Which Would You Prefer

[ahoustondj]

Which would you prefer, to take a small compact system to a Gig and make $300.00 or a larger bulkier system and make $500.00 for the same event? Don't give me that crap about the client wanting a system thats invisible or one to blend in. Most clients never see what you have until the day of the event. What are they gonna do, tell you that its too big or bulky and that you should go home?

 

[shanefrom302]

Mo Money, Mo Money, Mo!

lol

$200 is well worth lugging extra gear, imho

 

[Fred Wright]

We don't own a compact system. Guess you can tell where we stand on this one.

Honestly, in this biz it's preferrable to load what you'll need to get the job done since few clients will willingly pay more for a big, honkin' system they don't need.

Example: We have a pair of dually 15s that we haven't loaded out in over a year. We haven't needed them lately. We could load 'em and tri-amp but don't because it's additional work and set up time for no added value.

Thoughts?

 

[Valerie Hicks]

I'll take more gear for more money, though I don't know how much more I want to haul in! lol

 

[Papa Deuce]

Well, what is FUNNY as a Bose owner, is that some people have the perception that it is a smaller, lighter, easier to set up system... I guss that can be true for some folks, like those who carry big systems, but they are far more work than the 2 amplified speakers on sticks option..... just getting them back in the bags is a PITA.

That said, I still love them.

 

[Jeff Romard]

I'll take more gear for more money, though I don't know how much more I want to haul in! lol

One more amp and you will need a generating station following you. You'll be the only DJ with windmills as an upsell

Like Fred I don't own a compact system. I always like to have more than I need on hand

 

[djrox]

Neither.

 

[DJ Ducky]

I voted more gear for more money. For most venues and events around here, we only need our standard pair of 15" 2-ways. We have another pair that we could add and do the bi-amping thing with, but it's overkill. However, we'd do that setup if they really wanted more speakers. We haven't run into any clients who requested that. They trust us to know what to bring and how to set it up.

 

[MBM]

I voted I'll take what is needed for the gig, but normally I carry more than I need, sometimes just cause I want to, and others because I want to get more setup pictures. I've had parties of 75-100 guest and yeah could have handled the job fine with 1 L1 and 2 B1s, but I have always like the look of the two sticks. There have been times that the client paid for 12 uplights I get there and just decide that another 4 will really make the room look better, so I set them up. Sure it would have been nice to get paid for the extra lights but if it make the room look better, maybe someone there will hire me and want all the lights and more later.

 

[Jon Tuck]

I couldnt answer cause I am not lazy. I chose my gear strategically for almost two years. Sure I initially thought due to footprint I would select the bose system. However due to aesthetics I continued my search and to explain aesthetics I meant that though the Bose fit my tiny footprint I found the only real issues were the size of the stick stand(trip hazard non visible to most stupid dance crowds and the lack of thumping Bass without adding a LS800 Yorkville or similar).

I needed to continue my search. I continued idle enhancing my Italian Mackies until finally almost two yrs later purchasing my DYNACORD SYSTEM!! It fits in a tighter footprint. Setup is simpler and the overall benefits are phenomenal to that which a very viable Bose system was my previous setup of choice. End of Story. Arthritis is being calmed. thank you very much. Tight spaced venues are a no brainer compared to a FOH system. Im the winner.

 

[Kirby Ball]

I provide the gear necessary to do the job. If I don't have the gear to handle the job, then I don't have any business even trying...

Oh yeah, I do have arthritis......

 

[Guest]

With no malice towards the wonderful sponsors who sell gear (and like most others here, I love my gear), I believe with few exceptions the D.J. business is NOT about the gear, so I didn't vote. I find almost zero correlation between the gear and the income. A moron using the world's largest and greatest sound system would still sound like a moron (you'd just hear him or her very well), and an amazing D.J. talent could take marginal (yet functional) equipment, and still do a great job (even if he or she wasn't able to do THEIR best, because of the equipment).

 

[Scott Hanna]

i voted that if I could get paid by the piece, I'd bring more. That's not reality, but if we could charge more for bringing more gear, we would.

as for the OP, I would bring a bigger system if I was able to charge 40% more. That's not reality either, but i'd do it if it was.

The reality is I bring the gear that is needed for the event I am doing. Every event I"ve done in the last 3 years has been done with success with the L1's. If an event came along that requires something different, I'll rent it.

This is my business. I am not shy in saying I will do the things necessary to increase revenue while satisfying customers.

 

[Scott Hanna]

Don't give me that crap about the client wanting a system thats invisible or one to blend in. Most clients never see what you have until the day of the event. What are they gonna do, tell you that its too big or bulky and that you should go home?

You are correct. Most clients don't ask for a professional looking system that's going to blend in because they usually don't know yet how much better it looks. But they will.

I don't make my equipment decisions based on the client's inability to change things once they see it. Just because they no longer have the option of telling you that they didn't like the overall "look" of the setup, that doesn't make it the wisest choice.
I show potential clients pictures of typical set ups. I get VERY positive feedback from customers on how they like how it blends in.

 

[Scott Hanna]

With no malice towards the wonderful sponsors who sell gear (and like most others here, I love my gear), I believe with few exceptions the D.J. business is NOT about the gear, so I didn't vote. I find almost zero correlation between the gear and the income. A moron using the world's largest and greatest sound system would still sound like a moron (you'd just hear him or her very well), and an amazing D.J. talent could take marginal (yet functional) equipment, and still do a great job (even if he or she wasn't able to do THEIR best, because of the equipment).

I agree here also. It's like a master carpenter. He could do a lot more with bad tools than an inept carpenter can do with excellent tools.

However, a good master carpenter is smart enough to not use bad tools. Just because he still do ok with bad tools, he has too much pride, so he makes sure he does have the right tools for the right job. and he's smart enough to know what tools work best for him. Same goes for djing.

While he may not be able to charge more just because of the equipment, his talent shines more overall and he is able to charge more.

 

[Ron Auger]

I don't charge for gear, more or less. I charge for ability, talent, and length of event. So there isn't a catagory that fits my business plan. Which means I won't take jobs that my current equipment can't handle. That's around 600 guests max.

Since this is a gear based question I would charge more for more equipment and then hire someone to carry it.

 

[DjDennis]

also for me what ever is needed has to be discussed well before hand as once the gear is taken away for setup, I dont normally bring any more to a gig