Tell us about your upcoming event

The more information you share with us, the better we can tailor our PA hire package to your unique needs.

We understand you may not be a professional event manager and you have lots of other tasks to complete before the big day but there are some simple things you can tell us that will go a long way to ensuring your event sounds great.

Are there multiple performers or guest speakers?

We want to know things like how many acts are scheduled to perform, are they all bands or a mix of soloists, speakers and groups? How many microphones do they use? How many amplifiers do they use? Will there be solo speakers or a panel of speakers who need individual hand-held microphones?

We'll also need a run-sheet or schedule of performers with anticipated start and end times of each act.

Sometimes bands will, for example, share one drum kit or a bass amp which is not only easier for them (especially if travelling to Waiheke from New Zealand!) but also easier for us - less downtime between acts however, we'll deal with either scenario as quickly as possible but this is the kind of information we want.

We suggest you email all participants (or at least their spokespersons) to ask them to provide a list of personnel, instruments and how many vocal mics they need. You might also suggest they communicate with the other bands to determine what they need to bring or share.

If a vocalist insists on using a particular brand of microphone, suggest they bring it with them as we may not have that exact model. We use Shure SM58's (the industry standard professional vocal mic) although we do have a limited range of other brands and models.

We do not supply instruments other than microphones. Most bands have been in this situation before sharing drum kits or back line amps. We're not suggesting they must do this, we just want to know what we're dealing with in terms of set up time and equipment supplies to be able to accommodate everybody and quote you correctly.

Additional equipment requests after quotation, acceptance and payment will require additional payment for those items and be subject to availability at that time so it's in your interest to supply us with this information before you make a booking.

Other Considerations

Although we're familiar with all the public entertainment venues on Waiheke Island, we still want confirmation of access point and the earliest time we can start loading gear in as these can change from time to time. You can get this information from the venue manager.

For private locations it's even more important. Is it 4-wheel drive access only? Do we need to worry about the dogs or the killer bull in the paddock we're being asked to set up in? Does the bull prefer Mozart or Metallica?

• Vehicle Access. We need to unload within a short distance - generally less than 10 metres - of the venue access point (which means the entrance to the building or marquee, not the entrance to the car park or the field). If that isn't possible, we need to know about it before we can agree to deliver anything.

• Loading and Unloading Equipment. Some of our equipment is too heavy to carry safely and the cases and wheel-boards we use are fitted with polyurethane castors that are polished-floor friendly but these are only suitable for unobstructed hard level surfaces (not gravel, grass, mud or steps). If equipment cannot be wheeled over a hard, even and level surface from unloading point to set-up position, we need to know about it before we can agree to install anything.

• Delivery, Set-up and Pack-down Times. Even with smaller systems you should allow at least an hour for us to get in and set up and at least an hour for us to dismantle and get out. For full bands or multi-performer shows, set-up will often take much longer. If in doubt, ask the venue manager: if we don't know when the loading bay opens or whether there is a curfew afterwards, we cannot agree to set up in time or get out in time.

• Risks to Us or Our Equipment. We need to know if there is any hazard that might affect us or our equipment we would not reasonably expect if you did not tell us. We need to know of any danger before we can agree to do anything safely. See above regarding dogs and bulls as an example of risk.

• Special Circumstances or Uses of Our Equipment. If you intend to use our equipment in a special and/or unusual situation or for a special and/or unusual purpose, we need to know about it before we can agree on what is suitable. For example, if portable generators are used for power supply, these must be regulated and adequately grounded before we agree to connect any of our equipment.

If you have read all the above and realised you will need to get back to us with some of those details, you can still make contact to give us a heads-up of your upcoming event. Just tell us in the Message field below all the information you have so far and what things you still need to find out from others.

We may contact you with advice or concerns so this outstanding information can be discussed as early as possible and we're all singing from the same song sheet.