About a year ago now I went to a gig as a PUNTER...yes...a whole evening of being able to stand/dance the OTHER side of the console... (or so I thought).

The DJ was having a few problems, and after ignoring several of my friends nudges, I finally gave in and went up to see if I could help. The reason why I didnt go up earlier??? well, I was thinking that if it were the other way around, I wouldnt want someone coming up to me saying "you're having problems...Im a DJ too!".

Anyway, I spoke to him...kept it very sincere. He was young (not that that was part of the problem, im not like that), and admited that this was only his 6th ever disco.

The problems he was having.

1) Every 15 mins or so, there was a short burst of "electronic trotting" heard over the speakers.

2) All his lights (screens and floodspots) went out and the music shut down, just as he got a fairly full floor

3) A deep humm was heard every 3rd or 4th tune.



Well problem 1 was that he'd put his mobile phone on top of the mixer...so that was easy to fix...move the phone to the CD/record cases.

Problem 2 happened as a result of him switching on ALL the light AND firing the smoke machine...The poor old single wall socket that EVERYTHING was plugged into. The venue had a spare extention lead, which I borrowed for the DJ ("its not for me, you understand...") and we divided his lighting and audio between two different sockets.

Problem 3 was feedback coming back up through the stage and into his fairly lightweight (hollow) record decks...the reason that it only happen every 3rd or 4th record, was that he was using CD's for a couple of tracks, then a record and so on...and theres no feedback on CD's...


Other things, like mic work...I left up to him to develop, but to give him his due, he bought me a drink for my efforts, as did the person holding the party...and the DJ even asked me at the end to write down the "limits" for wall sockets etc...

So...what advice would you offer a new starter, AFTER he or she has bought their kit....eg: imagine you're there at their first gig, helping them set up (and the shops are still open!).



Let me start this off with a better explanation of the Power/Wall socket issue.

You can pull 3120 watts out of a mains wall socket....whether you plug in one light that draws the whole 3120 watts, or use 4 way adaptors to plug in 10 lights that use 312watts each... or dozens of 4 way adaptors and plug in 31 ordinary 100 watt bulbs...thats your lot.... regardless of the number of 4 way adaptors...3120watts is the most that you can pull thru that 13amp fuse in the plug that you've put in the wall socket.

Also, ensure that all extension leads are unwound fully before use...they will heat up surprisingly quickly to some nasty temperatures if used while still coiled.


So...what other advice would you offer...

QUOTE

So...what other advice would you offer

to pack Gary in the boot along side there disco equipment.

Thats plausable... I once used to pack myself and my roadie in the back of the trailer.

This was back in my "I cant drive yet" days of DJ'ing, where Id work for an agency who owned all their own trailers, gear etc and would collect the trailers and DJ's from various venues at the end of each night... well as you'll all have experienced...most venues want to kick you out and lock up the moment you hit EJECT on the last song of the night...

So...on those cold, rainy, wintery nights....we'd pack the trailer in such a way, so that we could sit in the end nearest the doors (on the still warm light screens/amps etc) and wait in the compartive warmth and dry for the van to turn up...we even took a torch and drinks etc just for that waiting time...cosy...

I would also recommend sound and lighting power is separated. Many venues have electrical outlets, (lets say in need of modernisation!) therefore splitting up the total load and using 2 or more outlets makes good sense.