Pionara
If, like me, you use a desktop pc instead of a laptop...here's a wee tip i've discovered.
I had a couple of gigs last weekend and unfortunately had a couple of crashes...don't know why, just want to get it sorted. So i put it down to a couple of things...
1/ Overload - i was playing a track on deck a and went to load up a mix of 17 minutes. Bang...there she goes. Oh no!!! First hint...have the simplest of personal cd player plugged along side your setup. This way if anything goes wrong, you can slip your mixer gain down from your pc and get that mixer gain up from your aux channel...simple. The cd only needs to play one song while you reboot your machine and hopefully it'll hold out. Even have the cd playing all the time with the mixer volume down. This means you can just slip the volume up and you'll have sound...never mind all that playing around with buttons lark. Have a good party cd in there...and have it on repeat even so there's always sound playing. And, in case it doesn't hold and your cd runs out...have a couple of party cd's there so they can be swapped around if need be. Bit of a pain in the ass this...but hey, you've got a job to do...
2/ Overheating - don't know if this was a major problem, but hey, i'm relatively new to this, so i suppose i just want it to work no matter what the cost. It's easy to panick if your system crashes in the middle of a set, so you want to find the best way of preventing it. Second hint - i use a tower case (i know, i know, but i built it myself and right now it's doing the job excellently) and at the back where your pci card connections are there are some gaps where i've pulled out the rest of the blanking plates. I did the simplest of things and stuck a wee desk FAN on the floor just at the back of my machine, 'aiming' the cold air from the fan directly into the spaces where the pci cards would normally go. This way, there is a constant supply of COOL air getting into the machine, while the fans inside the machine just get on with their usual work.
3/ Overuse - maybe i just played the wrong songs at the wrong time or pressed a button VDJ didn't like...i don't know. Like i said, i just want it to work. Third hint - reboot if possible. This is a lovely time to bring back the personal cd player. You can slip the mixer volume up on the player and let that good old party cd (or whatever you've got) take over while you reboot. If you've got a nice clean machine it shouldn't take too long to reboot...i think i'm getting on at thirty to forty five seconds for a complete shut down (or straight power off if it's crashed) and reboot which is fine. You can then get back into your playlist and get that next song up there for the cd player track finishing.
Obviously it's nice if you've got a nice audience that you can have a laugh with. You know, if it's sticking like mad or jumping all over the place...'That must be the dance version then, eh???'. If you get a laugh, you're on a winner.
Just a couple of thoughts i'd like to share with you. If you have any other tips, i'd be grateful to hear them. You can email me (address in my blog) or just reply here.
Cheers...and keep spinning. Oh yeah, and try not to panic too much if it goes in the middle of a live set!!!
Pionara
I had a couple of gigs last weekend and unfortunately had a couple of crashes...don't know why, just want to get it sorted. So i put it down to a couple of things...
1/ Overload - i was playing a track on deck a and went to load up a mix of 17 minutes. Bang...there she goes. Oh no!!! First hint...have the simplest of personal cd player plugged along side your setup. This way if anything goes wrong, you can slip your mixer gain down from your pc and get that mixer gain up from your aux channel...simple. The cd only needs to play one song while you reboot your machine and hopefully it'll hold out. Even have the cd playing all the time with the mixer volume down. This means you can just slip the volume up and you'll have sound...never mind all that playing around with buttons lark. Have a good party cd in there...and have it on repeat even so there's always sound playing. And, in case it doesn't hold and your cd runs out...have a couple of party cd's there so they can be swapped around if need be. Bit of a pain in the ass this...but hey, you've got a job to do...
2/ Overheating - don't know if this was a major problem, but hey, i'm relatively new to this, so i suppose i just want it to work no matter what the cost. It's easy to panick if your system crashes in the middle of a set, so you want to find the best way of preventing it. Second hint - i use a tower case (i know, i know, but i built it myself and right now it's doing the job excellently) and at the back where your pci card connections are there are some gaps where i've pulled out the rest of the blanking plates. I did the simplest of things and stuck a wee desk FAN on the floor just at the back of my machine, 'aiming' the cold air from the fan directly into the spaces where the pci cards would normally go. This way, there is a constant supply of COOL air getting into the machine, while the fans inside the machine just get on with their usual work.
3/ Overuse - maybe i just played the wrong songs at the wrong time or pressed a button VDJ didn't like...i don't know. Like i said, i just want it to work. Third hint - reboot if possible. This is a lovely time to bring back the personal cd player. You can slip the mixer volume up on the player and let that good old party cd (or whatever you've got) take over while you reboot. If you've got a nice clean machine it shouldn't take too long to reboot...i think i'm getting on at thirty to forty five seconds for a complete shut down (or straight power off if it's crashed) and reboot which is fine. You can then get back into your playlist and get that next song up there for the cd player track finishing.
Obviously it's nice if you've got a nice audience that you can have a laugh with. You know, if it's sticking like mad or jumping all over the place...'That must be the dance version then, eh???'. If you get a laugh, you're on a winner.
Just a couple of thoughts i'd like to share with you. If you have any other tips, i'd be grateful to hear them. You can email me (address in my blog) or just reply here.
Cheers...and keep spinning. Oh yeah, and try not to panic too much if it goes in the middle of a live set!!!
Pionara
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 1:30 am
mp3jrick
You should be able to load a track once analyzed 1st without overloading.
Make sure you have "max Load" set to "Always" in your Fame Tab Settings.
After you have had a couple of incidents, you really spot trouble coming and know how to handle it without spazzing and freaking out.
Chances are that you are not overheating, it would cause a system shutdown not a crash.
Filtration on rack and desktop systems are a must.
Laptops are screwed, been there did that 2 years ago at a Christmas party.
All you can do is blow them out, watch out for static electicity.
You should work VDJs ass off and make SURE it's reliable before you gig live.
Get the bugs out of it at home, it will build your confidence.
My routine:
1) Set up system
2) Vocal sound check for mic gain and feedback check
3) Audio sound check to find eq balance for the room and volume sweet spot
4) IPOD back up gain check on tape monitor channel (need a line mixer)
This allows simular grouping of music such as cocktail, dinner, and different genres cheese etc...
Now during the sets you always have the right stuff running in the event of a problem.
One tape monitor button allows me to go to my back up for an hour if I want to in the appropriate music group.
Prepare for the worst and practice "plan B".
Thanks for sharing your dificulites, we all know it ain't easy to discuss our problems.
Regards
Make sure you have "max Load" set to "Always" in your Fame Tab Settings.
After you have had a couple of incidents, you really spot trouble coming and know how to handle it without spazzing and freaking out.
Chances are that you are not overheating, it would cause a system shutdown not a crash.
Filtration on rack and desktop systems are a must.
Laptops are screwed, been there did that 2 years ago at a Christmas party.
All you can do is blow them out, watch out for static electicity.
You should work VDJs ass off and make SURE it's reliable before you gig live.
Get the bugs out of it at home, it will build your confidence.
My routine:
1) Set up system
2) Vocal sound check for mic gain and feedback check
3) Audio sound check to find eq balance for the room and volume sweet spot
4) IPOD back up gain check on tape monitor channel (need a line mixer)
This allows simular grouping of music such as cocktail, dinner, and different genres cheese etc...
Now during the sets you always have the right stuff running in the event of a problem.
One tape monitor button allows me to go to my back up for an hour if I want to in the appropriate music group.
Prepare for the worst and practice "plan B".
Thanks for sharing your dificulites, we all know it ain't easy to discuss our problems.
Regards
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 3:07 am
apopsisdj
I have made special versions of Timecode cd's where the first track is audio (usually a mix), also the latest after the timecode. When i play with Timecode cd's this is my backup, its quicker to change the track than to change cd. And when i go mobile i have with me every kind of cable or adapter is need or not, a multimeter, screwdrivers ... you never know..
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 1:24 pm
Pionara
mp3jrick...
Everything you've said about max settings and all that has been done. I'm pretty sure mine is set to thirty minutes or always, so i'm sure i've combatted that...
I have to say though that my first crash i was playing a previously analysed track and then loaded up my (also analysed) 17 minute mix. The system just went dead and stuck on a note, so i had a constant note coming out my speakers. No crash guard or anything, so i don't know what happened.
But then when i tried the same tracks at home, they were fine!!! No problems whatsoever. i don't know how the crash happened...or how to fix it...but it is a bit embarrassing when it happens!!!
Lucky for me i've had a couple of nice audiences. I'll keep tinkering away to see if i can solve the problem...hopefully keeping the machine cool and rebooting where possible will help...
Apopsis - i always try and have a good party cd or mix available incase anything should go wrong....you know how it is!!
Cheers for the feedback guys...
Pionara
Everything you've said about max settings and all that has been done. I'm pretty sure mine is set to thirty minutes or always, so i'm sure i've combatted that...
I have to say though that my first crash i was playing a previously analysed track and then loaded up my (also analysed) 17 minute mix. The system just went dead and stuck on a note, so i had a constant note coming out my speakers. No crash guard or anything, so i don't know what happened.
But then when i tried the same tracks at home, they were fine!!! No problems whatsoever. i don't know how the crash happened...or how to fix it...but it is a bit embarrassing when it happens!!!
Lucky for me i've had a couple of nice audiences. I'll keep tinkering away to see if i can solve the problem...hopefully keeping the machine cool and rebooting where possible will help...
Apopsis - i always try and have a good party cd or mix available incase anything should go wrong....you know how it is!!
Cheers for the feedback guys...
Pionara
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 6:45 pm
Nebula
good idea to take the pci slots out, but why not go one step further. i use a tower too and when it gets hot, why not just take the side panel (or window depending) off? thats what i do and it keeps it cool, as long as u remember lol
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 7:35 pm
clax
... but be carrefull not to poor a berr inside ;)
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 8:09 pm
DJ VooDoo
I use a labtop amd 64bit 3400 processor, 80gig hard drive, 1 gig pc2700 ram. Cooling does have a lot to do with it. I also only use that labtop for my gigs only. there are no other programs besides VDJ. I learned that through exprience. Soft clashes to often or your computer will pick the worst time to do route maintenence. I haven't had a crash in a while. (knock on wood)
Posted Fri 03 Jun 05 @ 8:27 pm
Pionara
I'm thinking about taking a whole side panel off...just to make sure...so i'll see what happens...and let you know...:o)
Posted Sat 04 Jun 05 @ 3:03 am