Changing EQ settings on the fly...???

[DjBetta]

So...I see that a lot of clubs usaully have another guy at the FOH or sound reinforcement area...

Usaully tweaking EQ settings and effects based upon what genre or style the main DJ is playing/doing.

Cuz....If your an 'open format' type DJ....Chances are its better to have different EQ settings for different genres/styles.

Hip Hop, EDM, Country, Line Dance, 60's, 70's, Kids, Piano Solos/ballads etc.....are all going to require different EQ setting for maximum effectiveness thru your PA system.

How does a 1 man DJ or mobile DJ....Change different EQ settings on his PA/sound reinforcement unit, while also still DJing...???

Do most mobiles just have 'ONE EQ SETTING' for the whole night/session and thats it...?

Is it possible to somehow setup your rig in a way where you can tweak the EQ 'on-the-fly' whenever you want, while still being behind the main DJ booth...? Albeit...kinda akward but at least you can change the EQ to whatever you need for that particular time, song or act/scene.

[light-o-matic]

So...I see that a lot of clubs usaully have another guy at the FOH or sound reinforcement area...

Usaully tweaking EQ settings and effects based upon what genre or style the main DJ is playing/doing.

Cuz....If your an 'open format' type DJ....Chances are its better to have different EQ settings for different genres/styles.

Hip Hop, EDM, Country, Line Dance, 60's, 70's, Kids, Piano Solos/ballads etc.....are all going to require different EQ setting for maximum effectiveness thru your PA system.

How does a 1 man DJ or mobile DJ....Change different EQ settings on his PA/sound reinforcement unit, while also still DJing...???

Do most mobiles just have 'ONE EQ SETTING' for the whole night/session and thats it...?

Is it possible to somehow setup your rig in a way where you can tweak the EQ 'on-the-fly' whenever you want, while still being behind the main DJ booth...? Albeit...kinda akward but at least you can change the EQ to whatever you need for that particular time, song or act/scene.

The venue sound engineer does not continually alter the EQ while the DJ is playing, unless they (the sound engineer) suck.
And a good sound system requires very little adjustment.

But the sound engineer is there to keep an eye on the levels, since DJ's are known to play louder than they should.
And the sound engineer might tweak things a little bit as the place fills up and empties out, since that affects the acoustics.
If different DJs are playing then it's possible they will sound a bit different due to different formats, different carts or whatever. So maybe he'll tweak it because of that.

But mostly, once things are set up and the DJ is playing, the venue's sound engineer is mostly just sitting there keeping an eye out for problems.

[conanski]

So...I see that a lot of clubs usaully have another guy at the FOH or sound reinforcement area...

Usaully tweaking EQ settings and effects based upon what genre or style the main DJ is playing/doing. .

No.. unless he is feeling bored and looking to mess with the talent I suspect he's just "babysitting" the rig and making sure the DJ levels never exceed a predetermined safe level.

How does a 1 man DJ or mobile DJ....Change different EQ settings on his PA/sound reinforcement unit, while also still DJing...??? .

He doesn't.. the main system processor(DSP) should not need any adjustment once the system baseline has been established. If a DJ want to alter his tone on the fly then those 3 little buttons on the channel strip labelled Low, Mid, Hi or whatever should do the trick, if you want more than that then you need a mixer with more features. IMO music should not all sound the same, a pop recording from 1990 should not have as much bass as one from 2016, but that said I have always run tracks through an audio editor before adding them to my collection. Sometimes I just remove excessive dead space at the front or back of the track but with others I may use some pretty extensive EQ to boost the lowend or highend or notch out some objectional artifact, I have even edited tracks to remove sections that I didn't think worked well.. like a long slow paced intro to an otherwise fast tempo song. I mean if you're gonna skip the intro every time you play a track then why make it necessary to have to search for the correct cue point every time, just delete all that noise so the track is already where you want it when it's loaded.

[b.ill]

What you may be seeing is a FOH guy running light programs, because most of the time they're going to just keep an eye on levels from the sound system and adjust if necessary. I've never known a FOH guy in a DJ room be so bold as to EQ each track.

That's our job. Fortunately most of today's tracks come out decent flat through a good system, but there are exceptions. A couple of examples with club tracks that are hot right now: Broccoli has so much low end that I have to roll some off so it doesn't swamp the subs, while Juju is so thin that I have to add bottom.

If you know it's coming (which I do with these tracks cause they get mixed in every night) you do it beforehand, otherwise on the fly.

[Not Applicable]

I EQ my tracks all the time. I haven't played in a club with a sound engineer.

I trust that they are there for the master levels so you don't blow the system.

As for DJing, what are you doing to the track that makes it special. Some people believe that a track was eq'd as the song was produced so it would sound great in a club/venue. Those are guidelines.

The DJ's job, in my opinion is to make every set unique. Even if you play the same mix 10 times, you should have 10 different sounding mixes because of eqing and mix points. If you just play tracks without trying to alter or improve them, you're not giving 100%

[light-o-matic]

DJ's like that annoy the fuck out of me. Nothing gets old for me faster than a DJ who can't keep his hands off the knobs fucking around all the time.. dropping the bass, cranking the highs up and down, phasing.. popping the channel out for a beat, filters coming in and out... etc etc. Not able to leave a track alone for 2 minutes. Once in a while is ok.

[stomp]

Isolator terror. Like look I PLAY the mixer.

[DjGuyDeshaies]

The venue sound engineer does not continually alter the EQ while the DJ is playing, unless they (the sound engineer) suck. And a good sound system requires very little adjustment.

But the sound engineer is there to keep an eye on the levels, since DJ's are known to play louder than they should.
And the sound engineer might tweak things a little bit as the place fills up and empties out, since that affects the acoustics.
If different DJs are playing then it's possible they will sound a bit different due to different formats, different carts or whatever. So maybe he'll tweak it because of that.

But mostly, once things are set up and the DJ is playing, the venue's sound engineer is mostly just sitting there keeping an eye out for problems.

I completely agree with you. If the sound engineer knows what is doing after initial set up he shouldn't have to tweak it again Most importantly they should always keep an eye on the«knows it all DJs» trying to show off, and wanting to play around with the sound system. If the Dj is not happy with the sound in the room he should always go to and talk to the sound technician to report his problem. That's it!

[DjGuyDeshaies]

...He doesn't.. the main system processor(DSP) should not need any adjustment once the system baseline has been established. If a DJ want to alter his tone on the fly then those 3 little buttons on the channel strip labelled Low, Mid, Hi or whatever should do the trick, if you want more than that then....

He he he.... That's it! ;-)

[DjGuyDeshaies]

DJ's like that annoy the fuck out of me. Nothing gets old for me faster than a DJ who can't keep his hands off the knobs fucking around all the time.. dropping the bass, cranking the highs up and down, phasing.. popping the channel out for a beat, filters coming in and out... etc etc. Not able to leave a track alone for 2 minutes. Once in a while is ok.

He he he... you are funny and I also agree... some guys are definatly showing off too much... but that's an entirely different topic.... We should start a new thread on this topic just to get a good laugh out of it ;-)