andythemusician

You can def go mic > compressor > mixer. This is essentially what the insert jack on a mixer does, except it makes cabling a bit easier and allows the mic to hit the preamp first. But I have done it like this before when I have had no inserts on channels, and it works fine.

I don't understand, you are basically describing a compressor but saying it wouldn't be a compressor... haha What do you mean by high level signals?

Haha thanks Source. No, I don't produce - shit mate, I need some time to eat sleep and shit! haha Glad to hear you like hearing about it - I've always found its good to share, as I've gained great knowledge from others sharing (both forums and real life), so you never know who you're going to help or inspire. Feel free to ask questions too - part of what I said above, I don't mind getting my brain picked!

Its good to get a bit of wash light in there too. If you run the laser all night, it loses its special-ness. Mix it up, its about having a bit of diversity and contrast.

Minimal monkeys! The karaoke gig I had people help me push the gear in and out, but that was about it - no one else there knew anything about how to set it up. Delay stacks were run through a Yamaha D1030, you can actually type in the distance in feet or metres and it will delay it appropriately. I actually found this out after the gig - turns out I didn't need to sit and work out the formula between feet and milliseconds - it would have done it for me! Oh well. 24 mics on stage - 3 stages though, about 8 mics per stage. Relatively small musical groups with classical Indian stuff - they usually have a mrdanga (two headed drum), a violin, sometimes a tambourine style instrument or a mouth played instrument, and a vocalist. This festival then saw anywhere from 10 mrdangas at once (a recital from a team of young students) to about 15 vocalists with about 5 instrumental players. Crazy! My mind was in a totally different space by the end of that festival - sheer exhaustion and 18hrs+ of music I can't understand, it was like i was on acid or something haha!

Yeah, its not like show written by some nobody. It's been in many countries, gotten awards and shit. Cheers guys. Yeah, all sounds good. Pay should be good - between these three gigs, I should make over $2k, after taking out the cost of hired gear.

I don't understand your question, but if this helps: It is an amateur theatre's performance of the musical. So the actors aren't paid, and its done in a community or small theatre somewhere. Not professional theatre, which in Melbourne, is held at venues like Her Majestys, Princess Theatre and so on. Avenue Q (professional theatre version) was in Melbourne last year I think, at the comedy theatre. The rights for amateur groups to do it have only just come available, and this is the second group in Victoria to do it (first group had their shows about a month ago, in a different area).

Phew... Started out LDing a show that will run for 3 weeks - Avenue Q, done by an amateur theatre group. Then moved to a Sri Lankan fundraiser / karaoke night. Then moved to a 2 day Indian Music festival. Been out every night since last Saturday, and worked close to 60 hours in the last four days. Some pics and deets for ya: Avenue Q: 2x Mac 250+ moving heads 8x LED par cans 1x hazer 1x followspot Plus the theatre's stock of fresnels, profiles, cyc lights and their desk and dimmers. Karaoke evening thing: Ran 2 EV ZX3 for front of house with 2 powered JBL subs, and 2 more ZX3 for delays halfway down the hall. Ran about 5 mics on stage, plus 3 inputs from computers, DVD player, etc. Supplied everything from desks to speakers to multicores to power cables. Indian Music Festival At my main venue. Only one pic of this, but the program went from Sunday 2:45pm to 10pm and then Monday 9:45am until 9pm. Basically non-stop. I'm wrecked today. 24 mics on stage, 4 foldback sends, customised lighting rig, banners and decorations, CD recording, delay speakers in the foyer... Managed to drag out half the gear I used the night before at the karaoke gig for extra foldback, cabling, and foyer speakers, so that was good.

Why not something like I have? All in one rack, I have a mixer, CD decks, DMX controller and MIDI controller. All I need to hook up (for the basic gig) is the power, speakers, laptop and any lighting. With the same idea, you could put amps and driveracks and shit in the one rack, and be done with it. Power in, speakers out and you're laughing. Let me know if you want pics - they are around but I'll repost if you want.

Hmm, although it does take 8U or 9U space in the rack... pretty space hungry unit... Considering my other one takes up 5U, and allows me to also have a 2U CD controller and a 3U DMX controller. At 9U, you'd only be able to have a gooseneck lamp...

Hells yeah! I like the look of that one! Better chuck that on my 'to research more into' list. And Soundcraft FTW!

Quick thought - why don't you keep your current setup, and just buy a 1U mixer? That way you tie the DJ mixer into that, as well as any other mics you want, and then that feeds the amps, etc. Not a setup that suits everyone, but thought I'd chuck it into the mix in case you hadn't considered it.

I've been checking out the Allen & Heath Xone S2 and the Pioneer DJM500 - both seem to look alright, and I'd trust the A&H mic preamps before the Pioneer, simply because A&H audio consoles usually give a great result. No money to buy either yet, but always keeping an eye out for the future

It certainly has weight, but one person can easily lift. Wouldn't want to carry for a distance, but trailer to trolley, trolley to table, and then in reverse, its fine. It's not heavy enough to cause problems lifting up from the ground, so thats good! Saves heaps of time! Plus, everything is spaced where you want it. I've been uncomfortable at gigs in the past when I've had to set up things individually, as they are never in the same position each time. This way, everything is positioned exactly the same, and I am feeling myself getting more comfortable using it. The mixer - its lasted me a while, and considering its Behringer, thats more than I can ask!! The faders are very loose, but I don't mind - I don't usually mix with the upfaders, they are either FL or 0% or possibly 70% if I'm playing background music before blasting the party. The mic preamps are shithouse - I'm considering bringing another mixer with me to take care of those. However, I'm not happy with my current PA, so that doesn't help with the feedback / mic tone issues.

Hard to get clear photos since its a small and dark space, but hope this helps!

Thanks guys. I got the case from one of my usuals, KC's Rockshop in Boronia (Melbourne). Case was... hmm $320 is coming to mind... I'll have to hunt back through receipts and check it out. Its an SKB-R104. Really awesome rack I have to say! The shelf ended up being a big flimsy, as the two rails are independant. So when it was all the way out, it would sometimes come off from the shelf! I fixed a bit of aluminium to the back of the shelf mount, and this not only fixed the flimsy issue, but gave me a great place to secure cables and looms to. If you're interested, ill post some more photos of the inside of the rack, etc.

Yeah the RMX is on a sliding shelf, underneath that are the CD decks for the controller.

Anything white or fluro coloured will glow, if that helps. Not sure about paint - never had to deal with it and UV lights. Never tried the LED UV, but I have heard rumours they don't put out true UV. I'm sure you would get the same effect in a small room, and would get away with it for a house party, but I use them in theatres and things too so I wouldn't touch it until I could demo it out.

Yeah, I know what you were all thinking when you read the title. Dirty minds! Anyways, I thought the internet might be interested in my newly polished main DJ rack. I upgraded the rack itself a few months ago, and just today finished installing the MIDI controller and wiring it all up. Comments and feedback welcome! My apologies for the size, I'm not sure how to make it smaller without editing it - I just dragged it straight off my iPhone.

Mmm I remember this. This is why I bought a trailer!! How low were your back wheels? I remember mine used to sink quite a bit into the wheel arches... I've got pics somewhere from back in the day!! Hmm... I'll have to keep searching...

Usual... Sound on one circuit. Lighting on another circuit. Fog machine, if it would cause the lighting circuit to overload, on another circuit. Strobe - if it is a high powered one (say 1500w+) then think about putting it on another circuit, unless you only have less than 900w of power drain with the rest of the lights.

Had to laugh at that yellow DJ car. As awesome as it is to look at it, it must have the shittest sound systems - check out what the graphic EQ is tuned to in one of the pictures - holy crap!

The human hearing range is between 20Hz and 20kHZ, but as you get older the high end starts to drop off - more if you subject yourself to loud noises often.

Haha that must be running at like 0.25 ohms...!