Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa in Blackburn has two function rooms, one fairly small and one very large. The largest is called the Pendle Suite and upon first seeing this room my immediate concern was how to distribute sound and indeed how much power I would need to fill such a large room with decent volume. Good distribution of the audio and creating a fantastic sound plays is an essential part to the success of any event and being adaptable played a key roll in this particular room. My heart would have sank if I simply had one pair of average speakers for this room, it’s always a worry when trying to push a PA system beyond it’s capability and only filling one side of the room with sound can have such a negative effect on the atmosphere, or even being heard clearly when making important announcements. To resolve the issue, I used wireless technology to send an audio signal to 2 x 18inch Bass bins and mid-range top speakers placed towards the back of the room, and 2 FBT line array speakers which I placed on the stage. The wireless system allowed me to adjust the volume on the speakers at the back of the room independently to get that perfect balance. Using numerous speakers spread out around the room enables a crystal clear sound with good head room for serious volume if required, but this configuration also retains the ability for people to have conversations comfortably without being overpowered by the music. If you are reading this and considering hiring a DJ or a band, I would highly recommend speaking to them about their sound system and if possible, using a similar configuration to what I used. However, I did notice the venue has it’s own PA system installed, and although I never asked the venue, it might be well worth asking if the use of their system in an option for your DJ or band if you have not booked me. The in-house system lacks bass bins, but it does have numerous midrange speakers throughout the room and it sounds pretty good too. Whether you are another DJ, band or a client who has booked the Pendle Suite, I hope this little write-up has helped in the planning of your event/gig. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
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Apart from being one of the worse places to load equipment into, the Stannylands Hotel in Wilmslow is a wonderful place to hold your event. Professional and friendly staff, lovely hotel, great food and a fantastic events room with a small balcony. Fantastic room for the acoustics too, anyone who reads my various blogs will know my thoughts on this particular subject. Rooms with great acoustics really do make a massive difference to the party atmosphere and peoples enjoyment of the music. However, due to the difficulty in loading into this venue, I am currently considering charging slightly more for this hotel. Who needs the gym when you have heavy equipment, stairs and a venue room far away from the main door!
The West tower country house hotel in Ormskirk is another one of those venues that requires some extra help with the acoustics. Typically, the DJ is expected to setup in the centre of the room with the seating areas to each side. This means that the sound from the main speakers is projected mainly onto the dance floor area, but the seating areas tend to have the less pleasing sound frequencies projecting from the side of the main speakers. As you may already know, I’m a great advocate in the importantence of good acoustics, and a great sound certainly makes a massive difference to the party atmosphere and ultimately the enjoyment of the music. In order to resolve this issue in this particular venue I used my favourite go to tool, a pair a wireless speakers facing in a more appropriate direction in a different part of the function room. The wedding planner was initially skeptical of this idea due to seating being directly under the speakers, However, I did offer the reassurance that the audio volume to these speakers can be independently controlled from the main system and having extra speakers meant better sound distribution, therefore less overall volume would be needed to individual speakers. The result was fantastic, it sounded great! You can just make out the wireless speakers on each side of the stairs.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about any of the venues in my blog, or indeed if you are looking for a wedding DJ in the North West. I would be happy to answer any of your questions. Didsbury House Hotel has to be one of my favourite hotels and small wedding venues. It’s extremely well kept, the staff are friendly and very professional, and apart from working at this wonderful venue as a wedding DJ, I have also had the pleasure of staying here once, loved it! By the way, my FBT line array speakers sound awesome in the front room and this adds to whole experience of the party atmosphere.
Fairfield Golf and Sailing Club is a great venue for any celebration, friendly and professional staff, well kept venue and it has great acoustics. In the picture above I am using 4 podiums at the request of the client, it’s a good job I have a big van! From my point of view, the only downside is that the function room is on the first floor, but it does has a lift.
Are you looking to book a wedding venue in Manchester for your event? Well, I have some advice for your consideration.
having spent many years of being a wedding and party DJ in Manchester, and working at most of Manchester’s different venues, I have developed a fantastic sense of what can only be described as ‘venue feng shui’ From a clients prospective some venues have a striking visual aesthetics which certainly contributes towards the overall feel and the decision to actually booking the venue. However, there are other aspects of a venue that can only be gained by the wisdom, insight and experience from playing at so many venues. Acoustics, room layout and sound limiters are three important considerations that probably wouldn’t even cross the clients mind when viewing venues, but these important considerations can help make or even quash the evening celebrations and party atmosphere. Room layout: The ideal room layout would contain all the guest in one main space as opposed to a few separate rooms. It’s very difficult for DJ’s to create a party atmosphere when guest are distributed between two or more rooms. In order for a DJ to know they are playing right kind of music and build a rapport with the audience, it’s essential the DJ can see most of the audience. (Awkward shaped rooms can sometimes be a challenge, but this can be overcome by adding extra wireless speakers) Acoustics: The acoustics are extremely important, sound bouncing and echoing around a room most certainly is not pleasant experience for your guest. As the Tesco catch phrase states, every little helps, and good acoustics means an enjoyable musical experience for everyone. Bad acoustics can also make it difficult to gain guests full attention when making important announcements, for example, the announcement of the first dance at a wedding or guests not being able to hear clearly when the speeches are in progress. It can be difficult to decipher what room has good acoustics without actually testing it with a PA system, but as a rule of thumb, if it’s a large hall, stone walls, or very high ceiling and not much soft furnishing, the chances are the room may suffer from bad acoustics. However, some of these issues can be improved slightly by distributing extra speakers around the venue. sound limiters! These pesky nuisances are often installed where venues have residential neighbours. Some venues have them set extremely low and as people absorb sound, the more guest you have, the quieter the music will sound. Most venues will not be forth coming in volunteering the fact that they have a sound limiter installed. It’s always a good idea to ask the venues co-ordinator if they have one before making your decision to book. For those who are not sure what a sound limiter does……if the volume goes beyond the set limit, the mains power is cut to the DJ or band! I hope the above is helpful, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Best wishes DJ Dave Jones The The White Hart Inn at Lydgate WeddingsThe The White Hart Inn at Lydgate is one of my favourite wedding venues, However, with all the dense wooden beams it certainly needs a decent sound system. It's surprising how the sound gets absorbed in this particular venue by the thick wooden beams. In this particular picture there are six speakers around the DJ booth, but if it's a full house I resort to distributing the speakers around the room to give a more balanced audio. I achieve this using a wireless system, so no long cables to worry about. The LOVE letters are my 5ft tall versions with a dimmer attached so I can turn the brightness down once the party is in full swing, If you are looking for a wedding DJ in Saddleworth, or indeed a wedding DJ for any venue in the North West of England, I would be more than happy to answer any of your questions in relation to my services.
I have recently worked at the Berni inn for a wedding DJ, and there are a few things that make this venue a fantastic choice for your event. Firstly, Bernie the owner and manager is very hands on and really cares about every small detail, it’s rare that a venue owner takes such a hands on approach and effort. Secondly, the acoustics in the room are great, perhaps how the music will sound in a venue is not always at the forefront of someone’s mind when booking a venue, but great acoustics really does make a difference, it simply means people will enjoy clarity of the music and this in turn adds to the overall experience, especially if you love music. Finally, the place is kept very clean and tidy, lots of parking, easy access, the food in amazing and the staff, just like Bernie, are extremely professional, flexible and very friendly.
I'm very happy playing music from all the different decades, from the golden oldies to the latest charts, but sometimes I get asked by clients if I can mix music! So to demonstrate my mixing skills I have included a few mix examples below, from RnB and club classics to the 1980's, simply click on the play button on any or all of the mix examples below if you have the time, enjoy!
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Dave Jones (DJ)
I often take the time
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September 2023
Wedding DJ
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