Leveling for Playing Out - What do YOU do ?

[nimbledoe]

If i'm putting a set together to play straight out of Live , i usually try to get the track levels peaking around or below -10dB and the output under -6dB.

I think i read -6db is what to aim for in your output.

Anyway , just say i'm reasonably happy with the sound and i want to go play it in a club.

Can anyone suggest a good way to get the levels going into the mixer up there with a Mastered CD ?

I have tried a few :

+4dB on the output of my RME Fireface 400 , it seems to work.

Compression on the Output in Live , it sort of works but i don't really want to do this.

Cranking DJ Mixer channel gain , meh...

What do you do ?

[nimbledoe]

ps

i'm posting this because i need help.

[UKRuss]

I don't carry anything on my master channel for live playing, i just make sure my set doesnt clip in the master, set the PA at the right levels and off i go.

[Spindrift]

I don't carry anything on my master channel for live playing, i just make sure my set doesnt clip in the master, set the PA at the right levels and off i go.

+1

Using a limiter on the master can be a bad idea since, unless you play unmastered demos, tracks will already have a limiter applied, and on top of that the PA usually have a limiter as well. So you might be applying limiting three times, which is not that great for the sound quality.

And if you have the master at -6 dBFS, why would you need a limiter at all? Then you do have a decent amount of headroom as it is, so you should not have any clipping without it.
Of course how much headroom you need depends on the material, but for mastered CD's -6 dB is usually plenty.

Just keep the master a 0 dBFS and keep your track levels low enough to avoid clipping, but hot enough to use your converters at full resolution and to avoid having to turn up the gain too much on the DJ mixer.

[nimbledoe]

i suppose i should have been more specific...i'm playing originals , not mastered as such , just fresh out of Abes...

[Aeroplay]

I'm not totally sure what you need, but all tracks peaking together should reach close to 0db after mixdown in the master channel. Put a limiter on it (the master channel) to avoid clipping, like said before. Maybe an eq? Ad some compression to taste - voila: If your mix is good it should sound quite tight now...

Hope that helps...

cheers!

[Spindrift]

i suppose i should have been more specific...i'm playing originals , not mastered as such , just fresh out of Abes...

You seemed specific when you said "Can anyone suggest a good way to get the levels going into the mixer up there with a Mastered CD ?"

I would put a multi-band compressor on the master if playing unmastered tracks, not only to even out levels but for the spectral balance.

[nimbledoe]

Thanks to all for the opinions !