Home Depot has this material on rolls in several different patterns and thicknesses, so for a very few bucks you can experiment. Rite-Aid drugs also sells 5' rolls of this in a few different thicknesses and colors pretty cheap. I got started by getting a 5'x1' roll at Walgreen's for $1. That's 20 cents per mat.
They do work pretty well, and you can use them in several different ways, such as under or on top of another mat. For a long time I was using the standard Technics rubber mat upside down with one of these drawer liners on top of it. Later I went to an Oracle Groove Isolator with a shelf liner on top. Now I'm using the Groove Isolator over a felt mat, but without the shelf liner.
On my rig, I eventually found that the thinner mat emphasized leading edges, but a little too much, and the thicker one was just a little too dull. It could have been related to changes in VTA, however.
Either way, it's cheap enough that you can cut yourself a bunch in different thicknesses and have some fun experimenting. I did found that the thin one made music more compelling and danceable.
They do work pretty well, and you can use them in several different ways, such as under or on top of another mat. For a long time I was using the standard Technics rubber mat upside down with one of these drawer liners on top of it. Later I went to an Oracle Groove Isolator with a shelf liner on top. Now I'm using the Groove Isolator over a felt mat, but without the shelf liner.
On my rig, I eventually found that the thinner mat emphasized leading edges, but a little too much, and the thicker one was just a little too dull. It could have been related to changes in VTA, however.
Either way, it's cheap enough that you can cut yourself a bunch in different thicknesses and have some fun experimenting. I did found that the thin one made music more compelling and danceable.