Crate Diggin is a term coined by dee jays, beatsmiths, and vinyl collectors. It means going into a vintage record store (records and vinyl are the same) and diggin through hundreds of vinyl on shelves or in boxes.
I have over 4,500 pieces of vinyl, you probably ask why so many, I’m a dj/turntablist/beatsmith/crate digger, so I dig for production (chop up samples).
When djing I might do an all vinyl set for the classic break beats (no serato), plus vinyl has a better sound than cds (mp3s). Some are vintage rarities and its kinda of a dj thing; you try to out-shine your dj comrades by showing off your collection.
As a teenager I was captivated by the album artwork. For instance take Parliament & Funkadelic. Their artwork draws you in with all the images and the colors they used.
Here are some Crate Diggin tips for you
- Get familiar with session player names. They were hired and brought in by the label to play for a particular artist. If you like a certain sound (drum,snares,horns) you can identify them by the players’ name.
- Get familiar with labels (motown,stax,blue note). If you are looking for horns to sample and you see the Blue Note label you know that its probably got some horns on it .
- Get familiar with the artists. Stevie wonder was on the Tamla label, a Motown label, when he first emerged on the scene in the 70s. Some artist would collab with other artist from a different label.
- Get familiar with producers. If you like 70s soul funk, then you look for Bob Whitfield in the production credits.
Happy Diggin.
