Step 6: Recording a Mix
ACTIVE SPEAKER FOR ENTERTAINERS, DJS, BANDS, CLUBS, FITNESS AND PARTIES. Once you gain a bit of confidence in your mixing, it’s time to record yourself and analyze it. Let’s use the knowledge you’ve gained thus far, and see what you sound like! How To Record Your DJ Set If you’re DJing with a laptop and DJ controller, you’ve got it easy! Most DJ software is capable of recording your set by simply clicking a button. Alternatively, you could record directly from your Record Out ports into a computer’s audio input, using free software such as Garageband or Audacity. If you have a compatible Pioneer mixer, you can use the DJM-REC app to easily record mixes using your iPad or iPhone. Another option is to use an external handheld recorder, such as the Tascam DR-05X. A decent portable recorder will cost between $70 and $200. Then, you could connect from your mixer or controller’s Record Out ports to the recorder, using a cheap RCA adapter cable. First Mix: Recording Tips Recording a bedroom mix is a little bit different than playing in front of an audience. Some of the skills which are important in a live setting, such as reading a crowd, don’t apply when recording a personal mix. But you can use this opportunity to think about telling a story with your set. Think about how you want to start, where you want to be when you finish, and how you want to get there. Perhaps you can imagine that you are in front of a crowd, and play that scenario out in your head. This is where we teach ourselves not to be mediocre. Novice DJs tend to hammer out their “banger” tracks, one after another, for an hour or two. There’s no sense of ebb and flow; no sense of direction. Most people find this boring and tiresome.
Of course, you are the DJ and you have the creative license to play however you wish!
But, I suggest learning how to think of a DJ set in the context of the whole instead of its individual parts… this is what separates decent DJs from great ones.
sound press
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