Opinons. Large Outdoor DJ Gig..No stage

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I have a large outdoor gig to play. We'll be set up on the ground, no stage for this huge charity/car show. I have to cover an area thats a couple of 100 cars big with tunes. Most likely 100's of people...could see a 1,000(guesstimate)

Heres what I was going to do. I want to set up 3 mains per side about 25 feet apart, all mono about 6 to 7 feet high, center main staight out and the sides pointing out on an angle to sort of make a 45 degree wedge on each side. Center 2 18 subs right next to each other pointing straight out. The subs will have their own amp. 4 mains will have their own amp right out of the powered mixer and the last 2 mains will be fed a monitor feed from the mixer and have their own amp.

Will I be OK or end up having signals fighting each other jacking up the mix? This gig is for our county sheriff. All the BIG wigs from our town and surrounding areas will show. I want it to sound good, look good, etc..

Thanks!

[TimmyP]

Run mono. A single stack. Use as many tops as it takes to cover the area (properly splayed of course). Put the subs on the ground, and put the tops on a scaffold to get them up high, so you don't kill the folks near them with volume.

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By single stack do you mean all the speakers in one big cluster? Or stack the mains and subs on each "side" of center? Thanks.

[Stumbo]

I've been to many car shows over the years. IMO, since you'll be proving background music and since most of the people will be there to see the cars, getting blasted with tunes is probably not high on their list of priorities. Great quality background music is always welcomed.

They'll be chatting about the cars and spending the day leisurely walking around the area. Putting the speakers as far apart as possible will allow you to get coverage w/o cranking the volume(especially the bass).

+1 on the multiple tops on stands or scaffolds. It's cool to have music going but not so much that it drowns out one's ability to have a conversation, kinda like having the music too loud in a restaurant.

I suggest asking the promoters what type of systems were used in the past and how they liked/disliked each one. Maybe they have a preference on how the system is to be set up.

Your system will probably also be used for announcements so having a mic or two available (possibly wireless) is important. Boosting the mids a bit for announcements may be helpful.

Good luck.

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Thanks. We are having a meeting with the folks putting on the event. They are also having a band in a separate location from us..so we will work on the lay out with the band. Right on about the back ground music..We'll leave the "party" end to the band.

I'm going to dry run a couple of ideas after our meeting. I'll have individual control of the bass volume. As far as the 3 mains grouped..seems OK. Subs centered...seems Ok..Thank You!