Kit hire for school disco

[mbthegreat]

I have been asked to spec some kit to hire for our school disco in December. However I am much more of a light guy, and really don't know how big a system to hire. Looking to provide sound for 200-500 people (depends how many buy tickets really, sold to years 7-9 with 180 people in each year). Venue will be our main hall which is a good 35-40m long by about 20 wide. While we have a pretty large system and mixer I would really be looking to hire everything from cd players to a small mixer for this gig, mainly because it's my intention to use this as a fund raiser for Young Enterprise (by making a profit on providing sound for the event).

 

So really my quesiton is, what sort of wattage would I be looking for to fill the space, and what sort of budget should I have for hiring this stuff for one day.

[James]

I have no idea what wattage you would be looking for beccause I have no idea what wattage is.

 

For a school disco I would assume that you are on a private area of land with no neighbours that are going to care about volume. If this is not the case then you need to make calculations accordingly.

 

So - Say you are aiming for 95 dBA 1m from the speakers at the front of the room and you are at the narrow end of the hall then you will be measuring something like 65dBA at the back of the room. (Assuming a lot of assumptions and assuming you have all your speakers at the front of the room)

 

Note that if you have the system the other way around (set up against the long wall), you are closer to 70dBA at the back of the hall.

 

You should be able to do the maths, look at the coverage and work out what you need to do the job to the specification required.

 

James.

[mbthegreat]

Sorry to sound thick, but I no I can't do that maths. I'm not a sound person, I'm a lighting technician, and an inexperienced one at that. Now if you could tell be what I need to do to work out the sort of power I need then I am happy to do it, but I have no idea what size speaker will produce 95dBA, or really what 95dBA means.

[djw1981]

Sorry to sound thick, but I no I can't do that maths. I'm not a sound person, I'm a lighting technician, and an inexperienced one at that. Now if you could tell be what I need to do to work out the sort of power I need then I am happy to do it, but I have no idea what size speaker will produce 95dBA, or really what 95dBA means.

 

Well if you are doing it for Y.E, why not ask a Physics teacher to be a consultant and get them to help you with the calculations.

[James]

Sorry to sound thick, but I no I can't do that maths. I'm not a sound person, I'm a lighting technician, and an inexperienced one at that. Now if you could tell be what I need to do to work out the sort of power I need then I am happy to do it, but I have no idea what size speaker will produce 95dBA, or really what 95dBA means.

 

The maths is simple dB = 10 log (P1/P2)

 

This type of thing is as fundamenal for sound system design as V=IR for a lighting instalation.

 

You say you are a lighting technician, so you understand the knowlege required to calculate if fixure A from position B can light set C with beam angle D and if you have x lanterns available with a 10mm supply how many lanterns you can use at the same point. I take it you understand how someone can't just walk into pointing lights at people and switching lights on at random without some knowlege of the fundamentals of what they are doing.

 

It's kind of the same with sound.

 

Sorry

 

James

[Bobbsy]

It might be worthwhile for your to read THIS TOPIC. While it's talking about subs, the same principles apply to whole sound systems.

 

Basically, "wattage" is an irrelevant number when specifying a sound system. Different speakers can vary greatly in terms of efficiency. A good, professional 500W system could end up being much louder than a low end 2000W equivalent.

 

Your best bet will be to go to a reputable dealer with details of the room and event and see what they offer.

 

Bob

[djmatthill]

Hi there as a working DJ for many many years and having done loads of school discos just thought id add my thoughts.

 

When I first started out doing school discos in halls much of the same size as use I had a mono carlsbro 150W slave amp and pair of 8" speakers.

they did the job - Dont forget kids are nt intersted in sound quality or volume really .

 

But as I progressed I purchased bigger systems But for many years used a pair of 15" peaveys and 1200 watt stereo amp. That will be more than enough for your needs. Maybe add a pair of passive bins if you like too!

 

CD players . Dont use anything aqart from a denon double Cd player or Pioneer CDJ . they are the most reliable units on the market and much better than the chinese crap like Gemini , Kam , Numark etc , steer clear of them.

 

As for mixer A formula sound FSM 400 or 600 is the industry standard DJ mixer cant go far wrong with one of them.

[cedd]

Whilst I agree with the guys above that quoting dB's rather than wattage is probably better, I'd have to say that this guy seems to want something that'll work and do the job, rather than maybe getting into the physics of things. Sure-fire way of putting somebody off is to "over science" them. If you're interested in sound then it is worth looking into what the guys above have said, if this is a one off event, I'd probably leave it.

 

I DJ (occasionally) with my PA kit just to keep the money rolling in during off times, and also for friends parties.

 

I DJ purely from my laptop with an external hard drive. I have an exact copy hard drive in a second laptop so I can mix tracks as I find the auto fade-in and outs on the laptop (using off-the-shelf players like Itunes) are particularly rubbish.

 

As for speakers, you really don't want to be filling the entire room. People will adjust where they're sat to get the volume they want. If the whole room is too loud, people will be tempted to leave the room to chat and then you have a policing/security issue as ideally you want everyone in the same place and not dotted round other rooms/coridoors. At the same time, I do feel discos in at least a few areas need to be loud. Otherwise why not have a party with a domestic stereo? So, I'd say point source (speakers next to the DJ only and not further up the room) up to a reasonable volume. My speakers (Mackie SA1521's - 2 of) will fill any venue I go to easily. So provided it's a decent quality and efficiency cabinet (this is where your dB's come in I'm afraid!) 500w per side should do you fine. For that added "club feel" I would agree a pair of subs add the wow factor.

 

Shame you're in London, I love a good cheesy school disco!

 

Playlist has to include; Come on Eileen, Rowing boat song, Cotton Eye Joe, It's raining men and Don't stop me now!

 

Have fun

[mbthegreat]

Thanks, exactly the sort of answer I was looking for. Having spoken to 10outof10 today, I'm thinking of getting two Mackie SA1521s and a couple of SWA1801s, which is gonna cost a bit, but I'm thinking I might put on some sort of live music for older kids the night before, and cover my costs that way. If not I'll just get the 1521s.

 

Thanks cedd.

[Psychedelic Theatre]

While we have a pretty large system and mixer I would really be looking to hire everything from cd players to a small mixer for this gig, mainly because it's my intention to use this as a fund raiser for Young Enterprise (by making a profit on providing sound for the event).

 

 

Surely, if you already have the equipment, and are wanting to raise money, you would use the equipment you have.

 

You say it's a pretty large system, and from the size of room you're going to be using, wouldn't it be enough. Obviously 'large' is relative, but still, if you're wantign to make money, why are you hiring unnecessary gear?

 

 

Other than that, I agree with what has been said above. You don't need a huge system to cover that size room, and some subs would be nice.

[gnomatron]

When it comes to cd players and the DJ mixer, talk to your dj first - they may have their own stuff, and they will certainly have opinions on what they like to use! If the DJ doesn't really know, then a Denon twin CD player is a good bet, solid and simple, along with a Pioneer, Allen & Heath, or Formula Sound mixer - mind you it's a school disco, so you can probably skimp a bit on the mixer if need be too. Don't get Pioneer CDJs unless the DJ really wants and needs them, they're expensive and you need to be a good dj for it to be worth it, and it's a school disco after all - not fatboy slim.

 

Include a small sound mixer, too - DON'T let the DJ go straight into the system. Some - many - are quite bad at setting gain structures, or for that matter at not ramming the volume far, far too high. You might think they'd know better, but the worst experience I ever had with a DJ involved one who djs for Radio 1, and I think it's fair to assume the beeb train their djs reasonably well. You'll want it fairly quiet for the kids.

 

You say you have a system, but are hiring one in? Why? Hiring in kit you don't really need just to make a profit for an organisation you're affiliated with - even if it's a good cause, like young enterprise - is highly unethical at the very least.

[timtheenchanteruk]

TBH, for the price of hiring a sound system, and lighting for a disco, where is the music coming from? CD collections etc, it would probably as cheap to get in a mobile DJ,

 

For the young enterprise you can make it out as a mangement deal.

 

I worked in young enterprise Co, and came second in the country, if you want any help in it please PM me!

[mbthegreat]

Not using our own system becuase it's not very good for music, it's designed for theatre use really, and not very loud.

 

Should have mentioned we will be running several events over a few days as well as the disco, which is how we intend to make a profit.

[MarkPAman]

I think it's fair to assume the beeb train their djs reasonably well.

 

I think it's fair to assume that beeb DJs are accustomed to having very good technicians watching their every move!