> work with cd's or mp3 dj-tools. real dj always uses 12" because you can
> manually manipulate the records that are spinning. just look at the
> massive hip-hop dj movement in USA. and in USA people still buy more
Personally I am 95% vinyl-only DJ, but I must admit that although the
current digital (CD/mp3/MD etc.) DJ tools are not very good many tasks,
for example turntablism is one thing that simply cannot be done
digitally for the time being, that needn't be so forever. I can easily
imagine the next generation (or a couple generations ahead) of digital
DJ tools offering the versatility today available only on vinyl. (The
legendary Final Scratch, sadly now seemingly out of business, was
clearly one step to that direction.) Plus much more. There is no reason
why the future digital players could not have the interface of a vinyl
turntable, but there are lots of digital effects that simply cannot be
done on vinyl: loop, ping pong reverse, "auto remix" (cutting the record
up in, say 4 bar pieces and rearranging them in a different (random or
otherwise) order on the fly, a feature available on some high end
samplers) etc.
But for the time being, I will stick to vinyl. When the time comes,
it'll be much easier to transform my vinyl collection to digital format
than vice versa. And I suppose vinyl DJ'ing will not fully go out ever,
like many acoustic instruments that have could have been long ago
replaced with electric (analog and later digital) instruments, nowadays
very often with practically the same sound, are still being used for
better touch, sound and, I think most importantly, feeling and image.
