Buying microphone cable, 100m drums.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I initially thought it was a bit of a gimmick, and it's probably not for everyone, but my brain loves a bit of colour coding and it really helped find my way around when changing between banks/scenes etc.

Absolutely. It can really make a huge difference when working a complicated live show on a digital console with fader banking. I've lost count of the times I've become confused as to what a particular fader is doing on my old Dm1000 console when switching between channel fader banks, Aux sends, and masters... Some colour-coding would make that so much easier!

On the old BBC Type Ds the fader scales changed colour depending on which group or main output they were selected to feed, and that was really helpful in grabbing the right fader as the director was making it up as he went along!

[Kwackman]

Standard BBC practice was to use 23

Oh- I'd forgotten that.
And to think 23 (well actually -23) became the magic number for integrated loudness for broadcast.
Coincidence or foil hat time?

[Hugh Robjohns]

ooh! Spooky!

[ef37a]

"Painton faders" Ah, Paintons, one of a myriad industries gone from Northampton.
I made two good mates at Npton Tech' in my teens, Peter and Ivan who worked there. I was never short of carbon film high stab resistors or 27V relays!

Fun fact: Paintons printed the values on their resistors and I recall Pete & Co always struggling with the colour code.

Dave.

[Arpangel]

"Painton faders" Ah, Paintons, one of a myriad industries gone from Northampton.
I made two good mates at Npton Tech' in my teens, Peter and Ivan who worked there. I was never short of carbon film high stab resistors or 27V relays!

Fun fact: Paintons printed the values on their resistors and I recall Pete & Co always struggling with the colour code.

Dave.

Dave, it is sad, just looking through old pages of Studio Sound, at all the little business working out of back street workshops, London etc, tape machines, sound equipment, all gone, when I first moved to London, I almost got a job with Vitavox, but it was in the postage department, didn’t fancy it.
We had a thriving small manufacturing industry back then, in sound equipment, personal service, you could just turn up and see your stuff being made, we had a Leevers Rich tape machine, that was made in Hampstead.

[Hugh Robjohns]

We had a thriving small manufacturing industry back then, in sound equipment, personal service...

We still do... but it is different to what was around 60 years ago because today's sound industry is very different too!

But there are lots of people writing plug-ins and apps for audio, people running low-cost mastering, recording and rehearsal rooms, people making boutique microphones, gain-boosters, niche hardware, custom cables... all sorts of stuff.

I use a SADiE editor... that was made in Streatham near Cambridge...

[ef37a]

We had a thriving small manufacturing industry back then, in sound equipment, personal service...

We still do... but it is different to what was around 60 years ago because today's sound industry is very different too!

But there are lots of people writing plug-ins and apps for audio, people running low-cost mastering, recording and rehearsal rooms, people making boutique microphones, gain-boosters, niche hardware, custom cables... all sorts of stuff.

I use a SADiE editor... that was made in Streatham near Cambridge...

True Hugh true but I meant the big hitters, Timken Bearings, HUGE. Pollard bearings, Standard Valves, Plessey. Express Lifts but of course we still have 'Paddy's Well' but even that was almost lost!

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Things change... who knew?

[Arpangel]

True Hugh true but I meant the big hitters, Timken Bearings, HUGE. Pollard bearings, Standard Valves, Plessey. Express Lifts but of course we still have 'Paddy's Well' but even that was almost lost!

Dave.

Dave, I worked for Plessey, in telecoms, installing the first System X exchanges. Hated every minute of it, wasn’t for me, went into something a bit more healthy, outside.

[The Elf]

There are !!!
'Punchlight' have a few options and there are others

And we have a thread describing the Elf's adventures with an Arduino from a few weeks ago building something similar.

The Elf's creation (like his mixes) is well beyond me, but I shall check out 'Punchlight'.

Yep, it would work for this as well as a myriad other uses. It's actually very simple. As soon as I have my latest prototype completed I intend to make a video describing exactly how it works.

Essentially all you would do is send MIDI messages to my little box and it would light up in any way you like.

[Drew Stephenson]

I think we might have slightly different ideas of what constitutes 'simple' in this case!
But I shall definitely watch your video and see if I'm right.

[The Elf]

I think we might have slightly different ideas of what constitutes 'simple' in this case!
But I shall definitely watch your video and see if I'm right.

All you need to do is send a MIDI controller, or a MIDI note, and the box will light up one of its lights.

It genuinely is that simple!

[Martin Walker]

Well, given the prices of the Punchlight ones I might be thinking again about making my own. If I can make it switch off automatically as well I'll let you know.

I thought you might change your mind once you'd seen the price - I remember looking myself out of interest and thinking that DIY was a perfectly feasible alternative.

As for automatic switching, it ought to be possible to interface a circuit that reacts to any MIDI message by latching a light on for perhaps several minutes, and then switches off once no further MIDI message arrive within that several minute period.

Martin

[Hugh Robjohns]

All you need to do is send a MIDI controller, or a MIDI note, and the box will light up one of its lights.

It genuinely is that simple!

What's the cost of this MIDI light show box?

I found an eight-channel midi-controlled relay board for about £50 where each relay can be configured to respond independently to CC or note data.

https://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/mid ... immer.html
https://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/htm/midi-rly8.htm

Add a wall-wart power supply, some ultra bright LEDs with current limiting resistors, and a box and you're all done for well under a ton.

[The Elf]

Given that I've made them myself the cost is minimal - and no separate power supply is required if running it USB. It's simply a self-contained box:

This is an early prototype - the next version has a small display and is fully programmable (MIDI channel, note number or CC per-light) via the buttons.

(The lights are velocity (or controller value) sensitive (also with an overall brightness factor) - not just on/off.)

I made it for one of the bands I work with, where we need cues to keep us on track, based on backing patterns, but it's also proving popular at 'the other place' where we've begun to use it to cue in vocalists especially.

Given the interest I'm getting, (and I simply can't make them in numbers), I will admit that I am beginning to wonder about approaching a manufacturer.

[Drew Stephenson]

Now if we can get the cost down to about £25 that's about the level I can consider.

[The Elf]

Now if we can get the cost down to about £25 that's about the level I can consider.

I think the most expensive thing was the box - 15 quid!

[Drew Stephenson]

I await your video with interest.

[Dan LB]

As for the ‘fader glow’ you can also find it on some newer Calrecs too…

Ah... well... there's an interesting story there.

I don't know what the current situation is with Calrec, but I believe Studer tried to prevent Calrec from using their coloured ID strips alongside the faders by claiming the patent they somehow were granted on their own 'FaderGlow' system covered Calrec's system too because it was conceptually similar (but physically completely different).

Studer's engineering of the FaderGlow system is quite clever and typically Swiss. But I still struggle to understand how they could claim FaderGlow as a unique invention when the concept of electronically selectable coloured, back-lit faders or fader slots or fader escutcheons, as an aid function identification, pre-dates their design by nearly fifty years, and with at least four practical implementations of similar schemes in existence in the UK alone!

The first implementation of the idea that I know of was with the Painton faders, as already discussed. The next I know of was when SADiE introduced coloured virtual fader slots to indicate different fader automation modes in V3.0 of their DAW, which was around 1996.
SADiE fader automation.jpg

One of the nicest implementations of the concept of changing fader colour to indicate function was from Audix Broadcast (UK). They showed a really clever and fully functional prototype system in 2001 where the actual fader knob changed colour. Sadly, AFAIK no commercial product was ever made with their technology.
65web.jpg

Calrec's system on the Apollo desk (as in the image above) was around the early 2000s, as in your picture and it used a strip of multicoloured LEDs running alongside the fader slot.

In contrast Studer's FaderGlow system uses an end-lit perspex strip mounted inside the fader slot.

Very interesting! Thanks for the info Hugh

[Music Wolf]

I await your video with interest.

Here you go. Under £25 Yorkshire version,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRAKRe3un0s

[Wonks]

I await your video with interest.

Here you go. Under £25 Yorkshire version,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRAKRe3un0s

If you made it even cheaper and used real tea lights, then you could change the text to 'on fire'.

[forumuser840717]

All you need to do is send a MIDI controller, or a MIDI note, and the box will light up one of its lights.

It genuinely is that simple!

What's the cost of this MIDI light show box?

I found an eight-channel midi-controlled relay board for about £50 where each relay can be configured to respond independently to CC or note data.

https://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/mid ... immer.html
https://www.robot-electronics.co.uk/htm/midi-rly8.htm

Add a wall-wart power supply, some ultra bright LEDs with current limiting resistors, and a box and you're all done for well under a ton.

Yep. Works for me.

Would something like this MIDI controlled relay module be any help? I've used a few of these in very simple show control/cueing applications for theatrical stuff, just to fire basic switch commands via the relays from MIDI from a sequencer or MSC system to kit that doesn't understand MSC messages. Using them to switch cue lights on and off is very simple.

I used to have a Canford Audio box that did much the same thing in one of their almost indestructible extruded boxes but they seem to have discontinued it.