Introduction
Capturing high-quality recordings of DJ sets at festivals can be a game-changer for event brands, especially in the drum ’n’ bass, dubstep, and bass music scenes. These genres thrive on energetic live performances and exclusive tracks (dubplates) that fans are eager to relive. A crisp, clean recording of a headliner’s set can extend the festival’s impact far beyond the final encore – fueling online engagement, helping with promotions, and strengthening your festival’s reputation. However, recording DJ sets in a live festival environment is not as simple as hitting the record button. It requires technical know-how, the right equipment, proactive planning, and some professional etiquette.
This guide shares hard-earned wisdom on recording DJ sets cleanly, covering everything from managing audio levels (“gain”), eliminating ground noise, to building redundancy into your recording setup. Whether you’re running a small underground club night or a massive outdoor bass music festival, these tips will help ensure you capture every bass drop and mix transition with clarity and reliability.
Use Balanced Post-Mix Feeds and Proper Isolation
Take the feed after the DJ’s mixer output – that is, the post-mix stereo signal that the crowd hears – and ensure it’s delivered to your recorder in a balanced format with ground isolation. Balanced audio lines (using XLR or TRS connectors) are far less prone to interference and hum than unbalanced lines (like RCA cables). In a loud festival environment with long cable runs and lots of electrical equipment, using balanced feeds is essential to keep the recording clean. For example, if your DJ mixer has an XLR master output and an RCA REC output, prefer the XLR feed for recording whenever possible, as it’s balanced and designed for long runs.
If you only have an unbalanced output available, use a direct box or line isolator to convert it to a balanced signal and break any ground loops. Ground loop hum can ruin an otherwise perfect recording – it’s that low buzz or hum caused by electrical ground differences between devices. Many experienced festival audio crews carry isolation transformers or DI boxes specifically for recording feeds. These devices (for instance, a stereo DI like the Radial Duo or similar) will take an RCA or 1/4-inch output from the mixer and output a ground-lifted, balanced XLR signal to your recorder. This ensures that the recording device won’t pick up buzzing from lighting rigs, generators, or other stage power issues.
Real-world tip: At large bass music festivals such as Rampage Open Air (Belgium) or Shambhala (Canada), the technical teams run all recorder feeds through isolators. This practice has eliminated ground hum even on massive outdoor stages where power generators and long cable runs once introduced noise. By taking the proper balanced feed with isolation at the outset, you lay the groundwork for a crystal-clear recording – no hiss, no hum, just pure sound from the DJ booth.
Keep Levels in Check – Avoid Clipping with Headroom
Nothing disappoints more than getting back to the studio and finding out a brilliant set is marred by distortion because the inputs clipped. Avoid clipping by managing gain and headroom carefully. DJ mixers at festivals (e.g., Pioneer DJM or Allen & Heath Xone series) can output very hot signals, especially when DJs push levels into the red. To record cleanly, set conservative input levels on your recording device. Aim for peaks around -6 dBFS (or even -10 dBFS) on your recorder’s meter during the loudest parts of a soundcheck or track. This provides a safety cushion so that if the DJ cranks it up further mid-set, you won’t hit 0 dBFS (digital clipping).
In practice, this might mean engaging a pad or attenuator on the recorder or interface if it’s available, or simply turning down the recording gain. Many modern recorders and audio interfaces support 24-bit audio, which offers plenty of dynamic range – you can afford to record a bit lower and boost later in editing if needed, rather than risk clipping. It’s far easier to raise a slightly quiet recording than to fix a distorted one.
Pro tip: Coordinate with your audio engineer or the DJ if possible. Some festivals include a note in the artist advance about sound levels, encouraging DJs to avoid constant redlining for the sake of audio quality (both live and recorded). While you can’t control an artist’s mixing style, you can protect your recording. For example, at Let It Roll (the world’s largest drum & bass festival in the Czech Republic), the audio team presets recording devices with about 10 dB of headroom knowing that certain high-energy acts will push the mixer. As a result, even when the crowd hears a blistering, loud session, the recorded files remain clean and free of clipping.
Lastly, monitor the recording in real-time if you can spare a crew member or glance at meters periodically. A pair of headphones on the recorder can alert you to overloads or issues (like an accidental cable unplugging) early on. In a noisy festival environment, you might not hear distortion through open air, so those meter LEDs or a laptop screen are your best friend. By keeping levels in check from the start, you capture all the raw power of a live bass set without the ugly digital distortion.
Build in Redundancy – Dual Recorders and File Management
Even with the best equipment, things can go wrong: a recorder’s battery dies, a memory card corrupts, or someone accidentally pauses the recording. That’s why redundancy is key. Running dual recorders means having a backup if the primary fails. For critical sets, hook up two recording devices capturing the same feed. This could be two portable recorders, or a recorder plus a laptop, or the DJ mixer’s USB recording feature in parallel with an external recorder. Ideally, use two different devices/brands (to avoid a common flaw) and, if possible, power them differently (one on AC power, one on battery) so a single electrical issue won’t knock out both. Feed splitting can usually be done via a proper splitter or by using multiple outputs from the mixer (for example, send the mixer’s XLR Master to one recorder and the RCA Booth/Record output to the second). The redundancy has saved events from disaster – for instance, one festival’s main recorder froze mid-set but the secondary unit kept rolling, preserving a once-in-a-lifetime B2B performance that would have otherwise been lost.
Organise and label recordings immediately. In the chaos of a festival, it’s easy to lose track of which file is which if you don’t label them on the spot. The moment a DJ’s set is over, stop the recording and rename the file (or jot down the file number with the artist’s name in a log). Some recording devices allow naming files; if not, keep a notebook or a note on your phone. Include details like the artist name, stage, and date/time (for example, “MainStage_Friday_2300_DJName.wav”). Doing this right away ensures you won’t be scratching your head later trying to differentiate between dozens of audio files. It also helps avoid embarrassing mix-ups, like attributing the wrong set to an artist.
Here’s a quick post-set checklist to stay organised:
- Stop and Save – End the recording promptly when the set ends (to avoid one giant file for multiple artists).
- Label the File – Rename it with relevant info, or note the file ID and details in a log.
- Check Duration – Quickly verify the recording has a reasonable file size/duration (to ensure it captured the whole set).
- Start the Next – Begin a fresh recording for the next artist, confirming levels are still good.
By building redundancy into your setup and staying disciplined about file management, you greatly increase the chances that every killer set you record is safely captured, identifiable, and ready to be used.
Get Artist Consent and Set Distribution Terms Up Front
Before you even hit the record button, make sure you have the artist’s permission to record their set and a clear understanding of how that recording can be used. Surprising a DJ after the fact by posting their set online without prior consent can lead to conflict – or even legal take-down requests if they object. The professional approach is to include recording consent in the artist’s contract or advance. This could be a simple clause stating that the festival may record the performance and use it for promotional or distribution purposes (often non-exclusively, so the artist can also use it). Discuss distribution terms with the artist or their management ahead of time: Will you be uploading the set to your official SoundCloud, YouTube, or Mixcloud? Will the artist get a copy, and can they share it on their channels? Clarify if the recording will be available for free streaming, download, or even commercial release.
Many major festivals handle this proactively. For example, events like Boomtown Fair (UK) and Sunburn Festival (India) have artists sign media release forms granting permission to record audio and video of their sets. This way, the organisers and artists are aligned – the festival can confidently use the recordings in recap videos, podcasts, or social media, and the artist knows exactly how their performance will be shared. Some artists might request conditions, such as not posting the set until after a certain date (especially if they played unreleased tracks), or wanting a say in where it’s published. It’s best to honor reasonable requests – it builds trust and many artists will then actively help promote the released set because they’re happy with the arrangement.
Importantly, respect any artist who declines recording. If a DJ doesn’t want their set recorded or released, have a conversation about why. Sometimes it’s due to exclusive material in their set or personal performance preferences. You might negotiate a compromise (like recording just for archival or for the artist’s own use). But ultimately, if they say no public release, respect that boundary. It’s better to maintain a good relationship than to burn bridges over a recording.
Lastly, remember the underlying music copyrights. A DJ set recording contains dozens of tracks by various producers. Platforms like YouTube or SoundCloud may flag mixes for copyright. While festivals generally get away with posting DJ sets as promotional content, be prepared to handle these issues – for instance, by posting to Mixcloud (which has licenses for DJ mixes) or by promptly addressing any takedown notices. Being transparent with artists that you’ll handle these aspects can further reassure them that you know what you’re doing. By sorting out consent and terms ahead of time, you set the stage for smooth sharing of the recordings later, with everyone on board.
Leverage Recordings to Fuel Your Brand Year-Round
A festival might last a weekend, but a great recording can live on all year – constantly reminding people of the amazing time they had (or missed). By capturing high-quality DJ sets, you create content that can be rolled out long after the stages are packed up. This keeps your festival’s brand buzzing in the downtime between events. For instance, you can release one set recording per week or month on your official festival channels (YouTube, SoundCloud, Mixcloud, etc.). Each release becomes a mini-event for your community: fans tune in to relive the magic, share links with friends, and generate conversation on social media.
A strong library of live sets also attracts new audiences. Someone who didn’t attend your drum & bass or dubstep festival might stumble on a killer set you posted and decide they have to be there next time. It’s essentially free marketing. Major festivals have long understood this – Tomorrowland in Belgium and Ultra Music Festival in the US rack up millions of views on recorded set videos and streams, dramatically extending their reach worldwide beyond on-site attendees. Even niche bass music festivals use this to their advantage. Shambhala Music Festival releases dozens of live-recorded sets each year on their SoundCloud, sustaining global fan engagement; Rampage shares full HD videos of DJ sets on YouTube, keeping the hype alive among drum & bass and dubstep fans.
Additionally, having these recordings allows for creative re-use. You could curate a “Best of Festival 2024” podcast or mix series, use snippets in aftermovies or promotional videos, or even partner with internet radio to broadcast past sets as special programming. Artists also appreciate the exposure – many will promote the set recordings to their own followers, which in turn shines a spotlight on your event. It’s a win-win: the artist gets a broader audience for their music, and your festival brand gains continuous visibility.
One caveat: quality matters. A good recording will reflect well on your festival; a poor, distorted one might do more harm than good. That’s why the technical steps above are so important. Assuming you’ve captured a clean recording (gain is right, no hum, no dropouts), you can confidently put it out there. Tip: when you upload, include context (event name, date, stage, maybe a photo or visual of the moment) so that the content reinforces your brand identity. Over time, fans will come to expect and look forward to these recordings as a hallmark of your festival – turning a one-time experience into year-round engagement.
Key Takeaways
- Balanced, isolated feeds are a must: Take a post-mix feed from the DJ mixer via balanced outputs (XLR/TRS) and use isolators or DI boxes to eliminate hum and interference.
- Preserve headroom to prevent clipping: Set conservative recording levels (peaks around -6 dBFS or lower) so that even if a DJ pushes the mixer, your recording won’t distort.
- Always have a backup recording: Run dual recorders or redundant recording methods for every set. Technical failures happen – a second recorder ensures you don’t lose that epic performance.
- Label and organize recordings on the spot: After each set, stop the recording and immediately label the file or note which artist it is. This avoids confusion later and saves you from sorting out dozens of unnamed files.
- Secure artist permission and usage rights: Get consent from DJs ahead of time to record and share their sets. Make sure everyone agrees on how the recordings will be distributed to prevent issues down the line.
- Use recordings to extend your festival’s reach: Post-produce and share the best set recordings on your platforms (with credit to artists) to keep fans engaged, attract new audiences, and promote your festival between editions.
17th September 2025