Totally stressed out!!

[soundmaster mobile disco]

I am not normally the kind of person that lets things get to me.yes i may get a little frustrated at gigs but i just get my head down,enjoy the gig and give my customers the excellent service that i provide.

Well my last 3 gigs have been extremly testing,with equipment failures.The first of these was a wedding on thursday evening.The bride and groom wanted 3 michael buble songs made into 1 mix lasting approx 3 mins,they told me which ones which i did.My playout system consists of the numark dds 80.Normally i put all my music on the hard drive then run it through the numark librarian programme,but on this occasion because i only got the songs the day before,i decided to put them onto a usb pen drive.Got to the gig,found out it was running approx 1 hour late.anyway when the time came for the first dance(es),the 3 in 1 mix went well but for the next song after this which was also on my usb pen drive.It decided to freeze on my 25 seconds in.What a nightmare\embarrasment,in front of all these people\cameramen\video guys.I just had to appologise for the technical error.I knew this song was not on my hard drive.

Secondly on friday nights gig also a wedding,i decided because it was a small set up,i would take my numark hd mix playout system.Everything started well but by around 11pm,for some strange reason,i could only get the option of playing to channel a.channel b had dissappeared.More stress,i checked all the input leads,they seemed fine,so it was out to the van to bring in the same playout system as the previous night.It went well the rest of the gig.

Finally last nights gig ,yet another wedding, my kam star cluster froze on me.no big hazzle as i have other lights,so i waited untill the buffet break to take it appart,it was the elastic band from the motor that had come loose,so job fixed.Then just after starting back from the buffet break one of my efx 500s started to play up.(dmx fault).Not much i could do about this,si i just switched it of and run one.

As you can immagine by this happening to me 3 nights in a row,i was very very stressed out,to the point that i felt sick.But as they say the show must go on.and it was amother excellent gig.

Just wonder what will be next??

[STEVE HANLEY]

I think I once heard mishaps come in 3's. A bit like buses:D ;)

You've had your 3 things. Everything should be ok now;)

[soundmaster mobile disco]

I think I once heard mishaps come in 3's. A bit like buses:D ;)

You've had your 3 things. Everything should be ok now;)



I hope thats true steve!

[DJ Paulie]

On the other hand these things happen & I'm sure the clients understand. What about if a band member breaks a string or the meal isn't quite what they wanted ? Keep going with it. Mind you they bad luck comes in 3's but also there's the saying 3rd time lucky ! :confused:

[STEVE HANLEY]

[Mind you they bad luck comes in 3's but also there's the saying 3rd time lucky ! :confused:]

So that would be 4th time lucky then?:confused: :daft:

[yourdj]

Just wonder what will be next??

Ditch the Numark and get something better would be my advice.
I have never trusted or bought Numark as they bring something out and then discontinue it a few month later.
Most of the stuff I have had a go on has just not cut it. The big Itch controllers seem OK however.

Denon, Pioneer and now Vestax for me for playout would be my first choice. :)

Things like this happen, one of my DJ's who was luckily working for himself forgot his VCI 300 and his Pioneer controller broke.
He had to drive home and get it and only ended up playing for 1 hour :eek: what a muppet. You would think if he had a spare VCI he would have it with him??

The bride and groom were OK. On the same night my van broke down 1 mile from the venue and i was an hour late. The groom was OK with it too. also on the same night one of my other friends broke down on the way to a gig. it all comes in three's.

[DJ_Wulfman]

It happen to us all at some point buddy.

No piece of equipment is infallible and every bit of kit on earth has it's limit of ability and endurance, no matter how much you spend on it. I know from experience that when a piece of kit goes down it can turn a potentially enjoyable evening into an especially stressful one.

In hindsight, what you need to tell yourself is that despite the stress and anguish THE SHOW WENT ON and the fact that you were able to make that happen is a credit to yourself, your ability and your attention to detail and preparation ;).

[Excalibur]

Ditch the Numark and get something better would be my advice.
Oh really? My D2 has never missed a beat since I've had it, and Vectis had used it extensively before I got it, and he reports the same.



Denon, Pioneer and now Vestax for me for playout would be my first choice. :)



And which beloved Forum Member is ditching his 2500 this week due to its unreliability? :whistle: I've seen it do its party trick regularly, and the only option is switch off, wait and reboot. :mad:

A well regarded forum member whose opinion I respect has used Cortex extensively, Numark and Pioneer 7000. He recently related to me his experiences to me of using a Denon HD2500 which he had acquired. Suffice to say he was so impressed with it that he switched it off, and used his backup system instead! :eek:

[Corabar Steve]

And which beloved Forum Member is ditching his 2500 this week due to its unreliability? :whistle: I've seen it do its party trick regularly, and the only option is switch off, wait and reboot. :mad:

A well regarded forum member whose opinion I respect has used Cortex extensively, Numark and Pioneer 7000. He recently related to me his experiences to me of using a Denon HD2500 which he had acquired. Suffice to say he was so impressed with it that he switched it off, and used his backup system instead! :eek:
& there are those of use that know how to use them & haven't tried to modify them & have no issues :sj:

[Excalibur]

& there are those of use that know how to use them & haven't tried to modify them & have no issues :sj:

Excuse me Sir! :eek: :eek: :eek: Retract that statement immediately. The machine is still as Denon created it, unmodded, unaltered, and unchanged, bar cleaning contacts and reseating the internal drive. ( which didn't help at all )

I have to say however, that I saw it used as a midi controller, and in this mode it worked well. Not flawlessly, but very well. In this mode it was impressive.

[Corabar Steve]

Did I say who had modded theirs? :sj:

Anyway this is off topic

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Excuse me Sir! :eek: :eek: :eek: Retract that statement immediately. The machine is still as Denon created it, unmodded, unaltered, and unchanged, bar cleaning contacts and reseating the internal drive. ( which didn't help at all )

I have to say however, that I saw it used as a midi controller, and in this mode it worked well. Not flawlessly, but very well. In this mode it was impressive.

I'm not sure how it's impressive - when you use it in this mode, the screen doesn't work!

[WWDJ]

I'm not sure how it's impressive - when you use it in this mode, the screen doesn't work!

And as I recall, the buttons don't light up giving status either ?

[spin mobile disco]

Never had a problem with my numark stuff so not sure why the bad comments.

Worth mentioning though that a lot of usb sticks use very cheap ram chips that are very slow. Numark does recommend faster memory for storing music. Also when using a usb stick use librarian software on it as well even if it only has a couple of songs on it. And if you intend to play back to back from the stick make sure both songs are preloaded onto the decks prior to playing the first song.
Its a bit like trying to play 2 songs from the same cd on the dd80 it cant cue both of them without a pause between tracks.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Well ditch the kam cluster for a start :P

Sorry to hear about your issues, clearly been very unlucky to have them occur right so close to each other.

[Corabar Steve]

You haven't broken any mirrors recently have you Gary?

[soundmaster mobile disco]

You haven't broken any mirrors recently have you Gary?



Maybe a few hearts in my time!

[CRAZY K]

Ditch the Numark and get something better would be my advice.
I have never trusted or bought Numark as they bring something out and then discontinue it a few month later.
Most of the stuff I have had a go on has just not cut it. The big Itch controllers seem OK however.

Denon, Pioneer and now Vestax for me for playout would be my first choice. :)

Things like this happen, one of my DJ's who was luckily working for himself forgot his VCI 300 and his Pioneer controller broke.
He had to drive home and get it and only ended up playing for 1 hour :eek: what a muppet. You would think if he had a spare VCI he would have it with him??

The bride and groom were OK. On the same night my van broke down 1 mile from the venue and i was an hour late. The groom was OK with it too. also on the same night one of my other friends broke down on the way to a gig. it all comes in three's.

Running your business model on luck--probably not.:confused:

Personally if I needed the most reliable playout for a special track---use Mini Disc--unbelievable--ask Peter ( Excalibur)

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Running your business model on luck--probably not.:confused:

Personally if I needed the most reliable playout for a special track---use Mini Disc--unbelievable--ask Peter ( Excalibur)

Indeed, if we were asking this question some 20 years ago :P

[Charlie Brown]

Sounds terrible!

I really feel for you. Nothing worse when you've got a room full of people staring at you.

[yourdj]

Running your business model on luck--probably not.:confused:

Personally if I needed the most reliable playout for a special track---use Mini Disc--unbelievable--ask Peter ( Excalibur)

:agree:

Yes great for barn dancing and kids parties but not a good media to mix with :p
Smaller and less damaged than CD's however.


Indeed, if we were asking this question some 20 years ago :P

I also agree that te DNHD 2500 is not a very reliable unit although it was ahead of its time and not discontinued like all the numark stuff.

[STEVE HANLEY]

Numark????

The IDJ2 has certainly left me in tears a few times this year:Censored: :Censored:

But the 2 recently acquired mixers I've got by them (From esteemed members of this forum namely Andy (Deltic) and Darren (Solitaire) Plus the D2 and the shedload of wise advice from Peter (Excalibur) have all left me suitably impressed

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I also agree that te DNHD 2500 is not a very reliable unit although it was ahead of its time and not discontinued like all the numark stuff.

Actually it is discontinued and many have been very reliable. I have used one for main playout for the past 18 months and had no problems apart from the hard drive coming unseated.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I have been using mine now for over 2 years with no issues whatsoever. Toby, how can you say it's not reliable? Have you used it consistently?
I remember you asking me a while back if I could go through it all with you but I don't remember you actually purchasing one.

It's ok to say something is unreliable if you have experience of it but many of us have used it for ages and will continue to do so because it's a great bit of kit and has been very reliable.

[Twinspin]

The hd2500 ive had since around 2007. It hasn't been modified and still has the original 40gb hardisk that was inside it from the off.

The firmware is V1400 and has been ever since that version of firmware was released my Denon music manager is the latest version as well.

My Denon does have a habit of crashing a lot and i need to reboot it. Luckily the problems nobody at the functions or even the client has noticed it 9 times out of 10 because the tracks still been running. So ive had a cd in the deck which gives me chance to reboot it so the music doesnt go off.

sometimes when the deck hasnt been used for a bit (e.g during a bands set) and i try to start it up. sometimes it freezes and wont start up until its rebooted.

Last saturday night before a wedding id just got setup and switched the denon on and the text was all scrambled on the screen. You just couldnt use it. So out comes the cds. (Peters a Witness of this) leave it off for an hour and switch it back on and it works ok.

At the moment the internal hardisk in mine doesnt work so i have to use an external drive.

Now ill probably get the machine looked at and it can be used as a backup playout. My new MC6000 arrives tommorow hopefully. But at the moment i dont have much confidence in my hd2500

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I have never used the internal HD on my Denon HD2500. I have always only used it as a controller with external HD's.

[Corabar Steve]

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd

we're off topic again.

This thread is not about the reliability of Numark, Denon, or any other manufacturer's product.

[DazzyD]

Well, at least you're still here, Gary. Mind you, if I was you I wouldn't be crossing any unneccessary roads at the moment!! :D :D

What you need, when things aren't going great, is a good friend to help you through the tough times. May I recommend Mr Jack Daniels??!!!!! ;)

[Twinspin]

I have never used the internal HD on my Denon HD2500. I have always only used it as a controller with external HD's.

Sorry Gary. I came across wrong with what i said. I do use a external hardisk with the denon all the time as my main hardisk. I did have some music on the internal but nothing that isnt on my external drive. But i cant access that now if i ever need it because the internal hdd doesnt work.


Well, at least you're still here, Gary. Mind you, if I was you I wouldn't be crossing any unneccessary roads at the moment!! :D :D

What you need, when things aren't going great, is a good friend to help you through the tough times. May I recommend Mr Jack Daniels??!!!!! ;)

haha. I dont drink anymore but... a hammer will do nicely when the hd2500 isnt working properly.

[Corabar Steve]

OFF :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored:ing TOPIC !!!!!!!!

If anyone wants to start a discussion on the merits / reliability of whatever brand / item of kit they use, please feel free to do so by starting another thread in the relevant forum section.


haha. I dont drink anymore but...
& how long has your name been Gary?

[Corabar Steve]

If anyone wants to start a discussion on the merits / reliability of whatever brand / item of kit they use, please feel free to do so by starting another thread in the relevant forum section.
Just to reiterate the point.

[soundmaster mobile disco]

It could have been another stressful night,tonight.the groom said he was going to supply me with the first 3 dances on a usb stick.i insisted after last weeks fiasco that i would need this at least 24 hours before.he came round with it yesterday,i put it into the dds unit while he was here,and there was only 1 song not 3.

The reason the other 2 songs were of a different format,not mp3 files.i was able to convert them,so no worries there.I have learend from my experience last week that if someone is to supply the first dance,i need it to test it out before hand.

But this could have been so much different if i just accepted his usb drive at the wedding.