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Musicians and music lovers can’t do without music gear. But they are a bit expensive. And people have a notion that if you want to buy a good gear then you have to spend a lot of money. But this idea is not fully correct. While it is true that the majority of them are expensive, that does not mean that you will not find any good quality gear at a reasonable price. You just need to have a crystal clear idea and have to know where to search and how to search for them.

There are lots of inexpensive music gear available now. Let us have a quick glance at some of them.

Microphone

Let us talk about microphone first. They are very important for doing music. Their price has fallen now. There are a whole lot of microphones available now and that too at reasonable prices. Marshall Electronics’ MXL V67G, Behringer BL can be a good option for you.

Mixer

Mixer is necessary for music and also for your home studio. There are lots of mixers available now in the market. Some of them come at low price. But be very careful before going for them. Before buying, you should be aware of some facts. You should check out how many channels they are offering. Make sure that they offer you at least 12 to 16 channels. Otherwise it will not be much useful.

The next big factor that you should keep in mind is the digital features. Many low price gear now provide various digital effects like reverbs. Many of these effects are inbuilt. These effects are also very good for general use.

Another option is having a firewire option. It will help you to send signal to the computer from the mixer. But this option is relatively new and it hasn’t appeared as an indispensable feature. So it is up to you whether you will use this or not. The Behringer mixers and the Mackie mixers are good quality low budget mixers.

Audio interface

Audio interface connects the mixer with the computer. It also converts the analogue audio signal to digital signal. Using a firewire audio interface or USB Audio interface will be good for you.

Computer Audio Workstation

Computers are very important for making music. You can mix music at home if you have a pc. But you just need a good configuration. There are lots of brands available that will provide you good PCs, both laptop and desktop at low prices. Brands that give good quality desktop are Apple iMac Desktop Computer with Intel Core, Apple Macpro recording package, etc. Laptops brands are, Apple MacBook Notebook computer with Intel Core, Rain Recording Live book L4 Laptop Audio Computer etc.

Studio Monitors

Studio monitors are almost like sound speakers. But they have got some differences. For instance, audio monitors are specially made to deliver the recorded material accurately. Alesis M1 Active 620 2 way near field Monitor, Behringer B2030A Active Studio Monitor, Dynaudio Acoustics BM5A Active Nearfield Monitor, Event TR8XL Tuned Reference Biamplified Monitors,etc. are good quality studio monitors.

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Many “How To Hire A Disc Jockey” articles overlook one of the
most important criteria for choosing entertainment. Your ears.

Forget checking for a business license (anyone can get one), or
endorsement by some far removed, “official” DJ association. Send
them their required fee and they will endorse you too.

Whether your entertainer is “certified” on paper or not, how his
or her system sounds is critical. Most DJs are not experts in
the technical realm of sound specifications. They may not even
know what signal to noise ratio, total harmonic distortion or
frequency response is. The truth is, DJs often put together a
sound system that is limited by how much they can afford to
spend. The resulting sound may turn out to be shrill (too many
highs), unclear or “muddy” and even distorted.

This is where your ears come in. Ask for a live audition so you
can gage for yourself how the DJ’s equipment looks and sounds.
We always offer a live listening experience to our clients. This
is the only way to know if you like it. If your DJ is not
willing to “audition” for you, it may be because he is
embarrassed by the look or audio quality of his rig. This is a
red flag.

Have your prospective DJ play a song you know. Think of one that
that incorporates bass, drums, keyboards and vocals so you get a
full range of sounds. Dance songs are usually good. Ask the DJ
to turn it up for a moment. Now close your eyes and listen.

You don’t have to be an acoustic expert to know if you like it.
Is it full and warm or hollow and “tinny”. Does it sound like an
AM radio or more like what you might hear in a movie theatre? Is
the base “punchy” but not overwhelming, allowing room for the
mids and highs? Are the highs too brassy, making dogs howl and
babys cry? Are the mid-range (vocals) present enough? Is the
overall sound flat or is there “depth”?

Remember, this is what you and your guests will be hearing all
night long.

While the sound can be enhanced by the use of equalizers and
sonic enhancers, the right speakers are key. Whether it’s JBL,
Yamaha, Mackie or others, speakers have their own sound
characteristics. And off-brand, budget speakers are often
lacking in sound quality.

Ask the DJ why he chose the speakers he has. Often great
sounding, name brand speakers are not much more expensive than
low-end, budget cabinets. If the DJ is scrimping here to save a
couple of bucks, what else is is he cutting corners on?

I personally dislike “hissing” brass or cymbal sounds (highs) or
too much bottom end (bass). For me, the midrange is where the
melody is and I like to hear it. Warm and full vocals, keyboards
and guitar with the highs and lows serving as complimentary
bookends. For example, I’d rather hear emphasis on Sinatra’s
voice over his bass player.

Now go find the sound YOU like. You’re already an expert as
you’ve been listening all your life. Do a little earwork and you
will feel confident as your event approaches, knowing your
guests will experience complete sonic satisfaction!

-DJ Craig

http://www.djcraig.net/

The contents of this page are proprietary and exclusive
property of DJ Craig. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is
prohibited.

Copyright © 2005, DJ Craig / djcraig.net

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Who ever said that you had to be on a world tour with your band, a professional deejay or other in some other broadcast position to buy professional audio equipment? The truth is simple- you don’t have to be a pro, but be prepared to spend a few extra dollars, as there is a colossal difference between commercial grade and personal audio equipment. If you’re up for the mission, read on to get some info on the different types of audio equipment available.

We’ll start on this venture with speakers, as that’s the final frontier of audio equipment. You can have a great sound system, but with poor quality speakers, you money is wasted. Of course, the situation is also true in the reverse, with great speakers and a lousy system. But just because a set of speakers is pricey, it doesn’t mean the quality is there, or that they’re the right speaker for your purpose. Speakers and subwoofers can run into thousands of dollars, so be sure that you’re not buying more speaker than you need.

Heading backwards from speakers, we’ll cover amplifiers just a bit. Again, your purpose for their use is crucial, as amps can run you some serious cash, so your overall seriousness and intent should govern the amount you spend. Brand names like Mackie and Crest are synonymous with the best quality. Atlas puts out a decent amp for the money, but it’s not known as the cream of the crop.

So, what do you want to do with what’s coming out of the speakers and/or amplifiers? Do you want to transmit over the World Wide Web? Do you want to record? Every different option requires different mediums to get them there, so you might want to have some sort of idea before you go out and purchase the wrong products.

Any good deejay knows the importance of a good mixer, not to mention the right headset to cue up the next song. If you’re spinning records, turntables and needles (also referred to as phonographic cartridges) come in a variety of quality levels, but they’ll all produce the same result. When spinning, you’re the star, not the music blasting out of the speakers. Needles break often, as the wear on them while spinning is just not what they were designed for.

Words of advice- if you’re just starting out, don’t spend all of your hard-earned cash buying the latest in technology for podcasting kits and the etceteras that go along with it, as high-priced technology of today will be much cheaper tomorrow. Keep an open mind, and don’t buy what you don’t need. The better pro audio equipment companies will see you as a good customer for years to come, not as a commission today.

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Music gear are stage speakers, sound equipment, DJ equipment, amplifiers, microphones, speakers, etc. Actually music gear includes both musical instruments and equipment. There are various major companies and labels that serve different regions and markets like Yamaha, Gibson, Marshall, Roland, Crate, Fender, Crown, Pearl, etc. Let us have a look at some of these major players in music gear industry.

- Roland corporation:

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded in the year 1972. It is now one of the leading manufacturers of electronic musical gear. The major products this company manufactures are synthesizers, electronic percussion, digital pianos, and home keyboards.

It is also famous for its microphone models. The various models that this company manufactures are DR 80 C, DR 50, and DR 30 types of dynamic microphones meant for the stage and the studio while CS 15 is a stereo microphone kit.

As regards monitors and speakers, MA 15D, and MA 7A are stereo micro monitors that have the capability to deliver high quality sound in confined recording environment. MA 1EX is incredibly small USB powered speakers. The chief characteristic of the headphones of Roland is that they are flat, and that they provide accurate sound quality and sophisticated visual manifestation with aluminum housing plate.

Yamaha Corporation:

Yamaha Corporation was founded in the year 1887. It was then a piano and reed organ manufacturer under the name Nippon Gakki Company. Yamaha has grown to become the largest manufacturer of musical instruments around the world.

The various Yamaha speakers are an enormous success in the digital music world. The microphones include 3 way, 2 way, large, small, high power, medium power, and other variations. There are also switch able, single amp and bi amp drive models.

Shure Inc:

Shure Incorporated, based in the United States and founded in the year 1925, mainly manufactures microphones and other audio equipment. Initially the company was under The Shure Radio Company named Sidney Shure. Till 1933 the company manufactured only radio systems. Their field expanded when they started manufacturing microphones, phonograph cartridges, mixers, digital signal processing and most recently headphones. They are also known for winning the Grammy award.

The SM and Beta series of dynamic and condenser microphones manufactured by Shure are very well known in the music gear industry. The SM series microphones are used world wide for live vocals, and vocal reproduction for guitar, drums, bass instruments, etc.

The KSM series of microphones are mainly used in studio recording. The microphones of Shure are popular because they are comparatively inexpensive, sound good and extremely durable. The 55SH series II microphone that was manufactured in the early fifties is still popular among musicians and radio personalities.

Mackie

It is a brand for professional music and recording equipment like mixing consoles, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital recording equipment, etc. Mackie is probably best known for its mixers. It provides the full surround mixing and monitoring capabilities, professional digital production console with selectable operation, built in control for pro tools, etc.

The list of brands is very extensive in the music gear industry. But the ultimate goal or objective of every company is to provide good equipment at a very low rate.

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If you are an adament dance music fan, you would probably be surprised at the huge amount of different speakers around today. Whether you’re only just beginning as a DJ, or you are a seasoned professional, there are a tonne of different types of DJ speakers around.

I also believe that because of the massive amount of speakers around, making a decision on what you should buy and why can become quite a tough task. Although this can become quite boring and tedious at times its definitely important for DJ’s to do their research, and let me tell you why. You can be the greatest DJ in the world, have immaculate beat matching skills, immaculate track selection, but if your sound is all distorted and soft then no one is going to know how good you are!

Now lets talk further about the types of DJ speakers.

I’m sure you would like to know more about the better types of equipment and what you should buy, but the truth is there are hundreds, yes hundreds of different types of speakers around today. For this reason, I’ll briefly talk about some of the better types of brands you should look out for.

Of the many DJ speakers around, Mackie, Yamaha, J B L, Gem Sound, Behringer and Gemini are probably the picks of the crop. When implementing your research, if you look out for these brands, it’ll be easier for you to differentiate between the good and the greatest products around.

With the high demand and large amount of competition within DJ speakers, there is always a tonne of sales going on. For this reason, you should always keep an eye and an ear out to make sure you’re getting the best price. When at times you get discouraged with the research, think about the end product and what it will help you to achieve.

All the best with your future DJing endeavours!

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