Graduations
Graduation sound
in Fargo.
Names read clearly to a seated crowd, or background music and a microphone for a toast at the open house. Two different jobs, and we bring the right setup for the one you are planning.
Two different events
A ceremony and an open house are not the same job.
A ceremony is about clarity. Names have to reach a seated crowd, in order, without anyone straining. An open house is the opposite problem: music that people can comfortably talk over, plus a microphone ready when someone wants to say a few words.
Tell us which one you are planning and we will bring the setup that fits. Bringing the ceremony rig to an open house is as wrong as the reverse.
Clarity
Names people can actually hear.
Clear speech comes from speaker placement and level setting, not from volume. We put the system where it covers the seated crowd rather than blasting the first three rows, and we set levels using the reader's actual voice before the ceremony starts, because every reader is different and a level set to the wrong voice is a level set wrong.
Outdoors
Outdoor ceremonies need more speaker.
Outdoors there are no walls to help carry the sound, so an outdoor ceremony needs noticeably more system than the same crowd indoors. We size for that. The one requirement is power within reach of where the sound needs to go.
Slideshows
Laptop audio that is actually audible.
We connect your laptop and set the audio level ahead of time. A graduation slideshow playing back too quiet to hear is a small tragedy and an avoidable one.
Straight pricing
What graduation sound costs.
- Weekday events: from $400. Monday through Thursday. Most meetings, conferences, and weeknight banquets land here. Weeknights are already open on our calendar, so there is no wedding to turn down to take your event. You get the benefit of that.
- Friday, Sunday, and Saturday daytime: from $550. Car shows and daytime ceremonies fit here. These days start to compete with wedding work, so they run a little higher than a weeknight.
- Both rates buy up to 4 hours of event time. Event time only. Setup and teardown are free on top of your 4 hours, never counted inside them. Your clock starts when we start running sound for you and stops when we stop. We are usually on site 60 to 90 minutes before that to set up and test everything, and we stay afterward to pack out. You are not billed a cent for either, and neither one shortens your 4 hours.
- Longer events: $125 per additional hour. A six hour car show is the base rate plus two hours. We work the total out with you before you book. Past four hours we are into a long day, often ten hours door to door once load in and load out are counted. The hourly keeps a long event worth doing properly instead of rushed.
- Saturday evenings: usually booked for weddings. Ask and we will tell you honestly what is open. A Saturday night is a wedding reception for us, and those book up to a year ahead. If your date happens to be open we will say so.
- Announcing or MC work: add $200. Optional, and only if you want it. Running the microphone is a different job than running the sound. This is the part that four decades of doing it actually buys you.
- Travel: Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, and Dilworth are included. Anywhere farther is quoted plainly up front. Those four are our home metro, so there is no drive time worth passing along to you.
That is the whole list. You will know your full number before you sign anything, because we ask how long your event runs and quote the hours up front instead of adding them to the invoice afterward.
Some real examples.
- Graduation ceremony, weekday morning, 2 hours $400 weekday base rate, inside the included 4 hours $400
- Open house, Saturday afternoon, 4 hours $550 Saturday daytime base rate, right at the included 4 hours $550
- Open house, Sunday afternoon, 6 hours $550 Sunday base plus 2 hours at $125 $800
Every hour shown above is event time. Our setup and teardown sit outside it and cost you nothing. Add $200 to any of these if you want us on the microphone as well. These are real quotes for real event lengths, not starting prices that grow later.
Still choosing music? We keep lists that might help: anniversary dance songs and mother daughter songs both get used for graduation slideshows more often than you would think.
FAQ
Graduation sound questions
How much does graduation sound cost in Fargo?
Weekday events start at $400 and Friday and Sunday start at $550. That buys up to 4 hours of event time, which suits most ceremonies and open houses, with setup and teardown free on top rather than counted inside it. Additional event hours are $125 each. Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, and Dilworth are included with no travel charge.
Does setup and teardown count against my 4 hours?
No. Your 4 hours is event time only, measured from when we start running sound to when we stop. We are usually on site 60 to 90 minutes before your start time to set up and test everything, and we stay afterward to pack out. None of that is billed to you, and none of it eats into your hours.
Do you cover graduation ceremonies or graduation parties?
Both, and they are different jobs. A ceremony needs names read clearly to a seated crowd. An open house needs background music people can talk over, plus a microphone for a toast. Tell us which one you are planning and we will bring the right setup.
How do you make sure the names are heard clearly?
Clear speech comes from speaker placement and level setting, not from volume. We put the system where it covers the seated crowd instead of blasting the front row, and we set levels using the actual voice of the person reading, before the ceremony starts.
Can you play a slideshow or music from our laptop?
Yes. We connect your laptop and set the audio levels ahead of time, so the slideshow does not play back too quiet to hear.
Can you do an outdoor graduation?
Yes, as long as there is power within reach. Outdoors needs more speaker than indoors because there are no walls to help carry the sound, which is why we bring a system sized to the space rather than one small pair of speakers.
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