View source for Two turntables and a microphone

{{Short description|Basic instrumental setup for disc jockeys}}
{{For|the Beck song with this lyric|Where It's At (Beck song)}}
"'''Two turntables and a microphone'''" is the basic concept of a [[disc jockey|DJ's]] equipment. This phrase describes turntables ([[phonograph]]s) and a [[microphone]] connected to a [[Mixing console|mixer]]. The DJ uses the [[mixing console|mixer's]] [[crossfader]] to fade between two songs playing on the turntables. Fading often includes [[beatmatch]]ing. Live [[hip hop music]] also often has an MC [[rapping]] into the microphone. In [[nightclub]]s the microphone is usually used only for announcements.
In his autobiography, [[Jimmy Savile]] claimed to be the first person to use two turntables and a microphone, at the Grand Records Ball at the Guardbridge Hotel in 1947.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/apr/20/guesteditors2|title=Harland Miller on Jimmy Savile: inventor of hip-hop style|work=The Guardian |location=London |accessdate=28 July 2008|last=Miller|first=Harland|date=27 April 2004}}</ref> Savile is acknowledged as one of the pioneers of twin turntables for continuous play of music,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.djawards.com/en/history.php|title=DJ Awards-History|publisher=djawards.com|accessdate=28 July 2008|last=Brewster|first=Bill|author2=Frank Browghton  |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080323111406/http://www.djawards.com/en/history.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 23 March 2008}}</ref> though his claim has been disputed. Twin turntables were illustrated in the [[BBC]] Handbook in 1929, and were advertised for sale in ''[[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]]'' magazine in 1931.<ref>{{cite book|last=Donovan|first=Paul|title=The Radio Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79IaAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Savile%27s+claim+was+disputed%22|accessdate=3 July 2011|year=1991|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|isbn=0-246-13648-0|page=198}}</ref> There was an obvious need for such a setup when the normal music format was 78rpm records that played for five minutes at most and a classical symphony came in a box which might contain ten discs or more. Using a pair of turntables was a way to keep the music playing without a break, as can be seen in the 1948 movie ''[[The Red Shoes (1948 film)|The Red Shoes]]'', where two stage hands do a poor job of changing records during a ballet performance in the church hall that housed the Mercury Theatre.
"Two turntables and a microphone" is the title of a 2008 documentary of the life of hip-hop DJ [[Jam Master Jay]] (Jason Mizell). The phrase is also featured in the chorus of the song "[[Where It's At (Beck song)|Where It's At]]" by [[Beck]].
==References==
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[[Category:DJing]]
[[Category:DJ equipment]]
[[Category:IOS software]]
[[Category:Jimmy Savile]]
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