Headphone mix verses channel only

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Posted by FuzzyGreen on May-13-2002 22:32:

Headphone mix verses channel only

My vestax mixer has a fader for the headphones which allows me to listen to the complete mix or however I want. I've learned to beatmatch quite well with this setup, but what I wanted to know is, what do you guys do when you go to an actual club or party where the mixer headphone selection is channel only. Is it a lot harder? Does it just take more practice? Or do most decent clubs have a newer mixer with a headphone x-fader?

Posted by Special_K on May-13-2002 23:49:

pretty much every club i have seen uses either a pioneer or an allen & Heath mixer, neither of them have headphone x-faders. Actually i have only ever seen 1 mixer with the fader and that was a stanton.

Posted by Tony Morello on May-14-2002 03:06:

i learned to mix on a vestax without a headphone x-fader
it just has the cue selectors on each channel

but lately i'm mixing on a mixer with the headphone x-fader, and now going back to the mixer without the fader is kinda disorientating (sp?)

Posted by mikefasssy on May-14-2002 04:57:

my mixer has both selections, but i find regular mixing (only hearing cued track in phones) much easier. if i listen to both at the same time in the phones, i have like a mind overload and can't concentrate at all!

Posted by Great Outdoors on May-14-2002 06:55:

quote:
Originally posted by mikefasssy
my mixer has both selections, but i find regular mixing (only hearing cued track in phones) much easier. if i listen to both at the same time in the phones, i have like a mind overload and can't concentrate at all!

I have exactly the same problem. I own a Kam mixer which has the headphones cross-fader thing in the form of a knob but I hardly ever touch it.

Posted by Michael Russo on May-14-2002 10:45:

quote:
Originally posted by Great Outdoors

I have exactly the same problem. I own a Kam mixer which has the headphones cross-fader thing in the form of a knob but I hardly ever touch it.

I have the opposite problem

Posted by Scottaculous on May-15-2002 01:59:

I tend to use both. I usually beatmatch with one ear on the headphones and one ear on the monitors. I then put on the headphones to fine tune it. (Usually I don't need it.)

In clubs and raves, the monitors are usually decent and the bass is so loud you can feel the beat so I don't think you will have a problem. In fact the bass is so loud and round in clubs that slightly offbeat mixes is still good because of the enveloping bass. If there's melodies in your tracks however, that will sound messed up.

Posted by DJ TranceFormer on May-16-2002 01:25:

pioneer djm 600 has a CUE split, or w.e it's called.
What i always do, is monitor 2 channels, that way you don't even need the x-fader thing, you will always hear 2 tracks at the same time...