Your Questions: How Do I DJ With No Booth Out Or VU Meters?

Reader DJ Kai asks: “As you probably already know, the Pioneer DDJ-T1 lacks booth monitor controls. What do you recommend I purchase to enable this functionality? A lot of DJs are content with just in-ear monitoring, but I prefer utilising the speaker at gigs. My second question is about clipping. Another feature that the DDJ-T1 lacks is volume meter control. When I go gigging, I just use the mixer that’s already present in the booth (usually a DJM 900) to see if I’m clipping or not. Do you recommend anything that I could purchase for usage outside of the club such as house parties and what not, so I can get a visual on the volume levels? Preferably something that won’t break my wallet.”

Digital DJ Tips says:

The lack of a DJ booth monitor output on the Pioneer DDJ-T1 is only an issue if the DJ booth you’re playing in has a DJ booth monitor speaker, but doesn’t have a mixer. If it does have a mixer, you plug your Pioneer in to a spare channel on the mixer (in your case, the club’s the DJM-900) and use that mixer’s booth monitor volume, so effectively you gain a booth monitor control that way – no need to buy anything extra.

To avoid clipping, use the VU meters on the screen in Traktor – we’ve got a good article about gain here. Again, no need to buy anything new.

Does your DJ controller have any annoying omissions that you wish had been built in to it? How do you get around them? Let us know in the comments.