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Thread: Setup up advice needed

  1. #1
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    Setup up advice needed

    First off let me start by saying I am not a DJ or pretend to be one, I am simply looking for some advice.

    My wife is a dance instructor and has decided that she wants to start hosting a monthly Salsa night at various venues around town. Some of the venues are small banquet type rooms and others are medium size event centers. I would think that in the beginning the turn out will be small (maybe 50 people) and will grow from there. She has also proposed the idea of a couple of outdoor events when the weather is nice.

    She recently upgraded her speakers in her studio to (2) Alto TS312 tops with no subs and she will be using these when she goes out of the studio. These work well for salsa music since it typically does not have a lot of bass, by the end of the salsa nights there will probably be some more modern dance music being played and I don't feel like the 12's will be able to handle this alone. I am willing to spend the money to buy a sub or two and that is where my question comes in. Would one 18's sub be enough or would I be better off with two? For the smaller venues I am sure one would work with no problem and may even have to turn it down, but I am worried about the bigger venues. My understanding is the main goal is the focus the sound on the dance floor but not have it loud where people are sitting so they can still hold conversations.

    Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    Moderator DJ Bobcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jayrod View Post
    First off let me start by saying I am not a DJ or pretend to be one, I am simply looking for some advice.

    My wife is a dance instructor and has decided that she wants to start hosting a monthly Salsa night at various venues around town. Some of the venues are small banquet type rooms and others are medium size event centers. I would think that in the beginning the turn out will be small (maybe 50 people) and will grow from there. She has also proposed the idea of a couple of outdoor events when the weather is nice.

    She recently upgraded her speakers in her studio to (2) Alto TS312 tops with no subs and she will be using these when she goes out of the studio. These work well for salsa music since it typically does not have a lot of bass, by the end of the salsa nights there will probably be some more modern dance music being played and I don't feel like the 12's will be able to handle this alone. I am willing to spend the money to buy a sub or two and that is where my question comes in. Would one 18's sub be enough or would I be better off with two? For the smaller venues I am sure one would work with no problem and may even have to turn it down, but I am worried about the bigger venues. My understanding is the main goal is the focus the sound on the dance floor but not have it loud where people are sitting so they can still hold conversations.

    Thanks in advance
    I used Alto TS112W’s for a while, then TS110A’s over TSSUB15’s. That setup was easily good for 200-250 people. Two TS312’s with an 18” sub should provide similarly adequate coverage. I wouldn’t want to lug an 18” sub around, which is why I’m using EVOX-8’s now.


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  3. #3
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    Thanks for the reply! Guess I was over thinking this whole thing. Searching around on the internet had most people saying that they use 18's so wasn't sure how smaller subs would do. She really wants to see this thing grow so did not want to have music that was really weak. I guess the good thing is I don't have to move this setup around night after night.

    Ideally a DJ with the right equipment would be best but for right now door admission would not be enough to cover the cost of one. We have hired some really great ones over the years and they definitely make a difference!

    The engineering side of me tried to find a way to calculate what was needed based on room size and number of people but way to may variables in the equation so figured I would turn to the experts here

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jayrod View Post
    Thanks for the reply! Guess I was over thinking this whole thing. Searching around on the internet had most people saying that they use 18's so wasn't sure how smaller subs would do.
    Modern music genres are very bass heavy that is why you see that, when I DJ'd full time back in the '80's and '90's my rig didn't include any subs at all but a modern version of that rig that I now have includes a pair of double 18 subs that are 2x more powerful than the tops

    Quote Originally Posted by Jayrod View Post
    The engineering side of me tried to find a way to calculate what was needed based on room size and number of people but way to may variables in the equation so figured I would turn to the experts here
    With lots of experience it is possible to better estimate what will be sufficient for an event but still sometimes it doesn't work out as you thought and you end up with an overkill system or what you thought was overkill is only just adequate. The biggest factors affecting this are the music types and end user expectations, and given what you describe I think a single 15" or 18" would be a good start.. add another later if you feel the need. There isn't a high difference in output between the 15 and 18 sub version in any given line which is to say the 15 will still produce a surprising amount of output, and the 15 is smaller and easier to move so it is a good option for those that don't need maximum output per dollar spent. I won't suggest a 12" sub as I think it will leave you wanting, no you don't need a sub at all for Salsa but play any other genre and suddenly the 12" sub sounds weak...and honestly I am yet to hear a 12" pro sub that doesn't sound weak.
    Last edited by conanski; 03-09-2019 at 05:49 PM.
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    Sounds good! I will give one sub a try. The Alto tops do not have a high pass filter built in so looks like I will probably go with an Alto sub since it has the high pass built in. The specs on these are not as impressive as other brands so hopefully just one 18 will do.

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    Moderator DJ Bobcat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jayrod View Post
    Sounds good! I will give one sub a try. The Alto tops do not have a high pass filter built in so looks like I will probably go with an Alto sub since it has the high pass built in. The specs on these are not as impressive as other brands so hopefully just one 18 will do.
    Not trying to rain on your parade or anything, but as a former owner of a number of Alto Speakers, you should be warned (if you don’t already know) that Alto TS312’s are “budget” level speakers. For the price, they are OK, but I would suggest that you NOT use them outside when it’s warm. Alto in their infinite wisdom stopped putting cooling fans in the Truesonic tops with the release of the 2 series. They do get hot when driven hard, which goes to my second warning... I never had an Alto speaker fail me, but I bought mine knowing their limitations. They are not speakers you can drive hard for 3-4 hours. That’s a mistake many owners of Alto speakers make, and they blow their speakers. The warranty on Alto’s is just one year, so if you blow it, you might as well toss it, cause getting it repaired can be a hassle. I sold all my Alto speakers when I upgraded except for a pair of TX-8’s I use as monitors. I kinda wish I had kept my TS112W’s; those speakers sounded great and had built-in Bluetooth, which could have come in handy a couple of times after I sold them. Good luck to you!😊

  7. #7
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    I'll add my two cents & I'll say up front that some here may not agree because of the genres & events that most here play & what they need for their styles.

    I am an older DJ.. I'll be 60 this year. I am an old school DJ. I don't mix or scratch etc. I don't play events that are completely Hip Hop, Rap, House, RNB, Under Ground etc. I do mix some of those in with older stuff. I play a variety of 1950's to current. Country, Oldies, Pop, Rock, Disco, Hip Hop & a very little Rap but I do mix some in.

    I don't use a stand alone sub. I have a set of Peavey SP4's which are 3 way speakers & have two 12"s along with a mid & a tweeter. You will never use these. These are for larger events & venues. So don't do much research on these other than to get an idea of what I am talking about.

    Otherwise, my go to speakers for weddings of up to 200 people in an average venue is a set of Yamaha DBR12's. They have one 12 is sub & a tweeter. These are two way speakers. I do not use an extra sub. I'll admit, I don't have all that thump that you'd need for a night club atmosphere. Most of the guys here on DJF, play the clubs. We do have some mobile jocks here but again, most enjoy listening to & playing current, more modern "bassy" styles of music.

    Just FYI, 2019 will put me at 17 years in the mobile DJ business, playing weddings, birthdays, high school reunions etc. Playing without a sub works fine for my situation. Would a sub add to it? Yes. Do I need it to do what I do? No. Are my clients happy with what I provide? Yes.

    A Chevy Tahoe, a GMC Yukon & a Cadillac Escalade are all the same thing, just more options/expensive than the other. You can take a fender off of either & stick it right on the other. They are the same vehicle.
    Would an Escalade add to the experience over a Tahoe? Yes. Will a Tahoe work & be just fine for you as opposed to a Tahoe? Yes. Do you NEED an Escalade? No. In the end, its all about preference & what you want to deliver. Do you want the absolute best sound? Is the extra expense going to be worth the price for your specific need?

    Dont get me wrong, again, a sub will certainly add to it. If nothing else, for your personal preference. But for what I do, its not worth the extra price & it CERTAINLY ain't worth me lugging that thing around to get set up etc.

    The bottom line is, there are good two way tops out there that may work for you just fine. Just get some feed back & find out what speakers will work best for your specific situation, without having to buy a sub. Now, understand, I am not trying to talk you out of a sub if that's what you want. I just want you to know that there are options out there that will work, without buying a sub.

    Good luck.
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    That is good to know. We have not had to push these speakers hard and have not used them outside so we will definitely keep this in mind. I am kind of stuck with them now since I am beyond the return period. Like I said I am not a DJ so hopefully they will last for a little while.

  9. #9
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    DIX thanks for the advice! Now I understand why so many of the searches I have done recommended multiple subs. I guess it is like having a stock stereo in a car, it works perfectly fine but some people prefer the added bass of a sub or two

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