What is a Dry or Wet Hire?

Yamaha CP4 stage piano set up for live performance (dry hire)

A wet hire refers to renting of equipment and an operator or technician that would be present throughout the event. The technician will be there to operate the AV equipment.

A dry hire would mean that we would supply you equipment only, without anyone present. We will show you the basics of operating the equipment, and would only collect at the end of the rental period.

What are the advantages of a wet hire?

The advantage of having an operator present throughout the event is to mainly troubleshoot and resolve issues that may arise. The operator will also help to manage the system, such as adjusting the equaliser so that the audio does not feedback, switching video sources, etc.

Having a operator around also helps you to take your mind off managing the equipment, so that you can focus on running your event.

What are the advantages of a dry hire?

If you are technical or familiar with the equipment that you would like to rent, you will not need to have a technician around to manage the system. This would help you to reduce cost. Even if it is a dry hire, we would still set up the system for you.

What do we recommend?

For simple audio and visual jobs, requiring one or two microphones and basic music playback, you can easily learn how to use the mixer to adjust the volumes, so a dry hire would be suitable. This would also apply if you would require just one TV or projector.

For more complex or larger jobs, such as live band performances, lighting shows, live-streaming, etc, we would recommend to have a technician or an AV team (depending on the scale of your event) to handle the system.

Either way, if you do not feel confident of handling the equipment or would like to have an operator manage the AV equipment for you, do let us know and we can provide you with the necessary operators.

Wired Microphones vs Wireless Microphones

Let’s take a look at the some differences between wireless and wired microphones. Are wireless microphones really better?

1) Range

For a wired microphone, it’s basically how long your cable is. Wired microphones with XLR connectors typically are good for about 30m (300m in theory) before static and noise start to creep in.

Wireless microphones may be able to reach further - our Sennheiser handheld microphones are usually OK for up to 30-40m, and you can get more range with an better antenna

An XLR cable, a professional standard in the audio industry

2) Interference

Wireless microphones rely on either the UHF or 2.4/5GHz spectrum to transmit and receive signal and can be susceptible to interference from other electronic equipment. Wired microphones clearly do not have that problem.

The RODE Wireless Go II microphone uses the 2.4GHz spectrum to transmit audio

3) Comfort & Convenience

Wireless microphones make things neater, with less wires laying about. All wireless equipment will require some kind of battery and transmit/receive hardware, which will make it larger and heavier as compared to their wired counterparts. But it will give you the freedom to roam around easily (as long as you have enough range!).

You will also need to take into consideration the battery life - while some microphones have swappable batteries, others have built in batteries that you will need to charge. Most wireless equipment can last at least 3 hours, which would be sufficient for a small performance.

There are other wireless equipment that can make your life easier, such as wireless guitar transmission systems, wireless headset microphones, and even wireless speakers!

We provide a whole range of both wireless and wired microphones and equipment, so do contact us to advise you on what is best for you.

How much does it cost to rent a sound system?

TL;DR - Pricing can range from a lot of factors, but it generally starts from $250++ all the way to $1000+, depending on your needs and requirements.

One of the most important factors when considering to rent a sound system is the price. The price range can be pretty wide, but the cost largely depends on the type of equipment and what you need to make your event a success.

Here are some factors that will affect the pricing of the sound system:

1) Number of speakers and/or microphone

This depends on your event space as well as what is necessary. The more speakers, the higher the cost. Certain places such as offices will require more speakers due to the unusual layout, while other open spaces will just require as little as one or two speakers.

If you are unsure, you can provide us with a floor plan or request for us to do a site reece to find out. You wouldn’t want to be in a situation where there are not enough speakers to provide sufficient coverage.

For microphones, there may be cases where a single handheld microphone that can be passed between different people. Typically, an emcee will be holding onto one microphone at all times so that he/she can make announcements at any time. Some customers prefer each guest to have their own microphone (especially in a discussion). Two microphones work well for most situations, but you will have to decide what works best for you.

Our rates for additional equipment - $125 per speaker (up to 4 hours), $80 per set of wireless microphone (up to 4 hours)

2) Technical Support

For smaller events such as wedding solemnisations, a sound technician is not required to be present. We will show the person-in-charge how to operate the equipment before leaving the event site. We will teach the basics such as turning up and down the volume of each microphone, adjusting the overall volume of the speakers, replacing the microphone battery, and muting/unmuting the microphone.

If you do not have someone to operate the equipment or wish to have someone present there to make adjustments, there will be additional costs involved. We will provide a sound technician with the technical abilities to troubleshoot and fix any issues on site. This includes removing feedback from speakers, adjusting radio frequencies of wireless microphones due to interference, sound mixing, volume adjustments, and more.

The sound technician will also advise on the positioning of the speakers, microphones, amplifiers, and how to get the best sound in the situation.

Our rates for a sound technician - from $250

3) Last-minute rentals

Sometimes, you may require more equipment than you had originally planned for. This could be due to damaged in-house equipment, equipment failure from another vendor, or just pure unforeseen circumstances.

If you inform us early (at least one working day in advance), we can just add on the cost of the additional equipment without any additional charges (as long as it has not yet been booked yet)

However, if you only inform us on the day itself, there will be additional costs levied as we might have to get additional manpower to prepare/deliver/collect the equipment. We might also have our team make an additional trip back to the office to collect the equipment.

For last minute rentals, we cannot guarantee the availability of the equipment as it might be earmarked for another rental or have already been rented out.

The additional can vary (depending on equipment and time frame) but this usually starts from $80.

4) Any additional equipment

This one is pretty obvious - if you need more equipment, it will cost more. These could be equipment such as TVs, cable ramps, projector screens, and so on.

How much should you budget for the equipment? Here is a general guide:

Small private parties (less than 100 pax): Approximately $250 - $600

Medium sized events (100 pax to 300 pax): Approximately $300 to $900++

We might give you better advice once we have more details on your event. For certain events, we might recommend more speakers despite the smaller number of guests, such as wedding lunches/dinners (5-10 pax per table) and at Multi-Purpose Halls as people are spread out more and you would need more speakers to adequately cover the area.

Do I really need a mixer?

A close-up shot of the faders on a mixer

1) What is a mixer?

An audio mixer is used to control the microphone’s volume (or other inputs connected, such as keyboards and guitars). It allows you to increase or decrease the volume of the microphone to the speaker easily.

The mixer can also do much more than that, such as adding effects and EQ, but the primary purpose is to control the volume of any equipment that it is connected to.

2) Do I need a mixer?

You might be wondering why we include a mixer if all you need is just one microphone.

Without a mixer, you will need to reach up to the speaker just to adjust the volume. It can be quite tiresome, especially if you need to make changes quickly.

Also, as the speakers typically only have one or two inputs, you will need a mixer if you wish to connect more equipment (such as a laptop or an instrument).

Some of our most popular sound system packages come included with a mixer, which we think you will agree is very useful for any sound system.

3) How do I adjust the volume?

Here is an example of a small mixer, the Yamaha MG06X.

The yellow circle indicates the input for Channel 1. This is where we plug in the microphone.

The red circle shows the level knob. You can control the volume of the microphone that is plugged into Channel 1. Turning clockwise increases the volume, while turning anti-clockwise decreases the volume.

If there are more inputs, you can control them with the respective level knob.

If you would like to modify the overall volume of the speakers, you can adjust the green knob accordingly. The stereo level knob controls the output of all the devices connected to the mixer.

Similarly, on a mixer which has faders instead of knobs, you adjust them the same way.

The yellow circle indicates the input for Channel 1, where we usually plug a microphone in.

The red box is where we adjust the volume for Channel 1. Pushing it upwards increases the volume, while pulling it downwards decreases the volume.

The green box controls the output volume of all the channels. If it is just too loud overall, you can reduce the pull it downwards to reduce the output volume.

Now that you know the purpose of a mixer and how to adjust the volume, you can go forth and be make volume changes easily during a dry rental.

What do I need for a Basic Sound System?

A performer with a wireless microphone

So you have planned out your event down to the last detail, and need to make yourself heard, what do you do? Some event spaces have their own sound system, while others may not have anything in place. You might also just want to rent - it may just cost you less or could sound better.

Here is what a basic sound system typically consist of:

1) A speaker - this comes in various sizes and forms, but the most basic version should come with a tripod stand

2) A mixer - this primarily allows you to control the volume of the sound, without needing to stretch up to the speaker to adjust it.

3) A microphone - this could be wired or wireless. Both work just as well, and wireless microphones will give you the freedom of movement without being tethered to a wire.

The Yamaha DBR series can be used as a floor monitor as well

The Yamaha MG06X is a popular and compact mixer

The Shure SM58 is known as a legendary microphone in the music world

Do I need two speakers?

This will be good if you are using the speakers to watch a movie, as there can be left and right separation, but is not always necessary. Two speakers will definitely be able to provide a louder volume, and a wider coverage of the area. For our systems, we typically recommend at least 2 speakers for crowds of 200 pax or more, or if the configuration of the room does not allow the sound to travel so well, such like an L-shaped room. If you need 2 speakers, you can go for our Standard PA System.

Our recommendations

For a small event setup, we would recommend the Basic PA system, which comprises of the following:

1 x loudspeaker on stand

1 x mixer

1 x 3.5mm aux cable to connect to a laptop or mp3 player

1 x wireless handheld microphone

All necessary cabling and wiring

Delivery, setup and collection

The Basic PA system is suitable for up to 100 pax, and is highly recommended for personal events, such as birthday parties and family gatherings, while also suited for commercial events, including roadshows, presentations, small wedding solemnisations, and more.

For events which require a more discrete or modern look, we have the Single Column PA system, which comprises of the following:

1 x column speaker

1 x mixer

1 x 3.5mm aux cable to connect to a laptop or mp3 player

1 x wireless handheld microphone

All necessary cabling and wiring

Delivery, setup and collection

The column PA system is suitable for up to 80 pax, and sports a sleek-looking column design. For event spaces where there is no power supply, the system can be also be fully battery powered. We recommend the Column PA system for weddings, solemnisations, in-store events, home parties, and more. The Column PA system can also be connected to a total of 4 speakers (each speaker no more than 15m apart) to really give that oomph in your event space.