Isaiah Furrow

yeah, there were some mishaps with that course after the new site went up it seems… 🙂 Hope you guys can get it all sorted out. I hope to pick up those materials before summertime. Thanks again for all that you do, that goes out to Phil, Steve, Terry, Chuck, and the rest of the DDJT crew. Also, much love to all the fellow members of the site and forums, your discussions, questions, and input given to others is a great help to many. Keep shining folks, Moonshadow

I am starting up doing mobile entertainment. I live in Benewah County, Idaho… started toying with names for myself and the company and came up with Benewah Beats, it sounded good so I kept it… My full legal name is Isaiah Moonshadow Furrow, I use my first name when I’m talking to people, like meeting clients and talking to people in general. When I sign posts online, or emails, etc., I often use my middle name Moonshadow. When it comes to working the mic at a gig, I will likely use my middle name then as well, but I prefer to keep the prefix DJ out of the equation. Just my thoughts, plese folks let me know if I’m approaching this in a normal and sensible fashion, and also let me know what you think of the names… I have a website and facebook page now for Benewah Beats, and things are looking up lately. Keep shining folks, Moonshadow

Just my $.02, and remember that this is coming from a NOOB. I recently started a mobile entertainment company, and have just had my first 2 gigs with my new PA and Lighting setup. I played out a few times before this, with one dance light, a Chauvet Mini Kinta. Chauvet might be the brand that Chuck was talking about. The Mini Kinta light runs about $90, and is a great first dance light. It is DMX compatible so later as you move on to more complex lighting setups, it will incorporate well with a DMX show if you go that route. Another light that I was considering at one point, which is cheap, is the LX-10, it’s a moonflower that also has a scanning function. It is not DMX and that is one of the main reasons why I don’t have one, yet. My current lighting setup consists of an Odyssey LTP2 12′ lighting tripod with t-bar, a pair of Chauvet Mini Kinta lights, 2 ADJ 1.5″ o-clamps (need more), a Chauvet 4Play CL, and 4x slimpar 56 fixtures, as well as a Chauvet Hurricane 901. This is by no means a super low budget lighting setup, but it gives you ideas. The 4Play CL is nice, and goes well with the Kinta’s derby like effect. Uplighting and wash fixtures are great, and the Slimpar 56 and similar fixtures are great as they can be used for uplighting, as well as from on the light stand as a dancefloor wash. I am hoping to add more uplighting/wash fixtures, a second 4Play CL, a pair of 4Bar Flex lights, strobes, gobozoom 2.0, and some other bits. I plan to operate all of this with either an Obey40 or the wireless version of the Obey40. I would look into getting at least 2 different styles of light, like a kinta (derby style) and a moonflower of some sort. Beyond that I would look into wash/uplighting. Just my thoughts, hope that the rambling was more a help than a hindrance. I have some pics of my first 2 gigs with the new setup, they are posted on my website as well as on my Facebook page. benewahbeats.vpweb.com and facebook.com/BenewahBeats , have a look…. Moonshadow

Terry, love the “golden rules”…. I’ll make mental note … 🙂 Take care folks….

practice lots and prepare as much as possible without totally preplanning the set…
I’m still a NOOB and I’d be stoked to be in your position…. and nervous as hell… 🙂
Keep shining and keep us posted! Moonshadow

Terry, he’s trying, more than a lot of DJs starting out put into it…. I realize this is nowhere near what you’d need to get a bank loan to start up a company, but I didn’t get the feeling that is what he’s trying to do … I might be wrong… and I think he’s posting this more as a draft to get more input… I can totally understand not wanting to coach someone every step of the way though. I am currently working on typing the business plan I wrote up recently…don’t know why I didn’t just type it in the first place…LOL Let me know if you’d be willing to give it a read once it’s all done. I am not doing it to get a loan or anything, just more of a self help tool. The advice given to the OP is great and has me thinking about some things I had overlooked. Feel free to shoot me an email if you’d be into giving me feedback on my business plan… santacreekfurrows at gmail dot com… I will try and remember to come back to this thread and post some info and examples of parts of my business plan, but I don’t think I could really put the whole thing here in a forum post… I will give some links if I can find them again, I found some decent info online that was a real help… Keep shining people… Moonshadow

Chuck, I’m confused, do you have what on your Denon?

to the OP, what software are you using, and do you like it and want to stick with that? What type of events are you looking to be doing? Also, consider whether you want DVS or just other input sources, like actual vinyl or CDs… I am anxiously awaiting a Reloop Terminal Mix 8, I think it’s about the best bet for me, short of the DDJ-SZ… it won’t do DVS from what I’ve gathered, but that’s OK with me at this point, I can still mix in some CDs or vinyl … It ticked all the “must have” boxes, and most of the “wants” boxes, and was a leg up on anything else short of the SX and SZ… even slightly ahead of the SX based on my personal givens and druthers list…. Keep reading up, and watch plenty of videos on youtube, not just reviews, but also just mixes people are posting up, done with whatever controller you’re looking into.
Let us know how you’re doing, and these guys can surely give you some great input. Give them as much info as you can so they can better understand your situation, wants, budget, etc…. personally, I’m looking to pick up a small format CD player, or possibly a used CDJ I have a line on locally, as a backup and alternate device… But after seeing the DDJ-SZ, I no longer want a CDJ/DJM/CDJ setup anymore at all… I’d love a CDJ, but it must have hot cues, that limits things… For me, it’s Serato DJ with a controller, later I plan to add a backup device besides my iPod, and if I do a wedding I have access to the CDJ I may buy, but I plan to eventually have a Z2 with it’s own laptop, and use the Z2 and 2 TTs, possibly with my Maschine Mikro Mk2 as a MIDI controller for more buttons, into this setup I will run my other inputs, like the Terminal Mix 8 and Serato on it’s own lappy, and the CDJ/CDJs… I will have this in my home, and the Reloop and one backup will likely be all I take out to gigs. If I end up getting both CDJs from my friend, I may set them up with a case and my Stanton mixer, as a total backup system, but I’m only looking at the Pioneers as I have a line on them locally for basically free…. If I were considering NEW CD players, I’d look into small format ones like the CMP.800, or the Denon 2900(not small format), but I think the price on Pioneer CDJs is just ridiculous, and the fact that they still don’t get that hot cues should be there on every cd player… sorry to ramble on…. keep shining and keep us posted…. Moonshadow