Dj Toni 586
Hello All,
For the past year now i have been turning my gain on 3 quarters not all the way just 3 so the other DJ that plays with me says that i have distortion coming from some of my songs not all and all of my songs are good quality what is a good level to set your gain to ? half ? and yes i have used the auto gain feature before it is good but i need my sound a little louder.
DJ Toni,
For the past year now i have been turning my gain on 3 quarters not all the way just 3 so the other DJ that plays with me says that i have distortion coming from some of my songs not all and all of my songs are good quality what is a good level to set your gain to ? half ? and yes i have used the auto gain feature before it is good but i need my sound a little louder.
DJ Toni,
Posté Wed 01 Sep 10 @ 10:25 pm
PhantomDeejay
NEVER, I said NEVER use your gain knobs just to make your tracks sound louder...
In order to help you with distortion problems we need to know your complete setup. However:
1. Set your GAIN on VDJ to "Auto" and NEVER EVER touch that knob unless you know what you're doing and you have comlete awareness how, when, and why sound distorts.
2. If you re using an external mixer that has PFL monitor lights (VU-Meters) adjust the mixer's gain knobs so that the vu-meters marely hit the 0db light/led. Your vu-meters should never go higher than this. Everything above 0db will introduce distortion.
3. If your headphones sound is LOW then you should buy a new set with HIGHER sensitivity. Each 3db increasement on their sensitivity will result a DOUBLE sound output on your phones.
4. Your mixer's master output volume should be treated the same way with PFL. The Master VU-meters should NEVER hit above 0 db
5. If your "main" volume is still low with your mixer hitting up to 0 db then you should buy bigger AMPS/SPEAKERS.
6. If you're using the internal mixer of VDJ then if your sound is low you should buy a better soundcard that can provide higher output to your amps.
7. Once you introduce distortion on ANY part of the music signal that's traveling from your PC to your speakers, you can't get rid of it later... The ONE and ONLY way to get rid of distortion is to correct the problem on it's source. That means that if you introduce distortion from your software gain knobs you can't fix the problem on your external mixer or your amp. You can only fix it by turning down the software gain knobs.
PS: I know that there are several jockeys out there that like to turn their gain and master volume all way up or at a better case up to +6db or more... The fact that too many jockeys are doing this it doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If you really care about distrortion you should never pass the 0db limit!
In order to help you with distortion problems we need to know your complete setup. However:
1. Set your GAIN on VDJ to "Auto" and NEVER EVER touch that knob unless you know what you're doing and you have comlete awareness how, when, and why sound distorts.
2. If you re using an external mixer that has PFL monitor lights (VU-Meters) adjust the mixer's gain knobs so that the vu-meters marely hit the 0db light/led. Your vu-meters should never go higher than this. Everything above 0db will introduce distortion.
3. If your headphones sound is LOW then you should buy a new set with HIGHER sensitivity. Each 3db increasement on their sensitivity will result a DOUBLE sound output on your phones.
4. Your mixer's master output volume should be treated the same way with PFL. The Master VU-meters should NEVER hit above 0 db
5. If your "main" volume is still low with your mixer hitting up to 0 db then you should buy bigger AMPS/SPEAKERS.
6. If you're using the internal mixer of VDJ then if your sound is low you should buy a better soundcard that can provide higher output to your amps.
7. Once you introduce distortion on ANY part of the music signal that's traveling from your PC to your speakers, you can't get rid of it later... The ONE and ONLY way to get rid of distortion is to correct the problem on it's source. That means that if you introduce distortion from your software gain knobs you can't fix the problem on your external mixer or your amp. You can only fix it by turning down the software gain knobs.
PS: I know that there are several jockeys out there that like to turn their gain and master volume all way up or at a better case up to +6db or more... The fact that too many jockeys are doing this it doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If you really care about distrortion you should never pass the 0db limit!
Posté Thu 02 Sep 10 @ 5:52 am
Dj Toni 586
PhantomDeejay wrote :
NEVER, I said NEVER use your gain knobs just to make your tracks sound louder...
In order to help you with distortion problems we need to know your complete setup. However:
1. Set your GAIN on VDJ to "Auto" and NEVER EVER touch that knob unless you know what you're doing and you have comlete awareness how, when, and why sound distorts.
2. If you re using an external mixer that has PFL monitor lights (VU-Meters) adjust the mixer's gain knobs so that the vu-meters marely hit the 0db light/led. Your vu-meters should never go higher than this. Everything above 0db will introduce distortion.
3. If your headphones sound is LOW then you should buy a new set with HIGHER sensitivity. Each 3db increasement on their sensitivity will result a DOUBLE sound output on your phones.
4. Your mixer's master output volume should be treated the same way with PFL. The Master VU-meters should NEVER hit above 0 db
5. If your "main" volume is still low with your mixer hitting up to 0 db then you should buy bigger AMPS/SPEAKERS.
6. If you're using the internal mixer of VDJ then if your sound is low you should buy a better soundcard that can provide higher output to your amps.
7. Once you introduce distortion on ANY part of the music signal that's traveling from your PC to your speakers, you can't get rid of it later... The ONE and ONLY way to get rid of distortion is to correct the problem on it's source. That means that if you introduce distortion from your software gain knobs you can't fix the problem on your external mixer or your amp. You can only fix it by turning down the software gain knobs.
PS: I know that there are several jockeys out there that like to turn their gain and master volume all way up or at a better case up to +6db or more... The fact that too many jockeys are doing this it doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If you really care about distrortion you should never pass the 0db limit!
In order to help you with distortion problems we need to know your complete setup. However:
1. Set your GAIN on VDJ to "Auto" and NEVER EVER touch that knob unless you know what you're doing and you have comlete awareness how, when, and why sound distorts.
2. If you re using an external mixer that has PFL monitor lights (VU-Meters) adjust the mixer's gain knobs so that the vu-meters marely hit the 0db light/led. Your vu-meters should never go higher than this. Everything above 0db will introduce distortion.
3. If your headphones sound is LOW then you should buy a new set with HIGHER sensitivity. Each 3db increasement on their sensitivity will result a DOUBLE sound output on your phones.
4. Your mixer's master output volume should be treated the same way with PFL. The Master VU-meters should NEVER hit above 0 db
5. If your "main" volume is still low with your mixer hitting up to 0 db then you should buy bigger AMPS/SPEAKERS.
6. If you're using the internal mixer of VDJ then if your sound is low you should buy a better soundcard that can provide higher output to your amps.
7. Once you introduce distortion on ANY part of the music signal that's traveling from your PC to your speakers, you can't get rid of it later... The ONE and ONLY way to get rid of distortion is to correct the problem on it's source. That means that if you introduce distortion from your software gain knobs you can't fix the problem on your external mixer or your amp. You can only fix it by turning down the software gain knobs.
PS: I know that there are several jockeys out there that like to turn their gain and master volume all way up or at a better case up to +6db or more... The fact that too many jockeys are doing this it doesn't mean that it's the right thing to do. If you really care about distrortion you should never pass the 0db limit!
Thanks man that explained a lot but one more question so your saying it is also bad to put your mster volume all the way up as well? and i have a macbook pro the newest one on the market with a numark omni control and i know for a fact that the omni doesn't have the best sound card there is most likely better ones out there if i lets say get a better sound card and keep the settings you just explained cuz i play at a club with hugeee speakers and amps it should sound alot louder right ?
Thanks Dj Toni,
Posté Thu 02 Sep 10 @ 5:26 pm
PhantomDeejay
If we take it back to distortion issues:
If your soundcard is powerful enough to reach the 0 db limit then changing it won't affect your output levels. Also when I say don't turn your mixer's master volume all way up, I mean that you can put the master fader wherever you want, but the master VU's should not pass above the 0 db limit.
If you are really concerned about sound quality then you should search for a soundcard with low SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio). A more "powerfull" soundcard doesn't necessary mean that it will provide better sound. If you want a "cheap" but professional and very good quality-wise soundcard you can try the "Audio2Dj" from NI. It's sold for around 100$ I believe... I can find it around 90 Euros on my country.
Generally speaking about sound levels and sound quality:
All the equipment on your sound chain should give a maximum output of 0 db and that's the maximum volume you can get from your equipment without getting distortion. However this is the ideal situation and not the real one.
As general "field" tips you should consider the following:
1. Tweak your software and your mixer so that their higher output levels never (or merely) crosses the 0db limit.
2. If you're using a master EQ/Compressor/Crossover before your amps tweak the LAST item before the amps so that when your mixer provide 0db output the amp's CLIP lights merely light up.
That's the "real" "on-the-field" max volume you can get from your system before you introduce serious distortion.
Finally, if you're using your own amps/speakers make sure of the following:
1. The amps Wattage is the same with your speakers.
2. The amps attenuators are ALWAYS set to MAX!
If your soundcard is powerful enough to reach the 0 db limit then changing it won't affect your output levels. Also when I say don't turn your mixer's master volume all way up, I mean that you can put the master fader wherever you want, but the master VU's should not pass above the 0 db limit.
If you are really concerned about sound quality then you should search for a soundcard with low SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio). A more "powerfull" soundcard doesn't necessary mean that it will provide better sound. If you want a "cheap" but professional and very good quality-wise soundcard you can try the "Audio2Dj" from NI. It's sold for around 100$ I believe... I can find it around 90 Euros on my country.
Generally speaking about sound levels and sound quality:
All the equipment on your sound chain should give a maximum output of 0 db and that's the maximum volume you can get from your equipment without getting distortion. However this is the ideal situation and not the real one.
As general "field" tips you should consider the following:
1. Tweak your software and your mixer so that their higher output levels never (or merely) crosses the 0db limit.
2. If you're using a master EQ/Compressor/Crossover before your amps tweak the LAST item before the amps so that when your mixer provide 0db output the amp's CLIP lights merely light up.
That's the "real" "on-the-field" max volume you can get from your system before you introduce serious distortion.
Finally, if you're using your own amps/speakers make sure of the following:
1. The amps Wattage is the same with your speakers.
2. The amps attenuators are ALWAYS set to MAX!
Posté Fri 03 Sep 10 @ 7:12 am
Dj Toni 586
Thanks a lot man u explained everything
Dj Toni
Dj Toni
Posté Fri 03 Sep 10 @ 10:40 pm