General Top Tips for Gigging DJs

[imadje]

Post anything useful/simple that you may take for granted and that works for you but might not have come up anywhere else or may be buried amongst derailed threads:

eg:

When setting up: gaffa tape power extensions to the underside of tables so no spilt drinks can affect them.

Never update software before a gig. Do updates early in the week and have time to properly test them for bugs before your next gig.

If you have updated DJ software you may need to let it re-analyse your music library, be sure you leave time to do this before your next gig.

Songs with a BPM that is half or twice another songs' BPM will mix together for genre transitions: i.e. 90bpm will mix with 180BPM, (hip hop to drum n bass) 70 BPM will mix with 140BPM (RnB to bassline/dubstep).

[Lurk6r]

Most of mine are mobile related, but you get the general idea.

- Say its nearing the end of the night 20 min early. Then when they ask for one more, you can still give them one more without the management raping you.

- Speakers placed on ground are significantly bassier than if placed on stands.

- If your using 2 amps (eg for sub/bass bin), plug one in your booth out of the mixer, as some mixers also have eq for the booth, giving you more controls over your sound.

- NEVER leave cables in between walls and temporary dance floors, the force of people dancing is enough to move the floor and pinch your cable.

- KNOW how to change fuses on all your equipment.

- When working at a venue that requires you to use a noise limiter, PLUG only your desk light into it. Find another power point for your main use. This will prevent awkward silence when it gets too loud, AND IT WILL happen. But you can still tell when it gets too loud cause your lamp will die. As long as you behave and explain only if they ask, im sure the management wont mind and the crowd wont be as irritated (and they will, cause they like it loud).

- Itunes on my iphone has saved my ass on a handfull of occasions where the brides cd didnt work and i didnt have the bridal waltz song in my collection.

- Don't put lights where you cant see them, people will touch them, especially little kids, then they get burnt and cry. Bonus points if they hit your light afterwards.

- A powerboard with a circuit breaker is easier to reset than changing a fuse on the house side.

- Turn the microphone gain down a little. I find that Im more energetic when I have to shout into it, kinda like Fatman Scoop.

- Talk to people, not at them.

- Try to plan for a place for people to place drinks near you. Its going to happen anyway, so might as well make it away from your decks.

- If you find that theres 2 distinct groups at a party (Eg oldies and uni people) plan to do a 20-30 mini mix, then slow it down. Give a chance for the current group to rest and drink up. Then start playing stuff for the other group. As the night goes on, make the mix smaller and smaller till your playing whats hot and everybody will be on the floor.

- If you play bangers all night, they'll get bored. If you tease them they want MAORRR

- What goes in, must come out. Don't drink alot before the gig.

- Having said that, if you drink alot of energy drinks, the caffeine will dehydrate you, make sure you drink 2 cups of water for each cup of stimulants.

- Tell people early on that YES, you take requests and you will TRY to fit it in at some point of the night. Hopefully theyl come early and not be all "my song, now now now, as your in the last 30 min of the night".

- This one I heard from ellaskins. People form their musics tastes in their teens, early twenties. So if your playing a 40th, try some 80's. 30th 90s...

- If you get a say in the setup of the room, make sure there isn't too much room, if the room looks empty few will dance.

- Be nice to the manager, introduce yourself and ask them what time THEY want you to close, should it arise; is there a possibility of giving the client overtime (provided they pay you and the venue) and most importantly, this is that one thing that will get you free drinks for the rest of the night. I'm happy to make any announcements you require and please tell me if the music becomes too loud.

[imadje]

thats all good for mobiles mate, nice 1.

some more:

-whether you are mobile or not always try and take the time to get out from behind the decks occasionally and listen to the sound the crowd are hearing. Booth monitors and headphone mixing can help you beatmatch but can totally mislead you about the sound quality the dancefloor is actually getting.

-If you are going to scratch vox or sample hits/stabs over a tune that is playing roll of some of the bass on the scratch sample. It will allow the speakers to handle the output without trying to reproduce unneeded frequencies. Unless you're scratching a bass sample of course. ( this applies to all scratching but especially to vinyl djs who may hear the "bump" of their fingers hitting the vinyl).

- if there are security available be friendly and set up a signal which they will recognise means you need help immediatley. I let them know that silence from the decks for more than a musical pause of 4 beats means I need help, either electrical fault or nobhead in the booth.

[CapFive]

Good idea for a thread fool

Here I go, all my stuff applies to mobile djing and its how I createnthe perfect gig, its mostly about educating your client

- always try to ask for some type of playlist, we are DJs not mind readers, BUT let them know they you will only usually get through 40% of the list so try to get them to have the "must plays"

- tell your client "if I tell someone they can't have a song played I need you to back me up" there is always that fuck head that wants party rock anthem 10 times, me saying is always "sorry mate its not my party I been told to only rake requests from (insert name) so maybe have a chat to them?"

- always have a backup plan, even it its just a 3.5mm convertor to play off your iPod... no shit I have done this before because gear showed up late... iPod = better than no music

- always charge per hour and don't ever agree to a set price unless its a last resort, for example you agree to play 3hour party for $50p/hour that's $150, now the night comes and you end up playing for 5 hours, you just made yourself an extra $100, if you agreed on a set $150 you would've been screwed my friend, and trust me it happens ALL THE TIME,

- don't get to fancy to early on, keep some tricks up your sleave

Ill do more larer

[SolDios]

Speakers placed on ground are significantly bassier than if placed on stands.

THIS

My 15" pa speakers are amazing when placed on the ground, and B+ when placed on the stands.

Unfortunately if they are placed on the ground in a large hall, the horn gets cancelled out.

However I fixed this problem by buying another 2 12" pa speakers and putting them on the stands.

This raises another issue however.

The little speakers on the tripods overpower the 15" speakers on the ground, this is solved by turning the tripod speakers down so they only put though 70% of the volume that goes into them.

Also, even with just the 15" on the ground, they are not as bassy as they could be because of distance to your ears, notice if you crouch down it sounds alot better again, this can be solved by putting them slightly above the ground. Unfortunately they might rattle off.

[CapFive]

Sol, bass is non directional, so this makes no sense lol

[SolDios]

I know :S even so it's true

[imadje]

What works in terms of P.A. will depend heavily on the room you are in and the number of people/type of furnishings present.

As a room fills with people the acoustic qualities will change and it is worth checking your sound from the point of view of the dancefloor.

[Lurk6r]

- It its a big hall type room, try not to point your standed speakers directly at the back of the hall. It high will echo. Most people don't notice this but it may make it more difficult to beatmach. Put them on a slight angle so that the sound can bound off somewhere else.

[CBG]

- Always have a few directions you would like to go with your set, you never know what the crowd is gunna react to, so it's best to be prepared.

- Watch your levels at all times. a good set can sometimes be as simple as playing it at the correct volume, you dont want to smash sound into the clubs limiters all night, especially on a hot night.

- Step away from the decks once in a while and try and focus your attention on the ambience of the room, to see if it all sounds the way you'd like. Maybe the room has a real problem at around 100hZ, so you might need to back off the low's a bit. Or maybe your treble is really cutting through on a particular system. Either that or ask a friend to jsut walk around the room and give you an assessment of it.

[pundaddy]

Always play according to your set time, if you're playing 8 - 9, leave the bangers for the people on after you, dont go too hard too early, it's not impressive.

[Lurk6r]

Ask before using smoke machines.

[andyman]

Don't Jesus pose to an empty room.

[CapFive]

Sol please dont think this is a stab at you cause it aint...

but big thing is always speak to the venue managers or owners to do a sort of run sheet and ok things like sound, your lights, smoke machines etc... some places might not want you using your mad flamethrower on the dancefloor cause it might catch something alight, or you might have trouble using a strobey or lighting effect because of external factor, this way if there are any problems you can go to your client and manage there expectations so they know certain things just arent possible

[Lurk6r]

Sol please dont think this is a stab at you cause it aint...

but big thing is always speak to the venue managers or owners to do a sort of run sheet and ok things like sound, your lights, smoke machines etc... some places might not want you using your mad flamethrower on the dancefloor cause it might catch something alight, or you might have trouble using a strobey or lighting effect because of external factor, this way if there are any problems you can go to your client and manage there expectations so they know certain things just arent possible

And you can pass the blame onto the manager.

[imadje]

so we have a few doubles in the above but i like the way this thread is going...

At venues:

try and get to a gig early so you can hear what the DJ before you played. You may get a better idea of what the crowd want.

see if you can stay a while after your set to see what the DJ after you plays and how the crowd react. For same reason as the above.

flyers, posters, reviews etc that have your name on are evidence to back up your C.V. Keep a portfolio.

starting your own event on a quiet mid-week night in an otherwise empty club can be a good way to get noticed by management and may lead to bigger things.

if you want to take a controller or other extra equipment to your gig check with the management and the promoter 1st. Also remember you will need to set up or break down while the DJ before and after you are trying to get their set on. Put yourself in their place and give them due consideration.

respect the bar staff, they can have a lot of influence with management and the regulars. They may even supply the grog

[imadje]

all the following were made while waiting through the worlds worst best man speech -

You should be sure the kit you take works before leaving home. If you are taking a radio mic that uses a battery be sure you have swapped the battery for a new one and checked it works at home before setting off. Radio mics have notoriously short wires connecting the battery and these can easily break.

If you have been given a playlist by the groom be sure and check that he has checked what the bride likes. Obviously this should be done with some diplomatic awareness but it is fair to say that some men do not listen to their wives. I have done weddings where the groom has insisted “no requests” and told me to only play the music he has chosen but then the bride wants some cheese for her mates. It's their fault they didnt discuss this before the event but you are the one on the spot on the night.

Take some grub, they will stuff their faces all day in front of you and you may get a plateful. Dont count on it though.

The worst thing that can happen is not you getting punched or your kit getting wrecked. Both these can be fixed. It is losing the rep of your business and getting no more work because someone didnt enjoy their wedding because of you. This is the biggest day of their life, it's your pride that should take a knock if they only want shit music.

If you are asked to set-up before the meal and provide background music you should take a book, or even netbook to make notes on. You will need something to pass the time as getting drunk will not do you any good that early on.

I drive to and from all gigs. If you do this getting drunk will not do you any good at all.

Lots of people will tell you stories about crap DJs who only played what they wanted, talked loads on the mic, or did things such as karaoke which wasn't asked for. Someone's wedding is not your opportunity to show off and get a rep for your amazing mixing and great underground knowledge of music. It is someone else's big day and they want you to do what they want. You need to be able to get everyone up and happy, while balancing the requests you take with the mood of the room.

If you have a crowd of over 50's they will want to dance to swing, jive, motown, 60's music and mostly music they can singalong to, get this done early then they hopefully won't complain when you play more modern music the rest of the night.

Coca cola has sugar and caffeine in, it can really help you keep up for it without getting too wired.

Keep things easy and wait for the food to settle in peoples bellies after a meal. They wont dance to anything until they feel comfortable. Save your big hitting “get up and dance” songs until they are worth playing.

Have a set piece of songs you have practised mixing which you can rely on to fill a dancefloor. Something pop from various eras which mixed well is your own version of a “jive bunny” mini mix but which uses tunes people like. If this works you can follow it with just about any big song and they will stay dancing. My set piece is ABC (Jackson 5) I Want You Back (Jackson 5) Crazy in Love (Beyonce) Superstition (Stevie Wonder) 9 to 5 (Dolly Parton) Stayin Alive (BeeGees), Rappers Delight ( Sugarhill Gang) Kiss (Prince). This set piece also moves from 95 BPM to 112 BPM so leaving me open to go in pretty much any direction. Other set pieces in other genreas can be worth practising as it is hard to mix well and select well, consider these set pieces your trump cards that you can fall back on if you don't know what else to do.

Remember: if the girls are dancing the boys will follow. If you aim your music at the males they are more likely to sit and nod appreciatingly but aim your music at the females and they will respond by dancing.

Never diss someone who has made a request. My stock answer to a rubbish request is:”that's a great idea but I'm really sorry I don't have it with me tonight.”

However much the party of guests are heckling a speech by the best man, brides dad or whoever – it is not right for you to join in. You are a DJ not a stand-up comedian, and not a guest.

If you get notes from a couple before a wedding who say things like “you must play this or there will be riot,” “dont play cheese or there will be a riot,” or generally anything about a riot or trouble – expect them to be weak. People who cause trouble don't talk about it beforehand. They come straight up to you and cause it face to face.