How to Attach to Turntables for Looping Effects

"Looping" is an effect where one section of the beat keeps repeating.

In music mixing terminology, “looping” is an effect where a few bars of a song, sometimes called the “break beat,” are isolated and continually repeated. Looping is a common effect in rap music sampling and in club DJing. DJs can create a loop effect by hooking up two turntables to a DJ mixer. The mixer lets them play the break beat on one turntable while cueing up the same break beat on another turntable. These break beats are played back-to-back, creating a looping effect.

Things You'll Need

• DJ mixer
• 2 sets of RCA audio cables

Instructions

1. Insert one end of an RCA cable that has the white plugs into the turntable’s white RCA line jack, label “L.” Connect the other end of this cable to the white RCA line input jack on the back of the DJ mixer designated for “Phono” devices.

2. Plug one end of an RCA cable that has the red plugs into the turntable’s red RCA line jack label “R.” Connect the other end of this cable to the red RCA line input jack on the back of the DJ mixer assigned to the same “Phono” channel used in Step 1.

3. Connect the turntable to an electrical power source.

4. Repeat Steps 1 through 3 to hook up a second turntable to the DJ mixer.

5. Connect the DJ mixer’s power cable to the power jack located on the device’s rear panel. Plug the other end of this cable into an electrical outlet.

Tips & Warnings

• To use the turntables to create a loop effect, you must two copies of the same record. Cue the record on the first turntable to the break beat you want to loop. Bring the turntable channel faders up on the mixer. Let the record on the first turntable play. As the beat is playing on the first turntable, cue the record on the second turntable to the same starting point the record on the first turntable was cued to. (You will hear the audio you’re cueing through your headphones, but as long as the cross fader is slid towards the opposite direction of this turntable it will not go through the speakers).

• When the record on the first turntable reaches the end of the break beat you’re looping, use the cross-fader to bring up the audio on the second turntable while simultaneously silencing the audio on the first turntable. Repeat to keep looping the beat.

References

• Behringer: DJX-750
• Pioneer Electronics: DMJ-800 DJ Mixer Manual
• Sony: PS-LX300USB Turntable Manual

Resources

• DJ Advisor: Cue Points