Turntablism
Hamster crossfader
Hamster is a crossfader wired in reverse, so the left deck lives on the right side of the fader. Scratch DJs run it because it puts the cut on the pull rather than the push.
In practice
Flip it, learn one orientation, and switch it back before anyone else plays on that mixer.
The name comes from the Hamster Style crew, who wired their own mixers backwards before it was a feature. Whether it helps you is a question about your hands rather than about technique — try both for a week and keep whichever makes the flare click land more reliably, then stop thinking about it. What is not optional is turning it off when you hand over: a reversed crossfader on a club mixer will make the next DJ think the channel is dead, and it is the same class of trap as leaving a deck assigned to the wrong side.
Left on the right
What reversing does
Pull, not push
Why scratch DJs use it
Switch it back
Before handing over
Where these come from: Mixer configuration convention, not catalog figures — nothing we store describes a mixer. For what we can measure, see what the fader does normally.
Why it matters
The direction of the fader motion changes which muscle does the fast part. In normal orientation, opening the left channel is a push away from the body; reversed, it is a pull towards it — and a pull is quicker and more repeatable for most hands, which matters when the whole technique is measured in milliseconds.
It is a switch on any scratch mixer and a menu setting in most software, so it costs nothing to try. It is also the single most confusing thing to leave enabled on a shared rig: every fader move is backwards and nothing about the mixer says so.
Frequently asked
Why is it called hamster style?+
After the Bay Area Hamster Style crew, who reversed the wiring on their own mixers in the early nineties. The name stuck and became a switch on the hardware.
Does hamster mode make scratching easier?+
For some hands. It turns the opening motion into a pull rather than a push, which many find faster and more repeatable — but it is a preference, not an improvement.
How do you turn off hamster mode?+
A physical reverse switch near the crossfader on most scratch mixers, or a fader-orientation setting in the software. Always check it before playing on a mixer you do not own.
Related terms
Crossfader
The crossfader is the horizontal fader that blends between two channels. At one end you hear only the left assignment, at the other only the right, and a curve control sets how abruptly the handover happens in between.
Crab scratch
A crab is a flare played with the fingers rather than the thumb: the thumb holds tension against the fader while four fingers release it one after another, giving four clicks in one motion.
Flare scratch
A flare starts with the fader open and clicks it shut one or more times mid-motion, so the sound is interrupted rather than started. One click is a one-click flare, two is a two-click.
Scratch
A scratch is a sound made by moving a record back and forth under the needle while the crossfader or channel fader cuts it in and out. The hand sets the pitch; the fader sets the rhythm.
Explore: Mixing guides · Crossfader · Score a transition · All DJ terms