Great Initial Consult yesterday

So I meet Amy & Dave at there condo over looking Sarasota Bay yesterday at 5pm. Two great people who are getting married next May at a great venue. Amy has done her homework and knows what to ask, etc. Dave is pretty queit the asks me can i mix..I said of course and he says finally a DJ who can actually mic..I ask what do mean he says we have spoken with 5 other DJ's who can not mix and we feel that is very important to the flow of the dance floor. I guess from our conversation they have been to many events where the DJ could not mix. Anyway It was a great consult booked for prime $$$$ and before I left Dave showed me this from Wikipedia:
Mobile Disc Jockeys are an extension of the original Radio disc jockeys.They travel with or go on tour with mobile sound systems and play from an extensive collection of pre-recorded content for a specific audience. In the 2000s, mobile DJs need a large selection of music, professional-grade equipment, good organizational skills, vocal talent as an MC, mixing skills, quality lighting, insurance for liability, and on-site back-up equipment.[2] In the 2000s, the role of the Mobile DJ has expanded. Many Mobile DJs have assumed additional responsibilities to ensure an event's success. These responsibilities include the roles of MC, event organizer and coordinator, lighting director, and/or sound engineer.[3]

And Amy said on many bride sites many brides in thier vendor reviews complained of the lack of talent thier DJ's had especially when it came time for the next song many brides compained of silence, etc.

Anyway Amy is a college professor and David a plastic surgeon and they were great I was impressed with all thier questions...I love educated clients

sounds like you nailed them and hopefully they will educate their friends.....

Excellent Ray I too enjoy the few who know what they are attempting to accomplish when hiring a proper DJ.

Absolutely. An informed customer is your best customer. :)

In truth, many prospects don't know what they want in a DJ company. If asked, they'll usually say they want to dance and have a fun time. After the show, they may well say you're the greatest because you fulfilled their needs. And that's fair.

It's just easier all around when a customer has done his or her homework. The customer knows what to expect and the DJ company knows what the customer expects. Knowing what the customer expects makes the show much easier to manage. For any customer, knowing what they're getting for their money is very important. The more a customer knows, the easier they are to deal with.

Folks, I dunno about the rest of yas but I honestly don't care for DJing cookie-cutter receptions where we're trying to herd the B&G and others to get things done. This type of scenario often occurs when the B&G don't know what they want. I'd rather they tell us what they want, not the other way 'round. :)

Thoughts?

Great post Fred plus in my market the more I can customize thier event the more $$$ I can ask for and the better I look :)

I put the question, "Can you mix?" in the same category as, "Do you have anything with a beat?"

I put the question, "Can you mix?" in the same category as, "Do you have anything with a beat?"

Or:Do you have Sound system?:sqwink:

I put the question, "Can you mix?" in the same category as, "Do you have anything with a beat?"

Bryan you are giving some of our less experienced brethren way too much credit. I've been to a number of weddings where the dj changed songs about as good as i-tunes can on auto pilot. You know the type with horrible horrible train wrecks. When i was in radio and either an md or pd i would hotline my jocks that would take it upon themselves to rearrange the music log and ask them "are the passengers ok?"

But assuming that djs can mix like "Do you have anything with a beat" gives some people wayyyy too much credit.

On the flip though there are some dj's here in fact who's forte is more in MCing and aestetic <sp?> presentation and admittedly don't mix, for them this is great if thats what they want to do.

I'd say our average bride for our company is 23-26 years old so they are looking for the formal part to be formal and the party part to be "The club" thats what they get with most of my guys. Me personally at a really good event where im scratching, sampling and mixing i work up a good sweat not in load in or out but actually doing the job.

Well, I agree that some understanding of mixing is important. It requires an understanding of music.

Many people mistake BPM matching for mixing. BPM is a useful tool but it can't tell the difference between 4/4 and 3/4 timing. And it can't tell the difference between keys and harmonics or octaves. This is why you have tempo and pitch controls.

Some songs mix easily. Others do not. Train wrecks occur when the operator is not familiar with the nuances of music and how it's structured. Let's face it ~ some people are just plain tone-deaf. :)

In our experience with wedding parties, a good, smooth segue will often do. Very little mixing is required.

Thoughts?

Fred,

Great points I have been doing weddings since 1990 and feel mixing is important. Kyle is correct too many guys are Train Wreck DJ's... Fred the problem is many guys don't know about measures and/or 32 beat intro's etc. They have no idea how to use a crossfader and/or do not understand how master tempo and/or pitch work. Also I love harmonic mixing (This is mixing 2 songs with the same key) that is why many cd and HD players have Key Adjust. It takes practice but when you are on it sounds amazing. As a long time Mobile I think the more seasoned you are from your mic skills, to programming, to mixing the better you will do.

bestdj I totally agree with the knowledge of keys as the KEY to success when mixing. Even on beat a mix not in proper key can sound worse than a mix off beat at times.