Newbie Wedding DJ (cringe?) - Advise me please!

[Lung Ruffian]

Hi there

So, I know SOME things about PA systems, but in the grand scheme of things, I am nothing. So... I am seeking advice.

I am looking for PA system that has the versatility to play a variety of rooms for weddings. I am familiar with the difference between powered speakers and using an amp, and I only lean towards powered speakers for the peace of mind. But I am open.

The thing is is that I don;t need an amazing system. I think I would need some low end I'm sure to keep the butts shaking, but I'm not sure how much I would need. My thought is that why would I need to fill an entire room aside from the dance floor and the surrounding areas. People who aren;t near the dance floor don;t want to hear the music anyways... in my opinion.

 

So I am looking for value and not more than I actually need. I have looked at the Fender Passport 250 Deluxe, but most posts talk about it being good for coffee shop live gigs. Does that differ if I am simply using a computer/ipod?

 

Thanks in advance for the goodness.

[jskratch]

Howdy. I guess on something like this you have to think in terms of quality and the long run. In my opinion passport systems are good for vocal pa and acoustic type applications... not really for a mobile dj or for a reception hall etc.. I would recomend something like a B-52 matrix 1000. Something you would have to buy once and not have to worry about. Both Gemini and Marathon make systems similar but if you are looking for quality I would go the B-52 route. Check out guitarcenter.com's used section and craigs list, ebay etc... as well.

 

Matrix 1000 - http://www.audiolines.com/product.php?productid=13704

 

Marathon - http://www.sixstardj.com/matracspsy.html

 

Gemini - http://www.brilliant-electronics.com/other_speakers_gemini_xtr500sys.htm

 

Hope that helps man. J

[gruvjack]

Give us a number (budget).

 

V.

[djdfw]

 

Hi there So, I know SOME things about PA systems, but in the grand scheme of things, I am nothing. So... I am seeking advice. I am looking for PA system that has the versatility to play a variety of rooms for weddings. I am familiar with the difference between powered speakers and using an amp, and I only lean towards powered speakers for the peace of mind. But I am open. The thing is is that I don;t need an amazing system. I think I would need some low end I'm sure to keep the butts shaking, but I'm not sure how much I would need. My thought is that why would I need to fill an entire room aside from the dance floor and the surrounding areas. People who aren;t near the dance floor don;t want to hear the music anyways... in my opinion. So I am looking for value and not more than I actually need. I have looked at the Fender Passport 250 Deluxe, but most posts talk about it being good for coffee shop live gigs. Does that differ if I am simply using a computer/ipod? Thanks in advance for the goodness.

 

 

It looks like you want to spend under a grand on PA, guessing by the Fender under consideration. General rules are that if you buy cheap, you will buy twice. There are lots of things to consider.

 

First, if you want to be a mobile wedding dj, take note of the word "mobile." Whatever system you purchase must be one you can load and take with you and one which can stand the bumping and shuffling around without destruction. The road is hard on equipment.

 

Second, if you want to be a wedding dj, it is not sufficient to have one system at the wedding. You must have backup. All equipment will fail at some point. Speakers have moving parts. Electric components fail. You are not now purchasing your main system. You are now purchasing your backup system. You are not ready for a wedding. After you play some house parties and pool parties, bithdays and dances, then use that money to purchase your main system and take this system with you to use when your main system crashes.

 

You need the following things at a minimum:

Speakers, Amplification, Mixer, Program Player, Programmng, Cables, Power Cord, Surge Protector, Microphone, Headphones, Transportation and Customers.

 

Buy quality equipment, the best you can afford. Look at Craigslist.org, backpage.com and Ebay.com, pawn shops and garage sales for stuff. You can also find programming at all of those places as well. Check the Internet for fourms such as may be found on this board. Many local musician forums have equipment for sale. Look for gatherings of local djs playing shows. Parks are popular. Meet folks and some will have stuff they purchased when starting they no longer need.

 

The following suggestions are just for thought:

 

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$550 - $800

 

Powered Speakers:

250 each x 2 Tapco Thump http://www.guitarcenter.com/Tapco-TH-15A-Thump-15--Powered-Speaker-600299-i1372317.gc

 

Unpowered Speakers + Amp

 

220 each x 2 perhaps a Peavey PR 15 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-PR-15-Loudspeaker-104006200-i1153015.gc

 

Tapco makes a good amp. It has a high pass filter and a clip limiter onboard and has two fans to keep it cool. The Juice 1400 can be purchased for $300

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Tapco-Juice-J-1400-Power-Amplifier-483049-i1324625.gc

 

Get your speakon cables or whatever you use off ebay. There are plenty of places for that and you should pay $35 or less for a pair.

 

When you do weddings, people do look at the name on the speakers. It is nice to have a known name on your system.

 

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Personally, I prefer unpowered speakers plus an amp. You can mix and match later and use the amps and speakers in different combos for different shows. Powered speakers may be a bit easier to set up for ceremony music. If you purchase one amp, when you purchase a second amp, you can later use it to power subs and as the backup for main speakers if one of the amps fails.

 

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$175

 

Mixer: There are tons of mixers you can use. Remember, this will be your backup system in the long run. You will eventually spend more money on a mixer and you are looking for something basic at the moment. $90 to 100...

 

Gemini

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gemini-PS-626X-3-Channel-DJ-Mixer-630340-i1384890.gc

 

Behringer

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-DX626-Pro-DJ-Mixer-631241-i1153484.gc

 

If you are using a computer, you might wish to consider getting a mixer with a usb adapter. This adds about $50 to the mixer, but if you are using a computer, you probably need this.

 

Gemini

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gemini-PS-626USB-3-Channel-USB-DJ-Mixer-482877-i1400089.gc

 

Again, check ebay for the proper conncections, cables and adapters necessary to hook up your content player to the mixer and the mixer to the amp. Use the largest and sturdiest wires you can find. Have some backup for these things as they get twisted and turned, etc... and wires are generally the first thing to go bad. Price will vary depending on what you need, but $25 ought to get you close.

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Content player: Computers are fine. Ipods can be used but I would never, never, ever recommend that for a wedding. If you use a computer and get a buzz or humm, get a buzz off box from Rolls. You might want to consider a mixer which has a usb adapter if you are using a computer. Keep an eye on craigslist and ebay for used cd decks. I assume you will be using a computer you already have.

 

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Microphone and headphones. Get inexpensive gear here to start. Don't get wireless yet, get experience first. Garage sales, craigslist, etc... You need at least two microphones as one will break during a wedding and you MUST make announcements and there will be toasts.

 

Transportation is required. You can't take this stuff on a bicycle or a bus easily.

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Content. Meet with the couple in advance and have a playlist made out in advance for your music. You can play about 17 songs in an hour, but should have at least 25 songs for any hour you might play. That means a hundred songs is quite a bit. If you are going to buy all your music from scratch, check out the top 200 songs from mobilebeat.com to see what the most popular songs are for weddings. Keep in mind that specialty songs for garter toss, cake cutting and the like will be required for most weddings. When you purchase the music for each party, you will find yourself purchasing less and less music as many folks want the same tunes from one wedding to the next. It is not like club gigs.

 

Customers. Well, there are lots of secrets here and I won't give away all, but there are some basic things:

Dress appropriately, do not be drunk or drugged, arrive on time, keep the music appropriate for the audience, have business cards, smile, anwser your phone, work very hard to get customers and referrals and keep customers. Then work harder. Then work harder still. Set face to face meetings with potential customers. Advertise. Free advertising is best. Work the Internet. Don't think that free public gigs (doing a show for the publicity) is worth a darn, but do some anyway for experience. Keep your prices very low to start. If you compete on price, there will always be someone who will do it cheaper. That person will be you at the start. In the long run quality is what wins customers and referrals and the sooner you concentrate on quality, the better off you will be. Compete on quality. Get to know your competition. Your competition is your best source of business after referrals. Treat people fairly. Give more than they have purchased or expect.

 

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What do we use?

We have four Yamaha 215 and two Yamaha 115 speakers, a pair of JBL 4719x subs, a Peavey 218 sub and a pair of Peavey DTH 118 subs, several Tapco Amps (2500 watts), a laptop, Denon CD Decks and a Denon DNX-900 mixer. We also have an extremely large light show which really adds a party atmosphere. Not all weddings want a huge light show but about half will.

For a typical wedding, we bring a pair of Yamaha 215 speakers and sometimes add a subwoofer, depending on the room and crowd and other factors (Jackson, Grant and Franklin factors). We have complete backup with us at every wedding.

 

We serve the greater Dallas - Fort Worth Metroplex and are by DFW Airport.

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There is a LOT of information on the Internet. Youtube has all sort of DJ tutorials. Also look at http://dju.prodj.com/

 

Buy hard cases and racks for everything you have. The road is very hard on equipment. This is something you will constantly be adding. You can never have too much in the way of hard cases to protect your equipment. You will also really need a dolly if you are doing it right.

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Learn to use your gear before you use it. Read the manuals. Understand gain and distortion. Green is good. Yellow means caution. Red means STOP IT!

Read the articles here:

http://www.peavey.com/support/technotes/soundsystems/top10damage.cfm

and

http://www.peavey.com/support/technotes/

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Last bit of advice: If you can not afford this type of system, stop. Just stop. Get a regular job and save money until you can at least afford a minimal system.