13th 2008 3:31PM]

This ain't East Coast/West Coast! This is Eastern/Western Digital!

[EmoChicksAreHot.....Seriously @ Nov 13th 2008 3:44PM]

Nerdcore just got a whole lot nerdier.

[DJ-PsiLon @ Nov 13th 2008 3:36PM]

I wonder if I can hook this up to Serato.

[Jarhead2012 @ Nov 13th 2008 3:37PM]

Wow, is there really any point to this? Besides showing that this modder CAN do it, I find it quite pointless. Thank you, Engadget, for giving me my daily fill of interesting yet pointless information!

[GingerFox @ Nov 13th 2008 4:19PM]

thank you!

[CraigJ @ Nov 13th 2008 4:25PM]

So, making something for a few bucks out or spare parts that works, as opposed to shelling out two-hundred or more is pointless? I have zero use for this, just like I have zero use for a douchebag, but that doesn't make them pointless.

[jorvay @ Nov 13th 2008 4:45PM]

If you had RTFA, you would have notice that this was made by "A group of students at universities in the UK, Austria, and New Zealand" as part of their studies. They pursued higher education....maybe it's time you did too.

[Jeremy @ Nov 13th 2008 3:40PM]

Don't these guys know that Hard drive disks are HIGHLY TOXIC?????

[Towncivilian @ Nov 13th 2008 3:45PM]

What are you talking about?

[andres @ Nov 13th 2008 5:36PM]

of course, after all, information is poisonous to the ignorant.

[EricC @ Nov 13th 2008 8:36PM]

They're only toxic when eaten.

[dazjorz @ Nov 14th 2008 9:19AM]

They used to contain a gas of some kind, but I doubt that was toxic. Anyway nowadays, they aren't toxic at all anymore. (Unless eaten indeed. :P)

[MarbleMind @ Nov 13th 2008 3:48PM]

Aw, man, where's the "wicky wicky"? I feel cheated.

[BobDobalina @ Nov 13th 2008 3:49PM]

53-second mark. Three wickies!

[whatishalo? @ Nov 13th 2008 4:54PM]

I love the phrase "wicky wicky" to describe it, and whoever coined that phrase (yes I know it's been around for years) needs to receive an award of some kind.

[Dustin Howett @ Nov 13th 2008 4:27PM]

You forgot the obvious other alternative:
Art Lebedev's Plastinkuzz! For when you want to be even more annoying! :)

[monkey @ Nov 13th 2008 9:05PM]

here's a working DIY scratch controller.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dOAZybiCOTk

[Derk @ Nov 14th 2008 1:28AM]

Anyone know where I can get those solid color buttons?