Home 2023 Forums Digital DJ Gear Am I on the right track? PA system budget

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  • #2376931
    Orlando Morales
    Participant

    I do weddings a corporate events.
    1. I think a Subscriptions service is a waste. Their are about 100 or so songs that you play regularly for weddings and corporate events, you can be relevant and current without having to play all new music. Besides, Grandma hates the new Drake song.
    2. KRK Rockits are studio monitors, you will want to leave those at home, they will get damaged.
    3. You don’t need CD decks. If you want CD capability, you can by a small external CD Drive for $25 and keep it in your gear bag. (If you have CD players Grandma is going to ask you to play her favorite Drake song, she has the CD in her car)
    4. A 6 Ft folding table is all you need. Most weddings will have a table for you.
    5. 2 Cabinet Speakers (I have a pair of JBL EON 15’s Series 2 that are Fantastic) but you neglected to add a Subwoofer. some pro PA speakers sound good, but if you want to fill up a room without blowing out Grandma’s hearing aid, you need a Sub.
    6. I have a small 5 channel mixer with a built in sound card (to play off iTunes). I am able to run a wireless mic though this and connect instruments (like guitars and keyboards) and other mics (you will be surprised)
    7. I use my controller for 50% of my gigs, a laptop only for 10% and for those big weddings, I bring a DVS system (Grandma likes it when the DJ plays Records!)
    8. As far as a lighting set up, I never use one. Most Venues already have lights, and most affordable lights set ups aren’t very attractive. Wait until you have a few gigs under your before spending a whole lot of cash on lights.
    9. You need at least 10 various length of XLR cables 4-6 ft, 2-10 ft, 2-15ft, and 2-25ft. a couple 1/8 inch AUX cables, 1/8in to RCA, TRS to RCA and XLR to TRS. Plus lots of quality extension cables, at least 2 25 ft and 1 heavy duty 50 ft. And lots of surge protectors. I am able to keep all my cables, mixers and mics in a large duffle…but everything is packed in its own gig bag.
    10. Speaking of Bags, you need bags for your cabinets and sub, they will be knock around during transport. Plus a couple of flight cases for your controller and laptop.
    11. How are you going to transport your stuff? I have an Acura MDX that suits me fine, most of my friends drive either Honda Pilots or Honda Elements. But an enclosed Van or SUV should be on your list.

    By doing weddings and corporates, I am able to play weekly at local clubs and bars. Through my work as a DJ, my business expanded to renting out PA systems to small restaurants, bars, and sporting events. I receive about $1000 per month just on rentals.

    Good luck, its a lot of fun.

    #2377181
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    4) Folding tables look awful, just my opinion, and are usually too low for proper DJ-ing. I got me a foldable DJ-Booth. About a 100-150 GBP investment, but it looks SO much more professional than depending on whatever the venue has at hand.

    Mine is this one, but other brands have them as well.

    http://www.odysseygear.com/odyssey-products/fzf5437tbl/black-foldout-dj-table-stand.html

    I opted for all black to avoid the regular black/aluminum flightcase look which I have used for the previous 5 or 6 years.

    Setting up is literally 15 seconds, lots of storage space behind it, nobody can see under the booth, so all your cables, bags, etx. are out of sight.

    Very sturdy and my old one is still operational (although starting to stretch at the seams a bit) after 5 or 6 years of intensive use.

    #2377911
    Tom Buckley
    Participant

    Thanks Lando

    1. Agreed
    2. You are right here, I just really really want a justification to buy them
    3. I will look into that. Sounds wise. It is really weird but I dob’t think I even have a CD drive in my house.
    4. I agree with vintage, the table to me is your brand. You need it to enable you to play but also give a good experience
    5. In that package there is a subwoofer. Although the satellites aren’t independently powered so it is slightly risky I thought I would start with a small set up and then rent if I needed bigger
    6. Built in soundcard? Could you explain as I didn’t know that was possible. So you could play something without any wired input?
    7. DVS? Do you do get much call for that kind of set up?
    8. Ok makes sense
    9. How much do you think the initial outlay on cables is?
    10. Ok I will factor that in
    11. Yeah I have transport on a different list as it needs to be factored into my other stuff. Its harder to think about in England as cars are alot smaller and I have no idea how much space I would need. Which is why I am tryign to plot out all the bits I would need so I can take it into accoutn when buying my next vehicle.

    Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate the long response. The set up is a new world to me and also navigation what I need to have and what I can expect from the venue is also a headache.

    Tom

    #2378221
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    2) They’ll serve you ok at home for practice sessions, but I agree not suited for on the road … with a slight exception. Assuming you’d want them for monitoring and you can set them up somewhere safe (hard as they don’t go on stands), you can get special sets with a metal mesh front for the speakers. They’ll look something like this: http://www.krksys.com/images/products/accessories/vxt-4-grill.png
    5) Speakers is (apart from getting brand stuff) mostly a matter of taste. I have heard the EONs next to my Mackie HD1221s and wouldn’t trade for the world :-). You might want to look into the Curv, it’s a new series that you can upgrade and where you can get the individual unit separately if need be.
    6) There is a sound card built into the mixer, just hook up to your laptop with USB and you can run any sound from your laptop to the mixer direct (and record the master output from the mixer for example). Good example is the Yamaha AG06.
    7) DVS, only advisable if you are really into vinyl. Otherwise loads of hassle, heavy gear, expense (if you practice and play regularly buying DVS vinyls and needles can easily run up to 100 bucks a month.

    +1 on proper bags and flight cases. Looks more professional and keeps your gear in shape.

    Last thing, only buy a PA if you know you are gonna make your investment back in about 15 months. Otherwise just rent for a while.

    #2378231
    DJ Vintage
    Moderator

    2) They’ll serve you ok at home for practice sessions, but I agree not suited for on the road … with a slight exception. Assuming you’d want them for monitoring and you can set them up somewhere safe (hard as they don’t go on stands), you can get special sets with a metal mesh front for the speakers. They’ll look something like this: http://www.krksys.com/images/products/accessories/vxt-4-grill.png
    5) Speakers is (apart from getting brand stuff) mostly a matter of taste. I have heard the EONs next to my Mackie HD1221s and wouldn’t trade for the world :-). You might want to look into the Curv, it’s a new series that you can upgrade and where you can get the individual unit separately if need be.
    6) There is a sound card built into the mixer, just hook up to your laptop with USB and you can run any sound from your laptop to the mixer direct (and record the master output from the mixer for example). Good example is the Yamaha AG06.
    7) DVS, only advisable if you are really into vinyl. Otherwise loads of hassle, heavy gear, expense (if you practice and play regularly buying DVS vinyls and needles can easily run up to 100 bucks a month.

    +1 on proper bags and flight cases. Looks more professional and keeps your gear in shape.

    Last thing, only buy a PA if you know you are gonna make your investment back in about 15 months. Otherwise just rent for a while.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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