I currently only have the 1 amp (Behringer EP1500 Amplifier (700 + 700 watts) which is a few months old and sound wise is loud enough for the gigs i play.
(I don;t have a dual Amp setup)

I am trying to work out what spare equipment i need to purchase/take with me in order not to ruin someones party - obviously cash and the size of my van will limit me.
I have the spare speaker, loadsa ligths, backup laptop etc but have so far held back on the backup Amp

Is it normal practice for mobile Dj's to carry a spare Amp?

Is a dual Amp setup normal practice for the mobile disco?

I know this may be a daft question as anything can blow or break at any time, but with the Amp being one of the most expensive items in my set should it be an obvious investment to purchase a second one.

Cheers
Steve

It's nice to hear Steve that you've gone to the trouble of investing in back-up equipment. Very wise.
Can appreciate your 'dilemma', but without being given the factors of the demand on your service, fee you charge to make it worth your while - which obviously makes an impact on equipment investment... I'm just going to suggest that if you have the room, then having as many back-up' systems as possible is mere peace of mind for both you and the client!

on the whole i think that todays amplifiers are pretty reliable, but it is good practice to keep a back up of sound equipment just in case you do experience a failure, and accidents can happen too. Also remember that any decent quality amplifier will have two seperate power suppliers and independant amplifier channels which means that if you lose a channel the other will keep working, and it would be rare (but not unheard of) for both channels to fail at the same time, unless a fuse or bad mains lead fails. If you rountinely use one 8 ohm speaker per channel, then there is nothing wrong with plugging in the speaker from the dead channel, into the working one as a temporary workaround. This will at least get both speakers working and so equal the balance until a point where you can change over to your back up amplifier, such as during the buffet break. At smaller venues, you may even be able to use one channel for both speakers all night, i have done this before and nobody noticed, even though the sound is effectively mono, thats not a long term solution though, but it will get you though a gig in most cases.

it is much better practice to carry around a back up amplifier, but because for 99% of the time all it will be doing is lying idle and taking up space in the car i wouldn't throw much money at it, so just consider a 2nd hand amplifier from ebay. i carry a very old slave amplifier, its only 250w per channel but its more than enough to see me through most emergency situations should the need arise, and being the sleeve type rather than rackmount, it fits nicely between the rear and front seats of the car.

I notice that you didn't mention a backup mixer.

My own take on backup equipment for the discos is that it only needs to get you through the rest of the night in case of disaster with a reasonable sound quality, so you don't need to invest in or carry extra expensive equipment.

I personally carry an old McGregor 4 channel mono 100W amp. This acts as backup for both the amp and the mixer, as with a variety of leads I can plug everything into it's own channel on the amp.

The exception to this is when I do the sound for theatre shows etc. I then have backup power amp, mixer etc. The difference here is that I'm not setting up and breaking down in one evening, it's usually set up for at least a week.

So yes, you really should have a backup amp, but don't go spending big bucks as "hopefully" it will never get used.

Oh yes, and don't forget to test the backup equipment regularly to make sure it's all working OK. I found mine had gone faulty once, even though it hadn't been used since the last test.

of all the equipment ive had the amp seems be be the one that has let me down the most , and no amp no music so well worth getting a spare even to keep at home if your not too far away , i found its when they start up or not as the case in question is when they play up. Nipping home to get your spare youll thank yourself you have one ,

I always carry two of everything.

I have a bought in amp as a spare and my main one is an amp I designed myself.

My main amp is completely over designed to withstand anything I throw at it.
Short circuit and blown transistor checks are carried out by an on board computer to disconnect the speakers if a fault condition occurrs.

Gigs can have boozing people slopping drinks around and a pint in an amp will probably destroy it or at least blow the fuses (if fitted ! )

I have had people knock over speakers in a drunken state.

I tend to take a very safetly consious viuew of matters.
If i am on a stage then I set up towards the back of teh stage to get away from drunks etc.
Clearly its a bit more diffcult if I have to set up on the edge of a dance floor.
I have been known to place a row of chairs the wrong way around in front of my gear if it is a boozy get together.

Just for information, I use four chassis amps mounted in a rack:
Two for bass, left & right, and two for mid/tops, left & right.

The idea is that if one goes down, then I can double up on the remaining. So far I haven't had to do that, but I always carry the necessary cables to do the changeover should it be needed.

No question about it - get a spare that you can swap over in minutes. You know how DJU law works: If you carry a spare, it will prevent your main amp from failing. Forget the spare and the main amp will fail - during the Cha Cha Slide.

hi all

How does the theory on spares work with active speakers. I've got a couple of Behringer B212A, which have so far been pretty good. However, I can't afford to get another 2 just yet. Would it be sensible to maybe buy another 1 and have that ready to swap in. My current alternative is to carry around an old pro sound amp and speakers, which I don't have the space for.

Cheers

Matt

The chances of both active speakers failing at the same gig must be extremely rare. If one goes you still have sound (albeit not quite as loud) but it would get you through the evening. Having one back-up active speaker is a good idea though.

I'm currently pondering how best to cram a wholesome & gratifying setup into a large'ish hatchback, and would prefer the idea of being able to accommodate spare amp(s) which have adequate power, but are as small as possible - so they could fit into tight spaces, such as under the seat!

Anyone know if compact monobloc amps exist that could fit the bill? Only things that spring to mind are:

- Bose Packlite amp (approx the size of a box of tissues, came out at around same time as the L1 system)
- Quad mono amps (a DJ friend of mine used to carry four or more of them)
- Cyrus Mono X amps - admittedly these are home hifi, but they do have balanced inputs - not sure whether power output is anywhere near enough, mind.

Spooky that. That's exactly what i have. I also carry a spare mixer

I have one of these and use it to beef up the bass (must be one of the smallest pro amps on the market - it could almost fit into your pocket). I've never tried it as a full range amp or from the mixer output (I plug it into the PS1 bass output) but it might be worth checking the spec to see if this were possible.

An old and most respected DJ called John Claney who wrote a couple of DJ Books gave advice that a smallish amp of about 100-200w or so was enough to get you through the evening and out of any trouble. I folowed that good advice over the years before buying active speakers.

Also the smallish back-up amp will be very light if it's 100-400w. Personally I am not a fan of buying second hand electrical kit on ebay. Newish stuff fine, just had a few problems with duff CD players. I don't think it's worth the hassle. If you shop around you can pick up real bargins new anyway!