What do you need when using live at a gig??

kabuki · Post by **kabuki** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:20 pm

sonorous3 wrote:
kabuki wrote:Also, keep in ming the DJ booth itself: Where are you going to set up all this gear? Usually a venue won't let you remove their hardware to make room for yours, so find a table/platform/riser etc that can be placed on a turntable platter to hold the laptop/mousepad/controller etc.

Also, a FAN is a good idea, a small one that can fit in the corner to keep all that expensive hardware cool (clubs get hot if you are doing a good job).

An umbrella if you are playing outside.

MOST IMPROTANT PIECE OF GEAR: Backup music (CD Player/iPod/etc) to use when the whole set crashes. Because eventually it will.
Why will eventually crash?? Im still sticking to live3...it is the most stable out there trust me...i have a kick ass computer..l4 crashed twice...l5...well lets not go there...l3...absolutley nothing so far...even after 4 hours of djing...l3 rules

Good luck with that.

mikemc · Post by **mikemc** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:13 pm

you might need some kind of stand.. that is, make sure you have a place to set stuff where you're playing.

I play open mics a fair amount, they are more used to singer/songwriter acoustic gutar performers, and for places they let me play for more than 15 mins

guitar. So I maybe bring stuff that is less normal:

I use a US-122 iface that is inexpensive but rugged

For external iface, audio out, guitar cables female 1/4" to RCA male adaptors

1/8" stereo to RCA stereo Y-cable, to come out of headphone jack in case iface fails, RCA femail to 1/4" adaptors,

Spare USB cables

Small PV8 audio mixer

Novation ReMote 25

Electric guitar, effects

CD Player

Headphones

Power strip(s)

Dynamic Microphone

I never run off the battery, only use the adaptor. Always power up and start up Live well in advance of going on if possible, run a set for a little bit through to make sure you're audio is clean-- use the headphones to check this.

atomic · Post by **atomic** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:36 pm

subterFUSE wrote:
elektrovert wrote:
subterFUSE wrote: But.... the best isolator I have found is the cheapest one I have. $15 at Radio Shack. Absolutely, positively the best isolator... no joke.
Is it this one by any chance:

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?c ... id=270-054

Yes. That's the exact one.

Best isolator I have found yet.... and I spent $200 on a rackmount one for home. Sad, isn't it?

what is the one you bought for home? I want to make sure that i NEVER buy one.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:32 pm

A bit sad, but I actually have a checklist of everything I need.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 11:49 pm

ART T8.

It works for everything else... but for some reason, my new laptop still has ground noise when I use it.

atomic · Post by **atomic** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 6:50 pm

Dam i use the ART SP4x4 and it has always kept thngs nice and quite over here. Goes to show you that there are always exceptions in the wacky world of ground loops and so on.

elektrovert · Post by **elektrovert** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:40 am

hambone1 wrote:A bit sad, but I actually have a checklist of everything I need.

not as sad as forgetting something you need and only figuring it out as you you're setting up on stage.

lanquarem · Post by **lanquarem** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 9:57 am

I dont know if it's the same for you, but after many gigs, I have not anymore the "artistic stress" before I play my music in front of people. But I still have the "technical stress"... I cannot relax before all my setup is installed, tested and working well on stage.

I never thought of a CD with my music in case I had a crash, but I will adopt this idea...
I also bring a small usb light, in case I have to play in a dark place (I use my computer keyboard a lot for launching scenes and effects).

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 10:20 am

I've always had to get to venues extra-early and set things up stress- and hurry-free. Rushing is a recipe for disaster (proven through experience!), especially where computers are involved.

Setting up lighting, video, stage, PA, etc can take 2-3 hours, depending on parking/van access. And it is nice to finish setting up early knowing everything is working, and relax and mingle before it all kicks off. It looks so much more professional to just walk up and start.

I have a mini-DVD player running full time with ready-made audio/video on in. If (when!) the computer glitches, I just hit the projector remote to switch it from computer to DVD and whack up the audio levels on the mixer from the DVD. Lighting kicks into sound-activation at loss of the DMX signal.

Not quite seamless, but at least gives me time to panic and troubleshoot!

suburbanbather · Post by **suburbanbather** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 11:12 am

subterFUSE wrote:ART T8.

It works for everything else... but for some reason, my new laptop still has ground noise when I use it.

Did you try using a 3 to 2 prong plug converter? If your not in the US then I guess you have different power outlet setups. The device I'm talking about eleminates the ground plug. My Dell laptop had a serious ground hum problem and the 3 to 2 prong plug converter got rid of it 100%. They can be had for less than $5 from Rat Shack.

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:18 pm

suburbanbather wrote:
subterFUSE wrote:ART T8.

It works for everything else... but for some reason, my new laptop still has ground noise when I use it.
Did you try using a 3 to 2 prong plug converter? If your not in the US then I guess you have different power outlet setups. The device I'm talking about eleminates the ground plug. My Dell laptop had a serious ground hum problem and the 3 to 2 prong plug converter got rid of it 100%. They can be had for less than $5 from Rat Shack.

I am well aware of the old, ground lift trick to cure noise. However, with my new laptop I am not going to be removing the ground prong. With such a large power supply, I don't want to risk damage to the system.

The Radio Shack ground loop isolator works perfectly to cure the loop noise. But for some reason, the ART T8 and ART DTI both will not work with this particular laptop.

But.... that's fine. I now have 2 of the Radio Shack isolators, one for home and one in the laptop bag.

elektrovert · Post by **elektrovert** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:58 pm

yeah, I'm the same as that, I'd rather leave the earth plugged in.
can't afford another laptop if anything stupid happens.

maplins have one of those radio shack type thingies for £8.

that's a perfectly reasonible price for peace of mind methinks.

tomperson · Post by **tomperson** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:35 pm

Let me get it right. You connect the ground loop to you audio out, and then to the club main PA, is it so? The radioshack one seems to be unbalanced...

How does the ground loop isolator exactly works?

Thanks.

slagroom · Post by **slagroom** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:03 pm

hot chicks on synthesizers and microphones is also good for live acts!

this is an important element of our live act.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:08 pm

I use a UPS.

Clean, filtered electricity and the computer, monitor , and mixer don't die when the lights trip the circuit breakers...