I am opening a nightclub that all the sound and lighting equipment was taken out of the building. I know very little of what I need and need help deciding. I am not looking to go cheap for no reason. I want quality sound as this will be a high end nightclub/ lounge. The inside of the building is 5000 sq ft, there is a 5000 sq ft patio outside, and a 5000 sq ft rooftop balcony. I want equipment to be able to run a DJ inside as well as outside. The outside DJ would be mixing music for the patio and the rooftop. Normally the music on the rooftop will be quiet but want the ability to have it loud as well.
Not sure if anyone in here will know about lighting as well but needing ideas for that as well if someone knows somewhere I can go or has information for me.
Thanks in advance.
Not sure if anyone in here will know about lighting as well but needing ideas for that as well if someone knows somewhere I can go or has information for me.
Thanks in advance.
I would suggest looking up a local sound engineer for advice, preferably one that comes with a recomendation from others for doing a good job. Don't want to be ripped off!
If you can afford Allen & Heath mixers with Crown amplifiers running JBL speakers, you won't go far wrong. As for lighting, there again, see a consultant and get some ideas of them.
You're going to need a pro sound design/install company to come in and do this for you. Or, if you are going to have real DJ's and bands, you'll need at least a part time (maybe full time) sound engineer on an ongoing basis, so if you're looking to hire someone they may be interested in putting together the system.
Together with lighting.....you're probably looking at about $10k - $30k worth of gear (depending how serious you want to get) plus labor & consulting fees for a really nice system.
Together with lighting.....you're probably looking at about $10k - $30k worth of gear (depending how serious you want to get) plus labor & consulting fees for a really nice system.
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Danley Sound Labs gets my vote. Yes it will be expensive, but Danley has some very compact cabinets which produce great output / sound. Coverage from small top speakers will also be excellent. They offer a variety of components as well. As well as install to complete the process.
Btw you can have the best components with terrible processing / tuning and they will sound terrible. Same goes for location. Don't set in stone where you want the speakers (because you know nothing about sound)
Take the advice of the professionals, tell them where you would like the best coverage / sound, and let them do the calculating and decide on placement of speakers!
Ohh and allow extra $ for this stuff, cuz it sure ain't cheap. Btw, which place in FL and what part? I frequent South FL, and the lounges / clubs in that area.
Btw you can have the best components with terrible processing / tuning and they will sound terrible. Same goes for location. Don't set in stone where you want the speakers (because you know nothing about sound)
Take the advice of the professionals, tell them where you would like the best coverage / sound, and let them do the calculating and decide on placement of speakers!
Ohh and allow extra $ for this stuff, cuz it sure ain't cheap. Btw, which place in FL and what part? I frequent South FL, and the lounges / clubs in that area.
Actually, I'm probably way off on my cost estimates. $10k would get you a very very basic setup for the spaces you're trying to cover. $30k would get you something reasonable. Looking at about $100K or more to get something that would make it a real venue and OK for a big name DJ.
Nah $10k wouldn't even touch what he wants to do. Don't forget proper wiring adds up very quickly as well. And make sure there is adequate power coming into the place, if not, expect a service upgrade as well.
I'm talking about pretty crappy subs and tops for 3 zones plus a mixing board and cables. Very basic.
Money spent on measuring the acoustics of the room will pay back in performance. Most venues fail to do proper acoustic treatment of the room first, which no equipment can compeletely compensate for. So start with finding a competent company to measure and recommend room treatment. You can save a LOT of money by building your own absorbers and diffusers as they spec. Then work with them on the interior layout. If you have an architect, make sure he is qualified in acoustics. Good luck.
Visiting a trade show would let you sample a lot of different stuff. I happened to be in London (UK) when the PLASA show was on; the selection of stuff was mind-blowing. If you're over in the UK or Europe, visit some superclubs in Ibiza. Perhaps you should set up the patio for foam nights.
Pro sound and disco trade magazines have profiles of various club installations, often with lists of the sound and lighting equipment and maybe more usefully, the names of the architects and designers responsible.
When it comes to mixers, the ideal booth would have more than one. Some house DJs will prefer a classic rotary mixer like the UREI 1620 and an RLA style "isolator" crossover.
Pro sound and disco trade magazines have profiles of various club installations, often with lists of the sound and lighting equipment and maybe more usefully, the names of the architects and designers responsible.
When it comes to mixers, the ideal booth would have more than one. Some house DJs will prefer a classic rotary mixer like the UREI 1620 and an RLA style "isolator" crossover.
Try Before You Buy....
Contact an AV rental/hire company....most venues run hired installations.
Hire equipment companies also have good knowledge of what sounds good, and what breaks.
Dan.
Contact an AV rental/hire company....most venues run hired installations.
Hire equipment companies also have good knowledge of what sounds good, and what breaks.
Dan.
Hi Hushlounge
When you say you want to be able to run a DJ are we talking Digital only or Digital and Analogue i.e. Record players?
In my experience the fundamental thing to get right is the quality of the audio from the DJ booth. If you are planning to use vinyl then that can involve some fairly involved engineering to get right. Even with digital sources care taken over the audio quality coming from the DJ booth can fundamentally improve the whole clubbing experience.
When you say you want to be able to run a DJ are we talking Digital only or Digital and Analogue i.e. Record players?
In my experience the fundamental thing to get right is the quality of the audio from the DJ booth. If you are planning to use vinyl then that can involve some fairly involved engineering to get right. Even with digital sources care taken over the audio quality coming from the DJ booth can fundamentally improve the whole clubbing experience.
The Infocomm show will be in Orlando this year -in your home state. That's the show to go to for anything installed audio-video.
Concerning budget, I just installed a big 3-story club in california a year ago (but not as big as the one we are talking about here) and we came in at around 150K and were still needing more!
They wanted DJ, Bands, distributed HD video and lighting with the ability to do different things on different floors simultaneously.
-Just a current Pioneer DJ booth setup (Serato, 2 CDJ's, 1 DJM and a couple technics 1200's will run you close to $10K without a single speaker installed!
There are companies that specialize in this that cover your state and I've even worked with a couple of good ones on some projects out there.
Wiring infrastructure to handle any scenario and then designing to operate by inexperienced bar staff are the two largest concerns in a club.
Actual speakers and amps are the smaller concern -but generally the fun easy part.
Good place to start is to contact major brand dealerships, they have lots of contacts to consult/install companies. Major aspect to consider is possible scalability of the system when eventually something needs to be changed.
Here's a few major brands: L'acoustics, D&B audiotechnik, NEXO, JBL, Meyer sound, EAW, Danley.
Here's a few major brands: L'acoustics, D&B audiotechnik, NEXO, JBL, Meyer sound, EAW, Danley.
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