Originally issued on March 17th, 2017, this article was revised on March 7th of 2018, and reposted the following year to provide further advice based on years of experience working in the event production and audio industry.
Producing an electronic music event is no easy feat. There are a million and one things to properly execute that could go wrong at any time. From taping down the power cables to artist pick-up, many factors contribute to a successful, or not so much, experience.
We’ve done our rounds of event production and know there are common professional audio pitfalls at electronic music events of all sizes and kinds. Subtract Music founder Anton Tumas has been DJing and curating his own events for years now, gaining valuable experience in the process as both an artist and a party-curator. We put our experiences together to compile a list of common issues that can arise at any electronic music event,  and thus could be thought of and prevented beforehand.
Learn from our own and other’s mistakes. A lot of these issues are resolved simply by hiring a competent sound company to do the work for you.
#1 – Poor sound
Nothing kills the whole experience more than low grade, improperly setup or badly tuned sound. Or worse yet, blown speakers. Not skimping on the sound budget and hiring a reputable sound company with professional grade equipment is of utmost importance for any serious event promoter.
#2 – Lack of sufficiently loud monitors
We’ve said this before already – monitors are the most overlooked sound system at the party! Every DJ needs this tool to perform their job correctly. A good DJ monitor setup consists of two high-powered speakers and at least one (or better yet, a pair of subwoofers) with ability to accurately reproduce the entire audio spectrum. The DJ needs these tools in order to accurately feel the energy of the music that’s playing through the main sound system. They also need to feel their mixes and to hear any frequencies that may need adjusting. This also means that the monitors have to be able to play significantly louder than the sound bleed from the main PA.
The reality of the situation, is that after many years of touring, many DJ’s hearing is just not what it used to be, so they require even more output from the monitors to compensate. If the monitor system is not able to achieve the level they require, the DJ may crank the mixer well into the red, just to try and squeeze every last bit of volume out of the system, and we all know where this leads. Thus, properly budgeting for a professional grade monitoring setup is of outmost importance. Dance music places a huge emphasis on low frequencies that a typical pair of self-powered speakers just cannot provide.
#3 – Booth monitors without subs
While not absolutely necessary, having a subwoofer (or two) in the booth tremendously helps the DJs beatmatch, and to feel the energy of the music being played. The more the DJ can find their groove, the better set they will play = happy dance floor. Without subs, the DJ only hears the bass bleed from the main speakers, which usually has a huge time delay and lacks clarity since the speakers are quite far away from them.
#4 – DJs who distort the mixer (double red)
Louder does not equal better. If the DJ is distorting the signal, have the audio engineer immediately correct the problem. Distorted sound diminishes the audio output quality and consequently sounds terrible. Just remember the garbage in, garbage out principle. Keep it green and orange. Red lights aren’t the method to make the volume louder, that’s the sound guys job. A common reason DJs play into the red (besides out of habit), is not having a loud enough monitor setup that can overcome the sound bleed from the main speakers.
#5 – Drinks on speakers / DJ table
Need we say more than the obvious? Liquids damage electronics and people resting their drinks on speakers or anywhere near multi-thousand dollar equipment are just looking for trouble and expensive repair/replacement bills. Have proper signage and an attentive bar staff to discard all cups, as it’s bound to happen no matter what.
#6 – DJ booth without any free space
Imagine showing up super excited at the gig, ready to rock the dance floor, only to find out that the DJ table is so small, it’s literally impossible to put your laptop and controllers anywhere. Find out the tech-rider requirements of all the artists and plan ahead. Especially important when you have live acts, as their space requirement vary greatly.
#7 – Video taping or taking photos with the flash on
B**** don’t kill my vibe. If you’re taking a photo or video, it literally takes three seconds to double check that your flash is off before you shove that camera in my face and distract me from my set and the vibe I am building in the room.
#8 – Visua