Venue/DJ Booth/Event Space Horror Stories
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  1. #1
    Tech Mentor overcast's Avatar
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    Default Venue/DJ Booth/Event Space Horror Stories

    What's the worst instances you've had with bad venue/DJ Booth/event space setups? These can be anywhere from big well respected clubs to rinky dink little house parties. I have a few from college (1-3 are from frat houses):

    1) Me: "So how well do these (tower passive) speakers work? They look a little beat up and-"
    Him: "Honestly, I'm trying to get a noise complaint tonight."

    2) Them: "You can use our mixer and speakers if you want."
    *mixer is cheap Radioshack mixer, sticky, from all the alcohol. The wall next to it is covered in Four Loko stickers/labels*
    Me: "Do the speakers sound fine?"
    Them: "Oh, not at all. There's no high pitch frequency."

    3) Surge protector was duck taped into outlet. Air freshener in surge protector had melted together.

    4) Equipment rentals double booked the speakers we wanted. Had to daisy chain together three pairs of PA using two DJ mixers and a stereo receiver.

  2. #2
    Tech Mentor Stazbumpa's Avatar
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    Nov 2012
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    I did a Christmas Eve gig at a bar, the DJ booth was tiny and had the amp rack in it so I had about a 2 foot square space to stand in right on the edge of the booth. The desk wasn't deep enough for their mixer to sit on so I had to rotate it 90 degrees to make it fit. While we're on the subject of the mixer, it looked like someone had set fire to it and then beaten out the flames with a cricket bat.
    It also didn't help that the desk was somewhere below thigh height and as I'm over 6 feet tall I could've done with a chair to avoid the back pain it gave me. I gave up trying to set my decks up anywhere as there was no room so just mixed internally on the laptop.

    He asked me back for NYE but was told that no amount of money would achieve that.
    Live rig: Denon Prime (5000M's)
    Retired: Denon x1700, Denon SC3900's, Traktor, Technics SL1200's, my vinyl
    Wish list: Some Roland Aira stuff.

  3. #3
    Tech Guru the_bastet's Avatar
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    May 2012
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    Pure at Caesars in Vegas (it's Omnia now). I showed up for a gig. Technics were in my rider. They had a pair of numark TTUSB's and a DJM800 with no crossfader, missing knobs, and two channel faders missing. The booth height was 3'. Im 6'4". At the time I played strictly vinyl, so needless to say, it was the most frustrating set ever.
    - Equipment - 2X Technics 1200, 2X Audio Technica ATLP1240, 2X XDJ700, 2X XDJ1000 MK2, Denon DNX-1100, Mixars DUO, DJM750 MK2, NI Audio 10, NI Aduio 4, Serato SL3, 4X Shure M44-7, 2X Ortofon Pro S, 2X Numark Groove Tool, Maschine MK3, Samson Carbon 49, Roland SE-02, Novation Launchcontrol, TouchOSC, Nocation Peak, Arturia MiniBrute, Korg Volca Kick, MicroKorg (Classic), NI Komplete Audio 6

  4. #4
    Tech Mentor Stephen Nawlins's Avatar
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    Well came to one of the most known Party Locations of Switzerland.

    The booth was tiny and I had to share it with Sound Engineer.
    Just to say, I still mix with CDs and there was no place for my cases...so I thought "Well they must have Laptop DJs here noemally"...that's when I discovered that you could pull away one of the boths covers and 2 TTs and a Mixer appeared...I started asking myself where a Vinyl mixing DJ would put his Cases which are just double as big as the ones for CDs...so I didn't complaint...just was sorry for those working with Vinyl there

  5. #5
    Tech Guru deevey's Avatar
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    Along time ago ..... in a galaxy Far Far away ...

    I had a Saturday night residency in a bar and was the only Jock in the venue that played on Vinyl. This was Pre-CDJ days so the installed "console" was 19" mixer and Denon CD unit. So every night I'd shift their unit under the DJ booth and set up my coffin.

    There was lots of room for Vinyl Crates, however once my coffin and decks went in there was no getting out - literally, as the DJ booth door opened inwards and my coffin case blocked it from moving whatsoever.

    Result: after playing for over a year there I learned immense bladder control with most nights running over and beyond 7 hour sets - I think I only jumped the booth once in that whole time after a dodgy burger.

    I might add my Turntables were vertically orientated Vestax A2's and I had one of the slimmest mixers on the market (Ecler SMAC 20)- so couldn't really get a smaller Vinyl setup.

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