Mobile Disco Lighting And Karaoke Package Advice

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Hi everyone,

 

My names is Carl i am 27 years old and have recently opened an events hire company.

 

I currently have an array of hire equipment that suit mainly outdoor events such as garden parties and community events/fun days, the current equipment consists of bouncy castles, sumo suits, popcorn, candyfloss, nachos and hotdogs machines which are all great for summer..............

 

What I am now looking for is equipment that is more suited fort he winter party in order to expand the business and also make money throughout the winter.

 

I think a mobile disco and karaoke machine will complement the equipment I already have and will go down well throughout the winter months.

 

I am completely brand new to lighting systems and also karaoke machines and am finding it extremely difficult to find a good quality yet affordable system that can be set up in medium sized venues.

 

Could anybody please advise me on a good karaoke and PA set up as well as good quality lighting package to complement this?

 

I have looked tirelessley through the net to find a good set up but am finding myself event more off track from when I first started.

 

thanks in advance for any advice you may be able to offer :)

[McCardle 1]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

 

It all depends on which direction you want to go with this. Do you want a software based music system running on a laptop or PC or do you want a hardware based CD+G system?.

 

You may be better opting for the PC / Laptop route with CD+G music files, this way your clients are not going to be entrusted with a valuable and sometimes irreplaceable music collection, as CD's do go obsolete and get deleted. I've tried dry hire before, and expecting clients to look after physical CD's after several pints is a nightmare, and CD's do tend to get used as frisbees or beer mats and get covered with finger prints during the evening, and even if you take a deposit, it is virtually impossible to individually check thousands of CD's in order to check that they haven't been damaged and that they have all been put back in their correct cases before handing back the clients deposit. If you go that route, believe me you are going to end up in a whole world of hurt. Especially when your next client calls up to complain that Greatest Punk Hits has been put back in the 60's Ballards CDG case and the music CD's are all mixed up!.

 

Of course the biggest expense is going to be the music collection to put on the system in the first place, on whatever format you opt to use, even dry hire clients are going to need a wide and varied selection of music for all ages and spanning at least the last four decades, and I would allow a significant part of your budget towards this aspect.

 

Also factor in for a turnover of 'damages' these are wear and tear items like song books and microphones which tend to get broken or lost, when people abuse them or shower them in lager, inevitable in this industry.

 

You may be better looking into a system such as this,

 

http://www.mediatheme.com/

 

which comes complete with a very complex music collection and for a monthly fee, you even get regular updates for new stuff to keep your music collection up to date, which of course your clients are going to expect.

 

It costs around £10k, but to be honest you won't get much change from that type of figure once you have invested in a decent PA system, lighting and built up a comprehensive music collection, so it may actually be the cheaper / easiest option for you. Being Touch Screen based, Its also very easy to use, bearing in mind that most everyday members of the public will not be familiar with using / setting up professional PA and Lighting kit.

 

Once you have decided on where you want to go with the bare bones on the music and karaoke side, we can discuss lighting.

Edited September 24, 2013 by McCardle