Karaoke Forums

Honestly. How long does it take you to set up? How long to tear down?

Mine depends.

I don't always bring my lights.

Sometimes I just DJ.

Occasionally no sub.

When I bring everything, it's about 50 minutes from unlocking the trailer to satisfactory sound check. Then I put out the books.

Since I'm mobile, I use small carpets and some painters tape to attach the carpets to the floor and sometimes a few cables/cords to the floor if not covered by the carpets. I also use the velcro strips (used to wrap cables/cords for storage) to snug up cables to the mains/sub and the LCD monitors to the monitor stand. I just think it looks more professional. I've always been very safety conscience. I supposed it comes from my manufacturing background. I don't want anyone tripping over my stuff and getting hurt. Or hurting my stuff. My rack sets on a keyboard tray stand with a hinged pressed board on top of the stand with a black or purple sheet hiding the stand, board, and wiring underneath.

Lights are about 7 minutes or so.

DJ easy to set up, no sound monitor, no lyrics monitor, one mic vs 3, no books. 25 minutes, even with the lights.

Tear down is quicker obviously. The same set up that took 50 minutes is about 35 to 40 minutes to tear down and lock up trailer

I often get offers to help, the only help I ever accept is to carry stuff to the trailer. I want everything put back exactly where I know it is for ease of next set up.

So let's hear your mobile set up and tear down stories!

_________________
KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I just did an outdoor anniversary show for my current club. We used 2 dual 18" subs, 2 dual 15" cabs, 2 12" floor monitors, 4 mics. 1 amp rack (3 Carvin DCM2000), 1 10 unit effects rack, Mixer rack, laptop, cdg player, video monitor. Setting up completely from unload off the truck to ready took about 20 -30 minutes.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

My last gig was dj only and aside from my laptop, speakers and cd player, the rest of my equipment is inside my rack and hooked up to go. My last gig took 25 minutes to setup, with most of the time being load in. Approximate 15 minutes tear down time including load out. It always takes less time to load in than to load out.

_________________
The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

75m min.
Lighting takes longer than sound.
Then I do put a goal post up in a confined area and cover it with camouflage netting before putting the lights on it.

From hauling in to ready to play takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes, depending on venue. I don't use lights.
Tear down and load out takes a little longer, approx. 30 minutes. I want my cords wrapped properly and everything put away in the right place!

Approximately 1 hour 45 min. to set up. Hour and a half to tear down. This is from the time i start unloading til sound check, and time I shut everything down til it is loaded in vehicle. I have everything seperated, down to the very last cord. Everything gets wound, put back in it's proper container, and loaded. Set up is starting from scratch every time. This is setting up table, 3 monitor hook-ups, mixer, laptop, cdg player, banners, and disco balls. Yeah, I know I'm slow, but that's how I do things, gotta make sure every connection is perfect each time. Maybe I'll eventually get faster. My girlfriend helps with the loading, and unloading, the rest is up to me.

Rosario

Fastest striped down DJ gig w/ laptop, speakers, mixer 10 mins to setup, 5 mins to tear down.


Full system setup karaoke/dj with lights and all the extras, about 2 hrs to setup, 1 hour to tear down. Only do this about 3 times a year thank god.


On average I say 20 mins to setup and 10 to tear down.

Half-hour in, half hour out. Seriously, unless I'm putting up the truss (which takes a lot more time, mostly due to more wiring required) my combined load-in and setup time for the complete rig with lights on trees is 30 minutes. Tear down and load out, with everything properly and neatly put away, packed in the van correctly and ready to roll down the road, another 30 minutes.

For me there are a few keys to this. First is having as many things ready to connect or already connected as possible. I have 6 receivers in my wireless rack that get connected to the mixer. All the cables are plugged into the receivers at all times, loomed together and all I have to do is take off the covers, pull them out and plug them in. Second key is having a system. I know exactly what cords, cables, etc. I'm using for what, I take them all out of the cable bin first and lay them (or toss them) near where they need to go. I do one area at a time, working from one side of the "stage" to the other. On tear down I am equally methodical and I don't dilly dally. If people come up to talk, I talk to them while I'm still wrapping, folding, collapsing, whatever. The third key for me is practice. Working stages for bands I've learned how to tear this stuff down fast. At festivals, where you have multiple bands coming on and off, we can have our bands off the deck completely, 10 minutes after the last song ends. I'm very quick at wrapping cables and cords in the proper fashion and that definitely helps.

_________________
DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

It's usually 45 minutes for me for the big setup, but that's because I don't do it that often. Also, I tend to use a slightly different rig every time. It would be 15 minutes faster if I had the wireless mic and the video hookup set up in the rack ready to go.

When I was gigging twice a week, it was about 35 minutes from roll in the first rack to checking mics. If I were going to do it on a longterm basis, I would definitely build the computer into the rack and have that all ready to go at switch on. At that point, it would take me a consistent 20 minutes. Roll in the rack, roll in the speakers, hook the 4 speaker wires up (one sub, two tops, one monitor), set up the mic stands and monitors. Put out the books -- done.

Teardown is just a bit quicker, but not too much, because I like to take the time to talk to people and wind cords properly. I have a song (Canadian Railroad Trilogy) I usually put on while I am picking up books, winding mic cords, and holstering the wireless mic. And usually people are talking to me, complimenting the sound and show, etc.

(Note -- I almost never do lights, so that takes me 30 minutes by itself. I basically do it on New Year's Eve, and not any other time.)

_________________
[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

My typical gig is setting up two S115V's on stands, putting up a single light tree, plugging everything into my rack, plugging in my laptop, connecting to the house video system, and turning everything on and doing a level/eq/sound check.

From the time I pull into the parking lot, till the time i'm playing my first DJ song is about 15 minutes if i'm hustling, but if i'm taking my time, more like 30.

Tear down is usually more like 30 to 40 minutes.. mainly because i've got people wanting to talk as i'm packing up.

No fancy DMX lighting or trusses or any of that.. just the one 4 light tree running off a dedicated controller that hangs right off the tree.. and my amp, compressor, reverb, board, wireless, all that stuff is built into a walk in, plunk it down rack.

One of these days i'd like to add a powered sub.. just because I do run DJ stuff throughout the night, and it would be nice to get tighter bottom end thump for the dance music, but I can't see that adding any significant amount of time to the setup.

When I first got into this biz I used to take over an hour to set up.. I had all these amps and DMX lighting.. laser stuff, I went all out. 2 -18" subs on both sides, and a mid cab with 2 15's and high compression horns, the whole shootin' match.

All I got out of it was more work and twice as tired. The older I get, the more i'm all about the K.I.S.S. method.

Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Tear down always goes faster for me, but reading what you guys are posting here I should probably try to change some of what I'm doing. I'm not nearly as quick as some of you.

Alone, hubby can have it in and set up and be home (5 minutes) in 30 minutes. We use SM350s, a powered sub, a small DJ rack, a PC shuttle, a flatscreen, cordless mouse, and cordless keyboard, all set up on a table. If I'm helping tear down, we're usually out and in the car on the way home in 20 minutes. Sometimes I use lights, but that's just a simple tree with four pars and a foot control under my table. Both of my regular gigs have lights already so only private gigs get the lights.

I allow an hour for setup, but it really only takes about 45 minutes. I do not like to rush things while setting up.

Break down, loud out takes exactly 30 minutes.

I give myself plenty of time for set up, about an hour to load in and set up fully. Tear down and load is about 35 minutes, because I wanna go HOME! If I use the lights (about half the time) add another 3 -5 minutes for both. My rack is already set up, but about a third of my time is unloading and loading.

It takes me about an hour bring in the equipment and set up. Less if I have help. Add another 45min. with lights. Tear down is about 30-40 min. I do not rush. I allow myself plenty of time which has always been a big help.

About 20-25 mins from parking to until music is played.

This it at my steady gigs ...if I do a private party etc it's usally doubled to find exactly were everything needs to go

That's a total of almost 3 hours setting up and tearing down ..... If this is for a regular karaoke gig you need a better system ( or 2 more girlfriends )

I keep my amp/mixer/effects rack at my venue, all prewired. I have to transport my main speakers, subs, monitor speaker, books, and speaker/mic stands.

I have my system set up to play background music in about 15 minutes, then spend about another 15 minutes hooking up everything else (karaoke computer to TVs/microphones). At the end of my show, I also play about 10 minutes worth of music while I break down my mics/karaoke computer/monitor speakers/books. By the time my "show" is over, it takes me 15 minutes to have everything else loaded and ready to go.

_________________
C Mc
KJ, FL

As I've stated, not a pro and no fancy equipment, system is set up and ready at all times, simply power on, plug in mic's and we're ready... takes about 3 minutes if I forgot to bring the mic's from home............................... Peace, S.

_________________
"I think people should be allowed to do anything they want. We haven't tried that for a while. Maybe this time it'll work." George Carlin R.I.P (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008)

Jam, this IS a "regular" show, but I think I'm getting better at it, I think I cut about 3 minutes off the last set-up time. At that rate, in a year, I should be close to an hour for set-up.

Rosario