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Second Edition of the Band Lighting Guide


soundlight

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Hey folks, I've talked about it before, but I finally have time to work on a SECOND EDITION of the Band Lighting Guide. There have certainly been enough new products out to warrant a new version of the Guide, and I have definitely thought of some more things to put in the Guide.

 

This thread will serve as a place for suggestions. For those of you who have read the Guide, what do you want to see in V2? Anything missing (other than an updated product list)? Anything you want more of? Anything that could have been expanded on or clarified?

 

I am still considering how this next version will be distributed. If most people who had gotten a good bit of knowledge had simply contributed, say, five bucks through paypal, we wouldn't be having this discussion, but seeing as only six people contributed (yes, that's six out of the now 2,764 times the guide has been downloaded), I am currently considering other distribution options that guarantee a little bit for my time. Nothing close to what an actual publishing deal would get me, but enough to (in the words of one of the six contributors), go out and "buy a decent lunch" every now and then.

 

As for new content - of course there will be a lot of discussion of new fixtures, including completely new types of fixtures since the last version. There will be a lot of discussion of how to set up your rig - what works, how many of what to buy, where to put your stands, truss, &c. There will be numerous affordable rig examples and there will be a lot of discussion of control options.

 

I will be putting in to the Guide the Complete Dummy's Guide to the Stage Designer 50, several other more in-depth controller overviews, and a number of ideas on how to program your rig effectively for specific songs or just for general looks.

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I enjoyed the first guide, it gave me confidence in putting together my small lighting rig. I didnt feel like paying for it because I'd mined the information already from these forums, and I was using only a few pieces of information. Its a great summary though and well worth the read.

 

I'd say more pros and cons of each controller type would be nice (elation operator vs chauvet obey/stage designer). You'll certainly need to update your fixtures with all the new offerings this year and last. I dont recall if you touched on hazers much but this is valuable information I am always looking for, especially small scale for clubs etc assuming you have any experience to give. The budget thing is really helpful, might want to expand on a few other options for different price ranges. Arriba has a nice bag size chart out there, you might want to attach it since its a hidden price of lighting, you want to protect your investment.

 

Sorry if any of this was already in there, dont have time atm to go through your old manual.

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Soundlight,

 

First off, thank you for the great Lighting Guide you made. Very Informative. Very organized. Very Useful. I personally downloaded it, read it, and made use of some suggestions and it made me at least reconsider some things while yet occasionally "breaking some rules" that you had in the Guide.

 

Embarrassingly, I must confess that I did not contribute.

 

In the time since I downloaded the Guide and read it, I've gotten a bit more into doing stage lighting and am currently make a big upgrade in my rig that I may discuss soon in an upcoming thread.....

 

I will go on record here, that if you were to write a second edition or even just an update, that I will pledge to make it worth a decent lunch. Your work is very helpful and useful, and I feel if I were to meet you in person that I'd be more than happy to buy you lunch, so the least I could do is transfer something your way.

 

I'm sure there are several ways you are considering for handling distribution. A band that I'm working with recently used a website called Kickstarter, to raise pledges to fund an upcoming video shoot. The cool thing is people only pay the pledge if the target goal was made. Not sure if that site is good for your situation but I'd guess that there is perhaps a similar type of way you do something of that nature.

 

Again, Thank You for the great lighting guide you provided all of us, and I'm looking forward to a future edition!

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I will definitely make sure to include more on case/bag options; Gator has some really nice stuff for LED PARs and other lighting equipment. Hybrid Cases has the Tuffboxes, which are really economical. And I will definitely do my own section on where to find the best totes/crates/etc for carrying lighting equipment - that will probably involve research trips to walmart, target, lowes, home depot, and other such places.

 

I did touch on hazers, but there have been some new ones coming out recently that are good.

 

I also really want to work on stands/support. A lot of people don't factor this in, and I want to make it easier for those people to get what they need for a good price: I think that a good I-Beam truss rig is what's missing from the market, it's either the cheapo Crank2 style systems or a large ST-132 and triangle or box truss system. A good solid I-Beam rig would be great for most bands and needs to be locatable as it isn't now. I've actually been researching that a lot for 2 rigs that I'm spec'ing for people who found me through the band lighting guide/this forum!

 

I've been combing manufacturers' pages recently getting ready for re-writing the fixtures section, and I found my original notes for the first version of the band lighting guide while cleaning up my room. I also found the original edit copy that I used to draft changes when I had it out to the original set of reviewers from this forum (most of whom haven't been back in a while!).

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Hey bigjd, not sure if you mean me or soundlight, but wish I could buy YOU lunch! ...even if we didnt get my pedal working in the end lol, not for lack of trying!

 

 

Thanx Bud! Just keep on rockin! You'll get what you want in the end,and I'm happy I could help along the way!

I remember when the first lighting guide came out and I was one of the people who initially read it so I was saying hi to SL , BUT to all of you HI!

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