Mixing in headphones
Second post in the same day! BOOM! Due to neighbors and late night cravings, I’ve found myself mixing through my headphones. I really dig it. Can’t seem to find a good position for my rokits, so the music kinda sounds off to me in my apartment. Basically what I’m trying to get at is this: is mixing within headphones a bad habit? The sound just seems to good to be true.
Not at all. Some of the bigger DJs are starting to do this out now, I saw Shadow Child at the weekend and he uses in ear monitors, 1. to protect his hearing and 2. he says that he prefers it.
I’ve tried with my DJM-800 but I can’t get the hang of it as I find that when I press the CUE button, the signal coming in is a lot louder than the rest of the audio so I end up deafening myself anyway.
So instead I just mix in the headphones with both CUE buttons on and not worry about the master signal…
Thanks for the reply, Dean. I find myself doing the same thing. Honestly, I like controlling everything with knobs (gain, highs, mids, lows - DUH). Every now and then, I seem to cut too hard in a transition. With the headphones on, I don’t make this mistake. Could be all in my head though. I use a DB2, so I wish I could hear fx/filters through the headphones. Otherwise, it’s fun and gives me a chance to play more without worrying about neighbors complaining.
Well on the DJM’s you have the master cue, just below the balance knob. Once you hit that you can then select whether or not to hear the cue, mixing or master. That’s what I’ve been trying to do but like I said, I’ve found once you hit the CUE button on the channel it’s a lot louder than the master output through the headphones.
You can see what I mean here:
http://www.westenddj.co.uk/product.asp?mod=DJM800
I’m sure other manufacturers have this feature.
Your blends will usually sound a tad bit better in your headphones
They definitely do. My speaker situation is driving me bananas. Need to get that expedit, but don’t want to drive 2 hours to get to ikea. 
What’s your situation? Why can’t you get your monitors setup?
My current desk only fits my CDJs and mixer. The speakers stay on the bottom. When I play though, I take the dinner table chairs out, place them to the sides of my desk and mix like that. But the chairs only come up to about my waist. Sometimes, I’ll let a track play and get on the floor to hear how nice it would sound if I had a decent spot for the speakers. Often times I drool.
Hey man im running a 900x2 db2 setup and im 90% sure you can change the feed signal if you go under the menu under hp settings you can change the feed type to another setting other than clean with effect, ill have to check after work.
And for saying that its to loud when you cue isnt that what the cue/mix ratio knob is for?
Same setup here, Gil. Let me know if you figure it out. I’m at work, too. 
I use two pairs of headphones - one for the master and one for the cue. I often have both sets on my head at the same time, switching them around as needed. Probably looks quite mental but it means I can mix at 3am without disturbing anyone 
I have always mixed this way…
Ever since I started DJing I have always used the headphones only to monitor my mix. Most of my DJ mates thought I was mental for doing so, but for me it’s has just always felt right.
Much tighter mixes, and it save relying on some clubs crappy monitors!
A lot of people have said using headphones or in-ear monitors helps them a lot. I know Wolfgang Gartner swears by his haha.
Personally, I can’t stand it. I cue in the headphones like anyone else, but I just feel so disconnected from the audience, and from the music coming out of the speakers when I’m transitioning using ear monitors. I feel like I’m in a different world, and I don’t like it.
But that’s just me, it’s all about personal preference, so if that works for you, go for it! And rock it out !
Unless we have a party, i do 90% of my mixes and radio shows all in the headphones.
ever hear of a cue button and mix knob?
The thing about headphone mixing is that at a club you’re not mixing for yourself. You’re mixing for the audience, so it’s a good idea to listen to the club speakers at least every now and then.
The bad thing about club speakers is that they’re guaranteed to be at a harmful SPL, especially at busy times.
Yep, I just can’t get my head around mixing in headphones or even with monitor speakers in a club. One of the venues I play at has a DJ booth which is separate from the dance area, with windows that open out and lift off the hinges; sometimes, the staff forget to unlock them and I’m like… “please could you go get the key for the window padlock?”
First time I asked they looked at me like I was mad, so I had to explain to them there is NO way you can mix properly without actually being able to hear what the audience is hearing. Not at the same volume, admittedly, because the booth is enclosed on 3 sides, but at least the balance between EQ bands.
Sounds like monitor speakers would be the perfect solution then.
There IS a monitor speaker, but that’s the problem isn’t it. It sounds COMPLETELY different than the rest of the venue. A 12" Behringer PA speaker has virtually no bottom end, so a balanced mix IN the booth is completely out of whack out on the floor.