hello all,well im revving up to get dj-ing with thanks to you guyz and esp Chris !! ..however what would i need to be bringing with me apart from my equipment??what kinds of things go wrong?what would you advise i pack??....and should i get a power surger plug thingy??in case of any electric power failures??any suggestions??purleeeeeese !!! ....im very happy with my denon dn-d4000 even though im playing thru headfones as all my equipment hasnt arrived in the channel islands yet!! ..

FUSES! something often overlooked when thinking of spares.... Im sure you are going to get loads of advice as to what spares people often carry.. including amps cd players, leads bulbs etc etc etc.... But look after your equipment - especially your power cables, and hopefully you want need spares.

YES! now is the best time to start a list of what each piece of equipment uses, in terms of fuses, bulbs, other spares etc.

Dont forget spare extension leads, both in case a lead goes down, and also for venues who seem to put the stage at one end of the hall, and the power sockets at the other...

Remember YOU too...spare socks, spare trousers, spare laces... YOU are THE central part of the show, and if carrying a safety pin, is the difference between you walking around with your zipper broken open, or not, then carry one.

Also, Audio leads: Not only differing lengths for different venues, but again, in case of spares.

I would also strongly recommend that you label ANY items which you have two (or more) identical units. For example: My two overhead light screens/floodbanks are identical to look at. If I noticed a problem with one of them during a show, I would have trouble telling it apart from its twin later, when I had time to "open her up". So, I've used Typex/correction fluid to paint a discrete numbering system on everything which I have more than one of. EG: 1 dot, 2 dots, 3 dots and so on.

Spare headphones are a must. Also, a spare microphone - even if its a lower quality that your regular mic, will not only give you a spare in the event of your primary mic failing, but it will also allow you to only "risk" the secondary/cheaper mic, when the host/raffle organiser asks to borrow a mic.

Dont forget either, the tools to effect any replacing of fuses etc. EG: A selection of screwdrivers, A TORCH, spare batteries for the torch (unless its a dynamo torch), CD lens cleaner (check Denon manual for suggested types), a spare fader/crossfader for your mixer, etc,etc. Soldering Iron, if you'll be making that serious a repair, and of course, a modest sized toolbox to carry it all in (not to be left in the van/car boot 500 yards from the stage.

Since you've got full MP3 playability now, you could also consider an "emergency" CD or 250 tracks to "get you by" should anything "hostile" happen to your CD's etc.

WOW!

Its all been said now

I was getting ready to start a list of things but the post by gary already contains virtualy every spare you should carry!!

Backup equipment is the most important thing.
A while ago I was doing a gig (when i was jst using a pair of normal cd players) when suddenly the cd player that was cued up ready completely cut out )

Luckily I had another 2 backup cd players and I had enough time to rush out to the trailer and get another 1, lpug it in, and cue it up b4 the other track finished! phew!!!

only thing is I couldnt get the other cd out of the duff one which was one i rly wanted to play. DOH!

Anyway, Always a good idea to keep spares of absolutely everything that could go wrong.

Joe Cayford