Plugging phones into your PA

[Spirits High]

Now I know alot of Djs are very precious about not plugging in phones to their PA but would you really let it put a downer on the night by not allowing it?

As a general rule I won't let a queue of guests come up and plug in however I think sometimes you have to weigh up the situation on the night and make the decision based on the circumstances at that time. For example lastnight's Wedding was an English Groom and American Bride. The couple live in Washington DC and had a large proportion of guests from across the Pond. I had been pre warned about some of the more Stateside based songs via the online request area and had already got these for them but it was inevitable that some guests wouldn't make their request online before the Wedding for whatever reason.

The Bride had forgot to add the "Electric slide" to the playlist and asked if I had it, unfortunately it wasn't a track I had so she asked if I'd play it off one of the Bridesmaid's "Cell" phones. I didn't have an issue with this and when I did play it it went down a treat. I also ended up playing another track from Deana Carter called Strawberry wine in a similar way.

It was a great night and they were up dancing to everything. So, would you have stuck to your guns by not allowing a plug in and potentially disappointing the Bride or as I did assess it on the night and go with it?

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Your example is one of the few times I'd do it - I had a South African / Scots wedding in January and one of the guest came up and asked for some song I'd never heard of by an African DJ. Not a problem, the venues wi-fi is pretty good. I checked Apple, Amazon, google and a bunch of other music services and not one of them had it.

Not even youtube.

I explained to the guy I couldn't find it but if he had it, I'd plug in as long as he didn't tell anyone. It went down a storm and he was very appreciative but these 2 examples are a far cry from the 99.9% of the time it's some banger asking if they can play some gabba at their aunties wedding

[musicology]

Yep, I don't have a problem with doing that occasionally either. It' all about keeping the punters happy at the end of the day. I keep a channel on my mixer wired up with a mini jack ready just in case. And to stream off my own phone if I need to.

[ppentertainments]

Yep, I don't have a problem with doing that occasionally either. It' all about keeping the punters happy at the end of the day. I keep a channel on my mixer wired up with a mini jack ready just in case. And to stream off my own phone if I need to.

I don't stream off youtube etc, but yeah, if someone comes up and has a song on their phone I don't have I just unplug my iPad (on backup duty) and plug the phone in.

Little things make a big difference and to be honest can't realistically see it harming your equipment as we have this thing called a mixer which can easily put a stop to things if needed. A lot say the quality is poor etc etc, but in the real world nobody will notice.

[Excalibur]

Yep, I don't have a problem with doing that occasionally either. It' all about keeping the punters happy at the end of the day. I keep a channel on my mixer wired up with a mini jack ready just in case.

Snap.

I don't stream off youtube etc, but yeah, if someone comes up and has a song on their phone I don't have I just unplug my iPad (on backup duty) and plug the phone in.

Little things make a big difference and to be honest can't realistically see it harming your equipment as we have this thing called a mixer which can easily put a stop to things if needed. A lot say the quality is poor etc etc, but in the real world nobody will notice.

Correct in every respect. There's a lot of music on people's phones that isn't widely available, and often playing it can prove beneficial.

[Daryll]

I would do it , but..................what sort of lead would I need , lets say an iphone , my "in`s" are all phono.
the only time I did this I used the mic and held it by the phone , you can guess the sound quality....

Cheers

daryll

[Imagine]

I would do it , but..................what sort of lead would I need , lets say an iphone , my "in`s" are all phono.
the only time I did this I used the mic and held it by the phone , you can guess the sound quality....

Cheers

daryll

Mini-jack to phono/XLR/Jack depending on what the mixer end of things requires. Most phones (with the exception of the new iPhone) have a mini-jack for headphones. Just make sure the volume's not through the roof on the phone and everything's fine and dandy

[Excalibur]

Mini-jack to phono/XLR/Jack depending on what the mixer end of things requires. Most phones (with the exception of the new iPhone) have a mini-jack for headphones.

Well that's them stuffed then at my gigs, isn't it?

Just make sure the volume's not through the roof on the phone and everything's fine and dandy

I've normally found that unless it's quite high, it's too quiet. Best to check it on PFL first.

Just as an aside, I've always found you get the best audio results with the physical gains high ( ie mixer ), and the electronic ones ( PC/Tablet/Phone) as low as possible to get the required loudness.

[Daryll]

Cheers gentelmen , I presume like THIS

[musicology]

Precisely