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View Full Version : Just had first gig in a club - couldn't hear headphone mix over club system at all??



ironbrew
04-21-2012, 05:02 AM
Hey,

Had my first set in a club last night, the resident dj there wants to train me up from using my laptop to their serato + cdj set up.

My setup consisted of my macbook -> focusrite interface -> their mixer. My headphones were plugged into my interface, though I could not hear AT ALL through them. Luckily this wasn't too big an issue as I've been using ableton live anyway, so beatmatching was on easy-mode, though I could see this being fairly major in the future.

My headphones are the headphones I use for production as well, and thus semi-open backed, would this make a huge difference? They also have a fairly high impedance so are quiet in comparison to other headphones. Do I need new headphones?

For reference, I noticed when I got home that they were driven FAR higher than I'd listen to music comfortably at home anyway... And the DJ turned the system down a little for mine and his sets as he thought the previous dj was driving it too hard.

I really don't want this to turn into a massive issue and I'm nervous enough about the whole things as it is, so any tips would be awesome :)

EDIT: there was no monitors in the booth to mix from by the way, I had headphones, and the punters had the club system

DJ Riddims
04-21-2012, 07:30 AM
I think you need some headphones that offer better sound isolation. Check out the Sennheiser HD 25 or the Ultrasone DJ1 Pro to name a few.

windspeed36
04-21-2012, 07:55 AM
What cans were you using?

ironbrew
04-21-2012, 03:09 PM
I was using a pair of beyerdynamic dt 990 pro's, and cheers for the suggestions

Daniel S
04-21-2012, 03:25 PM
I have the DT770 to use at home and they are no way near loud enough for club use, so I can only imagine how the 990s would be.
For my DJing out I use the Sennheiser HD280 wich are similar in style but isolate better and go louder.

ironbrew
04-22-2012, 11:02 AM
thanks, those hd280's look quite smart and seem to be a reasonable price, so they may be the way forward! I'll have a shop around because if I'm gonna have to get another set of cans it'll be on a very limited budget :eek:

richard stringer
04-22-2012, 11:30 AM
Ah mate, i've had that problem in the past and it f**king pisses me off when there's no dj monitor in the dj booth. I mean how the hell is a geezer suppose to mix properly when all you can hear in the dj booth is BASS, BASS, BASS and you've got no dj monitor. I think at the minimum a club should at least have something like an RCF Art312A at the bare minimum for a dj monitor. Headphones wise try a pair of Sennheiser HD25II, not the SP versions, the proper dog's b*llocks HD25II, they're proper dj headphones.

sss18734
04-22-2012, 11:59 AM
Get in ear monitors and call it a day. And save your hearing in the process.

Digital_Chris
04-22-2012, 06:42 PM
SSS, do you recommend a certain brand of in-ear monitors? I'm interested in something like this... I tried the Shure sound isolating headphones just for regular "ipod" play last year but they didn't fit well. I would love something custom made for my ears but I'm not sure how pricey that would be. Thanks in advance :)