What a DJ is actually hearing in there

0:00 Jonathan here, The DJ Tutor

Alright guys, Jonathan here, The DJ Tutor. Now a while ago I showed you how you could use a mini-rig system or just a speaker for your monitor when you're doing a set. So in other words, instead of using headphones, you just plug a mini-rig in and that's your headphone. And there's no need to hurt over your head, it's sort of shoved there. So in this video, it's a little bit like that, but this video really isn't targeted for people who are established DJs first. So don't start posting comments saying, we know all of that, because a lot of people don't. So this video is about what does a DJ listen to and what does a DJ hear when he or she has headphones on? Now if you think about it, that's a very, very sensible question.

Because for someone who doesn't know what a DJ does and they see headphones on the DJ and they're listening to a track, a lot of people are probable, some, maybe no one, maybe no one's ever even thought, probably no reason for me to do this video in the first place, just kidding. Maybe there are a few people that want to know what they're listening to and why they've got headphones on. This video will show you that. This video will show you, because guess what? No volume.

1:29 I've got a mini-rig plugged in to my headphone out

Now I've got a mini-rig plugged in to my headphone out. I'm now going to turn the volume down, like that, do that, wiki-wiki, we can't hear anything. Volume up, now we can hear something. But watch this, volume down on headphones, volume up on mixer. Now that's the main PA. Have a listen as I bring the volume up on the headphone. We can hear the same track. But let's try something different, I'm going to go to track, I'm going to go to that was active the clean mix by the way this one here is almost mine and now let's have a listen I am now going to play the left hand side and I'm going to do a bit of wiki-wiki on the right hand side but I will be having the wiki-wiki sound through the mini rig and the left hand side through the main PA.

Let's have a listen, here we go. Okay so, I'm going to do that we can't hear anything. Volume down, listen. So really if I was monitoring now, if I wanted to find a part in another track that I think would mix in with this one, this is the sort of thing I would do. Now have a listen to this, this is what the DJ does when he or she has got headphones on. Let me put the volume down here. Now you see again if I turn the headphone volume up. Volume down and all of the channels are as low as they can go. You can't hear anything but as I move the headphone volume up on the mixer, we can now hear through the mini rig and that is what the DJ would be listening to. So let's form some form of a transition now. We'll do a little bit of a mix okay?

By the way these tunes are from CD pool from the underground releases for June 2017 so... I tell you what, low step up.

What a great producer. That guy is a genius. Anyway, that's my own personal opinion. Listen. Right so this is what the DJ would be listening to on the headphones.

4:12 I'm going to turn the headphone volume down now and bring in

Now I'm going to turn the headphone volume down now and bring in... In fact before I do that, have a listen to see what it sounds like if I just bring the volume down on that side. It's not really a mix is it? Because all I'm doing, I'm bringing the volume down on that side and I'm leaving the headphone volume up on that side. So if I was to do that kind of mix live in a nightclub or in front of a crowd of people and I'd be going, yeah man come on, come on! The crowd would be looking at me like I was a muppet because I would be listening to a wonderful tune and they would have no volume at all. Which is... Not very good really is it? So let's continue.

Again we need to make sure it's mixed in phrase. So again whatever you hear now would be what the DJ listens to. Okay, now I'm going to bring the headphone volume down. Okay there you go. Now then, what I've done is I have pressed a button on the mixer called Cue.

So in a way it is a little bit like a cue. You imagine you're going to a shop. And there's a bunch of people in front of you. And you stand in a queue and you're waiting to be served. That's sort of like the cue on a mixer. It's almost as though the queue is waiting, that track that's being cued is waiting in line to go into the mix. Exactly the same as if you were in a store, in a shop. You're waiting to be served, you're served, off you go. You're served here, as in the volume's turned up. The music is served, and everyone can hear it. So we've got this side on. Now then let's do exactly the same thing with the left hand side. I'm going to find another track. We'll go again to some underground releases.

Let's try this, Can You Feel? Now at the moment I'm not trying to mix in key or anything like that. I'm just giving a demonstration. So that is the volume, right hand side. Fader up so the crowd can hear that. Whatever I do now on the left hand side only I can hear if I have the headphones on.

7:17 Volume down, let's have a listen to headphones as well

Volume down, let's have a listen to headphones as well. That was slightly out of phrase but I'm not going to go into that. So there we go, this one here Can You Feel? is the original mix. Now let's repeat the process on the right hand side. So I'm going to now scroll and let's have a listen to another track. So this time I'm going to do again what let's say I would do in a working environment. You know, have a listen to the track. So again my headphones, this is my headphones remember. Try and get it to a phrase.

Yeah I know it wasn't in B.

Volume down.

Okay this one here is a track entitled Deeper Than Us. So I'm going to repeat the process one more time on the other side. So disengage the cue so that button is no longer highlighted on that channel. I'm going to press the cue button on the other side and repeat the process. So let's go find another track. Let's have a listen to Inception. Okay now bearing in mind as well, what you're about to hear on the mini rig is what the DJ would be hearing on the headphones.

Quite a good tech sort of vibe here.

10:13 Swing to that, of course it will be through the headphones

Swing to that, of course it will be through the headphones. I'm trying to make sure there's no time in phrase and key and all that sort of stuff.

My headphones are down.

That will filter, bring a bit of an insight for you into really what does a DJ hear through their headphones. Now again I advise you here, please do not have the likes of a little mini rig and use it as a headphone right next to your ear because those things are very powerful and of course you can ruin your hearing. Literally ruin your hearing. If you've got some sort of mini rig like that next to your ear and you turn it up then you're an absolute nutter. What you've got to remember, I love that, you're an absolute nutter. What you've got to remember is headphone volume is a lot lower simply because the diaphragm of the headphone is closer to your ear. So, of course, the closer it is to the ear the less volume you need.

The further away it is, the more volume. Makes perfect sense. Right, I hope that's been a help. Don't forget check out the link in the description to cdpool.com There'll also be one to get in the mix and also to the mini rig, mini rig. Oh God, don't get me wrong. Mini rig website. Practise and enjoy. Thank you, take care.

This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.