The Just Press Play "iPod DJ service" is an affordable way to have music for your reception or party. You provide the music and/or player and we provide the sound system so everyone can hear it clearly. If you would prefer we can MC, control the sound for you or even provide the music and the players. Here are some tips you might find helpful to make each of our different services work for you.
First some general tips:
Placement. When planning your seating arrangements make sure people who will be most disturbed by loud music are not the closest to where you want the systems set up.
Electricity. Make sure there is an electric outlet close to where you want the PA system setup. We have long extension cables (50 feet) but if they have to go across doors or long distances they can be dangerous and unsightly.
Setup. Be sure that access to the room is available at least an hour before people are going to show up.
Pickup. Be sure that there is at least 45 minutes of time for the equipment to be packed up at the conclusion of your event.
If you choose to not use our MC services and just rent out the Bose PA systems:
Make sure you have the designated person(s) responsible for operating the player is there no later than 30 minutes after arranged setup time. If you want us to set up at 10am be sure that designated person is there shortly after 10am, if they are going to arrive more than 30 minutes later than the setup time please let us know. It only takes about 15 minutes and if we are not hired to MC or run the sound it is important that we meet with this designated person(s) preferably before guests start arriving.
Make sure the designated person(s) will be available during the event to turn on and stop the music and turn on the microphone when needed.
More than one person can be designated to do duties described above but both need to be there at the time of setup.
Appoint someone to make general announcements so your guests are aware of what is happening. It would be nice if it is a separate person from the designated person who is controlling everything.
If you are providing the music and players, regardless if we are hired to MC or not:
Make sure you have someone responsible for getting the music and/or player to the place of the reception when the arranged setup is taking place. If you want us to set up at 10am be sure that designated person is there shortly after 10am, if they are going to arrive more than 30 minutes later than the setup time please let us know.
Make playlists, lots of playlists, a playlist for every event during your event. For example: a playlist for entry music, a playlist for dinner music, a playlist for early dancing, a playlist for late dancing, a playlist with fast songs, a playlist with slow songs, a playlist for the last three songs you want to end your event on, etc..
For individual songs to be played for a single event, leave the songs out of the playlists. For example at weddings, the song you want to play while doing the garter toss or the bouquet toss. A birthday party, the song you are going to play to wish them a happy birthday with, etc. Even if it is only one song, put all of these special songs in one playlist.
Start each playlist with same wording. For example: Bob’s Party1, Bob’s Party2 etc. or Wedding1, Wedding2, Wedding3 etc. That way they are all grouped together on your player.
Make sure to have documentation of what each playlist is. Provide a list of all the playlists and when they should be played, if you want them shuffled or played in the exact order they are in.
If you are concerned about the space between songs and you are using iTunes you can shorten that space by playing the song on your computer and noting the exact end time or when you would like the song to end. Then while that song is highlighted on your screen, right click and select “Get Info” and then go to the “Options” tab. There you will see a start time and a stop time. Enter the stop time you noted and then hit “ok” and then check and make sure it ends where you want it to end. You can also change the start time if there is some applause or misc. audio at the beginning of the song you do not want.
For most players, the software on your computer has a lot more bells and whistles and most of them have the ability to fade in and out of songs and even cross-fade from one song to the next. If you have this on a laptop I highly recommend you bring the laptop as the main player and the portable player as a backup. If you do this make sure you have a fairly new power supply to power the laptop with. Old power supply's can make a hum which can be picked up in the audio going to the PA systems.
Be sure the songs you acquire are from good reputable sources, i.e. CD's, iTunes, Amazon, Yahoo etc. Usually if you pay for the song you are going to have better quality. Remember we are amplifying your music. So if it sounds a little fuzzy or weak we will be amplifying that 300 times louder at least.
Make sure you have a backup. A backup player or burn your playlists to CD or bring the computer the playlists were created on. The easiest is to burn your playlists to CD’s and bring a portable CD player.
If you are using CD’s and not a digital music player, all the same tips apply, just make different CD’s for each playlist and a single CD with all the individual requests on it. Again make sure all are labeled clearly and that you provide documentation as to what is on each CD. And of course have backup CD’s. Having a second CD player in this case would also be preferable.
If you want us to do everything; provide the player and music, MC, and control the PA system:
Tell us what music you want, where you want it and we will do everything for you. This is our most expensive iPod DJ service and still is usually under $500. Will need all requests at least a week ahead of time in order to insure we get all songs requested.
