I Had To Say No :(

[Gazz 0]

TOPIC MOVED

 

I would have got my first booking today although I had to say no due to lack of equipment, which is annoying. How much would it cost to fire some decent kit? I might have a look around on that matter.

[Dukesy 0]

Might seem an odd question, but are you advertising as a disco hire service without any kit? smile icon

[dj will 0]

I presume you mean hire lol. Hire price varies but if you are looking to start up as a dj then hiring isn't necessarily the best way to go. It may be good if you are still not certain about whether you want to be a dj and you don't want to shell out on equipment yet, or alternitavely if you cannot afford to. The major disadvantage is that when you get paid for a gig you will be losing a substantial portion of that money to cover the hiring of the equipment, possibly even making it unprofitable (depending on what you charge) by the time you include all other expenses.

 

If you are advertising without any equipment then I suggest that you either get some equipment ASAP or stop advertising until you have got everything sorted. Don't get yourself into a situation where you have taken a booking, which is soon and you have no equipment/do not know what you are doing. If you are considering hire because you don't have enough money then save up! Or if you are considering it because you are unsure about taking the plunge, then offer to go out with a local dj for a few gigs to get a feel for it.

[McCardle 1]

then offer to go out with a local dj for a few gigs to get a feel for it.

 

He is, here:- http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23787

 

smile icon

Edited March 31, 2009 by McCardle

[Gazz 0]

He is, here:- http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23787

 

smile icon

That wasn't meant to be advertising, that was me attempting to tag along with someone and see how other DJ's do it, I'll just be a helping hand.

 

No, I havn't been advertising although a friend found out I've been builting my stuff up and asked.

[dj will 0]

It is probably better to carry on building up until you have all your equipment rather than hiring what you haven't got. You already have cd decks and amplifier and are looking at speakers, as mentioned in another thread, so you have most of the main components already. I don't know if you already have a mixer but if not then that would probably be your next purchase. You are doing it the right way by getting yor sound sorted first. You don't need loads of lights to start with and so you are not far from having all your equipment. By the time you have hired kit a few times you will already be approaching the cost of buying some kit outright.

[McCardle 1]

Interesting comment in relation to the hiring of equipment. I read on the forum some time ago, about a Dj here who hires a van whenever they get a booking. I couldn't help thinking that this was either false economy or that they musn't be out on a regular basis.

 

Around here van hire companies charge around £40 - £50 per night per hire. Okay you can get discounts for weekends and multiple bookings etc, but you can actually lease-hire medium sized vans from about £40.00 a week and smaller vans for about £5 cheaper and get the benefit of it being on your driveway and being available to you 24/7. By the time you've factored in the time spent dealing with hire paperwork and having to be up first thing the following morning to drive it back to the hire co, surely its cheaper to lease-hire or buy a cheap van than to hire?.

 

A little off topic perhaps, but if it pays people to hire a van and PAYG for transport then in some cases it can be viable to hire equipment on the same basis?.

 

Personally, if somebody was a little undecided whether or not to persue a career in the industry or whether it was 'for them' or not, then hire is the best and cheapest way, its also a great way to 'test' various types of equipment to see which works the best in the venues you work in, before committing to an actual purchase.

 

Nothing worse than spending £1000's on kit, and then finding its a passing fad 6 months later, and the gear is resigned to the loft where it suffers a slow, dusty death.

 

Additional:- With the state of play in some areas at the moment, i'm sure that some deejays themselves would be willing to hire out any spare equipment or 2nd roadshow which they may have sitting around, to trusted individuals for a nominal fee. Just a thought.

Edited April 1, 2009 by McCardle

[soundwaves 0]

IF uncertain then hire , as previously said you will get a feel for the gear your hiring and whether you like or not , also if its upto what you need it to do , also as previously said look around djs in your area as to whether they dry hire gear OR maybe need a novice to do smaller work for them giving you valuable experience and the opportunity to earn to pay for future purchases you might want.

Concentrate on your sound that would be my advice as opposed to lighting in the infancy stages.