Members willbill0587 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Jesus, they're expensive.We (band) want ot add soime lights to our shows.I'm sick of not bein able to see the fret board.I asked on the lightin forum but its slow over there and I'm sure some of you must use lights.So, what should I be looking for and what should I stay away from? Any Behringer type manufacturers?? Help! oh, and I aint got much money.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 My previous band bought this light set for the darker venues they played. It worked well for them, and I'm pretty sure it's still working fine. They let my new band use those lights for the video promo we shot in late November, and they worked fine. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-PAR-38-Lighting-System?sku=803139 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I've been researching the lighting thing silly lately. Here's what I know: If you're broke and need lights, a couple of trees like BP7770 linked would do fine. However, they won't do much to improve your show, they are very basic, but they will certainly be far better than nothing.Keep in mind that each of those cans has a 150 watt light bulb, if you have 8 total, that is 1200 watts when all of the lights are lit. You will need to pug your lights into a different outlet than your PA amp rack of you could end up popping a breaker during your set. As the lights get brighter, the power consumption and heat output goes up. A couple of trees of par 56 will really light up the stage, but they will draw more power than a single 15 amp standard circuit can provide. They will also be very hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I just took delivery of a Chavet DMX-55 and 4 Chauvet Colorsplash Jrs from Entertainment Systems Corporation. That was a bit more than I'm sure you're wanting to spend, but I have far more control and a ridiculous amount of expandability. Each colorsplash unit is about as bright as a par 38 can, but each CS JR can put out any combination of colors, including white, where the trees of four par cans are limited to four colors and a single brightness setting when used without a dimmer. Also, the CS JRs consume 24 watts peak. I can put more of those on a single circuit than I can afford to buy. I will probably add four more CS JRs and that will cover all of my stage wash necessities and I can add all kinds of goofy {censored} after that if I want to. The DMX controlled systems are really cool and offer far more flexibility than standard par can setups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fireball_73 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Just do what Wimbish did last night. Kick in the 18" speakers and then the ceiliing lights will get brighter because of the vibrations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 If you're broke and need lights, a couple of trees like BP7770 linked would do fine. However, they won't do much to improve your show, they are very basic, but they will certainly be far better than nothing. Far better than nothing for sure. They do feature sound-activated chaser, so that can be a little cooler than just plain lights. Again, my previous band only used them at venues where lighting wasn't so good. I've played with far better light shows and the engineers to run them. THAT will improve your show, but it'll cost ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willbill0587 Posted March 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 How much are them Jrs??If you dont mind saying that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 How much are them Jrs??If you dont mind saying that is... Looks like $80 here in the ol' US of A. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-LEDPAR83-COLORsplash-JR?sku=801374 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Far better than nothing for sure. They do feature sound-activated chaser, so that can be a little cooler than just plain lights. Again, my previous band only used them at venues where lighting wasn't so good. I've played with far better light shows and the engineers to run them. THAT will improve your show, but it'll cost ya. I played with a band last week that had one of those trees. Better than nothing, definitely, but it's kind of cheesy. The lighting system that I am assembling will ultimately cost me about $1500, but it will set my band apart from others in the area and will make the show more fun and satisfying. With any luck, it might help to generate some extra revenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willbill0587 Posted March 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 It would be good with the Jrs and the DMX controller coz we could expand the system as and when funds allow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 How much are them Jrs??If you dont mind saying that is... The going rate is $80 shipped. The larger version, the Colorsplash 200B is twice that. I've been told that the light output of the CS 200B is a little more than twice that of the JR. The difference is flexibility. You can do more with paid of JRs than you can with single 200Bs. Also, the JRs use 4 DMX channels and the 200Bs use 6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 The lighting system that I am assembling will ultimately cost me about $1500, but it will set my band apart from others in the area and will make the show more fun and satisfying. With any luck, it might help to generate some extra revenue. I hear ya there, except my band is simply trying to get to a point where we're earning more for our shows, then we can pay for great sound and lights. We played with a very impressive setup at a show in January. We're gettin' there... I think we'll get there much quicker now that we've added an awesome additional singer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 It would be good with the Jrs and the DMX controller coz we could expand the system as and when funds allow. Precisely. That's why I got the DMX-55. It's got 192 available channels, so I can add more fixtures than I will ever need. You can buy DMX based dimmer packs for standard par cans too, but I'm just biting the bullet and going the LED route just for simplicity and power concerns. I don't want to have to run around a bar to figure out where I can plug me lights in without worrying about overloading the circuit. With the LEDs, power consumption is a non-issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I hear ya there, except my band is simply trying to get to a point where we're earning more for our shows, then we can pay for great sound and lights. We played with a very impressive setup at a show in January. We're gettin' there... I think we'll get there much quicker now that we've added an awesome additional singer. I'm a control freak and a total geek when it comes to gear. It was like Christmas yesterday when I was unpacking all of the fixtures and connecting all of the cables together. It's really neat stuff and if I can run my own lights and sound, then it's more money for the band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I'm a control freak and a total geek when it comes to gear.It was like Christmas yesterday when I was unpacking all of the fixtures and connecting all of the cables together.It's really neat stuff and if I can run my own lights and sound, then it's more money for the band. Knowing you, that doesn't surprise me a bit. I just don't think anybody in my band would want to be bothered with all that extra light gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassplayer7770 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I just took delivery of a Chavet DMX-55 and 4 Chauvet Colorsplash Jrs from Entertainment Systems Corporation. Out of curiosity, how do you think 2 of those Colorsplash Jrs would look on stage? And how much is that controller? I only see the DMX-7 on Musician's Friend, but it looks like the one you linked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members willbill0587 Posted March 2, 2007 Author Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 How do u control the lights while playing??Also, how much do them DMX controllers cost??What would be a 'starting' point? 2 led lights?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Knowing you, that doesn't surprise me a bit. I just don't think anybody in my band would want to be bothered with all that extra light gear. Same here. They think it's neat, but they don't really care. I'm sure they will have no problem taking the compliments when we start rocking gigs with the full light show going. I'm trying to come up with solutions for keeping the light rig compact and integrating it into the existing PA gear. For instance, I'm going to build mounts for the CS JRs so that they will attach to the PA mains. All I'll have to do is plug them in an attach the DMX(XLR) cables to them. Not the big ass disco ball that I want to supsend over the drummer is going to be a bit of a hassel, but it will all be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 How do u control the lights while playing??Also, how much do them DMX controllers cost??What would be a 'starting' point? 2 led lights?? If you shop around on ebay, you can get the controllers for around $100. I bought mine new from ESC because they are a company with a great reputation for exceptional customer service and BillESC over at the lighting forum has been very helpful in explaining how all of this crap works. I got the DMX-55 and four CS JRs for around $500 shipped. I will be buying a behringer FCB-1010 midi foot controller to control my lights from the stage. Some DMX controllers have midi inputs that let you assign certain "scenes" to specific midi notes. I can program 240 scenes in the DMX-55 and then directly access all of them from the FCB-1010. As I told BP7770, two CS JRs aren't going to light up the whole stage by a long shot, but they will provide a decent effect. If you want to see what you're doing, you could point one CS JR where you're going to be on stage, program as many scenes as the controller will old, set it to sound trigger and then put all of your scenes into a chase. Once you have it dialed in, the unit will change scenes constantly, to the beat of the music and you'll be able to see what you're doing. After one show, your bandmates will probably want in on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members picker13 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Here's what I suggest. Start with a couple of trees of PAR 38 cans. Get sometime of foot controller that also has an automated chase function built in. Almost every brand of lighting has these sets. The advantage to them is 1) they're inexpensive, 2) they don't draw a lot of power, 3) they don't have excessive heat output, and 4) they are light (in terms of weight). If you get serious about your lighting, you can always graduate up to better trees or even rigging, larger cans, DMX controllers and dimmers, and even intelligent lighting (like scanners). If you can't find a foot controller, it isn't entirely needed, just easier if you don't have a dedicated sound/light guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sludgebass69 Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 My band has a Par 56 setup like the Par 38 set BP7770 posted. I t works great for the small bars we play and people like it. We've been lucky to have use of better systems at some of the bigger venues. I'd like to upgrade our system, but it's like pulling teeth with our guitard and I ain't wasing anymore of my own $ on this band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Roswellian Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I use MBT brand par 38 system with foot controler. http://www.musicorp.com/products/details.asp?ncatid=48&nsubcatid=419&nproductid=3368&sSKU=FCP38S I use a variation of this set up with 2 cans per channel instead of one O O O O--------- O O O O Search e bay for used. you'll find great deals One bad side of the MBT system is fragile din type cables. they cut and crush easily. I set them out last and pick them up first to increase service life and go to.. http://www.pssl.com/csearchresults.tpl~UID~2005121406210511~PID~235~CID~233~str_category~LT~TType~4~Vsort~A~cdesc~Gels%20-%20Single%20Sheets ...for groovey colored gels to keep things funky and fresh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burdizzos Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 Here are some pictures of what the Colorsplash Jrs can do. All pictures were taken with the camera and the CS JRs at 6 feet from me. The lights int he room were turned off, but as you can see, it is still light outside. One Single CS JR 100% Blue: Two slaved together 100% Red: Two slaved together 100% Red, 100% Blue (purple): Two slaved together 100% Green: Two slaved together 100% Red, 100% Green, 100% Blue (white): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Adrenochrome Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I got our band a couple of cheap PAR 56s from e-bay UK. They didn't break the bank and are fine for the small/medium pubs we play at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tylytle Posted March 2, 2007 Members Share Posted March 2, 2007 I bought 8 new par 38 cans on ebay for 40 bucks. we now have 12. we also have 4 tetra lights by Chauvet thingies (we call them the Ho-bitch lights) for the dance floor and crowd. Also have a fog machine. All in all about 400.00. We built our own light truss system. Zero dollars. Seems like the crowd likes them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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