DJing my first house party - What in the world should I set my stuff on?
I don’t have much, all I have is my laptop(MBP 13 + laptop stand) and my Mixtrack Pro. I don’t want anything too big and clunky taking up a lot of space. What should I use that is tall enough? (I’m only 5’10)
a table.
[quote=“guiltyblade, post:2, topic:40002, username:guiltyblade”]
a table.
[/quote]+1, and make sure nobody puts drinks near your shit.
I would say a solid table, you can buy a cheap folding table from any store and they are decently solid. If you’re using turntables, the weight becomes a problem but with a controller you should be fine. One recommendation, try to get a table that is close to the size you’ll need. In this way, less room for people to leave their drinks on the table. Also remind people to not touch your stuff while you’re away in the bathroom or taking a break.
Every party has a joker who will just walk up and try to mess around with your gear.
This. Except not just jokers, but anyone who is interested really. Or just drunk.
A few months ago i went outside to get a bit of air, then all of a sudden i hear this guy screaming into the microphone. I run in and its this drunk kid who has no clue what is going on, and we needed like 3 people to wrestle the microphone off him. Was an interesting night 
Lol
Same to me, the launchpad and his 173992629 colors. Every people that came by asking, “what is that for? And that? Can I press this button? And this? It’s all colored!! Can I press this?”
And, they press them…
Hahah! My 2 cents is be a tool, (sometimes) - if they have a drink get it out of my sight, but if there’s someone (preferably a cute chick) who is curious about what I’m doing, I’ll invite them into the booth (read: table 
) and let them watch/teach them some basics.
Oh, and buy a folding table bro!
*Like everyone Else, A Table, now im uring a mixtrack pro also, so I bought a small 4’ table. Works perfect.
Speaker stands, If you don’t have already.
Gaff Tape. Tape down you cables that run on the floor. Drunk ppl + messy cables = broken equipment.
( I’m big on clean cables.)
A. It’s safer to tape down ur cables.
B. It looks Clean to a client/ Future Clients.
C. If something goes wrong, Its easier to trace back the problem.
Some form of lighting. Some may disagree that lighting isn’t that important, but it helps the atmosphere for the crowd.
I can’t think of much more at 7:30am
Oh, DON’T USE DUCT TAPE!!! leave cables sticky.
Ill go check out Walmart our something I just hope the table is tall enough that I’m not hunched over
When I DJ at private parties, which is usually a pub/bar that doesnt have a dedicated DJ area, I will source a table from the pub. I will then always ask for some bottle crates and I carry a plain, dark tablecloth with me, which Ill lay over the top and then put my gear on top of that.
That, or 2 tables on top of each other as long as they’re the right height and sturdy.
House Party DJ Pro Tips:
DON’T use a laptop stand. Get a table that’s just big enough for you to set your laptop on it and your mixtrack pro alongside it. Laptop stands put your laptop in a much less stable position (read: being held to the table by 2 skinny legs) than the laptop sitting by itself. Having your laptop high up and in such an unstable fashion is just begging for some drunk idiot to lose balance and bump your table, sending your laptop flying. This also uses up extra room on the table, giving partygoers less surface / justification to put their drinks on your table.
+1 on the Gaff tape for your cables. I’ve played enough house parties to know if there’s a way for someone to trip over your cables and bring your setup crashing down, drunk people will make it happen.
Tip jar! DJing house parties isn’t normally the highest-paying, if paid at all, gig for most of us. BUT! If you do a good job, you might as well get some cash for rocking everyone’s faces off. Put a tip jar out and it’s almost scientifically guaranteed that drunk people will throw some cash in there if they’re having a good time. I’ve walked out of DJing a house party I did for no pay with 200 bucks before thanks to the tip jar, definitely worth it! (Tip Jar pro tip: having someone get on the mic and announce the presence of the tip jar, perhaps even passing it around the room can really get the cash flowing)
This sounds ghetto but if you need something cheap to raise your setup a little bit so you’re not hunched over, I’ve typically found that textbooks / magazines are usually in abundance at pretty much every house I’ve played at.
pick up some pvc pipe and use them as leg extenders…we used to do this at my old job, and it works out really well. also, GAFF TAPE GAFF TAPE GAFF TAPE. It’s a little pricey, but worth every penny.