Create A Unique DJ Sound And Style - Get DJ Gigs!

Part of being a successful DJ is creating your unique DJ sound. Anything is possible in the DJ world. For you to have a chance at real success, locally, nationally or internationally, you'll need to stand out from the rest and create your own unique style.

What is a unique DJ sound?

Many DJs you'll see and hear when you go out in bars and clubs play similar music to each other. There is not much really wrong with this, as long as they are making people happy and as long as people are dancing.

But if you want to be better than them and rise above the average deejay, get real, better paid club DJ gigs and keep on getting them every weekend, then creating your unique DJ sound is essential.

Your music selection, the order of your tracks, the style of mixing and the blend should all be in your style or DJ sound. Your style needs to be so unique to you that you could copyright it. No one else can play in the way you do. DJs may try to copy you, but they'll never do it, because only you know how to react and surprise people with your unique style.

This is how you do it.

1. Find Rare Gems

First up, you need to get busy searching. Whether it's seeking out quiet record shops where the crates have dust on them, finding random websites with solo artists, contacting bloggers that few others know of or digging into your own collection, you need tunes no one else has got.

The ideal way to creating your sound is to find the best combination of least known but most catchy and memorable tunes. What you find should be rare and unknown but also very memorable and catchy. It should have the music freaks on the floor staring at you and crowding around you to find out what it is.

Someone will fail miserably in an attempt to recognise your tunes with Shazam, because Shazam doesn't recognise who this track is by. You need to have tunes that people know but you need rare gems too. These are what make you stand out. How to get ahead of DJ Shazam stealing your tunes

2. Create DJ Remixes

Look at any successful DJ nowadays and you'll see they have a ton of remixes and some of their own tunes to their name. The likes of Soulwax, Boys Noize and Laidback Luke are just a few examples.

With some luck, your great remix you could end up getting you lots of attention on DJ forums and on youtube. With this kind of viral success, getting gigs should be a breeze for you.

I've DJed with a group called Jolie Cherie. Since they got signed to Kitsune records, they get huge DJ gigs in the best clubs in London and Paris. And they're not even DJs, they're musicians. A good tune or remix can let you leapfrog masses of other DJs.

3. Be a punk

By being a punk I mean go against the grain. You're there so that people can enjoy themselves, but there's nothing wrong with being a rebel and shocking people with your DJ sound style.

This doesn't mean you playing a set for yourself and then dancing away in your booth while everyone else looks at you in bewildered silence and disappointment. It means you play against the grain. Drop surprises. Be a bit crazy. How do you do that?

Vary your style and drop the last tune they would expect. Ask yourself a question: what is the last possible tune anyone would expect me to play right now? Then play that track.

Many more other DJ tips, reviews, advice and a free guide to getting DJ gigs can be found at The Total DJ Site

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How To Improve The Sound Of Your Les Paul Electric Guitar

So here's the situation - you have spent your hard earned funds on your dream Epiphone Les Paul and now you would like way more from it in the sound area. You're happy with how it looks and yes, of course you'd have preferred a Gibson original, but resources dictated that the Epi was the way to proceed. Unfortunately now the sound it produces is now starting to bug you - so what's the solution?

Let's start up by declaring that the Epiphone LP is a respectable guitar in anyone's book. To the beginner's eye these are considered pretty much equal to the real thing. Yes the maple top is a thin laminate and not the chunky carved top found on the Gibson, but there is a substantial price difference and in my view they represent fantastic value for money.

So why is it that they appear to sound a bit too weak?

The guitar's sound is the buildup of a number of elements, and all the the features on the Epiphone are slightly inferior to its more expensive big brother. The wood, the hardware and especially the pickups have an effect on the overall sound but in my view it's the guitar pickups that let it down the most, and luckily this is something that is simply upgraded with aftermarket designs.

You will notice a lot of choices available to choose from when it comes to picking a splendid set of humbuckers. You will notice the established old boys such as Seymour Duncan and Di Marzio and then there are the newer boutique, hand winding firms. I have long been a fan of Seymour Duncan but I love the new boutique crew. The good ones make use of excellent materials and wind meticulously by hand. Some of them provide an excellent alternative to the 'old firm'.

When it comes to the sound, it is down to you as every guitar player wants something different. Visit numerous websites, investigate the various guitar pickup specs and maybe listen to a number of sound samples. Never get baffled with the science of it all because the magnets, the coil wire and the number of winds may get daunting. Your best bet is to listen and make your judgement from that. Luckily some companies will let you return your pickups if you aren't 100% pleased with the product.

If you've got a large amount cash burning a hole in your pocket you might instead choose to upgrade straight to a Gibson Les Paul Standard or even a 1959 VOS R9. If not, then change those pickups and listen to your Epiphone growl. It's really not hard.

The author has played in various bands throughout the years and owns a variety of electric guitars. He loves to customise his instruments and highly recommends the excellent replacement humbucker pickups and P90 pickups from TubGuitarPickups.co.uk

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Sound Packs

What are sound packs you ask? They are what the modern hip hop beat makers use today to create hip hop instrumentals for rap artist. Some established producers and beat makers have gone so far as to putting out their own packs for up and coming aspiring producers. They include such samples as custom drums, percussion, synth sounds, snares, and effects to put together a quality sounding hip hop beat and when you have understood the fundamentals of these software's you too can do just that. Sound packs aren't always used for just making music, they have become helpful in all sorts of audio production today but are most commonly used to create music.

Anyone who uses such software's such as Fl Studio, Acid Loops, or Reason, uses the samples and drum kits contained within whatever sound kits that the aspiring beat maker has purchased or found. But software like these aren't the only types of programs who use these custom sounds. Digital instruments such as an MPC player most commonly known as the " Drum Machine " also can use these and many beat makers and producers do so. The MPC player is specifically made to be able to import samples such as the ones found in sound packs whatever the samples may be and the MPC player and the digital music production software' s are exactly what you need. Midi keyboards are also equipped to connect to these software's almost like an MPC player and when done so the keyboard can import sounds from the sound kit directly to the keys.

Sound packs can consists of whatever kind of sample of a musical instrument or sound effect. Some sound samples consist of extended samples including melodies, long base lines, or pre made drum loops. Drum and sound loops are made to get the beat makers beat off the ground and to have an easier time in manipulating the sounds to their wishes. These sound samples aren't just used by hip hop beat makers, the also can be used to create film scores, television commercial background music, and are often used by techno club beat makers. These packs are a great addition to any audio production project and are used quite often. Bottom line, sound packs are a great convenient and affordable way for aspiring beat makers and producers to create music being that not everyone can afford to go out and purchase whatever instrument they feel they need to add to their music project.

Lil Drummerboy Inc.

You can find quality sound packs here Sound Packs

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Bose Home Theater Systems: Much to Be Desired in Sound Quality

Bose Home Theater Systems are the latest offering from the Bose Corporation which is engaged in a bewildering range of activities. While on the one hand, it develops and manufactures all sorts of audio equipment like speakers, headphones, amplifiers and automotive sound systems to be used by luxury cars, on the other, it makes automotive suspension systems as well as conducts cold fusion researches.

The company was established in 1964 by one Amar G. Bose, then an electrical engineering professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005, the year of his retirement from MIT, the company had a strength of 8,000 employees worldwide, of which 2000 were in Massachusetts alone, and earned over $1.8 billion in revenue. It has contracts from the US military as well as NASA.

Amar G. Bose is the Chairman, Technical Director as well as the primary stockholder of the company that spends more than $100 million a year in engineering research. It has a building with 70,000 square feet floor area in Framingham exclusively for this purpose. The company has also acquired an additional site in Stow, Massachusetts, for the growing needs of its automotive and marketing wings.

As a graduate student at MIT in 1956, Bose bought a high-end stereo system but was rather disappointed with its performance. It was then that he began his research to overcome what in his view was the fundamental weakness of the high end stereo systems - the failure of the system's overall design and its electronics to take into account psychoacoustics, the concept that the listener is not an outsider but a part of the system. And eight years of research led to the birth of the company which has the motto 'Better Sound Through Research'.

Taking into account the individual users' preferences, the company has come up with an audio calibration system, named ADAPTiO, that adjusts their settings for their room's specific acoustic qualities and the Lifestyle uMusic system that can store up to two-hundred hours of music.

Using the all inclusive Bose Home Theater Systems packages, the Lifestyle DVD systems' customers can use Bose link to connect additional speakers in as many as fourteen rooms and even outdoors. The Lifestyle series includes Lifestyle28, 35, 38 and 48 systems. All these systems have the same Bose quality in sound and adaptable sound feature. The Lifestyle 48 can also store an additional 140 hours of music taking the total to more than 340 hours of music organized on your system without any need of computers or fancy controllers.

However, the tag line of the Bose Home Theater Systems, "small speakers, big performance" seems an anachronism as the sound lacks that clarity and crispness which would be expected from the price tag as well as the company name. In fact, users of Bose Home Theater Systems will largely be paying for the name of the company and the aesthetic appeal of the system, not the actual sound quality.

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Get Professional Quality Sound Indoors And Out With A Bose System

Bose speaker systems have been dominating the market almost since their inception. They were the brainchild of a professor of Engineering at MIT that brought stereo sound into the next century with a unique design that enhances quality and maximizes sound dispersion all within a small, sleek and attractive exterior. And now you can find the Bose system that you want at a reasonable price by shopping online.

Beginning with the concept of improving the sound quality of traditional stereo systems, they have improved on the technology and now offer a wide range of products, including some of the best speaker systems you can find anywhere. And the addition of a Bose outdoor speaker takes things a step further by allowing you to enjoy your favorite music with the same Bose quality whether indoors or out.

The Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 with the idea of improving on the technical specifications of stereo systems. Bose engineers focused on the ability of a small musical instrument like a flute to fill an entire room with sound and aimed to reproduce that ability in a stereo system. As a result, Bose speaker systems have revolutionized the stereo world with their exceptional sound quality and sleek packaging.

Though the original design was for a compact home stereo system, Bose has expanded into concert halls, theaters and other professional settings as well. Bose even has loudspeakers and controllers that can fine-tune the output of its unique sound systems. And with the ability to play music directly from your computer or other digital sources, there is almost no limit to their application.

One of their most popular innovations has been the creation of the Bose outdoor speaker. These speakers are specially designed to withstand the harshest of weather and to blend in with your backyard landscaping so you can maintain the look of your yard while enjoying exceptional sound quality. And even the installation hardware is tested to make sure it can stand up to whatever Mother Nature throws at it.

In both wall mounting and ground versions, these outdoor speakers contain all of the same unique technological elements as Bose indoor speakers, enabling them to produce smooth, even, high quality sound. And with specially designed casing, like all Bose speakers, the outdoor models are designed to provide maximum sound dispersion so that you can hear your favorite music throughout your yard or patio area.

Nothing beats the quality and durability of Bose speaker systems. For individuals who truly appreciate music, there is nothing that equals the sound of Bose. Once you've experienced Bose quality firsthand, you'll never want to go back. And with a wide range of Bose products available online, there is no reason to settle for second best.

If you're looking for the ultimate listening experience, go no further than Bose. And you can find great deals on Bose products as close as your own keyboard. So do some online shopping today and find the sound system that can truly rock your world!

You will only be as successful as the decisions you make. Each decision we make either takes us closer to success or failure, nothing is neutral.

The Internet offers us the opportunity to easily research the decisions we make so we take actions that help us integrate the experiences of others so we can move forward with confidence when considering purchasing a Bose speaker system.

By considering a wide selection of locally available used restaurant equiptment before we make a decision we are more likely to make the right choice. Visit our web site http://www.21stcenturyinstantaudio.com/ the full range of Bose speaker systems in your area, whether you're in Los Angeles, New York, or anywhere in between.

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Concert Sound for the Opening Act

I decided to write this series of articles, in response to years of listening to my musician friend's regale me with tails of woe, about "Bad Sound Experiences." BSE if you will. Most often, these BSE's had a common identifiable trait (New or inexperienced sound tech) and almost all were related to on stage monitor mixes. These unfortunate experiences made playing their music un-fun and un-inspiring. Since these are the two reasons most of my friends play music... I thought I'd try to help!

For this article, I added a caveat, to make a larger point... communication... So the first two articles are set in the scariest place in the music business... When YOU is the Opening Act!

This series is an effort to empower musicians on two levels: first with a basic knowledge of "Concert Sound" technology and second with a willingness to engage the concert sound engineers they encounter daily, as collaborators and co-conspirators and not as road blocks to success.

"In the this article, we'll talk about a point Bad Blake makes in the movie "Crazy Heart."

Blake to the sound mixer: "We're gonna stay here all day 'til we get this mix right!

Mixer: It is right....

Blake to his band: They always say that... but they're gonna make sure the opening act doesn't sound as good as the Headliner! "

You can see some of that exchange at the link on the bottom of the article.

It takes a minute to buffer, so be patient, at about 40 sec into the trailer you see part of this exchange between musician and sound engineer.

I've been in this exact situation many times myself at sound check, so it seems like a good place to start a discussion about several important points. One would be the obvious... communication between musician and sound engineer, another, the opening act and the headliners sound engineer... maybe one more... the opening act's sound engineer and the headliner's sound engineer. Let's sort through this potential mine field.

TRUST ISSUES:

In our previous example, the musician Bad Blake and the sound engineer Bear have some obvious trust issues. As the scene progresses we find out that Bear is the sound engineer for the headliner but is mixing the "Front of House" (FOH) for Blake's band (the dreaded Opening Act) at this concert. Everyone seems a little cranky, and time is most likely running out on sound check.

Let's go back to the "You don't know me" article for some help. Here are two passages that relate to this point.

"The next most important people you'll need to find are the sound technicians. I can't emphasize enough how important - this part of the process - is to the actual outcome of your bands performance. We'll discus this aspect (Sound) in great detail with a future article."

And

"One of my favorite IATSE sayings is "Chaos creates CASH." This is the exact nature of the relationship between the "Production" and the local IA crew. If the production is well planned and organized, the day will go exceedingly well. If the production has organizational issues, these issues will put pressure on the deadlines all day. Stuff happens... Trucks show up late, chain motors break and thunder storms blast in! None of that stuff is the IA's fault but because their work rules, such as, Meal penalties, will be enforced... the pressure mounts.

This pressure (even on a perfect day there can be pressure) impacts the amount of - production stage time - available to "Opening Act." The Opening Acts production representative needs to be aware of how the Headliners production is coming together. Show up early and pay attention to the workflow. Monitoring the progress of the production is critical! "

If nothing else, we've established that there are forces beyond the control of us mere mortals...

Let's look at some basic "Opening Act" scenarios from one of the previously mentioned perspectives: Headliners sound tech and Opening Act Musicians.

Let's take a quick tangential left and define what makes a "Top Notch" sound company? First, the gear has to be excellent and in good working order. They must also be very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of sound reinforcement. Those two sentences describe about 80% of the sound companies I've encountered over my 35 years in this business. So if the gear's good and the sound techs know what they're doing what's the problem?

Attitude... not Aptitude

The difference is in the people not the equipment. You can assume, if a sound company is out on a tour with a headliner or they are the Sound Company of choice at a major venue, that they understand the technical aspects of sound reinforcement. Ahhh.... Will they be advocates for your music? That's the question.

This is how to find the answer!

Some advocates a PAID not born! I'm serious! This is a business! The sound techs work a long hard day. To a sound tech... the most beautiful words in the entire Musical lexicon are, "An Evening With." This means: No support act, the headliner will go at 8:00PM play a 75 min set plus an encore or (2) 45 min sets with an intermission. The concert ends at 10:30PM at the latest.

The gear gets packed up and they're on the road HOME before midnight!

It also means, when sound check ends 6:00 -6:30 PM there's a break until 7:30 PM. Because there's NO STAGE CHANGE!

The next most beautiful words are, The Opening Act is a comedian... WE LOVE COMEDY... One microphone and one monitor. BEAUTIFUL!

When I was on tour with Ann Murray back in the 80"s Jerry Seinfeld - before he was SEINFELD - was her opening act... Comedians are always nice to the sound techs.... Except for Gallagher... he's never nice... but he's definitely the exception.

The ascending hierarchy of love is as follows: Solo Acoustic act, Duet... Trio... you get the picture.

So when YOU show up looking for 32 input channels and 10 monitors mixes for YOUR band.... Remember.... You're being compared to "An Evening with"

The saying..."To Insure Proper Service" T.I.P.S. is not a bad way to go here. $200 will get you a long way down the road of making "ADVOCATES." Get the stage manger away from stage, discretely and respectfully offer to "Sweeten the Pot" "donate a little something for the EFFORT." Without exception they will say, "You don't need to do that we'll take care of you" Your firm reply is "I'm not worried about that. I know what a pain in the butt this is for you guys, please accept it as our offer of appreciation for that effort." It may go back and forth a time or two, but it needs to end with you giving either him or the monitor engineer the $200.

Now there's a professional demeanor to your end of the production.

My previous article spoke at length about the organization of band gear (back line) and distributing the technical information to the proper channels. The $200 is NOT gonna do much for you if you haven't taken care of the technical organization and business before this point. It's the combination of all these things that will ensure your band has a good "Opening Act" experience.... On Stage.

Let's move on to the FOH (front of house) sound. This is where we started; remember the discussion from "Crazy Heart." The Headliner's FOH mixer or his system tech (the guy responsible for the technical aspects of the PA) will be mixing the opening act - assuming the band doesn't have an actual sound tech. These guy's have a reputation to uphold, and it's at stake too. They will make every effort to make the Opening Act sound as good as possible. There is one caveat here so we should talk about it now.

In the dialogue from "Crazy Heart"

Blake to the sound mixer: "We're gonna stay here all day 'til we get this mix right!

Mixer: It is right....

Blake to his band: They always say that... but they're gonna make sure the opening act doesn't sound as good as the Headliner! "

Here's what that means to you. The Headliners sound crew will compress the Opening Acts sound. They do this for a number of very good reasons. Here's the major reason.

COMPRESSION by this definition is the intentional limiting of the Dynamic Range. That means it lessens the difference of the volume between the softest and loudest sounds in the mix. Compression for this purpose is meant to protect the PA from any over modulated (distorted) audio signals. It is done to ensure that the PA system will be in complete working order for the Headliner.

Back in the previous article I spoke of the possible revenue generated by a single Sport Arena concert as being in the several million-dollar range. If the PA does not work and headliner can't play.... the money gets refunded. COMPRESSION will be used.

Bad Blake, has a point... and now we all know why. The amount of compression that is applied is the key to success. If the band can stay under control, meaning good consistent audio signals. It will serve to build confidence in the FOH people responsible for the safe keeping of the PA system and they will apply less compression. Understand this and you'll sound great!

The Band finally gets the stage. This is where communication is key, and where the pros excel. Work to ensure the band gets comfortable on stage this is where the music gets made so start... on stage.

All of the PRE-PRODUCTION work bears it's fruit at this point in time.

Placement of band gear (back line) on stage is critical, the placement of "AC" drops and DI boxes in the correct spots will get you up and running for line check quickly. Have the musicians nearby... don't let them on stage until line check has been completed. Nothing drives sound techs crazier than having the musicians on stage before the Microphone lines and Monitor mixes are correct and verified. Have a designated person - conduct the communication - between the band and the monitor engineer. Be nice and never blame the gear as the problem until your convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that it is in fact... the gear... that is the problem!

Time for a reality check, in '87 the Opening Act on Whitney Houston's "Moment of Truth" tour was "Kenny G"... yes before he was " KENNY G" on Hall & Oats' "Rock and Soul Review" tour the Opening Act was "INXS." Yes before they were... you know where I'm going with this... the point is EVERY Band starts as Opening Act... The sound/lighting companies understand that today's Opening Act is tomorrow's Headliner, the concert promoters understand that as well. The production personnel will be there to help for all of the reasons we've discussed. They are Professionals and they know what's at stake.

If your band gets to be somebody's Opening Act, take it seriously, be prepared and be ON TIME!

It's not a once in a lifetime opportunity... It's the opportunity of a lifetime.

You can see some of the exchange between BAD BLAKE and BEAR at the link below.

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1217594393/

It takes a minute to buffer, so be patient, at about 40 sec into the trailer you see part of this exchange between musician and sound engineer.

Bill Winn is a 35 year veteran of the music business. He is a live concert sound /recording engineer, has done world tours with Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, Pat Metheny and Harry Belafonte, to name a few. Bill has recorded two Grammy nominated CD's and has recorded tracks for Herbie Hancock's recent CD's "Then and Now" ( "The River" with Joni Mitchell) and "Imagine" ("Space Captain" with Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks). Also the Executive in Charge of Production for the Thelonious Monk Institute and a Producer of the DC Jazz Festival...

There is an entire section of my book "A Musician's Complete Guide to Sound" dedicated to "how to conduct sound check." It can be found at http://www.liveconcertstagesound.com/

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