If you are missing any DJ equipment from the following three items, you are working a lot harder than you need to. You need all the energy focused on your performance.
Rock N Roller Multi Cart.
Loading DJ equipment in and out of venues is probably the worst part of the job. While a couple of the things I have to carry in already have wheels (JBL EON in bags), most of the stuff I move doesn’t. I would simply haul it in. Some DJ equipment, such as lighting gear, is both heavy and awkward. And although I’d love to build up my physique, I was finding that I wasn’t packing on much muscle; and instead ended up with backaches, smashed and cut fingers and pulled muscles. And that was before I even played my first song of the night.
I’ve had this piece of DJ equipment for three years, and I’ve had virtually no problems. The only thing that happened was the non-skid tape has come off after dragging heavy DJ equipment across it. I haven’t had any problem with the wheels, and I have loaded this down with a lot of weight. I’ve pulled it up hills, over somewhat rough terrain during the occasional outdoor gig, and through the snow.
The one I’ve been using is the 8-in-1 R6 model. The best price I could find, $129.99 at last check, was at Musicians Friend. I’ve always gotten great service and I have bought a lot of DJ equipment over the years from Musician’s Friend. They also have free shipping.
If you haul your equipment through tougher terrain, such as setting up at outdoor venues, or you live in a snowy climate, you may want to pony up a few extra bucks and get the all terrain model. American Musical Supply offers free shipping and has them for $229.95.
Furman M-8×2 Power Conditioner.
I never thought I needed a Furman power conditioner until I had one. The only reason I bought it to begin with was to clean up the cords on my table. With the Furman, I could plug all of the rack mounted equipment inside my rack… plus it didn’t cost much more than a decent power strip.
Well, it did clean up the cords. In fact, I realized I could plug everything into it; powered speakers, lights, CD players, mixer, laptop… and it handled it all just fine. What I didn’t expect was that it would improve my audio quality. The JBL EONs that I use always had a little hiss to them. I wasn’t sure exactly where it was all coming from until one day I accidentally forgot to hook the power up to the laptop and was operating on the computer’s battery.
Sure enough, plug the power cord into the computer, noise… unplug it… clean audio.
The problem is, you can’t run a laptop all night on battery power, I had to plug it in somewhere. Once I got the Furman, my problem was solved. The noise was simply gone.
The M 8×2 also allowed me to plug light cords and audio power cords in at the same time with no problem. Often, it’s recommended that you should keep your lights and your power amps on separate circuits due to noise problems. No worry with this thing.
This is Furman’s cheapest power conditioner and it’s worked great for me. In addition to filtering noise, protecting from surges, and a 15 amp rating with circuit breaker, it has 9 outlets, including a couple spaced apart for wall-warts.
I got mine at American Musical Supply for 59.95. They have the same one, for the same price at Musicians Friend. This is DJ equipment no mobile DJ should be without.
Shure SM57 Microphone.
The perfect microphone for a mobile DJ. Great, warm sound and simply rugged. A buddy of mine had one that he used for years. It was dropped, had beer spilled on it and years of crud. A few years ago I bought a brand new one and brought it over to his place. We compared the sound between the two. There was no difference whatsoever. His sounded just as warm and clean as my brand new one.
I’ve always loved Shure microphones, and this just made me love them even more. Robert Plant used one in all of his years with Zeppelin. That’s good enough for me. Plus… you can’t beat the price… $99.00 at Musicians Friend.
If I could only have one mic for DJ use, this would be it.
Buy yourself some DJ equipment that you’ll use and that won’t break the bank. Once you have any one of these three items you’ll be wondering how you got along without it.
