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Starting from scratch, one piece at a time


bigboy78

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Our band is currently lit by a couple of patio lights. We're starting to get a few more gigs, so its time to start investing in the "show".

I'll probably be buying one piece at a time as the gig money comes in, so maybe $200-300 each purchase.

What do I buy first? Keeping in mind we have nothing.

I'm thinking 2 RGBA SlimPar64 ($199 in Oz) as the first purchase for front lighting so peolpe can actually see us, sitting on top of FOH speakers pointing down to the band. That's where our patio lights sit at the moment.

Would this be the best way to start, or a 4bar/4bar Flex for a similar price ($499 in OZ)? Not looking for nightclub light shows, just something that makes us look a bit more fair dinkum as a band.

We're a 3 peice rock covers band playing small, move the tables before you start,  type of gigs.

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Any lighting you get,control is the key IMHO. Control will take you from hokey to pokey real quick. Any lighting that looks like its supposed to be there and works with the band will help the band overall. Be sure to read the basic band lighting stickies at the top of the forum page too!

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I would suggest building a system on paper, then splitting it into phases.  Don't buy stuff thinking "I can upgrade that later."  You're off to a good start with doing front lighting first.  I would recommend buying something to use as front lighting right away that you could eventually buy more of and move to the back to use as your back lighting.  At that point you could get something better for the front.

 

I decided when I started building my light rig that I would get everything all at once, which meant I had to come up with a huge pile of money.  I regret that now, because I have since upgraded EVERYTHING and have sold the original rig at a fraction of what I paid for it.  I wish I had done it all in stages with the right gear the first time around.  I would have saved myself close to $3000.

 

Just think it through thoroughly before you pull the trigger on anything.

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I would avoid those individual colored LED fixtures. They really look horrible and the colored shadows they cast are very hard on the eyes. Anything less than 3 in 1, 4 in 1, or 5 in 1 LED fixtures with DMX are not going to present you professionally. They are not that much more expensive.

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I agree.

 

I started building my rig when the x in 1 leds were very new and expensive, but looking at the current specs and prices of the new fixtures, there's no reason to buy anything but the 4 or 5 color led fixtures.  I wish I could start over without losing a ton of money, but for the stages we play, the 16 Puck RGBAs I'm running are enough, barely.

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