What equipment will I need to bring?

The written contract and rental agreement we have with each venue ensures that they will provide a full PA system and a qualified sound technician that is on staff for that venue or has done work at that venue before. You will never have to bring your own sound person or PA system for our shows. What you need to bring can vary based on what genre of artist you are so please view the below link for more information on what to bring. Also note, the specific sound specs for each venue can vary, so email your Booking Rep if you have any sound questions specific to a certain venue that we offer you.

IF YOU ARE A BAND…

The Venue Will provide:

- The PA System
- The Sound Person
- Vocal Microphones
- Drum and Amp Mics (if needed for the size of the room)
- Mic Cables
- Monitors
- Mic stands

You are responsible to bring:

- All of your own instruments
- Instrument cables
- Amps & cabinets
- Drums, Cymbals, and Hardware

Policy on Sharing Gear: Always bring all of your own instruments, instrument cables, amps, cabinets, drums, cymbals, and hardware to the show. If, once you arrive for artist load-in/check-in, you want to ask other acts if they can share gear with you that is fine. You can always leave gear in the car if you don’t end up using it. This way you always have what you need, even if other acts cannot or will not share gear with you.

IF YOU ARE A HIP-HOP/RAP ACT…

The Venue Will provide:

- The PA System
- The Sound Person
- Vocal Microphones
- Mic Cables
- Monitors
- Mic stands

You are responsible to bring:

- A “Backtrack” CD or a CD w/ your beats (will be played through the PA)
- You Own Turntables (if you use them)

IMPORTANT: Regarding Your Backtrack CD
It is best if you bring multiple copies of the backtracks you are going to use. In some cases, artists have brought only one “backtrack” CD and it ended up that the CD was scratched! So they could not perform as planned. So, bring MULTIPLE copies of your Backbeats CD so that IF something is wrong with one of them you can still perform the show. Also don’t make your entire 30 minute set one track on your CD, in case something happens to that track. Make each song its own track and that way IF something is corrupted or scratched on one track it will only affect one song and not ruin your entire set.

 

IF YOU ARE AN ELECTRONIC/DJ ACT…

The Venue Will provide:

- The PA System
- The Sound Person
- Vocal Microphones
- Mic Cables
- Monitors
- Mic stands

You are responsible to bring:

- Your Own MIDI Controller (if you use one)
- Your Own Turntables (if you use them)
- Your Own Laptop (if you use one)
- Any cables or adapters you need to hook your equipment into the system via XLR or 1/4″ jacks
- Any other equipment or cables/cords/hook ups you normally gig with

IMPORTANT: Regarding Your Electronic/DJ Equipment
The venue will have a standard multi-channel sound board that is setup to accommodate full bands and live hip hop acts. You will need to bring whatever cables, cords, plug ins, etc. that you would need to hook your gear into a standard sound board. If you have specific concerns about this please contact the venue or your Booking Rep. You may also want to bring a table to put your gear on IF you have a specific table or setup you prefer to gig with. The venues normally have tables but they may be a height or size that is not to your liking.

Policy on Sharing Gear: Always bring the items listed above in the “You are responsible to bring” section. Once you arrive for the show you are welcome to share gear with other acts/DJ’s, or use their gear, if you want to work that out with them. But you must bring the gear you need in case acts are not willing to share, or in case an act cancels or has an emergency. The last thing we need is for one DJ to be in charge of an important piece of equipment and then somehow not show up. Bring all of the gear you need, you can always leave it in your car and not use it if you end up deciding to share gear with another act/DJ once you arrive at the venue.

 

IF YOU ARE A SOLO/ACOUSTIC ACT…

The Venue Will provide:

- The PA System
- The Sound Person
- Vocal Microphones
- Mic Cables
- Monitors
- Mic stands

You are responsible to bring:

- All of your own instruments
- Instrument cables (if needed)
- Amps & cabinets (if needed)
- Any drum/percussion equipment needed

YOUR OPTIONS FOR ACOUSTIC GUITARS:
For acoustic guitars, you’ve got several options. Whichever works best for you is fine. Below is a description of each, what to bring for each, and any disadvantages for that particular option.

1. Bringing an AMP that will be mic’ed through the PA System
This is recommended, because you have complete control over what your guitar sounds like with your amp settings. Then the sound person will just mic up your amp through the PA System. If you do not have an amp, that is fine there are other options below.

2. Mic’ing up your Acoustic Guitar through the PA System
You can just have a microphone set up onstage that you stand/sit next to that mics your acoustic guitar. The only disadvantage to this is that you are “glued” to that one spot because if you move the microphone won’t pick up what you are playing as well.

3. Plugging in Direct through the PA System
You can plug your acoustic guitar “direct” into the PA System. However to do this you need to have either a guitar pickup, or a 1/4″ jack with acoustic pickup built into the guitar. The majority of the clubs we work with have Direct Boxes at the venue, but you may want to bring your own Direct Box if you choose to do this just to be safe.