History

Also Known As :- The ramblings of a mad DJ

 

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The Saga Begins...and ends?

 

Well it all started whilst Vince was at school, he had been interested in electronics since an early age. He had built simple projects and fixed different electronic items. The 7th-form Disco Committee were in trouble with their equipment, which today we would describe as a coffin with two record decks cut into it. For the first time ever a 6th-former was co-opted into the disco committee, armed with a loaded soldering iron, Vince sorted out a few problems, and gained an interest in presenting.

The school equipment needed some work as well, and Vince soon became entrusted with the whole set of kit. Around this time a friend suggested they should build and run their own disco. So they did.

Thinking back, it was an improvement on the coffin (just about), but you would not get us anywhere near it now!   They managed to get some work at the Yardley social club and off they went.

Unfortunately they were still to young to drive, so used a Dad as transport. Then Vince's family decided to move a distance away, and it stopped them working together.

Also about the same time, Vince got involved with a band, and spent a few years as a sound engineer.

When this wound up Vince thought his entertainment days were over, family would ask him to provide music for parties, but that was about it.

Vince had moved to Berkshire, married, divorced, met someone else... Nicola (now his wife).

One day she comes out with 'Rick want's to build a disco.'
It became obvious that she had been talking to Lorraine, and Lorraine's husband was interested in being a DJ. Vince went along with it.

Cash was scraped together to buy kit form amplifiers, an empty disco console and record decks were found at a boot fair, a friend was asked to make metal panels for the controls, our domestic CD players came to discos.

Vince had some lights from the party functions, but they were not going to be enough. We guess Rick was expecting to make lots of cash from running a mobile disco, you don't, you do it for the fun of it - assuming the audience is friendly, if they are not, it's not fun, and you really wonder why you are there.

Rick lost interest and finally moved away. It's a shame, but this sort of thing happens.

Easy - equipment. It's costly, needs maintaining, costs money to transport, and eventually gives up and needs replacing. There are hidden costs too. Not many people happen to have a van that can move that much equipment around, we have to buy and maintain a van. And there's the obvious music costs. We have to buy CDs and transfer them to MP3, we don't get the CDs any cheaper than you can, so it's quite a cost.

Other hidden costs are equipment cases. You buy an expensive light/amplifier/controller, what are you going to do with it? Throw it into a van and rattle it around, it won't work for long! So everything needs a packing case. Sometimes we just build everything straight into a flightcase, sometimes we buy cases that fit the equipment, for the older light effects we find plastic toolboxes and foam are cost effective - you don't get to see them so it's the best deal.

It is possible to make money as a mobile DJ, some of our friends do!

What's the difference?   The amount of bookings you do.

Music & Lights is one of our hobbies, we all work full time, we like to DJ and like to make people happy, but if you make it another job, you loose the fun element. Who would you prefer, the guy who is DJing for you because it's fun and he wants to do it for you, or the guy who is just 'doing another gig' and thinking about this profit margin/cut of the proceeds? Yes if you take loads of bookings and run it like a job, you will be able to take money out of it. We don't, because we don't want discos to be 'another' job.

The point is, that Music & Lights income is enough to keep the equipment working and up to date, and for the music to be updated. There is not much left afterwards.

Vince has been DJing on and off since the mid 70's, with a bigger emphasis since 1992. He had no problems passing the requirements of Wycombe Hospital Broadcasting Association and engineered and presented one of their flagship shows, the Wednesday Request Show, for two to three years.

At a recent Christmas party for a social club, one of the organizers was asked where she found the disco. The answer was a big surprise when it came... 'Oh Vince works with me', the lady was shocked that this was a hobby and commented that we 'could only be professionals'.

So we can confirm - from a past customer - you will be impressed with the quality.

All the regular team have been cleared for broadcasting and presented shows for WHBA, see our WHBA page.

We just keep adding and updating - we bought lighting, made screens, bought screens, bought lighting stands, lighting bars (to hang lighting between stands), more lights, another amplifier. Built a computer based system to play CDs. Bought winch up lighting stands and trussing to provide better support for the lights. Then more lighting - computer controlled intelligent lighting. Then the MP3 playout software, lots of disk space, additional speakers and stands. Then built the mega screens that fold out to 4x1.5m.

Recently we have bought a new 1000Watt (RMS) amplifier and two ElectroVoice 300SL speakers, and replaced the older Futurescan intelligent lighting with brand new Abstract Futurescan and Twisters, all using DMX to produce an an outstanding syncronised light show.

We can put out two disco setups, should it be required. But although we have enough kit, we have never done this. It would have to be a double booking that one of our partner discos could not do, to persuade us to put out two shows.

I will put up some photos of our older equipment, so you can see how we have developed the disco over the last 10 years.