Butter Rugs v2 Review

Thankfully Santa was kind to me this year. Amongst the other tablist orientated stuff was a pair of ThudRumble's Butter Rugs v2. Now it seems I no longer need the various layers of stuff under the vinyl. And it took me so long to get it just right as well.

First Impressions

Upon opening the LP cover-reminiscent pack, I was surprised - I thought the mats had been left out of the pack and 2 thin bits of packing material had been left in instead.

But wait - these thin unremarkable bits of material were apparently the rugs. About as far away from being rugs as anything I can imagine. Slightly deflated at the lack of substance - especially for the price - but it's performance that matters.

In use

After getting over the initial shock of the lack of thick multi-colour felt, I slapped these flimsy bits of nothing on my TTX and gave them a spin. But which way do they go on? One side is black and smooth - indeed the pack has a hole cut into it so you can feel the smoothness. The natural way to use them is black side up but in all honesty, I couldn't detect a difference in performance whichever way I used them.

One of the main advantages of having slipmats made from such thin material is the solid connection with the platter. Previously, if I'd wanted to go off on one and go for some insanely unobtainable scratch, those extra layers of felt and paper made the vinyl unstable. Also the extra noise generated by these various materials would spoil any spectacular scratch I'd pulled off. Thankfully the stability is excellent and skippage is radically reduced. Residual noise is almost none thanks to the minimal material between vinyl and platter. And do they slip? Oh yes. I've read many different comments on the web regarding their effectiveness but I have no problems with them whatsoever. It's just a matter of getting used to them. If I had one tiny reservation, it would be static. I've experienced the rugs sticking to the vinyl when in a rush to swap vinyl. Now for me practicing in my DJ playpen, that's fine but for someone playing out, this maybe a problem. I've experienced it now again rather than regularly so I don't think it's enough to stop anyone buying them.

In Conclusion

They're different but they work. There are still reservations about the price and static issue but overall, I'd more than recommend them. If you UK heads want to save yourself a few quid, buy online from www.thudrumble.com. Taking into account postage and exchange rates, they're £4-5 cheaper direct rather than buying from a UK retailer.

Rating - 8/10