Members james_freestyle Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 hey guys. My family doesn't have very much money, but my sister is getting married. The cheapest DJ price we can get for the wedding is $400. I guess that is the going rate for 4 hours... it seems like a lot of money, so i figured since I already have a 500w powered mixer, and two 250-watt speakers (plus access to mics, and more speakers) that i could do this gig. I an a complete noob when it comes to DJ-ing. I do live sound for bands, so i do have experience with live setting, but i do not know what to run the music through. I cannot get a turntable or anything, but what else should i use? What do i actually PLAY the music through (iPod? Laptop?)Where can i aquire all of the neccessary music for a wedding-after-party?THANX SO SO MUCH:love: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james_freestyle Posted March 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 i also want to get into DJ-ing, outside of this one gig. I want to do the wedding, but i also want to continue with dj-ing after this wedding...dances, and such...thanx alot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted March 24, 2008 Members Share Posted March 24, 2008 Generally DJ's have more than just a PA and an iPod or a stack of albums - they bring lights, a wide variety of dance music and lots of experience at keeping a party in motion. The real trick to being a DJ is to know what people like to hear and know how to make fun happen. You have to keep a flow to the music so that the energy stays high, drops at just the right time, then changes directions and picks back up - all while taking in requests and operating the gear efficiently (especially if they do more than just hit play). And if you can do all this while looking good then you get a check, a referral, and your Saturday nights will never be the same. Some people use laptops, some use turntables, some use CD's. I tried them all but currently I use a Numark D2 Director with a hard drive full of high-quality MP3's that allows me to setup playlists and do effects like beatmatching, scratching, etc. I got my music from Rhapsody.com and it took me months to get enough tunes and organize them. I think doing your sister's wedding is the best way to break the DJ ice. Take on some freebie parties also to get your experience and confidence up. Believe me, including all the gear, time and talent it takes to pull off a DJ gig in fine fashion, you won't think $400 is too much afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james_freestyle Posted March 25, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 well thank you very much:) ... but if i cannot get my hands on a piece of equipment like the nuwmark d2 director... then how could i utilize the ipod, or CD player, or laptop... thanx Pro... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manipulate Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 Look dood, I wouldn't waste $400 on a wedding DJ anyway. I'm sure there's a good wedding DJ out there somewhere but I've never seen one and there is really no skill set with most of these guys except for dealing with the mic and knowing how to coordinate the "first dance" and other wedding non-sense. Other than that, they just play CDs that you hear at every single wedding. Its totally formulaic. You are more than competent to do it. These guys don't usually pay much attention to what the crowd is doing. Here's crowd control hint though, ff you're playing "baby got back" and grandma passes out from the lyrics then you know you better put on some motown or some {censored}. Get the electric slide and the macarena and you're pretty much 90% of the way there. Do a google search for "popular wedding songs" and you've just saved yourself a ton of money. I mean look at these links http://www.discjockeys.com/top_wedding.phphttp://www.discjockeys.com/top_200.php There you have it. Wedding DJ in box. You can do this. To be honest, since you'll know your family better than any DJ, you'll probably have a much better idea of what they want to hear than a DJ. Just make sure you fight the urge to commit suicide when its over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james_freestyle Posted March 25, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 Great man. That website with the songs is great... i will check it out further, but my big problem is still how i actually aquire the mucis, and then play it... can i honestly "jimmy-up" two ipods to work for me, or what should i do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruvjack Posted March 25, 2008 Members Share Posted March 25, 2008 Great man. That website with the songs is great... i will check it out further, but my big problem is still how i actually aquire the mucis, and then play it... can i honestly "jimmy-up" two ipods to work for me, or what should i do? How about one iPod? Numark iDJ2. You'll be out $500 but you'll have bought yourself a powerful tool for your new craft. V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerrard Posted March 26, 2008 Members Share Posted March 26, 2008 Look dood, I wouldn't waste $400 on a wedding DJ anyway. I'm sure there's a good wedding DJ out there somewhere but I've never seen one and there is really no skill set with most of these guys except for dealing with the mic and knowing how to coordinate the "first dance" and other wedding non-sense. Other than that, they just play CDs that you hear at every single wedding. Its totally formulaic. You are more than competent to do it. These guys don't usually pay much attention to what the crowd is doing. Here's crowd control hint though, ff you're playing "baby got back" and grandma passes out from the lyrics then you know you better put on some motown or some {censored}. Get the electric slide and the macarena and you're pretty much 90% of the way there. Do a google search for "popular wedding songs" and you've just saved yourself a ton of money. I mean look at these links http://www.discjockeys.com/top_wedding.phphttp://www.discjockeys.com/top_200.phpThere you have it. Wedding DJ in box. You can do this. To be honest, since you'll know your family better than any DJ, you'll probably have a much better idea of what they want to hear than a DJ. Just make sure you fight the urge to commit suicide when its over. WOW!!! where to start? For starters I've been a DJ for longer than many people on these forums could drive and done more than my fair share of weddings and let me tell you something $400 is a great price (thats my base rate). There are 2 types of wedding DJs out there; the kind that just plays music and doesn't care and the kind that is an MC and will take charge of the event. Most people are paying for the DJ/MC to handle all that "wedding crap" because that "wedding crap" is the most important stuff next to the ceremony. Try accidentally playing the wrong 1st dance and see how unimportant that "wedding crap" is. As far as music is concerned, there are some hard to go wrong wedding classics out there. But being a DJ is about knowing what song to play and when and you can only learn to do that with lots of experiance, and even then you might still get it wrong. You have to remember that its not just your family there, but your brother-in-law's family as well. You also have to remember that it's not just people your sisters age there but ussually 3 generations of people there (grand parents, parents, siblings and sometimes kids) and you have to play music for everyone to enjoy. And lets not even talk about being interactive with the crowd And as I said before as the DJ and the person with mic, everyone will turn to you for announcements and and to coordinate things. So the bottom line is that it is a lot of work, more than many people realize. Now thats not to discourage you from doing it just to know what you are getting yourself into. Now as far as equipment it sounds like you have enough to do a small wedding (75 - 125ish people). If you can get a decent wireless mic do so, it will help alot when it comes to things like the toast and cake cutting. You will want two audio sources whether that is two MP3 players, two CD players, or a laptop with the proper software and hardware so that you can preview the next song and cue it to where you want. I wouldn't worry about lights too much unless you already have them and feel comfortable using them. Once you've conqured this wedding I would try and hook up with a local company and learn from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Pro Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 Only someone who's never done a professional wedding gig thinks there's nothing to it. Take Manipulate's advice and don't give a {censored} - that way you won't get hired twice and you won't give the rest of us a bad name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manipulate Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 Only someone who's never done a professional wedding gig thinks there's nothing to it. Take Manipulate's advice and don't give a {censored} - that way you won't get hired twice and you won't give the rest of us a bad name. I've done professional wedding gigs. Not only that, I can mix and scratch. Wanna battle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jerrard Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 I've done professional wedding gigs. Not only that, I can mix and scratch. Wanna battle? Only someone who is not a special event/wedding DJ will brag so bostfully about their ability to mix and scratch because anyone who has done this seriously for any length of time will know that scratching and battling is the least important skill one can posess for that type of work. Which leads me to believe you are a poser who does not have a clue and really can do neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manipulate Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 Only someone who is not a special event/wedding DJ will brag so bostfully about their ability to mix and scratch because anyone who has done this seriously for any length of time will know that scratching and battling is the least important skill one can posess for that type of work. Which leads me to believe you are a poser who does not have a clue and really can do neither. That's it, post an audio file of you playing the electric slide and pandering to the crowd in a fake "DJ" voice or we can just meet up in person and fight this out. Why don't we meet up at this guy's wedding and battle? I've got a "you cain't {censored} wit my stylez bitch" scratch routine that I'm sure his family is dying to hear almost as much as they want to hear the macarena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manipulate Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 By the way, James, if your learn anything from this horribly ruined thread its that you should always, ALWAYS, hire a band for the wedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Manipulate Posted March 27, 2008 Members Share Posted March 27, 2008 And don't forget the "duck dance"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gruvjack Posted March 28, 2008 Members Share Posted March 28, 2008 By the way, James, if your learn anything from this horribly ruined thread its that you should always, ALWAYS, hire a band for the wedding. Not always. Some weddings are better off with a band. Let's throw a frickin' bone to the out of work bands. At least, they'll get some gigs and we'll have less activity in that "Are DJ's real musicians" thread from hell. V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james_freestyle Posted March 31, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2008 I know that a band would be cool, but I am the only "musically" inclined person in my family IMo... so a band probly wouldn't suffice, especially with the terrible taste of music that several member have... Sop a DJ would be best, because he can play "rap-crap"... and such.... Stronger, Better Faster, Stronger.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james_freestyle Posted March 31, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 31, 2008 AND!, would a band cost more....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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