Hi guys

I'm about to start mobile DJing on Saturday19th June. But need to get some equipment fast!

I have a budget of £400. For that I need to get at least a speaker (with stands) & amp kit (or active speakers will do), mixer and some disco lighting (the disco lighting isn;t that essential realy) the venue is going to be a pub, for a about 60 people.

If you can guide me to where I can get a decent setup, I would much appreciate it

Thanks
Mark

Hi Mark,
welcome to the forum. It would be helpful to yourself if you could spare the time to introduce yourself to the other members, you can do this on the link below:
http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showforum=13

View some of the other intros to see what others do - we all have to start out somewhere, but it would be good to know more info about you, where (roughly) you're based, and what type of gigs you would want to cover.
For example, if you were in my area - then I may have some older gear I could offload. Getting to know other DJs in your area will help.


For £400, at 1 weeks notice, you'll be pushed to have the time to get gear in, tested and familar with it.
Ebay would be a sensible 1st choice, but most stuff will require collection - and you really need to see the gear working.

Without knowing what else you have (CD Players? Mixer?), its hard to know what to recommend.

With such short notice, you should be able find a hire shop to fill in any gaps of gear you don't have.
If you don't have any gear, then you can try to find average quality gear on ebay/here, and hire in what is needed, acquiring more gear as you get more gigs.

I assume you're charging for this gig?

From my local hire store;
DIY Disco 2:
-Basic Dual CD Player+Mixer
-Amp
-2 x 12" 200W Speakers
-Mic
-1 Lighting Effect
-1 Mic
-Cables..
£60 Per Day...

Assuming you're charging more than £60, this will get you out of trouble and you won't make a loss.
Check the for sale area here;
http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showforum=49

Active speakers generally cost more, a budget 12" Active (LD Systems Bi-Amp 230W) are £178 each new.
On ebay, some SkyTec 300W (max) at £124 each new.
A small battle mixer ~£50, Mic £10+, CD Players...?, Headphones £10+.

If you do manage to get some gear - also try to get a bit of black cloth from the local market to drape over the table to hide the wires and make it look a bit tidier, this will only cost £5max for a few meters.

You can get away with a small set-up, but if you keep it looking tidy.

What you play, and how you play it will probably win you more gigs than top-notch gear for a pub gig, so set-up early - introduce yourself as the DJ to a few people (before you start), and hopefully it will be a good night.

Good luck,
Jason

Hi Jason
Thanks for your advice. I'm going to be usig my laptop as I have virtual DJ on it as well as my hard drive full of tracks.

I've come across this site, they have a couple of speaker and amp packages and they're cheap as well but I'm a bit hesitant to buy because they're so cheap, the link is: http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/PA_SYSTEMS/PA_...i105_2638_0.htm

Cheers
Mark

That kit won't be much use for anything other than small parties, they won't be much use in a busy bar.
Probably ok for some house parties, and you will run out of power for anything with R&B/Dance/Rock music.

No details of the 8" speaker power handling, so we're led to believe they will take 160W
As the tech data is very sparse, and conflicting information (500W or 480W amp??? but the speakers are probably 8ohm, not the 4ohm listed on the amp section).


Even a basic amp is over £100, and that should put the probably quality of this package into perspective.
I'm sure if you saw this in the flesh, you'd walk straight past it. If it was active, I guess it could be used for speeches etc, but not as a main PA system.


If you're using a laptop, you'll see need a mixer and these can be fairly cheap.

You'll also need cables.

It can sometimes be worth chatting to a store - I've used the following with no problems, and they have a fairly good deal on an budget system;
http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/INT115-&-DA...mp-Package.html

So, with a small mixer;
http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/Numark-M1-DJ-Mixer.html
(I assume your laptop has 2 audio outputs?)

This won't leave much for lighting, so perhaps;
http://www.whybuynew.co.uk/Kam-LED-PAR36-Spotlight.html
just back-lighting behind you (ie, light on the floor, lighting the wall behind you?)

Add a mic (£10-£20..), and you should be all set with some basic gear, within your £400 budget.

Moving ahead, you'll want speaker stands, some kind of lighting stand (T-Bar?), and a few more lights.

Without knowing more about you/what you want to do/experience, its hard to give good advice.
Please find the time to post a "hi";
http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showforum=13

£400 is insufficient to buy decent gear for function work.

Even good second hand gear will cost you double the price.

I agree with what has been said. Turning up with poor equipment will not enhance your reputation.

On a positive note, try and double your budget to about £800 ish and you will start to have a chance of some workable gear.

I don't think he's planning on function work - first gig is at a pub.
The other DJ that plays my local has 2 battered speakers (sitting on the floor), an basic amp, and old dual-cd player (no anti-shock) - and a single 100W moonflower on the floor.
He doesn't do a bad night, I've had a few good nights-off when he's been playing.

At this level/type of gig, decent gear is not essential (IMO) - mic work and playing to the crowd is.

If you know the limitations of the gear (and your ability) then all will be fine. Trying to do a large prom with this kit just wouldn't work, but a small family party or pub gig would be fine.

Perhaps he'll be able to take those Mackies off you hands by then!