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Posted by MClarke on Jul-11-2002 14:10:

Going From Bedroom To Club

Hey ive been djing for about 3 years now and ive played in quite a few places there is 1 common thing that i find with the setup.
They all seem to max the levels on the mixers i.e. run well into the red zone which i thought was unhealthy for the mixer/speakers/amp etc also it makes level mixing a nightmare as you cant tell if the tune is going to distort or not. In the past i have simply turned down the mixer main output so its back into the yellow area but then the sound is too low and people are like 'why is the music so quiet, it can go alot louder'
i was under the impression that you should setup your mixer and amp both on their peak and then leave them, then you know exactly where the systems peak is and you wont risk blowing it.

Im going to be djing in a new place next week and im a little worried about the setup, it is a bar and from observations they also do this with their mixer, as they usually play pop type music they would not have heavy basslines and rolling drums to worry about but i play trance so i will have to take this into consideration, i dont want to blow the system or make it sound distorted on my first night lol.. so what do u think i should do ?

cheers Matt

Posted by Scottaculous on Jul-11-2002 14:53:

Here's what I do to ensure the volume is at optimum levels:

Set all your channel volumes at max, then adjust your master volume to where it should be at it's loudest. Then tape down the master volume so it won't go up anymore and you're all set.

Best of luck

Posted by Inertia on Jul-13-2002 05:02:

low the damn system and then storm out and call
the club owner (and whoever has touched the system)
an ignorant puke that knows nothing about sound, and
that youre a quality DJ that doesnt get associated
with such scum...

it'd look cool anyways...

Posted by mikefasssy on Jul-13-2002 06:14:

yea it would look cool for the 30 seconds before you loose your gig......

Posted by Trypsin on Jul-14-2002 20:06:

I'm interested in this, but a little confused by what you guys are saying. Do you mean that you should set the channel gains to max, and then bring the main output volume down until you're mixing into the yellow?

Posted by Luke Terry on Jul-14-2002 21:55:

just play it on max, the speakers will be able to cope with atleast 30 or 40 decibels more than wot u will be playing on them as if u look in any dj booth, the amp is never on full whack and is generally turned up a notch anyway when the climax dj in on

Posted by MClarke on Jul-15-2002 00:05:

yes but if u play it above max then the levels will be perm in RED which will mean its impossible to match the levels for each chan and u will get some tunes which are quieter than others

Posted by djdawn on Jul-15-2002 17:18:

i have that problem everytime the club has a rodec mixer, as we had at the loveparade, too. The Leds are always red so what I do is this: quickly switch the PFL from main to cue and adjust the volume by ear. Practice at home and you'll be able to do it...
my 2 cent

Posted by Luke Terry on Jul-15-2002 23:36:

quote:
Originally posted by MClarke
yes but if u play it above max then the levels will be perm in RED which will mean its impossible to match the levels for each chan and u will get some tunes which are quieter than others

there is this thing called gain which is the top knob of every channel which u alter the volume per channel which u change the volume so that they match, master volume is completely different. Play as it is, would u rather be known as:

1. That mad loud speaker blowing fukker

or

2. That guy who always plays quiet and ruins the atmosphere

ok, they are exagerations, but i say, leave it as it is

Posted by MClarke on Jul-15-2002 23:46:

thanks thats good advice

Posted by djdawn on Jul-16-2002 07:46:

quote:
Originally posted by Project T

there is this thing called gain which is the top knob of every channel which u alter the volume per channel which u change the volume so that they match, master volume is completely different.

i think most people here know what the gain is for. But if you have played in some clubs you'd know that they are too stupid to adjust the MASTER volume so that you can keep the gain in a usable range for adjusting channel volume. Those clubs we talk about have the master so low that you need to turn the gain up HIGH in order to get good levels, resulting in unusable LEDs.
And the problem is the volume of the Amps, cause the master is usually at 10.
get what I'm saying?

Posted by MClarke on Jul-16-2002 09:23:

yes lol i know what the gain is for, and ur exactly right about what clubs do with the master, how are you ment to level match then? just by ear?!

Posted by jdat on Jul-16-2002 09:51:

to ensure maximum quality of mixing, and not let unnecessary electrical distortion and hiss get in there, it's always good to have it high at beginning of the sound chain and lower at the end, with the reserve of common sense off course , this means :

to not get anything over loud in the mix first off; it's good that when you do your tryouts to keep the gain centered or whichever is the closest to a decent level, this all depends on the mixing table ....

like mentionned earlier it's good to keep the faders up, now my addition to "ajusting" the system to your use, would be to play loud, keep the masters at a 3/4 level ( depends on the db rate of the master ) , and leave it at 3/4 giving yourself margin to higher the volume during key tracks or specific moments as you wish.

Concerning making sure you don't blow out the system I suggest checking out your setup with, like I said, mid - level decent gains, high faders, 3/4 master, and if that starts distorting either lower gains ( not fader ) or master, or better yet volume control on the amps because if you do so you'll be sure not to screw up distorting by putting things on to loud on your table ......

It's a precarious situation and it's hard to give you exact details on what to do cause it depends on so many parameters that can't all be treated equally cause different from one system to another.