Stage Lighting.

[dave_bass5]

I got one of these today. Only £40 So took a chance. It’s very bright, brighter than our existing ones. 
It’s cheaply made so not sure how long it will last, but i might get a few more after the next gig. A lot smaller than our LED par cans. 
I was very surprised to see it had a large fan in it. Not sure that’s really needed but maybe it is. Only downside is the very short captive mains cable, but I’ll sort that out easily enough. 
 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0D3WND6X1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[PinkMohawk]

2 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

I got one of these today. Only £40 So took a chance. It’s very bright, brighter than our existing ones. 
It’s cheaply made so not sure how long it will last, but i might get a few more after the next gig. A lot smaller than our LED par cans. 
I was very surprised to see it had a large fan in it. Not sure that’s really needed but maybe it is. Only downside is the very short captive mains cable, but I’ll sort that out easily enough. 
 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0D3WND6X1?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Depends how much power it's actually sending to those LED's. While LED runs cooler than traditional lamps, they don't run cool. 60 individual LED's like that, it can build up some serious heat, and without proper cooling, you'll end up with a useless paperweight pretty quickly. 

 

Honestly, any fixture that didn't have some kind of cooling, I wouldn't be spending my money on. 

[dave_bass5]

17 hours ago, PinkMohawk said:

Depends how much power it's actually sending to those LED's. While LED runs cooler than traditional lamps, they don't run cool. 60 individual LED's like that, it can build up some serious heat, and without proper cooling, you'll end up with a useless paperweight pretty quickly. 

 

Honestly, any fixture that didn't have some kind of cooling, I wouldn't be spending my money on. 

Yeah, i can see why it would need it, especially as it’s in a plastic casing, but ive never come across one that has actually had a fan in it. Never had a plastic light though. I left it running for an hour last night and it was as cool as when i turned it on, but i guess it’s safer to have it rather than not. 

Edited November 29, 2024 by dave_bass5

[PinkMohawk]

16 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Yeah, i can see why it would need it, especially as it’s in a plastic casing, but ive never come across one that has actually had a fan in it. Never had a plastic light though. I left it running for an hour last night and it was as cool as when i turned it on, but i guess it’s safer to have it rather than not. 

It's standard on the pro fixtures, but those are also significantly more powerful than the ones we're discussing in this thread. Yeah, the plastic housing makes me think there's no kind of serious passive cooling in there, so a fan is a cheap and effective way to make sure that the fixture lasts long enough to get it outside of the warranty period. 

[dave_bass5]

Just wondered if anyone uses a Black Light/UV at small gigs. I know what they do, but not sure how effective or when id really use one. 

[tauzero]

On 11/12/2024 at 16:35, dave_bass5 said:

Just wondered if anyone uses a Black Light/UV at small gigs. I know what they do, but not sure how effective or when id really use one. 

 

You can have great fun with them with a security pen - UV fluorescent, so you can do yourself a "tattoo" which will show up under UV light. Which reminds me, I really must do that some time. 

[dave_bass5]

8 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

You can have great fun with them with a security pen - UV fluorescent, so you can do yourself a "tattoo" which will show up under UV light. Which reminds me, I really must do that some time. 

Yeah. My keyboard is white and when i shine a black light at it it looks like it’s floating in mid air. My old drummer used to have the bands name painted on this bass drum skin in fluorescent paint. Looked very cool back in the day. 

[mikegatward]

Really like the idea of mounting a lighting unit on top of the PA speakers but we use Mackie SRM350’S which just have a lift handle. 
 

Any bright ideas how I could mount onto that ?. Some kind of giant bulldog clip would be needed

[Acebassmusic]

1 hour ago, mikegatward said:

Really like the idea of mounting a lighting unit on top of the PA speakers but we use Mackie SRM350’S which just have a lift handle. 
 

Any bright ideas how I could mount onto that ?. Some kind of giant bulldog clip would be needed

 

Maybe use one of the M5 inserts on the top handle with a slightly longer bolt? It also means you can still use of the handle.

 

 

Edited December 17, 2024 by Acebassmusic

[mikegatward]

1 hour ago, Acebassmusic said:

 

Maybe use one of the M5 inserts on the top handle with a slightly longer bolt? It also means you can still use of the handle.

 

 

Brilliant - I don’t store the speakers so had no idea there were any fixings on the top.

 

Thanks for telling me.

[dave_bass5]

Until recently we have always had our lights on some sort of auto mode, but I saw a USB to DMX cable that im hope got get for Christmas 

It comes with a tail of some software but for my needs I just need something simple and cheap.

Not sure if i ll use it connected to my MacBook or an iPad. Probably MacBook.

Any guidance, suggestions most welcome. 

[PinkMohawk]

15 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Until recently we have always had our lights on some sort of auto mode, but I saw a USB to DMX cable that im hope got get for Christmas 

It comes with a tail of some software but for my needs I just need something simple and cheap.

Not sure if i ll use it connected to my MacBook or an iPad. Probably MacBook.

Any guidance, suggestions most welcome. 

The Avolites Titan software, I think it's free, and if you get their dongle, you can use your computer as a lighting desk, with a single free universe (512 channels). With that you'd be able to set up cue stacks, program looks, stuff like that. 

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, PinkMohawk said:

The Avolites Titan software, I think it's free, and if you get their dongle, you can use your computer as a lighting desk, with a single free universe (512 channels). With that you'd be able to set up cue stacks, program looks, stuff like that. 

Thanks. Isn't that PC only though? 

The cable I plan on getting is the Soundswitch. It comes with 3 months free use of their own software, with the option of paying £7.99 a month or buying it outright. I know nothing about these things but I was hoping there might be a freeware option or something cheaper if the cable is not bound to that software only.

[PinkMohawk]

2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Thanks. Isn't that PC only though? 

The cable I plan on getting is the Soundswitch. It comes with 3 months free use of their own software, with the option of paying £7.99 a month or buying it outright. I know nothing about these things but I was hoping there might be a freeware option or something cheaper if the cable is not bound to that software only.

Right, good point sorry, I'm a PC guy so I never considered others using it. It's what we use at Uni. No clue when it comes to freeware unfortunately, never had to go looking.

[Chienmortbb]

I would profess to be a lighting genius but trying to programme a DMX system can be challenging. I bought one of these cheap DMX controllers HERE.

 

It is a real learning curve and the one thing you soon learn is that DMX Is not standard. Even within different PAR cans, the commands are different. You can resolve this using different addresses but be prepared to spend some time perfecting things.

[PinkMohawk]

3 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

I would profess to be a lighting genius but trying to programme a DMX system can be challenging. I bought one of these cheap DMX controllers HERE.

 

It is a real learning curve and the one thing you soon learn is that DMX Is not standard. Even within different PAR cans, the commands are different. You can resolve this using different addresses but be prepared to spend some time perfecting things.

That's the benefit of being able to use something like a real Avolites desk, or any of the more pro-level desks, you can select which light it is, which manufacturer, etc. And some poor sod has done all the hard work for you, the system knows how many DMX channels each fixture needs, which commands are on which line, all of that, so you only have to program what you want the lights to do, not spend hours making sure that you've adjusted the colour temperature on each fixture. 

[Chienmortbb]

4 minutes ago, PinkMohawk said:

That's the benefit of being able to use something like a real Avolites desk, or any of the more pro-level desks, you can select which light it is, which manufacturer, etc. And some poor sod has done all the hard work for you, the system knows how many DMX channels each fixture needs, which commands are on which line, all of that, so you only have to program what you want the lights to do, not spend hours making sure that you've adjusted the colour temperature on each fixture. 

I agree but for us weekend warriors, £3K vs £30? In saying that I progamme mine so rarely that I have to re-learn it. Also the firts PARs I boughtb were a new model but the protocol had changed from the old model but they had included the protocol document for the old model. I wasted hours...

[PinkMohawk]

1 minute ago, Chienmortbb said:

I agree but for us weekend warriors, £3K vs £30? In saying that I progamme mine so rarely that I have to re-learn it. Also the firts PARs I boughtb were a new model but the protocol had changed from the old model but they had included the protocol document for the old model. I wasted hours...

Oh absolutely, I wouldn't expect any weekender band to be paying out for a pro level desk, even the 'cheap' ones. 

 

Oohh that's rough, that'd have me sending an angry email. 

[AllYourBassAreBelongToUs]

On 11/11/2024 at 21:03, Acebassmusic said:

We use this type of clamp - "half coupler"

 

AMAZING
Thank you so much for this - had the idea in my head but no idea terms/keywords to find it...
Cheapest I've come across is bopdj.com

[AllYourBassAreBelongToUs]

For one band (covers - pubs mainly), I use lights accumulated through give-aways/freebies. The initial set-up of electrics/plugs is random each gig, with no set plan, so once the audio side of things is sorted, I just plug the lights in where-ever I can. One has a typical "flower" pattern of large coloured circles, a similar with squares, a red/green moving dots projector and four spots.

All set on either react-to-sound or cycle through. If time is tight, I just set up the two large spots with sound response at the front, on the floor (looking forward to using those half-couplers). The end result is a bit chaotic, but it works for that band.

When I'm not available the band literally goes out with ZERO lighting. I only see the difference through clips that the venue on the night might share online; the difference is... noticeable. A little goes a long way. I've seen acts use only one simple light to create an atmosphere.

 

For my other band I wanted something more sophisticated, intentional and tidy. Something that would light-up the area rather than just the band. Ideally, programmable to create a proper (albeit simple) light show that synced with the music (we're now using backing tracks, which will make that goal easier to achieve) but as that will take some time to set-up, I currently link the 4x 1m LED (wall-wash?) bars with DMX cables, and set (one of) them to slowly cycle in sync through colours. When we're not actually performing, I set them to solid green (which is our theme) and at the end, white (as that connotes "lights up" / finished)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/387093309606

Pretty good for the price! 

 

The clip is a poor example of it's capabilities... (of course more effective without the bright house-lights on, and a glass wall)

At the back is a basic cheap LED net (which can cycle through different modes I prefer it solid), hanging from a stand actually for a green-screen back-drop... much cheaper than the lighting-specific equivalent. I've got battery-powered LED strings that wrap around the mic stands, subtle but warm-white to match the net and bridge front and back together.

Finally... if you're really on a budget, this is great:
Articulated black desk lamps e.g. https://direct.asda.com/george/home/lighting/table-lamps/black-desk-lamp/050180701,default,pd.html
Plus either "disco bulb" or "RGB bulb spot" for cheap, simple, fairly versatile lighting. The disco bulb adds a little pizazz to what you see in the clip (nice as the slow-face cycle is I felt lacking something). Very cheap, but bear in mind the disco bulbs are fragile.