Weird Night.
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Thread: Weird Night.

  1. #1
    Tech Convert
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    Default Weird Night.

    So I was invited to DJ a gig for a fundraiser at a local bar last night, and I was told that there would be a sound system for me to plug into (amp, PA system, microphone, etc.)

    It was fairly short notice, and I didn't really have a chance to check out the place beforehand. When I got there and was shown the DJ booth, I had to laugh. The mixer they had there was a no-name mixer which was at least 20 years old with some REALLY old Denon CD decks. There was so much dust on the mixer that after attempting to wipe off the dust, there was another layer of dust underneath. If I knew they had a mixer like this, I would have brought my Xone:62.

    There was no booth monitor, and the booth could barely fit my S4. The sound sucked and I ended up having to mix through my headphones the entire night because I could hear anything.

    I tested the mic they had beforehand as well, and I tried every possible technique I know to attempt to get it to sound to no avail (I have a great deal of experience with stage sound). There was so much feedback and noise coming out of that old mixer that it was completely unusable. This made me look bad as the MC was expecting a mic in the loud, crowded bar.

    Also, I don't really enjoy mixing top 40 and I just ended up doing quick cuts between tracks for most of the night.

    Seems like the best thing to happen during the night was my crowd reading. They seemed to like the classics, and so I tried to play as many of those as possible. I made a few mistakes in my mixing, but tbh I blame it on the fact that I couldn't hear anything.

    Anyways, thoughts on this? Has anyone had a crazy night like this?

  2. #2
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Default

    Been there, got the t-shirt.

    Welcome to the wonderful world of DJing in shit clubs.

    Gotta start somewhere and testing your metal in tatty booths with crap gear at a moments notice will make you a better DJ.

    Put it all down to the long learning curve, move on and do the next one.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karlos Santos View Post
    Been there, got the t-shirt.

    Welcome to the wonderful world of DJing in shit clubs.

    Gotta start somewhere and testing your metal in tatty booths with crap gear at a moments notice will make you a better DJ.

    Put it all down to the long learning curve, move on and do the next one.
    I took it as a lesson. Next time I will be careful where I play, what I bring, and how I do it.

  4. #4
    Tech Guru Patch's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cyrcles
    Also, I don't really enjoy mixing top 40 and I just ended up doing quick cuts between tracks for most of the night.
    So? I don't LOVE my job all of the time - but I still have to do it to the best of my ability.

    You're either a working DJ (playing what you are PAID to play) or you are an artist - playing what you WANT to play (whether your getting paid or not).
    DJ'ing: 2x1200MK2, DJM 850, Dicers, F1, Zomo MC-1000, Sony MDR-v700, i7 Win 10 HP Envy
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patch View Post
    So? I don't LOVE my job all of the time - but I still have to do it to the best of my ability.

    You're either a working DJ (playing what you are PAID to play) or you are an artist - playing what you WANT to play (whether your getting paid or not).
    I am fully aware of this! I fully understand the sacrifices. It was a good learning experience.

  6. #6
    Tech Guru sarasin's Avatar
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    Yeah...that made me cringe.

    Been there too. Nasty....

    Never again.

    If you are at a point where you can demand a certain fee, make it enough so that people like this can't afford you.
    APC80:STR8-100's+Ortofon Concorde Scratch\Electro:ButterRugz:TSP2-NI Audio4DJ:Xone22+Innofader:MacBook Pro 15"
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  7. #7
    DJTT Moderator bloke Karlos Santos's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patch View Post
    You're either a working DJ (playing what you are PAID to play) or you are an artist - playing what you WANT to play (whether your getting paid or not).
    I'm both.

    I do weekly gigs where a certain type of music is expected (club music policy)
    And I do guest gigs, festivals etc where im booked to play whatever i want.

    The 2 are not mutually exclusive. Not in my experience anyway.

  8. #8
    DJTT Scribe Mod smiTTTen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Karlos Santos View Post
    Been there, got the t-shirt.

    Welcome to the wonderful world of DJing in shit clubs.

    Gotta start somewhere and testing your metal in tatty booths with crap gear at a moments notice will make you a better DJ.

    Put it all down to the long learning curve, move on and do the next one.
    Can't decide if I have found my new DJ or Stripper name. Regardless, you may now all address me as Tatty Booths.

    I thank you.
    Beats By Dre is like audio flu for your balls.

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