Setting up

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

How do you set up? Do you bring all the gear in, put it anywhere and then set up, or do you set up as you go, or another way?

[Grahame Case]

How do you set up? Do you bring all the gear in, put it anywhere and then set up, or do you set up as you go, or another way?

All gear in first, then it is assembled into piles of the following - Audio - lightings and stands/supports.


stands / supports go up first. Audio is setup next, then lighting.


it all comes out the van in any order though, as it only fits in a very precise way.

[DazzyD]

There's usually three of us to set up each gig and everyone has their own particular job.

However, we still do bring all the kit in to the venue first and then set it up from there.

[ultrasound disco]

Bring it all in first yes, so there's less chance of it being pinched:eek: from the trailer/van.;)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I take in all of the gear except the Denon which is locked in the van until everything else is set up. I put everything in the place where I will be setting up and do it in this order everytime.
Giraffe stand
Speakers either side of it
Lights on the goalposts and tidied up
Amps put in position and linked up
Denon and CD Players put in place and connected
Sound and light check (lights aimed where I want them to be)
All leads and wires tidied and taped down where need be
All cases etc put back in the van

[Penfold42]

Bring all the gear in and as you bring it in, place it where it will be set up for the night. Then park car up and finish off.

[Excalibur]

How do you set up? Do you bring all the gear in, put it anywhere and then set up, or do you set up as you go, or another way?

I usually frighten the crap out of the venue, by covering the entire room in gear! :eek: :D :D :D Then I get my mate Procrustes to put it in place. ;) ;) :D :D

[Vectis]

Depends on the venue but by and large my roadie fetches the gear in a predetermined order and I build as we go.

At some point he overtakes me and by the time he's finished unloading the van I've typically got the deckstand up, cloth on, and a few lights hung.

Whilst I finish off stringing the lights, he sorts out the speakers and then it's a joint effort to hook up the power, speaker cables etc.

Most builds are about 30 minutes even for a large-ish rig.

Teardown follows a similar pattern but we focus on the loading order for the van which is basically speakers first, then big flightcases (so moving heads etc.) then smaller flights and last cable bags and metalwork. Once the roadie has enough packed gear to start trekking, away he goes.
:beer1:

[Daryll]

All in first, then in order.

Stand , including top bar
Lights
Speakers
amp.CD player, laptop
Wire up
Auxiliary rail and front drape.
Tidy up cables, hide cases etc.


Daryll

[Sapphire Disco]

Bring it all in put stand & speakers on floor near where they are going be put , lights to one side along a wall, put silver case containing 2 laptops in the most secure place I can find & watch , get things mostly together then lights fitted last , just before laptop finally is placed & switched on.

[DJWilson]

All comes into the venue not layed out in any order.

Deckstand
Sound gear on deckstand
lighting
speakers
check everythings working
clean wires etc

[djsteve10]

Take the Ultimax in first and set that up, Right the lighting up on it and get it winched up out of the way so I can put the cases onto the deckstand. Once I geet the lighting up I just need to bring the speakers in situate them and then wire the mixer, amp & speakers up as the lighting is all Pre-Wired.

[ppentertainments]

Everything in.

Stand / Booth setup first.
Lighting hung on rig but not plugged in.
Amp, Mixer etc next and plugged in
Speakers on stands and plugged in (test sound)
Lights plugged in
Everything tidied
Computer (backup) setup
Small boxes into big box into van.

I now rarely use a roadie as I mainly use a compact setup and also means more ££££ for yours truly. I am suprised at how many people who use a roadie, I find it quicker to setup myself.

Dazzy - 3 people to setup, get yourself fitter :D :p :D

[Dynamic Entertainment]

All in first,

Then stands, audio, lighting :)

[[email protected]]

Depends where i'm working. If it's an on the street load in, then all in and set up. If it's private land / private grounds i'll bring in and set up:-

Stands, Trilite, Lighting (put all the lighting on the truss, wire it up & test it), then
Starcloth frame so i know where to put the speakers. Put speakers in, wire them up, check the audio signal, then last of all starcloth.

then all up and running, hurray!

[Twinspin]

gear into venue.
Setup Ultimax stand
Sound gear in position and wired up.
quick soundcheck.
hang lights on the rig and wire up
tidy up wires
front curtain rail on.

[SC Events]

We (Me, whoever is Djing with me + Roadie) get all the stuff in to the building (well, mainly the roadie) whilst my co-star :D and I build it all up.

It usually goes:

Deck Stand
Sound (play a bit of background music)
Lights (and positioning)
Star Cloth
Laptop + HDD

Then tidy everything else up and tape down wires etc...

and finally.....A Proper Sound Check! :)

[Twinspin]

I always set the sound up first and make sure thats working. Because sound is more important.

No Sound.... No Disco then it gives you time to get your backup gear out.
and set it up.

Lights... I think always should come last. If one light doesnt work and you take it off the rig. Will the client notice? But sound they will. So i think personally always sound before Light.

[Cj_The_Dj]

I set up as my dad brings it in.

[wensleydale]

I always set the sound up first and make sure thats working. Because sound is more important.

No Sound.... No Disco then it gives you time to get your backup gear out.
and set it up.

Lights... I think always should come last. If one light doesnt work and you take it off the rig. Will the client notice? But sound they will. So i think personally always sound before Light.
the man speak the truth

[Tom]

Myself and the roadie take as much gear as we can safly take so there is less trips. We take this to where we will be setting up fo the night.

He begins to unpack the deckstand while park the car if need be. Some of the gigs I do I am able to leave the car near the exit.

Sound is setup first then play some songs to listen to when setting up lights. Thye helps pas the time when setting up and also gives us a chance to listen to our own music before the gig.

[Twinspin]

When i work at the hotel im always lucky. I always try to make sure i carry spare cables. Once i didnt have a spare xlr cable and the Maplin electronics in Hull closes at 8pm on a night and its a few yards round the corner from the hotel.

So i was in business. Expensive (as maplins are) but it still saved my a$$

[rob1963]

All gear into the venue first.

Put surround in place.
X stand behind surround.
Console on X stand.
Set up speaker stands.
Speakers onto stands.
Set up second X stand to left of main console.
Amp onto second X stand.
Lighting controller on top of amp.
Tripod behind one speaker.
Wired T bar with pinspots on tripod & raise it to correct height.
T bar onto same tripod.
Mushroom light & gobo flower onto T bar.
2nd Tripod behind other speaker (if large disco).
T bar onto top of tripod (if large disco).
Scanners onto t bar (if large disco).
Keyboard onto lighting controller.
Connect up all cables.
Plug in mic.
Switch everything on.
Check & adjust lighting.
Do sound check.

[Adam_F]

All the kit gets brought into the room, I'll concentrate on the playout & sound, while my roadie does all the lighting.

[SilverlineDiscos]

I usually do things in this order:

1. Bring in all the gear from the car/van and dump it where I'll be setting up
2. Put up tables and position where I am going to be
3. Put flightcase, amp, dmx controller and CD cases on the table and connect up. Usually I will sort out most of the power requirements at this stage too.
4. Do a quick sound check and then start on the lighting.
5. Put up the T-bar, hook up all the lights and test out DMX and make sure I have control over everything.
6. Tape down cables and tidy up around me and organise my CD's.
7. Start Playing!!