SwingDJs

So I've been looking at purchasing some of my own equipment for ECBF and other events I've been running based on the economics ... I'm looking for some input as to what equipment fits my contraints.

http://www.odysseygear.com/display.php?sku=fzgs804



Basically I want my equipment to fit into something like this setup for swing DJs and I'm looking for it to be able to also serve as a mixer for a small band and have phono inputs for record players.

What I'd like to put on the rack, then, is a receiver for wireless mics, a dual deck CD player, and a mixer board. Do you have advice for what equipment I should get that would fit into these spaces and not break the bank? Perhaps equipment brands that would regularly show up on craigslist?

How heavy is that going to be, when you have it full of gear?
I have a console rack that just has a dual player and DJ mixer in it, and its heavy.

You could always just buy the gear you want and make a rack for it yourself.
It will be a lot cheaper and you will know for definite everything will fit into it.

What kind of mixer are you thinking about for a small band? Do you know what requirements you have? What are you doing for an Amp?

Brian

Oh, I know it's going to be plenty heavy and I don't mind. I want a setup like this because it is relatively portable and durable and I can take it to multiple venues and just plug it into a PA system or powered speakers (which I plan on getting in the future).

Basically, this is the kind of stuff I was thinking about getting. For a mixer I was thinking about getting a Eurorack:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHRX1602

And adding in a few Nady wireless mics:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--NDYUHF3HM3

A Numark CD player:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--NUMCDN25

A 7 channel DJ mixer:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHVMX1000

Instead of two mixers (1 DJ, 1 band) you might consider going with a Mackie 1402 board. It's light weight, will mix a band just fine, and you can DJ off it. It'll be a lot smaller than having a DJ board and band board.

Actually the amount of equipment space is larger with a mackie (it requires 8 U of mounting space while the other is a 1 U mixer + a 4 U DJ mixer) but I like the flexibility of it. If I can find something like it but slightly smaller (10.5" vs 14") I think I'll have a winner.

Except for the luckiest of circumstances, I don't think the Eurorack mixer is going to work well for live mixing. Noticably absent is any sort of per-channel equalization. Without that, you'll never be happy with the resulting sound.

A single more general-purpose mixer will be able to do double-duty as a live band mixer and a DJ mixer, and give you most of the control you need over the live mix. I would suggest, however, that the Mackie 1402 might be a bit small if you want to DJ with this setup during the band breaks. It depends on how many lines you need for the band, but I could certain see running out of them if you have any channels dedicated to the CD/phono inputs. Of course it's always easy to rewire on the fly, but inevitably you're going to run into problems doing so. I'd at least look at the Mackie 1604, or some other 16-channel mixer.

Brent

Yeah, I had been thinking about that. A 1604 won't fit into the rack that I'm looking at (although a 1402 would). I'm thinking about getting a Behringer Eurorack MX2642A.



It's 16 channel (8 mono, 4 stereo) and 4 bus, so I'll have monitor capabilities. With a dual CD hookup, that allows for 10 channels for the band, which for most of the applications I'm looking at should be alright.

I used the eurorack for years and found it to be fairly good. They even included a step by step "do it yourself" manual on how to convert the monitor button from post to pre fader. My needs are a little simpler these days, but if I ever need to get a another mixer, I would look at those again for sure.

Sorry for side tracking this thread. Comments about removing CD players from DJing rigs has been moved here:
http://www.swingdjs.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1822

So I got the case ... to fill it up I've gotten the following equipment:

Behringer VMX1000 7 Channel Mixer
Stanton C.501 Dual Rackmount CD Player
AKG WMS40 Dual Wireless Mics (handheld and headset)
AKG WMS40 Wireless Mic (headset ... this and above item mount together in one U)

And to power it I've gotten a pair of Tapco Thump 15" speakers ... I'm totally stoked

Martin, I know you have already gotten your equipment, but one thing to consider is having a seperate external mixer for a band and then passing that thru your smaller everyday mixer. I don't know about you but we have very few bands that we need to provide for and lugging anything around when you don't need it all the time can be a pain.