Worst Gig of my life

[Charlie Brown]

Started off, set up goalpst with lights etc, then the sound,

Music was playing fine, quite loud for the size of the venue, and then the guests started to arrrive, (It was a school disco 12-14years) and then my amp turns off,

I have no idea what has just happend and quitly start to panic, then I try to turn my amp on, pursmuing the obvious it has overheated.

The amp dosnt turn on so I press the reset button.

Still no luck, I then desperate try to connect my laptop the school's hall sound system, but because it was such a high input the system couldnt handle it!!!!!

By this point we the amp has packed in for 25 min,

I then have teachers etc children booing etc and sitting on the floor,

I the phone my mum and her boyfreind, so he brings his amp, 15 min later and it plays

THANK GOD

but only in one speaker, AHHHHHH so then before we know it that amp has blown Jeees by this point I nearly fainted!!

Last option was my old keyboard amp, IT WORKED sounded teribble but it was music, very tiny etc,

I had one hour left as an hour had been wasted trying to sort thing out

I then play for an hour, people are going mad, then on the last song my keybord amp blows and finishes with a big bang!!!!

So three amps down, but very pleased children and teachers

and a 100 quid in my pocket,

what a horrible night, but worked out in the end,

Does anyone know what could have happend to the amps???

Many thanks Charlie xx

[Harrison's Discos]

Well my friend that sounds completely awful and if most people had a worse night as that they would of called it a night i reckon. You certainly kept up the fight and kept going so good on you! :)



Still no luck, I then desperate try to connect my laptop the school's hall sound system, but because it was such a high input the system couldnt handle it!!!!!
I dont understand that bit. What was a high input?
If it was the laptop you can turn the volume down on that :S


I then have teachers etc children booing etc and sitting on the floor,
How embarrasing and frustrating for you... and rudeness from them obviously didn't help:mad:

Last option was my old keyboard amp, IT WORKED sounded teribble but it was music, very tiny etc,
Well i never! I didn't know keyboards have amps lol. Unless your talking about a small fender such like unit that can also be used with electric guitars.

Does anyone know what could have happend to the amps???
Well either you were just extremley unlucky, OR the power supply in the hall was dodgy! You ought to have someone check the wiring at the fuse box to make sure something wasn't wrong. That is outragous if you have blown 3 amps due to crap wiring, but hopefully (well not really of course) you were just on the unlucky side.

[Excalibur]

Sorry to hear that, it sounds like very bad luck. My guess is that if one speaker was off on the second amp, then a speaker has died, and taken the amp with it! It sounds like a dead short in one speaker. Don't connect these speakers up to any more amps, till you've had them checked thoroughly. Possibly, your amps may have gone into protect mode, if they have it, as a result of the short ( if that is the fault) . Look at the speakers as well as your amps, and good luck. :)

[Vectis]

Gotta be a cabling or speaker issue...

Sorry to hear of your troubles... :o

[Mayhem 1]

Good on you Charlie for sticking at it mate,

A lot of discos would have ended the evening when the first amp went down.

I will say one thing to you mate, you can be sure that it was noted by the teachers and PTA how hard you worked to get things up and running again.

You will be asked back mate thats for sure,

Well done again

[Jiggles]

Woah 3 amps down! As said before sounds llike a short somewhere.

[Kernow]

HI Charlie

Sorry to hear about your troubles but well done on being a real trooper and keeping the show alive :)

Just a thought, when you talk about 'quite loud for the venue' and 'high input' is it just possible that the system was being overdriven ?
Is any or all of it working again now ?

Best thing is to take a socket tester back to the school and check their wiring, if it's at fault you might just have a claim for help with replacing the damaged bits.

[Corabar Steve]

I'm thinking the laptop output was set too high if 3 amps blew & the hall's own system couldn't handle it. I don't think it would've been dodgy power unless the amps were plugged into a different socket to the others.

The other option is as Vectis said maybe a dodgy speaker, but I think less likely.

If ever there was a clear cut example of reasons to carry spares this is it. Did you not have a second amp with you as backup?

[Excalibur]

I'm thinking the laptop output was set too high if 3 amps blew & the hall's own system couldn't handle it. ?

Not sure I understand that one Steve, wouldn't you just have had red lights/distortion/clipping showing? :confused: :confused:
As for the Hall system, he may have been plugging a headphone output from the PC into a Mic socket on the hall system, a non starter if ever I heard one!



I don't think it would've been dodgy power unless the amps were plugged into a different socket to the others.

Agreed . Red Herring.


The other option is as Vectis said maybe a dodgy speaker, but I think less likely.
I think is more likely, or equally as Vectis said a speaker cable.



If ever there was a clear cut example of reasons to carry spares this is it. Did you not have a second amp with you as backup?

Surely the original post makes that clear? And doesn't it mean that we are all going to make sure we have our spare amps at the ready. ;)

[spin mobile disco]

Sounds like the amp was being over run to me. Blew the output stage on all 3 amps. Could also have been caused by misswirring and providing the wrong resistance to the amp. Either a 2ohm load to a 4 ohm amp or even a 2 ohm used in bridge mode if the speakers were in parellel this would provide 1 ohm to the amp it would sound very loud and then blow.
Its a pretty common problem especially with the newer amps that claim huge output but only at low 2 ohm levels.

[Excalibur]

Sounds like the amp was being over run to me. Blew the output stage on all 3 amps. Could also have been caused by misswirring and providing the wrong resistance to the amp. Either a 2ohm load to a 4 ohm amp or even a 2 ohm used in bridge mode if the speakers were in parellel this would provide 1 ohm to the amp it would sound very loud and then blow.
Its a pretty common problem especially with the newer amps that claim huge output but only at low 2 ohm levels.

I'm only guessing here, but I suspect it's a setup which has run fine previously, it doesn't sound like a multi cab arrangement to me. While your theory is totally valid, I reckon it's not the case here. ( Of course I could be wrong. ;) :D )

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Sounds like a horrible night and just goes to show the importance of having some kind of back up in place.

[axeman]

sorry to hear about your terrible time,

I cant believe no one has asked this question yet!!

what amp and speakers were you using?

[Excalibur]

sorry to hear about your terrible time,

I cant believe no one has asked this question yet!!

what amp and speakers were you using?

We daren't! :D By the sounds of things, quite a few types. :( ;)

[ppentertainments]

Have been reading the thread 'what to do when there is no sound' or something like that. I think what you done was the perfect answer to this question. A lot of people would have given up but by keeping calm and doing whatever you could you seemed to turn a disaster into a success.

Agree with threads about improtance of a backup. Even if your backup is not as good as your main set at least you have something !

[colint]

Hi Charlie, could I ask what sort of amp, speaker mixer your using?

[Charlie Brown]

Sorry to hear that, it sounds like very bad luck. My guess is that if one speaker was off on the second amp, then a speaker has died, and taken the amp with it! It sounds like a dead short in one speaker. Don't connect these speakers up to any more amps, till you've had them checked thoroughly. Possibly, your amps may have gone into protect mode, if they have it, as a result of the short ( if that is the fault) . Look at the speakers as well as your amps, and good luck. :)

Wow hour did you work that out, and your right, so thanks to you I have it fixed, and just swaped the dodgy speaker, it all works fine now, so thank you very much!!!

And when i say keyboard amp i meen a combi amp, where the speaker is with the amp!

Thanks again


I'm thinking the laptop output was set too high if 3 amps blew & the hall's own system couldn't handle it. I don't think it would've been dodgy power unless the amps were plugged into a different socket to the others.

The other option is as Vectis said maybe a dodgy speaker, but I think less likely.

If ever there was a clear cut example of reasons to carry spares this is it. Did you not have a second amp with you as backup?

No spare amp, I had to wait for backup, which is not good, its just hard to transport it all around. One of the amps wasnt mine!! I only have the one that broke and the multi combi one, so yeh I need to look at backup equipment!

Thanks


sorry to hear about your terrible time,

I cant believe no one has asked this question yet!!

what amp and speakers were you using?


Hi Charlie, could I ask what sort of amp, speaker mixer your using?

Well there ok for the job I need and as I'm only 14 I cant afford amazing gear, I just did the bundle pacakage at Maplins and it came to 500 quid, with x2 500wat speakers what is surposed to be a 1400wat max!! running at 4Ω stereo and then a pro sound mixer, that does the job for me! But not last night, I killed of died or kicked the bleady thing to pieces!

www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ITAG=SPEC&ModuleNo=220537&doy=15m3#spec


Thanks

[BeerFunk]

I'd be quite angry if the amp blew in the case of a dodgy speaker or cable, rather than just cutting out.

[PropellerHeadCase]

I killed of died or kicked the bleady thing to pieces!

Huh? :confused:

[Sapphire Disco]

Huh? :confused:

Translation

I could have died or kicked the bloody thing to pieces

I think

You know what it's like when you are very angry the words just come out rwong :D

[DJ James Lake]

Well there ok for the job I need and as I'm only 14 I cant afford amazing gear, I just did the bundle pacakage at Maplins and it came to 500 quid, with x2 500wat speakers what is surposed to be a 1400wat max!! running at 4Ω stereo and then a pro sound mixer, that does the job for me! But not last night, I killed of died or kicked the bleady thing to pieces!

www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ITAG=SPEC&ModuleNo=220537&doy=15m3#spec


Thanks

I would say thats what happens with gear thats not really up to the job, Maplins stuff is mainly only any use for at home and not much more. Your 500watt speakers will be peak 500w not RMS which is what counts.

If you budget is tight ring round some other local DJs they may have some unused kit you could buy, or try local dj shops for second hand, or even ebay, but by pro kit, doesn't matter how old it will do the job much better than Maplins toys.

[djsteve10]

I agree with james on that one,

Class D do some good speakers check them out they are very cheap and they sound very nice too.
A few of the guys on here use them... search for Class-D They have very good reviews.

[One Vision]

Hya Charlie sorry to hear of your potential disaster but well done for not giving up.

If possible ask your parents to get you this package for Christmas.
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=636

http://www.class-d.com/ThumbnailGenerator/Default.aspx?Big=True&File=/admin/products/images/e2710f87-8712-452a-95dc-4ace2b760632.jpg&width=360&height=500

[Excalibur]

Wow hour did you work that out, and your right, so thanks to you I have it fixed, and just swaped the dodgy speaker, it all works fine now, so thank you very much!!!

And when i say keyboard amp i meen a combi amp, where the speaker is with the amp!

Thanks again



No spare amp, I had to wait for backup, which is not good, its just hard to transport it all around. One of the amps wasnt mine!! I only have the one that broke and the multi combi one, so yeh I need to look at backup equipment!

Thanks





Well there ok for the job I need and as I'm only 14 I cant afford amazing gear, I just did the bundle pacakage at Maplins and it came to 500 quid, with x2 500wat speakers what is surposed to be a 1400wat max!! running at 4Ω stereo and then a pro sound mixer, that does the job for me! But not last night, I killed of died or kicked the bleady thing to pieces!

www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ITAG=SPEC&ModuleNo=220537&doy=15m3#spec


Thanks

Elementary, my dear Watson! ;) One of the benefits of age is that many baffling things have actually been seen before. Don't knock the Maplins gear too much, I actually have some of it, and it's good value for money. The only problem is the description, as it's hopeful; to say the least,;) :eek: If you get to wanting to upgrade anything, feel free to ask and we'll recommend a phone call to a nice company in Mansfield. Just tell them Excalibur sent you.:D :D

[Shakermaker Promotions]

You've learnt a mega important lesson at a young age. (Touch wood..) this hasn't happened to me as yet and while it is a pain in the backside loading up more gear than you need, it's always good to have backup's in the van (I have another coffin case with CD's and Mixer and another amp).

I also agree with the Maplins comment too. The place is ok for leads and bulbs and gaffer tape, clamps etc but that's as far as I go.

Well done though for soldier-ing on! (is soldier-ing a word?).

[ppentertainments]

Have a look at terralec www.terralec.co.uk I started off with one of their packages which is still going strong and now used as backup.

[PropellerHeadCase]

is soldier-ing a word?

Minus the hyphen, yes it is. To 'soldier' is to struggle through adversity.

[Corabar Steve]

So how did a faulty speaker cause the keyboard amp/combo to blow then?

[Excalibur]

You've learnt a mega important lesson at a young age. (Touch wood..) this hasn't happened to me as yet and while it is a pain in the backside loading up more gear than you need, it's always good to have backup's in the van (I have another coffin case with CD's and Mixer and another amp).

I also agree with the Maplins comment too. The place is ok for leads and bulbs and gaffer tape, clamps etc but that's as far as I go.

Well done though for soldier-ing on! (is soldier-ing a word?).

Sound advice as usual.:)



So how did a faulty speaker cause the keyboard amp/combo to blow then?

If he plugged the faulty speaker/s into it? Only guessing.


Right Charlie, brace yourself for the ( expensive, it always is ;) ) advice.

The Class-D website often has out of date links on, and I think this one may be, sinced as afr as I know, they don't stock these amps any more. http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=636

Speakers. If possible, buy the ones which have a -1 after them, eg CD158-1, as they will sound nicer, though if funds are tight, the cheaper will worh fine, I myself have two pairs like that.

Lowest cost option for a good set.

http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=530 Cheapest option,£70 these are nicer at £90
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=530

All prices per pair.

Amp for those
This should work fine with those, I have its big sister, and like it a lot.
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=723

Better option £135
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=532

Beter still, CD158-1. Not listed, but should still exist.

If funds are good these are top of the range.
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=930
Again, I have the next ones up, they are great, but these are quite a bit bigger than the 128/158 range.

Amp. The previous one will work, this is dearer but better. As before, I have this one.
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=930

There we are, minimum cost £270, maximum £450. Food for thought.

I say this every time, but ring these lads for a chat. It's always worth it, and you live close enough for a visit/demo. ( ask for a look in the back if you go :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Penmare and I think it's awesome. )
Contact page-http://www.class-d.com/contactus.aspx

Your existing kit, is the Prosound amp working again? Had it protected itself, or given up the unequal struggle? :confused:

Let us know how you got/get on, as it's nice to know. Happy hunting.


PS Have a look in this thread, worth a look, that's why Steve made it sticky.
http://www.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=10463

[Shaun]

Not much I can add as it's all been said already. Good on you for carrying on and getting through the gig.

[Charlie Brown]

Hya Charlie sorry to hear of your potential disaster but well done for not giving up.

If possible ask your parents to get you this package for Christmas.
http://www.class-d.com/Product.aspx?PRO=636

http://www.class-d.com/ThumbnailGenerator/Default.aspx?Big=True&File=/admin/products/images/e2710f87-8712-452a-95dc-4ace2b760632.jpg&width=360&height=500

Ha ha ok will do, thank you, mind you guys knock maplins, it has done me proud, and can easily fill a big hall, and it sounds acturally ok, and they swapped the speaker straight away. no questions asked :D

But thanks, I will work on mum and dad :D

[Excalibur]

Ha ha ok will do, thank you, mind you guys knock maplins, it has done me proud, and can easily fill a big hall, and it sounds acturally ok, and they swapped the speaker straight away. no questions asked :D

But thanks, I will work on mum and dad :D

Glad to hear it, I actually know another DJ with similar Maplins kit, who rates it highly. Is your Prosound amp still running Charlie, did it in fact go into protect mode? :confused: :confused:

[Charlie Brown]

So how did a faulty speaker cause the keyboard amp/combo to blow then?

No no ok

I have my amp and two speakers to start off with,

One speaker blows after 5 min (the bass goes) so the amp goes into protect mode (we didnt know this at the time, just thought the amp was playing up).
So every time, I turned both speakers up, the amp would cut out,

I then tried the school's system, (and i think the output on my laptop was too much for the schools system)

So after half an hour of kids booing etc, I call my mums boyfreind, who brings his amp down (he is a singer for pubs etc) and then of course that packs in, goes into protect mode

So by this point I nearly fainted (LOL) they had paid for a ticket, and there was only an hour left, so I phoned mum and she brought down a combi amp (guitar) with a spekaer in it (if that makes sense) its about 30 years old, so we pluged that in and thank god it worked, I couldnt use a mic or my mixer, so I just made do with the laptop. it sounded terrible but still it did the job until the last song "dont stop me now-queen" half way through it, it went BANG and then thats it

Does that make it clearer, Im not very good at explaning things lol, hope this works


Thanks, any more advice ???

[theoloyla]

Well done Charlie. I expect lots of us have had that embarassing moment when it all goes quiet for some technical reason and audiences, jeer, cheer or slow handclap. It is very embarrassing and you spend the rest of the night hoping it doesnt happen again.

[Excalibur]

Yes. With hindsight, this sounds very easy, but it's often wise to only turn on side of your amp up at a time. This allows you to check if one side only has a problem/is causing a problem. I had a faulty speaker cable, which showed up in this manner.

And somebody is doubtless going to say- Advice? Yes, don't use Maplins PA gear. ;) :D

Obviously old age and hard work saw off the combi amp, and we basically wanted to know if your main amp(s) had survived. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Dragonfly]

well done ...

i hope this doesn't sound condesending but at your age there would have been no way i would have reacted in such a logical grown up way .

i had 2 freezes on saturday the first time ever and still got a racing heart and a red hot face it turned out to be justin timberlakes fault but all sorts was flying through my mind .... over heating ..... component failure ..... cacked hard drive ... etc etc. it went well in the end and no further problems.

you learned a valuable lesson early on and dealt with it like a professional.

[mldiscos]

Have a look at terralec www.terralec.co.uk I started off with one of their packages which is still going strong and now used as backup.


Have a look at terralec www.terralec.co.uk I started off with one of their packages which is still going strong and now used as backup.


theres quite a lot to say about terralec very basic package i started off with one of there very first lots of amps,mixers,speakers,cabs. and they did me fine for the first year and half, and all i did because i couldn't afford whole new cabs i bought new drivers and installed them into the cabs, bought a new mixer and amp, (mixer was called jb systems rhythm,ax400,jbs 12" cabs)
upgraded mixer with numark pmx1800,warrior Kt600 (jbsystems amp is still going strong and so is mixer as spares)

they've upgraded since i bought my first gear but there new stuff is listed below (as a comparison)

amp
http://www.terralec.co.uk/power_amplifiers/jb_systems_200__200_amplifier_silver_front/19422_p.html

speakers (just the same as my first)
http://www.terralec.co.uk/jb_systems_loudspeaker_cabinets/speaker_cabinet_12_inch/19286_p.html

mixer:
http://www.tocato-partyservice.be/images%20sound_light/rhythm.jpg

[Charlie Brown]

I would just like to thank you all for saying "well done" lol, I apreciate it so thanks :D