Chuck Van Eekelen
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April 25, 2017 at 12:32 pm in reply to: 4 channel mixer for vinyl & Serato – returning old school DJ #2551401
Chuck Van Eekelen
ModeratorI’d have a look at the Denon MC6000 mk2. Serato and DVS support and full 4-channel standalone support. So use it as a regular mixer if you want to have a go at just the TTs, or use regular vinyl, DVS and digital in the mix.
It’s nice and compact (19″) and built like the proverbial tank.
ModeratorHi Spencer,
Welcome to the forums. Thanks for the introduction.
Enjoy your time here!
ModeratorFirst of all, PA is expensive, you get what you pay for. No shortcuts.
Second of all, unless you play only for groups of 250-300 people and often (25 times a year or more), it does not make much business sense to buy. Renting and getting a kickback or discount from the rental company is a better bet. If you play 250-300 people max, but your real gigs vary between 100 and 300, you will end up paying for, storing and transporting a PA that is too big for most smaller gigs (and too expensive, can’t charge a 100 people party for a 300 people PA) and will only be truly useful for the big parties.
So, I would usually advise buying a good portable setup for 100-150 or 200 people, depending on what you play most and moving to a rented PA when you reach 150 or more. This gives you the flexibility you need combined with a small footprint portable solution for the majority of your gigs (if they are below 150-200).
Bose L1’s. While Bose claims up to 500 pax with one of these, at 500W RMS and the regular ratio of 5W RMS per person, I think 500/5 = 100 is much more realistic. And that is without wanting to play VERY loud. In that case you are looking at about 10W RMS a person (same as for outdoor functions), making it a max of 50 people. Assuming you buy 2 (which you should) you are looking at 100-200 people. Add to that the fact that the subs are double-10’s and I don’t think you’ll get the mobile oomph you might need, certainly not for up to 300 people.
F1 series. If you were to get the subs as well, the total RMS level would be sufficient. Again, I am not that big a fan of double smaller speaker subs. At the end of the day it’s about the amount of air you can displace. I might be old school, but bigger is better. I use a single 18 sub with my two 12 tops (total 2000W rms) and it’s nice and balanced with plenty of low end. If I need to do a bigger area, I will add two 12″ tops and set them up on the corners of the “dancefloor” facing inward.
L’Acoustics. Moving into a totally different realm of high-end, venue/festival level gear. Very nice, but I would never consider buying such a setup, unless I was in the rental business for real.
Now, on a personal level, I have never been a Bose fan. While great for speech, I never liked them for DJ work. Have worked with several setups but was ultimately always disappointed by the end-results.
If budget isn’t (too much) of an issue. For an array-based (that is something I DO like) system, the relatively new RCF Evox are a good choice. The Evox 12 offering a 15″ sub that is still pretty compact and an 8x 4″ top array. 750W RMS puts them at 50% over the L1s. This should carry you to 250-300 people if need be (while renting a more appropriate setup would still be my choice) and would comfortably run anything up to 150 people (loud) with enough sub low.
Hope that helps some. Just my three cents as usual.
ModeratorI’d take a look at this:
http://cdns3.gear4music.com/media/20/208492/1200/preview.jpg
It tackles all your DJ needs at once:
1) Awesome looking DJ Booth that sets up in less than 5 minutes
2) Super sturdy and no space to put drinks (for the guests)
3) Extra (back)lighting makes it look even “hotter”
4) Two boards, one of which inclined offer room for mixer, decks, laptop, more decks, FX unit.
5) Lots of storage space underneathThen again, for at home, the price could be a bit of a turn-off 😀
In which case you could look at a used studio table (they often have the same layout) or just make something yourself (it would only be 3 or 4 boards and some glue and screws) that you could stick on top of your normal desk.
ModeratorStart by reading the following topic, posted recently:
http://www.digitaldjtips.com/topic/choosing-a-mobile-pa-system/
ModeratorPersonal opinion: Beatpad 2. Why? I just can’t get around the unconventional button lay-out on the Wego.
Also I think the BP2 has the more mature set of features. Not in the least the more or less standard for controllers these days of 8 performance pads per deck, but also the jogs.
Finally I am not to crazy about the Pioneer sound on the high end models and I don’t think it gets any better down the model range.
As is always the case, it’s a matter of budget, desired features and personal preference.
So, just my three cents worth.
ModeratorProbably costs less than my shipping it too!
Moderator<Bunch of dumb stuff deleted LOL>
Yes, indeed! I stand corrected. It’s the AG you want for webcast purposes. The AG is the regular Analogue one.
What WAS I thinking (hard day at the office I guess). Thanks for the correction!
ModeratorNot specifically, but I like Yamaha as a brand. Have had several of their mixers too.
If I understand the pictures correctly it even has tilted pole mount built-in, which I’d say is a bonus. The mixer, while not necessary is simple enough to have with you. For a quick speech job you can just take on, plug in your phone and a mic and be ready.
Good luck with your decision.
ModeratorGlad to hear it! Enough crash in your DJ name after all LOL
ModeratorTake a closer look at Yamaha MG03 or MG06, they are marketed as webcasting mixers and might be just what the doctor ordered. Giving you high-quality sound for your streaming software at a very decent price.
ModeratorI’d say a pair of monitor speakers and a good set of cans are definitely good to have. Having good monitors and headphones don’t make much sense without having a high quality sound output, so a good audio interface definitely makes sense too. Unfortunately, none of those are really budget.
The keyboard on the other hand, you don’t need a full one, 49-keys is enough for producing I think and those can be had for 30-40 euro’s.
Clearly there are a few websites for music/dj gear based in the northern part of Europe (Bax-Shop in The Netherlands and Thomann in Germany) that might ship to you. How it works to Sweden with import and such I don’t know. You are EU and as such free transfer of goods should apply. That leaves only currency exchange but international BIC payments take care of that. I would look at those two shops and see if they will deliver to Sweden.
ModeratorHaven’t heard the Behringer myself. So can’t really comment. The KA6 I do know, but have never used on in conjunction with Ableton Live.
Depending on what you want (number of inputs/outputs, etx.) there are plenty of audio interfaces out there.
ModeratorUnless you are a full-fledged mobile DJ with a full calendar and generally a narrow bandwidth of audience size, I’d hold off on buying PA speakers for now. If they expect you to bring the speakers, judge what you need, get it from a rental company, have the venue pay the rental fee and negotiate a kick-back with the rental company (10-25% depending on how often and how much you work with them). That way you get pro grade gear, no worries about paying a substantial amount of cash up front without the knowledge that you will actually rent them out enough to make it a good business decision. Finally you can always get the right gear to match the event, venue, expected crowd size.
Frankly, especially with your background/interests, PA’s are so simple. Everything is active speakers today (nicer from a redundancy point of view too). So the only two questions are speaker placement at a gig and routing of cabling. Master out from controller/mixer to either subs then top (if you have subs) or straight to tops (no subs) or tops then subs (depending on where the filter is – usually subs).
I don’t subscribe to the notion of “huge advantage” of owning. See previous remarks on that. Since a few years I have my own 1x 18″ sub, 2x 12″ set with an additional 2×12″ set of tops (same brand – different model), which let’s me play most venues as a mobile DJ. But sometimes I would like to bring something smaller and I still end up renting gear for bigger events. At the end of the day it was good business sense, but still a close call. And I was established when I got the gear.
What I would recommend if you do have some money, is get a pair of smaller (say 10″) used active PA speakers with stands. No big cost up front and not too much room needed for storage. You could even use them in your practice room. This will allow you to go for “next-to-no-money” house parties and such (be sure to get something paid though! if only gas money), which are a great way to get your feet wet and your first in front of a live crowd experiences.
ModeratorSee my earlier reply.
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