Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Okay, as you all know I am a DJ... Well, I was doing a gig the other nite where the people just kept telling me to "TURN IT UP! TURN IT UP!" I followed suit, as that person was watching the crowd and would be deciding on my future contracts. Anyway, I basically cranked the volume. However, this posed a slight problem to me in the booth - I needed to cue up the upcoming tracks, but this required me to hear them, not just guess. The bass in the booth was very loud, and finding the perfect beat in the song is essential when cueing up the tracks. So in order to combat the loud bass and be able to hear those tracks, I kept my right headphone (DJ style) on my right ear pressed against my shoulder and cranked the volume in it so that I could hear the music clearly. I had to keep my left ear open because people were coming up to request songs and "administrators" would stop by to chat or comment on my performance. Well, as you can probably all imagine, by the end of the night my right ear was ringing like hell. I could hear much better out of my left ear than my right. I'm just guessing here, but this is probably bad, rite? Is there a better solution than doing things the way I currently am? It really scared me the other nite when I was attending a party and when I went up to request a song to the DJ, he was pretty much deaf. I was standing like 1 foot from his ear and he could not make out what I was saying at all. All I got was "WHAT?" I'm guessing that he has pretty much lost his hearing over the years... and the saddest part was he was only about 30 or so I'd guess, at the oldest. I really don't want to end up like this as I really love my hearing! Any help would be greatly appreciated as I want to preserve my hearing... P.S. I am so glad I am behind the horns when I DJ, as if I was in front of them I would go deaf very quickly... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Any ideas? Bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Singin' Dave Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 DJ that IS scary. You can do permanent damage cranking into your ear like that - particularly without any limiting. Your first step is to go see a licensed audiologist and get your hearing checked. This will give you a base line for where you are at right now. They will likely do a number of tests within many frequencies to really give you an idea of where you are at. They might also recommend/perform custom IEM ear molds (used by a lot of guys here) which can help 1) block some of the ambient noise in your booth, 2) isolate your headphone mix so you can hear it more distinctly from that noise and 3) limit damage via outboard limiters in the IEM receiver. Trust me, you do NOT want tinnitus (see other thread on this) or some other hearing malady - from what I understand you do not get that hearing back and you could be seriously jeapordizing your DJ giggage. Well worth the investment of time and money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Get people to write down their requests so you can focus on your music? This way you can have the headphones on both ears? There are a few companies that make noise cancelling earphones. Don't know how well they would work in such a high SPL setting but they may be worth a try. Can you hear both sources at the same time in your headphones while only having one signal play through your sound system (PFL)? That would be ideal to beat match, once you have the beats matched you can turn up the channel with the new song while fading the other. Covering both ears with noise cancelling headphones would require much less sound in your ears and would let you concentrate on your music IMO. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 DJthat IS scary. You can do permanent damage cranking into your ear like that - particularly without any limiting.Your first step is to go see a licensed audiologist and get your hearing checked. This will give you a base line for where you are at right now. They will likely do a number of tests within many frequencies to really give you an idea of where you are at.They might also recommend/perform custom IEM ear molds (used by a lot of guys here) which can help 1) block some of the ambient noise in your booth, 2) isolate your headphone mix so you can hear it more distinctly from that noise and 3) limit damage via outboard limiters in the IEM receiver.Trust me, you do NOT want tinnitus (sp?) or some other hearing malady - from what I understand you do not get that hearing back and you could be seriously jeapordizing your DJ giggage. Well worth the investment of time and money. Thanks for the info. I actually went to an see an audiologist at the local hospital a while back and he had me take a hearing test. I heard all but 1 tone (not sure which frequency it was) when it was at its lowest. He told me that my hearing was very good, so right now I am okay I think. I just want it to stay this way! And yes, I am using a "out" on my mixer to power my headphones, so they can go very loud and have absolutely no limiting. I need a better solution than what I am currently doing... I'm going to look into those IEMs... Thanks man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Get people to write down their requests so you can focus on your music? This way you can have the headphones on both ears? There are a few companies that make noise cancelling earphones. Don't know how well they would work in such a high SPL setting but they may be worth a try. Can you hear both sources at the same time in your headphones while only having one signal play through your sound system (PFL)? That would be ideal to beat match, once you have the beats matched you can turn up the channel with the new song while fading the other. Covering both ears with noise cancelling headphones would require much less sound in your ears and would let you concentrate on your music IMO. Al Yes this would work, although I often can't read poeple's writing, poeple steal my pens, and they still want to speak to me half the time to make sure that I know what song they are referring to... And I'll look into those "noise cancelling" headphones and see what I can find but most as you say seem to be for hi-fi or such... and because I am using special software, I can adjust the PFL somehow, but it is a very annoying process cuz I have to constantly use my mouse to do it and I can currently function pretty much solely with the keyboard... I'll proly just see if I can get decent cheap soundcard and a small 2 channel DJ mixer with a PFL control for around $150 or so which would make my life soooo much easier when cueing and changing music instead of using the arrow keys and such to crossfade... Thanks for the help man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Al Poulin Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 I usually try to speak as little as possible to anyone when I am DJing, simply because song selection is very important, and I have to try to keep the general groove and tempo of the music going, so the dancers on the floor will keep going. This requires concentration and choosing the right songs to follow one another. This is what keeps people on the floor. Old time rock and roll, then Hurts so good - similar tempos that flow well one into the other. Pump up the jam into I like to move it...and so on. I imagine you play more club/techno type music but it works the same - that's why you beat match - to keep the flow of the music going. I get people to write down their requests so I can look at them when I have a minute and it works very well (unfortunately not so well for you it seems). Your beat matching is much more precise than mine however and requires even more attention. Good luck, Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 And for the record, let me just outline my setup: Stereo 1/8" Laptop Output --> 2 1/4" Ends into Mono Channels 5/6 and 7/8 on my Mackie 1202 Mixer (channel 5/6 being the master and panned hard left and channel 7/8 being the cue channel and panned hard right) --> Main Out Left (Master Out) goes to Amp #1 and Main Out 2 is my Headphones Out That's how my system is setup if it helps at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruvjack Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Have you seen "It's All Gone Pete Tong"? It's about a DJ that goes completely deaf and goes into deep depression and a horrible coke addiction. No amount of SPL whore gratification, sweet contracts and glam lifestyle is worth permanent hearing loss. I used to crank up the monitor volume so that I can beatmatch. Turns out I had to turn up the headphone volume to hear the cue. Then I would turn up the monitor some more. Get your ears checked. Use moderate SPLs. Learn to listen. Get sonically clear monitors. Do it now because once you lose your hearing, it ain't coming back. EVER. V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fukawi2 Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Like others have said: 1) Get good quality headphones - if nothing else they won't distort as bad when you do turn them up. Distorting headphones fatigues you bad 2) Use BOTH headphone cups, and make sure they conform to your head properly. From experience, you need to focus on the crowd and your mix to keep the majority happy, then take the headphones off and talk to your visitors when (if) you get the chance. You might pi$$ some people off for not talking to them, but I know I would prefer to do that, than stuff up my mix and make the crowd disappear! That being said, you must be an awesome DJ to talk to your visitors AND mix at the same time. I sure as hell can't do that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 20, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 Regarding headphones; it's important to use isolation headphones in your environment. Either fully-sealing custom-molded IEM's, or sealing cup conventional phones, with an SRF of 29 or more. Noise-cancellation phones might be worth investigating to help you better hear the new track as you beat-match. Never wear only one IEM or headphone cup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Never wear only one IEM or headphone cup. Why is that? Could you expand a little on that point... Can I just not wear only 1 at high volumes or is it a bad idea at any volume level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DJ Swydez Posted March 20, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Thanks for the all the help guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flanc Posted March 20, 2007 Members Share Posted March 20, 2007 Before our buddy "Where02XXX" wore out his welcome, he mentioned Vic Firth isolation headphones. This was around the Christmas timeframe and my wife is always begging me for a list of things to get (I'm one of those "hard to shop for" dudes). Anyway, I mentioned the headphones and she bought them for me. They are actually pretty decent for $50 and provide a nice tight fit. http://www.zzounds.com/prodsearch?form=prodsearch&cat=2381&cat2=3754 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 20, 2007 CMS Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 Why is that? Could you expand a little on that point... Can I just not wear only 1 at high volumes or is it a bad idea at any volume level? At high volumes it seems to have more of an effect on fatigue and balance problems in people with sensitivity to such things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ear_saver Posted March 22, 2007 Members Share Posted March 22, 2007 Just get isolating earphones. I think your best best is noise cancelling based on custom fitted-ness. You will be more comfortable for a longer period of time and be able to listen at lower volumes and still function.Which ones is up to you, I would say a nice pair of E5, you can get them on ebay. But you gotta decide how much you want to invest in this. Then you can evaluate the ones in that price range and get the best for your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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