Soundie with rig available

[Just a Sound Bloke]

hi all I have a 5K rig, Digital desk and full lighting rig available UK wide with or without kit. Have worked with many genres of music from classical to rock, covers and tribute to originals. Open to offers, always willing to help out where I can. Looking for one offs or tours. Cheers Nik.

Office 01902 563266 Mobile [phone] or email [e-mail]

[gingerbiscuit69]

5k meaning what?

power means nothing in this day and age

[sw2407]

I agree - most of our amps are around 5K each. (watts, not pounds!)
And several of our mid/tops are around 5K each. (pounds, not watts!)
LOL !

[soundmanjim]

'always willing to help out where I can. Looking for one offs or tours. Cheers Nik'
lol arernt we all.
its getting to the stage (pardon the pun) that i now just hire in systems that people want and then run them.

[Just a Sound Bloke]

There seems to be a lot of bad feeling and snobbery on this forum. I am not as big an operator as some of you guys with your 5K and I mean pound speakers, So what if you have the latest widget from what not. I read in another thread on sits vac that a guy did a gig for £150 and you all pilled in on him..

FFS guys back off a little we aint all big league.

Nik

[gingerbiscuit69]

not snobbery, just people trying to make an honest living being crapped on by the weekend warriers (not accusing you - just a general statement).

i see you have a half decent rig of jbl off studiomaster amps, full dmx lighting rig off a usb dongle etc, definatly above the usual rubbish most dj's offend the publics ears with!

think the general argument on this site is to respect the market prices, sure a bit of healthy competition is just business, but people going that low is a joke.


EXAMPLE!
small gig, load van + travel to gig, 1.5hrs, setup rig and soundcheck, 2hrs, gig, 3-4hrs, packup 1hr, drive home and unload 1hr. total = 9hrs.

fuel in van = £15

leaving £135

assume you would be earning a minimum of £10/hr (which for a pro skilled job, isnt much)

leaves equipment hire at £45.

in the case of a disco, 4hrs use of bulb use will average at say £10 worth of bulb use throughout the rig per disco

now were down to £35

oh, just remembered the van tax and insurance, thats say £15 a week

so now theres £20* left for equipment hire, and 'company profits'.

hardly substainable!!!

(btw - i know this is very basic and numbers are a bit random, but im just trying to show how going out cheap is hurting your own pocket, not just others)

[Just a Sound Bloke]

thanks for that reply.. I did not say I go out for £150 all the time but there are times when local bands cant afford a big hire company for there event. Not wont pay but cant. Even bands like Queen and U2 had to start somewhere and were probably very grateful an engineer helped them out...

I am a DJ cameraman, Photographer sound engineer and hold an HGV class 1 license so enjoy a varied mix of work from high end corporate and wedding work to the basement underground work for new bands. Some times you have to give a little back.

Just my POV on the situation and I do know where your coming from as its the same in the DJ world...

Cheers

Nik

[gingerbiscuit69]

yeah, I DJ, hire in rigs for clubs, and engineer and tech for other companies and venues. very busy at the moment, plymouth seems to be a bit mad with gigs and lack of experienced people.

i used to run my own live sound rig, but after repeative gigs at a loss and just no pottential to get any higher paid gigs i stopped. i still advertise for live sound, and just pass the work to dan @ loudevents, and in return i tend to gain the crew work which ends up paying more than id make doing it myself in the first place after losses.

now im going into the clubbing scene, and building up a nice lighting rig, with trussing etc... and a small EV based PA for the smaller clubs. lighting seems to be making more money due to people not undercutting each other, less weekend warriers etc... for larger nights, a good friend of mine has a MAMOUTH dance oriontated rig.

keep it up is all i can say, the low paying underground and small pub gigs arnt treading on the toes of the larger companies, its when people build up larger rigs and take them into larger venues which the larger companies had regular work in. its this area where things get dirty!

ta, Pat

[soundmanjim]

clubs are crying out for engineers in Eireland - when i was in Galway the promoter was telling me they sometimes have to bring in engineers as far away as Belfast just to get experienced techs; i know where i'm going to move to now if i ever decide to!

[Just a Sound Bloke]

Hi Pat and Jim thanks for the replies.. Ireland sounds good to me.. Would be happy to work over there..

Nik

[loudevents]

Yea, I'm getting more and more depressed and angry with the attitude people seem to give the sound industry. So much so it will probably kill me with stress!

A good example. I had a phone call this evening, around an hour ago, from a person putting together a dance tent for a local festival starting tomorrow - yes TOMORROW! They have been let down last minute and are looking for a quote " 8 - 10k rig with (DJ) mixer to hire from Thursday to Sunday" for a marquee outside. I had a rather wishy-washy reply to the question as to why they had been let down last minute - apparently this person was a friend of theirs and his price was a bit high. What??

Anyway, I talk them through the spec of the system I will be putting in and give them an extremely reasonable price to have it all taken care of - even at this short notice. A short while later, after a series of text messages and a brief conversation with the "client", I was told that her boss is very interested, but quote: "may be seeking a cheaper solution"

I really don't get this. Here we have a major "tent" in this festival without a sound system the evening before it opens. They contact me and I offer a solution to their problems straight away - at a very good price. Yet they continue to mess around all for the sake of a few quid??? Is that all that matters to these bloody idiots? Who knows, I may still get the phone call this evening for the go-ahead.....

Apologies for the rant, I don't normally go on like this on a public forum. - its been a long day and I'm tired and fed up.

Dan

[soundmanjim]

guy i know started a kareoke night at a local bar - it was going fine for two weeks, then the promoter said 'any chance you can cut your fee in half'.

LOL.

anyway he arranged a meet with the guy to arrange possible solutions, but the promoter diodnt turn up. he had simply booked another guy to do the same job. Luckily for my mate, it was a friend of his, and on hearing that my mate had been knocked back, he pulled out.

thats pubs and venues for you.

i blame gordon brown.

[loudevents]

Yes, the entertainment industry does seem to attract the "lowest common denominators" doesn't it?

I went through something on similar lines to what you have just described when I had a residency at a live club in London. When I look back to all the hard work and passion I put into the place, makes me wonder why I was so stupid to do the job in the first place.....

Dan

[sw2407]

Evening guys - just had the opposite story - Phone calls all yesterday about a bad PA. Top acts booked and promoter worried (No names). Anyway, last night at 9pm organised to go out this morning and provide Shure Premier radio mikes, Midas desk, broadcast quality CD players and be "techie" for day. Managed to contact friend and organise 8am pick-up of mikes (which I don't own) and CD player. Arrived on-site 10am and NO-ONE has a clue. Patched desk into awful system and waited for engineer who did not arrive! Had to engineer entire day in belting sunshine. (No water or sunscreen with me - wife had to deliver them) Got them a feed from my desk for live radio broadcast - beyond their guys skills! (got lunch at 3pm just before headline act) didn't get breakfast! Client not bothered about cost now - just wants me back tomorow (another top act) AND full crewed PA put in. Setting up NEXO system 10am tomorrow (not MY first choice, but had to find a crewed system at 5pm tonight)
Will let you know how long it takes to get paid!.......LOL......
Moral may be - keep plugging for quality, don't just cut costs!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the 2nd gig this week we've got on our merits, not on price - Thursday night we did a launch party for the new Honda Accord - easy night and good money. Home by 11pm!

[soundmanjim]

lol yu didnt have to do any skydiving then?