Newbie!

[daniel3679]

- A wealth of information here, I'm not a huge poster but have learnt loads by 'lurking' in the background.

[Tone]

- A wealth of information here, I'm not a huge poster but have learnt loads by 'lurking' in the background.

Yeah its great I've found this place as I have my first booking in July and I feel like the time is closing in fast. I still have to buy my music, PA, lighting and Booth/Stand. I have so many questions and are wondering where to ask them, can I ask in this thread or do I need to go in to the respective sub forums?

[Excalibur]

. I have so many questions and are wondering where to ask them, can I ask in this thread or do I need to go in to the respective sub forums?

Posting them in the sub forums will usually get the best response, and also helps other people who may be looking for help there.

[Benny Smyth]

Thanks for that mate! I'm intrigued when comparing the 712's with the 715's as the only difference I can see apart from the dimensions and weight is 1dB SPL. They both have the same frequency response therefore I need to see if I can demo these against each other in a store somewhere.

Best place I've ever been to for side-by-side comparisons is RSD music. Bit of a drive, but worth the journey.

[Tone]

Ok so I'm back after days of research over the last few weeks and have 3 weeks to get everything sorted!

I thought I would carry on posting and asking questions in this thread to hopefully get some answers quicker and also help any other newbies when they first starting out, I hope this is ok.

I thought maybe to try and buy the whole lot from one place to try an achieve some kind of discount (the sales guy said its best to do it this way) however I'm still shopping and need some help, mainly with the lighting I think.

Music wise I have decided to purchase plenty of second hand Now this is music compilation albums as I feel there are plenty of great tunes for an 18th Birthday party and the Now this is Disco for some old classics and party tunes. I will also purchase some digital downloads for some new tunes for the kids, things that are currently being played on the radio, some Disney Frozen for the very young, any other tracks I think were quite big over the last few years and some classics for the older people/parents etc. I may also try downloading any requests on the night if I haven't got them, however I think this is risky if I haven't checked/heard them first incase the music becomes corrupted whilst downloading. I know this is probably unlikely but there is a slight chance.

I will be using my Macbook with the Native Instruments S4 for digital downloads to an external hard drive and my Pioneer CDJ's routed through the S4 for the CD's therefore this way I will not need to purchase the weird Pro Dub License. I will also take my other Sony VAIO laptop as a backup and also a back up on my Samsung galaxy tablet should both of my computers fail. All of these will be routed through a Soundcraft Compact 4 mixer which will be outputted to a pair of Yamaha DXR15 active PA speakers. These speakers will be placed on some Gorilla PA Speaker stands although I'm also looking at some Hydraulic speaker stands.

I have decided to go with a Gorilla GDS-5 Twin Bar 4ft Disco Booth that comes with a carpeted shelf and an Equinox Foldable DJ Screen White (Bag Included). Im thinking all of my lighting can go above me on the T-Bar across the top however I'm getting kind of stuck and are wondering whether I should buy everything DMX and go down that route? I am thinking of buying lights in pairs (I'm a complete novice) and I will list what I have been looking at so far considering around my £300-400 Budget....


American DJ Micro Burst
American DJ Vertigo HEX LED
Equinox Interceptor
American DJ Tri Gem LED
Cameo STORM - 3 in 1 lighting effect
Equinox Triclops LED
Atmotech VS400 Smoke Machine
QTX QTFX-B3 Mega Bubble Machine

Will I need any of my stuff PAT tested as its all brand new except my Soundcraft Mixer and Pair of Pioneer CDJ's?

Public Liability Insurance I have found through here and thinking of the UK's Cheapest DJ PLI at just £29.99 from MOBILE DJ NETWORK.

My first gig isn't going to be massive and I'll try and find a way of posting a picture of the venue however I would really appreciate some help with this as I don't want to disappoint my client. If I have missed anything please don't hesitate and tell me off!

Cheers!

[Nakatomi]

Yes you should really get even new stuff tested. One or 2 members here have had brand new gear put through its PAT paces & found it to fail on things like earthing - if I remember right one fix was to de-lid the unit, undo a bolt & scrape some paint off the inside of the case to make better contact.

I didn't buy all my gear in pairs & I ended up regretting it later. Nearly everybody here favours symmetry - and I suspect your public will too. It's fine only having one of something if it's in the middle. There are probably some exceptions to this but that's a rule of thumb

As for whether to bother with DMX or not - pretty much every fixture these days has it, even the mega dirt cheap & nasty Chinese effects on Ebay. Buy DMX capable lights where you can, then you'll have the luxury of commanding them with it further down the line.

Far & away my wisest lighting purchase to date has been my Equinox Gigabar - I can't go anywhere without it. I wouldn't advise anybody tries to rely on dotty LED lights for illuminating a venue. Some places get really very dark when the lights are off & dots just aren't enough IMHO. you could do much worse than take a peek at the Chauvet WashFX. It's got a face even its mother doesn't love, but boy is it ever a bright little thing.

[Tone]

Thanks Juski, I'll look in to getting some PAT testing done, hopefully it wont be too expensive!

[Nakatomi]

Thanks Juski, I'll look in to getting some PAT testing done, hopefully it wont be too expensive!

Testing all my gear, which amounts to quite a lot for somebody not long in the game.. came to about £40 all told.

[rth_discos]

It's got a face even its mother doesn't love, but boy is it ever a bright little thing.

I think that was my main reason for getting rid of mine - it just didn't look pretty!

But wow, does it kick out some light!!

[rth_discos]

I will list what I have been looking at so far considering around my £300-400 Budget....

American DJ Micro Burst
American DJ Vertigo HEX LED
Equinox Interceptor
American DJ Tri Gem LED
Cameo STORM - 3 in 1 lighting effect
Equinox Triclops LED
Atmotech VS400 Smoke Machine
QTX QTFX-B3 Mega Bubble Machine

Too many cheap lights there doing the same thing.

Get a couple of really good lights.

Just having 1 x Chauvet Wash FX and 1 x ADJ Quad Phase HP will outperform all of that.

Don't get a bubble machine unless you're doing kids parties, and the smoke machine - I've used mine twice in twelve months. Very few venues allow it. So if money is tight, drop it.

Here's my big tip: you can easily add further lights down the road. But sound system is much harder - you end up just replacing it. So spend as much as possible on sound, with the aim to not need to replace it for 3 years, knowing that you can easily grow the light show later on. That will save you so much money.