The best way to monitor

0:00 What's the best way of monitoring with your headphones?

Alright folks, what's the best way of monitoring with your headphones? Firstly, it is not put your PA system up or your hi-fi full blast, stick your headphones on and try and mix. In fact that's actually the worst thing you can do because you're not getting a proper sound, the proper sound that you need. Through my experience... This is what I do, what I used to do and I find it is an excellent way of learning properly how to beatmix and properly how to monitor. Now then, if you imagine, put your headphones on, if you had a record playing stereo, the volume through this side here, that side would be identical to the volume this side. Now then, when you're monitoring and when you're mixing, quite often you'll see a DJ with one ear...

1:52 In respect, as though I would have my headphones on

The DJ Tutor is available for purchase at Ellaskins.com I've now got the record on. I can hear it through here, but it's not coming through my PA. What I'm going to do is I'm going to slowly, very slowly bring the volume up until the sound matches here. In other words, that speaker will be a lot louder, but depending on how far I am away from the speaker or how close is dependent on how high I should bring that volume until I've got an exact match. In respect, as though I would have my headphones on. In other words, if I put this ear back over here, I would have a proper stereo sound. Both sounds would be exactly the same level. Take this one off, turn the monitor on, I need that level coming from that speaker, the same sound, the same level as though I had my headphones on. Right, so we'll put that on, we're ready, I'll level up.

3:01 Get all of those levels correctly

Here, and I'm going to slowly increase the volume till they're the same level. Okay, again this is going to vary on the basis of what actual level your master output is, on what level the actual output is on your amplifier, okay? Because you go line out, auxiliary in on your amplifier, and of course then you've got a volume here, in fact you've got three volumes, four in fact, you've probably got your slider. Which is one, your gain which is two, your master level which is three and also number four, your main volume on your amp. In a lesson I'll explain how to get all of those levels correctly so you're not interfering and you haven't got a horrible sound coming through your speakers, okay? So what do we want to do and what are we doing? We're slowly bringing it up to number three and between three and four that was my ideal sound for this ear, headphones on here.

And the ideal actual output I was getting from my speaker, my monitor, which is literally, you can't see it, but I'm touching it now. Now then, you listen to the sound as I go up from 3 and 4 to 10 and you'll see a difference. Right, that's 3 and 4, listen. Much louder, OK? Now why are we doing this? Think about it, your headphones on here, you can only hear a certain amount. Quite often, if the monitor is too loud, you can't hear exactly what's going on here. If you've got a nice, smooth level, smooth sound, it's a lot easier and a lot better to mix with. Try it. Again, this is the way of practicing in your bedroom, by yourself. You don't have to impress your mates because your mates, they come around, they want to see it all full blast and loud. Don't do it while your mates are there. Practice that and then when your mates come around and you know how to mix...

You can wang it up and start nodding your head. Speak to you soon. Bye bye.

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