Two men DJ-ing with a man watching him. All weaing Silent Sound System headphones.
08 Nov
Blog Posts

4 Ways to Monitor With Silent Sound System

The 4 ways to monitor audio when using Silent Sound System headphones are amplified sound, crisscross headphones, split cue and in-ear monitors. These techniques all work and you just have to find what works for you and what is most comfortable.

1. Amplified Sound

Amplified sound monitoring put simply is using speakers to monitor what the audience is hearing. You may also be wearing headphones or earbuds in one ear to monitor the mixer. When using amplified sound, you want the speakers to be close to you and should only be used to hear what you’re mixing. Having speakers at a silent disco defeats the purpose of a silent disco, but can be helpful when the DJ needs to hear the music that they’re mixing. The audience can control the volume in their headphones.

Man DJing on a boat with speakers next to him.

2. Crisscrossing Headphones

The next monitoring technique is crisscrossing headphones. This is a technique by using two pairs of headphones, the Silent Sound System headphones and another pair for monitoring. The silent disco headphones are to monitor what the audience is hearing. The other pair of headphones are connected to the mixer.

3. Split Cue

The third way to monitor is split cue. This will turn the headphones plugged into the mixer into a monitoring system, using one side of the headphones for the mixer and the other for the live output that is going through the silent disco headphones.

Here is an example:

4. In-Ear Monitors

In-ear monitors are ear buds or any other bud-like headphones that can connect to the mixer. These can fit comfortably in the ear and a pair of headphones can go on top of them to hear both the mixer audio and the live audio the audience is hearing.

Man DJ-ing with in-ear monitoring earbuds in and a crowd around him.

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People doing yoga with Silent Sound System headphones outside.
26 Oct
Blog Posts

Battery Powered Generators

Power your silent disco with green energy for your outdoor events with a portable power generator instead of the usual gasoline powered generator. There are a few different ways to go about this. The average price is anywhere between $200-$3,000 depending on how much wattage and the capabilities of the generator. We will be going over three different types.

Describing the Generators

The first will be 300 watts and those are the lower powered generators. These are mainly good for one channel silent discos that can last 1-4 hours at a time. The second would be 1,000 watts that are good for two channel silent discos and charge a device. The third is anywhere from 3,000-5,000 watts and there are going to be the most expensive and powerful generators. These will last for a few hours with a three channel silent disco and having a few other devices plugged in like a phone, laptop and LED lights.

People outside doing yoga with Silent Sound System headphones.

Why Should You Use Battery Powered Generators?

Battery powered generators are recommended over gasoline powered generators for silent discos due to the silent nature of battery powered generators. If you are hosting a silent disco, no matter what, a diesel generator will be heard through the headphones due to how loud the diesel generators are. Battery powered generators are quiet and just as efficient for a silent disco. Not to mention the price of diesel and gas as of now.

Another great thing is the elimination of the gasoline smell, nobody will be hit by the smell with a battery powered generator. The quietness of the generator is very important in the yoga and wellness spaces for meditation and other wellness related tasks. Most battery powered generators can also be powered by solar panels.

Here is an example for each of the three different watts and their price points.

300 Watts

https://a.co/d/fgmEhSV

1,000 Watts

https://a.co/d/huhAgxd

3,000 Watts

https://a.co/d/egskm0k

Learn about Budget Friendly Silent Discos here!

A crowd wearing Silent Sound System headphones in a bar.
11 Oct
Blog Posts

Budget-Friendly Silent Disco

Want to have a budget-friendly option for your silent discos?

A great way to keep costs low for any silent disco is to have a playlist! Here are a few ways to do that!

Spotify:

Make a Spotify playlist with a theme to it. If you are having a Halloween silent disco, curate a Halloween or spooky music playlist. With Spotify search features, you can easily make a playlist. To make it ad free, make sure you have a subscription or borrow someone who has an account! The one thing to watch out for is you can only use one account for each channel, so this can only work for one channel or use three different devices and three different accounts. Worried about your internet or cell service outside? You can save your music offline on Spotify and play on ‘Offline Mode’.

Spotify logo

Pandora:

If you have two channels with DJs and just want something low-key on the third channel, you can choose a radio station. You can play by genre or musician/band and it will keep playing songs in those categories. This is an easy way to keep the party going, but not having to monitor a device.

Pandora logo

YouTube:

YouTube lets you make playlists and you can pick songs, shuffle them and make sure it’s only the songs you choose. A great way to use YouTube to its fullest ability is to project music videos on a screen or wall and boost the vibes with the silent disco! It is both visual and audible fro everyone to enjoy.

YouTube logo

By Request Playlist:

A great way to make sure everyone is having a good time and is hearing music they want to hear, you can use a phone or laptop to have Spotify, YouTube or other streaming platforms open on the device and ask people to add the music to the queue and you can put the shuffle on to mix up the requests.

Cartoon hand holding phone.

MP3:

Hook up your MP3 player or your phone and just play what you already have! This is the easiest and cheapest way, just playing what you or someone else has for the silent disco. This is another budget friendly way to keep a silent disco going, but you can only use one phone or MP3 per channel, so have three devices ready if you’re doing a three channel disco.

Cartoon of MP3 player.

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05 Oct
Blog Posts

Silent Sound System x EWIs

Silent Sound System works with Electronic Wind Instruments (EWIs). EWIs allow the user to digitally connect their wind instrument to a computer or DJ setup. According to Acai, an EWI seller, EWIs “[fuse] all the expressive musical capabilities and control found in traditional acoustic wind instruments with a go-anywhere specification.”

EWIs are for woodwind and brass players alike! There is no need to learn anything new. According to Acai, certain EWI models have interfaces that can be switched to flute, oboe, saxophone and EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument) fingering modes. EWIs have a large sound bank and some allow you to store your own custom sound creations!

 

(Picture 1 Source: https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/winds/digital_wind_instruments/yds_series/index.html Picture 2 Source: https://www.akaipro.com/ewi5000)

Check out DJ Saxy below using a Yamaha YDS-150 Digital Saxophone to rock her set during the Silent Sound System Sunset Silent Disco at The Wheel at Steel Pier during DJX 2023 in Atlantic City.

You can find DJ Saxy with the links below:

DJ Saxy | Saxy Katt
https://www.djsaxy.com/
https://djsaxy.bio.link/
https://www.instagram.com/dj_saxy/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/CDt3ZBe6Yx0