All about nightclub lighting and sound design - What to expect

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When deciding to own a new nightclub or to redesign an existing building into a nightclub you might not know what to expect or what the next step might be. Well, there is a lot to consider. Your choices are to either find a existing building in a suitable location, or to do a new complete buildout. In either case you will need to consider what type of customer base you will be targeting and what kind of venue and age group. Also location will be very important. If you choose a existing building it will be mostly a remodel, if you choose a to build a new building, then everything will have to be designed from the ground up.

Using a existing building has some advantages, it’s already built, it is probably in a pretty good location (if your already looking at it) and you already have some sort of layout to work with. After you have decided what you customer base will be you can start to design you club around that kind of venue. Depending on the building you are looking to use at some point the lighting and sound will have to be designed and installed. If you are going to use a existing building the nightclub lighting and sound are one of the last applications to be installed, The lighting and sound design team will most likely need to come out to your location, do a complete site inspection and go over everything needed to install your equipment, this usually includes the lights and sound system you choose from our design and where the lights and sound will be installed, In some cases you may decide to go over and complete the design over the phone, emails and our website and order the lights and sound and have it delivered to your location and have your guys install it. This is also pretty common and works quite well in most cases.

If you decide to build a new building, then it is definitely a good idea to have the designers involved from the start to work with the architect, builders and everyone involved to make the design and install as smooth as possible, however beware of a few pitfalls very common with a new build. Budget, it is very easy to start to go over budget, especially when you have a lot of different people showing you really cool things you can do with your club and you keep adding these little features and the cost can really go up quite fast and delay the time frame, it seems almost always the time frame gets pushed back because for some reason or another or due to some unforeseen situation during construction or some design change and that can frustrate everyone and keep you from hitting your opening date, so always pad you budget and opening date from what ever everyone tells you.

Another big issue with designing a new build out is after the designed has been finished for the lighting and sound system, is waiting to the last minute to order the equipment and by the time everything gets ordered (this might take months after the design) some of the equipment is now discontinued and now has to be redesigned or configured to the design change and that will add cost and delay to the project. The best advice it to order and receive the lights and sound systems and as soon as possible have the equipment stored in a secure location (under lock and key) so it can be stored and inspected for any damages, shortages and or any wrong product that might have shipped. This way you already have everything you need for the install, it all looks good and anything damaged or might have been sent wrong can be replaced in a timely manner. Also the installer will need to have all of the equipment available so that they can unpack it, and bench test all of the products to make sure everything is working good and is working order before installation.