3. Connect the ground (earth) wire.Take a good look at the back of your deck. If you bought a DJ turntable and you can’t see a ground wire there, don’t assume that the deck doesn’t need one. If you bought your decks second-hand, the last person who used the decks may not have realised how important it was, and cut it off!
Fortunately, you don’t have the same hunt for whereto plug the ground wire. All but the cheapest, nastiest mixers have a ground point on the back of the mixer, normally a thumb screw that you use to cinch the ground wires from both turntables between a washer on the screw and the body of the mixer (as shown in Figure 11-5).
Be sure that you have a secure connection for both turntables to this ground point by checking that the metal ends of the wires make connec- tion with the ground point’s metal washer or screw. You’ll know if your turntables haven’t been properly grounded, because you’ll hear static or a really nasty, loud hum playing through the speakers.
Figure 11-5:
Two ground wires screwed to the back of the mixer.
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Some turntables include digital outputs (mentioned in the ‘Getting familiar with connectors’ section earlier in the chapter) as well as the traditional ana- logue RCA outputs. When these digital connections are used in conjunction with a digital mixer (like the Pioneer DJM-800) the audio quality is pristine and suffers very little noise or interference.
Connecting CD decks to a mixer
CD decks, along with anything else that uses a Line signal to connect to the mixer, usually use RCA outputs that connect to the mixer’s Line RCA inputs. If you only use two CD decks, plug them into the Line inputs on the mixer.
If however, you’re combining CD decks and turntables, it’s a good idea to con- nect them in the same way they’re arranged in front of you. Suppose that you arrange your equipment in this order:
Turntable 1 – CD 1 – Mixer – CD 2 – Turntable 2
The easiest set-up is to connect turntable 1 to channel 1, CD 1 to channel 2, CD 2 to channel 3, and turntable 2 to channel 4 on the mixer. Connecting to the channels on the mixer in the same order as the equipment causes less confusion about what channel controls what equipment. Just make sure that you switch the Line/Phono switch to Line for the CD decks and Phono for turntables.
You can have this same set-up with only two channels on the mixer. Plug turntable 1 into the phonoinput on channel 1, and CD 1 into the line input on channel 1. Then plug turntable 2 into phonoon channel 2, and CD2 into line on channel 2. The only danger here is that you need to remember to switch the appropriate channel from phono to line (or vice versa) to use the right piece of equipment. Also, you won’t be able to mix from turntable 1 to CD 1 or turntable 2 to CD 2 because even though they’re different machines, they’re both playing into the same channel.
Before deciding on an arrangement and what channel to use for what equip- ment, take a look at what the mixer suggests you connect to what channel.
On the Pioneer DJM-600 that I use, Channel 1 and Channel 2 are suggested for CD decks that have the player controlfeature, which starts the CD playing when the cross-fader is moved (so you don’t need to press play on the CD). I prefer using Channels 1 and 4 for CD decks though, and as I don’t take advan- tage of the player control for my CDJ1000’s, that’s okay by me.
CD decks can also make use of digital connections mentioned at the begin- ning of this chapter. As the CD music is digital (rather than analogue vinyl), maintaining the music signal as digital with digital inputs on a mixer keeps sound quality at maximum.
Connecting iPods and MP3s to a mixer
Unless you’re using one of the Numark iDJ mixers specifically designed for mixing with iPods, you need to use a cable that converts the output of your iPod (or any other MP3 player) to two RCA plugs. You can get a cable that’s based on the dock connector of the iPod that splits into two RCA plugs (this is how a lot of people play their iPods through a home hi-fi) but without that, and for most of the other MP3 players, you need a cable that splits the head- phone output into two RCA plugs.
You can buy these cables from most electronic spares stores, or simply type
‘3.5 mm stereo jack to RCA’ into any search engine, or eBay (www.ebay.co.uk), and you’ll find one for about £5. Just make sure that the jack on the end of the cable you go for is stereo (it’ll have two black bands on the tip), and is 3.5 millimetre, otherwise, it won’t fit into the MP3 player’s headphone output.
As with the CD decks, simply plug the RCAs from this cable into the Line input on the back of the mixer, making sure that the channel you use for this input on the mixer is switched over to Line.
Because headphone outputs are normally weaker than a typicalLine output, you may have to set your MP3 player to a high volume, or increase the gain on the mixer by more than normal in order to keep the volume of the MP3 music similar to the rest of your inputs (CDs, turntables, and so on).
Connecting a computer as an input device
Laptops and PCs are becoming a bigger part of DJing. Computers used to be simple recording and editing devices used to add effects and edit out any bad parts of the mix, but now they’re used as input devices. The software you use should detail any special connection instructions in order to properly set up the computer to enable it for DJ use – always refer to the manual first.
To connect the outputs of the computer to the mixer so that you can mix the computer music with another source (CD players, turntables, and so on) you use the soundcardon the computer. The soundcard processes the digital music data, and converts it to a Line signal to be sent to the mixer (the reverse also happens, see ‘Connecting a Mixer to the PC/Mac’ later in the chapter).
If you have a soundcard with RCA outputs, this connection is simple. Using a cable with two RCA connectors on each end, connect the RCA outputs of the computer’s soundcard to the RCA Lineinputs on the mixer. If there is a 3.5-millimetre jack output on the soundcard, you’ll need the RCA to stereo 3.5-millimetre lead mentioned in the previous section ‘Connecting iPods and MP3s to a mixer’.
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If you’re using a laptop or have a computer with a very basic soundcard, you may notice that the only audio connections you have are a headphone output and a microphone input. You can use the headphone output as long as you have the RCA to 3.5-millimetre jack cable, but you may want to be able to record into the computer. In which case, you need to look at a new soundcard.
Fortunately, a wide range of analogue to digital USB and Firewire converters (common computer input connections) are available to buy. Edirol (shown in Figure 11-6), Alesis, Behringer, and a whole host of other makes have prod- ucts at varying prices (and quality) which let you solve the problem of not having a soundcard, or a good enough soundcard on your computer.
Plugging in your headphones
Plugging in your headphones is as simple as finding the hole marked ‘head- phone’ on your mixer, and plugging them in, but I want to mention it here so that I can bring up the use of 3.5-millimetre adaptors. These adaptors let you convert headphones with a small jack (like your iPod headphones, but please, notyour iPod headphones, they’re not suitable for DJing) into the big, 6.35- millimetre (1⁄4inch) size that your mixer needs.
Figure 11-6:
The Edirol audio to USB by Roland with analogue inputs and outputs connected to a USB connection.
Some mixers have the headphone input on top of the mixer; others have it on the closest side to you, or even both. Choose your input and plug in. Simple.
Connecting effects units to a mixer
You can connect effects units to the mixer in two ways:
Between the mixer and the amplifier:Direct connection is the most basic, and easiest way to connect your effects unit. Take the Master Output of your mixer (two RCAs) and plug them into the Line input on the effects unit. Then, take the output of the effects unit (still two RCAs) and plug them into the input of the amplifier.
The drawback to this method of connection is that the entire audio signal will be effected by the effects unit; you won’t be able to play one channel from the mixer clean(without effects) while the other one gets a whole load of crazy effects applied to it.
With Send and Return connections:You can send music from an indi- vidual channel on the mixer to an effects unit using the Send and Return option. Using this means that you can apply an effect to only one chan- nel, leaving other channels to play unaffected through the speakers.
The signal from the mixer can be sent to (and returned from) the effects processor in two different ways:
• If the effects processor can accept multiple inputs, you can use a mixer with a separate Send and Return for each of the channels.
Controls on the effects processor (and sometimes on the mixer) let you choose what channel on the mixer to apply the effect to. With the correct controls, any number of channels can be ‘effected’
Your headphone jack isn’t a headphone rest
Please don’t get into the habit of hooking your headphones over the headphone jack when you’re not using them. A club I worked in had the mixer at an angle, and also had very little room in the DJ booth, allowing hardly any room to put anything down. So, when I wasn’t using my headphones, I’d hook them over the head- phone jack; which seemed sensible to me. That was until I aimed a bit high, and hit the power
switch with the head band from the head- phones, plummeting the club into silence, and I almost blew a speaker when I turned the mixer on without turning the volume down . . . oops.
Hooking headphones over the jack connection can cause damage to both the mixer and the headphones, which may lead to sound problems (the headphones may ‘cut out’ and go silent).
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while any number of channels can be ‘un-effected’. This method is by far the most versatile approach to using an effects processor, but does tend to require a large mixing desk instead of a compact DJ mixer.
• Some DJ-specific mixers with multiple channels may have only one pair of Send and Return connections but have a control on the mixer that assigns what channels are sent. The DJM-600 that I use lets you send any one of the four channels, or the entire Master Output to an effects unit, so though it’s not quite as versatile as the option to include or exclude any number of channels, it can still give you clean audio from one channel while ‘effecting’ another, which is good enough for me.
The connections for send and return vary, but on the DJM600, it’s a pair of mono 1⁄4-inch jacks for each direction. One pair connects from sendon the mixer to the input of the effects unit, then another pair connects from the effects unit to returnon the mixer. You may find some units use RCAs for this purpose or stereo 1⁄4-inch jacks, so take a close look at your mixer and the effects unit so that you know what cables you need.
Connecting mixer outputs
After you have all the inputs connected to the mixer you need to look at how to connect your mixer to an amplifier in order to hear the music, and maybe also connect to a recording device (tape, MiniDisc, CD, PC, and so on) so that you can capture the moments of greatness you’ll achieve in the mix.
Your mixer has two (or sometimes three) outputs:
Master Outis the connection to use when connecting to an amplifier.
Using a stereo RCA cable, connect one end to the Master Out on the mixer, and the other end to an input on the amplifier. If the amp has more than one input channel, and you’re also sending items like a TV, PlayStation, or another CD player to it, you may want to add sticky labels to change the normal ‘Input 1, Input 2’ labels that’ll be on the amp, to help you remember what channel lets you hear what.
More expensive, professional mixers may use a second Master Output that uses XLR connections rather than RCA connections.
The Master Out is affected by the Master Level Controlon the mixer, so if you turn that down, the volume of the music from the mixer reduces.
Record Out is reserved for recording devices(tape, MiniDisc, CD, PC, or any other recording format you’re using). The reasons you use this output rather than the Master Out, are because:
• The Master Out is probably going to an amp anyway
• You get a slight reduction in output level for the Record Output, in order to avoid distortion or clipping of the sound when recording
• The Record Out bypasses the Master Level Control, so if you turn the Master Output down (maybe to take a phone call), the music level you send to the recording device won’t change.
Like the Master Output, connect the Record Outputs to the recorder’s inputs using a stereo RCA cable, making sure to continue to plug the red RCA output to the red RCA input, and the white output to the white input. (For information on how to set the record levels on your tape recorder, see Chapter 18.)
Booth Outputon the mixer is fed into a separate amplifier and speaker in the DJ booth (known as the Booth Monitor). (Chapter 9 has important information about setting the volume of the Booth Monitor and the headphones to allow you to mix properly.)
The connection is the same as Record Out and Master Out; connect one end of a stereo RCA cable to the Booth Output on the mixer, and the other end to the Booth Monitor’s input.
Connecting a mixer to your home hi-fi
Connecting to your home stereo (hi-fi) is similar to connecting to an ampli- fier. The connection is made using a stereo RCA cable from the Master Output on the mixer to the hi-fi – but you need to pay attention to the input you choose to use on the hi-fi. On the back of a hi-fi, you probably see some of these inputs: Line, CD, TV, DVD, Aux, and if you have an old (or really good) hi-fi, a Phono input too.
If your CD deck is already connected to the hi-fi, you connect your TV through the TV input, and the DVD input is used too, you’ll be left with Aux or Phono. Use the Aux input for the mixer. Even though the music you’re play- ing may be coming from turntables as a Phono signal, by the time that signal plays through a mixer the signal has been transformed into a Line level signal.
Of course, if you don’t have a CD player or TV plugged into the hi-fi, you can use the TV and CD channels, too, as long as you stay away from the Phono input (which is meant for direction connection from a record player).
Remember to set the switches on the front of the hi-fi to the correct input.
Connecting a mixer to powered speakers
Sometimes, powered speakers only have a jack input (like the headphone input on your mixer), so check if you need to buy an RCA (the output from your mixer) to jack cable for each of the speakers (left and right).
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You can find more information on using amplifiers, powered speakers, and home hi-fis to play your music in Chapter 10.
Connecting a mixer to your PC/Mac
Whether you’re using the computer as an amplifier, or if you plan to record the mix to edit it or upload it to the Internet, the connection between your computer and your mixer is similar to all the other equipment you’ll connect.
Connect the output from the mixer to the input on the computer’s soundcard (see ‘Connecting a computer as an input device’ earlier in the chapter for detailed information on the connections and what a soundcard is used for).
Use the Record Output if you’re only using the computer for recording, and the Master Output if using the computer as an amplifier (this frees up the Record Output for a recording device).
If your soundcard came with instructions and software for setting up the computer to be able to accept a Line input, please refer to the manual care- fully. If it’s a Windows controlled soundcard, you can use the Volume Control Propertiesto activate the Line input. Follow these steps to active it: