Wedding Packages with MC Service start at $500!
Music Players
What Kind of Music Player Should I Use?
IF YOUR DEVICE DOES NOT HAVE A JACK TO CONNECT HEADPHONES TO, PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN ADAPTER. Many phones and tablets have moved away from headphone jacks. This is how we connect to your music player. If your music player does not have a headphone jack, consider using a different device, like a laptop, or bring your own headphone adapter. Many of the devices come with their own, but if not, you can usually get one for around $20. Completely worth it to avoid a complication on your event day.
Best Choice...Laptops
As far as good music players for your wedding, party or event we recommend a Laptop as your primary player. Here is why...
- They are more stable, easier to access the music and see the music. Add a mouse to the laptop and it really makes handling your music easier. Be sure to bring the AC plug so that you don't run out of battery power!
- iTunes, Spotify, and others have crossfade features built in for the laptop versions.
Things to keep in mind when using your laptop...
- Turn off any lock's the computer may have if there is no activity. If you set a playlist on shuffle for an hour and come back it may have turned the screen off and then you have to log back in. If you need to change the music quickly, this can be a problem.
- Be sure to turn off sound effects. If your computer makes a ding, when you adjust the volume or move songs around etc., this will play over your music.
Even though having a laptop is the best primary player, having a backup on another laptop, tablet, or phone is always recommended.
Tablets and iPads are not as great as having a laptop but is better than a
- You will not get crossfade on an iPad with iTunes. But you can get it with Spotify.
- A bigger screen allows you to move and edit playlists easier.
- More playlist editing functions are available.
Tablets and iPads make really good backup players to a Laptop.
They are especially, helpful if you are having music in two different areas. For example a cocktail hour in one location and the reception in another location.
Please Note...
We have some adaptors for devices with no headphone jack. We suggest you bring your own headphone adapter. It is better to have an adapter you know will work than be surprised and not be able to connect.
Phones are not recommended as your primary player, but OK as a backup.
Often, this is the only player customers show up with. It will work, but it makes managing your music much tougher. It also allows for more errors to happen. For example, it's easier to start a song accidentally, harder to find a song or playlist quickly, difficult to see what has played, lacks many playlist editing features.
Very popular as a backup player.
And as long as it can stay at the DJ table next to the primary player, then great. Sometimes with the backup player being a phone, customers don't want to give up their phone for the whole party. If you choose to have the backup on a phone, pick a phone that you don't need access to for the whole party.
PLEASE NOTE...
We have some adaptors for phones with no headphone jack, We recommend you bring your own headphone adapter. Better to have an adapter you know works than to be surprised and not be able to connect to our system.
Remember, Laptops are the best and bring a backup!
6 Things to Avoid for A Stress-Free Party
#1 Don't Assume One Player is Enough
This is the biggest mistake customers make.
- With only one music player, not only does this mean you do not have a backup but it also makes it so the MC can't pre-listen to songs. Having a second player available makes it possible to listen to some of the songs you have selected while the other player is playing music. This will help your MC better select songs for you. Even if you want to play all the songs in order, by being able to listen to them on another device, your MC will know when the slow songs are coming up and can adjust the volume appropriately.
- If the one player you brought should fail for some reason, there will be no music playing. Just silence. This can ruin a party more than just about anything else.
#2 Don't delay in Getting Music Players to the Venue
Many customers do not put getting the music players to the venue down as a priority.
- Don't delay in getting the music players to your MC or Sound Specialist. We normally ask you have the music players to us at the latest 30 minutes after we arrive. We generally arrive around 1 1/2 hours before guests start arriving.
- By getting the music players to us as soon as possible it allows us time to connect your music players, test the volume levels and help get the settings right.
- Also if you have hired our MC Service, this gives your MC time to preview the most important songs of the event to make sure they are there and don't have funny intro's we might need to avoid.
#3 Don't Forget to Bring the power cord or charger
Your laptop, tablet, phone, etc., will use more battery power when it is being constantly used for 4 - 8 hours. Why risk it? Just bring the power cord or charger for your device and you will be happy.
#4 Don't leave the password protection or Screensaver on.
Almost every device has the ability to turn this off. It is important that you do this for your event or party.
- By doing this, you are not stuck unable to change the song or playlist because you forgot the password or you have to type in the password before you can make the change in music.
- You can leave the password on a sticky note attached to the device, but again, by just turning the password protection off is much easier.
#5 Don't Skimp On The Music.
Be sure to have at least 20 songs per hour downloaded.
- The link provided below will give you access to over 5 hours of music to help you get started.
- Most parties need around 100 - 140 songs, so we have given you over half of the music already.
- If you are worried about spending a lot of money on songs, use Spotify. For $10 or less you can have just about every song out there.
- Plan for more music for dinner than any other playlist. If anything will go longer than you expect it will be dinner.
- And take a few moments and organize the music into playlists. Separate the slow songs and the fast songs for the dance portion of your party.
#6 Music Not Downloaded on Devices
Be sure all your songs are downloaded on both devices. Relying on the venue's wifi is never a good idea. Bringing your own hotspot is an option, but again you are relying on cell phone service. With the songs physically on the devices, this means a lot less for you to worry about.
Using Your Smart Phone
Using your smartphone as one of your players (preferably a backup) can be done, but here are some tips to keep in mind.
Leave the phone at the DJ table.
- If you are providing a smartphone as even just a backup player, you need to be able to leave this at the DJ table, connected to the speaker system. A backup is only good if it can easily be accessed if something goes wrong with the main player.
Make sure the phone is in Airplane Mode.
- We don't recommend using a smartphone as your main music player for your event, for obvious reasons, like you might need to use it as a phone during your event, but if you do, make sure it is set in airplane mode.
You might need to remove the heavy-duty protective case.
- Many have protected their smartphones with heavy-duty cases. If this is the case it probably is best to remove it for the party. Sometimes it is hard to access the phone plug with these cases.
The Headphone Jack
- Something to keep in mind with some phones no longer having a headphone jack. We have some adaptors. PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING THE ADAPTER, so you know you have an adapter that works for your phone. Keep in mind this adapter connects to the charging port on the phone. This means you will not be able to charge the phone during the party. Again, another reason why we don't recommend phones as your main player.
- They do make an adapter you can buy that does allow you to plug in headphones and charge the phone at the same time. They cost around $20.
Password protection and Screen Timeouts
- Be sure to turn off password protection. ESPECIALLY if it requires a fingerprint or your face! It is tough to try and suddenly play music on your phone if you first have to go through a password screen.
- Screen Timeout. Again, if you can change the screen to never shut off, or to the longest timeout amount available, this will be helpful. If the screen goes blank while you are waiting for a song to end so you can switch to another song, this will really mess you up.
MC/Sound Man Service:
If you hire Just Press Play's MC or Sound Man Service we can help with some of these settings for you.
How to set up your Smart Phone
- Plug the player in using a charging cable or power adapter.
- Set volume at about 75%
- Put the phone in Airplane Mode.
- Set screen not to sleep, "Always On". (If that is not an option, choose the longest time available for the screen not to go to sleep.)
- For iPhones, go to "Settings" then "Music" and turn "Sound Check" on. (This is also where you can turn on your "Apple Music" and "iCloud Music Library" if you are using these features.)
- If using Spotify, be sure to go to the Spotify Settings and set them up accordingly for your phone.
- Close all apps not needed.
How to set up your MacBook
If you plan on using a MacBook for your music player here are some suggestions on how to set it up so that you have a worry-free experience:
- Set volume on iTunes and system to 60%
- Set system noises to off.
- Set system to not standby.
- Set screen not to sleep.
- Turn off Airport
- Turn off ancillary programs
How to set up your PC
If you plan on using a PC laptop for your music player here are some suggestions on how to set it up so that you have a worry-free experience:
- Set volume on iTunes and system to 60%
- In Settings, Go To: "Change System Sounds", Select "No Sounds"
- Set screen not to sleep.
- Turn off ancillary programs