Party - sound equipment advice needed

[NobleLord]

Next Saturday I turn 40 so having been talked into throwing a party - I love parties, but not when they're mine!

Anyway, I'm getting a marque put up and a bloke in to do a massive BBQ from 2pm onwards. I live out in the sticks and wanted it to be a chilled out kind of affair with a barrel of real ale and everyone just relaxing and chatting.

Now, the problem I have is that I think we need some sort of music; probably just background stuff during the day. But, when the people with kids have gone and the singles/alcoholics are left behind, should I get a DJ in to do something? I get the feeling that, being a daytime event, number will dwindle in the evening and it won't really be the atmosphere for a full blown DJ.

The other option is to just rent some good sound equipment and plug an ipod in with a shed load of tracks on it. If I do this though, there won't be any disco lighting after dark so it might feel a bit 'sad'.

What to do eh??? Any advice? If I rent an amp and some speakers, does anyone know what I need to be asking for or where I can go to rent this sort of stuff? (I live in north Wiltshire not too far from Swindon and Bath)

Ta,
NL

[mrmr96]

The good thing about getting an actual DJ is that there's someone actually controlling the music choice and reacting to what people like.

Although not apparent at first glance their job is to keep people happy through choice of songs, so they choose stuff based on reactions which is something an iPod on 'shuffle' mode cannot do. Plus they will sort out bringing the gear, setting it up, packing it away again, and the lights etc etc etc.

How many parties have you been to in a hall or marquee with a DJ? Ok, and how many where someone has just rented equipment and stuck an iPod on? There may be a clue there as to why many people choose the DJ not just the equipment. Whatever you do I hope you have a good party, and Happy Birthday for next Saturday.

Cheers

Edited by mrmr96 on Monday 11th May 14:34

[PhantomHumper]

I'm only posting in the hope of gaining an invite to your soiree.

[lawrence567]

I'm a DJ & i'd say to get one, if you have a decent amount of people there then the DJ will be able to control the people & get them dancing, however if you only have say 20-30 ppl there it wont make much difference!

[greengreenwood7]

think it depends on what you really want from yr party. if its some backrgound sounds to cover a spectrum of ages early on i think that's quite easy - after all its for background puposes, a simple playlist taking into account middle of the road tunes with grouping of songs so that no one has to listen to too much of something that they dont personally like. for the later part - depends how well you know the folks who'll stay and whether they're the type to get on the dancefloor. again, if you know this and have an idea about how long it'll go on for ( roughly ) then its not that hard to pick a cple of hrs of music that will either get folk moving or wont offend. i agree that a good DJ can be worthwile depending on the nature of the event, but a bad one is no better than something that you put together yourself - given that you know the attendees and the DJ doesnt. yes a DJ can react to the mood, but a well thought out selection of songs can be equally effective. hiring the gear is simple enough as are lights and generally not expensive. ultimately depends how much effort you want to put in and what you want out of the party.......i wouldnt advocate just hiring a few speakers and plugging in an MP3 player, a bit more planning + thought would be needed to make up some decent playlists, and better still to take a pc/laptop along, mp3 players not easy to search /add to during the evening! hope that you have a great time.

[Lil' Joe]

DJ. One you like though, and understands the event.