Source
r/Beatmatch•
Tim_Theory

Recording live sets - or, are my mixes as bad as they sound later?

I'm listening to a recording of my set from last night, and cringing at some of the mixes. However, I recall at the time that they sounded pretty good! My recording is coming straight from Traktor, and I'm wondering if there's any wisdom to be shared on the differences between how things sound coming out of the PAs in a loud room and how they sound in headphones the next day.

Is it normal for a live set to sound messy when listened to in a studio? Is that because of the background noise in the venue covering up mistakes, or should I expect that what sounds the best in the live show will not necessarily translate to the recording? If I want to get a good sense of how my set actually was, should I set up a mic to record in the booth or out in the crowd somewhere?

Posted Sep 9, 2018, 5:40 PM UTC

110
MinusguyI'm not a DJ and don't want to be one. I don't know why I'm here•

If you listened to your mix through the speakers, there's nothing to be surprised about. Speakers and headphones have very different frequency response, not to mention that, unlike your headphones, they are usually set up to play audio in mono, or have the low end in mono at the very least. Also, the venue could've been not properly acoustically treated and it could introduce some resonating frequencies for which you tried to compensate. So, yeah, it's completely normal for them to sound differently.

4
Tim_TheoryOP•

That's helpful, thanks. Fwiw this sounds much better in my car, so I think you're correct.

1
iamcodemaker•

I mix entirely in my headphones at home. I have found that listening back to the recording on the same headphones often sounds different (usually worse) after the fact. My brain is in a different space when mixing vs listening back and I hear different things.

It could also be the sound system, as others have said. Mixes sound different on my headphones vs my car vs my earbuds. Not always a good/bad difference, but it's different.

3
jacktacular•

I use VDJ and I swear I have the opposite problem: I hear more issues when I’m playing & when I get home it sounds way better than I thought.

Personally, I feel like listening back at home allows you to focus more on little nuances and details that might get drowned out on a PA system. Or maybe the sound guy might have some levels adjusted that change the sound compared to what’s coming out of the program? Or.. at the risk of sounding rude maybe it also didn’t sound as good live as you thought?

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Tim_TheoryOP•

Yeah, that all sounds sensible.

Or.. at the risk of sounding rude maybe it also didn’t sound as good live as you thought?

Entirely possible! I don't have the utmost confidence in my ears, tbh. Often have trouble distinguishing song lyrics, have found beatmatching difficult to learn, etc.

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jacktacular•

Forsure. I’ve only been at it under a year as well and I’ve run into a bunch of sound issues too; everything from not using high enough quality tracks to cutting out intermittently due to red lining. Some songs also just don’t belong together and frequencies will clash and all that.

Keep up the work dude. It all comes with time.

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Tim_TheoryOP•

Thank you!

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grim_wizardIndustrial/EBM/Goth music•

Something to keep in mind is that the acoustics of where you play at, especially if you are plugging into the mixer at a venue, will alter the sounds you hear. Your self criticism is important though, use it to improve your sets! When you're playing I find that you sound better than you think sometimes, so you could just need room for improvement.

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Tim_TheoryOP•

Yeah, definitely. And the sound at a given set, for that matter. Last night was just 2 PAs and a sub in a tent in an open field, which is what I'm most familiar with, but I've played venues with way too much sound in a room and it certainly makes a big difference.

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jordanr03•

I think it’ll always sound different in retrospect vs live. In the moment you’re feeling a groove and you can only nitpick so much while getting the job done. Also loud speakers to me feels like it covers up some mistakes, you’ve got some weird audio leeway that you don’t get listening back on headphones or whatever.

BUT, you should listen and pick up your mistakes and try not to do them again :).

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