What you can expect to be included in your PA hire
Saturday, February 11, 2012
When you are putting on an event that requires the rental of a sound system, you already have more than enough to think about and remember on your to do list. So, it is worth finding out from the start what your PA hire will entail, to avoid any last minute stresses or confusion with your service or the cost of the service. As a PA hire Manchester company, we can give you an outline of what you can expect to be included in your sound system rental.
Firstly of course will be the size and specifications of the public address (PA) system itself. This will depend on the number of audience you are catering for and the size of the event venue. Different sound system requirements need to be taken into account if you are planning an event outdoors or in a building where it may not be so easy to load in equipment or get access to where the stage will be. For example some historic buildings like churches need to be checked beforehand. The size of the PA also is of significance for how loud you want your entertainment to be. If it is merely serving as background music then we need to be aware of this as smaller systems would suffice in a larger space. Also,
You can hire the PA and expect it to be installed by specialist audio engineers. Some companies include delivery and pick up of the system within the fee, but for others it may incur an extra cost to deliver the system. Do check this beforehand. The engineer or engineers may also be able to stay with the PA during the event, especially if microphones or live bands are involved. Again it is strongly recommended to clarify is there is a fee for this in advance of your occasion.
Playback devices for your music or sound should also be available. Do discuss the options and what you really want. Will you be playing back music from CD or MP3, or maybe you will be having a DJ provide the musical entertainment. The DJ equipment can cater for those preferring to use vinyl too, as decks cross platform equipment is usually provided nowadays.
You may also require a microphone for speeches, hosts or comperes, this requires setting up, installing and managing. If you are planning on having some live music then all the microphones and engineering of the performing artists or bands can be taken care of by your PA hire company. To reduce stress and risk of embarrassing technical hiccups on the day, it can be well worth paying a bit extra to have a skilled live audio engineer to take care of the bands and live music delivery for you. Your band or performing artist will be likely to enjoy and give a better performance if they are well looked after and supported by an engineer.
As well as providing all the cables and microphones for your intended live music performances, you may also be able to hire musical instruments such as guitar amps and keyboards. Instrument stands can also be added to your equipment list. It is important to get a full technical specifications from any visiting artists or bands. Keyboard stands such as the Quiklok keyboard stand are reliable and sturdy and can also be useful for laptops when a shelf is put in place.