Members Potts Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 For a number of years lighting for my solo/duo has always been just enough to make sure I can be seen but I've been on a "lighting kick as of late. I know some would think it's overkill, but I think presentation is an important part of what we do. I just ordered another Chauvet Colorstrip Mini and a stand ($164 for both). I'll have two now- one on each side of me and I can't wait! The issue with these LED's seems to be coloring the performer too much. I've heard people say that these lights have too much color and it's apparent on video. So I just use a setting on there that is pretty generic and basically just "lights" the area without a specific rich color. The next purchase will be a couple of pin spots so I can actually start using some "fade" between colors and not get so washed out in reds and greens. Is anyone doing anything similar or are you just using lights to light up the dark corners that we usually play at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Voltan Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 actually just looking at some lighting options the last couple of months... i'm much more familiar with full band type lights... i'll be keeping an eye on this thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted August 25, 2012 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2012 when you look like I do, the darker it is on stage, the better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 My duo partner has a set of those Chauvet Colorbank setups. They are kinda crappy, but it's what we have. I don't play too many gigs where seeing us is a problem, so we don't use them often. I also have a couple of par cans with those "natural amber" gels that are supposed to be good for lighting the performers. If I'm solo in a dark space, I'll put that can on the mounting hardware on top of my speaker cabs. If we are doing the duo, I'll attach it to the same lighting stands as the ColorBanks. The amber par cans light us and the colors are more of a wash. I want to get some of the Colorstrip minis with stands as well. They are on my wish list. I don't have anything to use for my solo gigs. It's rare that I need anything, but it would be nice for accent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 25, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 I started with the color banks too... Today's investment wasn't so bad if you think about it. The stand and the light for $164. What's your impression with the natural amber cans? That's what someone recommended I get and I'm not sure if I've sen them before. When I priced the par 38's it seemed like the gels were as expensive as the light itself. Any advice on these would be helpful to me Howie or anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rodclement Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 We have two LED mini wash lights (they look just like the old big ones but are tiny) and we attach them on the speaker stands pointed down at us, one gel is red, the other is blue.If it's a bigger gig, we have some nice wash lights on the back and I have a "water" LED projector that we use either pointed at the dance floor or to the ceiling, it creates a very cool effect. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 I started with the color banks too...Today's investment wasn't so bad if you think about it. The stand and the light for $164. What's your impression with the natural amber cans? That's what someone recommended I get and I'm not sure if I've sen them before. When I priced the par 38's it seemed like the gels were as expensive as the light itself. Any advice on these would be helpful to me Howie or anyone else. I bought two cheap par cans. They were $30 for the pair, I believe. I had GC match an online price. I replaced the halogen bulbs with fluorescent bulbs that wouldn't be as hot. Bought them at Lowe's, around $7 each. I think I ordered the gels from some company out of Florida. Cost me like $6 with shipping. Ask around in the lighting forum and I'm sure they can direct you to the right color gel and the place to buy them. I honestly can't remember. The clamps were like $3 at GC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted August 25, 2012 Members Share Posted August 25, 2012 For a number of years lighting for my solo/duo has always been just enough to make sure I can be seen but I've been on a "lighting kick as of late. I know some would think it's overkill, but I think presentation is an important part of what we do. I just ordered another Chauvet Colorstrip Mini and a stand ($164 for both). I'll have two now- one on each side of me and I can't wait! The issue with these LED's seems to be coloring the performer too much. I've heard people say that these lights have too much color and it's apparent on video. So I just use a setting on there that is pretty generic and basically just "lights" the area without a specific rich color. The next purchase will be a couple of pin spots so I can actually start using some "fade" between colors and not get so washed out in reds and greens.Is anyone doing anything similar or are you just using lights to light up the dark corners that we usually play at? Maybe instead of getting more lights, you should get a dmx controller so you can dim your colorstrip, program scenes and chases. I've really got into freestyler for controlling lights with my DJ set up. The program is free and can be run on a p3 or p4 laptop with xp. A dongle can be had from $40 on up. But you may prefer an chauvet obey, which comes in different models, depending on your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I have a bunch of lights, many of them home-made from coffee cans or Heineken pony kegs. I also have a couple of strobe lights, a Moonflower, and a Color Bank. I control them with a foot-switching deal that I bought several years ago. Just plug the lights into the foot-switcher and step on and off of 8 buttons to turn lights on or off. I rarely use all of the lights unless I know there's going to be room on the floor for the controller, which is seldom the case. Sometimes I just bring two of my Heineken lights and hang them from the speaker stands on either side of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Looking into this, myself...want something where I can control it via footswitches, if possible. About 25 years ago, I was loaned a nifty little rig that was designed for solo/duo acts, that came with 2 lights, using 4 tiny PAR-type lamps and (I think I recall) a 4-button controller, with a dimmer for each lamp (red, green, blue and amber), so you could dial in pretty much any combination, and stands...nice because they didn't throw off a lot of heat, but hotter than a modern LED rig...the guy that owned it decided not to sell it, and I've never seen another, nor can I remember the brand/model. Does any one make such a rig any more? Or make a similarly simple-to-use foot-controller for a Chauvet light, like this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I think you and I Terry are going to be going through this new process together. It's obvious to me that with having both of these colorstrips and eventually, some pin spots, that I'll have to go ahead and find a simple controller too. Of course I don't need any type of crazy light show, but it would be nice to have a few "scenes" to change things up a little bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I think you and I Terry are going to be going through this new process together. It's obvious to me that with having both of these colorstrips and eventually, some pin spots, that I'll have to go ahead and find a simple controller too. Of course I don't need any type of crazy light show, but it would be nice to have a few "scenes" to change things up a little bit. Why pinspots Darrell? I wider beam angle makes more sense, unless you want to accent something. Your Guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Why pinspots Darrell? I wider beam angle makes more sense, unless you want to accent something. Your Guitar? I'm glad you entered the conversation Bob! LOL I don't know why...I think that's what someone told me I should get. What are you thinking would be more appropriate for what I'm doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I'm glad you entered the conversation Bob! LOL I don't know why...I think that's what someone told me I should get. What are you thinking would be more appropriate for what I'm doing? Something like a couple of slimpar 64s would be good. I just bought a dozen blizzard RGBA pucks that aren't as wide an angle as par 64s. They can be set at any color, set to fade between colors, react to sound, dimmed without DMX etc. They can be set on the floor or mounted on a stand. Chauvet Slimpars probably have the same features and settings. check out this video for a similar fixture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I think you and I Terry are going to be going through this new process together. It's obvious to me that with having both of these colorstrips and eventually, some pin spots, that I'll have to go ahead and find a simple controller too. Of course I don't need any type of crazy light show, but it would be nice to have a few "scenes" to change things up a little bit. I'm a babe-in-the-woods on modern lighting...I do know that I like the lack of heat that LEDs put out (many is the gigs, in the days of big PAR lamps, when my clothes would be drenched in sweat by the end of Set 1, and I always carried 1 shirt per set in those days!)... Really don't feel like I need a very elaborate light show...a simple one, that's easily set-up/controlled by footswitched is all I feel I'd ever want. 3 or 4 "mood" light-scenes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Cool vid! Obviously you seem to know what your talking about so if you don't mind I'll reset the topic and maybe you can shed a little more lit. I currently have One colorstrip mini on a stand, by Tuesday I'll have two. I'll have one on each side and to the front of me. Even with just one, people tell me that I'm completely washed out in color. I look like a blueberry or kazoo from the flintstones. I've all but abandoned color right now and just use them to light the stage with a mixture of all colors. I need something that will allow me to use the colorstrips with rich colors but at the same time keep my face and body looking somewhat normal. I was incorrectly thinking that's where those pin spots came in. Something like a couple of slimpar 64s would be good. I just bought a dozen blizzard RGBA pucks that aren't as wide an angle as par 64s. They can be set at any color, set to fade between colors, react to sound, dimmed without DMX etc. They can be set on the floor or mounted on a stand. Chauvet Slimpars probably have the same features and settings. check out this video for a similar fixture.http://youtu.be/TuLJbgUahus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bob Dey Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I don't know much about colorstrips, but I know they have some cool built in programs. If there's a way to manually mix the RGB and save the mix you could at least get one nice static color wash. Getting a neutral almost white would look better for lighting up your face. I think you need to do backlighting with bright colors and use another fixture for yourself that's neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Getting a neutral almost white would look better for lighting up your face. I think you need to do backlighting with bright colors and use another fixture for yourself that's neutral. Good advice! Thanks Bob! All this for a acoustic gigs. LOL. I always tell my wife, "This is it after this. I wont need anything else." I normally just get the eye rolls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Good advice! Thanks Bob! All this for a acoustic gigs. LOL. I always tell my wife, "This is it after this. I wont need anything else." I normally just get the eye rolls. Me, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JimboKeys Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I need something that will allow me to use the colorstrips with rich colors but at the same time keep my face and body looking somewhat normal. I was incorrectly thinking that's where those pin spots came in. Hey Darrell, I don't think you're off base looking to use some focused front white lighting to keep you from being drowned in color. I've been thinking of getting one of the fixtures discussed in this thread for that very purpose. http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2929724-Chauvet-Color-Dash-Accent-VWs-work-great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Great find Jimbo! This is the only video I can find about it- it's not great but he does a fairly good job of explaining the product. The light seems to be exactly like something I can use...$119 [video=youtube;SJnPbWhuL_w] Hey Darrell,I don't think you're off base looking to use some focused front white lighting to keep you from being drowned in color. I've been thinking of getting one of the fixtures discussed in this thread for that very purpose.http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?2929724-Chauvet-Color-Dash-Accent-VWs-work-great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Howie22 Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 Getting a neutral almost white would look better for lighting up your face.I think you need to do backlighting with bright colors and use another fixture for yourself that's neutral. That's where the par cans with amber gels come in. They are supposed to give a more "natural" glow to your face than pure white lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted August 26, 2012 Author Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 That's where the par cans with amber gels come in. They are supposed to give a more "natural" glow to your face than pure white lights. Hmmm... so now we have two schools of thought. Good discussion unless someone runs in here and starts yelling at us...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted August 26, 2012 Members Share Posted August 26, 2012 I have a pair of these. They have a nice assortment of amber preset colors. http://americandj.com/ProductDetails.aspx?Category=&ItemNumber=2027 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.