DJ Vs IPOD

juliescot

That was cringe worthy.

I hope the sound system is a bit better than that. And with a bit of practice and the right sort of playlist set-up then it will be great.

(And if not you can always stick the video on youtube)

chatnoir

we are getting wed a chateau in France...we are pretty much left to our devices we have a wedding planner and think the owners will be on hand to help set things up

arhh so unsure...even if we spend the money we won't be able to meet DJ first so could end up paying for smashy and nicy!

roxalana

I am weighing this one up too. But for us the venue doesn't have its own sound system as it is usually provided by their djs.

I just don't want the DJ to be pants (and I'm not sure I fancy sourcing sound equipment!).

Any tips for making sure the DJ will be good? Or sourcing decent speakers - we have about 120 guests so due to the size of the room the speakers would have to be good.

We have done parties for less than 50 people with an ipod and it was fine even without the software but i guess for a wedding best to get rid of the gaps. One of our friends skipped any tracks that were clearing the dancefloor!

chatnoir

i think there is something called dry hire or wet hire...you basically hire the DJs equipment but no DJ...dry hire is you have to set it up yourself, wet hire you get a technition to set it all up...or vice versa

Neil_McManus

May as well add my opinion on this as I am a part time professional DJ alongside my main profession.

30 people use the ipod as long as the dock is to a decent sound system (for 30 people you should get away with £150 watt each side off 10 or 12 inch drivers), its just not worth getting a DJ for that many people.

As for finding a decent DJ.

Look and book early as those of us that are any good book up quickly. You may get lucky close to you date, but don't chance it. We have bookings for 2011 coming in.
Make sure they have PAT test and PLI cover. If they don't they aren't necessary illegal, but your venue may refuse them and its best practice.
If you get quoted under £150 for your event its unlikely they are running good quality professional gear or are meeting all the regs.
We charge £200 for a nights work which in my opinion is fair (you get two DJ's when you book us) Allows us to carry a proper lighting rig and decend sized system. Two heads are also better than one when it comes to music selection and working a crowd.
Get to know them, meet them and try and see them prior to booking them.
Here is the best tip. See someone you like somewhere (engaged to be married or not) get the card, put it safe. There are a lot of real poor quality DJ's out there.
Don't ask how much they are but how good they are.
Budget £200 min for a good DJ and get looking from the day you set the date. Talk to a few we are socialable by nature why else would we spend our spare time playing music till 1am to drunk people. If they won't engage with you unless you book them find another one to talk to.
Do they know your venue?

I will stop now as I could go on for ever as its my hobby and my passion, so I won't.

If its a small do of 30 people then use the ipod.

Neil_McManus

roxalana wrote: »

Any tips for making sure the DJ will be good? Or sourcing decent speakers - we have about 120 guests so due to the size of the room the speakers would have to be good. QUOTE]

For 120 guests you are going to need at least 300 watts a side and avoid anything made by soundlab, skytech, etc. They will need to be driven by at least 600watt per side amp if you are pushing 8ohm load on the speakers. A mixer and your ipod linked to a channel would get you live, but thats without any lighting.

By the time you hire in gear and get a techy to set it up if you don't know what you are doing then you could probably get a DJ in.

stuart.pinfold

A slight tangent, and this would require the venue to provide internet access, but it's what we hope to do:

- Find someone with a laptop with a decent sound card, and hook it up to the 'net.
- Download a copy of Spotify and pay for a one-day ad-free "day pass" license (currently 99p for 24 hours)
- In advance, build a playlist of songs
- Then guests can type in any music they want to hear, queue it up behind everyone else's, and let it play.

It's just like an iPod, but means that if someone really wants a song playing... all they have to do is type it in!

Mme.Hibou

stuart.pinfold wrote: »

A slight tangent, and this would require the venue to provide internet access, but it's what we hope to do:

- Find someone with a laptop with a decent sound card, and hook it up to the 'net.
- Download a copy of Spotify and pay for a one-day ad-free "day pass" license (currently 99p for 24 hours)
- In advance, build a playlist of songs
- Then guests can type in any music they want to hear, queue it up behind everyone else's, and let it play.

It's just like an iPod, but means that if someone really wants a song playing... all they have to do is type it in!

Just make sure they've got the license to do it too.

stuart.pinfold

Assuming they allow "full DJ" discos, they must have a PRS license (which allows you to play music to the public) anyway, so no extra licenses should be required...