Filip Sneppe

Hi,

I've been bedroom-DJing for about two years now. Because I live
in an appartment, I've never hooked my system up to any speakers,
and have always mixed via headphones-only. I never record any
mix tapes, so I never did any PFL or whatever; I basically just
throw records on, cue/sync things and that's that. I can honestly
say that I master the skill of beat-matching two records that are
playing via the same sound source (ie. all sound is coming
through the headphones), which is something that beginning DJs
often struggle with.

Now just two weeks ago I had a go on a friend's bedroom setup -
a setup with normal speakers. I did a little "official" mixing
with PFL etc.

Well, I must honestly say, that it was disappointingly *hard*,
and totally different from the headphone-only mixing I was
used to: the speaker volume was not that loud, and once you have
your two tracks going in the mix, things sound very "muffled" and
very busy unless you really start to EQ lots of frequencies
*away*.
Listening to the same mix via headphones, well, it just sounds a
lot better through the headphones...
Also, because the volume level on the speakers was quite low, it
made mixing very difficult. I just couldn't hear all the details
in the music that usually help me to distinguish which track was
starting to run too fast/slow. Also, the speakers were basically
tucked away and far from the decks & mixer, which made things
sound even more muffled at low volume.

Now, my questions are:
- Is regular mixing easier when the volume is loud ? It
would appear so to me, at the moment. What's your opinion ?
- How important is a monitor that is located close to your
ear - I assume it's pretty vital in a club environment ?
What do you do if you have to mix on a crap club sound system ?
- How different is club mixing from bedroom mixing wrt.
volume level, etc. ? Does the big sound system make things
easier or harder ? (eg. my headphones are an "open" type.
would you absolutely need "closed" headphones for club
mixing ?)
Let's say you're a top bedroom mixer and you're doing
a first-time club set: how would you prepare for this ?

Any feedback/tips appreciated !

Filip

Krissi B

the louder the monitor the better - obviously don't go mental!

yeah as close to your ear as u can!

i've worked in places with no monitors and the delay throws your mix out.
Sometimes the only way to mix is through headphones, which is impossible to
most DJ's if there's no split cue... it's interesting.

and if it's a good sound system, you can definitely tell when a mix is going
out. if it's a good system i use headphones to match and then do the mix
without headphones and monitors off so the time is the same, and so i know
it sounds ok through the main system.

if you've already mastered beatmatching through headphones, you're fine to
play anywhere

Krissi B
The Official King Of Swing

Andy & Kim

"Krissi B" <djkrissib@REMOVEdjcentral.com> wrote in message
news:4369bf1d_1@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
> the louder the monitor the better - obviously don't go mental!
>
> yeah as close to your ear as u can!
>
> i've worked in places with no monitors and the delay throws your mix out.
> Sometimes the only way to mix is through headphones, which is impossible
> to
> most DJ's if there's no split cue... it's interesting.
>
> and if it's a good sound system, you can definitely tell when a mix is
> going
> out. if it's a good system i use headphones to match and then do the mix
> without headphones and monitors off so the time is the same, and so i know
> it sounds ok through the main system.
>
> if you've already mastered beatmatching through headphones, you're fine to
> play anywhere
>
> Krissi B
> The Official King Of Swing
>
>

I always mix in my headphones by putting the two channels i want to mix on
together. If its right in the headphones it will be right out of the PA.
I have never worked at a club that any combination of channel PFL's cant be
on at once but many without monitor speakers.
Good luck Filip and keep practicing

Andy

d parker

"Filip Sneppe" <filip.sneppe@nospam.be> wrote in message
newsan.2005.10.30.11.57.41.785492@nospam.be...
> Hi,
>
> I've been bedroom-DJing for about two years now. Because I live
> in an appartment, I've never hooked my system up to any speakers,
> and have always mixed via headphones-only. I never record any
> mix tapes, so I never did any PFL or whatever; I basically just
> throw records on, cue/sync things and that's that. I can honestly
> say that I master the skill of beat-matching two records that are
> playing via the same sound source (ie. all sound is coming
> through the headphones), which is something that beginning DJs
> often struggle with.
>
> Now just two weeks ago I had a go on a friend's bedroom setup -
> a setup with normal speakers. I did a little "official" mixing
> with PFL etc.
>
> Well, I must honestly say, that it was disappointingly *hard*,
> and totally different from the headphone-only mixing I was
> used to: the speaker volume was not that loud, and once you have
> your two tracks going in the mix, things sound very "muffled" and
> very busy unless you really start to EQ lots of frequencies
> *away*.
> Listening to the same mix via headphones, well, it just sounds a
> lot better through the headphones...
> Also, because the volume level on the speakers was quite low, it
> made mixing very difficult. I just couldn't hear all the details
> in the music that usually help me to distinguish which track was
> starting to run too fast/slow. Also, the speakers were basically
> tucked away and far from the decks & mixer, which made things
> sound even more muffled at low volume.
>
> Now, my questions are:
> - Is regular mixing easier when the volume is loud ? It
> would appear so to me, at the moment. What's your opinion ?

Yes Much easier.

> - How important is a monitor that is located close to your
> ear - I assume it's pretty vital in a club environment ?

Being close is good. There is no delay. But one has to define close. Ten
feet is close enough not to suffer a measurable delay. However the nature of
small DJ booths means that the monitors are much closer usually.A good
monitor is important. Shitty ones that will distort when pushed a bit are a
Pain in the ass.


> What do you do if you have to mix on a crap club sound system ?

Mix in the cans using split cue. Its important at this stage to have high
quality cans that can deliver a constant clean bottom end.

> - How different is club mixing from bedroom mixing wrt.
> volume level, etc. ?

Much much different. If you fuck up the whole world will know about it. NO
trainwrecks are allowed in the real world. Though no DJ is perfect all of
time. A good DJ will know how to get out of a bad mix before the crowd knows
its happening.

Does the big sound system make things
> easier or harder ? (eg. my headphones are an "open" type.
> would you absolutely need "closed" headphones for club
> mixing ?)

I love a big PA. Bring it on. Others dont like it so much. I do a lot of my
mixing through feel as well as listening. A big PA lets you feel the beat as
well as hear it. I hate mixing at low levels.

> Let's say you're a top bedroom mixer and you're doing
> a first-time club set: how would you prepare for this ?

Doing it is the only way. Get there early and play with the system before
the venue opens. Get used to it in other words.

> Any feedback/tips appreciated !

Now, the most important peice of advice I can give you. Firstly let me tell
you I have been in the industry for 22 years and employ just on 20 DJ's. So
I may know a little bit. The golden rule is ...... "the only measure of a
good DJ is the amount of people on the dance floor!" Mixing is great. But if
you cant keep people dancing you arent doing a good job. I have some DJs
that are crap at mixing but they can keep a full floor all night and others
that get so tied up in mixing and making sure everything is seamless that
the floor suffers. You guess which ones get all the work.

Hope this helps

DP