Why did you buy the speakers you bought to DJ with?

rickryan.com said:

I'd have to agree with your choices. You guys are in a completely different game than most of us mobile guys. In my case, it's good to be able to run everything off a single circuit. I'm also driving a cargo van instead of a tractor trailer so weight means something to me where it means relatively nothing to you guys. I'm assuming you guys are also doing a fair number of outdoor events. I can tell you, as a former performer, the heat off those cans was really nice when we were doing an outdoor event in the cold. My one question, do you ever run into situations where you can't wheel everything in (stairs) or where there's no loading dock? I'd hate to think about trying to hump some of those big cabinets up a 45 degree inclined ramp into the trailer.

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We rarely do outdoor shows actually....mostly by choice. Dirt, rain, etc....blyuck.
We don't do stairs. Freight elevator=fine.
We rarely have a loading dock....like 1 or 2 times per year at best. Normally we wheel everything up and down our ramp, which is about 12' long. That's why we bought an electronics van instead of a standard deck trailer (it's normally not very steep actually). Tires are more expensive, but loading is more reasonable. The cabinets actually go up and down pretty easily. We use a good 2 wheel hand cart. It's time consuming as of course that's 24 trips. Lighting boxes can be more challenging as they are more particular if the ramp isn't flat--easy for them to try to stray to the side and get a wheel a little hung up on the side rail of the ramp. Mostly distance is our biggest enemy when it comes to load in/out as we have a large number of trips to make in and out.

When someone is showing us power and points out the standard outlets in the vicinity we joke that we can use use those if they have 13 circuits nearby, but we won't be able to run all the lights.....kinda makes them realize we are serious when we say we need 50A 220V.

DJ Ricky B said:

What is interesting is that I am generally finding that the events that I do today are smaller than in the past in terms of guest count. Also, today speakers are generally able to put out more volume than the passive speakers I had in the past.

I personally don't see the need for a large sound system at 98% of the events we book. Out of 50 bookings, 1 may require a larger set up where I need to bring both subs and 4+ speakers. Most events today for us have between 60 guests, and 160 guests. It's been rare the past 4 years to book a wedding with over 160, and the few larger events with 300+ guests have mainly been outdoors any way. I did one large school dance last year with 700 students...that has been it.

Generally speaking, my Dad often gets more people at his American Legion bar gig in the spring and summer than I get at the weddings I do, and he uses a pair of passive 12 inch Yamahas for that, and no sub.

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for the typical DJs lineup of events I would agree. We actually recently made a small system because we keep getting asked to do weddings and small events. It's a small footprint--small tops pole mounted on dual 15 subs, very small dj podium, one stand with just a couple lights.

Most of our business is, however, 1200+ crowds at high school events. We quit doing weddings and those smaller events years ago and just focused on the school (and a little corporate--though there isn't a huge corp market in our area) market. We do have a few smaller schools we do that only have a few hundred kids.

rickryan.com said:

I have to ask, how often do you guys hit those brown notes with that rig? lol

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hasn't happened yet ;-)
we dust a lot of rafters (haven't used a fog machine in years--there's enough particle in the air), loosen up ceiling tiles, dislodge stuck birdies and balls, and sometimes see a light fixture dangle by the electrical....but to date I've not seen a brown note.