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Have you hired a PA or lighting system from us?
Welcome to our new blog (November 2009)
Please do give us your feedback and share your comments with us, it all helps us to provide a better service to our clients.
Many thanks and good luck!
Darryl
Please do give us your feedback and share your comments with us, it all helps us to provide a better service to our clients.
Many thanks and good luck!
Darryl
If there was one track that was played for you at a party or wedding disco and you promised to dance when you heard it, what would it be?
We're compiling a 2009 hotlist of peoples favourite tracks that they like 'TO DANCE TO' the dance to bit is really important as professional DJ entertainers we don't want people to sit down and just 'LISTEN' as that's something that they could do in the car or the shower!
Tell us yours and we'll publish the complete list at the end of the year!
Tell us yours and we'll publish the complete list at the end of the year!
What is a DIY Disco Package?
To be honest you can't beat hiring a good, experienced professional DJ for a really important event. The problem is that anyone can go out and buy basic disco equipment and a week later they're a DJ and many clients wouldn't know what they were booking unless they really did their homework so booking a cheap DJ could be a serious mistake.
However, when you are working to a limited budget you don't have to risk booking a cowboy DJ. You can do it yourself with the right equipment and if you hire a complete package from a professional company they should be able to bring together the best mix of easy to use sound and lighting equipment.
Some companies will deliver, set-up, provide some basic coaching and then return later in the evening to take everything away at the end. We offer this level of service in the east of England (link) but if you are elsewhere in the world then by following a few basic steps you will be well on the way to a great DIY Disco and enjoying being your own DJ.
A bit of basic information on the different components required could prove helpful when it comes to talking to a hire company. But first ask yourself a few questions and write the answers down before you start ringing around as it's likely that the supplier will ask some of them?
1) Will you be playing vinyl, CDs, tape, mini disk or from some other digital format, such as MP3, MP4, WMA, AAC etc.
2) Do you want to be able to connect some of your own equipment to the hire kit, maybe an IPod or laptop computer?
3) How long do you need the equipment, a few hours or a weekend?
4) Do you need sound and lighting for your party and if so can you provide enough sockets to safely connect everything?
A bit about sound equipment: The obvious components are loudspeakers, an amplifier (some speakers have integrated amplifiers making the set-up and control process easier), mixer (so that you can seamlessly play from one source to another like a Pro DJ would) microphone (used for announcements etc) Twin CD decks (these will allow you to play your own CDs) and possibly connecting cables for your IPod or Laptop (not all mixers support these so check before booking).
A bit about lighting: This is actually quite an important part of the hie as without the right sort of lighting the atmosphere will be wrong. The lighting helps to create the right mood and lighting effects that scan (move around the dance floor) really help to create a sense of movement. Unfortunately a lot of hire companies still provide pretty dreadful effects, like the old fashioned traffic lights (light boxes) and as soon as someone dances in front of then the light is blocked! The right balance is achieved by getting the lighting off the floor and this can be done by bolting lighting effects to a 'T Bar' or lighting stand. The lights will then project 'down' onto the dance floor and create a much better effect. These days LED lights are very popular but they are still in there infancy and are not usually very bright, OK for small house parties, but lost in a venue or village hall etc.
Follow a few basic steps and we're pretty sure that you will have the right ingredients on the night (of course it does depend on your guests).
STEP 1: Make sure that you are dealing with a reliable and reputable company, we know of some companies that claim to be the biggest and best, operating a fleet of service vehicles and yet they don't even publish their own address and only use a mobile number (a somewhat dubious practice). When you book a system you need to know that you're not going to be let down or your party could have a disastrous outcome!
STEP 2: Try to get the hire company to deliver and set-up everything for you, unless you are used to setting up sound and lighting equipment this could be more than a little daunting! A decent hire company will offer two levels of service, Dry hire (this is where they provide equipment only and you have to set it up) or wet hire (they will usually for a small charge set everything up for your to use). Go for the 'wet' hire option then you won't need to worry about connecting everything up or packing it all away at the end of the night.
STEP 3: Your choice of music on the night will either make or break the evening (that's why people sometimes opt for a pro-DJ) but some advance planning and consultation with your guests will help to guide you (remember you can download some suggestions from link) . If you're going to use an IPod or laptop why not create some playlists in ITunes and remember it's well worth creating 2 or 3 different playlists, that way you can change the pace very quickly without having to think about specific tracks!
STEP 4: Make sure that you have some time to familiarise (play) with the equipment before trying to use it. A decent DIY package should be very easy to use and the lighting should operate automatically (ours certainly does). Remember that someone should take responsibility for the equipment and its operation throughout the party and don't let anyone unfamiliar with the equipment anywhere near it or your party might end prematurely!
We hope that you have great fun on the night and the feedback that we get from our clients is always positive. Follow the simple steps above and you're 75% there, the other 25% is down to you and your guests!
However, when you are working to a limited budget you don't have to risk booking a cowboy DJ. You can do it yourself with the right equipment and if you hire a complete package from a professional company they should be able to bring together the best mix of easy to use sound and lighting equipment.
Some companies will deliver, set-up, provide some basic coaching and then return later in the evening to take everything away at the end. We offer this level of service in the east of England (link) but if you are elsewhere in the world then by following a few basic steps you will be well on the way to a great DIY Disco and enjoying being your own DJ.
A bit of basic information on the different components required could prove helpful when it comes to talking to a hire company. But first ask yourself a few questions and write the answers down before you start ringing around as it's likely that the supplier will ask some of them?
1) Will you be playing vinyl, CDs, tape, mini disk or from some other digital format, such as MP3, MP4, WMA, AAC etc.
2) Do you want to be able to connect some of your own equipment to the hire kit, maybe an IPod or laptop computer?
3) How long do you need the equipment, a few hours or a weekend?
4) Do you need sound and lighting for your party and if so can you provide enough sockets to safely connect everything?
A bit about sound equipment: The obvious components are loudspeakers, an amplifier (some speakers have integrated amplifiers making the set-up and control process easier), mixer (so that you can seamlessly play from one source to another like a Pro DJ would) microphone (used for announcements etc) Twin CD decks (these will allow you to play your own CDs) and possibly connecting cables for your IPod or Laptop (not all mixers support these so check before booking).
A bit about lighting: This is actually quite an important part of the hie as without the right sort of lighting the atmosphere will be wrong. The lighting helps to create the right mood and lighting effects that scan (move around the dance floor) really help to create a sense of movement. Unfortunately a lot of hire companies still provide pretty dreadful effects, like the old fashioned traffic lights (light boxes) and as soon as someone dances in front of then the light is blocked! The right balance is achieved by getting the lighting off the floor and this can be done by bolting lighting effects to a 'T Bar' or lighting stand. The lights will then project 'down' onto the dance floor and create a much better effect. These days LED lights are very popular but they are still in there infancy and are not usually very bright, OK for small house parties, but lost in a venue or village hall etc.
Follow a few basic steps and we're pretty sure that you will have the right ingredients on the night (of course it does depend on your guests).
STEP 1: Make sure that you are dealing with a reliable and reputable company, we know of some companies that claim to be the biggest and best, operating a fleet of service vehicles and yet they don't even publish their own address and only use a mobile number (a somewhat dubious practice). When you book a system you need to know that you're not going to be let down or your party could have a disastrous outcome!
STEP 2: Try to get the hire company to deliver and set-up everything for you, unless you are used to setting up sound and lighting equipment this could be more than a little daunting! A decent hire company will offer two levels of service, Dry hire (this is where they provide equipment only and you have to set it up) or wet hire (they will usually for a small charge set everything up for your to use). Go for the 'wet' hire option then you won't need to worry about connecting everything up or packing it all away at the end of the night.
STEP 3: Your choice of music on the night will either make or break the evening (that's why people sometimes opt for a pro-DJ) but some advance planning and consultation with your guests will help to guide you (remember you can download some suggestions from link) . If you're going to use an IPod or laptop why not create some playlists in ITunes and remember it's well worth creating 2 or 3 different playlists, that way you can change the pace very quickly without having to think about specific tracks!
STEP 4: Make sure that you have some time to familiarise (play) with the equipment before trying to use it. A decent DIY package should be very easy to use and the lighting should operate automatically (ours certainly does). Remember that someone should take responsibility for the equipment and its operation throughout the party and don't let anyone unfamiliar with the equipment anywhere near it or your party might end prematurely!
We hope that you have great fun on the night and the feedback that we get from our clients is always positive. Follow the simple steps above and you're 75% there, the other 25% is down to you and your guests!
Some wedding and party music suggestions
We're often asked for song ideas for parties and weddings so we put together a couple of lists for you to download on our weddings site. These represent some of the most popular tracks that we were asked to play at weddings and parties during 2008/09. Click Popular Music for discos and scroll to the bottom of the page and we hope that they get you thinking!
Have you hired a DIY Disco Package from Cambridge Sound?
Have you hired a DIY Disco Package from Cambridge Sound? We would love to hear your feedback.
Tell us what you thought of our service, was the package good value for money?,
Did you have fun doing it yourself?
What did you think to the equipment?
Did you like the fact that you could just plug in your IPod?
What did you think to the lights?
Would you hire from us again?
Tell us what you thought of our service, was the package good value for money?,
Did you have fun doing it yourself?
What did you think to the equipment?
Did you like the fact that you could just plug in your IPod?
What did you think to the lights?
Would you hire from us again?
Wedding DJ
If we provided your wedding entertainment we'd love to hear from you. Tell us what you thought of the music, how we performed and what your guests thought?
Have we DJ'd at your event?
If we've DJ'd at your event we would love to hear your comments!
Welcome
Welcome to The Cambridge Sound Blog.
