Lighting for a Rock Band

Hey trip,

Welcome the forum! Email or pm me Ill be happy to help ya out!

or if u can't get ahold of amp.....me! jingles!! welcome to the forum!! trust me you'll get plenty of help here so much u prob. had no idea how much help you can get! sincerely jingles!

Jingles. Fire away! I really appreciate the input. More opinions are great.
Thanks

you know im not sure if u can get a system of moving heads for under 1500. so my two reccommendations are check out the scan tron 250 scanner or the djspot 250 but the dj spot 250 cannot strobe! it can do a 2 color strobe where it just goes back and forth from one color to the next and back really fast. the scan tron has nice gobos 10 of them in all and can strobe in any color or gobo! for a controller i reccommend the elation dmx operator 192 with the joystick. they are discontinued but i am sure u can find them around still and maybe at a lower cost than normanl. di u have a good dealer? i know one i will pm u his info! if u need anything else or need to know how this stuff works hit me up here or Private message me! sincerely jingles!!

Tripwire,

I agree with Jingles, movers will cost you anywhere from $600 each for basics to $3500 for major power. I'm assuming that these will be your only lights and you have little or none so far, correct? If so you are going to need a little more than scanners. You need "color fill" or in other words a basic wash of light on the stage/band. Otherwise its just going to be a bunch of flying gobos over the stage and no one will see the band.

Now color fill can be achieved by anything from cheap par cans ($15-40 each) to color changers ($100 each) and L.E.D.'s ($200 each) each has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, A par can will give you the most light for the least price but only one color. A color changer is in the middle with 6-15 colors but not as bright. led's can produce 2.6 million shades w/o touching the fixture but cost the most and are the worst light to money ratio. See what I'm saying? Then you can get into effects whether it be a simple spinning effect to a dmx controlled scanner. I have written a basic guide for starting lighting on ANOTHER PAGE and I think you should at least take a peek. It covers alot of aspects. If you want me to come up with details for different options and prices I can do that and post it ere for you.

And also, Welcome to the forum!

Hi.
I want some light for a church Christmas program.
What do you thing of 4 light P36 LED's, a 512 DMX controller, one stand for the lights, one 25' wire, and three 10' of wire for $599.00
Andy

i would reccommend the p64's actually! but you might be able to get away with the 36's. tell me how high is your hanging point and how far away will the lights be from the performers?? let me know then i will be able to help you out! peace! jingles!!

Hello all. Great forum. For some reason I'm unable to start a new topic, so I'll just reply to this one since it is related.

My (rock) band plays small to medium clubs/bars in my area on weekends (strictly small-time), and we're in the process of revamping our light show. We're not going to get real elaborate, but it'll be an automated show run from a computer sequencer. In addition to using a couple of DMX dimmers and conventional par cans (along with the Elation DMX Operator Pro controller), we were looking at seeing if we could do intelligent scanners or moving head fixtures cheaply. I've been looking at several American DJ models -- the DJ Spot 250, the Fusion Scan 250, and the Scan Tron 250. Each looks pretty cool in the demo videos, and I think I have a pretty good grasp of the features of each. My question is, will any of these units be robust enough for my application, i.e. will they provide enough output or would I just be wasting my money by trying to do this cheaply instead of going with the bigger, more-expensive units? I'm looking at probably purchasing 4 units, and I'm hoping to use a couple for front position spots in addition to the usual moving/intel fixture duties. I also plan to add a haze machine to enhance the effect of the lights. (Anyone know of a good inexpensive hazer?)

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,
PK

Intelligent lighting is a great way to go. Any 250 watt lamped fixture will suit your needs in the bar/club scene. 4 fixtures is also a great place to start.

There has always been ongoing discussion as to whether or not scanners or moving heads are the way to go. In my opinion, moving heads look much nicer, but in general take up more space and naturally have many more moving parts (and therefore more than can break). While not in all cases, they tend to weigh more too.

Scanners are great for bars/clubs because they can go up on you truss, and can easily be elevated to the (usually) low ceiling heights. This gets the lights and truss up and out of the way as much as possible. Moving heads can sit on racks and the ground to aide more elaborate lighting design possibilities.

For a bar band, I'd recommend the scanners. I really like moving heads, but the time and place must be right for them to utilize their potential. The scanners will likely work in just about every situation.

As for front lighting, automated fixtures work on larger scales, but for the bar scene would likely just blind the performers and provide insufficient coverage. I find that pars/lekos are the best for lighting the performers. Plus, you'll get more coverage out of pars.

I'd say 4 intelligents would suppliment a par rig very well. That's what I did for a while, and then added more intelligents. That's how I fell in love with the Mighty Scans.

Keep power in mind too. In the typical bar/club, you'll be lucky to come up with 40 amps dedicated to lights. Intelligents can give you more 'show' for the power they consume. Also, 250 watt intelligents play very well and 4 of them only consume approximately 1000 watts of power, which easily fits on one 20 amp circuit.

Bigger and more expensive fixtures will have more features, be brighter, have better optics and movement. But that comes with multiple price tags. Monetary costs are increased, they weigh more, and consume more electricity.

As for durability, fixtures have a general lifespan, but most of it is dependent upon how you treat the fixtures. Buying cases to store and transport them is crucial. Keeping them clean and servicing them when issues arise is also crucial.

You may be able to save on the hazer because of the usual dense and smokey atmosphere in bars (unless it has gone smoke-free).

Best,
-Tech

Great advice Tech, THANKS!

PK