Vale Hotel, Hensol, Vale of Glamorgan (4 star hotel)

[Pazz]

Hi all, I have just visited this venue in readiness for a wedding that I have been booked for this year. I was very impressed with the place. I had surprisingly never visited the venue before, having been to a lot of the other hotels in the surrounding area, but never been booked for this one. I wanted to have a look at the room I would be in, the access and to see if there was any sound limiter. The manager that was on duty was excellent. He was very happy to show me round not only the room but to give me a pretty thorough tour of the hotel too including the other function rooms, the spa and swimming pool, restaurant, bars and even showed me a model of how the owner is turning Hensol Castle nearby into a 5 star hotel.

The manager told me a bit of history about the place (having been working there 15 years) and the room I will be in is only 3 years old having been added on to the main building. This has to be the best pre visit I have done to a venue.

Having seen the room I will be setting up and dj'ing in it has to be the biggest sized room I will have been in. They had the dancefloor down and I could see exactly where I would be. I am confident that I can cover the dancing area with the lighting I have but I'm a bit concerned about my sound coverage having only got the following speakers

PAIR OF THESE (on tripods which I use in most venues and would like to add a pair of bass bins/subwoofers to in the near future):
http://www.premier-solutions.biz/Omn...nicDX-1522.htm

PAIR OF THESE (which I use for bigger venues but are pretty heavy to carry round):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OMNITRONIC-DX2...item335d1494d6

THIS AMP (which I use with either of the pairs of speakers above):
http://www.premier-solutions.biz/Omnitronic.../OmnitronicP-1000

I have 2 questions has anyone had any experience dj'ing in this venue (I have already checked the venue databse but nothing is showing) and can anyone suggest a way of improving my sound capabilities with what I have or by upgrading and not spending much money at the same time? The room has to be the size of a full size olympic swimming pool (maybe a bit wider on the sides!) I hold my hands up that my knowledge of ohm's law and the technical side of sound setups is scratchy but I'm trying my best to get a better understanding. Any information would be greatly appreciated

Cheers

[Jonny Boy]

PM Sent - re venue.

[surround sounds]

hi mate
think you need better speakers, you pay little money and to get rubbish speakers.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

hi mate
think you need better speakers, you pay little money and to get rubbish speakers.

Very useful post...

[Excalibur]

Very useful post...

But probably, in all fairness, broadly accurate. ( Unless you can find a certain Midlands town. ) ( And even they're getting to be reassuringly expensive. )

[Excalibur]

Right mate, you're not gonna like this, but by and large it's right.
1)Most noise for least outlay: Peavey Pro system
2)Best sound for least outlay: Class D
3)Best sound and most noise (if your pocket will stand it): RCF.
4) Making best use of what you've got: Subs, crossover and second amp with existing amp and tops.

1) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Dunno what the reserve is, but there's an awful lot of Db for your buck there.
2) Something like
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Class-D-Speake...item439f445484
3) It's all good.
4) http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Pair-Class-D-C...item3a5acbb787
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Behringer-CX34...item1e5b9824b0
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BEHRINGER-EP25...item35a95f904d

Sorry all options cost money, but your present gear isn't up to the job. The figures from that amp indicate that it's not big enough. At a pinch it would run tops, but that's all. If you try to get more out of that kit than it's capable of, there'll be tears before bedtime. Like I say, sorry and all that, but trying to offer constructive criticism.

[surround sounds]

Please Read Rules Re Text Speak

[Steve the DJ]

Right mate, you're not gonna like this, but by and large it's right.

No it isn't...

You should know by now that sound is personal and no one will ever agree on what sounds "best".

4) Making best use of what you've got: Subs, crossover and second amp with existing amp and tops.

However this we can sort of agree on, although he doesn't have the subs yet.

...can anyone suggest a way of improving my sound capabilities with what I have or by upgrading and not spending much money at the same time?

No.

If you want something decent you have to pay for it, sorry to be blunt but that's a fact.

Personally I would suggest hiring a suitable system for the event would be the best solution with a view to upgrading your current set up at a later date.

It's not going to cost you much more than you will have to spend on a cheap additional amp anyway, possibly less if you get the right deal or can speak to another local DJ and hire in.

[Excalibur]

No it isn't...

You should know by now that sound is personal and no one will ever agree on what sounds "best".



However this we can sort of agree on, although he doesn't have the subs yet.



No.

If you want something decent you have to pay for it, sorry to be blunt but that's a fact.

Personally I would suggest hiring a suitable system for the event would be the best solution with a view to upgrading your current set up at a later date.

It's not going to cost you much more than you will have to spend on a cheap additional amp anyway, possibly less if you get the right deal or can speak to another local DJ and hire in.

Watch it mate, you're on a final warning after that other post.

Technically, you are right that my use of the word "best" was debatable. I cannot deny that.

I must agree with the hiring option totally, and also that hearing any system before purchase is also vital. As you say, sound is a very personal thing, so no one size fits all, as I may have appeared to imply.

The one thing we can agree on is cost. Even option 4) would cost £500 to get a noticeable improvement with new kit. (S/H could ;ower this, if you get stuff that's not been abused. )
Option1) well, £750 ish new, option 2) not a lot different, 3) sky's the limit, so no, there's no cheap option.

[Steve the DJ]

Watch it mate, you're on a final warning after that other post.

...so no, there's no cheap option.

Nope.

Minimum he has to buy another amp and run his cabs full range, or he has to buy an amp, crossover and some subs, which means he could sell the large speakers he has but that would only get him about £4.20 back...



Plus if he only rarely works at a venue of this size and his current system is adequate for the majority of work he does investing in new kit could be a false economy.

I think hire is the best option in this case and if he wants to improve his system over the longer term he can do, but he will have to spend decent money.

Even good quality second hand PA is very hard to get hold of for a bargain price and the downside is you never know how it has been run.