I've been DJing about a year now, and after Christmas I've been offered my first regular club gig. I have never DJed inside a club before, and so I've very nervous.

A big question tho, is can someone explain exactly what the monitor speakers do? Do they replicate the headphones for in the booth, or just echo what's being played out (Surely that's loud enough anyway!)?

Regards.

When you DJ at home you have the speakers pretty much facing you or at least pointed in your direction. Djing at a big nightclub without monitors is like taking your home djing speakers and pointing them out the window. Can't hear what you are doing. You could beatmatch all you want on your headphones but you won't be able to hear what the crowd hears. Also, the sound of a big PA sound system is different from what you hear on home speakers. (for example, a song that doesn't really do anything for you on a home setup may have a sick bassline that rocks the party but only on a big sound system.) So it's imperative to have a monitor that at least is similar to the sound on the floor. The nicest nightclubs actually have identical smaller sized PA speakers in the DJ booth.

depending on the club...usually the sound in the DJ booth sucks compared to the main dancefloor. Some DJ booths may sound like the club bathrooms if it wasn't for monitors inside them. By that I mean that you get a delayed beat from what actually is coming out of the main floor speakers.

So to answer your question it's not about how loud it is. It's more about what it sounds like in a room that is not meant for the audience.

Peace

___________________
ok sig police please don't hurt me...

what you hear on the monitors is typically what the crowd hears however some mixers have an actual switch so you can hear what you are cueing in the Dj booth or the Master output.

___________________
ok sig police please don't hurt me...

Also, now you should know the difference between your master out and monitor out on your mixer. You should also have a monitor volume adjustment too. This way you can save your ears if it is too loud for you!

___________________
When you dance, the DJ takes you on a journey, but he or she is usually not the focus of your experience at a club or festival or wherever you hear the music. Dancing is. Music is.

man I remember my first gig....I could barely put the needle on the record because I was so scared . But just go slow and do the best job you can, and you'll see you'll have that place jumping. The first time I ever played out I did such a good job the crowd was cheering my name. Oh man memories

___________________
http://531.am