Any reviews for Neon Express Entertainment as a DJ?

mzad22

Hi there, I just started looking for an affordable DJ in the Twin Cities area.  Unfortunately, I live elsewhere and cannot schedule a time to observe any of their performances.  Does anyone have any experience with Neon Express, positive or negative?  Or any other suggestions for an affordable DJ?  Thanks!

jenn920

I am using Neon Express for my wedding in a few weeks.  There have been lots of reviews on here about them.  With the exception of a few not great reviews about songs skipping, most of the brides seem to have been very happy with them.  They are by far the cheapest you will find in the cities.  I met with Marc, one of the two DJs, and really liked him.

Also, I don't know of any of the companies that would actually let you observe a night of their DJ-ing anyway - most brides don't want spectators at their weddings!

maybe984

I had Dave (the owner) for my wedding last October and I have nothing but good things to say about him. His ability to blend the couple's tastes with proven crowd-pleasers is really quite impressive.

MaggieandJake

Neon Express did our wedding on June 25, 2011.  I would say you get what you pay for.  We went with the cheapest sound system ($250) b/c we had low ceilings and not a very big room.  The sound quality was good and filled the room well, so I'm happy with that choice.  However, of all the vendors we booked, NE was the only vendor we were disappointed with.

Here's why:

1. We were supposed to have Marc do our wedding and he called less than a week out from our date to let us know that he was unable to do our wedding and would have to set us up with his backup.  I never actually talked to his backup, but rather her husband, Scott (who is also one of his back-ups), who decided on his own to take over our wedding, which Marc had no knowledge of until after the fact, so it's not really his fault.

2. Their system is outdated.  Scott only used CDs and had no capability of downloading songs on the spot, or hooking up an ipod to his system.   I had specifically called Marc and asked about this and he assured me that they used a computer system and only used CDs as backup, not as their main source.  A couple songs skipped and were unplayable including a song on our Must play list.

Seriously, who doesn't have a working version of "Shout!" ??

3. They did not have a song on our MUST play list-which normally wouldn't have been a huge deal, but it was a really important song to my husband-a tribute to his best friend who had died a couple years ago.  Not only did he not have the song, but when I asked him about it, and calmly/politely let him know I was disappointed and wished he had told me ahead of time he didn't have it, he was rude and snippy, and not really apologetic at all-what if that had been our first dance song?  Out of only 14 songs on our MUST play list, he played less than half.  If he had just let me know when we went through our song list/paperwork, I would have made sure to get them to him.  (Not to mention, it is in on their website guarantee that they can get any song for us as long as we let them know a couple days in advance.) Finally, he played a song that was on our DO NOT play list. 

On a POSITIVE note, Marc was VERY apologetic and seemed upset about my experiences with Scott.  Had Marc been able to do our wedding, I think it would have been better.  As compensation for our bad experience, he refunded us $50.  I was happy with this.  At the end of the night, we had great music, our dance floor was packed (our friends know how to have a good time anywhere!), and everyone had a blast.  Would I hire them again if I were to do it over again, probably not.  Did it ruin the night?  No.

Sorry for the long response, but I know I liked hearing everything when picking vendors-especially since I planned from out of state too.

emilykathleen511

I'm using them for my wedding in 2.5 weeks. I'll for sure post vendor reviews afterward. They are definitely the best price in the area though! Good luck with your search.

leggwilliams

I'm using Dave from Neon for our wedding a week from Saturday. So far he's been great to work with and I'll come back with vendor reviews in a few weeks.

maybe984

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_reviews-neon-express-entertainment-dj?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:81Discussion:76e58cf4-0348-46a6-92ab-c442ee7ca1c2Post:2d1334e5-85f1-44ab-8373-e7ffc3f8220d">Re: Any reviews for Neon Express Entertainment as a DJ?</a>:
[QUOTE]Neon Express did our wedding on June 25, 2011.  I would say you get what you pay for.  Posted by MaggieandJake[/QUOTE]

I kind of disagree with this statement... not specifically as it relates to your situation, but just in general. I have seen MUCH worse things happen at weddings that hired MUCH more expensive DJs.In fact, there was one where they hired one of the big, spendy ones like IR or Bellagala and they got the first song wrong and then refused to stop and find the right song OR even redo it later at the couple's request.

Have you talked to Marc or Dave about your concerns, Maggie? Admittedly, they aren't always 100% perfect DJs either, but it sounds like this back-up was a little bit iffy. Dave never once used a CD that I saw, and did a tremendous job finding our songs ahead of time... so I can't imagine he'd be thrilled that someone didn't make that effort.

MaggieandJake

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_minnesota-minneapolis-st-paul_reviews-neon-express-entertainment-dj?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:81Discussion:76e58cf4-0348-46a6-92ab-c442ee7ca1c2Post:3d642d2c-e806-40c2-83cb-624121dbdb2c">Re: Any reviews for Neon Express Entertainment as a DJ?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Any reviews for Neon Express Entertainment as a DJ? : I kind of disagree with this statement... not specifically as it relates to your situation, but just in general. I have seen MUCH worse things happen at weddings that hired MUCH more expensive DJs.In fact, there was one where they hired one of the big, spendy ones like IR or Bellagala and they got the first song wrong and then refused to stop and find the right song OR even redo it later at the couple's request. Have you talked to Marc or Dave about your concerns, Maggie? Admittedly, they aren't always 100% perfect DJs either, but it sounds like this back-up was a little bit iffy. Dave never once used a CD that I saw, and did a tremendous job finding our songs ahead of time... so I can't imagine he'd be thrilled that someone didn't make that effort.
Posted by maybe984[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>That is a good point, and I guess I referring more to our specific situation than in general.  I have talked to Marc and like I said, he was very apologetic.  However, his backup (which he hires and sends out on behalf of NE) did not live up to what the company told me we would have at our wedding.  We were told a computer system and only CDs if that system failed-and that's not what we got.  (Marc even admitted after the fact that he KNEW Scott only used CDs and he hasn't been able to convince him to switch systems) We were told that they could get any song we requested if we got a list to them ahead of time.  Again, they did not deliver on that.  Not only that, but the DJ was rude to me, seemed very unhappy to be there, and was unfriendly to my guests.  </div><div>
</div><div>Had we gotten Dave or Marc, I think everything would have been fine.  From a professional stand point though, if you're going to send a back up because you can't make it (which I understand, things do come up), you better make sure that DJ lives up to the company's standards and follows through on what was promised to the customer.  Like I said above, they didn't ruin the night, but based on OUR personal experience, we would have been better off paying nothing and doing an ipod reception. 

</div>

maybe984

I totally agree with you, Maggie. They shouldn't essentially sub-contract your wedding day to a DJ who doesn't live up to their standards. That's not cool.

mzad22

Thanks for all of the feedback!  I think I'll probably end up going with them, but I'll be eager to hear reviews from those of you using them this summer.

Enchanted616

We used them for our wedding July 9th.  Dave did our wedding.  Honestly, I cant remember much about the music that was played and I thought everything went great until afterwards, when many guests told us they could not understand anything that he said, especially when he was announcing things.  It was like his voice was too close to the mic and came across muffled.  All in all not a huge deal, but I probably wouldnt use them again. 

Steph0871

We used Dave (the owner, I think) back in November, and I have zero complaints. Especially for $200 (we got a discount, because they used the system already in place at our venue- PEC.)  He did our ceremony as well (same venue), but we didn't have a full dance.  We gave him a rough idea of what we wanted for dinner music, and it was perfect.

He announced everything correctly, including a lot of easy-to-fuck-up last names  (he made sure to confirm pronunciations right before the grand entrance.)  He was super polite and accommodating when we had an impromptu dance at the end. 

I wasn't watching him the whole night or anything, but I don't remember him using any CDs, and our music never skipped.