How to Be a Great DJ Lesson #4 – DJ Equipment
Amplifiers, Speakers, Turntables, Disk Players,Computers & Mixers
In Lesson #1, I indicated that a great DJ must have a practical, working knowledge of his client. In Lesson #2, I gave some tips on how to handle music, and Lesson #3 covered a very profitable line of DJ work, The Wedding. In this lesson, I wish to expand upon the few comments in Lesson #2 regarding equipment.
There are some items of DJ equipment that are optional, and others that are necessary; let’s start with the necessary items: Virtually every DJ who wants to play at a venue larger than a private home must have a dedicated amplifier and speakers—when I say “dedicated,” I mean he should not try to play even a small event with a boombox, or even with his home stereo—he needs equipment, not necessarily extremely expensive, but made for DJ’s. Regarding amplifiers, it may be difficult to look at the amplifiers of performing DJ’s and musicians, since they are usually buried in the central part of the DJ’s or groups’ stage. So, to learn about amplifiers, I recommend visiting a pro-audio store; to find these, just go online and, for example, if you live in California, type in “Pro-Audio in California, and you will see a variety of stores: The Guitar Center, Southern California Pro Audio, Hollywood DJ, All Pro Sound, IRC Audio, L.A. Music, to name just a few. There are also online sources where you can learn a lot, like DJ Equipment Online, Planet DJ, and Fender.com. Find a DJ at a gig who has a good sound, and who is down to earth and friendly enough to talk with you about his equipment; offer to help carry some stuff to his truck/trailer/van after the event, or do whatever you need to do to learn characteristics of amplifiers, especially with regards to power, quality of sound, and volume. A good article to start learning the basics is online, at http://hometheater.about.com/cs/audiocomponents/a/aapowermada.htm.
Regarding speakers, every DJ has his or her own favorites—I am no different: I prefer Peavey 3-way speakers for their quality sound through a broad range of volume (“3-way” refers to the fact that each speaker has three sound delivery devices: a 15-in. large speaker, or woofer, for bass sounds, a 6- or 8-inch speaker for mid-range frequencies, and a tweeter—small speaker or horn—for high frequencies). These speakers will play music quietly for a home party, not much louder than a home stereo, and sound almost as good as a quality home stereo, yet you can shake the floor at the local high school auditorium, and the sound quality is still good, if paired with the right amplifier. Other very popular and reliable brands with a wide range of pricing include Fender, Yamaha, ElectroVoice, JBL, and Mackie; prices range from $200 to over $1,000 per speaker; I would expect that, if you want to play moderate-size venues, you would not want speakers that cost less than about $500-600 apiece. I mentioned home stereo speakers—you don’t want to play DJ events (clubs, auditoriums, parking lots) with home stereo equipment—not nearly rugged enough, and not built to take the volume unless they are extremely expensive. DJ speakers come covered with either a felt-like substance or an alligator skin-like vinyl which is virtually indestructible; my current Peavey speakers have the “alligator” vinyl—I’ve used them for 10+ years, in every conceivable environment, and they still are quite presentable in appearance, and I’ve only had to replace one speaker (cone).
Now, to the optional equipment (optional in the sense that you can use several different devices or, in some cases, you can do without the device at all). First, you will need a music platform. This can be a turntable, cassette deck, CD/DVD player, or laptop, but I would not recommend the cassette deck under any circumstances: Too hard to know when and where to cue the music. Turntable DJ’s who have learned the art of “scratching” (using special turntables that can play forward and backward, which the DJ’s do to the beat of a song being played) provide a level of entertainment not available with disk players and computers. The scratcher can also “mix” different songs, usually of different artists, but that have a similar beat and tempo. These mixes sometimes include 5-6, or even 10 songs and, if the DJ is skillful, you hardly hear when one song is mixed into another. The computer offers a huge library of thousands of songs with very little weight (I was carrying around about 2-300 lbs. of CD’s, when I finally graduated into a couple of powerful laptops using mp3 technology). The music platform is another area that requires putting a lot of thought into as well as discussion with music contacts at stores and music events before you decide what you will use.
Another optional piece of equipment is the mixer. The mixer allows you to run, for example, a turntable and a computer, or any number of music platforms, and switch from one to the other by means of a fader, a volume switch that controls both devices and, as you turn one device down, you are automatically turning the second device up. Of course, you can do fine without the mixer, by simply learning how to adjust the two volumes switches, but decent mixers can be purchased with the money earned from one birthday party, and are a great convenience.
There are a great many devices, supplies and accessories a DJ may use on his or her way to becoming a GREAT DJ: lights, microphones, cables, a dolly, a console to present the amp, mixer, and music platform in a professional manner, and much more. If you experience line hum at volume, go to www.ebtechaudio.com and purchase a HUM-X line hum eliminator (you can’t make this stuff up); it will be one of the best investments you’ve ever made—it will virtually eliminate static and line hum caused by the proximity of all your pieces of equipment to each other. As you grow, you might pick up 10, 15, even 20 other devices to help your presentation (how about a bubble machine? -or even karaoke equipment?). However, if you have a good amplifier, mixer, pair of speakers, and music platform, you will have a professional sound, and be well on your way to earning all the other pieces and refinements that will make you a truly GREAT DJ!
In Lesson #5, we will focus on the types of music that allow a great DJ to make money at a wide variety of venues. In the meantime, Stay Young, Keep on Dancing.
–Dave Crosby, San Francisco
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