the sounds of baltimore

April 7, 2005 8:31 AM

Advice needed on renting a PA or powered speakers in Baltimore, MD.

I'm co-hosting an event over Memorial Day weekend and I need to provide decent-sounding music to around 75 people. We'll just need it for 24 hrs and would like to spend +/- $150. I've located some rental shops in the greater Baltimore area, but I'm from Philly and have never done business with any of them before. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

posted by Item to media & arts (5 comments total)

Find out where the local underground/rave DJ's rent from. Generally speaking, you'll get a decent price, and pretty good equipment.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:35 AM on April 7, 2005

Is the event indoor or outdoor?
posted by kuperman at 10:43 AM on April 7, 2005

I definitely don't need something that could power a rave, unless someone doses my parents with some X. I kind of doubt that 'underground' raves, if they exist any more at all, use rented PA's. The liability. Think of the liability.

The event in question is the mini-reception following my wedding. It will be indoors in a rather small room. Powered speakers would probably be the most hassle-free way to deal with this. I've had sketchy experiences in other cities with similar equipment rentals so I'm really just looking to be steered towards a reliable and fair-priced place. I'm a musician and I know a little bit about sound & speakers & amps & etc. I really, really wish every city had a Rock and Roll Rentals like the one in Austin, Texas.

The venue has been less than helpful in finding a sound system - they've only referred us to overpriced 'wedding rental' places.
posted by Item at 1:04 PM on April 7, 2005

You would probably want something like Peavey's powered mixer/amp combo that connects to some basic 15" 2-way speakers that you mount on some basic stands. I rented something like that this weekend for a wedding right at $100 in Baton Rouge. Where in Baltimore to rent from, I'm really not sure.
posted by kuperman at 2:42 PM on April 7, 2005

item: I wasn't thiking of a full-on 10K person party... but I do know that Long & McQuade (a music store here) keeps what they call the '6:55 Special' on hand on Saturdays: a pair of turntables, amp, mixer, speakers, packed up and ready to go.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:35 AM on April 10, 2005