Yeah, I'm not kidding here. My budget is $300, and I need to have a full DJ set up for a small venue (think high school gymnasium). The format has to be CD, and the only piece of DJ equipment that I have is a good set of headphones.

I guess my first question would be: What do I REALLY need for a basic mix? Do I need an EQ? How about a Crossfader? I know I need speakers , but how many speakers do I need, and at how many watts? I need a completely bare-bones setup, as $300 doesn't go very far according to 123dj.com...

I also need to know if renting the equipment would be more cost-effective than buying it outright. Right now I only need the gear for one gig, but I'm pretty sure I'll have more planned out in the future.

Any help would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance .

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ummm sorry but theres no way your gonna get a CD setup with speakers for that price, your best bet is to try and rent it, especially if you don't know how much you will be using it, plus I take it you've never mixed before by the sounds of it, so you ain't gonna be any good with any kind of DJ setup, if I was you I would just get a CD player and hook it into an amp, cos you're not gonna be able to DJ anyway, sorry to burst your bubble, but this scenario can't be suger coated.

I don't know exactly what you are trying to do but I am pretty sure you aren't going to be able to do it for 300 dollars. Your best bet is to take that 300 dollars and hire a local wedding DJ who has all the equipment already. Because for a sound setup that would be acceptable for a small venue like a gymnasium, you could easily blow 300 dollars on just a single decent PA speaker.

Best advice I can give you is to check local rental places in your area. I was able to rent a nice pair of PAs for an outdoor party I had for 50 bucks, but I knew the owner really well.

Last edited by punchline on Mar-04-2004 at 04:13

if your renting it is possible? i think you can rent crossfaders if you need one..and yes you should have one.. *chuckle*

Jay

I'll come spin it for $300. because you certainly arent gonna get far with that kinda money. you might be able to go buy a boombox or something. you cant even get a cheap ass CDJ with 300 let alone 2 of them, a mixer, and a PA system.

im really sorry man, but this is definitly not gonna happen for you no matter how hard you try. like prodigy said, even if you do get the equipment, you dont know how to spin, and no matter what 123dj tells you, you cant just buy some stuff and be a DJ.

Last edited by Vero on Mar-04-2004 at 05:53

if you find any ferrari for 10000$ tell me i'll give you my setup for free..

Get two Discmans and a mixing board. That's your best option.

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[ ALL THIS B!TCHIN` IS MAKIN` ME SKRATCH! ]

quote:

Originally posted by T:REBEL Get two Discmans and a mixing board. That's your best option.

agreed! Then you still have to get speakers. You could easily blow more than $300 on EACH component of the setup you want. ..

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good luck. unless you want some beltdrive crap....no way.

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OUTER BASS
Subterranian

your not gonna get anything for $300 and you won't get a good pa system, cd decks, mixer that can handle a gym for $3000


Crap, why do you need it for this event? Even if you rent equipment it will still cost around 300 than who's gonna use it? no hard feelings but it sounds like you are a total n00b and believe us, mixing isin't as easy as it seems. Just hire a mobile dj or if you want see if there's another student in you school that has more experience and gear to do the gig for you.

I actually seen this happen before; during my sophomore year some jock/senior thought djing was cool and rented gear w/ no real experience and he tried to mix and be mister cool guy at one of my old school's dances. I thought it was a pathetic act since the assistant principle was really cool w/ this guy and allowed him to do it. and us who actually took the time to dig and practice were never allowed to do anything this cool b/c we wern't jocks, and we didn't suck the principle's dick. If your goal is to be cool; don't do it! Otherwise you'll get a bunch of students that practice and respect this art pissed off for your lame attempt to be cool.


Im sorry if i sound like a dick but before you can spin out at parties, you need to know how to properly use the gear, and you need to know what music to play at what times, and you need to do it for the love of music; not some way to get a girl, popular, etc.

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quote:

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot. He who laughs last thinks slowest!

sorry dude, but as others have stated there's no way you'll be able to get anything for $300. A decent pair of speakers could cost you well over $500. Add in cd players, a mixer, and headphones, and you've blown $300 out of the water.

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It has to start somewhere,
It has to start sometime,
What better place then here?
What better time than now?
--Rage Against the Machine

What the fuck is with you? I'm not trying to be cool, or get chicks, or get some money!!! I'm in it for the music! You don't even know me, and you're making these half-assed assumptions?!? Shut the fuck up.

As for experience, I am no Oakie, but I am one of the VERY FEW people in the city who knows that Techno is a genre of Electronica, not the entire Electronica genre. I am the best bet for the gig here in bunhole NC, where the people think Rednex "Cotton Eye Joe" is the greatest dance song ever...

It may be easy to find a person who already has "more experience and gear" in Denver, CO, but that's not the case in Bible-Belt North Carolina.

I am also not dirt cheap. The guys found a DJ who will do the entire 3-hour set for $125. Apperantly they wanted the cheapest thing they could find. Hope they enjoy "Cotton Eye Joe" and all of that Hip-hop crap, which will not be mixed nor faded... Oh well, that's what you get when you spend cheap on a set.

I did some research myself and the absolute cheapest set up that I could get was around $2000. Next time I get an offer like $300, I'll kindly tell the person to fuck off.

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Overload (House/J-Pop/K-Pop): Click
No Pants Dance (Funky House/Electro House/K-Pop): Click
Dark Beach (Deep House): Click