How to have an iPod Disco

This guide explains how to have an iPod Disco. You may have heard it called an iPod Wedding before but we call it an iPod Disco because it works for any kind of party where you would usually hire a DJ. It also works for more informal occasions, such as family barbecues and children's parties.

An iPod Disco is also the ideal way to fill in between band sets if your main entertainment is a live band.

Equipment that works with our iPod Disco

To have an iPod Disco you only need one of the following:

• iPod (all versions)
• iPhone
• MP3 player
• Laptop
• ... basically, anything that takes a standard headphone plug (see below)

We can provide everything else required to turn your iPod into a full scale disco set-up including microphones and disco lighting if required. The basic iPod Disco package includes a sound system suitable for rooms of up to 100 people, including speakers, speaker stands, amplifier, all necessary cables, and best of all, delivery and set-up is included too so absolutely no technical knowledge is required.

If you've ever used an iPod dock then this is basically the same, except it's a professional sound system, the same as a good mobile DJ would use. Unlike an iPod dock, our systems connect to the headphone socket, not the iPod data connector, so they can be used with any device with a standard headphone socket, including MP3 players, laptops and many new smart phones.

How to choose the right music

This is where the iPod Disco comes into its own. Since you get to choose all of the music you can be sure that you’ll only hear what you want to. As long as you choose music that other people will like too then you can't go wrong. Here's some tips for a successful iPod Disco:

• Keep the music upbeat. Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's suitable for a party. Try to stick to music that makes you want to dance.
• Vary the types of music as much as possible. Try not to stick to one style.
• Mix between older and newer music so people of all ages can enjoy it.

Depending on the type of party there are a number of ways you can arrange the order of the tracks. For more informal parties you might prefer to just put it your music player on shuffle so you get a random selection.

At the other end of the scale, you might want to create a couple of playlists:- one for the start of the night, with general music, and a second one that you could switch to later on when everyone's up dancing.

If you choose the order of the tracks then try not to use alphabetical order because you'll end up with all of the tracks from each artist playing at the same time, which is probably not what you want.

Which software to use

If you're using a laptop then you'll need to decide which software to play the music from. Almost all laptops will already have at least one suitable piece of software installed. All PCs that use any version of Windows will have Windows Media Player installed and this is a good simple way to control your music if you don't want to learn new software. Mac users can use iTunes to play music from.

Other free software includes:

• Winamp - a simple and effective music player with some advanced functions such as silence removal, normalisation and automatic crossfading
• VirtualDJ Home Free - feature packed DJ software that's free for non-commercial use. Includes the features mentioned above for Winamp and it can also mix your tracks like a club DJ by using automatic beat-matching

Whichever software you decide to use it's always best to give it a trial run to see whether you like it. The best way is to set up a small playlist and give it a listen at home first.

Other things to consider

When you've got the music together and decided what equipment you need to hire (microphones, lighting, etc.) then there's not much else to do. Here's a final checklist to make sure everything goes smoothly:

• If using an iPod or MP3 player then make sure it's battery is full (or you could bring the power adaptor for piece of mind.)
• Make sure you have enough music. You'll need about 20 songs per hour, based on each one being 3 minutes long.

Ready to order?

If you think an iPod Disco is what you need then contact us to tell us your requirements and we'll also answer any questions you may have.