Troubleshooting A Problem At A Gig.

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
ahoustondj

ahoustondj

Mac Daddy DJ
Aug 13, 2007
20,235
3,465
Texas
How prepared are you? What tools (Test Equipment or Knowledge) do you have at your disposal to identify and fix a Technical/Mechanical/Electronic/Electrical while at a Gig. We talk about backups for Laptops etc but how about hardware but how many of you carry an extra Sub if you are using just one? How many carry an extra Powered/Passive Speaker or Amplifier. While we are at it how about Cables, what methods will you utilize to identify and fix/replace a faulty cable in the chain.
What Components do you carry as a backup...Mixer, PA DriverRack/EQ, Speakers.

How would you continue the show if your Two Way Active Crossover/DriverRack failed?
 
Two DJ mixers pluse a full front of house mixer...
Extra Amp
Always use 2 subs.
No need for Driverack because at worst I'd use one amp and go 2ohm stereo with my setup. My EV's have built in crossovers.

I do have backup and always synced laptop


You know the one thing that nearly killed me one time was not having an extra lappy charger...Now I have 3

Backup light board maybe is all?

I have a cable tester, tool kit, duct tape, parts and lamps....
 
A good test would be to have a family member unplug/loosen/switch something in your rig and for you to see how long it will take you to find the problem.
 
ahoustondj said:
A good test would be to have a family member unplug/loosen/switch something in your rig and for you to see how long it will take you to find the problem.
Click to expand...

Start at the beginning of the signal chain is how I do it...but yes. In my immediate family my wife would just hit a power button....but my dad would resolder a 1/4" jack out of phase...on the mixer side
 
ahoustondj said:
How prepared are you? What tools (Test Equipment or Knowledge) do you have at your disposal to identify and fix a Technical/Mechanical/Electronic/Electrical while at a Gig.
a full tool box with meters
how many of you carry an extra Sub if you are using just one?
I think I could carry on without a sub. I never owned one till recently. Besides, now I have TWO
How many carry an extra Powered/Passive Speaker or Amplifier.
I use a pair of passives with an amp...I bring an extra pair of actives to replace any of them
While we are at it how about Cables, what methods will you utilize to identify and fix/replace a faulty cable in the chain.
I have doubles and triples for cables
Click to expand...
 
We, ourselves, dont have any back-up hardware, but we have plenty of computers on hand. But, if we need speakers, amps, mixers, ect., we have them at our disposal if we need them at a moments noticed. We know too many people that would "lend" us any of their equipment if we need it.
 
ahoustondj said:
A good test would be to have a family member unplug/loosen/switch something in your rig and for you to see how long it will take you to find the problem.
Click to expand...

You know, if you skip using all that outboard crap there's a lot less stuff to debug.............:triwink:
 
If Driverack fails I have a 31 Band EQ, Crossover and a Limiter. I have backup amps as well as a 90% copy of my rack only difference is the mixer (MP44 & S2R), laptops, cables, batteries, Hard Drives, CD's etc. . But the most important part is to remain calm, going nuts does not let you think properly.
 
rickryan.com said:
You know, if you skip using all that outboard crap there's a lot less stuff to debug.............:triwink:
Click to expand...
Just watch the pretty light bars/diodes/meters...if it ain't working it is either the piece of equipment or the Cable coming in. Change out the cable or do a simple bypass with a cable coupler and yer all set to go!
 
I suppose I could start singing if it goes down ... I don't bring a lot of backup HW (sometimes just a 3rd active speaker and small mixer), but there is always a functional backup to each piece.
 
ahoustondj said:
A good test would be to have a family member unplug/loosen/switch something in your rig and for you to see how long it will take you to find the problem.
Click to expand...

No need I did that to myself at a gig... loosened the power cable to my sub amp.... I nearly went the whole gig and never noticed that the low end was missing.... just the kind of music played... it wasn't until I played something that should have been thumping and it wasn't that I even noticed the amp wasn't even on.... LOL
 
jokerswild said:
No need I did that to myself at a gig... loosened the power cable to my sub amp.... I nearly went the whole gig and never noticed that the low end was missing.... just the kind of music played... it wasn't until I played something that should have been thumping and it wasn't that I even noticed the amp wasn't even on.... LOL
Click to expand...
Now I know why they kicked you off the sub, it wasn't the farts it was torpedoes away but you forgot to load them LOL!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Yeah, you probably clogged the head as well :D:D:D:D:D:D

;)
 
DJ SVO said:
Yeah, you probably clogged the head as well :D:D:D:D:D:D

;)
Click to expand...
Thats an accident waiting to happen. A ticking time bomb waiting to explode! :eek:
 
should I be the first to make some submarine reference about "going down" and "seamen" ?

too late
 
Completely backed up for hardware, but the fact is I can figure out and fix just about anything on site. I carry a fully equipped electronic repair kit.The only backup I ever had to use was actually on the work space already. I use two single single drawer players instead of one double or triple. I had a player go down that I couldn't fix on site, leaving me one- no biggie.

Since I'm a Luddite, I'm guessing all of the approximately 1,900 discs that I carry will crap out at once..... ;-}
 
I now have 3 Bose L-1's and 5 B-1's. Two mirrored laptops, a double CD deck with all out clients music on it and and I pad with DJAY on it (all clients music on this as well) and it has it's own audio cord in the mixer. I have 3 mixers, 2 lavaliers. Six hand held wireless mics, 2 external 2TB hard drives. Three maids a milking and a partridge in a pear tree. :tribiggrin:

These things are with me at every event. And even with all these things I can still have a problem, But it helps to know that I have backups to my backups. And if I'm somewhere with iffy power then I also bring my UPS for maybe a good 15 minutes of power.;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back