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Working as a mobile disk jockey (DJ) brings with it a number of challenges that a resident club DJ doesn’t have.One of the main issues is the need to carry all of that essential DJ equipment to each and every gig, wherever it is.

I’ve worked as a DJ onboard cruise liners, in a hospital, on the radio and in various clubs but these days I make my money as a mobile DJ. Each week I meet new people with diverse musical tastes in some fantastic locations. I’ve played gigs in stately homes, tents, gardens, onboard ships and yachts and even on a private jet flying to America. It’s the variety that I love about this work, but lets get back to those challenges.

One of the biggest problems that us mobile DJs must overcome is the need to carry all of our equipment to every gig. The club DJ only has to turn up with his selection of records and CDs whereas I need a medium sized van to carry all of my DJ gear.

These days I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic assistant who helps setup and break down my sound and lighting rig at each gig. But back in the old days, before I was commanding a decent fee, I had to do it all myself. The key to selecting equipment for mobile use is compactness. It should ideally be small and as light as possible.

The DJ speakers that I use are the powered variety. This means no need to carry power amplifiers and much simpler system setup. These mean fewer cables to worry about and less that can potentially go wrong. For the past two years I’ve been using an excellent pair of active JBL PA speakers and they have proved to be a fantastic choice.

Another key consideration is lighting. Club DJs rarely need to concern themselves with club lighting systems as these are generally already in place and often have their own dedicated operators. Working as a mobile DJ means we’ve got to do it all ourselves. But luckily these days there are some compact DJ lights that use LEDs making them relatively lightweight, low power and cool.

But I think the most important piece of DJ gear is the music. This isn’t equipment you say, and you’re right. But I’m actually referring to the medium which can be vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and these days MP3 files. This all means that I need some turntables, a CD player, a DVD player and something to play MP3 files. I tend to stick to just one CD player, a pair of Technics decks and my laptop computer. I route all of these through my excellent DJ mixer and I’m just about ready for any requests, from Mantovani to the Wombles.

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