What business expenditures/equipment purchases do you plan for 2024

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DJ Ricky B

DJ Ricky B

DJ Extraordinaire
Mar 9, 2015
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I did an inventory of everything I have when I loaded my car for my last event. I do not see any new purchases EXCEPT New Wireless up lights to replace all of the wired lights that I am about to sell on facebook market place/eBay in the next week or so. I am not in a hurry, and I figure I need some sort of purchase for the 2024 business year. About 8 new up lights will be what I buy.

I am currently looking at the BOTH LIGHTING IR4 light. These are BOTH's version of the RF4 that Rockville came out with about a year and a half ago. By the way Both manufactured the lights for Rockville. They are small, compact, 4 12 watt LEDs. DJ Rick Web sells them and is their rep in the USA. Outside of having a narrower beam than a 6 or 9 LED light would have, is there any reason why I should not buy into these smaller IR4 lights??? The weight and space savings over traditional battery powered lights are very attractive to me. I believe they are a similiar design to the lights Ape Labs came out with. Here is a link to the lights I am talking about. I will probably pull the trigger in late February/March and have them here well before wedding season starts. No reason for me to buy them now.

bothlightingusa.com

IR-4 (BO-IR4)

Model: IR-4 (IR-4) Shipping Options: 10-14 Business Days (From Factory to Door) 1-3 Business Days (US Only / Expedited / Limited Stock) Automatic Discounts: Order 16x Lights - GET 20% OFF (4x Soft Bags Or 2x Charging Case) Key Features: Battery Powered: This allows you to finally eliminate the...
bothlightingusa.com

Essentially, it will either be those, or the 6x18 watt lights like I currently have and are familiar with.
 
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If you're looking to offer a legitimate uplighting service of a higher quality, get the s4 or if you can afford it, get the s6 from both lighting. If you work in any venues that have windows that let in natural light, or tall ceilings... the ir4's aren't going to cut it. This is more meant for lighting up trusses or facades. In addition the batteries on the ir4 are only good for a 4-6hr event depending on the color chosen. Once in a while I have some weddings where the ceremony is in the same room as the reception and the lights are on for 7+hrs.
 
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To answer your question though about upgrades:

- 80% likely to jump on New Custom DJ booth... have 2 designs that im trying to decide between. This will be fully custom, so I have to really commit to this process, as it's not something that I can just find online and buy (hence the 20% chance I won't get around to it).
- 50/50 on Possibly the new Guac photo booth (already have salsa and love its functionality
- 80% New Macbook
- Am a maybe on A Jackery 1000... I want one and see a lot of benefits for it. Never actually needed it though which is why I haven't actually jumped on it.
 
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After upgrading all of my systems, I’m not planning on any new purchases. I’ll be selling more stuff I haven’t used in a while
 
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Proformance said:
I don't think I would rely on the Rockville brand for anything that truly mattered to the performance. It is some of the cheapest and most flawed manufacturing I've come across in quite some time.
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Certain things I am fine with. Such as the facade I bought. Everything snapped together fine, and the price point was excellent for it. So I bought the $49.99 speaker stands that came with carry bag 5 years ago I believe. The carry bag strap finally broke about a month ago. Ordered a new carry bag for $19.99. With one of the speaker stands, the pole that comes out is loose now as something inside of the stand has broke, but it still works fine. So I got 5 years with no issues. $10 per year on those stands. I also have the Rockville Totem stands. I rarely use them, but build quality seems fine on them.
 
djtaso said:
If you're looking to offer a legitimate uplighting service of a higher quality, get the s4 or if you can afford it, get the s6 from both lighting. If you work in any venues that have windows that let in natural light, or tall ceilings... the ir4's aren't going to cut it. This is more meant for lighting up trusses or facades. In addition the batteries on the ir4 are only good for a 4-6hr event depending on the color chosen. Once in a while I have some weddings where the ceremony is in the same room as the reception and the lights are on for 7+hrs.
Click to expand...

Well that answers that. I'll look at the S series lights, but the 6x18 wattt lights I have are around $170 each if I order from Rainbow, OR from Both Lighting should be under $140 each vs $250 to $280 each on the S4/S6. The videos I saw with the IR4s in action did not have any tall ceilings they were bouncing the light off of. The Portico at DAR in D.C. is a place I seem to get up lighting add ons when I am there, and that ceiling is at least 28' tall with those tall columns.
 
DJ Ricky B said:
Well that answers that. I'll look at the S series lights, but the 6x18 wattt lights I have are around $170 each if I order from Rainbow, OR from Both Lighting should be under $140 each vs $250 to $280 each on the S4/S6. The videos I saw with the IR4s in action did not have any tall ceilings they were bouncing the light off of. The Portico at DAR in D.C. is a place I seem to get up lighting add ons when I am there, and that ceiling is at least 28' tall with those tall columns.
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It’s 12w leds vs 18w so about 50% brighter. My previous uplights set had 12w led’s but there were 9 led diodes, not 4.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
Certain things I am fine with. Such as the facade I bought. Everything snapped together fine, and the price point was excellent for it. So I bought the $49.99 speaker stands that came with carry bag 5 years ago I believe. The carry bag strap finally broke about a month ago. Ordered a new carry bag for $19.99. With one of the speaker stands, the pole that comes out is loose now as something inside of the stand has broke, but it still works fine. So I got 5 years with no issues. $10 per year on those stands. I also have the Rockville Totem stands. I rarely use them, but build quality seems fine on them.
Click to expand...
Stands and bags aren't lights and speakers, etc. It's the electronics I would stay away from if it is in any way critical to what you do.

I got 4 of their small molded PA speakers when they were selling them at 1/2 price to use as possible side fills/delays for a monument dedication and large tent. I knew they would be cheap, but figured when they die I'd fill the enclosure with better quality components. Didn't end up using them, and even happier that I inspected the internal wiring in advance.

The NL4 inputs were seriously mis-wired and would fry any amplifier connected with an NL4 cross-over cable. Rewired mine, and sent the company a note telling them their wiring was dangerously out of compliance. Don't know if they ever changed it. The should have been built using NL2 connectors or properly wired for NL4.
 
Portable power..They are neat little rigs I thought about the same thing but I don't see me using it enough for business but might be handy for camping

ca.jackery.com

Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station - Jackery CA

Equipped with a 1002Wh battery capacity and multiple ports, Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station is one of the most powerful power stations. The built-in MPPT charge controller ensures efficient and stable solar charging to power CPAP machines, electric grills, computers, cameras, and...
ca.jackery.com ca.jackery.com
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I did an inventory of everything I have when I loaded my car for my last event. I do not see any new purchases EXCEPT New Wireless up lights to replace all of the wired lights that I am about to sell on facebook market place/eBay in the next week or so. I am not in a hurry, and I figure I need some sort of purchase for the 2024 business year. About 8 new up lights will be what I buy.

I am currently looking at the BOTH LIGHTING IR4 light. These are BOTH's version of the RF4 that Rockville came out with about a year and a half ago. By the way Both manufactured the lights for Rockville. They are small, compact, 4 12 watt LEDs. DJ Rick Web sells them and is their rep in the USA. Outside of having a narrower beam than a 6 or 9 LED light would have, is there any reason why I should not buy into these smaller IR4 lights??? The weight and space savings over traditional battery powered lights are very attractive to me. I believe they are a similiar design to the lights Ape Labs came out with. Here is a link to the lights I am talking about. I will probably pull the trigger in late February/March and have them here well before wedding season starts. No reason for me to buy them now.

bothlightingusa.com

IR-4 (BO-IR4)

Model: IR-4 (IR-4) Shipping Options: 10-14 Business Days (From Factory to Door) 1-3 Business Days (US Only / Expedited / Limited Stock) Automatic Discounts: Order 16x Lights - GET 20% OFF (4x Soft Bags Or 2x Charging Case) Key Features: Battery Powered: This allows you to finally eliminate the...
bothlightingusa.com

Essentially, it will either be those, or the 6x18 watt lights like I currently have and are f
Click to expand...

Maybe a new wireless mic possibly some studio stuff. There's nothing I really need right now
 
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You are asking a couple of weeks early. When I get back from the Consumer Electronic Show I will probably have a list of things I want. First on the list one of the new 14th Generation laptops, very likely as one of my office machines. They have the new AI chip on the processor. As Bryan is interested in AI and I heard there are already programs designed to make use of the chip. But I’m still getting info as the formal release was just last week. Other than that, I may be replacing some Video Projectors.
 
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I will probably pull the trigger on a digital mixer in Feb. I am waiting till after NAMM so I can get some hands-on time with the new Allen & Heath CQ 20B and Yamaha DM3. The venerable QSC Touchmix 16 is also in consideration. I still haven't decided which feature set is most important to me. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. I really love the Yamaha (with its 9" screen and motorized faders) but it is really the least practical for my needs.

I may get a few more lights to for our home parties. I currently use par36 spots to light our mirrored ball but I want a more focused beam. However, I can't justify spending a pretty penny for something that only gets used a few hours a year. One of my thoughts is using high-powered focusable flashlights that I can control with an external power supply for use during parties. And who can't use extra flashlights? My wife saw some video of an RGB laser that can do animations and she thought we should get it. It was very cool and quite affordable <$150 but I think it might get old pretty fast.

The one thing I know for sure is that I will get more cables. I always seem to be buying cables and adapters (AC, USB, XLR, TRS, etc). Tonight will be some AC cables.
 
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Jeff Romard said:
Portable power..They are neat little rigs I thought about the same thing but I don't see me using it enough for business but might be handy for camping

ca.jackery.com

Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station - Jackery CA

Equipped with a 1002Wh battery capacity and multiple ports, Jackery Explorer 1000 Portable Power Station is one of the most powerful power stations. The built-in MPPT charge controller ensures efficient and stable solar charging to power CPAP machines, electric grills, computers, cameras, and...
ca.jackery.com ca.jackery.com
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I saw the price and I'm sure there's something else that's cheaper than that and can do the same thing.
 
sawdust123 said:
I will probably pull the trigger on a digital mixer in Feb. I am waiting till after NAMM so I can get some hands-on time with the new Allen & Heath CQ 20B and Yamaha DM3. The venerable QSC Touchmix 16 is also in consideration. I still haven't decided which feature set is most important to me. Each has different strengths and weaknesses. I really love the Yamaha (with its 9" screen and motorized faders) but it is really the least practical for my needs.
Click to expand...
The Yamaha DM3 is the better choice among those. If you're going to buy a 16 in / 8 out mixer make it a console with it's own control surface. No reason you can't also run it remotely, but it can get pretty annoying if every adjustment requires remote connectivity.

If you don't really need Dante (which requires that you setup a Dante Controller) than the AES50 on things like the Midas M32R have great expansion possibility and higher channel counts for about the same money. Dante is also an option card for these boards as well.

QSC Touchmix - been there done that, and never again. Probably best suited for novice users and iPad loyalists who would find comfort in it's switchable "simple mode." The units have had a very high failure rate, and not so great pre-amps. It's not unusual to find channels with various faults such as noisy phantom power, and other issues. Perfect (if reliable) for a DJ who wants to up his quality of sound for wedding ceremonies with a very compact mixer.
 
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