Best lights for small band

[pinup57]

Hi

 

What would be the killer lighting setup for a small band playing bars, pubs and the like, but many outdoor stuff as well in summer? There are some serious handicaps concerning this matter, the top 3 being:

 

1: low ceilings, small footprint, zero distance from the stage

 

2: restricted power supply (2x16 amps being the average best)

 

3: small van, no roadies, little setup/teardown time.

 

(looks more like a top 10, but items are related).

 

Looking forward to hear from you

 

Dirk

[Terry Allan Hall]

Good question, one that I've been thinking about myself, lately.

 

Possibly by using small wattage bulbs (inside) and large ones (outside) you could use the same fixtures.

 

I've also wondered it it might be possible to set lights on top of my PA mains (which are, in turn, mounted on stands) w/o burning anything up.

 

I've seen small lighting systems that can be controlled via foot-switch (for bands that don't have sound/light persons), too.

 

Hopefully, someone here'll have some good answers!

[pinup57]

I forgot to add: I'd like to do some sort of lightshow even in those small locations. So I thought (after much research) getting a Lanbox (www.lanbox.com) and do the programming with that device, and trigger the cues by midi (I use Forte from Brainspawn (www.brainspawn.com) to handle the audio and midi).

 

DMX-equipped fixtures are what I'm looking for, and I now look into the direction of a combination of traditional lighting (a small amout of PAR cans), some trichromatic stuff (=lots of colours, few fixtures), some special effects maybe.

 

The main problem with scans and colour changers is the beam width: the majority of these fixtures have a too narrow beam to suit the little fixture-to-stage distance.

 

I've had some experience with automatic lighting (either self contained chasing, or audio-triggered) but that didn't suit me. I want something more precise, more "designed".

 

Dirk

[jackcheez]

I'm using a programable footswitch controller (I play bass, we don't have a lighting guy) along with 8 par 38 cans. 4 each side. When we do our own sound we use speaker stands so the cans can be clamped onto the speaker stands below the speakers. No footprint at all ! If we have more room I'll bring separate stands. Total cost including dimmer packs, cans, controller, gels, cables, clamps...everything was about $800. There are some limitations but it works very well. It's allot more work though.

[ratthedd]

Yorkville has some nice lights that fits most of your requirements. The only place I could find online that sold them (doing a brief search) indicated that they're pricy compared to somewhat similar Chauvet or American DJ stuff.

 

http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=34&cat=21

 

The footswitch controller looks quite nice, though, especially compared to the Chauvet and American DJ stuff.

[unichord]

We mount 4 Chauvet Omega 250 colorchangers on top of the PA speakers. They look amazing. About $120 each. 2.5 amps draw per light.

[GWS5987]

Hello unichord,

 

We have some old wore out lights and we've beeb considering doing something (for a couple of lazy ass years now).

 

Is this the light?

 

http://www.platinum-records.com/CHAUVET-Omega-250C-DMX-250C-250-C-prod6659.htm

 

If so, could you please take a moment and describe how you use them.

 

TIA

 

George

[unichord]

We mount two on each side. The attach to the "fly mounting" bolt holes on top of the speakers (Mackie SRM 450's) with an M10 bolt. Very quick and easy to set up.

 

Two of them sweep across the stage front to illuminate the singer/bass/guitarists. The other two wash in the general direction of the drum kit (generally in the center of the stage)

 

There are several options for control....

 

The Omegas will enter a pre-programmed show when connected with DMX cable. They also have a sound activated mode.

 

The only issue I have with the pre-programmed show is that it enters blackout every once in a while....stage goes dead black for a moment.

 

Normally I use a cheap controller (DMX 50) to set them into a slow color scroll - about 10 sec. per color. I can choose to sync them all to the same color - or set them off on different scroll rates. Endless color combinations. Add some haze and it's REALLY cool!

 

Set it once at the beginning of the night and let it run. Looks great. Black out or dim the lights during breaks.

 

We have several dozen different lights that we can add to the system if the gig calls for it....."modular" expansion I guess.

 

You get 95% of the effect with just the 4 omegas.....so they get us by much of the time in smaller places.

 

4 omegas with cables (and 4 M10 bolts) for under $500. Can't beat that.

 

:)

[srsfallriver]

Check out the lighting forum. I think you'll find answers to most of your questions there.

 

I've built (I'm an electrician) foot controllers for several small crowd lights which we set on the floor and aim at the (usually) low white ceilings. We also have several small cans that we place on the floor behind us and aim up at the walls behind us as wall-washers.

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=946451

[pinup57]

Some interesting hints here, thanks. The Chauvet Omegas look interesting. I also came across the Martin Mania SCX500 scan, looks very good with really low current draw: 1.63 amps/110 Volts (that's 0.66Amps/220 here in Europe. Standard wall outlets in Europe are 16 amps/220 volts, that's very little for PAR cans, but you can have a lot of these scans running without setting the place on fire. They seem to have managed to get as much light out of a 150 Watt bulb as the usual 250 Watts. Not very expensive either, considering the quality you can expect from Martin.

 

Yes, I looked at the lighting forum, but thought that this forum, being specifically aimed at small bands would be the good place. It isn't OT, is it?

 

Dirk

[srsfallriver]

My band has opted for more lights with lower amperage rather than just a few large lights. We find that washing the wall behind us with multiple colored lights is quite effective. White walls and low white ceilings work best. It may be a good idea to bring a white sheet to drape behind the band if you're not sure what the stage is like.

 

As I've stated, I've built my own foot controller for crowd effect lights. These are basically just on/off push switches. It allows us to have more control over the lights and crowd.

[Terry Allan Hall]

I read once about a lighting system that used pedals (like volume/wah pedals) to control the lights.

 

Any idea who might've made these?

[GWS5987]

Thank you Unichord. Appreciate your input.

[Thundercranium]

 

Originally posted by ratthedd Yorkville has some nice lights that fits most of your requirements. The only place I could find online that sold them (doing a brief search) indicated that they're pricy compared to somewhat similar Chauvet or American DJ stuff. http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=34&cat=21 The footswitch controller looks quite nice, though, especially compared to the Chauvet and American DJ stuff.

 

 

I've used this system. It's built like a tank and works great. IMHO worth the extra cash.

[worthyjoe]

We use one of these as a backwash behind the band:

 

http://www.platinum-records.com/MARTIN-MANIA-DC-1--prod7082.htm

 

And we have 4 omega changers. Occasionally for gigs in very small places I'll just set them on the floor tilted up but typicall we'll put them on stands. I have them hooked up to a dmx-50 controller and just have 3 different chases programmed to cycle through at like 10-15seconds per color scene. I just set it and forget it, and blackout during breaks. It works well. For bigger stages I'll throw up some extra blue or red par cans to help wash the stage. I recently added a Chauvet Mini-moon effect unit that I point down into the area in front of the stage and put on sound activation. Works out pretty well.