Ugh! All the Other Wedding DJs Have Better Equipment Than I…

by Chris Brower
Last Updated: June 21, 2022

If you follow any wedding DJs on social media, it can sometimes seem like every other DJ has better equipment than you.

Slicker, newer, shinier.

Some DJs are real gear-heads and are constantly upgrading and showing off their new gadgets.

While you may have decent DJ lights, they look like they could put on a Pink Floyd light show at a huge amphitheater or something.

While your speakers are a traditional black color and sit atop speaker stands, theirs are white and in an all-in-one speaker column like the Electro-Voice Evolve 50* or other similar models.

Ugh…

It can be easy to feel inadequate or that maybe your equipment is not good enough. It’s normal to feel like this makes you “less” of a DJ, that you may be providing inferior quality to your couples and their guests.

Are you?

Let’s dig into some considerations.

**Are There Problems With Your Equipment?**

Certainly the equipment you have may be bad. Are crackly sounds coming out of your speakers, and you can’t fix it?

Are your speakers or stands dented or scratched up and look bad?

Is your mixer prone to overheating and unreliable? Are there not enough inputs for what you need?

So yes, certainly if your equipment sounds bad, isn’t reliable, or has other problems that you can’t fix, then you for sure need new equipment!

But if it sounds good enough and you’re okay with it, it’s probably best to stick with it.

For example, I use Electro-Voice ZLX-12P speakers as my DJ speakers. Are these the absolute, #1, best speakers ever? No! Of course not. But I think they sound really good, and they were a reasonable price. They’ve continued to sound great and have been reliable for years, so I’m sticking with them.

Certainly, I considered cooler, more top-of-the-line speakers. But many of those were five or more times as expensive, and I wasn’t convinced that that extra expense was worth it.

What Kind of Events Do You Do?

DJs can do all kinds of events.

If you’re doing weddings, school dances, and other relatively small events (say 300 people or fewer), then you have different equipment requirements than someone providing audio for huge business conferences and other BIG events.

Wedding DJs typically don’t need eight microphones or a mixer with 32 channels. They typically don’t need six humongous speakers made for football stadiums.

It can be easy to see DJs with huge speakers, their rack systems with multiple pre-amps, and feel like you’re not cutting it with your smaller setup. But that’s probably not the case.

Ready for the complete guide to becoming a wedding DJ? Here you go.

The More You Have, the Harder It Is to Transport!

Every piece of equipment you have you have to transport to the wedding. The bigger the equipment and the more stuff you have, the more time it takes to set up/tear down and the more room you’ll need in your car.

While I’m not advocating having a very skimpy setup that isn’t adequate, I would generally caution against bringing so much stuff that you have to rent a 15′ Uhaul van and take five hours to set up.

Hey, I get it! I’m a drummer. In high school, I put together a humongous drum set, with four toms and eight or more cymbals, like something you’d see in an ’80s music video. While this was fun, it cost a lot and took so long to set up and tear down that I eventually reverted to a much smaller (and frankly, better) setup.

Worth the Expense?

You’re running a wedding DJ business. This is probably not just a hobby for you. Thus, as a responsible business owner, you need to be mindful of expenses.

Any money you spend on equipment lowers your overall profit. And a wedding DJ business can get expensive.

When you’re consider buying more expensive items or upgrading what you have, it’s worth really thinking if the expense is worth it.

Again, you don’t want to scrimp on everything or use sub-par equipment, but maybe the $100 mixer will serve you just as well as the $300 mixer. Maybe the $200 wireless microphone is as good (or close enough) to the $800 one.

More expensive equipment doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll make more money or even be perceived as better than other DJs.

Cool Equipment Does Not Always = Good DJ

Couples and their guests are more interested in DJs who play great music, provide clear/non-annoying emceeing, and are easy and fun to work with.

The slickest, fanciest equipment, meh.

Remember why you’re there and what services you provide. That’s where you should be focusing more of your attention rather than chasing over the latest, trendiest equipment.

Do Couples and Guests Even Notice or Care?

Most couples and their guests won't notice your DJ equipment or particularly care, unless something particularly stands out about it.

Most couples and their guests are not audio engineers that can detect minor improvements in audio quality. Most won't think, "Aw, man, why isn't he using a better subwoofer?"

If your equipment is malfunctioning or sounds legit bad, then okay, they might notice. Otherwise, they probably won't.

On the other hand, DJ lights, are something couples and their guests may notice because those are visual.

Having quality DJ lights is an important part of providing a great dancing experience. But in most cases, two or three lights will do. For example, the Chauvet DJ Mini Kinta is a simple, small light that provides a lot of colors, shapes, and power. You may be able to get by with just that.

Just beware of overdoing it. People (and photographers) get sick of strobe lights or super intense spotlights. People shouldn't be furiously blinking or struggling to safely walk around the room because the lights are so overpowering or disorienting.

In general, lighting is where often less is more.

**The Look of Your Equipment Is Important**

You do want a nice look to your equipment and setup. This is something the couple and their guests may notice. It's also something that signals you're a professional, not that ubiquitous "cousin" that couples are always hiring to save a few bucks.

That doesn't mean you have to have fancy or expensive equipment. It just means making sure your equipment isn't visually bad, such as having big scratches or dents. It means making sure cords look organized and are taped down with gaffer tape so there aren't crazy strands of cords everywhere (which look bad and are a tripping hazard).

Keep your DJ table clean and organized too. Or better yet, put a DJ facade around your table (as shown in the photo above), as that makes for a clean look (and hides a lot of equipment or stuff on your table!).

If your equipment looks bad and sloppy, then yes, it may be worth buying new items or spending some money on a DJ facade to really clean up your look.

Conclusion

Equipment envy is normal. But if your equipment sounds and looks good, then don't let yourself fall victim to constantly upgrading your equipment just to seem cool and trendy. You'll eat up the money you've made from your wedding DJ business, and chances are most guests won't even notice or particularly care. That said, if your equipment visually looks bad, then it may be worth purchasing nicer-looking equipment or a DJ facade.

*If you click the product links and make a purchase, we earn a commission. This helps pay for this website and other expenses. This is at no additional cost to you.

Ugh! All the Other Wedding DJs Have Better Equipment Than I…

Are There Problems With Your Equipment?