question for working DJs
mannybolone
Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
So I did a wedding gig this past week and I was only responsible for bringing my tables and mixer. The wedding party provided the rentals in terms of speakers and lights, etc. However, they didn't arrange for a monitor but one of the groomsmen had a monitor with him since he was playing a song during the reception. He lent me his monitor but in the course of the evening, I managed to blow out the speaker. 
Not sure what I did wrong since I didn't blast the volume but I don't think this was a monitor designed for DJ use. So, trying to be karmically upstanding about it, I told the groomsmen what happened and told him to holler at me if he did, indeed, confirm the speaker was blown. Under the circumstances, should I be liable for the full amount? Or would it be fair to ask the wedding party to help kick in a little too since this happened for their event (vs. my personal use)?
Not sure what I did wrong since I didn't blast the volume but I don't think this was a monitor designed for DJ use. So, trying to be karmically upstanding about it, I told the groomsmen what happened and told him to holler at me if he did, indeed, confirm the speaker was blown. Under the circumstances, should I be liable for the full amount? Or would it be fair to ask the wedding party to help kick in a little too since this happened for their event (vs. my personal use)?
Comments
If not I'd delicately mention it to whoever hired you maybe after a week has gone by (they're not gonna want to hear about that sort of thing right after their wedding). If you havent yet been paid then a good time to mention it would be when they're about to write the check.
But I guess it partially depends on whether you were getting paid fairly in the first place, and also if the monitor was a cheap piece of shit. If they were paying you a lot of money to begin with it might not be such a good look to ask them to kick in. Tough call.
what do you need a monitor for anyway?
Jaymack: The monitor was actually very useful because I was set up on a balcony in such a way that I couldn't hear the main speakers very well and definitely would have a hard time modulating levels as a consequence. So I was happy to have a monitor. Just unhappy that I managed to blow it out. I blame Beyonce. (I think the woofer blew on "Crazy In Love").
sounds cool.
I got asked to deejay two different weddings later this year. One is in New Jersey and one in So.Cal. I don't how these people one is some dude who saw me deejay and has some of my mix-cd's and the other is a friend of a close friend.
How did I set-up such a thing: An out-of-town mobile wedding gig.
*liver, out of curiosity, what kind of mixer were you using?
Do your homework:
find a reputable local DJ shop and/or big box store like Guitar Center and ask them about referrals for mobile gear/PA rental. Usually dudes know dudes in the local business.
Since you'll be traveling, I don't imagine you'll want to drive all over trying to find the gear, so ask said rental folks about delivery/pick up. Also find out about insurance options for the gear you rent.
This will undoubtedly raise the rental price.
As for your final fee, give them one flat price [your premium fee for DJing the event + travel + expenses + hotel + PA rental = $?]
You can lay this out in some sort of agreement letter, so they know what they are paying for. But do not put the onus on the bride & groom to sort out the details of equipment rental because:
a.) they've got enough stuff to figure out getting ready for their wedding
b.) they'll probably get it wrong and get you some crap speakers you'll blow out when you drop Crazy in Love (heh heh)
Be professional and take total responsibility for getting professional gear.
Cover your ass:
Depending on the venues in SoCal & Jersey, you may also want to investigate liability insurance. Many venues that are in the business of renting their spaces require all vendors (caterers, DJs, etc.) to carry some sort of insurance policy. In case some drunk uncle trips over speaker cable and impales himself on a wedding cake knife, his insurance company settles with your insurance company and not the venue's insurance company. And especially not you and your personal assets. You can buy one-day performance coverage from RV Nuccio & Associates.
Get a playlist from the bride & groom at least 30 days in advance so you know what kind of special tunes they want, their parents want, etc.
Finally: If you don't already have it, get Sa-rah-toe. Since you are traveling, you are limited to the amount of vinyl you can carry. And you don't want to be the wedding DJ that says, "sorry, I don't have that one."
Through experience and trial & error, I got this s**t down to a science, so PM me if you need me to elaborate on anything.
Young Phonics East Coast tour--it is on!
you can borrow my equipment out here if they don't provide it for you. thing is you gotta transport it. use a zipcar or something.
*att - I was using a Rane 56. I initially had the monitor plugged into the Send FX quarter-inch outs but then switched it to the quarter-inch master outs. That could have been part of the problem, I'm not sure.
oh, ok. i just asked about the mixer because you mentioned needing the monitor to modulate levels and that's pretty easy to do without a monitor if you're using a 56-- you can just set the button over the meter that's between the up-faders to "mono pgm1/pgm2" and the meter will show you how loud each program is peaking. if both up-faders are set the same (e.g., all the way up), you can use the gain knobs to make the volumes the same-- when both programs are peaking at the same level on the meters, the output should be equally loud. too late, i know, but maybe this'll be useful in the future.
as far as the out jack, i'm not sure what the relative volumes of the different jacks are, but i always run monitors out of the AUX jack because it gives me a separate volume control for the monitor.
btw, i really, really prefer *atthew.
I just meant by ear though, gauging relative volume. It was a situation where it was hard to DJ without a monitor even though I could have gone through the Rane's master cue via headphones and use the level meters.
Of course - my bad *atthew.