Volume for live gigs

Elektron Gear Octatrack
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Made the transfer from an ableton liveset to an hardware only setup with the Octatrack begin the main unit. Got some external synths going into the Octatrack and it’s all working fine except the overall volume is not as loud as (obviously) a mastered track. Ofcourse, one could just turn up the volume on the PA but I’ve had situations where a little gain and a master limiter really helped in getting the desired volume without maxing out the mixer.

Surely there are some people here that have experience with this? Do you use anything after the Octatrack? Or do you find that it really isn’t necessary. Thanks!

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You have a Jake avatar and I have a Finn avatar, so I thought it would be good for me to post in your thread. :smiley:

I have been considering getting a Behringer Composer MDX2600. It’s basically a compressor and limiter combined for a pretty good price. There is also a version with dual band compression. If you are hiring a sound guy, they will probably be doing this for you though.

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Also an AT fan here, just wanted to recommend the RNLA, nice sounding limiter for you output buss, boosts the level of your OT and synths… happy mixing :slight_smile:

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I still take my laptop to live gigs even though I have a hardware set up and use Ableton for post signal processing on the master… It makes a huge difference in a live setting, not only to boost the overall volume but to compress the transients a bit to get more perceived volume.

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So apparently AT is popular with OT users :wink:

When I gigged with ableton I slapped the Ozone limiter on the master for that reason. How does hardware compare to that? For instance the Behringer or the RNLA?

Rather not take my laptop with me anymore… Is there also anybody that thinks it isn’t necessary to use anything on your master?

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If there is someone running the sound for the show, they will most likely already be using compression/limiting to protect their gear and make things sound good.

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I use an Octatrack, an A4 and a Kaoss pad for my live sets. I hope you’re aware that you can turn track 8 into a master track, then you can put any effect you want on the master track, including EQs and compressors. That’s what I do. I leave the OTs master volume at the default middle setting, works a treat. Of course you are sacrificing a track to do this but if you plan for it it works well. It will also process any incoming audio from the ABCD inputs, although you’d have to set up a thru track as well if you want to do that.

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i always have to ask the sound guy to put the volume way up

using in in track 8 mix mode, where track 8 is like a summing mixer for all the other tracks, popping a compressor on there next, that’s made a massive difference, but i still had to ask them to turn up the volume for me, just not as much

once in a blue moon i brought a small mackie mixer and would just boost a bit thru that, worked just fine

i got a machinedrum recently and it is the opposite it seems haha, fun with gain staging!

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…well, u can’t catch up with some ozone like brickwalling…but that’s allways just quick and dirty…u go beyond now…

so ur on the right road anyway…

leaving ableton/controler/mac/interface solutions behind and switching to ot as a master and centerpiece of my live rig was the best decision to head for…

was a challenge in first place, but now i never ever could switch back…

direct competing with pioneer boosts feeded by usbports or any computer software push ups in daily floor business remains an issue with some difference to handle, though…

first of all…make sure ur not just a dj…ot never will be a traktor playlist, free to pick from moment to moment…u got to be prepared…once that is common sense, it’s no big deal at all anymore…

and if ur an artist of your own, really willing to perform and interact u opened the right door…

even if u just press play in first place, kicking off full stereo files, there’s still no other option to fool around for real and that interactive with ur stuff and audience in realtime anywhere else…

a rnc or behringer compressor does’nt do the job for real…

it’s all in the box for now…

be aware, you always have the chance to take brickwalled material in first place…
it’s not so much about the overall loudness in db that’s missing if something’s missing here…it’s more the basic fact that limited material is, what we’re all used to hear and that translates different all in all…

but u don’t have to…making track 8 the master channel and make the internal ot compressor here a fixed habit for each part can take u anywhere, if ur basic producing skills don’t miss some basic skills…
more dynamics can shine a lot more if u only give ur stuff the space to do so…

the top notch no matter what solution would always be…get a siderack with a wave maxx bcl hardware on ur tech rider and blow their heads off like prodigy…

but u really don’t have to…

a real good cable, not too long, straight to the dj mixer from ot’s main out can make every house shake and rumble with ease…

ot’s internal compressor got a quite brutal gain option…as the last frontier…
pushing the limit here about +2 is always doing the trick…and +7 is raw and beyond…
all over this, makes them hurt and cry…

never forget…ot got quite some corners for the right gainstaging long before that from start to end of it’s internal signal chains…as there is the track levels and the volume settings separated from each other for each instance…always able to double each other up…

the only thing that helps against ignorant/incompetent house/pa technicians and deaf dj’s already driving the mixer too hot for hours without even realizing is ur own maxx bcl…

or beeing even more ignorant and pulling a well crafted ot set with it’s internal compressor gain on track 8 as master and give a shit…and perform the hell out of this little black box with all the other tricks it can offer like nothing else…

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post of the year right there ^.

and i agree. putting a $200 compressor after the OT is not gonna make you sound better. i say go for the dynamic, raw live p.a. sound over the ozoned fake mastering as well. i like to soundcheck with plenty of headroom and then you got somewhere to go. and another soundcheck tip is to check the bass drum on all your tracks and set their levels & EQ before the set. clubs with real systems are gonna make kicks bigger than they are at home.

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On a proper PA system, the sound guys will be running their own limiters/compressors, which hopefully are set to only kick in if something really peaks. Meaning they protect the speakers but won’t affect your music (ideally)

Considering that all dj’d music will be pre-mastered, I would want to match up to some degree with whatever is going before/after my set.

Having a your own post processing solution can help reduce unplanned peaks, even out levels between songs and possibly impart a particular ‘dimension’ to the set that differentiates it.

I agree that a $200 compressor isn’t going to make you sound a million bucks, especially if its only used for boosting levels, but a semi decent bus compressor/eq/limiter chain can definitely help, especially if you produce through the same setup.

I personally use a hardware rack with some nice-ish gear, running in parallel (meaning some of the original signal comes through also), but a stable laptop with a decent audio interface at low latency could work with some quality plug-ins. One thing is to practise & set up and experiment with at home/studio etc. Also do home comparisons to other artists ‘reference’ tracks so you can compare.

I reckon you can experiment without having to spend 1000’s, but whatever money you spend on" quality" post processing gear is never wasted.

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