Fat Sound, Maximizing levels in a DJ mix Options

[KarlBakker]

I am a DJ who uses a Hi-Fi CD recorder (Pioneer) to record continuous dance music mix sets. The sound quality is very good, but I want to get that Fat Sound you hear on professional Mix CDs.

I have tried the Limiter, Compressor and the Normalizer in Pro Tools (Free) but are unhappy with the result. Everything I try seems to result in a quieter, duller and less dynamic sound, which is the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. When I use a compressor, I cannot get the Gains anywhere near 0db without clipping.

Also, I only run a Mac Titanium.
Can anyone suggest a better approach?
Does anyone know of an inexpensive software option like Sonic Forges Wave Hammer but for the Mac?

Cheers
DJ Anton

[rickenbacker]

I like Edirol USB products, so in your case a UA-5 might suit you. Pretty small, about the size of a video cassette, but packed with every possible connection, including phono for turntables. I can't remember if it has Midi or not, though. I think not, so you can either switch to another USB interface that does or get yourself an M-Audio Oxygen 8 or Radium (probably the Radium) or the Edirol PCR-30 or 50. They're all portable Midi keyboards that plug straight into a USB port and work fine in Reason, Live etc. That little lot should still fit in a shoulder bag for gigging.

Anyway, there's always going to be a trade-off between the ultimate system and portability - in theory, I could lug my Midi keyboard, external FireWire hard drive, USB interface and iBook around, but I'd rather not if I can help it.

As a DJ, besides Traktor 2.0 have you tried MegaSeg 2.5 for DJ-ing software? It's pretty good for playing out using just a laptop and mp3 files, so I thought I'd mention it.