Why DJs Are Ditching Their Roadcase For DJ Furniture 

A road case with a facade is completely fine for any event including weddings. Just as long as all cords are hiden or at least gaffe taped down. Anything above this is just for DJ's own interest. IMO couple's don't care that you have an upscale "furniture set up". They will care if you suck at their wedding though.

While the furniture looks cool, a facade serves a very important function. It keeps the drunks at bay. I've DJ'd at enough wedding receptions where I don't want to be out in the open and exposed to an "open bar" crowd. I've been groped by women, had drinks spilled on my gear, verbally abused and shoved. I need that barrier. Sorry.

I had a toadmatic, but I realized most couples didn't care to spend the extra $$ for it. It was too big for my van and wasn't making my setup easier. Back to a road case with a custom facade. Thinking about the maxx edge but I really believe us DJ's spend more time looking at what other DJ's have and the client doesn't even care! But I did make my own white facade, where my gear is clean and neat. Still have the road case but it's not in sight. My gear is still protected!

I saw this "trend" coming and its completely understandable for high end wedding djs, ie: most youtube Djs. I think back to my last 6 gigs; 4 were in backyards, 2 had stairs or hard to get to areas, 1 has a stage but small stage door. 1 was in a hotel load in thru a tight kitchen and the other was a 2nd floor restaurant, So basicly typical mobile DJ work. I can't justify $2000 for maybe 2 gigs for me. Haven't yet had a client say "we loved the music but your setup, is trash!" I am still looking for that affordable light weight 1-2 piece booth.

So I'll start out by saying this.. This was a very well made video and from the looks and quality of it a lot of hard work done to it so thank you for that and thanks for bringing up this interesting topic. Unfortunately I personally don't agree with it. The problem I see is with this trend is people are starting to care less about the ART & MAGIC of DJing... & started focusing on how everything LOOKS (what equipment you have, what your setup looks like, how bright your lights are, etc). This happens all the time everywhere else in life & it sucks that this mindset is creeping to in our industry... While looks are important & they have their place in this industry, It shouldn't be the MOST important thing that your equipment looks like what "they" say is the DJ standard. I love what (DJ) Pri yon Joni said in one of his RU-vid videos where he talks about people judging him because he chooses to use his "entry level" controller to do the majority of his events (large & small alike) even though he started on a turntable with REAL vinyl & then went to CDJs and etc. DJs look down on him because he's using what "appears" to be subpar quality Slso he must be an over hyped trash bedroom DJ.... but then their faces hit the floor whenever he does ridiculous routines that everybody assumes you could NEVER do on a controller. TBH, majority of time when people are hating on what your stuff looks like, it's because they're insecure about their own skills or setup. So in order to try to compensate, they hide behind the most expensive equipment, furniture, & accessories they can buy so people just give them the benefit of the doubt & ASSUME they have the skills to pay the bills...Basically the DJ equivalent of the guy buying a sports care to make up for other..."shortcomings" he may have 😅 For example, we attended a wedding & the DJ had expensive furniture console with all the bells & whistles...(I know this because I gave him a compliment on how it looked and he went out of his way to say what it was called, where he got it, & how much it costed him). Kinda douche move but hey... to each his own... And the result? The reception was at BEST a 6/10 because his performance was subpar even though he LOOKED like a professional. (For respeck on his name I ain't gone call him out because everybody has bad days & stuff happens...but it don't change the fact that I was ready to leave 1.5 hours after dinner. I just had no desire to stick around & see him work after what I saw so far and I NEVER do that). I've been to basement, house, and block parties that were 10 times better than this was because the DJ mixed the 💩 out of his stuff....and not because he LOOKED pretty behind some furniture console. So because of ALL, I personally, I feel like this line of thought is rubbish.... It ain't the crap you HAVE, it's what you HAVE with it that defines you. And I already know people are probably going to try to drag me in the comments for what I said....but who cares? 🤷🏾‍♂️ "They" aren't paying for my DJ events & "they" certainly aren't volunteering to BUY me any of said DJ furniture that I HAVE to have.....so why should I turn my whole process that works upside down, just because "they" say so? 😅

The first thing I think of upon seeing the Toad? Stairs

Man I rather spend my money on some furniture for my house for $2,500 and up! Throw that facade up and hide them cables then rock on. People don’t give a Sh*+ about that furniture just only other DJs do. Just look good and not sloppy then Sound amazing. Get booked again for another gig 💯💯

A nice clean and tidy set up (Road cased gear on a table) with a facade or nice table scrim a few Led wash lights some decent speakers (and A+ cable management) coupled with a DJ with the ability to "Deliver the goods" by entertaining the client and their guests with knowing when to play the right track (being able to mix the too) with the ability to talk on a mic and communicate with your audience makes for a great gig..........and in the end, if the client is happy and your happy with the end product (The actual DJ service and the DJ equipment set up), that's all that matters. And not forgetting that your self image is important too, with looking the part, formal attire for formal events etc, and business shirt, black pants and shoes or very neat casual for everything else (Birthdays etc), Wearing a Co polo shirt for super casual events like Pool/Beach Partys, outdoor events etc BTW, there aint' a chance in hell that I'm going to shell out $2,000- to $4,000- just on a "light up DJ stand (with a rack)" just because it's the "in thing" at the moment. Cheers, DJ Paul (Melbourne, Australia) shoesand shoes

Great video and great info! Issue I have with the furniture is the price of some of these. While I do use an ADJ event table when it comes down to pricing for the wedding couple 90% could care less about paying more for “furniture”. I can’t see paying a couple grand for a stand when at the end of the night the guests will pretty much only remember if you played their song or not. I do feel like it’s becoming more of a show of equipment than talent of DJing. With that said there is also the weight and transport of this stuff that we are all going to feel very soon. Some of us already are lol. Speaking for myself as I’ve been doing this since 97. Personally I’m all for as long as your rig is clean and cables are neat and managed well then it doesn’t matter if you have a $150 facade or a $2k DJ table. Just my take on all this.

Real class DJ setup with wheels showing.

just found the channel ... love the format.. great job

By the way, thank you for this video. Very well done and informative.

Justin, this was really eye opening. I appreciate you putting in the hours to get this info to us! 🍾

Great video essay! Recently, I’ve been put on to the DJ table from Humpter & I’m getting one at the top of next year 🔥

I use two road cases on top of a table with a facade out front. I love being able to sit down and hang out discreetly ‘back stage’ for cocktail hours and dinner. I even have enough room to eat back there! It’s also a nice barrier for people drinking. My left side case houses my controller and laptop, right side case my 12 channel mixer, mics, and a drawer for storage. I don’t know how so many of you work without a mixer! (Am I missing something?) I like having individual, EQable channels for my mic and both wireless mics, my Serato controller, and a couple backup devices. I find at every gig there are at least a couple requests I don’t have, and being able to cue them up on my iPad and mix into them with my main mixer is a must.

Not giving up my flite cases

I'm good with just the road case. The people I mainly play for don't care how good you look. it's how good you sound. IF it's for video or a static situation, I will go with the furniture hundred percent

Good video and points made. Been thinking of this as a project and therefore been considering various points from each. I just like the idea on being able to rock in and be set up in ten and at end of the night quick tear down. Venues are going to love you. I think the pros outweighs the cons. Be great to see further pics of what people have got in terms of furniture already. 🙌🏿

Great video!

Great video! I’ve been wanting a DJ console for a couple years now and it’s finally pulled the trigger and got Danny Max’s Edge XL. I should have it in a few weeks. I can’t wait for the simplicity of setups. I also have his totems which are extremely awesome.

Yay!! My cameo at 2:42 😂😂😂 nice video

All that Glitters isn’t Gold, personally I know a so called DJ that bought Max Product and flooded his Facebook page with photos of all the new stuff he purchased. There is only one major problem he has NO CLUE how to DJ, No Clue how to Program music for his events and last he will never speak on the microphone. I was at a party he was DJing showing off his new products he purchased, but when the manager asked him to tell the guest to return to their tables he refused and told the venue manager if you want them to sit down here’s my microphone and you tell them. Going back to programming the music for the event, it was a Company Holiday (Xmas) Party and all he played for cocktail hour and dinner hour was Kidz Boop Christmas Music. He was told many time to switch the music to traditional Xmas music. At that point he came up to me and asked what kind of Xmas music should I Play. So all these new products are Great but it doesn’t make a Person be a Great DJ.

I built my first setup up five years ago. I will be making a 3rd Gen setup this year. These guys are 1,000% right on the money. You want to be cheap. Fine. We pros will crush it!!

Great video Kanoya! Love your videos.

Great video topic! I didn't like the facade era either because I want the crowd to see my hands while I'm mixing. The Pro-X DJ Podium should also be mentioned. Great value and solid case.

It's nice but I'm staying with my road cases. It all depends on how you sound as a dj. Did you rock the event? Not does your equipment is in a case or dj Furniture. I think the Furniture looks good. Can the Furniture stand up to road travel like the cases. I feel my equipment will be more protected with the cases.

I do want and plan to buy a DJ booth or podium style stand someday however I have yet to find the right one that fits my needs as far as quality, assembling time, wiring and portability. Right now, I'm using a 5' folding table with a black stretchy table scrim and a black table top facade made by ADJ, not the big floor facades everyone is using. My DJ set up looks pretty uniform because the table size is the exact same length as my tabletop facade. I do get a lot of compliments on it as well from guests, wedding planners and DJs too. This all being said, like some people have mentioned here, no one really cares about what a DJ booth looks like, except for other DJs. This is the reality we all need to realize and accept. It's kind of like dance lighting. People don't care what type of dance lighting you have as long as they have some sort of lighting on the floor. They don't know or care about whether you're using moving heads, pars, lasers, derbys, etc. Only DJs are the ones that care and notice these things. Same goes with DJ furniture. Unless you're a DJ, no one really cares what you're using to hold your DJ gear on. Heck lots of times DJs are even tucked away in the corner so most don't even see what the booth looks like. At the end of the day, you will choose to use what you like and what you want to represent your brand. If DJ furniture is part of your brand, then use it. Will it make you more money? Probably not. This is where ROI comes into play. Will your return on investment be there if you spend say $5000 on a Toadmatic? Trying to upsell a Toadmatic booth to a client is also a tough one because at the end of the day they really only care about one thing...having a great DJ that can play the right music for their event and keep people on the dance floor. All the extras is just that...extras! Icing on the cake as we say! If you want your DJ set up to stand out, then sure maybe DJ furniture is the way to go. But if you think having nice DJ furniture is going to make you more money and get you more bookings, having been in the DJ game for over 33 years now, I can tell you DJ furniture is not your answer. One final note I wanted to mention, with DJ furniture, there will be those gigs where the booth or podium style stand like Danny Max or Bunn Gear just won't work. For example, say a bar or club gig where you have to bring your own controller. I'm booked for 5 holiday parties this year and they're all at venues where they just want me to bring my controller and plug into their house sound. Bringing a full booth or a podium type of stand just isn't feasible for these types of gigs. So what do you do then? Remove the controller and place it back in the flight case and use a folding table again? Buy a second controller for those types of gigs? This is where my concern of having one of these cool booths lies and I'm torn on buying a booth or stand because of this reason.

DJs! lol gotta love us. Just like a subs, gear, & unnecessarily expensive highs... the only thing that matters is customer satisfaction. Now, that part differs depending on your lane. But I have never heard a client complain about the appearance of the setup. Walmart folding table. Stretch table cover. Boom. Show up. Play the right songs at the right times. Show skills as much as makes sense for the client/ customers. Period

These dont work for every venue... good to have options. The facade is easy and can be used 99% of the time.

Got a Rockville Cage with Black Scrims for Formal events and an Odysey Stand/TableTop for less formal. Both ROCK and both easy to set up and hide cables. 🤘🏼🔥🤘🏼

i got the Bunn Gear Command Center with a custom rack panel that enables me to literally setup in 15-20 minutes for sound and another 15-20 minutes for some basic lights.

thanks

The furniture looks really cool, but unless you can up your price to cover the cost to pay for it in the first year it no worth it IMHO. I use a rockville booth. Fits in my suv fine. Have a gear in road cases gives you flexibility with your gear. My last wedding of the year was going to a ceremony outside and reception inside, due to rain from the hurricane every thing moved inside. I was able to use 4 channel microphone mixer (ceremony setup) for both reception and ceremony. I also do 50 % of reception outside, how does the dj furniture do on uneven ground. We moist effect the unit.

flight cases arent going anywhere, they are rugged and are meant to take a beating to protect your gear during transport and not look pretty and flashy. Ding the furniture corners or table tops and it immediately loses its clean "look".

I picked up a JMAZ façade, silver with white skrim and it looks awesome. Clients just want a nice clean professional setup to go with the venue. But I do plan on adding furniture at some point. But rather than break the bank, I'll be building it myself. It'll take some time as I'm a perfectionist. But once complete it'll look purchased. Plus I need to be sure that it'll house all of my backup equipment. But yet be small enough to travel. Great topic.

road case on a Pro Event table2. I'd love to wheel a toad in and out, but I live in a property without a driveway that has steps everywhere and work in venues that tend to have steps. So its a case of lugging and lifting.

I've definitely been noticing the trend. I'm still using a folding table and road case with box speakers, and I agree it feels very dated. However, these fancy furniture pieces are crazy expensive and are quite cumbersome to lug around. I ended up buying a Rockbooth XL so I could move away from the Costco table without breaking the bank.

These types of setups are awesome. The only issue is, in my area most places are restaurants that have nightlife and no equipment. To attempt to set up something like this to play for three or four hours plus equipment doesn't;t work for me. I went with the stands that you started seeing pop up around 2017 that has four connected sections and a shelf that hangs in the middle. One of the popular ones you see is by Cedarslink. I have that one as well as the Rockville "Rockbooth." Both have worked out really well, are extremely portable, and easy to set up. I don;t recommend the Cedarslink stand though. They have horrible customer service. I have attempted to purchase replacement scrims from them for the stand I bought directly from them twice in the last five years. The first time they never responded. Then a year or so later I attempted again and they responded, but were not helpful at all.

I like the the new look of the set up. But not ready to jump on the ship. So I made myself a less expensive alternative. I bought a folding table in white and black. Brand name is (Deejay) and I cover my dj case with white sticker.

Just got the edge XL from Danny max group. 2 things convinced me. 1) more elegant look that matches the price point I’m try to get to 2) more efficient load in and out via pre wiring and leaving the gear in the furniture. I originally wanted the hoerboard one from Germany, but I liked the max and bun booths for portability without a trailer or van. Tie breaker was the more heavy duty cases.

I’ve wanted to move the direction of furniture, but I use turntables. The ones I like you can’t transport the turntables in the furniture. I have a mini van so I need something that breaks down.

I'm right where you are now. I have a "Vonyx DB4 Pro DJ Booth" which is okay for now. You should do a video on the price range of products.

i like the prox tower console ...cuz it comes with the case to move it in ....but i did have a liteconsole and it looked better then most ppls stuff but i got ride of it cuz it was too big and heavy to move ever weekend ....so now i have a rockville xl dj booth that folds out in 2mins ....but i do want the prox tower console

One of the biggest complications myself and some of the guy in my company with furniture setup get. Is from photographers. They love that they don't lose an angle for specialty dancer, from an ugly setup.

I think their is a tier of customer base that would book the more expensive DJ that has furniture as a part of their presentation and setup. I can't see this becoming the standard unless the costs of the furniture come down or a more affordable design is implemented. I think DJs care more about this part than couples do.

Hey as long as people wanna pay 💰 I’ll even include fireworks 💥 for sure I know a guy that can make that possible, but as a Dj is hard to get good clients that wanna pay that amount of money.

I’m going to completely disagree with this video. If there is one thing I know for sure it’s that these videos plant envy into people. Yes it would be nice to have that newest shiniest thing, and in some cases that’s absolutely true, however, spending a fortune on a table just because your favorite RU-vidr has one is not a great reason. Many of the people here are in the business of making them, others received them for free as a sponsor. If it doesn’t make financial sense to drop $2500 on a table just because you saw it in a video, then don’t subscribe to the hype. Spend that money on something that will truly benefit your business, and if it is a piece of furniture then by all means pull the trigger, otherwise lighting, speakers or something else that would help you out better would be the wise decision. Don’t forget, if your not pulling a trailer or are in a tall van, that furniture will suck to get to a venue. If you want to shine with your customers it’s always going to be your personality in the mic and how well you engage with your clients and their guests. Alright DJ’s, you got this!

FYI some of the audio in these interviews is only coming through on one side.

Not every DJ has a truck or trailer to lug that furniture around in.

Thing about those podiums is that EVERYONE has one now! So you're not standing out like you think.

you need a special vehicle for a toad booth. They don't even fit in a regular mini van. They're heavy af.

I do like some of these consoles but I have mixed feelings. The guys pushing this trend the hardest also have vested interests in DJ Furniture. Also, Ive noticed a lot of DJ's that use this style of furniture still set up a facade behind them. Whats the point? They sell how how much easier, efficient, and cleaner the set up is than a table/facade but then you see the gig log videos and they still set up a facade to hide the stuff that doesn't fit in their DJ podium.

I'm very close to picking one up

I got rid of the road case, but there's no way I am in a place to haul furniture. I don't have the ability to get a vehicle that can provide the room. That's why I went to the EV50's. I have just enough room to bring one or two more speakers if I need more coverage. I like the idea, but I am not able to do it...yet.

So which one did you choose? Summer's on the way!

So just add a facade in front of it and then it really looks amazing until you can get a console The only problem with consoles is they require trailers and heavy moving equipment and a crew because of their weight...

Ill stick with my mobile case much easier to carry around ill just have to modify the case for cable management

You do not need big console furniture. Clients don't care or only care if you sell it to them. DJ furniture is to bulky, expensive, and you need to have the vehicle. Once you are doing upscale events consistently and have the vehicle then go get the furniture.

I mean of course the people who sell these consoles are going to say you are an idiot for not having one. I don't think it is a one size fits all product. In some markets it may be a necessity. In most of the rest, it is not. Would love to see you talk to people not invested in selling the consoles.

I think a lot of Djs miss the point. Those Dj Consoles are not simply for cosmetic purposes it’s to simplify our setup, in turn saving us time. The bonus is they look great as well!

I really like the look of a lot of the Modern Console stuff. I think once ProX starts distributing the Humpter Basic MK3 in North America, that will be the one for me. At my level I don’t need a big van, and more vehicles being electric I want a booth that is not too bulky.

I’ve wanted to move the direction of furniture, but I use turntables. The ones I like you can’t transport the turntables in the furniture. I have a mini van so I need something that breaks down. I also want something with a 19in rack for my mics etc.

I love the look of Dj Furniture, but they are huge to carry around and don’t fit on my van, also a bigger box means you need a bigger storage room, which equals to more money on that, and tbh on my market people don’t really care about that

This is marketing at its best. Trying to make you fill like you are lacking something. BTW. They make matching stands for your roadcase. No need to put your system on a table.

Personally, I like to switch up my setups a lot so the dj consoles don’t really accommodate that…. Also the consoles are designed pretty, then get ruined by ugly stuff like Mic antennas, laptop stands, and all sorts of cables being visible… Fascades used to hide ALL of that Also most of the people you interviewed in this video also SELL the dj furniture, of course they’re going to want djs to switch to those

custumers dont give a rats arse on what style of DJ set up you have (with a facade etc) so long as it looks clean and tidy.

I'm so glad I don't follow trends or fads. These podium style consoles are just that, a faddish trend. Clients don't care about DJ trends. Only DJs do. All clients really care about is that your setup is neat and clean and you play the right music and rock the party.

Be like every dj and get furniture. You will def stand out

Whole purpose is portability that does not look like is portable only if you have a van or truck/U haul don't care about the booth the only thing people is going to notice is the vibes your bumping old school way.

I think couples are eventually going to hire the DJ who doesn't look like every other DJ young couples like originality, as long as you rock the floor and have a good clean setup they'll be happy at the end of the day the they'll still pay more for the cake than the DJ.

yes it looks good, but lets remember one thing. Playing good music and being a good dj is all that matters. You can have all the fancy tables, lights and gimmicky gear, but if you're a bad DJ then it doesnt matter. Be a dope dj, play good music, read the crowd right and you wont need these corny and gimmicky gear.

What do you expect them to say. They sell furniture. I would like to here from customer what they prefer

Djs makes their lives so difficult. You can put all your gear in a black road case. Buy two 12 inch speakers and one 18 inch sub. Get a digital mixer like the qu pac. You’ll never have to buy gear again.

Not a fan of this trend where the private event or wedding Dj is trying to become the star of the show in any way possible; Dj furniture included. It should be about the celebrant or couple, and the Dj plays the soundtrack. Just watch any gig log these days: Dj trying to be some kind of headliner (perfectly fine if you're at a festival), but the reason for celebration seems to taper off as the event progresses. It's sad watching egos battling for attention at someone's special day. If you don't believe me, look at the "modern" Dj setup vs. the sweetheart table at a wedding. Which is "louder"?

Sounds like advocacy for image vs substance...2 each his own

Yes, the new furniture is amazing looking. But the single man DJ might not have the space to transport the furniture.

Lets go get dj furniture, so we can ditch the table and facade... Look at most djs with these 2-3000$ stands, they still have to use a facade to hide their gear. So they spend more money to only use the same gear they were trying to get rid of. We need to spend more TIME, not money mastering our craft..

We DJs are stupid. You are mobile be fast, efficient, clean, skilled at you craft, song selection, and MC. Also, make as much profit as you can. Don't buy unnecessary gear. The furniture needs to get lighter and easier to move. Price needs to be under $1K.

Get yourself a nice clean set up. Whatever you can afford and don't worry about spending $2,000+ on a dj booth just to look cool. You can look just as cool with a clean presentation. Whether it's a walmart folding table with a scrim or one of these overpriced church podiums!

Modern console is in until some fkwt tips their sht on it.

Just make one. Lol

Of course he’s gunna agree he builds them lol

A console was the standard in the early days 40 years ago. I guess it's something "new" to today's group. I've never used a table to setup on. Probably a hold over from my dinosaur past as turntables don't work well on a table when you have a decent sound system. Welcome to the past gents!

You are correct, this is where the industry is going. I specifically market the Bunn Command Center up at bridal shows.

When people start paying me more I'll get one lol 2k is 2k

Are you Team DJ Console or Team Roadcase on a Table?

I’m not embarrassed to have a road case for a DJ setup. What they don’t say is the DJ booth is large and cumbersome. AND…. you may need more space to transport this monstrosity. For $2000 and up… I’ll pass!

i am not going to put my dj mixer on a folding table and have the legs give no way it going to be a adj pro event table or facade something you can trust and road cases nothing wrong with that at all being a dj is about make do with what you have and DJ Furniture is going to be out before you know it , we really dont need goodwill looking Furniture thats what its all starting to look like , when you go in there you need to look like a real dj .............show all your gear off and with just DJ Furniture you look cheep

I like this video but I must disagree. The look of the current dj set-up is fuelled by social media influencers, not what we really think the client wants. The same with equipment. Everybody has furniture , rev 7s, and evolve 50s thanks to the channels with the most followers. I know DJs without youtube channels so they miss the influence push. They are still prosperous and get amazing gigs with amazing reviews from clients. This vid speaks to the industry changing but what's really happening is the industry is using influencers to convince us that we need the latest and greatest piece of expensive change.

Presentation is important but these are just silly looking and over priced. It may work better if permanent in house setup but not for mobile dj.

100% disagree lol

Whatever. 😅

sure,because it makes the music sound better.lololol

All these people are shilling their wares. Solutions to problems that don't even exist.