They didn't have a sub! (ugh!)

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Saturday i went with my partner to an event he was to play at in Hamilton, NJ. I found out later it was a charity event to help fight gang violence. He was looking at this for promoting himself and for me to network with some people.

We get there and the party was in the back at a boxing gym of all places. Admission to get into the party was $10.00. Only a handful of people showed up. The event was in a room that was big. It was like say half the size of a nice size ballroom in a fancy hotel. I was surprised to see where the event was at.

The 2 other DJ's they had there to play were good. Someone made a bad comment about the first DJ. He is 23 years old and he was playing some great house music that was made before he was born. He did a nice job. All the DJ's playing wise did a nice job. The first thing i noticed about the the setup was that they were using 4 powered speakers. 2 Mackie Thumps on the floor in the ring for monitors and 2 Mackie SRM 450's on stands. They didn't have even one bass cabinet at all. That was a big no no in a room that size! I took pictures so all can see.

They absolutely need at least 1 sub if not 2 for a room that big. The sound was ok with those SRM 450's but it would have sounded 100 times better with some subs. Not only that but the setup looked a mess. You could see all the wires everywhere. Extension cord everywhere and the first DJ to play had his cover for the case he was using out on the floor of the ring for all to see. Obviously they didn't raise a lot of money. Nice ideal but poorly setup.

I say they need to have the event in a better location, more people knowing about the event, the right gear for the event and a better looking setup. My partner wasn't going to play but i talked him into it since we came a long way. His girlfriend was happy he played. The small crowd liked what he did. This event also was about bringing house music DJ's to come and play in and around that town.

I got one of the DJ's numbers and decided to give him a call this week to see about what their future plans are and if i can help. I would have loved to see what the room would have sounded like if i had brought My 2 powered Yamaha tops and powered subs along with my 2 Yamaha double 15's. I hope that if they decide to do something in a room that big again i can talk them into using my complete setup in the basement since obviously i can't hook all of that up downstairs.

Here are just some of the pictures i took. I took 40 pictures. Obviously i won't post all 40 pictures but just enough to give you an ideal of what the setup looked like.

The picture of the DJ in a white tee shirt is my partner. I thought i would throw that in a long with 2 pictures of people who showed up to the event. Some nice looking women were there but hardly any dancing as the crowd wasn't that big and the system wasn't what it should have been for a room that size. What would you have done differently for a setup if it were you doing this event? I'll post my ideas later as i want to see if some of you have the same thinking as me or close to it.

 

[rickryan.com]

Good Lord, so much ammunition.................where's my popcorn?

 

[Djderik]

Momma said KNOCK YOU OUT.......... lol

 

[Audio One]

Here you go Rick, enough butter for ya?

 

[B-Sharp]

Well, this much is clear... when there's no gang of people, there's no gang violence.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Well, this much is clear... when there's no gang of people, there's no gang violence.

No house music i've found is safe. When there is house music all night long it leads to a mature adult crowd. Thugs don't care to listen to that kind of music so they won't even come. For me i find it to be safe. I don't worry about a fight breaking out or someone carrying a weapon in to the party.

 

[Cap Capello]

Very disturbing when some are quick to criticize another performer's choice of equipment based on their own personal choices of what they choose to inflict on their audiences. Tch tch tch.

 

[Jon Tuck]

Cap your such a charmer LOL Luv ya and glad to see you around. Wish I could have ran into you when I stopped for lunch in your neck Zac said he spread the word.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Very disturbing when some are quick to criticize another performer's choice of equipment based on their own personal choices of what they choose to inflict on their audiences. Tch tch tch.

No it's not that at all. I hate the Mackie Thumps but they will work for monitors. What they were using was some top of the line gear. The first DJ was using a Rane mixer and 2 Pioneer 1,000's. The other DJ was using either using a Rane or Bozak knob mixer with 2 Pioneer cd players. Great stuff. And i forgot to mention the first DJ was using a Macbook with Serato.

The problem i had was not with them using a pair of Mackie SRM 450's. I think they are some very good speakers. Even though others will say something else. I was considering a pair of those but when i went to audition speakers i didn't even have to listen to them because i heard them enough and know how they sound.

My issue was that they didn't use a sub in a room that size. At least one. That would have made things sound a whole lot better. It souned nice but with 2 subs it would have sounded a whole lot better.

Now using all the gear i have in the basement here's what i would have done. My partner has a pair of Mackie Thumps so let me start there. I would take those 2 and had them up on stands in the ring so that they are above the DJ's head and had them facing in the direction of the DJ on their sides.

Then i would have taken the 2 Yamaha subs i got and placed them on both sides of the ring a little bit behind the corners of the ring in fron on both sides. Next put the speaker poles into the subs holes for the poles and then mount the powered tops onto the poles. Making sure the tops were really high up in the air.

Then i would have taken the 2 Yamaha double 15's and placed them in the front of the ring spacing them a decent ways away. Not to far but not to close either. I would use my table to put my Denon 6000 on and the other stuff i use to get the job done. I would use my table because everything fits on it without a problem and yet small enough that the facade fits around it without a problem. Then i would have put the amp for the non powered speakers under the table. Then the facade would have went in front of the table to cover up most of the wires. Then taping down what ever wires that needed to be taped down to make things look a lot neater and safe for the people there. That's what i would have done to bring the best sound for a room that size.

 

[DJ Wes]

No way would I associate myself with someone who cares that little about their appearance and presentation.

 

[Jon Tuck]

If ran with a crossover the Thumps would likely fill a single subs duties if placed properly in this room.

 

[ahoustondj]

If ran with a crossover the Thumps would likely fill a single subs duties if placed properly in this room.

WHATTTTT???? Don't want to start a big debate here but I have to ask, what do you mean?
If run with a Crossover there would have to be Subs. Those are being run in Full Range, everything from Low to Hi. With a Crossover one will need a sub. No???

 

[steve149]

I think he means if you run the Thumps on the low end of a crossover (say under 100hz), two of them can do a little bit of sub duty.

 

[DJ Wes]

Can you say Jury Rigged?

 

[Jon Tuck]

Im only saying in this setup it would have made things a bit better is all and thanks Steve for the read on my thoughts. Im not saying it would have been the right fix but could have improved what they had to work with. Sort of like using the Ashley to get those scoops to do more than they could on their own.

 

[ahoustondj]

Ok Gotcha! Voodoo Electronics!

 

[steve149]

I pride myself on the ability to jury rig to solve a short term problem.

 

[ahoustondj]

Sort of like using the Ashley to get those scoops to do more than they could on their own.

Jon, The Ashly is a Stereo 3 Way Electronic Crossover. It is not meant to do anything else but divide an incoming Full Range into Hi (To Tweeters), Mid (To Midrange) and Low (To Bass Cabs/Scoops). I don't know what you mean by "more than they could on their own." Those Cabs have no crossovers in them. As a matter of fact neither do my Tweeter Cabs, Midrange Cabs or Bose 802s.

 

[DJ SVO]

The key on what Jon is suggesting is not sending excessive low end to the powered speaker which will gobble up tons of power with nil results on the sound coming from the speaker, it will clip and you know what happens next so if you cut the frequencies off you get a little bit of better sound from them.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

The best and simple thing to do is just use 2 really good subs and be done. Don't half step on doing a job in a room that size. Get the job done right so people will be happy they came to the party. End of story. If you don't know what to do then either do 1 of 3 things. let someone else who know what they are doing take on the gig. 2 find out what you need to do to make sure things will sound right. 3 have someone provide the gear to get the job done right if you want to be the DJ doing the gig.