Until recently, nothing could replace the feel of a good old slab of vinyl and an analog turntable to synchronize tracks and produce the familiar scratching sound that comes from a DJ pushing a record forward and backward under a phonograph needle.
A prototype product from the Netherlands aims to bring digital audio files to turntables, marrying vinyl and digital.
Three guys in Amsterdam have developed a system that works with any turntable connected to a computer running the Be operating system. FinalScratch lets DJs and partythrowers map digital sound files, including MP3, to a special vinyl record, so they can mix and scratch them.
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The product will be available for sale within the next six months, developers say.
"FinalScratch is the last record you need," said Mark-Jan Bastian, a software engineer and cofounder of N2IT, which makes FinalScratch.
MP3 is an audio format that lets users easily compress and send near-CD quality sound files over the Net. The term is the second most-popular word entered into search engines, and has a substantial user base.
All kinds of products are popping up that cater to the MP3 file format: car players, handheld players, and home stereo components.
This one is aimed at the already tech-savvy and experimental DJ and club scene. FinalScratch consists of ScratchAmp, a hardware device that connects the turntables, computer, and mixer together, plus a set of FinalScratch records and FinalScratch software.
Together, they work like this: users surf the Net, download MP3 music files to their harddrive, and load them into SoundPlay, an MP3 player program for the BeOS.
The FinalScratch record acts as the interface -- the joystick, if you will -- to control SoundPlay. When the needle drops in a certain groove in the record, an audio signal is sent to the FinalScratch software program. It advances the SoundPlay player to the corresponding spot, say, a familiar Parliament bass line.
The FinalScratch software also has quick pitch detection. That way, the computer can tell when the record changes direction or is slowed down -- or scratched -- and adjust the player accordingly to make the proper sound. The software also allows for several MP3 files to be mixed and played together.
There is a delay between when the DJ scratches the record and when the sound happens, said Bastian: "About 12 milliseconds."
FinalScratch can work with analog equipment, and can map most any sound file, including MPEG-2 and -3 files, wav files, and someday even MIDI files, and video files, said Bastian. But of course, most users will use the MP3 format, he said.
Bastian said some DJs tried out the product last June at an anniversary party for the controversial Dutch ISP XS4ALL.
FinalScratch won a BeOS Master Award in November. N2IT is in early talks with European distributors about FinalScratch, he said.
Some DJs were skeptical, saying it's vital to be able to "read" the grooves in a record when mixing music. And getting vinyl-using DJs to give up their collections could be tough.
But the product could receive more attention now that MP3s have become so hot. Advocates of the audio format maintain MP3 will help to reshape the music industry. The record industry is wary of the large numbers of pirated MP3 files floating around the Net.
"It makes sense that [FinalScratch] supports the most common format," said Tim Self, vice president of developer relations at Be, Inc. "Hopefully, everybody is behaving."
