could anyone set your rig up?

[DJ INDIE]

bit of a bizarre question, but ive spent about a month, condensing my equipment to reduce any unnecessary cables / mess / plug ext / leads etc etc.

i have now bought a deckstand and pre wired that and pre wired my dj/playout box so you only have to plug in a few cables and everythings done.

whilst doing this (and as much to help me) i designated built in plug sockets to my stand/booth for each collection of equipment - 1 for lights, 1 for playout, 1 for active speakers etc - then labelled everything up.

i reckon now, anyone (even a novice) could possibly take my gear and be able to set it up. theres no way 6 months ago this was possible - I even had to set almost everything up when I had a roadie with me.

test will come next gig, when I'm going to see if he can set everything up from scratch.

I just thought this may be useful (if say the worst happened and I was delayed getting to a gig or asked another DJ to do the gig or set up my equipment at short notice).


question is:

how easy is your rig to set up, and do you think anyone could take your gear and set it up without any problems?

[BeerFunk]

Umm.... anyone with a bit of nous could, I suppose

However, there is the simple case of setting everything up and getting it powered on, but you really want everything set up for maximum efficiency and effect.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

No-one could ever set mine up without prior training. I am way too fussy about everything.

[Spirits High]

Set it up, probably Yes.

Set it up the way I like it, No

I'm a big fan of "Attention to detail" the rig get's velcro tied to death

[yourdj]

They could set my rig up. Use it probably not? Depends on the DJ

[JDB Entertainment]

Set it up, probably Yes.

Set it up the way I like it, No

I'm a big fan of "Attention to detail" the rig get's velcro tied to death

Here, Here!

Regardless of being able to set it up it would never be to my standards or how I like it!

[DeckstarDeluxe]

4ft goalpost. Few led fixtures and my denons and mixer in the same flight case. I think another dj could easily set my rig up.

My "nightclub" rig is different.....

[rob1963]

My gear is pretty straightforward & I don't have many leads, so I think anyone could set it up...as long as they remembered to use the UPS!

[DJ INDIE]

No-one could ever set mine up without prior training. I am way too fussy about everything.

thats what I was like! - everything had to be my own way!! my favourite cables, this goes here - not there! cables run round here, not there . . . . . i just thought (even though its still set up fussily!) if i could pre-set up as much as possible and label all the cables that need connecting, whilst pre wiring the others, it would make set up a lot easier without comprimising anything.

the idea to make it as easy as possible for anyone else to set up evolved when i thought for the sake of a few labels on a few cables anyone could set it up - all they have to do is connect pre wired "mic 1" cable from the dj rack case to "mic 1" from the bag of cables - plug the labelled "lights" plug into "lights" socket pre installed on the stand/booth. etc etc

i reckon its probably knocked around at least 30 minutes off my set up time - pre wiring / connecting everything was a bit of hard work, but I reckon i'll soon start to reap the benefits - even better if someone else is proficient in setting it up too!

[Happy Jack]

Well, I suppose the answer is yes, of course. Anyone could set it all up. They wouldn't be able to operate it, though!

To many little quirks and 'workarounds', very different crossover and limiter settings for our 3 and 4 way systems, custom personality files and a strange playback method on the lighting board...

I admire the pursuit of transparency especially for smaller, dry hire packages where you assume little or no knowledge on behalf of the user. For the main rig however, it'll always be a shade of grey until we find our niche and are happy with our equipment.