Working as a mobile disk jockey (DJ) presents a whole load of challenges that a resident club DJ simply doesn’t have. Not least is the need to carry all of that essential DJ equipment wherever we go.
I’ve worked in clubs as both a guest and residential DJ, on cruise liners, as a radio DJ and these days I make my living as a moble DJ. Each week I meet new people with diverse musical tastes in some fantastic locations. I’ve gigged in stately homes, onboard ships and yachts, on a private jet and even one night in a well known London museum. It’s the variety that I particularly like about this work, but lets get back to the challenges.
One of the main problems we must manage as mobile DJs is carrying all the equipment we need to each gig. The club DJ only has to carry his records and maybe some CDs but I have a whole van load of equipment for every gig.
These days I have an assistant who is a great help in setting up and breaking down my PA and lighting rig at each gig. But back in the old days, before I was commanding a decent fee, I had to do it all myself. The key to selecting equipment for mobile use is compactness. It must be compact and as light as possible.
The DJ speakers that I use are the powered variety. This means I avoid having to carry power amplifiers and it simplifies the system setup considerably. Less leads and less to go wrong. For the past two years I’ve been using an excellent pair of active JBL PA speakers and they have proved to be a fantastic choice.
Another important consideration for us mobile DJs is the lighting system. Club DJs don’t usually need to concern themselves with club lighting systems as these are generally already in place, often with their own dedicated operators. For us mobile DJs we’ve got to do it all ourselves. But luckily these days there are some compact DJ lights that use LEDs making them relatively lightweight, low power and cool.
But probably the most essential piece of mobile DJ gear is the music. That’s not equipment I hear you say, and you’re right. But I’m really referring to the medium which can be vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and MP3 files. This means I need to carry turntables, CD players, a DVD player and some sort of MP3 player. These days I stick to one DJ CD player, a pair of Technics 1210s and my laptop computer which has a DVD drive. I route all of these through my excellent DJ mixer and I’m just about ready for any requests, from Mantovani to the Wombles.