Sound advice

Music is an important part of Nowhere for many people and if you're bringing a sound system to Nowhere, then we love you... and we want everyone to still love you by the end of the week!

Nowhere is a 24-hour experience on a smallish site and not everyone will be sleeping or dancing at the same time as you. There are also many other things at Nowhere that benefit from being in a quieter environment. So while we don't say how loud you can be in your area of the site, we do ask that you control how far your sound travels across Nowhere and that you pre-register for placement on site with Adres poczty elektronicznej jest chroniony przed robotami spamującymi. W przeglądarce musi być włączona obsługa JavaScript, żeby go zobaczyć. so we can ensure you're in the sound system section.

As a guideline, your volume shouldn't interfere with what is happening in the Middle of Nowhere or anything happening on the other side of the site. If in the main camping areas it is still possible to hear you after putting in earplugs, your sound is traveling too far.

There are many steps that you can take to reduce how far sound travels:

All speakers should be raised off the ground

Sound travels through the ground very easily at Nowhere and we therefore ask that speakers are raised up in the air to avoid this problem. Ideally they should be at least 50cm from the ground. Most speakers can be put on stands. Larger bass or sub speakers can be placed on scaffolding or a strong table.

Point speakers away from the site

Speakers should be positioned so that they face away from the site and angled so that sound doesn't bounce back off nearby hills.

Block the sound coming back onto the site

If you have a large van or truck ,you can place it between your sound system and the site to block the noise, or you can hang heavy drapes behind your speakers. Enclosing your space with drapes will make it seem louder inside, while blocking more sound from travelling around the site.

If you have more than a 1k system, you should have a limiter

It doesn't matter how many times you ask them, DJs always end up mixing the next track just a little louder than the last and this means your volume will slowly get louder over time. Therefore if you have a PA over 1k or you're running a bass speaker, we ask that you have a limiter on your system. If you're using bass speakers, you may find it useful to have a separate limiter for these.

Use a graphic EQ

If you have a bass heavy sound, then you can use a graphic equaliser to control how far your bass travels, without reducing your overall volume. The more channels of EQ you have, the more you can tweak your bass to reduce distance, without compromising your overall sound. Some graphic EQs also feature a low cut filter, which enables you to completely cut out the very lowest frequencies, which you can't hear near the speakers but travel a long way across the site. The simplest and cheapest option we've found so far to provide a limiter, graphic EQ and low cut filter in one box is the Behringer DEQ1024. Let us know if you find something better.

Use a compressor/expander

You can set up a compressor to act as a soft limiter, so that you don't get the sharp volume limit of a standard limiter, and an expander to boost the quieter parts of your music, without increasing your overall volume.

Add a sonic exciter

Using a sonic exciter will make your system sound louder and more focused, without the need to add more power or volume. Devices such as the Aphex 204 or the BBE Sonic Maximizer range can often be found on ebay for around a 100 euros.

If all else fails, turn it down a bit

While we want you to enjoy your music at full volume, if it's still too loud on the other side of the site we may come and ask you to reduce your volume a bit. You can help everyone by following the advise here and if you have any questions, please get in touch with us at Adres poczty elektronicznej jest chroniony przed robotami spamującymi. W przeglądarce musi być włączona obsługa JavaScript, żeby go zobaczyć.