Is it a bad idea to play "free download" tracks on a big system ?

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Is it a bad idea to play "free download" tracks on a big system ?
Posted on: 14.09.2013 by Nereida Jasnoch
So I got CDJs a while ago and I'm burning CDs almost everyday.
And I have got more than a hundred really good tracks that were given away for free by producers.
(Christmas, xyz facebook likes, just because...)

And today I was burning some and I thought, wait a second, this isn't released by a label, so is it even mastered ?
And I contacted the producer and he advised against playing it on a big system. But he was a small time producer.
But I've got a lot of free tracks from big producers like Skream as well.

I've burned more than a dozen CDs with free tracks, but are they useless at a party ?

Tracks given away for free by producers, are they mastered ? Are they safe to play on a big system ?
Kelvin Ogdon
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by MyUsername
Yes I believe we can all agree on that last part, I can here worried and looking for advice and this seems the way everybody sees things.

Oh and by the way, that whole "do you even you produce M9, sausage fattenter getz me hunniez, in it 2 limit" thing is all a big joke.
Lol I figured as much, saying I'd rather have a nice mastered mp3 over an Unmastered WAV Is silly, I'd rather have a nice mastered ANY format over a crappy unmastered any format haha
Lannie Kutay
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by Polygon
Yu dnt haev a klu. Susag fetner gud for mastering owtput
cood i aslo root my cdjay's in te phoono impoots fer moore loudor sound???
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by 031999
Please don't do that. That's not what the sausage fattner is made for. It is an overdrive and distortion plug in, putting that over your whole mix is a recipe for disaster.
Yu dnt haev a klu. Susag fetner gud for mastering owtput
Nereida Jasnoch
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
Nah, I'll start producing soon though. I learned music a lot more when I was younger, private lessons, learned a few instruments, took vocals, some music theory. I know my way around most DAWs so I'll probably have decent luck with that.

But to the point, just trust your ears. There's no generalized "yes or no" answer.
Yes I believe we can all agree on that last part, I can here worried and looking for advice and this seems the way everybody sees things.

Oh and by the way, that whole "do you even you produce M9, sausage fattenter getz me hunniez, in it 2 limit" thing is all a big joke.
Nereida Jasnoch
27.09.2013
Originally Posted by aGhost
So I heard from a guy that he routes his audio from traktor to ableton and he adds the sausage fattener vst on the master channel to get a punchier output....I've never tried that I don't know if it will really make a difference, does anyone have done that?
Wow that sounds like a bad idea.
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by johney
yes you did, it was more cringe than laugh worthy
y u do dis 2me
Dione Haimes
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by Polygon
Qwestjon iz, doz he evn compres bro? I men his hunney ratio must be looooow
i laughed a hell of a lot more than i should have there
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by MyUsername
I don't know man, I'd play a 320 with solid mastering over a .WAV with poor EQ and compression any day.
Do you even produce M8 ?
Qwestjon iz, doz he evn compres bro? I men his hunney ratio must be looooow
Nereida Jasnoch
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
Check the quality of the track. 320 mp3s work well, though some people release free wavs no worries there at all .
I don't know man, I'd play a 320 with solid mastering over a .WAV with poor EQ and compression any day.
Do you even produce M8 ?
Alice Kanning
04.10.2013		Let's close this discussion:
https://soundcloud.com/dbstf/nicky-r...ervo-like-home

Free track that sounds huge on all kinds of systems.
Kelvin Ogdon
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by MyUsername
Yes I believe we can all agree on that last part, I can here worried and looking for advice and this seems the way everybody sees things.

Oh and by the way, that whole "do you even you produce M9, sausage fattenter getz me hunniez, in it 2 limit" thing is all a big joke.
Lol I figured as much, saying I'd rather have a nice mastered mp3 over an Unmastered WAV Is silly, I'd rather have a nice mastered ANY format over a crappy unmastered any format haha
Lannie Kutay
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by Polygon
Yu dnt haev a klu. Susag fetner gud for mastering owtput
cood i aslo root my cdjay's in te phoono impoots fer moore loudor sound???
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by 031999
Please don't do that. That's not what the sausage fattner is made for. It is an overdrive and distortion plug in, putting that over your whole mix is a recipe for disaster.
Yu dnt haev a klu. Susag fetner gud for mastering owtput
Nereida Jasnoch
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
Nah, I'll start producing soon though. I learned music a lot more when I was younger, private lessons, learned a few instruments, took vocals, some music theory. I know my way around most DAWs so I'll probably have decent luck with that.

But to the point, just trust your ears. There's no generalized "yes or no" answer.
Yes I believe we can all agree on that last part, I can here worried and looking for advice and this seems the way everybody sees things.

Oh and by the way, that whole "do you even you produce M9, sausage fattenter getz me hunniez, in it 2 limit" thing is all a big joke.
Kelvin Ogdon
27.09.2013		Nah, I'll start producing soon though. I learned music a lot more when I was younger, private lessons, learned a few instruments, took vocals, some music theory. I know my way around most DAWs so I'll probably have decent luck with that.

But to the point, just trust your ears. There's no generalized "yes or no" answer.
Augustine Mitzen
27.09.2013		100% legit advice
Nereida Jasnoch
27.09.2013
Originally Posted by aGhost
So I heard from a guy that he routes his audio from traktor to ableton and he adds the sausage fattener vst on the master channel to get a punchier output....I've never tried that I don't know if it will really make a difference, does anyone have done that?
Wow that sounds like a bad idea.
Lannie Kutay
27.09.2013		Please don't do that. That's not what the sausage fattner is made for. It is an overdrive and distortion plug in, putting that over your whole mix is a recipe for disaster.
Frederic Acidera
26.09.2013		So I heard from a guy that he routes his audio from traktor to ableton and he adds the sausage fattener vst on the master channel to get a punchier output....I've never tried that I don't know if it will really make a difference, does anyone have done that?
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by johney
yes you did, it was more cringe than laugh worthy
y u do dis 2me
Augustine Mitzen
26.09.2013		yes you did, it was more cringe than laugh worthy
Dione Haimes
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by Polygon
Qwestjon iz, doz he evn compres bro? I men his hunney ratio must be looooow
i laughed a hell of a lot more than i should have there
Dannie Dimora
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by MyUsername
I don't know man, I'd play a 320 with solid mastering over a .WAV with poor EQ and compression any day.
Do you even produce M8 ?
Qwestjon iz, doz he evn compres bro? I men his hunney ratio must be looooow
Nereida Jasnoch
26.09.2013
Originally Posted by DJLiteral
Check the quality of the track. 320 mp3s work well, though some people release free wavs no worries there at all .
I don't know man, I'd play a 320 with solid mastering over a .WAV with poor EQ and compression any day.
Do you even produce M8 ?
Kelvin Ogdon
26.09.2013		Check the quality of the track. 320 mp3s work well, though some people release free wavs no worries there at all .
Alma Bernadotte
19.09.2013
Originally Posted by TCMuc
By turning up the gain you raise the peak level
That's true, but I can still turn up the gain to on the track with lower loudness. There will be a positive gain level where the perceived loudness of both tracks is equal.

If you turn up the gain of a track that hasn't been properly mastered to match the perceived loudness of a mastered track, chances are you're increasing the peak level to a point where you will clip the system.
Well, the limiter should be turned on. Remember that limiting is nothing but a special case of compression. And DJ software like Traktor has a soft limiter built-in, it's not all that different from a compressor DSP.

In my experience, just cranking up the gain of the track with lower loudness (or reducing the gain of the louder track) works well in a club situation. One can also EQ the louder track a bit by taking out some Highs. In recently mastered releases, the highs are often lifted a bit as that makes the track perceptually hotter.
Nikole Resende
19.09.2013
Originally Posted by johney
if it's not loud enough (which it probably won't be) turn up the gain
By turning up the gain you raise the peak level

Loundess =/= peak level.

The RMS level of a track is responsible for how loud it is perceived. If you turn up the gain of a track that hasn't been properly mastered to match the perceived loudness of a mastered track, chances are you're increasing the peak level to a point where you will clip the system.
Alma Bernadotte
19.09.2013
Originally Posted by MyUsername
Tracks given away for free by producers, are they mastered ?
Sometimes the are mastered by the producer himself, sometimes they aren't. Considering the overcompressed crap you typically get off Beatport nowadays, it's a good thing when you get a track that hasn't been "professionally" mastered. While a mastering engineer can theoretically improve a track (by fixing stereo image, doing a bit of EQing to balance frequency response, etc.), in practice they rarely do anymore. Due to the loudness war, their main job is to increase loudness. The tools they use to increase loudness are destructive in nature.

Are they safe to play on a big system ?[/COLOR][/B]
Yeah, sure. While an unbalanced frequency response (something a mastering engineer would fix) of a track has the potential to damage speakers, nowadays it's mostly an academic concern. In installations of PA systems, there is technology in place which makes sure nothing blows...
Brunilda Kora
19.09.2013		Yup.
Dione Haimes
19.09.2013
Originally Posted by johney
i don't get how this got to pages

if it's muddy, turn up the highs/mids, or turn the bass down a little
if it sounds tin, turn up the bass

i dont see how this would help.. a badly mixed track would be unfixable on a DJ mixer once its been bounced.
Augustine Mitzen
18.09.2013		i don't get how this got to pages

if it's not loud enough (which it probably won't be) turn up the gain
if it's muddy, turn up the highs/mids, or turn the bass down a little
if it sounds tin, turn up the bass
if it still sounds bad, don't play it next time
Dione Haimes
18.09.2013
Originally Posted by b1sh0p
Here's the issue IMO... You get a tune that's shit hot from a new producer from soundcloud. He produced it on shitty monitors and doesn't know anything about mixdowns. You play it on house speakers or in head phones and it sounds solid. Then you play it out on a big system and it sounds like ass. It really comes down to trusting your ears and running it through proper monitors to know where it's at. Not a big deal for the experienced, but something new dj's should be aware of.
If you play it on a decent set of monitors any bad mixdowns should be instantly noticable,

Best way to tell, put your dj headphones on, play a commercially mastered track, play the other track then compare, if you cant tell from direct comparison, you probably shouldnt be a dj
Sonja Roybal
18.09.2013		Here's the issue IMO... You get a tune that's shit hot from a new producer from soundcloud. He produced it on shitty monitors and doesn't know anything about mixdowns. You play it on house speakers or in head phones and it sounds solid. Then you play it out on a big system and it sounds like ass. It really comes down to trusting your ears and running it through proper monitors to know where it's at. Not a big deal for the experienced, but something new dj's should be aware of.
Hellen Mindrup
18.09.2013		It's quite easy to tell weather or not the song is shit quality. I play plenty of free bootlegs from some of my favorite producers and they're just as good of quality as their signed tracks. If you're getting them off of weird, 3rd party Youtube ripping sites then of course you shouldn't even bother.
Dione Haimes
18.09.2013
Originally Posted by Patch
If a DJ can't tell when a free/bought track is poorly mixed/mastered, then he/she shouldn't be playing on a "big system" (<<<what the hell is that anyway?) in the first place.
Anywhere outside his bedroom i assume
Brunilda Kora
18.09.2013		Yup - "free" does not equal poor quality.

Poor quality = Poor quality.

If a DJ can't tell when a free/bought track is poorly mixed/mastered, then he/she shouldn't be playing on a "big system" (<<<what the hell is that anyway?) in the first place.
Dione Haimes
18.09.2013		tl;dr listen to them closely, decide for yourself
Sonja Roybal
18.09.2013
Originally Posted by 031999
your right. now i remember

well.....isin't there always a war over eq'ing hahaha
There should be.
Lannie Kutay
18.09.2013		your right. now i remember

well.....isin't there always a war over eq'ing hahaha
Sonja Roybal
18.09.2013
Originally Posted by 031999
no i cant deny that. But undoubtedly with more modern mixers with huge headroom,And also mastering becoming easier for small-time producers to do.

You can use your eq's to get the track up to where it should be.

Theres already a different thread with a WAR going on over eq'ing, so i'm not gonna bring that stuff in here.
That thread wasn't about eq'ing. It was about a newer trend for producers to over compress everything for loudness at the sake of dynamics. Loud drums and mid-bass have killed sub-bass and head room.

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