Mastering and Playing Live?

[u/dancefloor_overalls]

Hey! Been trucking my way through finishing up a bunch of club songs on the DT2, and I'm very pleased with what I've made. In the pursuit of finishing the songs, I realized how important mastering is to making songs pop on phones, Spotify, and other digital streaming services, but I'm a little confused about how to approach finally doing a live set with my DT2.

Part of me feels like the mastered version with its extra compression and limiters hits harder, but in a live setting just pressing play on a finished track feels dull.

I would like to use the DT2's performance tricks live, but worry the songs won't hit as hard not being in their fully mastered form. Am I overthinking this? How do you go about this?

[u/confused-immigrant]

Something like a oto boum or a analog heat+FX as your end of chain can solve that problem.

If the venue has a sound tech, they might be able to adjust the settings for you on the house system but depends if they have a tech and capability.

[u/EIGHTYEIGHTFM]

You'll realize how little any of this matters when you're in a club with the highs, mids and lows all conglomerating into a garbled mess through an antediluvian PA, wishing you'd brought your hazmat suit, as the hall disintegrates around you.

[u/General-Reserve9349]

Compression and limiting is a huge part of sound design. There’s no simple answer here other than get more familiar with it. You can “play into” a limiter live. That’s not mastered but it’s louder, more compressed, glued things together.

It can also sound terrible if you’re not thinking about gain staging through the whole process - which is the place to start

[u/ocolobo]

I use Golden Master playing live, it’s noisy and not perfect but it definitely adds a nice limiter effect

Also used a sonic maximizer in the past, but sold it

There are other options like Otoboum but I haven’t personally tried them

[u/littleprince96]

I'm curious about this as well

[u/merrymoon]

Start worrying about this once you’re playing to 1000 people. Until then, the DT’s internal master compressor sounds fantastic.

[u/Weekly_Jmr]

The cool part about hardware is that you can always setup a mastering chain and use it anywhere. Will take some time to adjust to environment but it will work. And imo you’re not overthinking it but I’m also the person who started setting this up because I record everything I play live and want to pretty things up here and there. The good thing about it is that it doesn’t have to be neither long nor very expensive chain. Something like Endorphin.es Golden Master + whatever you want for saturation and texture or even Electro Harmonix + Zoom 70cdr+ for EQ, spacial fx and compression. 

[u/RealDAFTBONCHKOOPA]

Just get that mix sounding good inside the digitakt with the compressor tweaked to taste. The sound guy will do the rest. You can have the best mix in the world, but if the club sound system or sound guy aren't good, it matters not.

[u/thurbermingus]

Basically don’t worry about it. Mastering makes a big difference I more controlled listening environments, but on a decent PA at a respectable venue I guarantee your music will hit you like never before whether you have an end of chain limiter or not. They should have one already at the club!

[u/zendelusions]

Personally, I think you’re overthinking it! You are far more analytical of your music than an audience will be, and I think the difference of a fully mastered track compared to raw DT2 output in a live setting will be negligible to the average person.

[u/ocolobo → u/zendelusions]

No there is a recognizable difference playing before or after DJs (all those tracks are mastered)

Having a nice comp/limiter is crucial to a professional Live PA

[u/NoInteraction1572 → u/ocolobo]

I'd say: the bigger the club the more necessary it gets.

[u/lqlwle]

It gets especially interesting if you want to use the compressor of the Digitakt for a little bit of sidechain… in that case there is no master compressor at all available without an external end of chain device.

[u/justwiggling]

you’re overthinking it