Newbie Gear Advice

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aguilas583

DJ Extraordinaire
Aug 30, 2016
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Hey all. My name is Sergio and this year I started DJ'ing as a hobby. I am a mechanical engineer full time, and have been playing music since grade school till this day. That being said, I know a few things about acoustics, and the mechanics of sound but, when in comes to figuring out what would fill certain rooms, I just simply don't have the experience or knowledge.

My question is seeing what you think of the following set up for a high school homecoming that I booked via Thumbtack. It's in a gym, and it will be for approximately 1,900 students. I own my own gear that has served me well for events under 400 people, but this is a whole other beast. Sound wise, this is what I plan on bringing:

Own the following:
2 Peavy DM115 subwoofers (15")
2 Mackie SRM450 V2's (possibly fly them on truss I am renting)
1 Behringer B115W (front fill more than likely)

Rent the following:
4 QSC kw181's
2 QSC k12's

Lighting wise, I am renting 15 feet of aluminum truss with applied electronics l-16 crank stands, and a ultratec Hazer.

I own the following lights, and I program everything with show express. 12 slimpar 38's, 2 mini Kintas, 2 wash FX's, 4play CL, Swarm 5 FX, 2 scorpion dual lasers, and 2 intimidator 255 irc's.

Any constructive criticism of this would be greatly appreciated. I see so many different opinions on forums, that sometimes I feel ok with what I rented, and other times I feel uneasy about it. Thank you for your time!


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1900 is A LOT of students, though if you're in a gym, most can't hold that many. If you're actually in that large of a room, you may need twice that rental gear.

The QSC stuff is good for the main area .. I might use the Mackies as side fill if you are in a wide room. Not sure I would bother with the Peavey subs. I also wouldn't fly the speakers unless you had a rigging license .. too many liability issues.

You will probably need the help of a DriveRack or some other delay box to iron out the delays needed for side fills.

Hazers are an issue .. make sure the school (or venue) has OKed them .. many times you need a fire marshall to be there as they might need to turn off the smoke alarms if they have them in the room (some gyms don't).
The lights would seem fine for dance floor coverage. If they need coverage around the room, then you don't have enough.
 
1900 is A LOT of students, though if you're in a gym, most can't hold that many. If you're actually in that large of a room, you may need twice that rental gear.

The QSC stuff is good for the main area .. I might use the Mackies as side fill if you are in a wide room. Not sure I would bother with the Peavey subs. I also wouldn't fly the speakers unless you had a rigging license .. too many liability issues.

You will probably need the help of a DriveRack or some other delay box to iron out the delays needed for side fills.

Hazers are an issue .. make sure the school (or venue) has OKed them .. many times you need a fire marshall to be there as they might need to turn off the smoke alarms if they have them in the room (some gyms don't).
The lights would seem fine for dance floor coverage. If they need coverage around the room, then you don't have enough.

Thanks for the advice. I was very worried when quoting them pricing. I feel like I screwed myself over in quoting them too little as now I would either lose money or ask for more for the rentals. As you can tell, I am new at this business and my experience is extremely limited.

I probably will stay away from flying speakers probably. I can do all of the mechanics of material calculations due to my degree but you are correct in th liability of not having a license.

Haze was approved by the school. The gym has heat detectors instead of PE or particle sensors.

Lighting would only be needed for the dance floor.

Thanks for the advice again.


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Thanks for the advice. I was very worried when quoting them pricing. I feel like I screwed myself over in quoting them too little as now I would either lose money or ask for more for the rentals. As you can tell, I am new at this business and my experience is extremely limited.

I probably will stay away from flying speakers probably. I can do all of the mechanics of material calculations due to my degree but you are correct in th liability of not having a license.

Haze was approved by the school. The gym has heat detectors instead of PE or particle sensors.

Lighting would only be needed for the dance floor.

Thanks for the advice again.


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Starting back up will have a lot of trial and error .. especially as you get a feel for the various venues.

Depending on the size of the gym, you might be OK with what you listed. Tough to say because there are many variables.
 
We could get away with what we have, but I agree with the original advice of double the rentals. the gym rafters alone can sit 2000 students. It's a pretty big school out here in Colorado.


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I'd suggest renting all the same speakers and not using what you have.
4 18" powered subs should shake the place...for that many kids I'd want 4.
tops..4 also should work as well, 12's probably better than 15's.

I've not done anything where I put the sound on the side/back of the hall type arrangement, nor seen it down but once (and can't say it was worth the effort from the sound of it).

Getting the speakers up high I would think is the key - and they make 12" array type speakers and stands to fly them - maybe you can rent the whole deal and have them set it up?

Why did they go to thumbtack for this? New parents/board and no idea what to do or did the previous DJ butcher it?

Know any decent size local bands that would consider renting/setup their gear?
 
For that size crowd I feel like you're under-PA'd. We do some larger schools, with 1600-3000 kids...they are usually held in a "fieldhouse" which is often the size of 4 full size basketball courts. In most cases seating for snacks/drinks is in another room such as a commons or cafeteria. That is a big dance floor to fill. For that size room we use our big system, which is 24 EV18's and 12 3-way tops with about 30,000 watts of amp behind it. As far as flying, unless you are a certified rigger I'd run far away from that idea. Even flying from your own (rented) trussing, putting things above peoples heads is a whole new insurance claim.
 
I'd suggest renting all the same speakers and not using what you have.
4 18" powered subs should shake the place...for that many kids I'd want 4.
tops..4 also should work as well, 12's probably better than 15's.

I've not done anything where I put the sound on the side/back of the hall type arrangement, nor seen it down but once (and can't say it was worth the effort from the sound of it).

Getting the speakers up high I would think is the key - and they make 12" array type speakers and stands to fly them - maybe you can rent the whole deal and have them set it up?

Why did they go to thumbtack for this? New parents/board and no idea what to do or did the previous DJ butcher it?

Know any decent size local bands that would consider renting/setup their gear?

Thanks for the advice.

I don't know why they went to Thumbtack. I will ask the day of but I got a vibe that the old DJ played too much "rave" music and he had a different agenda than the school admin wanted. No idea what that means.

I do not know of any local bands that would want that at the moment.


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For that size crowd I feel like you're under-PA'd. We do some larger schools, with 1600-3000 kids...they are usually held in a "fieldhouse" which is often the size of 4 full size basketball courts. In most cases seating for snacks/drinks is in another room such as a commons or cafeteria. That is a big dance floor to fill. For that size room we use our big system, which is 24 EV18's and 12 3-way tops with about 30,000 watts of amp behind it. As far as flying, unless you are a certified rigger I'd run far away from that idea. Even flying from your own (rented) trussing, putting things above peoples heads is a whole new insurance claim.

Thanks for the advice. I will stay away from flying my speakers myself.

In talking with the the school, it sounds like only 700 of the 1900 students actually come to the homecoming dance (which seems low). That is over 1000 less bodies to make noise and absorb sound. Don't know if that makes a significant difference in terms of needed power. Does venue dimensions and properties trump body count? I know they are both correlated with one another to a degree.


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many factors..

based on MY experience (which isn't 20 some years...) I've played a school dance in a 'normal' gym and wanted more oomph than I had then..which I now have. Want to go back and try it again. All hard space (relfective) except for the people, and very high ceiling.

I've played Jr and Sr dances at the local shool's cafeteria- hard, surface very long room compared to width. I am against a wall so that helps. No problem throwing sound to the far end- sounds good all over. Wedding I attended as photo had a similar room and the DJ used small cheap speakers 1/2 way back..not bad during dinner/cocktails but once the dancing started and the sound was turned up there was no point to the 'satellite' speakers. Both rooms have 10-12' celings.

I did a gig at the mall..HUGE space, very high ceilings, all hard space and I was on a stage with nothing behind me. Very boomy..wasn't expecting that..hard to turn teh subs (and only 12" ones at that) way down to get the sound balanced right.
 
many factors..

based on MY experience (which isn't 20 some years...) I've played a school dance in a 'normal' gym and wanted more oomph than I had then..which I now have. Want to go back and try it again. All hard space (relfective) except for the people, and very high ceiling.

I've played Jr and Sr dances at the local shool's cafeteria- hard, surface very long room compared to width. I am against a wall so that helps. No problem throwing sound to the far end- sounds good all over. Wedding I attended as photo had a similar room and the DJ used small cheap speakers 1/2 way back..not bad during dinner/cocktails but once the dancing started and the sound was turned up there was no point to the 'satellite' speakers. Both rooms have 10-12' celings.

I did a gig at the mall..HUGE space, very high ceilings, all hard space and I was on a stage with nothing behind me. Very boomy..wasn't expecting that..hard to turn teh subs (and only 12" ones at that) way down to get the sound balanced right.

Interesting.


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Thanks for the advice. I will stay away from flying my speakers myself.

In talking with the the school, it sounds like only 700 of the 1900 students actually come to the homecoming dance (which seems low). That is over 1000 less bodies to make noise and absorb sound. Don't know if that makes a significant difference in terms of needed power. Does venue dimensions and properties trump body count? I know they are both correlated with one another to a degree.


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Venue size important .. body count more so ... usually, the sound is needed most on the dance floor, so 40% of the people .. hopefully translates to a smaller actually dancing crowd .. so it may help a lot. I would still be thinking of upping the speaker counts to 6-8 subs (or 4 double 18s) and 4 matched tops. I've done 700 with about the same .. not Rave quantity, but doable.
 
I don't see what the issue is with flying speakers? I know, liability, but you do it with lights on trusses, right? If you use the proper safety cables I don't see the issue.
Here's a simple, strong looking, inexpensive mount..
Truss Mount

Or use ibolts in the speakers (all mine have nuts for it).
QSC has a kit.. QSC Suspension Kit for KW 122

I would think it'd be as stable, or more so, than putting them 10' up on tripod stands, and would look cleaner too.
 
Venue size important .. body count more so ... usually, the sound is needed most on the dance floor, so 40% of the people .. hopefully translates to a smaller actually dancing crowd .. so it may help a lot. I would still be thinking of upping the speaker counts to 6-8 subs (or 4 double 18s) and 4 matched tops. I've done 700 with about the same .. not Rave quantity, but doable.

Gotcha. I was relieved when I heard that the number of people that show up is under 1000. I will hopefully finally have good experience with this gig in understanding what everyone has been saying on this thread. Thank you all for your advice on this.


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First it's always better to have more then not enough. When you don't have enough you will find yourself pushing the setup to hard to get the sound you need and that can cause damage to the speakers. Also when you do that most times you get distortion and it will sound like crap. People do absorb the sound so I personally like Steve's suggestions. Also I would not assume a thing when it comes why they decided to book another DJ. I would simply contact them and hopefully you can have a meeting with them to find out the reason. You want you and the school on the same page so that if they really like your work they will look to contact you again. It's better to be safe then sorry on both accounts.
 
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In talking with the the school, it sounds like only 700 of the 1900 students actually come to the homecoming dance (which seems low). That is over 1000 less bodies to make noise and absorb sound. Don't know if that makes a significant difference in terms of needed power. Does venue dimensions and properties trump body count? I know they are both correlated with one another to a degree.

BIG difference in 700 bodies rather than 1900! Yes it can still be a big room, and lots of reflective surfaces, but your effective dance floor area is much smaller. Bodies are soft (sound dampening) where room properties affect acoustics primarily. In an empty room a small pa will be heard easily, but start adding bodies and it's a whole other story. I totally agree with Steve149 on system size...I wouldn't go in any smaller than that myself. I prefer to have a little headroom than be seeing clip lights or hearing "can you turn it up" all night.
 
First it's always better to have more then not enough. When you don't have enough you will find yourself pushing the setup to hard to get the sound you need and that can cause damage to the speakers. Also when you do that most times you get distortion and it will sound like crap. People do absorb the sound so I personally like Steve's suggestions. Also I would not assume a thing when it comes why they decided to book another DJ. I would simply contact them and hopefully you can have a meeting with them to find out the reason. You want you and the school on the same page so that if they really like your work they will look to contact you again. It's better to be safe then sorry on both accounts.
To all new members While Mix's advice this time is decent please use caution in learning from his post's
 
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To all new members While Mix's advice this time is decent please use caution in learning from his post's
What advice do you have oh great one? Enlighten us with your great knowledge and wisdom the great Wizard Of Oz.
 
Mix, in order to give others proper knowledge and advice, you need to demonstrate that you have it yourself.
 
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