''Progressive All The Way''

Turntables come in two flavors—direct drive and belt drive. Belt drive turntables use something that
looks like a giant rubber band that connects the motor to the platter to spin the platter. Due to the
inherent stretch factor of that rubber belt, belt drives are typically less stable when it comes to trying to
maintain a constant tempo, which could be a bummer if you’re planning to beatmix. Other issues with
belt drives is their sluggish startup, slow response to pitch adjustments, and lack of torque (a measure
of the physical force delivered to rotate the platter), which pretty much kills their scratching potential.
My first turntables were belt drives with a pitch control. They were meant for home stereo applications,
but I didn’t have enough money for real DJ turntables at the time. They skipped all the time, and the
shaky unreliable belt drive tempo adjustments made my beatmixing a complete nightmare. If you’re in a
stable environment on a concrete platform with an earthquake resistant DJ booth, and you won’t ever
beatmix or scratch, you may be able to use belt drive turntables. Their main advantage is their cost—you
can get belt drives for less than $100 each.
There are no belts in direct-drive turntables. Instead, these turntables utilize a complex magnetic
mechanism that connects the motor directly to the platter. This allows direct drives to start and stop a
whole lot quicker than belt drives, and pitch adjustments are virtually instantaneous. Plus, their added
torque helps them get up to playing speed much quicker than belt drive. Direct drive turntables tend to
keep their speed much more constant. Virtually all pro DJs use direct drive turntables.

tips for the old-timers

indeed