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cueing technique advice...

well. new years. im at an afterparty, and i spin at about 1pm. obviously, im a bit drained, so maybe this affects my performance. anywho, this was my first time on a mixer with no master cue/cue fading functions (i was hitting it on a Xone:62). i learned to mix using one ear monitoring, but due to the fact i don't have monitors atm, and i do have a DJM600 atm, i've gotten used to using the cue knob to all its extent, and using the master cue a lot. even my one ear monitoring techno DJ friend agrees you get a lot more precision this way.

so today, my mixing was a bit off. no wrecks, just some drifting and corrections...

the thing is, for some reason, the A&H cue didn't sound as clear to me as the Pio. it was harder to tell a drift (this was when cueing 2 channels at once). on the other hand, i've always said one ear monitoring, unless VERY trained for it, is a bit more challenging when it comes to clean sharp mixes.

also, some of the other DJs around me (veterans, while we're at it) told me not to mix in the headphones, saying that is 'the worst thing a DJ can do.' didn't really get why.

while we're at it... what are your thoughts on putting a rubber band on the phone cord to prevent bending damage to the cord?

I find i can hear a drift coming a mile away using the one ear method. I actually learned to beatmatch using two ears in the phones, but when I switched to one ear it really helped me out quite a bit.

I like cueing with both ears but the biggest problem with that is ear damage. I find that you have to turn up the volume on the headphones much more in order for you to hear whats going on. Especially if you have a large club system blasting away. One ear one cup method is what i use for loud performances and when making a mix i cue with both ears. It takes a while to get the one ear one cup method to work well but itll save your ears in the long run.

quote:

Originally posted by spdandpwr I like cueing with both ears but the biggest problem with that is ear damage. I find that you have to turn up the volume on the headphones much more in order for you to hear whats going on. Especially if you have a large club system blasting away. One ear one cup method is what i use for loud performances and when making a mix i cue with both ears. It takes a while to get the one ear one cup method to work well but itll save your ears in the long run.

Save an ear no? I don't get why you'd have to turn up your cans if you have both ears on, unless the headphones weren't that good..

Basically, how do you not have to turn up the headphones if you're only using one ear?

Maybe i'm just being a noob here, but i'm confused

nelly

Once i was mixing in my headphones at a gig and in order for me to clearly hear the mix over the volume of the pa system I had to crank the volume on the heaphones. The dj i was doing the set with (we were mixing back and forth) was using the same headphones but the one ear one cup method and he would turn down the cue volume drastically. When you have mix in the headphones you hear for the beats to be matching with one....it's very difficult for me to explain but generally thats what happens with me is that i need a louder volume with mixing in the headphones, which could be due to bad sound isolation. in any event, the only reason why i would see more dj's djing with the one ear one cup method because it "looks cooler" and, in my case, saves your ears

well, any dj that tells you to avoid cueing in your headphones dont really have lots of experience playing out because not every party or gig youre gonna go to will have decent monitors. Ive been to gigs where there werent even monitors. Had I not mastered in headphone cueing, i wouldve been fucked.

Ive had gigs where the monitor speakers were top notch and mixing on those setups are so wonderful. IF you are really worried about ruining your hearing, then invest some money in getting high quality djing headphones like Ultrasone or ear bud headphones by shure.

I always mixed in the cans with the cue/mainmix pan. then wen I did my first biG gig THE PIONEER MIXER DINT HAVE CUE PAN. It was so hard to get my mixes in and me being nervious with it being my first big gig and all......It was hell

So now I mix With one ear in cans were ever I can ,and I practise a lot with track a and track b on cue so that I will be prepared for
every mixing environment.

quote:

Originally posted by Greedy well, any dj that tells you to avoid cueing in your headphones dont really have lots of experience playing out because not every party or gig youre gonna go to will have decent monitors. Ive been to gigs where there werent even monitors. Had I not mastered in headphone cueing, i wouldve been fucked. Ive had gigs where the monitor speakers were top notch and mixing on those setups are so wonderful. IF you are really worried about ruining your hearing, then invest some money in getting high quality djing headphones like Ultrasone or ear bud headphones by shure.

True, my first gig had no monitors, very lucky to be able to perform headphone cueing and mixing from the headsets.

WOOH. just woke up, yesterday was crazy. barely remembered making this thread...

hrm. any tips aside from 'practice practice practice' to get high precision with the one ear method? yes, i learned with this one, but this was years ago, so even if i thought my mixing was good back then with it, i was probably just too noob to pick out the rough spots. when i was trying it yesterday, i could hear my beats were on spot, but somewhere in that 'gray area' where it is maybe a miniscule nudge too fast or too slow. the problem was, i couldn't clear out which it was, and had to go by trial and error, hence, i really couldn't hear my drifts coming too far in anticipation.

when i mix in my phones only, i usually have it waaaaaaaay less loud than all my other friends. i like to take my phones off from time to time, and i remember how my ear once went to shit thanks to an amazingly loud monitor that was near. i ended up turning the monitor away (thank you, rotatable pedestal) towards the crowd and just going at it in my phones. my recorded mixes are good, and this is the method i use for it.

a bit later today, i'll set my monitor up again (had taken them to the afterparty) and give it a go.

quote:

while we're at it... what are your thoughts on putting a rubber band on the phone cord to prevent bending damage to the cord?

the 600, and the xone:62 both have vertical plugs for your cans (which is kind of dumb i guess, why not make em horizontal?) and, my headphone's only flaw (i got Sony MDR 7506s, love the damn things) have straight plugs (which is kind of dumb i guess, why not make 'em L shaped, like the Sennheiser HD25s?) so i guess over time, yes, this could maybe damage it. rubber band?

I find that I can beatmatch better with the 'one-cup-method'.. I don't know why but I think it's easier for me to hear the sound seperated as apposed to hearing both channels through the headphones.

But I also stress myself to learn to beatmatch properly with the 'two-cup-method' cause of all the stories I've heard (including the ones in this topic) about trying to DJ with no (or shitty) monitors

I dont know anything about A&H mixers, but if I understand correctly, you CAN'T hear the master channel through your headphones? (or at least, not at the same time with your cue channel)?

How on earth are you going to mix on a xone with no monitors then

I use both methods and will quite happilly use either, I have even played in some places that don't have the option of cueing in the phones or monitors although this doesn't happen very often these days is used to happen more in the beginning to mid 90's, It's possible to mix with what you hear on the dancefloor too but it takes a while to master.

To say that learning to mix in the phones is bad is horse poo, I have learnt that when people say that something is bad when it's clearly not it's often because they can't do it or have never tried.

In DJing if all option are available to you then use the one which makes you sound the best, it's not about how much you impress the other DJs but what the clubbers think and they really aren't going to care about a little thing like how you cue your tracks if you are blowing them away with your mixing and track selection.

If you are using the phones (2 ear) make sure you take them off during the mix so you can hear what is going on. I have seen a lot of DJs end up standing there going mad with no sound coming out.

Always found the A&H mixers really easy to work with. They have the option of split cue (most models) and if you press two Cue buttons at once you can go in the ears, and if you have none you get the main mix.
It may be some other component that was making it sound a little unclear as I generally have nothing bad to say about the A&H soundwise although I disagree with people who rave about how much better than all the others it sounds. These days it's pretty even with all the high end makes.

Cheers
Nem

quote:

Originally posted by Nemesis44 I have seen a lot of DJs end up standing there going mad with no sound coming out.

Ouch, that's painful

I would say that if you can get dead accurate with one-ear on/off, mixing in the phones in those rare no-monitor situations should be cake.

I was always mixing one-ear on/off to beatmatch, but then I was cueing in the master at the last second to make final adjustments. Of course, when I played out the first time it was rather shocking... it was nearly impossible to hear both tracks clearly in the phones.

So I've since forced myself to not cue more than one channel at a time, and with practice I've been quite pleased with how my accuracy has improved.

One other thing that has helped a lot is that I switch cue-ears back and forth. If I mix on my "right" CDJ or TT, I use my left ear in the phones. When I mixed to the "left" side, I switch. It's really helped with training your ears to listen for things at different volume levels.

quote:

Originally posted by Inertia the 600, and the xone:62 both have vertical plugs for your cans (which is kind of dumb i guess, why not make em horizontal?) and, my headphone's only flaw (i got Sony MDR 7506s, love the damn things) have straight plugs (which is kind of dumb i guess, why not make 'em L shaped, like the Sennheiser HD25s?) so i guess over time, yes, this could maybe damage it. rubber band?

They mount the headphone plugs on the top of the mixer because it gives the club the option of rack mounting the mixer in the console. I have a pair of Stanton 2000's and they have a 45 degree angle phono connector. If you are really concerned, see if you can buy a short male-female 1/4" cable, and use that to plug into your mixer and then the headphones into that.

The thing is every DJ should be able to do both. Some clubs the booth will be so loud there is no way you'll be able to mix in the headphones over the monitors, and in some clubs you'll have a crappy monitor and be forced to mix in the headphones.

quote:

Originally posted by Zild The thing is every DJ should be able to do both. Some clubs the booth will be so loud there is no way you'll be able to mix in the headphones over the monitors, and in some clubs you'll have a crappy monitor and be forced to mix in the headphones.

plus one

I've only learnt the one ear method with both tracks cue'd in the headfones, I find it much easier to match the beats that way. Gonna giv the other goes a try wen i've sorted out my beatmixing properly.

quote:

Originally posted by Lover Boy I've only learnt the one ear method with both tracks cue'd in the headfones, I find it much easier to match the beats that way. Gonna giv the other goes a try wen i've sorted out my beatmixing properly.

You might to try just listening to the track you're cueing if you're using the one ear method.

quote:

Originally posted by Zild You might to try just listening to the track you're cueing if you're using the one ear method.

I've used that method since the very first time I touched my decks..

I feel more comfortable with the 2 ear method, but the 1 ear method helps alot , especially if when you have an Sh*t ton of speakers next to the booth-(I hate it when that happens)!

quote:

Originally posted by spdandpwr Once i was mixing in my headphones at a gig and in order for me to clearly hear the mix over the volume of the pa system I had to crank the volume on the heaphones. The dj i was doing the set with (we were mixing back and forth) was using the same headphones but the one ear one cup method and he would turn down the cue volume drastically. When you have mix in the headphones you hear for the beats to be matching with one....it's very difficult for me to explain but generally thats what happens with me is that i need a louder volume with mixing in the headphones, which could be due to bad sound isolation. in any event, the only reason why i would see more dj's djing with the one ear one cup method because it "looks cooler" and, in my case, saves your ears

I dont think its for the "looks cooler" effect. Back when I started DJing most mixers had cue toggles and a flick switch between cue and master. No mini cue/master crossfader to do matching in the phones. You could either punch the cues in and out quickly to see how it sounded or go the one ear to the outside world way and thats what most people did.

The first ever gig I got was in a club with no monitor speakers and the nearest speaker was about 10m away. The mixer was Peavey something or other and had no cue/master fader so you had to mix about a quarter of a second ahead of what you heard from the PA system as that was the delay. Get the mix going perfect between your one ear and the PA then flick the record foward a touch and bring it out onto the dance floor.

Thankfully those days are now gone.

R.

quote:

Originally posted by Joost How on earth are you going to mix on a xone with no monitors then

http://www.allen-heath.com/ProductT...front_panel.jpg

There is a split control at the top right of the pic, dont know if thats what people are looking for.

I've used this mixer a few times now in clubs but thankfully have had monitors to use too.

R.

Can someone please explain the difference (in detail) between the 1 ear and the two ear method??? Im ordering my dj equipment next week and i would like to learn the most effective way to cue up and beat match...

being a newb I find it easier using the cue/pan on the mixer and having both cans on. Easier to hear imo, then again I cant have the music up to loud in my place I do make it a point to practice with one can from time to time.

IMO you should be able to do both (one can being harder imo)

One is a LOT harder... and is the way that 99% of DJ's cue and beatmatch. You almost NEVER see DJ's cueing in the phones in clubs.

quote:

Originally posted by Euphorica being a newb I find it easier using the cue/pan on the mixer and having both cans on. Easier to hear imo, then again I cant have the music up to loud in my place I do make it a point to practice with one can from time to time. IMO you should be able to do both (one can being harder imo)

See now I think two is A LOT harder.

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