Venues Are Installing Pro Sound Systems

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ahoustondj

ahoustondj

Mac Daddy DJ
Aug 13, 2007
20,235
3,465
Texas
Some of Houston's larger Venues are installing concert style Pro Sound and Video Systems.
I went to an Awards Luncheon today at the downtown Hilton and was amazed to see that they had installed Hanging Arrays. It sounded real good. Last year for the same Awards Luncheon they had rental sound. I wanted to take closeup pics but left the event in a hurry to avoid the rush of all those attendees leaving at once so I forgot. I was parked on the sixth floor.
It was my understanding that someone doing a Wedding/Eventthere in that room can bring their own DJ minus their Sound Gear but there will be a Sound man there to control the installed equipment. Sweet!
If you look just to the right top of the left video screen and the left top of the right video screen you will see the arrays hanging. Whoever said that weddings don't sometimes require serious sound! :triwink:
This Particular Ball room is 26,000 square feet. There is another one in the hotel which is 40,000 sq ft. and some others a bit smaller.
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ahoustondj said:
Some of Houston's larger Venues are installing concert style Pro Sound and Video Systems.
I went to an Awards Luncheon today at the downtown Hilton and was amazed to see that they had installed Hanging Arrays. It sounded real good. Last year for the same Awards Luncheon they had rental sound. I wanted to take closeup pics but left the event in a hurry to avoid the rush of all those attendees leaving at once so I forgot. I was parked on the sixth floor.
It was my understanding that someone doing a Wedding/Eventthere in that room can bring their own DJ minus their Sound Gear but there will be a Sound man there to control the installed equipment. Sweet!
If you look just to the right top of the left video screen and the left top of the right video screen you will see the arrays hanging. Whoever said that weddings don't sometimes require serious sound! :triwink:
This Particular Ball room is 26,000 square feet. There is another one in the hotel which is 40,000 sq ft. and some others a bit smaller.
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I've worked a venue like this many times. It was great. I only had to hook up my computer/mixer and mic and off we went. And I'd get paid the same for it.
 
Is it possible that the host organization hired their own production company who were so good the merely seemed like part of the hotel's service?
 
djrox said:
Is it possible that the host organization hired their own production company who were so good the merely seemed like part of the hotel's service?
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Nope, It is a permanent Install.
 
Very expensive exercise. Must have the room booked solid.

Could also be the property be a production company that has an exclusive contract with the hotel and determined it more beneficial and costly to have the equipment installed.

What gear did they install?
 
djrox said:
Very expensive exercise. Must have the room booked solid.

Could also be the property be a production company that has an exclusive contract with the hotel and determined it more beneficial and costly to have the equipment installed.

What gear did they install?
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No! The Hilton is next to the George Brown Convention Center. It was recently built and therefore State of The Art. Minute Maid Park is right across the street, so they do stay busy. Can you imagine the cost to rent any one of those two large Ballrooms 40,000 and 26,000 square feet? After but a few rentals that equipment will have paid for itself. It is a cost effective measure plus they can control the way things sound and not have Entertainers spoil the ambiance with crappy sound from inadequate gear.
 
ahoustondj said:
No! The Hilton is next to the George Brown Convention Center. It was recently built and therefore State of The Art. Minute Maid Park is right across the street, so they do stay busy. Can you imagine the cost to rent any one of those two large Ballrooms 40,000 and 26,000 square feet? After but a few rentals that equipment will have paid for itself. It is a cost effective measure plus they can control the way things sound and not have Entertainers spoil the ambiance with crappy sound from inadequate gear.
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:triwink:Yeah yeah, blah, blah,blah...What gear did they install?:triwink:

Sincerely,
Gear Whore
 
djrox said:
:triwink:Yeah yeah, blah, blah,blah...What gear did they install?:triwink:

Sincerely,
Gear Whore
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I mentioned earlier that I left before taking closeup pics otherwise I would give you an answer.
 
ahoustondj said:
Do you see how small the speakers look in the photo? From where I was sitting I could not tell. From the pic, why don't YOU tell me?
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:triwink:Wuz your feets broke?

...Leave your legs at home?

You shulda found out. I wasn't there, you wuz. You f'd up, pimp.:triwink: I expect better from a fellow gearhead.

You gotta come correct or don't come at all!!:triwink:
 
djrox said:
:triwink:Wuz your feets broke?

...Leave your legs at home?

You shulda found out. I wasn't there, you wuz. You f'd up, pimp.:triwink: I expect better from a fellow gearhead.

You gotta come correct or don't come at all!!:triwink:
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LOL.yorofl:yorofl:yorofl:yorofl:yorofl:yorofl:
 
I played at a venue with their own sound system and even though it was a good system, I did not like it. I was in a booth with just my headphones to monitor and no real way to tell how loud to set the volume. I kept exiting the booth to walk around for volume checks throughout the night. I had full control of everything in the booth. They had some bizarre lighting board for me to operate with a sheet of paper explaining how to do it. They would not allow me to bring my own lighting and of course half of their stuff didn't work properly. Their intel's just kept trying to re-set... I charged the same rate and even though I didn't have to move / set up gear, it was way more stress on me.
 
maestro said:
I played at a venue with their own sound system and even though it was a good system, I did not like it. I was in a booth with just my headphones to monitor and no real way to tell how loud to set the volume. I kept exiting the booth to walk around for volume checks throughout the night. I had full control of everything in the booth. They had some bizarre lighting board for me to operate with a sheet of paper explaining how to do it. They would not allow me to bring my own lighting and of course half of their stuff didn't work properly. Their intel's just kept trying to re-set... I charged the same rate and even though I didn't have to move / set up gear, it was way more stress on me.
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The quality of the gear will depend on the quality of the venue. In this instance, it was the Downtown Hilton. The sound at the luncheon was very natural they had thought of a lot of things including the mic at the podium. It came up from the side then across to the speaker's face then bent towards the speaker's mouth. I have seen this before, it is designed for those who are wheelchair bound. It can be bent to shape downwards to someone sitting in a chair.
 
There is a House of Blues here in dowtown Cleveland. They have their sound systems in the 3 rooms they rent out. Great sound system, and a sound tech.

I love Djing there.

When venues do it because they are concerned about the quality of sound and want to ensure high quality, it's great. A great sound system with a sound tech is the way to go.

When venues do it as a way to try to raise their revenue without raising the quality of what THEY do, it's a recipe for disaster.
 
We have a couple of places here that have installed sound. The problem I see is sometimes the place you have to hook-up to is not in an area that will allow you to interact with your group. Very hard to take request.

The other problem is the people that hire you think you should reduce your price because you are not bring you own equipment.
 
This will unfortunately (for djs), be the norm soon. Why should the venues sit back and let outside vendors get all that dough when the can wrangle it for themselves? They will eventually have pro sound, lighting, gobos, video and uplighting. Most people love convenience and this will certainly be an attractive sell to potential couples.

If your target client is the type that want these full blown features, be mindful of the longevity of your investments.


.
 
When I play at venues with their own sound systems I make sure I bring a powered monitor to keep my mixes tight. Some systems have a slight delay from the booth area to the dance floor which can cause me to go off beat.
 
Scott Hanna said:
There is a House of Blues here in dowtown Cleveland. They have their sound systems in the 3 rooms they rent out. Great sound system, and a sound tech.

I love Djing there.

When venues do it because they are concerned about the quality of sound and want to ensure high quality, it's great. A great sound system with a sound tech is the way to go.

When venues do it as a way to try to raise their revenue without raising the quality of what THEY do, it's a recipe for disaster.
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You are correct! You will find that the larger venues with the more recognizable brand names such as the Hilton, Hyatt will have engineers and consultants come in to design and do the install.
The smaller venues who see a compulsory permanent install as a revenue stream may cut corners and the end result may not be desirable.
 
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