Sound & lighting hire is what Onion Audio specialise in. We also provide staging for smaller events. Its often wise to book your stage be

fore you acquire  sound and lighting hire quotes. This way, your sound and lighting hire company will be able to specify a system that uses the structure of your stage. This will give more accurate quotes and could save you money. If your stage is in a marquee structure, the same rule applies. Book your marquee, stage & then sound and lighting.

Both staging and marquee structures take many man hours to erect so make sure you plan plenty of time for these structures to be built. Your hire company will be able to advise on this. The other consideration is that no work can be started by any other companies until the marquee/stage has been built so its not unusual for a stage or marquee to be ready 4 – 5 days before the event and not taken down for 2 – 3 days later. Having enough time on site for all this

construction is essential for the smooth running of your event.

When acquiring  sound and lighting quotes its advisable to give as much detail of the event as possible. Audience size, location of the event, style of music & level of bands performing are all essential. Any riders you have received from acts booked should also be included to get the most accurate quotes. If your budget is tight, asking for two price structures is often advisable. This way you can get a quote for a smaller sound system and lighting rig and a larger package. This will help when comparing quotes from different companies. Always include a deadline in quote requests. Doing this guarantees you will be able to sit down at a certain date and look at all options.

Requesting all service providers do a site visit is also an excellent idea. Their experience in events will help them notice things you may have missed. The last thing you want is problems arising that jeopardise the event.

Personal recommendations from friends or business associates that have experience in putting on similar events is always a good idea. Working with a company that has worked on similar events is always reassuring. If you have time, try to go to events they are working at. See the equipment and staff in action and ask yourself if its what you have imagined for your event.

The 900 looks like Pioneers effort at replacing the DJM800 as the industry standard for club DJs. I’m not really sure if they were trying to replace the djm800 with the DJM2000 last year, or in fact what they were thinking by bringing that out. The 900 really does look like its going to be a game changer though. Its Traktor certified so you can use it as a controller for Traktor. It also has a sound card built in, so for DJs using Serato or Traktor, there will be no need to bring one with you to the gig.

The DJM850 sticks with four effects on the colour wheel where as the 900 has six (Two taken from the 2000 I think). With the effects on the right, both the 900 & the 850 have added ‘The spiral’ which is looking like a DJ favorite already so look out for that one. The 900 also has an x-pad to trigger effects in a new, more intuitive way where as the 850 sticks with the same layout as the 800.

The 900 nexus is retailing at £1600.00 with the 850 looking like its going to be £1300. For the extra money, I would get the 900. The 850 looks like a really small upgrade to the 800 with the real star of the show being the 900. For a little inspiration, take a look at the promo video featuring James Zabiela on Youtube

For now, I think the Audio visual companies will be sticking with the 800 and see how the 900 is taken up over the summer festival period before making any decisions on purchases. I really like the look of the 900 though and really look forward to seeing what the DJs can do with it.

Festival Electricity

One thing you need to think about is the power you are supplying at the festival. The more facilities you have at the festival the more power you will need. Sound and lighting systems consume a huge amount of power. The fridges at the bar also draw heavily from the generators as well as a number of other facilities. Generators and distribution (getting power sockets from the generator to the correct places) are usually dealt with by one company but will need to know how much power you need. When dealing with your sound and lighting hire company, its a good idea to get an estimate on how much power they will need when compiling quotes, this way you can approach your power company with estimates of power consumption.

A great generator power calculation tool can be found here. When you know how many amperes (‘amps’) the sound and lighting company will need, you can calculate the Kva required ( Which is what the generator company will need to know). The distance beween your facilities also matters when you consider the cable runs your electricians will need to do. Having a stage separated by a public area from the bar for instance means you will need two generators as you can’t have cables running in public areas. Where as, if the two are connected, you may get away with one, depending on the size of the event. These decisions can substantially effect your costs. Its a good idea to get a rough site plan before approaching companies for solid quotes.

Toilets

For multi day festivals, the first thing you need to think about is the toilet cleaning facilities being able to gain access to the toilets during the festival. For private events such as weddings, there are a whole array of options open to you for ‘posh loo’s’. A quick search on Google and you will find portable toilets with better facilities than your home bathroom! For me personally, a well maintained festival toilet is the sign of good management!

Water

One thing thats really easy to over look is that at any public event your guests need access to free, drinking water on tap. A huge amount of water will need to be supplied for your guests, so don’t over look this cost. Some sites will also require you to take used water off site as well, again, this will add substantial costs to your event and something that needs to be factored in to your budget.

Refuge Collection

Another part of your infastructure budget will have to go on waste disposal. Look for a company with green credentials. There are lots of companies that will dispose of your waste in a green way. Recycling almost all of the waste you generate.

Thats all on utilities for now. Part three will be up soon where we will be looking at sound and lighting options for your event.

Within the next couple of weeks the team will be set up with the live sound equipment they need for live acts. We will be providing PA hire across London with the same punctual, polite service that we pride ourselves on at the Leeds base. For live and DJ based acts we will be providing sound for audiences from 50 to 5000 people with our range of Kv2 Audio EX and ES speakers.

We are working with a number of different companies in the Greater London area supplying DJ equipment hire to venues and events as well as supplying engineers to venues for live events with installed PA in the North London area.

For more information on what we can provide for your event in Leeds or London, please contact us from the contact page or fill in the form on this page.

In this first post I’m going to be looking at the location factors you need to consider when planning a festival. In furute posts I will be looking at sound & lighting, utilities and other factors you need to consider.

One of the most important factors is the location of your event. If this is a small private event such as a wedding or birthday, location isn’t so much an issue. If its a public event with a large amount of people attending, it will have a huge impact on the experience your ticket holders.

For larger events, transport links to the venue are key. Spending eight hours in a queue outside the festival is no ones idea of fun. Another consideration is parking, this is quite often an issue at small private functions and something people over look. Having a way to get people on and off site quickly is key. Private functions such as weddings should spare a thought for the needs of guests to get to and from the event. Are there local taxi firms in the area? Are there local hotels for the guests?

Is the area likely to flood or get very muddy? Sounds stupid but I worked a festival on a floodplain with a high probability of flooding and sure enough after heavy rain the ground became saturated and the area reserved for tents became a lake. Luckily this happened the day before the festival. Mud is part and parcel of a festival but not a private event. If you have a large amount of people in a small area its good to have solutions to deal with mud if there are no tracks laid down.

Space and access for your stage or marquee? You need a large enough space for your marquee or stage but you also need to think about access for the large lorries that will be arriving with the equipment. Difficult access that results in the companies crew carrying the equipment a large distance will result in higher costs and longer build times.

Theres lots more to think about regarding location and we will be dealing with these issues in future posts as they are more relevant to other subjects. Stay tuned.

With the London Olympics and a jam packed festival season, its going to be a very hectic schedule for most London DJ equipment  hire companies but one that we are more than ready for. For dance music fans there will be so much more for them to choose from over the 4 weeks the Olympics are in town with events happening literally everywhere! Tiesto performed at the Athens games, lets hope that London can compete with that kind of standard!

With the winter well and truly setting in at the moment so its refreshing to be taking bookings for the year ahead.  One of my favorites is Outlook Festival in Croatia. A week in the sun and some amazing dance music DJs. This year just got better with the addition of Hideout festival the weekend after, a smaller more underground festival that will be held on the same grounds as Outlook.

Hopefully we will see you at one of the many festivals we will be attending this year!

Firstly you really need to think of the mood people will be in at the time. Choose upbeat positive songs to match the mood of yourself as well as your guests. Remember that there is a long way to go and you don’t want to be playing too many hits too early as there should be no repeats throughout the whole night.

Secondly make sure you don’t get caught short with songs in the playlist. Weddings rarely run on time so add at least an extra hour of songs to the playlist to make sure you have enough. With this in mind, leave your itunes on repeat so if you do come to the end of the playlist the software will go back to the start rather than leaving you in silence.

Pick songs that you both like. The day is supposed to be about you so don’t be shy about expressing your personalities. The worst thing you could do is miss a song because certain guests won’t appreciate it. Make the playlist represent who you are.

Lastly, try and keep the laptop or ipod hidden away. You never know who might decide they want to become the DJ.

If you have any questions or want to add a few suggestions then please just comment or use the contact form!

We’ve worked in bombed out churches, cathedrals & car parks as well as festivals both in the UK and abroad. The summer in Leeds always throws up some challenges but seeing the smiles on clients faces when we make things happen for them makes it all worth it. Next year Onion Audio has some big things planned for Leeds PA hire clients so we are looking forward to moving onwards and providing the best possible service to our clients new and old.

Leeds PA hire clients can expect us to be be busy over the winter months with christmas parties as well as the big one on new years eve. Traditionally Leeds PA hire companies have always been busy over the christmas party season due to a large civic quarter and big office population & over new year a large student population leads to a large amount of parties requiring a sound system!

I my eyes, a sound system is the most important thing at a party or event, so I really enjoy talking to prospective clients who understand the need for one. Allocating a decent amount of budget to your sound system is one of the most important things you will do when organising a party. Without good a sound system, with subwoofers and a crystal clear sound, you create a completely different vibe. And not in a good way!

Whatever you decide to do this winter, we wish you the best and hope to speak soon!

For more information on the PA hire we can provide in the Sheffield area, please visit the PA hire page for packages available, or alternatively contact us for a chat and advice on the event you are hosting.

With the diverse selection of events and cultures in the Sheffield area, Onion Audio have found themselves providing PA for many different events in the city. From Reggae DJ nights to indie band nights as well as wedding events and corporate conference events the events in Sheffield are alive and abundant.

When hiring star cloth, its advised to cover the entire wall with star cloth. If you require star cloth but don’t have the budget to cover a large area, Onion Audio can provide simple blackout cloth when required. This gives a great effect in the place you need it and makes the rest of the area work with the star cloth.

We regularly provide star cloth to large events such as weddings and corporate events along with led uplighting and table center spots. Onion Audio can provide lighting for events of any scale and are happy to talk about your option. Please contact us for a no obligation chat, visit the wedding ideas blog or the wedding sound hire page.