Mixing in headphones only, the proper way?
Quite complicated explanation about mixing in headphones only, but read through for an interesting question!
I notice that more and more big Trance DJs out there are doing all the mixing in their headphones these days, not only for que/beatmatching but also the Live mixing.
This has its advantages, in such as:
-You don't need to put your volume that high, in order to cope with the level in the club.
-You don't have to rely on your Booth monitors when mixing.
-You don't have to flip your ear in&out of your cup to check the beatmatch.
-You can record a mix at late night without disturbing your neighbors.
There are a few beatmatching techniques out there, but to be clear - the one I'm referring to is stereo mixing in headphones - NOT split que (with one track in each ear).
The worlds leading trance DJ, Armin Van Buuren is using this technique. Doing all the mixing in his headphones.
Q: But how does he do it?
I've tried different ways, but are still not sure which way is the best. After studying Armin in quite a few videos, it seems like he's using this method:
Example:
Channel 2: Live track
Channel 4: Cued track
Qued in headphones:
Channel 4 Cue + Master Cue.
Headphones MIXING knob: Turned slightly to the left, towards cue (guessing this is done to get the same volume of each track)
1)Above settings used for doing the beatmatching, while Live track is palying. THEN - When mixing in (remember with using headphones only)
2)Cuts Channel 4 Cue, So only Master Cue is playing (To be able to hear how the Cued track comes in to the mix)
3)Then keep pushing Channel 4 Cue button on/off to check that the beats are in match, while doing the mixing with only Master Cue pushed down.
4)When Low EQ is flipped around so you have the low-end of the Cue'd track playing (mixed fully in) - Then you switch to the Channel 2 Cue button on/off to check your beats, while mixing the Live track out.
- But here's the problem:
When you have both channels Live, and you press Channel 4 Cue to check your mix, the volume increases A LOT! (obviously since you now have both channels in Master Cue)
And since you have the volume quite high in the first place, to be sure you catch every beat that goes out Live, in the master cue, this will keep blasting your ears on&off when re-pushing the Ch-Cue.
It also is quite annoying and easily puts off your concentration on the Live mix as it now appears significantly lower in volume.
So back to my question again. Is this the right way to stereo mix with your headphones only, or am I missing something essential here?
I know there are different ways of doing it, of what you prefer yourself. But when that is said, there's always 1 more common proper way of doing it. - As I believe f.ex Armin is using.
And for what I think of, doing an 8 hour set with consistent volume increase/decrease in your headphones wouldn't be preferable. So there must be a way around this problem?
Any suggestions or inputs guys? How do you mix in your headphones?
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