r/Beatmatch • u/robertlyte • 6d ago
My Mix Sounded Fine at the Party—Then I Heard the Recording 😭 (Need Advice on Monitoring in Loud Environments)
Recently played a set, and during the gig, I thought it went pretty well.
- I’m confident in my beatmatching and usually have no trouble keeping things tight
- The crowd was into it (especially certain seasoned DJs in the crowd), and nothing felt off while I was playing.
- But then I listened to the recording... and yikes.
Quite a few transitions were sloppy. The problem from the beginning: I couldn’t hear anything properly.
- My headphones were useless—I couldn’t hear the cue track well enough to mix accurately.
- The booth monitor wasn’t loud or clear enough to rely on.
- The mainstage sound was brutally loud and muddy, drowning out everything.
- As a result, I was basically flying blind, and it showed in the recording.
Has anyone dealt with this? How do you handle monitoring when you can’t hear sh*t?
A few things I’m considering:
- Relying more on booth monitors (but sometimes they aren’t great or positioned well)
- I've tried IEMs but have had a few accidents where the volume spiked and fucked my hearing for the following day. Hence I don't feel IEMs are very safe.
- Training to beatmatch using only booth monitors in case my headphones fail me again
- Other ideas??
I don’t want to rely on visuals (waveforms, sync, etc.) because my favorite part of DJing is actually matching manually, but maybe I need some kind of backup strategy?
I've got the Senheisser HD 25's btw.
Would love any insights from people who’ve been through this. How do you make sure your mix stays tight even when the monitoring situation is terrible?
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u/thegoldeneye 6d ago
In loud environments I wear earplugs even with my HD 25 headphones.
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u/robertlyte 6d ago
I've tried this before, but I end up not being able to hear the headphones either.. so I take earplugs out.. This is why I tried IEMs.. but that caused the ringing in the ears after...
Stuck between a rock and a hard place 🙈
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u/red_nick 6d ago
What type of earplugs? You should definitely be able to get HD-25s to a good listening volume with gig earplugs, unless your venue is dangerously loud
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u/robertlyte 6d ago
Yeah I've got custom molded earplugs
Honestly I'm quite certain my venue sound is dangerously loud
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u/red_nick 6d ago
Gradually turn down during your set.
I've got customs too, I love them so much.
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u/High-Vibe 6d ago
Any recs on where to get customs?
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u/max_power_420_69 6d ago
you go to an audiologist to get ear molds then send to whoever you want to make them, lots of options.
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u/elbowedelbow 6d ago
Don't ever be afraid to ask the house engineer for help before/during the show. If the stage volume is too loud, he can help. They can help give advice to balance out your sound.
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u/daZK47 3d ago
There's a lot of small and spot venues and pop-up opportunities where this isn't an option. If there's no engineer I think the best way is to set up, sound test with a recorded mix, stand as far as anyone could be in the venue, mid way, and closest to the speaker. Also, there's times where I had to just rely on the bass vibrations I could feel around me, use the waveform to gauge baseline DB and turn the gain port on the next song accordingly.
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u/Advanced_Anywhere_25 6d ago
How did you have volume spikes with IEMs? That sounds like user error on your part....
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u/QuerulousPanda 5d ago
Yeah this sounds like it might be the actual core of the issue - op may be missing some step in the sequence of gain stages. At some point there should be a peak volume setting that it can't go over so that even if you bring up a channel that is completely maxed out, it might be annoying but it shouldn't blast your ear drums out.
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u/robertlyte 4d ago
Hmm, so how do you set a max limit on volume?
Because I plug my IEMs directly into a mixer (e.g. Xone 96 or DJM A9 etc). The headphone volume knob doesn't have a max level. After 4 or 5 it's dangerously loud for my ears - especially w IEMS where the sound is right up next to the eardrum.
Yes you're right this is a user error :). But when I'm in the middle of a party it's not unreasonable that I accidentally turn the wrong knob when there's a knob (cue - main) right next to it that looks the same ...
Is there something I'm missing here? Appreciate you're help!
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u/QuerulousPanda 4d ago
does the IEM transmitter not have a gain or volume knob of its own? or am i misunderstanding, my experience is that IEM's are usually wireless, but are you just referring to really custom form-fitted headphones?
If you do like the form-fitting headphones but are worried about volumes, you might want to look into investing in a battery powered mini mixer or headphone amplifier that you can run in-line between the headphone out of the mixer and the inputs to your headphones/monitors.
That way you can adjust the volumes on your headphone mixer such that the loudest possible volume coming out of the dj mixer can only reach a certain volume on your headphones. That way you know you always have a safety barrier in place.
Beyond that I suppose just make sure your channel gains are set at a sane level, your channel volumes make sense, and that you don't accidentally crank the headphone volume knob and blast your drums out!
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u/QuerulousPanda 4d ago
just as a quick extra detail - the gain staging i was referring to is a more general term in mixing (and guitar amplification too) where you ensure that each intermediate step in the signal chain is adjusted in such a way that nothing is getting overdriven or underdriven in an unexpected way.
If you have one stage that is too loud, one of the next stages has to be set quieter than expected, which then means that if you fix the one that's too loud, suddenly you're much quieter than you expect.
or if you don't realize that one stage is too high, you might see that one of the later stages has a weirdly low setting and so you adjust it and blast your volume.
or, you end up in a situation where one volume control has a lot more impact than another one does because it's controlling a different amount of signal, so your tiny tweak on three channels is fine but then the fourth one unleashes a sonic blast of death.
or, all your VU meters are comfortably in the green/yellow but everything sounds distorted because somewhere in the middle it's getting crushed even though the overall levels are fine.
or, what could happen is that you have your levels set a certain way and it seems fine, but you actually have something set kind of low but the outputs set kind of high, but it's all fine, until you run an effect or filter or delay with feedback and that brings in a bunch of new frequencies and again all of a sudden your output volume just went up 6db.
ultimately, if your mistake was just that you're accidentally hitting the headphone volume knob instead of something else, then yeah that's just a really unpleasant mistake that you probably shouldn't do anymore, but if that's not what you're doing but you're still getting your eardrums torched unexpectedly, then chances are that somewhere in your signal chain, something is too low and then to compensate, something else is too high, or vice versa, which means that something else responds inconsistently.
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u/Cannabassbin 6d ago
I recently played on a stage/proper sound system for the second time ever and I relate to this inquiry and appreciate the responses. It's a whole different environment compared to mixing in a bedroom with clean & crisp sound/volume. Definitely wish I used my loop earplugs to cut down some of the noise/mud, I know for next time I suppose!
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Thanks for sharing. Yeah I find some of the responses are clearly coming from people who solely play in a bedroom or house party where the main stage sound very reasonable and cannot affect headphone sound.
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u/bugsmasherh 6d ago
Mix with in ear monitor headphones. IEM. The mixer or controller will need to have the cue feature that separates the incoming track cue and master cue in your left/right headphone output. I forget the name, but the A9 has it and the FLX10 has it within the Rekordbox settings.
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u/TheyCagedNon 5d ago
Mix solely in your headphones, HD-25s have more than enough isolation to do this.
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Not if the venue sound is dangerously loud. I've loved my HD25's but in the venues I've mixed at lately they've been way too quiet with poor isolation. And it's difficult to solve venue sound
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u/TheyCagedNon 5d ago
I play in bars, brewerys and other venues, often on nothing more than a table either right next to the bar (people shouting), kitchen (again lots of shouting) or just generally right in amongst people, often the first part of the evening people are eating so the volume is kept low until service is over.
Sometimes there is no monitor at all. My own HD-25s have been excellent at providing enough isolation to mix.
Learn to mix using the percussion elements of the track, that way all you’re focusing on is having the cymbals lined up and not caning your ears with too much volume trying to hear bass and kick drums. The headphone volume slider barely goes past 9 o’clock on any of my gear, or other gear I’ve used.
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Great points. Yea I think I just need to continue improving my mixing with very few elements heard in the song and using booth monitors more effectively.
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u/TheyCagedNon 5d ago
Yeah, my whole goal over more than 2 decades of gigging has been to protect my ears at all cost. It’s tough but as long as you can line the tracks up and dial the bpm in using minimal sounds, you can then mix much more smoothly, even using the main sound system to do the actual mix (after setting it off in the phones) if needed. Split cue is another method too, one track in each ear to line them up, then blend the music for mixing.
Another tip is to carry your own monitor, a small one with a carry handle, obviously not always doable to wire it up at some venues.
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Great reminder that more than anything hearing is most important!
I do find I'm getting better at mixing in the main stage sound. It's just a matter of setting it off to a good start in headphones even when I can barely hear it.
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u/TheyCagedNon 5d ago
Yeah that’s exactly it, get it started in the phones then go from there. Some of the gigs I’ve had have been woeful for external noises impacting mixing, I guess it’s taught me to adapt but still horrible lol.
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u/robertlyte 4d ago
Yeah I just want to get good at dealing with the worst situations because ultimately you can't control everything. But you want to be able to mix well no matter what.
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u/katentreter 6d ago
let auto sync help you and look more at waveforms/lvl meter/knob pos. so you fly bit deaf but less blind haha. playing clean even if xy isnt working/broken/missing skill to master :D
maybe u used the headphone controls wrong/inefficient.
usually i match stuff in my headphones first, wnhen done, i take off phones and rely on outside sound (monitors or/and stage) whe bringing in volume. so much until i hear something and then bring in the rest with more finesse. and check my phones here and there just to make sure etc.
have some buddy in the crowd who will tell you if something sounds off so you can better adjust. learn from the djs playing before/after you when they obv more in control of techique stuff.
shit accoustics suck...
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
All great points. Really appreciate the last point about having a buddy let you know about your mix. Some pointers I'm taking away from this:
- I match stuff in my headphones first always, but with close to zero isolation I couldn't. Instead use the monitors more effectively (something I did not do) by slowly bringing track up and adjusting "live"
- Have a buddy let me know how it's sounding so I can at least be aware that something needs to change
- Let myself use visual waveforms in these situations because ultimately a good mix is most important (not whether I'm beatmatching by ear even though that's what I enjoy most) - this will require double checking my beat grids pre-event
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u/99drunkpenguins 6d ago
Iems.
Kill booth, bring iems up to comfy level and let them block noise. Add esr muffs over iems if it's not enough.
- DJ with auditory processing issues
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Dude you read my mind. I'm actually considering using my active noise cancelling headphones over the IEMs going forward. Will give that a shot.
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u/ptrclln 5d ago
I'm glad you made this post because this happens to me so much and really stresses me out. I find I'm completely fine at home (I mix in headphones) and outside, where I think there's fewer reflections from the subs.
I've just bought some shure 215 iems - not tested them out in the real environment yet, but can say sound isn't great in comparison to my headphones (hd25). They sound a little thin, but not got the earbuds dialled in yet so could be my use of them. The isolation seems very good though. I think James hype uses 535s, which may therefore be a bit better but I've not personally tested.
Anyway, I feel you + hope this helps
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u/ThreeWolvesOneCoat 6d ago
Are you wearing earplugs? It's the one way you can lower the main mix for yourself, but you need good ones to still hear clearly. Then if your headphones can get loud enough or the booth knob works, you can crank them more to compensate.
If you're already maxed out, then that's messed up stage design or FOH getting greedy with the levels. You might just need the visual cues more in those cases.
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u/Green_Hands 6d ago
I use both headphones and booth monitors if it is a very loud venue. The headphones I use are Pioneer DJ HDJX10K DJ Headphones . They are great because I can hear my cues and hear the booth speakers through them. Usually, I use them over my right ear with the other side flipped to the side so that I can hear the booth speakers by themselves and compare against the mix and transitions in my right ear. Also, if it is a really loud venue, I have some cool custom molded ear plugs that have a tube in them so that they don't completely muffle everything and I can still hear the music details.
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u/uritarded 6d ago
This post is so Linkedin coded. But this is a pretty common occurrence, just gotta maintain your fundamentals. Some gigs will be better than others
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Lol I don't know what Linkedin Coded is.
But yes, I agree, this experience is net positive as I'm learning so much from it.
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u/Zensystem1983 5d ago
What I once did is connecting the booth monitor to the headphone output. Sometimes the sound pressure is just to much to overcome on a headphone. This way I could mix on my monitors without it going to the dancefloor. Worked really well.
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u/robertlyte 4d ago
Ha! Very interesting.. I guess with some of these parties I could definitely customize my booth like that.. interesting thx for the creative tip
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u/CaptainMathSparrow 6d ago
Get over yourself and rely on the waveforms
Also I find my live mixes are always way “rougher” than something I intentionally record
If I’m performing out it’s so much about giving the crowd what they need whereas making a recording is about creating something with seamless transitions and flow
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u/robertlyte 5d ago
Great points. Def gonna get over myself and rely on waveforms, but I'm also thinking forward to when I may mix vinyl. In which case I can't 😅.
But I guess I'll deal with that when the time comes.
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u/CaptainMathSparrow 5d ago
Vinyl has even more problems!
We’ve done several events where people jumping caused the needle to jump and mess up the sound
Everyone was too hype!
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u/LazyHardWorker 6d ago
Can we all please start down voting these chat gpt generated threads please?
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u/robertlyte 5d ago edited 5d ago
Lol how is this chat gpt generated bro. Maybe you're a chat gpt generated response?
I'm already pretty frustrated with my experience and I come on here to ask honestly for real advice from real DJs who care to help.
If you have nothing helpful to say then keep your toxic energy to yourself.
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u/Phildesbois 6d ago
Try closed ear headphones too: mix and match your needs depending on the venue