Return To Homepage

    We'll start this one with amplifier volume adjustment. Many amps have volume knobs/ dials on the face or rear of the unit. I have been asked many times why they are there and what is gained from their use. The left/right channel dials on amplifiers are there mainly for two reasons.

First, they are not really "volume" knobs. These are for limiting the input signal of your preamp (mixer). And second, to give you a reference point of how much power the amplifier is putting out using the limited signal it is getting. These two items work together. Here is how....

If you have an amp with the dials/knobs on the front you will note they will have about 270 degrees of turn from stop to stop. Also, there should be about ten lines or indicated segments within the 270 degree sweep of the dial. For reference, let's say that you have a 200 watt amp (100 watts per channel). If you divide the 100 watts by 10 (or the total number of segments on the dial) you will get 10 watts per segment.

If you want to limit the output to your speaker to, say, 50 watts then you would set each (L & R) dial at the 5th line. This feature is handy if, as an example, you have a 300 watt per channel amp and your speakers can only handle 200 watts. If you are the type that likes to shove the masters on the mixer to ten every time you play then this is a safe way to limit the power to the speakers, Also note that on some amplifiers, limiting the input will make the amp 'clip'. This is because you have told the amp that all it is allowed to use for power is less than its maximum. As far as your amp is concerned it only has 'X' watts per channel for power and the speakers want to use more than the amp can give, so it "clips". It does not make any difference what the power rating on your amp is. If you wish to limit the amp .just divide the total watts per channel by the total number of segments on the dial. In so doing, you will always be able to figure a safe limit for a given speaker.

This also reminds me, I have noticed that many DJ's do not know how to make proper sound adjustments on their equalizers. You can not make proper sound if you don't know how or why you do it. So, let's start with why. In this business the people we play for as a mobile, or in a club, are the boss. Therefore, what sounds best to the MAJORITY is considered safe to use. ANY other reference point has no validity and should not be used.

The range of sound that is most offensive for people to hear is the 1.50 Khz band. If you receive complaints of the music being too "LOUD', it will be due to excessive use of this frequency. You can have high volume levels without having the music 'LOUD". You may be one of those individuals with a partial hearing loss. As such, you may be over-correcting to compensate for what you are unable to hear. In doing so, what sounds right to you is offensive to others. Keep in mind that you are usually behind your speakers and this compounds the problem. As the evening wears on, you become deaf to most of the mid-range frequencies and this makes things even worse. Teach yourself to trust what your equalizer says it is doing and disregard what you HEAR. If you do this, you’ll find that your ears won't be 'ringing' for hours after you've finished playing.

    Another subject that comes to mind when thinking about the words 'finished playing" is lightweight equipment. Late at night when you've used all your energy and have to load 3001b speakers into a 3ft high pickup or van you realize the need for 'Lighter" equipment. I went to the NAMM show in Anaheim to see what was new, again, and again I was disappointed to see the same 'stuff’ as last year. Most of the manufacturers even used the same booth set- ups they used the year before (and the year before). While I was wandering around the show one of the reps stopped me and said 'You're Charlie Parker aren't you?' (I am always afraid to answer that one because It usually means trouble). I said "yes'. He said to me, ' You know, you're really making waves with this light weight stuff." (By the way, I design lightweight equipment, sell and rent it) I said, yeah ... so?" He said.' it takes a lot of money to re-tool for products.' I said, 'yeah ... so?' I could see where the conversation was heading. It was apparent to me, from what he was telling me that this major industry doesn't want anyone making waves. Tuff. The people that make the equipment don't have to carry it, and if they did they would change their thinking (I said that before too). The end of the conversation was that there were no parameters when the mobile DJ business started. Now there are, and we need some changes whether the manufacturers like it or not....

    I did a company party recently at a hotel in Westlake. As in most hotels, you are often required to use the service entrance. This is due to the fact that the hotel does not want to see your smiling face and your 500+ pound sound system being toted across their very expensive tiled and/or carpeted floors. For this particular job, I was not about to wheel my equipment 1/4 mile to the banquet room for set up. I was also not In the mood for a discussion with an attendant about how the heavy equipment WE D.J.'s use, screws up the hotel floors. When confronted by the attendants "rules" (and attitude) I asked the man how much he weighed. He said, '200 pounds, why?'. I asked him, If the equipment on this cart weighs less than you. would it be alright to go through the front?'. He said, 'sure'. I told him to pick up one end of the cart. He was expecting was heavy, what he found out was that he has just embarrassed himself. He asked how much the system weighed. My reply, 170 pounds. As an added dig, I said that if it's alright for him to walk on the hotel floors then it must be okay for me to wheel my equipment through because it weighed less than him. This guy didn't know what to say at this point as I had just taken the wind out of his sails. From there on, the evening proceeded normally.

The above situation is becoming more frequent. The hotels have figured out who is stretching the carpets and cracking the tiles. Some D.J. companies have been eighty-sixed from some hotels because of excessively heavy equipment. Some of you still think that for a sound system to sound good it must be heavy. With the progress currently being made, and the increasing objections of heavy equipment, you may soon be one of the few that still owns a dinosaur with no place to use it. What would you do if the facility forbid you access, thirty minutes from your start time. because your equipment was too heavy? Couldn't happen to you? Think about it....

For more information on PARKER speaker cases and lighting systems. contact anyone at: DANCE BEAT-PRODUCTIONS. They'll be glad to help you.

A consistent complaint of club managers is a high turnover rate of DJ's. They also complain of 'attitude' problems and of the DJ's resistance to provide proper MC work and/or announcements. Another complaint is that their DJ's have a lack of programming ability. personality, and ability to read a crowd. Let's look at both sides and see if we can present some points of view.

The Club Manager....

    There is no amount of money that this person can be paid to manage a nightclub. Considering the scope and headaches this job entails it simply isn't worth It. A night club manager must oversee bartenders, waitresses, doorman, and cleaning crew. When it's a restaurant and bar there is the added responsibility of food supplies, cooks, busboys, etc. To that you add promotions, public relations, and corporate mukkie muks that have nothing to do but be a pain in the ass. Whatever the pay scale is for these guys it probably isn't enough. So the next time you go crying to the manager about 'such n' such' and 'so n' so', please take into account that this person might be less than responsive due to other immediate needs. Also take into account that they are not entertainers and may not see being a DJ the way you do. Yes, some managers are jerks. In that case, just consider them as abused children and move on. Also, managers are often restricted to budgets of which they have little or no control. So when you ask for a raise maybe he/she really can't give it to you because their hands are tied.

    You, the club DJ, are one of a crew. You are one of as many as 75 people. Everyone in the  restaurant/ club has a job to do and yours is only one of the many. Like it or not, your job status is no greater than most of the others. You are an EMPLOYEE. That is the fact. and there isn't much you can do to alter that. I would like to make one point clear in regards to the DJ's effect on the patrons as compared to the rest of the crew, one bad waitress or one bad bartender will not have too much effect on the patronage of that club. Most people will just sit at another table or move from the bar and forget about It. If the DJ in the booth does his/her job wrong the end result can be costly. How? Simple. All the DJ has to do is put on the wrong music, with the wrong equalizer settings and to much volume. Most likely, the place will be empty within minutes, guaranteed.

In conclusion.....