Bye bye DJ booth?

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I used to have a similar problem Wayne, but this solved my problems at a stroke.

Automix

[Excalibur]

Automix

Nice one Neil, but I'm not sure if Wayne's machine has Automix.

[Nakatomi]

Not usually one to dig up long dead threads I thought I'd jump back on this one to say how things have been in the last 18 months since I stopped using a DJ booth. There was one gig I where I cheated & went back to my old truss booth - an 18th in a marquee with a very wobbly floor.

"your gear will get ruined by spilled drinks" they said. The truth is, a gentle hand is sometimes needed to guide a hovering glass away but so far (TOUCH WOOD) not a drop has been spilled on my precious controller or laptop. It's also true that even with a traditional booth you sometimes need to steer drinks away from your valuable playout etc.

"it'll get knocked over!" they said. I'll be honest there've been a handful of near misses when a crowd got over excited, but the music kept going, the laptop stayed firmly on its shelf & after a brief heart attack the DJ recovered too. Infact the last time I had a near miss it was a blimmin tog not looking where he was walking when he was side stalking a couple's first dance - now THAT would've been a fun one to explain! By 'near' miss I mean somebody knocked the console, not that it was in much danger of toppling over.

"it won't look as good in a few gig's time" they said. Well, thanks to me taking care of the console in its own padded bag (made for a Behringer X32 mixing console) and a foamboard slip cover for the podium it still looks almost as good as the day I finished it.

A lot of people have commented how good it looks & a few even remarked they were glad that it's not "one of those awful steel things with those horrible twinkling lights on it". Yep apparently some people absolutely hate starcloths. Who knew? Well - I know I do

I've also noticed people taking time out & watching me actually DJing. I'm not one of those dramatic 'performing' DJs who flick the mixer & their hand retreats like they'd been scalded but it's nice people acknowledge that I'm actually doing stuff over here.

Things about it I'm not a huge fan of: The sheer weight of the console in its bag. It's still a bit lighter than my old truss booth with embedded opal perspex though! Then there's the laptop shelf - I won't say it was £50 and 2 cans of white paint down the drain but I'm looking for a better way to mount my laptop that doesn't involve handwheel bolts or screws.

It's probably saved me loads of time & effort setting up my playout - now I just have to plug a powercon into the console, run XLRs to my speakers & give my laptop power & plug in one USB cable. If my latest laptop had USB-C charging that'd be one cable less but I didn't have the budget for one that new.

Another thing I got to thinking about a few gigs ago. I literally can't remember the last time I had to contend with an idiot with a cob on at a gig. Coincidence? Did removing the barricade defuse angry punters that much??

In all - it's probably the most satisfying change I made to my setup in 8 years. Next up - getting rid of my awful mover flightcases (or just get rid of the movers altogether!)...

[Excalibur]

Glad to hear you're happy with it Justin.
Re laptop fixing, have you considered velcro? There's some fairly industrial stuff on the market which holds some of my kit in place.

[Nakatomi]

Glad to hear you're happy with it Justin.
Re laptop fixing, have you considered velcro? There's some fairly industrial stuff on the market which holds some of my kit in place.

Oh I've got loads of that industrial velcro. The dmx adapter, radio mic receiver & laptop psu are held inside the console with it.

The laptop doesn't slide on the shelf - I've strategically placed 'funky foam' on it. My beef with the shelf is its sheer weight & it can be a bit of a pig to slide onto its mount pole.