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Laptop instead of DJ ?

alxmorgan

Hello all,

Getting married at Xmas and we are having a band.
We were thinking of a DJ but also considering just making up a playlist on iTunes and hooking the laptop up to the speakers.
Saw it done at a wediing reception and seemed to work very well.

Any thoughts ?

Oh and one question...as a lot of the music I have is already in Mp3 format and sometimes of different quality is there a way (software or otherwise) to get the music to stay at the same volumne level. I have noticed just playing music at home from the laptop through my stereo that different Mp3s mean I have to adjust the volume sometimes from song to song

thanks

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Sam Kade

Good idea I heard of this before, why pay a dj when all he does is put one record on after another. Sorry I can't answer your other question.

alxmorgan

Ya I'm not 100% convinced but I know my wife to be and she'd go mad at typical DJ music.
At that point most of the oldies would be relaxing or in bed as opposed to dancing so the music would be for our friends and we know exactly what they like.

If I could just sort out the volume change issue I'd be much happier

alxmorgan

Just found something called MP3 Gain that looks like it'll do the job

http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

I'll let ye know how it goes

DJ_Spider

mp3gain is good I have used it in the past. It does take a long time if you have a lot of songs. But if you do them in groups of about 50 it's ok. I use Virtual DJ on my DJ laptop and that has a function for setting up a playlist then setting it to play each one and then load the next one. Only thing is you have to watch out for the speed, (BPM) of each song as you don't want to go from boyzone to scooter! Also there is a fuction to match the gain on each song, so it is always the same. (i.e. 0db) Works for me, you can download a trial version which would be ok for you to use.

There is also a userguide you can download from the same site. Get a 20 day trial version here http://www.virtualdj.com/download.html Oh and congratulations!

alxmorgan

Thanks very much for heads up Spider.
Will download that sofware and give it a spin.

sweetie

hiya,

just wanted to give you an example of it working. As a dj myself I didn't want to hire anyone for my wedding at the beginning of june so i spent some time compiling a playlist, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, grunge/britpop and alternative. I then mixed each of these into a half hour sets approximately. As I had tons of songs I gave each song 1.5 to 2.5 mins each and cut out the intros and outros that i didn't need. I queued them up and had a mate keeping an eye on it who never needed to do anything. It worked brilliantly and the dancefloor was going until 4am. There was even a small break between band and dj music (not my fault, band finished earlir than they said) and it got going the minute the beatles and the stones came on. The good weather, copious amounts of prosecco and cheap bar (marquee wedding) may have helped but it was great and everyone commented on how good the music was. Also I made sure to play plenty of indie and rock stuff from back in the day to keep all my friends happy. I had 4 hrs prepared and had to turn everything off at 4am as I needed to get to bed!

best of luck and if you want any help or advice let me know.

alxmorgan

hey sweetie,

thanks for the reply.

Some questions if you don't mind:

1) What did you use to strip out the outros and intros ?
2) What software did you use to play the music itself ?
3) How exactly do I go about hooking up a laptop to sound ? If I get the band to leave their stuff should I be able to hook up to that or will I have to go another way ?

Any chance you could share some of the playlists with me ? Given that you are a DJ it would be interesting to see the mix you put together to see what fits together

thanks

forbairt

we thought about doing the itunes type thing at our wedding ... but in a way I'm glad we didn't ...

Unfortunately a lot of the tunes we would have selected wouldn't have been good for dancing ... so even though the DJ played some right cheese at times it got everyone out dancing (young and old alike)

Just a few thoughts ...

I'd say if you can guarantee a good selection of music that people will dance to .. then go for it ... get a good speaker system and remember a wireless microphone

bombjack2

Went with the laptop for my own wedding

Couple of tips

If it's a hotel your getting married in, then call them and ask do they have a PA you can plug into, a lot of hotels have a semi-permanent PA set up in their ball rooms.

If they do have a PA, then arrange to do a sound-check a day or two before, leaving yourself enough time to get your hands on another one if it's not good enough.

If your band will let you use theirs then good and well, but a lot of them won't.

Also for the changing volume level, if you don't want the hassle of using software, just pick tunes that are close enough in level.

Most importantly of all, have one of your technically minded close friends to be in charge of the laptop, they can do quick adjustments to volume levels etc, have all playlists pre-ordered, last thing you need is drunk people trying to put on their own tunes, spilling drink on the laptop, PA etc.

alxmorgan

Well of course I can't guarantee it

No you're right that was/is one of my concerns...but I actually played (amateur) DJ for a 21st and a couple of parties before and thats gone really well.

Anyway I'm sure the good people on here would be more than willing to help me out

thanks

alxmorgan

bombjack2 wrote: »

Went with the laptop for my own wedding

Couple of tips

If it's a hotel your getting married in, then call them and ask do they have a PA you can plug into, a lot of hotels have a semi-permanent PA set up in their ball rooms.

If they do have a PA, then arrange to do a sound-check a day or two before, leaving yourself enough time to get your hands on another one if it's not good enough.

If your band will let you use theirs then good and well, but a lot of them won't.

Also for the changing volume level, if you don't want the hassle of using software, just pick tunes that are close enough in level.

Most importantly of all, have one of your technically minded close friends to be in charge of the laptop, they can do quick adjustments to volume levels etc, have all playlists pre-ordered, last thing you need is drunk people trying to put on their own tunes, spilling drink on the laptop, PA etc.

Place is a country house so defo no PA system so I guess its either the band or I gotta rent.
Actually a friend of mine does some gigging so I could borrow from him if stuck. And he'll be at the wedding so he won't need them for anything else

As for the volume thing seems like Mp3Gain may help me out there.

thanks for the help

sweetie

alxmorgan wrote: »

hey sweetie,

thanks for the reply.

Some questions if you don't mind:

1) What did you use to strip out the outros and intros ?
2) What software did you use to play the music itself ?
3) How exactly do I go about hooking up a laptop to sound ? If I get the band to leave their stuff should I be able to hook up to that or will I have to go another way ?

Any chance you could share some of the playlists with me ? Given that you are a DJ it would be interesting to see the mix you put together to see what fits together

thanks

1) I use virtual dj when I gig and it has a feature than you can save the output when djing as a wav file, therefore I could use that as a single song on a playlist later. I found that I could fit 25 percent more songs that way and usually a dj would cut a certain amount of a song when he mixes into it anyways.

2) Again I used virtual dj to playlist them but any music software would do.

3) simplest way would be to use the headphone socket direct to the amp (you may need to get a cable to do this, just explain in maplins etc) and that should be fine.The sound quality might not be as good as if you were using a proper mixing console (I use a hercules mk2 which has been great, it has a second soundcard (after the laptop one) so it emulates two decks to enable mixing.) I did a wedding in galway for a mate and asked the band could I use their gear and they wouldn't let me. I understand as it can be easy to blow a speaker or an amp and they cost. Make sure you rent a setup big enough for your venue. I would say at least 1000-1600 watt amp plus 2* 500 - 800 speakers. You can also get active speakers that have the amp built in. Not sure what prices are like in dublin but I remember my cousin got reasonable value in Gorey, Co Wexford. I will certainly pm you the list I used for my own wedding. I would aslo be interested in giving you a quote as it may work out only a little more expensive and I prefer playing alternative music at gigs anyways.;) I have references for weddings where I played regular music, alternative and a mix of both. Cheers...

alxmorgan

sweetie wrote: »

1) I use virtual dj when I gig and it has a feature than you can save the output when djing as a wav file, therefore I could use that as a single song on a playlist later. I found that I could fit 25 percent more songs that way and usually a dj would cut a certain amount of a song when he mixes into it anyways.

2) Again I used virtual dj to playlist them but any music software would do.

3) simplest way would be to use the headphone socket direct to the amp (you may need to get a cable to do this, just explain in maplins etc) and that should be fine.The sound quality might not be as good as if you were using a proper mixing console (I use a hercules mk2 which has been great, it has a second soundcard (after the laptop one) so it emulates two decks to enable mixing.) I did a wedding in galway for a mate and asked the band could I use their gear and they wouldn't let me. I understand as it can be easy to blow a speaker or an amp and they cost. Make sure you rent a setup big enough for your venue. I would say at least 1000-1600 watt amp plus 2* 500 - 800 speakers. You can also get active speakers that have the amp built in. Not sure what prices are like in dublin but I remember my cousin got reasonable value in Gorey, Co Wexford. I will certainly pm you the list I used for my own wedding. I would aslo be interested in giving you a quote as it may work out only a little more expensive and I prefer playing alternative music at gigs anyways.;) I have references for weddings where I played regular music, alternative and a mix of both. Cheers...

cheers for the info
And it would be great if you could pm the list
And by all means quote me too as we may well decide to go that route yet

thanks again

LadyMayBelle

I think the laptop route is a great idea, and money saving too! Went to a wedding about five years ago and the brides brother was given the job of compliling the setlist, complete with the Abba classics and what not, and it went down a storm.

keith_d99

Hi all,

Apologies for bringing an old thread but I found this on a search:

Getting married Dec 30th - and because I have been at weddings where the DJ has ruined the night - I am going to make up my own playlist - plug the iPod into the band's amp

I am using TrakAx to create the mix - handling different volume levels, gaps etc.

Thing is I need to fill about 4 hours I reckon?
So in short I am looking for lists/ideas.

Thinking good 70s/80s/oldie classics (Neil Diamond etc.)/Indie

For 70's I have so far:

Le Freak – Chic
Young Hearts Run Free – Candi Staton
Micheal Jackson – Don’t Stop til you get enough
Earth Wind and Fire – Boogie Wonderland
Blondie – Heart of Glass
Blondie – Rapture
Boney M – Daddy Kool
Diana Ross – Upside Down
SugarHill Gang – Rappers Delight
Chic – Good Times
Indeep – Last night a DJ saved my life
Cameo – Word Up
Musical Youth – Pass the Dutchie
Nuyorican Soul - Runaway

Cheers,
Keith.

Preset No.3

There is pros and cons to what you want to do and as a full time working DJ for almost 20 years I will give my 2 cents worth. I am not trying to put you off the idea of using an ipod or laptop, I would just make sure that you give it careful consideration.

Because I am a full time DJ, I dont spend my time working a day job and then go out and do a few gigs at night. I consult on a regular basis with my clients about exactly how they want their day to run and then I offer my advice based on my experience. I meet with my clients and plan their choice of music from the first dance to last dance. Some want 2 slices of bread and a big block of cheese, others want something cooler.

Out of the approx 60 weddings I did last year, not one was the same. Music tastes differ all the time, even the bride and groom. For instance, this year I and I dont know why, Neil Diamond has been a big no no! Last year Neil was huge! Now that is just one artist. Take all your favourite artists, put a playlist together, it might sound great at home, on the radio or wherever but at your wedding it may well die and take the whole atmosphere of the day with it.

Any DJ worth his salt will talk to you about your wedding day. Remember its YOUR day and I am there to make it enjoyable for you and your guests. Ive had brides get down on dirty floors to do rock the boat as well as 200 people in black tie in Mount Juillet giving it loads to Smack my bitch up!!! Last songs have been everything from Dirty Dancing to Green Day to Grace - Its not over yet.

Its not about playing the 'standard wedding songs'. I have found more and more that brides and grooms want their own individual tastes. As for someone that says the dj stands there playing one song after the other, I may well do that, but at the same time I am always looking at the crowd to see what works, what doesnt work and adjusting it accordinly. I dont think that this is possible preparing a list of music in advance of what you might think will work. Yes, I have a few ideas but most of the time I make up my mind from reading the crowd coupled with the suggestions that brides and grooms make.

Someone also suggests hiring a pa or using the hotels or something like that. That sounds like a whole lot of hassle just to save a few quid! I am aware that brides and grooms are pulling back at the whole expense thing this year. Well why not cancel the 2k band and hire a DJ that can do the full night at a fraction of the cost. Please do not spend a load of money on your day, from church to hotel to meal to band and then throw an ipod for the final 2 hours. Leave it in the hands of people who know what they are doing and do it for a living.

If anyone has any questions, please ask away or PM me and I can point you in the direction of my references on weddings online. Either way, I hope that I could show a little of the working DJs side of things.

mikekerry

Preset No.3,
am getting married this year and am thinking of just hiring a dj instead of a band.
can you send me on your details.
it'll be on in kerry.
thanks

macho_man

I know a lot of programs can do this sort of thing, the good thing about virtual DJ is that you can set up a playlist and then set it to automix the songs. You can even tell it to make sure they all play at the same volume, (gain) I use it when doing my gigs and apart from a couple of times it has never let me down.

But I agree with Preset No3, a good DJ can read the crowd and change the genre of songs accordingly. In fact that's what I do, I don't have a set style, I just play what I think people like. Basically if people leave the dancefloor I change the type of song. Hasn't let me down yet! Feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.