Why I Need an Emergency DJ Mix
What if I Need To Pee During My DJ Set?
What to Do if I Need to Pee During My DJ Set?
The proverbial question. What Do I do when I need to leave the Booth?
Let's face it, sometimes nature calls, and you don't want to have to bring a bottle with you to the Booth if you urgently need the bathroom while Mixing.
Taking breaks during your set becomes more critical when you perform extended sets.
Rest Your Precious Ears
Consider that your ears also need a break from loud music.
Your ears are the most crucial tool for a DJ. Unfortunately, overexposure to loud music will deteriorate your greatest assets.
Pro DJs use three techniques to keep their ears in good shape for the long term.
Actively Listen To Silence
Take regular breaks
Wear earplugs
I often sneak off to a silent stairwell for a moment of silence before returning to my DJ set.
Emergency DJ Mixes - A Practical Solution
To progress your DJ career, it is likely that you had to put together a Demo Mix.
Creating a few 10-20 minute pre-mixes and having them up your sleeve will allow you to leave the Booth while still keeping the music playing.
Note: Be careful if you download someone else's mix because DJs will often put audio watermarks in their mixes.
Audio watermarks are usually the DJs name with promotional shoutouts.
Auto Play: ON - Play Mode: Continue
Continuous play is a setting that Automatically loads tracks in a list and haves them play continuously one after another.
By Default, most DJ equipment will stop playing at the end of a song. However, most of the equipment will have a setting that allows continuous play.
If this setting is enabled, the next song will start to play automatically.
Note: You will need to ensure that "Auto Cue" is disabled on each deck.
Auto Cue will pause the next song at the CUE point, which will stop the music.
Lock-off the DJ booth
What if someone comes to the Gear and starts pressing buttons.
I use an AUX Input to play any pre-mixes.
I carry an auxiliary device such as a phone or MP3 player and an RCA to 3.5 cable for this purpose.
I plug the MP3 player into a spare channel line input or a dedicated AUX Input.
The AUX controls on the DJ Mixer usually have separate controls, so most people will not figure out how to stop the music or start a new song.
If you are paranoid, you can also use some electrical tape on the fader controls so no one can move them.
You can also eject/unmount the music from the CDJs/Media player if you want to be 100% safe.
Relieve Yourself
Maybe one day, they will build a "Toilet Break" Button to lock the decks. But, until then, you can use the learning above to protect yourself.
If you have any other tips, please share what you do if you need to take a break?