Claims of greatness… Who really is good?

I'm always interested in seeing where I rank on search engines. Over the holiday I sat down, as I’m sure many engaged couples did, and started surfing. I found numerous DJ sites claiming “Central Iowa’s Premier Wedding DJ’s”. Other broad claims included “More Music” or “Best Lightshow” or hear this, crazy amounts of years in the wedding business. Seriously!

On one hand, that’s good. At least they all think they’re the best. Delusional? Probably. On the other hand, it’s not so good for you the customer. Especially if they are using middle and high school combined with college club work as years of experience and implying that was all wedding time.

How do you sort through so many claims of greatness? Who really is good?

Simple but you can’t come right out and ask them. I’ll give you a simple analogy: A Pawn shop will lose money if they bring in stolen goods to resell, so if you have ever watch the TV Pawn show you will notice they always ask round about questions when an item comes in. How did you get this? Where did it come from? You have to do the same thing with DJ’s unfortunately. Ask them about your venue. Do they know it well? Where do you usually set up when you are there? Do they now the event manager? Does the event manager refer them? Do other wedding vendors know and refer that DJ? Did you find then on craigslist? What does their typical setup look like?

Ok, I have to pause for a moment to talk about DJ setups. I did notice one company that had this huge setup. Lots of lights, clean look and I thought to myself, oh that’s competition. So I kept looking. I soon noticed most the pictures on this site were from that one event. On to the videos… and there the truth set me free! The large venue was a corporate party. All of the wedding videos show a typical DJ setup! Don’t be fooled by shows of grandeur. I wonder how many couples hire them based on the first impression of their homepage.

I always tell my customers the DJ is the hardest wedding vendor to select. Cake, you can go try it. Venue, you can go see it. Photographer, you can see and hold their product. DJ? Video, is nice but is that really what you get? Not in the case of that one site! So how do you know? Ask questions and ask other wedding vendors. If you can, go see them live at a wedding! No you’re not crashing but if the reception is at a somewhat public venue like a hotel it’s easy to observe from the hallway without intruding on a couples event.

As for Knight Life, our claim is central Iowa’s most referred DJ service. Knight life is on the preferred vendor list for every country club and most every major hotel in central Iowa. No other service can say that. And no we have never paid anyone to refer us.

New Speakers!!! I'm soooo excited!

It takes a lot to get me excited these days but for the first time in twenty years we have a speaker setup I can't say enough good things about.  We knew a year ago that we wanted to migrate to the Active JBL speakers for three main reasons.

1. The speakers are "Active" which means the amplifier is built into the speaker.  So each speaker has it's own amp.  The old setup uses one amp in the system that powers both speakers.  That's a single point of failure and it's happened.  I've done the pre-reception scramble to get a replacement amp.  It's stressful and miserable. An amp in each speaker gives redundancy.  You can always play with one speaker until a replacement arrives.
2. Daisy Chain is an old computer term but for speakers in short it mean we can send a line or mic signal to the speaker. If it's a large venue we can take the signal out of the first speaker and go right into the next and the next and gain as needed.  With multiple systems this allows tons of flexibility!  Wedding ceremonies outside, large outdoor events, system inside extra speakers out or large events requiring more sound.
3. Not just a line input but also the option for a mic input.  For those ceremonies only needing microphone sound we only need to bring a speaker and a microphone to a wedding ceremony.  That makes it easier for us, simpler and cheaper for you!

That's three great reasons to be excited but we learned that the speakers we were preparing to purchase had been re-engineered by JBL to also now be more Eco-friendly!  So why do I care about being green?  They have placed the 4' speaker package into a 36" application.  You see, I hate speakers on poles without subs!  All you get is mids and highs and for my customers a little something call ear fatigue by the end of the night.  Ever leave something at the end of the night and your head hurts? 

So what has me the most excited I've been since I started DJ'n?

1. The 36" JBL PRX635's have the sound of a floor speaker.  A real 3 way speaker!!  They sound great and if the party calls for it, they thump!
2. Being 36" tall and only 55lbs (the old 4' floor speakers are 130lbs each!) the JBL 635's are pole mountable since they are so light and short!! 
• This is huge. With the older speakers the tweeter was the only speaker above the shoulders of seated guests.  Imagine the entire full range sound elevated.  During the cocktail and dinner portions of the evening this truly allows filling the entire ballroom full of unimpeded sound.  That's huge since I can never get people to speak correctly into the mic.  It's going to help us as DJ's get announcements to all guests even when placement in the room is poor.
• As the dance starts we lower the speakers to dance floor level.  Filling the floor with sound but not the entire room.  Why?  So conversations on the sides and back are still possible.  Receptions are like family reunions.  Many guests just want to catch up so this allows us to be more attentive to all your guests needs on the dance floor or not.
3. Better low volume cut off.  Better sound at lower volumes means cocktail and dinner music has a better frequency response.  Ever hear some speakers play real soft and hear chipmunks?  I'm glad to know that even as powerful as these speakers are they play very well at low volumes.  That is a problem JBL fixed from their 500 series.
4. 1500 Watts per speaker.  So that improves our sound systems from 2000 watts to 3000 watts per system.  Ok, I know some of you just said OMG (oh my god) that must be loud.  I can be but we don't play so loud to hurt anyone or older guests can't enjoy themselves as well.  With that said, in 2010 I had a wedding in which the party on the other side of the sound wall was using a local band.  Sometimes it takes power to not be overtaken by the event next door.  Usually the hotels are very good about timing so one dance isn't starting when the event next door is trying to do toasts but it does happen.

As soon as we have the speakers replaced for the systems we will be removing the old bbe sonic maximiser's and replacing them with dbx DriveRack's.  This is an awesome piece of Loudspeaker Management equipment.  The DriveRack offers 2 independent channels of processing power with a linkable 28-band graphic EQ, industry-standard dbx stereo compressor module, feedback eliminator, and the 120A Subharmonic Synthesizer on the input signal path. 6-channel output system includes parametric EQs, PeakStopPlus limiters (to provide protection against speaker blowouts), and alignment delay.


In English this means a DJ takes a microphone to the center of the room and with the push of a button and the DriveRack tunes the system for that specific room, placement of tables, you name it! 

Knight Life is committed to having the absolute best sound in the market!  From the gold connectors, heavy signal cords to the smallest item.

Did your email get responded to??

If you don't get a prompt response to your email it could look like this.  We've noticed emails coming in through the client contact page on our website similar to the picture below.  Email is not perfect so if you don't get a response either call or try sending a direct email.

Communication is the key to success in your life and in your upcoming marriage. Communications with your DJ’s is the key to having a successful reception. I do not know of any specific DJ company that can afford to live, raise children and have the extras we strive for on the salary a wedding DJ makes. We DJ because we love to. All of us at Knight Life work other jobs or own our own businesses in addition to being a disc jockey. Does that sometimes mean we might miss an email or it may take a day or two to respond? Yes it does. Understand though that it does not mean that our customers, you, are not important to us. Are we still full time DJ’s? Yes, because we still show up for work most every weekend during the wedding season. If we miss and email, please follow up with a phone call so we have a chance to meet your expectations. From my family to your new one, thank you for your continued support and understanding.

Advice for a great reception!

Site Layout

If you have assigned seating, avoid placing older guests next to the dance floor/speakers.

Tables between the dance floor and the disc jockey are never a good idea for two reasons. (1) Most DJ’s use some sort of PA system. PA systems can be loud directly in front of the speakers regardless if they are floor or pole mounted systems. Most likely the DJ will turn the sound down, which in turn, will not fill the entire room with sound. (2) Feedback. A DJ’s job is to read the crowd. Facial expressions are a large part of reading the crowd. If we can not see the expressions of the guests on the dance floor, it becomes a guessing game. Never separate your DJ from the dance floor. If you place your DJ in the corner or significantly away from the dance floor you are telling your DJ the dance is not important to you.

Bars should always be in the main room. Preferably closer to the dance floor but the floor shouldn’t be in the way of any lines to the bar. If a bar is put outside the main room, then a huge percentage of potential dancers are unavailable. Bars are like kitchens—they draw people to them. If you can help it, don't make your DJ wrestle with the draw of a bar but it is also very hard to move a bar used in another area for a cocktail hour. Use you best judgment as every situation is unique.

Different factors may affect your layout such as partition walls with little or no power, permanent dance floors or bars that can not be moved, or not enough room for all the tables.

People are more likely to dance when the crowd on the floor is dense than when they feel like the only ones out there. A smaller dance floor is better than one that is too big for that reason. It creates the impression that the floor is full.

Keep exit doors closed. Doors are inviting and you don't want to invite people outside of the main room. Open doors also bring in unwanted light and sometimes unwanted guests. Keep the focus in the reception room for as long as possible.

During the night, song selection & general etiquette

If doing a grand entrance / introduction, choose a style that sets the tone for the evening. It will help build rapport for your DJ early on and that same energy will be reflected in the dance.

Separate your cocktail area and your dining area. If the cocktail area is located in the dining room people will mingle less and most likely sit at their tables. The end result will be adding an hour to your dinner. By keeping the two separate you keep your guests entertained creating valuable transition time.

Avoid a long dinner. We all have busy lives and people will get tired. Make sure your event staff has the ability to feed all your guests in a reasonable time. This will reduce the time your guests spend in their seats. If your dinner drags on, your guests will become bored and your dance will suffer. It’s best to keep things moving.

The DJ should eat. Your DJ will bend over backwards for you if you just treat them with the same respect you’d treat your guests with.

Happy music during dinner keeps the energy going. Avoid typical elevator type dinner music.It is best for any traditional events or speeches to be done and out of the way before dancing begins. In addition, it is important for pictures of the family, bridal party, and bride and groom to be done, when at all possible, before the dancing begins. As a DJ I have seen more parties lose steam because key people are having pictures taken after the dance begins. Do all the pictures before the dance begins.

Darker is better than lighter for dancing. People feel like less of a spectacle, less "on-stage" when they think they're harder to see.

Respect the musical opinions of your local professionals. They do this for a living. Be careful not to cut out all the "cliché" wedding music as you'll find this will negatively impact the dance floor potential. People dance to what they know. A wedding reception is not the time and place to prove to your friends and family that you're into obscure music. You have people from all over your family tree that want to have a good time, so let your DJ exercise all his or her tools and really work his or her craft.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. I hope that here I can add nineteen years of experience to help my customers have a better reception experience. If you have a question that I have not address, please email me as I'm sure someone else is thinking the same thing.

Cary