Dubstepforum.com

yo

some things i wanna share with djs. take it, leave it, and contribute
im not a proper expert but ive been playing for 7 years and done a few systems legal and illegal, all this applies to playing at home too

if you are playing/recording dubstep on a system/setup and it sounds shit, sometimes theres a couple things that can be done.
some problems and solutions ive found:

if the volume is good but theres not enough bass for dubstep-

dubstep is sub driven, if your playing loud and theres not enough bass, please dont just turn the master and bass gains up!
it prob means the system isnt that good for bass (as long as the bass gains are in reasonable position to start with) its gonna sound alot tighter if u turn the master volume down and boost the low ends (within reason, not about having the bass or mid gains on full).

theres no point in deafening your audience if it doesnt sound any good so turning down the master is useful in many situations
it aint the natural thing for a dj to wanna do so u gotta think about it

if its really loud and u dont wanna drop the energy by turning it all down, then do it subtley over a quiet drop of a tune, or even slowly over 2 tunes

distortion-
see above. excessive low end could be doing this depending on the system

volume changes from tune to tune-

some acetate and sequencer mixdowns straight to cd can sound lower and less full than each other or compared to release pressings, usually the channel gains will sort this but the frequencies might still sound inconsistant depending on original mixdown.
in this case you'll have to be sensitive to what is lacking, but for cds its usually the low mids in my experience and sometimes highs and high mids for acetate, so boost & cut with the frequency gains

more bass, less volume- is a vague but good rule for sorting out dubstep when playing loud

any experiences or additions you lot got then please say

nice1

NIce one Luke this is so true! Adding to what you said about keeping the levels lower on a weaker system, sometimes it even helps if you put the eq's way down near 3 or 4, boost the bass a bit, then get the master volume up significantly louder than you could otherwise, and the bass will sound better because you're using weaker speakers to their full capacity.

Also I'm curious if most people on here use the crossfader when they mix or just the volumes? I've always relied on the crossfader but I know people who come from a house background often don't use the crossfader at all.

another thing to keep in mind - as far as recording/production goes - is normalization. if i have a specific sample that's being modified over the course of a sequence i normalize it to 99% after every effect added. likewise when i'm done mixing i normalize the entire track before bounce. this is by no means a 'cure all' but just one more thing you can do to keep the presence of a track.

Useful tips Luke.

I do the same sorta thing when I'm out playing Reggae, gotta have nice bass. I sometimes forget to sort out the channel gains from tune to tune and can drop another tune and it's too quiet, rather embarrasing to say the least. And DQ I never use my crossfader other than when I am pulling back a tune on one deck for the last bar before going into the next tune (if that makes sense.)

I don't use crossfader in my mixes... I always make cuts with the volume rulers of each channel... I think this kind of cut is more subtle and dramatic... Hehehehe... In this case I use gain to make channels sound equivalent...

cheers Luke useful tips there! as for crossfader I always use it

dq wrote: Also I'm curious if most people on here use the crossfader when they mix or just the volumes? I've always relied on the crossfader but I know people who come from a house background often don't use the crossfader at all.

i use both. sometimes i need the crossfader as it you can control the volume of both channels with one hand

as above, better for it to sound good, rather than louder and shitter. you can't cheat the system.

also:

2 basslines playing together sounds crap. full stop. that's what the EQ knobbles are for.

nice thread luke..

ThinKing wrote:better for it to sound good, rather than louder and shitter. you can't cheat the system.

exactly!

man i hate it when people keep turnin up the gains, raggin the shit out the drivers.. id rather listen to slightly quieter clean sound than loud-its-gonna-damage-yr-eardrums clipped noise!

remember seein roni size at one of the first valve soundsystem nights - bastard, not happy enough with the worlds loudest rig, kept turnin up the gains til it distorted.. it sounded terrible and that clippin physically hurt! couldnt hear proper for a week after that - twat..

if you gonna turn the system up, keep the mixer level indicators on 0, to get a good clean base signal, and adjust the volume with amp volume control and never turn it past 2o'clock or youll fuck the speakers!

I dont use crossfader cos its fucked, bare interference when I move it so just leave it in the middle hasnt even got the little plastic bit on. Try and use the volume controls but managed to snap the one on my left channel the other day, bit of a mission using it now, lol. The few times I have played out I normally use the crossfader and the volume controls.

re original post. Makes sense, safe Luke

You might consider cutting the mid and treble slightly to emphasis the bass. Gain structure innit.

Man, I've thrown a ton of parties with our sound system, and people just don't get it. When we set everything up, we set it up to sound as loud, and clear as it can. Then people get up on the decks and try to be rock stars, and want their set to be louder than the last persons. People don't even know how to use the damn levels on the mixer. Red is Bad! repeat Red is Bad! A lot of people don't respect other peoples equipment, and just try to blow the shit out of everything...that really chaps my hide and is a main reason as to why I don't like throwing parties anymore.

MattyG wrote:Man, I've thrown a ton of parties with our sound system, and people just don't get it. When we set everything up, we set it up to sound as loud, and clear as it can. Then people get up on the decks and try to be rock stars, and want their set to be louder than the last persons. People don't even know how to use the damn levels on the mixer. Red is Bad! repeat Red is Bad! A lot of people don't respect other peoples equipment, and just try to blow the shit out of everything...that really chaps my hide and is a main reason as to why I don't like throwing parties anymore.

i feel your pain there.. blows my mind how people can't tell their shit is clipping out and sounding like ass

as for crossfader usage, if i'm mixing house i don't usually bother but for everything else it has its uses. the more controls the merrier, imo

it's not just dubstep that suffers from the "i'm the dj i'll crank it til people's ears bleed" problem.

i expect it more from folks who don't make music, but sadly, that doesn't really hold true. i have heard huge producers (of many many different genres) who know how to make a record sound good that do nothing but make their good sounding records sound shite on a big system.

don't get it.

I miss cutting up beats as my Crossfader is broken.

Nice one Luke.

Deapoh wrote:I miss cutting up beats as my Crossfader is broken.

Nice one Luke.

aww deapoh...set yer master and work the hell outta the up faders!! sometimes that's more fun!

MattyG wrote:Red is Bad! repeat Red is Bad! A lot of people don't respect other peoples equipment, and just try to blow the shit out of everything...that really chaps my hide and is a main reason as to why I don't like throwing parties anymore.

init!

MattyG wrote:Red is Bad! repeat Red is Bad! A lot of people don't respect other peoples equipment, and just try to blow the shit out of everything...that really chaps my hide and is a main reason as to why I don't like throwing parties anymore.

HAHAHAHA!!! true enough...

animals understand that red is bad, but djs haven't quite made it that far up the evolutionary chain to know that one!

**disclaimer** i am a dj, so that comment was partly in jest.