200 Guest Private Party - Live Audio Advice?!
200 Guest Private Party - Live Audio Advice?! Posted on: 25.05.2012 by Billi Latawiec Hello everyone,I've been hired as a DJ for a 200 person party in a space that is about 50ft x 100ft with a approx. 15ft ceiling. I'm mainly a producer so I don't own gear for live sounds (e.g. speakers, microphone, etc.). What I'll be bringing is headphones, laptop, and a Kontrol S4. Basically, I'm trying to get a solid sound setup similar to what they would have in typical clubs (e.g. Amnesia, Space). As of now, I have placed a rental on a subwoofer (Yorkville LS801P), 2 mid sized speakers (Yorkville NX55's I believe), and 2 monitors. So my questions are: How should the speakers/subwoofer be placed? Should they create an equilateral triangle with the dancefloor like a studio? Where should the subwoofer be (I've had problems with putting the subwoofer near the DJ booth because it makes it extremely difficult to hear)? Any tips concerning that actual sound? Is there some sort of guideline I should be following for making sure everything is balanced (e.g. EQing)? Possibly more questions to come, thanks! P.S. My S4 will be going through a mixer before the speakers. | |
| Darren Teboe 30.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by box801
ok... you seem to not understand to well how a sound system works. If you take the bass out at the mixer, your Sub has become a very expensive waste of money, as that will cut bass to the entire system. Also, your tops don't have sub-woofers in them. They have coned speakers which are no different than your subwoofer which also has a speaker in it. What makes a sub woofer named that is that it has dedicated via crossovers within the unit (if it's an active/powered system) which make that speaker only pump out low end frequencies. A good powered system (like qsc) will also have a cut switch on the tops, which turns on a crossover in them to cut out the lows, so your tops will only pump out highs and mids. In closing, you can't EQ different parts of your sound rig with your mixer you are using for playing. |
| Darren Teboe 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by rotebass
|
| Darren Teboe 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by box801
What kind of rig are you going to be running that has separate lows, mids, and highs on all the speakers? |
| Billi Latawiec 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by rotebass
Speaker 1 and 2: Highs and mids are at 12 o'clock and lows is at 7 o'clock. Subwoofer: Highs, mids, and lows are all at 12 o'clock. |
| Lela Umanskaya 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by sparkbro
Originally Posted by sss18734
|
| Darren Teboe 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by 3heads
if your a good enough dj, it does. I play in a smaller venue with a similar system to the one he is going to be using, and never use monitors. I have the speakers on either side of me, and slightly tweaking one is usually good enough due to the QSC system being balls loud and crystal clear. |
| Celestine Porebski 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by aGhost
|
| Frederic Acidera 26.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by sobi
Also, it's not a huge room so you could even manage without monitors. But they're nice to have anyways... |
| Darren Teboe 30.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by box801
ok... you seem to not understand to well how a sound system works. If you take the bass out at the mixer, your Sub has become a very expensive waste of money, as that will cut bass to the entire system. Also, your tops don't have sub-woofers in them. They have coned speakers which are no different than your subwoofer which also has a speaker in it. What makes a sub woofer named that is that it has dedicated via crossovers within the unit (if it's an active/powered system) which make that speaker only pump out low end frequencies. A good powered system (like qsc) will also have a cut switch on the tops, which turns on a crossover in them to cut out the lows, so your tops will only pump out highs and mids. In closing, you can't EQ different parts of your sound rig with your mixer you are using for playing. |
| Billi Latawiec 30.05.2012 | To rephrase again, the sub and two speakers are coming out of the mixer. Although the two speaks themselves have their own subwoofers on them. Should I EQ the speakers on the mixer so that there isnt any bass coming out the speakers? |
| Darren Teboe 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by rotebass
|
| Lela Umanskaya 28.05.2012 | I believe he means EQ controls on the back. I'd run em flat and get a proper crossover myself. |
| Darren Teboe 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by box801
What kind of rig are you going to be running that has separate lows, mids, and highs on all the speakers? |
| Roseanna Signorini 27.05.2012 | I have been doin mobile gigs for 18 years. Never used a monitor. Its very easy when you first start out to want to get the best possible of everything and optimal everything but the fact is, you really don't need it. First rule, you are there for the party, the party is not there for you. You don't need to have club sound, you need to have sound in front of you on the dance floor, thats it. This is a party where other people may want to talk and don't want music blaring down on them. You will be able to hear just fine in that space even without a monitor, not saying it wouldn't help but I agree with the others, 1 monitor is all you will need. |
| Billi Latawiec 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by rotebass
Speaker 1 and 2: Highs and mids are at 12 o'clock and lows is at 7 o'clock. Subwoofer: Highs, mids, and lows are all at 12 o'clock. |
| Lela Umanskaya 27.05.2012 | The subwoofer should have all the required processing on-board. |
| Billi Latawiec 27.05.2012 | Another question, should I be turning the bass frequencies of the speakers right down to 0 and let the sub churn out all the bass? |
| Lela Umanskaya 28.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by sparkbro
Originally Posted by sss18734
|
| Erica Charvet 27.05.2012 | Monitors are a great way to expedite hearing loss! Mix with IEM's. Take the money you save from renting monitors and rent another sub. Also, keep in mind that while corner loading can increase output, it can force you to place the sub further away, canceling out any gains you made. Play around with placement at the venue and see what works best. |
| Darren Teboe 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by 3heads
if your a good enough dj, it does. I play in a smaller venue with a similar system to the one he is going to be using, and never use monitors. I have the speakers on either side of me, and slightly tweaking one is usually good enough due to the QSC system being balls loud and crystal clear. |
| Celestine Porebski 27.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by aGhost
|
| Arletha Heddens 27.05.2012 | A little off topic (Sorry OP), but there wasn't really any need for me to start a new thread on this and will probably apply to others... @Rotebass, I'm a mobile DJ and have 1 sub and 2 pas (mid+high) - Are you saying that i can actually get more out of my system if i have all the speakers in corners or just the sub? Normally i just put them on stands above head height and put them either side of my table without any real thought to the placement in the room. How much extra low end / overall volume could you actually steal out of this kind of trick? - Anything else placement wise / sneaky tricks to get more out of a mediocre system? Cheers |
| Frederic Acidera 26.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by sobi
Also, it's not a huge room so you could even manage without monitors. But they're nice to have anyways... |
| Darren Teboe 26.05.2012 | You should probably save a few bucks and just go with one monitor for yourself. Double monitors are usually a courtesy to accomodate different DJ's who might monitor from different sides. |
| Lela Umanskaya 26.05.2012 | 2 Subs, 2 tops and then monitors for yourself. |
| Billi Latawiec 26.05.2012 | Well, it's a fairly small venue but from what I've read, I believe you've misinterpreted me. I'm using 2 speakers that will be facing the audience and 2 monitors that will be facing me. But your saying that if I want a club sound, I should consider getting 4 speakers facing the crowd as suggested by aarondavid and 2 subs? EDIT: The dancefloor is probably max 20ft x 50ft anyways, the rest is just chill out area. |
| Lela Umanskaya 26.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by sobi
|
| Darren Teboe 26.05.2012 | Rotebass said everything I was going to say with the exception of leaving QSC, which I find better than the brands he listed. If you want club sound, you need to at least get one more sub if you are going to have 4 tops cranking out high end. |
| Lela Umanskaya 26.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by 00DJC
The construction of the wall plays a role as well, a dense and sturdy wall like an exterior works better than an interior wall that is not so rigid. Of course, if you have enough rig you don't need to employ such tactics, the LS801P is IME not enough rig unless you are running at lower volumes. Two would be adequate, something with some real power (EV, JBL PRX or VRX, etc) would be even better. Edit: Have to add, don't corner load the tops, you are only going to reinforce the wrong frequencies, requiring eq to correct... |
| Nydia Hammon 26.05.2012 |
Originally Posted by aarondavid
|
| Antoinette Bradshaw 26.05.2012 | The last Graduation Party i DJed, i had the Speakers setup up like: [-----Back-----Of-----Room-----] (Speaker) [DJ Table] (Speaker) ..................(Sub)................... people people people people peoplepeoplepeoplepeopl peoplepeoplepeoplepeople peoplepeopleoplepeople peoploepeoplepeopleppel (Speaker).................(Speaker) |
| Lashandra Ost 26.05.2012 | No expert - but i do know you can amplify your speakers a bit by putting them in a corner of the room. My advice would show up early if possible and just test it out a bit moving stuff around. |
| Charline Dye 25.05.2012 | I'm no pa guru, but have heard the sub should be against a wall or in a corner on the floor, if possible. The tops should be at least 25ft apart, if possible, and slightly above head level. |
| Brunilda Kora 25.05.2012 | You should rephrase your question, mate. Amnesia and Space ARE NOT 50ft x 100ft venues. The sub placement shouldn't be a problem - as long as it doesn't cause unwanted vibration (if you're using TT's) you should be alright. The human ear can't really tell where bass sounds are coming from... |
<< Back to General DiscussionReply