Speeding up the dreaded setup take down process

[ukpartydj]

Trying to make myself a little less work on the day, my old setup was taking a good 45 mins to an hour to setup and 30-45 mins to get out... and the new one is taking a smidgin longer :(
Any words of wisdom appreciated, unless your words of wisdom consist of "mine only takes 15 mins, here's a picture", your picture will be the new centrepiece of my metaphorical dartboard should you post something along those lines.

So:

Transport:
I've got the rock n roller trolley, all good there. It normally take a couple of trips due to things like a table & screens not really fitting on it very well. it Does need straps for full loads though.

Screens:
Toby mentioned using a bike bag instead of the supplied bags (which are a little tight), would this be quicker prehaps? I've yet to try this gaffa 2 panels together trick which I think was Justin's idea? I'm getting the hang of those stupid hinges now though anyway so it may not be neccesary.

Speakers:
2 tripods with scrims and a subwoofer.

Lighting:
Currently my lighting bar is pre-wired with an IEC connector, DMX in & out meaning this is likely the only thing that's been fully time-optimised.
I do also use 4 up lights 2 behind the scrims, 2 behind the screen... I've thought about wireless DMX but as I'm already plugging in the power and it's all near my other kit would that really save time for me personally?

Playout:

Using a Traktor s5, a couple of laptops and a mixer... I'm thinking this is where my biggest time saver could lie, but I'm yet to figure out how... I leave the laptop stands made up so I'm thinking I cannot really prewire the laptops, their usb connections chargers etc which do take a little time.

Cables:

I've got a big case with sections for cables, I always coil XLR's and power cables after each event... hmmm I'm not sure what to do to improve that.

The video below was 43 minutes long and it took just under 10 mins to load in from the van.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz88XRjxUM4&feature=youtu.be
http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=18163&d=1480943918
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[Imagine]

Following with interest as it's something I myself am trying to achieve.

I can if I want to be up in 30 mins and down in about the same amount of time if I use what I term as my standard rig (Gorilla booth, two tops, one/two subs, 2 Inimidator 305s and either 1 or 2 Power Partybars. It's normally closer to 45 mins going up and I've reduced that from an hour.

My Micron rig can be up in 15 mins because I pre-wired the overhead bar. It's not my favourite rig to work on but if I know space is going to be tight or if I know I'm going to be in a hurry......

Just so you can throw darts at them....here's what I'm talking about (it'll help to see what I'm talking about as well)

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(The Micron setup)

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(What I term as my standard booth)

The difference between the two setups? I never use the overhead on the Gorilla booth so there's additional lighting stands to set up.....and that makes a HUGE difference

The Rock n Roller R12 is a big help and I've got a way of loading that in such a way now that I can get everything on one load (although it's probably way overloaded). It also helps that I brought a flight case to hold 2 Wizard (which rarely go out now), so the Intimidators are stored in there along with all the cables I'll need for the gig.

What takes time to set up for me personally?

DMX cables for a start. I started going the wireless DMX route but was getting dropouts and haven't gone any further with that....yet. I may invest in some of the rechargeable dongle things for next year because that really would shave about 10 mins off of the setup (and a lot of trailing cable to tape down).

The other big one for me is the playout system. Now...I've cut this down considerably thankfully. I treated myself to a slightly larger flight case this year which allows me to keep the mixer, mic receiver, some short audio/XLR cables and a 5 gang extension in it (all pre-wired). So, it's technically a case of connecting speakers to the two XLRs, dropping the cable from the 5 gang and away you go....except it isn't. I've now got so that I also connect a little external mixer into the mix so that I can connect an iPad/second laptop and I'm thinking I'm probably over-sweating things there. The idea being that the iPad can be cued within seconds of something going belly up with the main playout system whilst I hot-swap the backup lappy into the rig. In reality I'd probably be better off just having the second lappy on warm standby and apologising for the 10 seconds it would take to move the USB cable from one to the other.

Other than that, I think I need to possibly get fitter instead of fatter ;)

[funkymook]

As Scotty would say ‘you cannae change the law of physics’ - you might have reached your optimum set-up time for that rig.

But if you wanted to invest some money things to save time and effort then an Evox 8 or FBT Vertus or CS1000 (or similar) is quicker than separate speakers, speaker stands and a bass bin (I know this from experience).

Is there room in your controller case to keep the power supply, usb and speaker cables permanently plugged in and stored?, this saves a lot of time (and if there isn’t it’s worth looking gat a larger case, perhaps with a sliding laptop shelf to save taking the stands as well).

My Liteconsole xprs Go is up in less than a minute and the Tom Carter booth I’ve got in the For Sale section is even quicker - so something like that may shave some time off your table and screens.

For some events would a simple powerbar be enough? (or even the gigbar) - I’ve done plenty where the my powerbar and it’s own foot controller has been ample, colour wash early on and s2l later gives enough movement.

[yourdj]

As Scotty would say ‘you cannae change the law of physics’ - you might have reached your optimum set-up time for that rig.

Is there room in your controller case to keep the power supply, usb and speaker cables permanently plugged in and stored?, this saves a lot of time (and if there isn’t it’s worth looking gat a larger case, perhaps with a sliding laptop shelf to save taking the stands as well).

I am going to agree with that looking at the video, although I think the two trees are not tottaly necessary.

Having a box with all my power, audio, mics and lighting control all loomed with electrical tape, must save at least 5-10 mins as plugging stuff in can take the longest of time. Also I am going to start using padded slips for my 310'sas the ones i have are great but take a bit of time to pack at the end as they are also tight. I believe i was one of the first number of people to have an equinox screen and gaffer it on the second outing so I can take credit for that. I will be buying a bike bag as I am fed up with fanning about with the gorilla one. :p

Limiting trip time to the car is the main thing. If you can do it in one that will save at least 10 mins. That and fiddling about with stuff. You need to make one small adjustment every week and before you know it you have a set up that take minutes to set up. Maker the most of the boring buffet times by analysing what you can improve next. Using the flight case as a booth is also a very handy option. Bit of an old photo, i now use a Yamaha dbr12 to the left.

18194

[musicology]

The way I think of it is that I can get music playing in about 20mins after arrival (depending on ease of load in). As long as that's going, I've started. The lighting can then be done more or less at my leisure. As for tear down, I can usually start breaking down some lighting close to the end and save time that way.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

For the past few weeks I have not used the crossbar with the 8 lighting effects. They are all pre-wired and fixed and it's just a case of plugging them into the 8 way controller box but it still means 2 trips back and forth to the van because I can only carry one at a time.
What I have been doing is using the X Moves and I've just put the uprights on the Ultimax on the highest setting and then fixed the shelves I made for them on top. I doubt if it has saved me much time really as I still need to get the X Moves out of their cases and then connect them up.

The uplighters behind the Equinox screen give enough flood colour but I've also been using 4 Equinox batterns too (I have 8 of them but 4 at the residency is fine). I have them set to autofade so that various corners of the room are changing colour throughout the evening.

The Equinox booth itself - Well, firstly....not sure what the problem with them is for some of you? I bought the official Equinox bag for the screens and it is absolutely fine. I always have the 2 middle sections fixed together permanently (gaffer taped? Can you show us what you mean Toby?), and so I just connect the other 2 panels (which isn't always easy).
For the first time ever, I had someone knock into it quite heavily last weekend (very drunk girl) and as she fell back, she grabbed hold of it and one of the panels came away from the rest. No damage though which was good.

To be honest, I think I am probably as quick as I can be. Set up is usually 30 minutes max and take down is probably 20 minutes max (that's back in the van too).

[DJColsie]

I am at at odds with this thread as I actually like setting up, giving myself plenty of time and doing it slowly and methodically. I rarely use the same rigg two gigs running and change the combination of speakers and lights, so premiering for me would be a no no.

Not to say I wouldn't appreciate being packed down and on my way home 10 mins after I finish!

[Nakatomi]

I am at at odds with this thread as I actually like setting up, giving myself plenty of time and doing it slowly and methodically. I rarely use the same rigg two gigs running and change the combination of speakers and lights, so premiering for me would be a no no.

Not to say I wouldn't appreciate being packed down and on my way home 10 mins after I finish!

How can you say that? Time is money!

Flightcase your playout. Pre-rig as much as you can. Mark & sort cables according to type & length so you're not spending too much time finding the right cable for the job.

Don't take more than you need to.

I did a charity gig yesterday which I was almost late for (thanks wife, thanks traffic!) but using the R&R cart straight from my van in one go, loading in took 5 minutes & I had music playing with lights going after another 10. One Alto top on a tripod, one gigAbar light, mixer, playout, washFX & micron booth

Look at your video in more detail. There's a lot of to-ing & fro-ing there. Minimising that's gonna save you some time too.

[funkymook]

I am at at odds with this thread as I actually like setting up, giving myself plenty of time !

Sometimes you’re not in control of the time - a wedding room turnaround when the speeches have been running late and you’re left with 30 minutes before the 1st dance, late access to a venue as the key holder doesn’t turn up until the exact time it’s booked from, which is the time the client invited the guests, delayed in traffic etc? Having plenty of time is a luxury you can’t always rely on.

[ukpartydj]

Thanks, I think I'll look into a bigger case for playout, I have had a look around and did let see anything available which seemed the right size but maybe it'll just need to be a custom job if nothing pops up.

Colour coding cable... Excellent idea, I bet if I had the exact cables I need for a standard setup without all my spares it'd be quicker as well.

Maybe one little thing at a time will be better rather than trying to take it all on at once!

[Nakatomi]

Cables wise I have 2 boxes. One for audio & dmx then one for all the power cables.

What I tend to do before plugging any lead in is go round the rig dropping each cable where it needs to start its journey. That saves me going back & forth between rig & cable box.

Be methodical, if not clinical ;)

It typically takes me 55 minutes to load in & setup my entire rig:
One bin
2 active tops
Gigabar
Quad phase hp
Hazer
2 clusters
2 scanners
2 equinox power flowers
1 washfx
Folding screen

Doing it tidily takes longer though especially if I have to spread out on a large stage.

I've still not used any of my overhead bars in anger yet. That's a job for the new year I think.

I reckon my Gigabar is going to be replaced by 2 chauvet washfx units & the scanners are going to be sold on.

[yourdj]

Can you show us what you mean Toby?

Similar although I have gaffer the outer two hinges, so that all thats required to fit is the one middle one. Comes in 2 then.


I actually like setting up


Sometimes you’re not in control of the time

I like setting up but I also like to know that in an emergency or quick set up it wont take more than 15 mins at a fast pace. Sound on in 5 mins at least. In my own time it would take a max of 30 mins with full uplighting also. You have a very similar set up to me Colin :)


I have had a look around and did let see anything available

Colour coding cable... Excellent idea, I bet if I had the exact cables

I use coloured Vandamme cables, for different uses, they are instantly recognisable. They are not cheap but are worth every penny as they are SO NICE. Blue for my Yamaha & red for my iPad. All of them are loomed with electrical tape keeps everything together. I don't use active tops, which means I save time not putting power to them, which saves a bit of time.

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This is what you want: https://www.thomann.de/gb/thon_zubehoercase_120_40_40.htm

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[DJColsie]

How can you say that? Time is money!

Granted, but money isn't everything. I am just saying that I quite like doing it.

I have quick turn around weddings and can do it in 40 mins, but some times I like to get there early and take my time.

[Daryll]

With my roadie , set up time is 25 minutes, take down time is 15-20 minutes , I feel this is a quick as it will ever be , I dont like to rush things
Things to get longer if there are stairs involved , or a long carry

Cheers

daryll

[funkymook]

Thanks, I think I'll look into a bigger case for playout, I have had a look around and did let see anything available which seemed the right size

Something like this usually has enough space at the back and underneath to store cables, I might even have one that will fit an S5, I’ll check the measurements.


http://www.theflightcasecompany.com/music-cases/dj-flight-cases/dj-controller-cases/traktor-kontrol-s5-dj-controller-workstation-s5?gclid=CNmDkMPsh9ECFYQW0woduBAHQw

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

The glaring thing I can see there gear wise is the playout.

That took a big chunk out of my time until I got a big flight case that now houses my controller, wireless mic and receiver, spare batteries and all the wiring barring the XLRs.

I open it up - plug the multi that powers all the stuff in, stick the controller USB cable into my main laptop, run xlrs out to my speakers and my playout is ready to go live... it used to take me about 10 minutes to unpack, unwind and wire everything up...

How you go about setting stuff up is crucial too I mean if you're light trussing is pre wired there's not much you can shave off there but be smart about how you set things up and always do it in the same order so your muscle memory kicks in and you can get it done faster.

Use your energy wisely - if you're powering up - don't grab a cable, plug a light in, grab a cable plug a light in, grab a cable, plug your speakers in - work out what you need for each side or segment of the rig and take that amount of cables with you.

Same for tear down - remove cables as you go - if I'm taking the top off my nano I get the xlrs, power, speakons etc... stripped and ready to be bagged up too.

Carry as much as you can in as few cases and bags as you can/.


The best thing I bought last year was a huge magma gig bag that carries my 2 laptops, power cables and spares, spare mic and a few other playout spare leads, my camera and my change of gear - I can carry that on my back, load my rock n roller and move my lite console in the UDG bag all in one go - if I have a flat run at it I can do a run in one go....

[ukpartydj]

I've just set it all up in my lounge and timed myself and the current method takes just over 6 minutes to plug everything in to the point where I just need the XLRs for speakers, power to the extention, DMX to the laptop etc.


Something like this usually has enough space at the back and underneath to store cables, I might even have one that will fit an S5, I’ll check the measurements.


http://www.theflightcasecompany.com/music-cases/dj-flight-cases/dj-controller-cases/traktor-kontrol-s5-dj-controller-workstation-s5?gclid=CNmDkMPsh9ECFYQW0woduBAHQw

Thanks, but I reckon if I get a much bigger flight case big enough to put the controller, the mini mixer, the microphone, headphones, dmx controller, chargers, extention lead and the 2 laptops in with a sliding laptop shelf ALL connected except cables to the laptop so it's just plug in extention lead, connect XLRs & the USB leads I reckon I can get it down to a single minute.

The problem is the only case that I can find that's near big enough with the sliding laptop shelf is the monster DDJSZ flight case which is a tiny bit smaller than what would be ideal I think and I'd probably have to cut a chunk out of the laptop shelf to allow my light T-Bar to be nice and snug to my table (unless I don't have to fully extend the laptop shelf out (never had a sliding laptop shelf).

[ukpartydj]

Just done all the measurements and for £109 the ddj sz case will fit everything in much better than I thought.
Can laptop shelves stop halfway or do they click into place when fully extended? Only reason being is if the shelf doesn't extend fully no need to take a saw to it.

[funkymook]

Just done all the measurements and for £109 the ddj sz case will fit everything in much better than I thought.
Can laptop shelves stop halfway or do they click into place when fully extended? Only reason being is if the shelf doesn't extend fully no need to take a saw to it.

The shelf doesn’t have to extend all the way out, it’ll stay in place wherever you put it, but you'll want to be able to reach all your controls so you might not have a choice. I add a few extra inches depth by putting the case front over the edge of my booth's shelf, it’s stable enough like that.

[ukpartydj]

The shelf doesn’t have to extend all the way out, it’ll stay in place wherever you put it, but you'll want to be able to reach all your controls so you might not have a choice. I add a few extra inches depth by putting the case front over the edge of my booth's shelf, it’s stable enough like that.

Brilliant that'll work great then! I don't need the extra depth, a DDJSZ is 42cm deep and my S5 is a 32cm so I can bring the shelf 10cm closer in theory! Got a tonne of proper foam padding, a stanley knife and a hot glue gun at the ready so I'll hopefully have a lovely snug fitting super quick setup for playout if all works as I expect.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

If you can fit everything into the ssx case then go for it. At the end of the night I uplug the xlrs, roll up the adapter and USB, put the lid on and that's the playout done - it takes literally about 10 seconds...

Incrimental gains is what I was getting at earlier on when talking about the actual setting up process itself. I can't really tell from your video but do you have a system of where everything is during set up? It looks like you're having to go to a big pile of gear on the left then back to the rig a lot...


I put my lights at the front of my console because they get attached from the front, power cables, laptop bag etc... at the back because they get done from the back and the speakers plonked down either side before I get set it up - it means depending on what part of the rig I'm doing - all the gear I need is exactly where i need it to be and within arms reach. That cuts down a lot of time too.

EDIT: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9ac05f_8b8126f7126c430e9aec9278b07d19e1.jpg/v1/fill/w_398,h_300,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/9ac05f_8b8126f7126c430e9aec9278b07d19e1.jpg

You can kind of see my rig there - My movers now clamp directly onto the side uprights of the lite constole but that's pretty much it:

Dual HK Nano 600s
Denon mc 6000
line 6 wireless mic
2 macbooks pros (both running vdj and my dmx)
2 jelly domes
2 adj inno pocket washes
An adj mega bar

Apart from the lighting rig - ours doesn't appear entirely different (my lights probably take longer to set up than yours actually) and I can have all of that rigged, dmx'd, sound checked and myself changed into performing gear in under half an hour because of how I go about setting it up.

[funkymook]

Brilliant that'll work great then! I don't need the extra depth, a DDJSZ is 42cm deep and my S5 is a 32cm so I can bring the shelf 10cm closer in theory! Got a tonne of proper foam padding, a stanley knife and a hot glue gun at the ready so I'll hopefully have a lovely snug fitting super quick setup for playout if all works as I expect.

You’ll be amazed at how much time having all the leads in the case saves, I have a wired mic and mouse in mine as well, and a bit of sticky back velcro stops the power supply moving around.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

My pre-wired crossbars are colour coded. I bought a pack of different coloured electrical tape and wrapped them around the end of the IEC cables so that I know what light goes where.
My playout system is housed in a road ready flightcase. Denon mixer and 2 x Denon controllers. Everything is plugged into 1 6 way extension cable inside the case and so 1 plug connects to the extension lead under the stand.
Speaker stands - the IEC's for them and also the XLR's are gaffered to them. At the end of each gig I just disconnect from the mixer and unplug from the extension lead and all done.

[mattydj50]

I am at at odds with this thread as I actually like setting up, giving myself plenty of time and doing it slowly and methodically. I rarely use the same rigg two gigs running and change the combination of speakers and lights, so premiering for me would be a no no.

Not to say I wouldn't appreciate being packed down and on my way home 10 mins after I finish!

Not always possible when venue allows 30 minutes to strip and reset the room, lay a portable dancefloor, allow me access AND get fully set up and get a band in and fully set up too. That was last Wednesday and I managed to get done in around 45 minutes, the others were still struggling after just over an hour.

[ppentertainments]

Not always possible when venue allows 30 minutes to strip and reset the room, lay a portable dancefloor, allow me access AND get fully set up and get a band in and fully set up too. That was last Wednesday and I managed to get done in around 45 minutes, the others were still struggling after just over an hour.

If you are mainly doing weddings a quick setup can be vital and gain you a lot of brownie points. Venues love it when they are running late, I get setup and we have 5/10 minutes to spare. A lot of venues also recommend me for all day services too as running late is not an option for me :rolleyes:

[yourdj]

If you are mainly doing weddings a quick setup can be vital and gain you a lot of brownie points. Venues love it when they are running late, I get setup and we have 5/10 minutes to spare. A lot of venues also recommend me for all day services too as running late is not an option for me :rolleyes:

I remember in a local venue a manager quipped 'you will never be set up before us', we took it upon ourselves to prove him wrong and did it in about 15 mins when they took over 30-35 mins. He was shocked as it also includes room wide LED uplighting and the local agent they usually uses takes at least 45 mins.

He has remembered us as he is a manager at a local venue now where we do Christmas parties, so it paid dividends to impress staff. I like the fact they are not used to it though as some delusional staff ask if you area ready 10 mins into the set up!! As much as I like to help a venue its not my fault if they are overrunning. :)

[Steven]

The best tip i can give is to have the cables with whatever your using them for in the same bag/box.

For example i've knocked up some cables that have a UK plug running to a junction, which splits to two IEC's each about 2-3m and alongside the length of the two IEC ends is a DMX cable permanently meshed together & i keep it in the bag with whatever lights they for.
So one of these goes in the case with the two Intimidator scans.

Scan goes on podium, plug goes to my main 6 gang, one IEC end up the podium and into one, the other to the other. Saves time and its color coded so i can see on my 6 gang extension if its on or off.

For Inside the podium also had knocked up some of the 20w LED RGB floodlights you can get on amazon. Similar to above UK plug to a Junction then one of these on each end about 3m away from junction. stored in a bag. pull out slide into podium. set to colour via remote. job done.

Podiums get left pre-made with the sock bunched up until light is on top and flood inside, pull down and tidy. 3 minute job max including mounting the light.

Kam Party bar with a wireless foot controller set up behind me, again the 5-10m cable is kept in with it so i just pull out tripod, mount the top and plug the cable in and run it to the 6 gang on my stand. 1 minute.


Cables for evox are kept in the bag between the poles in the (amazing) evox bags. and these take about 1.5 minute each to put together. including cabling.


Equinox Booth (Gorilla Version) out of bag, crossbars in and shelves on, Both Scrims hooked on top and bottom of one side (stops it being see through) then Playout (flight cased) on, and all plugged in, Only hook over scrims for booth when all is done. Custom made 6 gang also has hooks on so it hooks onto the inside of the booth and doesn't sit on the floor and is handy height.


Flightcase is controller and mixer with a shelf, has small wireless mic wired in as well. Laptop charger left in the box too all connected to a extension with a iec end so just plug iec into it to power the whole box.


1 evox bag inside the other, bag for party bar inside with any other bags. inside booth away from any cables. saves time getting them back out of the car when finished and punters cant tell.

[ukpartydj]

The best tip i can give is to have the cables with whatever your using them for in the same bag/box.

For example i've knocked up some cables that have a UK plug running to a junction, which splits to two IEC's each about 2-3m and alongside the length of the two IEC ends is a DMX cable permanently meshed together & i keep it in the bag with whatever lights they for.
So one of these goes in the case with the two Intimidator scans.

Hmm interesting, I'm not sure if it'll save much time with my setup bt certainly worth thinking about. I went through all my cables yesterday and gave them different coloured tape which should help.

I've finished the flight case wiring etc, gave it a whirl on Saturday and had to ask for help carrying up stairs, got it back and weighed it... 38kg! Might not have been so bad but the handles are wide apart.
Took my laptops out and popped them in their own flight case so it's down to 33kg which my lower back can confirm is an acceptable weight.

I've also bought some canvas bags for cables which I'm going to try and figure it out so each bag has a location and I can just dump the bags in the right place when I start setting up.

I'll pop a photo up of how I ended up with the flight case incase anybody wants to see it after my next wedding on Saturday.

[funkymook]

I've finished the flight case wiring etc, gave it a whirl on Saturday and had to ask for help carrying up stairs, got it back and weighed it... 38kg! Might not have been so bad but the handles are wide apart..

My controller + flightcase weighs less than 10kg, what have you put in yours?

[ukpartydj]

My controller + flightcase weighs less than 10kg, what have you put in yours?

Traktor s5
Alto mixer zmx862
Sennheiser ew100 wireless mic receiver, wireless mic and 4 9v batteries.
Shure pg58
Numark orbit
2 laptop chargers, 3 power supplies and a 6 way extension.
Dmx dongle and dmx lead 2m
5m xlr cable, 4x 1m xlr, 2x jack to rca cables, USB cables.

Laptops were 2.5kg each.

Pioneer ddj sz flightcase with laptop shelf (enough room for 2 laptops) weighs 22kg by itself.

[ukpartydj]

I was a little cramped and had to slide the laptop shelf of my FX section but you can hopefully understand why it's 33kg (without laptops) wireless mic receiver is under the controller along with some cables. took a little while to make all the foam fittings to keep it all in place

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[funkymook]

I was a little cramped and had to slide the laptop shelf of my FX section but you can hopefully understand why it's 33kg (without laptops) wireless mic receiver is under the controller along with some cables. took a little while to make all the foam fittings to keep it all in place



I'm using a Denon MC6000 so more compact and much lighter, can still get 2 MBP's on the shelf though.
I'm looking at saving weight as well as set-up time, I'm all for an easy life these days.

[yourdj]

Probably a bit late on this but I use a separate utility case for the electrics and mixer, although thats not very heavy either. :)
Mine probably weight in at about 10kg?? case holds the following:

- 6 socket extension,
- mackie mixer
- Cue-T lighting box
- router for lighting
- all audio/power cables for playout, lighting control and mics.
- The mics/mic box goes in the mixer case.

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[musicology]

That set up looks terrifyingly fragile to me. I much prefer a solid booth with sides and a stable shelf for my peace of mind.

[yourdj]

That set up looks terrifyingly fragile to me. I much prefer a solid booth with sides and a stable shelf for my peace of mind.

Not at all its as solid as a rock.

Only a couple of times (in 9 years) i have had a rowdy crowd / not enough space for the guests and put a chair between the screen and sub. Only the laptop is a bit rickety with the Uberstand, but I have a UDG one now, so thats pretty stable too and at least a metre from any guests. The best thing about this setup is there is no storage cases or any other flight cases, as everything other than the speaker bags are being used. :)

You can kind of see the distance here. about 1 meter, but i have a second screen if needed to create further space.

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On the booth note, a lot of the booths I have seen have the laptop precariously close to the punters as they can just lean over and shut it or spill a drink on it (like the below) but I can see the allure of a stainless Lite Console as that is nice and rigid you can hurl a 20 stone man at it and it should stay intact! Mind you my flight case and sub is very sturdy as they weigh about 40K at least, but those screen are pretty crap if you have some serious weight thrown against it. Thats why they cost £100 vs £800. :)

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[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Not at all its as solid as a rock.

Only a couple of times (in 9 years) i have had a rowdy crowd / not enough space for the guests and put a chair between the screen and sub. Only the laptop is a bit rickety with the Uberstand, but I have a UDG one now, so thats pretty stable too and at least a metre from any guests. The best thing about this setup is there is no storage cases or any other flight cases, as everything other than the speaker bags are being used. :)

You can kind of see the distance here. about 1 meter, but i have a second screen if needed to create further space.

18231

On the booth note, a lot of the booths I have seen have the laptop precariously close to the punters as they can just lean over and shut it or spill a drink on it (like the below) but I can see the allure of a stainless Lite Console as that is nice and rigid you can hurl a 20 stone man at it and it should stay intact! Mind you my flight case and sub is very sturdy as they weigh about 40K at least, but those screen are pretty crap if you have some serious weight thrown against it. Thats why they cost £100 vs £800. :)

18230

I don't use the top shelf of my liteconsole but I run two macs which are placed one in front of the other on the left of my shelf - the rear one sits on a case so is at the rear and within grabbing distance - I've never actually had anyone grab it.

The other side of the shelf that is full of wires and electrocutey things sometimes appears like an ideal place for someone to try and place a drink :rolleyes: