Free Record Scratch Sound Effect
A sudden needle scratch that stops the music. Freeze frame, wait, what?
Updated · Tested by the Facecam team
Record scratch
1.2 s · MP3 · 12 KB
Play it into your mic
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4 record scratch sound effects to download
Main take1.2 s · 12 KB
A sudden needle scratch that stops the music. Freeze frame, wait, what?
Long scratch2.0 s · 20 KB
A few back-and-forth scratches before the stop.
Power-down1.6 s · 16 KB
The turntable slowing to a halt: a softer way to kill the mood.
Quick zip0.6 s · 6 KB
One tiny, fast scratch for a sudden cut.
Where it fits
- Interrupting a story at the exact wrong detail.
- The start of a "you're probably wondering how I got here" edit.
- Stopping a podcast segment for a correction.
How we made it
“A DJ vinyl record scratch that suddenly stops the music, one needle scratch”
The variations
- Long scratch
- “A DJ scratching a vinyl record back and forth several times then stopping”
- Power-down
- “A turntable power-down, music slowing down and dropping in pitch to a stop”
- Quick zip
- “One very short quick vinyl scratch, a fast zip”
- Loudness
- -16.3 LUFS
- Peak
- -4 dBFS
On these boards
Play it in Discord, OBS or Zoom
Press Use these sounds in calls, then pick Facecam Virtual Mic as your mic. Step by step: Discord, OBS and Zoom. For games, the Facecam desktop app.
- Short enough for Discord's own soundboard (5.2 s max): Server Settings → Soundboard.
More about this sound
About our version
It's one scratch, a little over a second, with no music before it, so it works over whatever is playing in your call or stream.
From the Bronx to the freeze-frame meme
Scratching started as a DJ technique in the Bronx in the 1970s; Grand Wizzard Theodore is usually credited with discovering it. Film and TV then borrowed the sound for a different job: the music stops because something has gone wrong. The meme version pairs a scratch with a freeze frame and a narrator asking if you're wondering how they got here.
Scratch, power-down or zip
- Long scratch: a few back-and-forth scratches, about two seconds, closer to a DJ than to a mistake.
- Power-down: the turntable slowing to a stop. Softer, and better for a mood that dies than a story that stops.
- Quick zip: one fast scratch, 0.6 seconds, for a hard cut in an edit or an interruption in a call.
- The main take is the classic one-stop scratch, and the one to reach for when someone says something wild.
Questions
Does it include music before the scratch?
No, just the scratch, so it cuts into whatever you have playing. Pair it with your own clip if you want a song first.
Related
Further reading: Scratching on Wikipedia