I am a backline tech for a sound & production company that does festivals & clubs AMA

[antexxx]

i'm really curious how organised connection of 2 dj mixers on stage. when 2 djs play b2b and everybody has his own mixer. are this mixers connected to some big mixer or somewhere else???
like in this video , for example

[Kwal]

i'm really curious how organised connection of 2 dj mixers on stage. when 2 djs play b2b and everybody has his own mixer. are this mixers connected to some big mixer or somewhere else???
like in this video , for example

they could be, or one could be plugged into an open channel of another one and always left on

[dsquareddan]

i'm really curious how organised connection of 2 dj mixers on stage. when 2 djs play b2b and everybody has his own mixer. are this mixers connected to some big mixer or somewhere else???
like in this video , for example

generally, for almost every medium to large scale show we run 10 XLR cables to the stage. This allows us to have 2 XLR's for the Master L & R on a mixer, and then we attach a XLR -> 1/4" adapter to go out the Booth L & R of the mixer. we do this twice so that we can have 2 mixers hooked up at all times if necessary for changeovers so that there is no "dead air" (sometimes the next DJ is on a Rane mixer, or a Pioneer, or Xone) and each mixer would have it's own separate full booth control. The 2 extra XLR's are for "other" stuff, such as DI boxes that have a live Saxophone perhaps.

Those 10 XLR cables get ran all the way back to Front of House where the mixing engineer is sitting in front of a master mixing console where he can further tune the sound system before the signal gets sent out to the speakers. With gain, EQ, compression, crossovers etc.

In this scenario either they have both mixers sending to the main console, or they have one mixer just running an RCA out the master into a single channel on the other mixer

[jimmyv]

If I play my last track the next DJ should let it play out. Of course you don't play 12 minute track. But if a DJ mixes out right before my track goes into the first break it's equivalent to telling me "this track blows"

If I am not mistaken I believe it was Paul Oakenfold who would literally just kill the previous DJ's last song and start his set... Not gonna lie, I may have done this before... But I absolutely murdered the dance floor afterwards. I usually just mix out at the break.. high five the other DJ and send him on his way.

[dsquareddan]

^I think this depends on a few things. Like, is your timeslot finished and yet your song you played has 5 minutes left? Is the genre completely different from what you are wanting to start your set with? I think it's totally ok to end the music and start your set asap if that's the case. if you still technically have 3 or 4 minutes before you are scheduled to start, you SHOULD let the track play out. even if you don't like it.

[sheikyerbouti]

^I think this depends on a few things. Like, is your timeslot finished and yet your song you played has 5 minutes left? Is the genre completely different from what you are wanting to start your set with? I think it's totally ok to end the music and start your set asap if that's the case. if you still technically have 3 or 4 minutes before you are scheduled to start, you SHOULD let the track play out. even if you don't like it.

Definitely has a lot of stuff to weigh in. But in general you should always be the more relaxed, nice guy even when the DJ before you thinks its cool to mix in a new track right before your timeslot starts. I saw on some bad examples that all that bitchin around playtimes, other DJs equipment, songs etc. sooner or later backfires. Try to be nice always, even if the biggest asshole dumbass pulls of some stupid shit and sooner or later promoters&club staff will recognize.

When doing proper club gigs at the moment my tactic is:
When starting after another DJ: Ask in a friendly and even curious way how the playing song is going to evolve and where it would be ok to mix out. Always compliment on the song and the whole set and gently take over.
When handing over to another DJ, immediately talk to them on arrival, let them know how long you are going to play and be curious about how they want to start their set. When playing the last track, simply tell them about how your track is going to "evolve" (e.g. 'after this break there is nothing big happening, feel free to mix in)

Always worked for me.

I've got another question for mr op:

For a few times now I have seen the following setup of bass speakers:


What is the reasoning behind this. I couldn't explain it, but it always sounded really good!

[dsquareddan]

Definitely has a lot of stuff to weigh in. But in general you should always be the more relaxed, nice guy even when the DJ before you thinks its cool to mix in a new track right before your timeslot starts. I saw on some bad examples that all that bitchin around playtimes, other DJs equipment, songs etc. sooner or later backfires. Try to be nice always, even if the biggest asshole dumbass pulls of some stupid shit and sooner or later promoters&club staff will recognize.

When doing proper club gigs at the moment my tactic is:
When starting after another DJ: Ask in a friendly and even curious way how the playing song is going to evolve and where it would be ok to mix out. Always compliment on the song and the whole set and gently take over.
When handing over to another DJ, immediately talk to them on arrival, let them know how long you are going to play and be curious about how they want to start their set. When playing the last track, simply tell them about how your track is going to "evolve" (e.g. 'after this break there is nothing big happening, feel free to mix in)

Always worked for me.

I've got another question for mr op:

For a few times now I have seen the following setup of bass speakers:


What is the reasoning behind this. I couldn't explain it, but it always sounded really good!

those are Funktion One speakers (F1). They are some of the best speakers out there. There is benefits and disadvantages to their speakers. Since they do not make a hanging line array speaker system that you'd typically find in most other loudspeaker companies, F1 has to resort to ground stacking their tops on top of their subs. The big purple boxes with the large openings are the subwoofer. they are omnidirectional meaning the bass doesn't really sound like it has a direction to it, it just moves around through you. But as you move higher up in frequency it becomes more directional. So the 3 loudspeakers on the top are pointed out in a fan like orientation to maximize coverage on the dance floor. F1 use a paper horn on their speakers which they say gives the resulting tone a more natural clear sound. I've heard their speakers and they are definitely very clean sounding. Here is a GREAT video from one of the owners of F1 that every DJ should watch and understand




Also to add one more point to your handover suggestions on changeover. Turn the BOOTH monitor all the way down when the next DJ approaches the booth to take over. first of all talking to each other with the booth turned up is difficult, but also if you as the next DJ walk into the booth and the volume is already set, that becomes your starting volume, and your ears quickly become accustomed to that level. so you will possibly need to turn it up even louder as your set goes on which can do serious damage to your ears. Most big name DJ's these days get whats called a "Texas Headphone" setup for their stage monitors. This is a LOT of speaker at a very close proximity and they have them just cranked up so loud its almost unbearable. I'm actually surprised more DJ's are not stone cold deaf. They have more speaker 3 feet from their ear than most small to medium clubs have for their entire room of 400-800 people

[sarasin]

Also to add one more point to your handover suggestions on changeover. Turn the BOOTH monitor all the way down when the next DJ approaches the booth to take over. first of all talking to each other with the booth turned up is difficult, but also if you as the next DJ walk into the booth and the volume is already set, that becomes your starting volume, and your ears quickly become accustomed to that level. so you will possibly need to turn it up even louder as your set goes on which can do serious damage to your ears. Most big name DJ's these days get whats called a "Texas Headphone" setup for their stage monitors. This is a LOT of speaker at a very close proximity and they have them just cranked up so loud its almost unbearable. I'm actually surprised more DJ's are not stone cold deaf. They have more speaker 3 feet from their ear than most small to medium clubs have for their entire room of 400-800 people

^^ This!

I have played MANY outdoor festivals and due to being a dumbass when I was younger...had this texas headphone vibe going on.
Never used earplugs either.

I now have permanent tinnitus and hearing damage.

This advice is golden.....

[antexxx]

I've got another question for mr op:

For a few times now I have seen the following setup of bass speakers:


What is the reasoning behind this. I couldn't explain it, but it always sounded really good!

i thought what here question was about 3 rows of bass speakers, each 1 meter behind previuos

[sheikyerbouti]

Thanks for your info about F1... I have heard and seen them a lot. My question was about how the Subs are arranged in a line right behind each other.
Usually I saw them all tucked into one corner, or 2 stacks on each side of the stage (or even a stack in each corner like in berghain)

There was plenty of space on each side of the stage (they even build a scaffold on the other side of the stage to hold the other set of top speakers) but still they prefered to put them all on one side...

Here is another example: