Very basic stage lighting

[Aled Hughes]

I'm moving back into doing some small-scale live events, and I think a very basic simple lighting rig might be in order.

I have next to no knowledge about these things - what would I need to cast a small stage in a nice light from the front? No fancy or distracting stuff needed, just something to make the stage area/performers look a bit more special.

Two of these kind of things, either side of the stage looking at the performers?
https://www.gear4music.com/PA-DJ-and-Li ... wwQAvD_BwE

Anyone using anything similar (cheaper?!)?

Thanks in advance
Aled

[Drew Stephenson]

We have something similar but cheaper and without the foot-controller. Used to just set it to the sound activated option and it would happily change itself reasonably in time. We then just had an led rope that we draped across the drumkit and a couple of standalone sound-activated stand alone lights.
Generally the gigs we were doing were either a proper support at a pre-lit venue or the corner of a pub where we struggled to get ourselves in let alone a light rigg!

[Sam Spoons]

Those would be fine but I'm sure you can pick up something similar up significantly cheaper than those though.

I have older LED PAR cans and they work great, I have a bar of four and a couple singles on floor stands. I don't use any DMX I just set the colours using the DIP switches on the back.

[shufflebeat]

Whatever hardware you decide on, if you use some kind of DMX (not strictly necessary but opens up a whole lot of possibilities) then this app can help you choose colours and tell you the associated numbers:

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/colorlogi ... 1573972480

[Mike Monte]

I have a very 'spartan" light rig; two pars (trees) with four fixtures on each bar. fixtures: Rockville Battery Par 61 (all wired together) I have a control board

I store both bars (with lights attached) in an 88 key SKB keyboard case (with foam packing).
I purchased the case "used" on marketplace for $200

The above works....

I also have 16 PAR38 cans, two groups of 4 on trees, two groups of 4 for floor/bottom fills & dimmer packs, controller.

My old-school par cans served me well for years but the wireless ones that I have now are way-convenient.

[Aled Hughes]

Thanks all.

Good to know I'm on the right track. As I said, I have no knowledge or experience here - I don't know what kind of lights suitable for covering a whole stage vs what makes a spotlight etc, so I'm assuming those common four LED lamps on a T-bar are the things to go for?

I don't think I'll be wanting it flashing in time with the music - just a nice soft light on the stage, possibly changing colour slowly over the course of a set. Would both need to be synced for this, or does it usually look OK if the two sides are different colours?!

Ok, so it seems the ones I linked to are on the expensive side - any experience of any specific cheaper that does a job?

Also, do I need to be looking at anything specific in terms of numbers? I see reference to a "Par 61" etc.
There are also lights with a load of tiny LEDs vs lights with 7 or so larger ones, like the ones I linked to. Is one or the other more suitable for what I want?

Aled

[James Perrett]

I had a couple of Maplin lighting stands from the days when I did a bit of DJ'ing and I just added one of these

https://www.ukdj.co.uk/lighting-effect- ... ting-p4659

on each side. They were certainly bright enough although they have a fairly tight beam so it would probably be better to have at least 2 on each side.

[N i g e l]

DMX was the thing, I dont know if it is any more. A DMX controller is <£100 or there is DMXto MIDI which allows integration of lighting playback on a DAW track.

[Philbo King]

One thing I as a musician and a frequent audience member can strongly recommend:
Shine the lights on the performers; never at the audience. I just hate it.

There are bands and genres that are more about the audience than the music (e.g.,Grateful Dead, disco, rave). But I'm there only to see the art performed, not to see a circus or get blinded periodically through the night.
(/end 'old man yelling at sky' rant)

[Aled Hughes]

One thing I as a musician and a frequent audience member can strongly recommend:
Shine the lights on the performers; never at the audience. I just hate it.

There are bands and genres that are more about the audience than the music (e.g.,Grateful Dead, disco, rave). But I'm there only to see the art performed, not to see a circus or get blinded periodically through the night.
(/end 'old man yelling at sky' rant)

Thanks. Yes I specifically want to light the stage and performers from the front.

[Mike Monte]

IMO: Bands need some-sort of lighting these days.
People listen more with their eyes nowadays as opposed to years ago...or so it seems.

[Drew Stephenson]

Dammit, sorry, I was in the garage earlier and I forgot to check the make of the set we have.

EDIT - but google has helped: Showtec. Cheap and cheerful but have also been reliable.

[S2]

Hi

We use these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_cl ... _bar_5.htm

Inexpensive and they give a surprising amount of light. We tried them on sound to light but we found (and with audience feedback) it becomes very boring and then annoying after a while, so we moved to a slow fade. However with DMX there are many possibilities and it's something I'm trying to get my head around.

It's also got a decent white which I'd recommend.

[Aled Hughes]

Hi

We use these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_cl ... _bar_5.htm

Inexpensive and they give a surprising amount of light. We tried them on sound to light but we found (and with audience feedback) it becomes very boring and then annoying after a while, so we moved to a slow fade. However with DMX there are many possibilities and it's something I'm trying to get my head around.

It's also got a decent white which I'd recommend.

They look just the ticket, thank you.

Are you using one each side of the stage?

[Luke W]

Also, do I need to be looking at anything specific in terms of numbers? I see reference to a "Par 61" etc.
There are also lights with a load of tiny LEDs vs lights with 7 or so larger ones, like the ones I linked to. Is one or the other more suitable for what I want?

With PAR cans, the numbers refer to the diameter of the lamp in eights of an inch. Modern LED PAR cans use a cluster of LEDs rather than a lamp, but they've taken on the same sizing as their predecessors. So higher number=larger light. Generally speaking, they're the most basic of lights in that they have no ability to narrow or widen their focus. You turn them on, point them, and they cover an area with light. They're usually the go-to choice for throwing colour at areas of a stage, so are a good bet for exactly the sort of thing you're trying to do!

Modern LED ones tend to offer RGB (or RGBW) colour mixing, so you can have different colours without messing around with gels etc, and nearly all come with a selection of preset programs that means they can do various things without needing to hook up a controller -- colour changes, fading in and out, and so on.

As for not spending too much money, the likes of Lanta, Chauvet and ADJ all make decent stuff that won't break the bank. I'll pick my brain for more, but it's been a little while since I've had much to do with lighting.

Personally, I dislike hectic lighting. I think just throwing a colour wash over stuff does the trick most of the time. Once you get into flashing things and going for effects, you need a lot of lights being timed very well for it to be effective rather than looking a bit naff. That's just my miserable opinion though!

Another thing that's worth mentioning, is to avoid green when lighting people's faces -- it just makes them look really ill.

The vast majority of lighting fixtures support DMX, so it's easy enough to add some more control further down the line should you so wish!

[S2]

Hi

We use these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_cl ... _bar_5.htm

Inexpensive and they give a surprising amount of light. We tried them on sound to light but we found (and with audience feedback) it becomes very boring and then annoying after a while, so we moved to a slow fade. However with DMX there are many possibilities and it's something I'm trying to get my head around.

It's also got a decent white which I'd recommend.

They look just the ticket, thank you.

Are you using one each side of the stage?

Yes, space permitting!

They come with a nice carry case. You’ll need to budget for a pair of stands. As another option, I built an attachment so they could go on the top of the PA tops where space is too tight for the stands.

I didn’t bother with the floor controller. It comes with a hand remote control which is all I need to switch them on and off.

Very pleased with them.

[Aled Hughes]

Yes, space permitting!...

Thanks. I think I’ll go with two of those. I gather I’d be better off with the 4-lamp version instead if the 2?

[S2]

Yes, space permitting!...

Thanks. I think I’ll go with two of those. I gather I’d be better off with the 4-lamp version instead if the 2?

Well I think so. It means you can have one or two white lights each side as well as the coloured ones. Sometimes the colour washes can be a bit dark so the white ones can be directed on the performers.

[Aled Hughes]

Yes, space permitting!...

Thanks. I think I’ll go with two of those. I gather I’d be better off with the 4-lamp version instead if the 2?

Well I think so. It means you can have one or two white lights each side as well as the coloured ones. Sometimes the colour washes can be a bit dark so the white ones can be directed on the performers.

Thanks. I’ve ordered two with stands.

We’ll see how it goes. I really hope I don’t get too into it!

[shufflebeat]

I really hope I don’t get too into it!

You probably will - and then do far too much until the novelty wears off, then do much more with much less. At least that’s how it works with guitars, amps, mics, PA, home studio gear, etc., why should lights be any different?



Free software:

With a basic Windows laptop, a USB/DMX dongle and the Freestyler software you can explore all that your fixtures are capable of and plan your colour schemes in the privacy of your own boudoir.

https://www.freestylerdmx.be/

Chamsys MagicQ has Windows, Mac and Linux versions and has a great visualiser so you can recreate your setup virtually and practise on your telly at home.

https://chamsyslighting.com/pages/magicq-downloads

Both can be used to run a show.

[Music Wolf]

We have a Eurolite KLS200, basically 4 LED Pars, which goes behind us pointing down at the stage plus 2 x Chauvet Slim Par 56s. The Slim Pars mount onto the back of our PA tops pointing back at the stage (or corner of the pub).

The whole thing is controlled via DMX and I use a software package called QLC+, which was free. In QLC+ I assign lighting commands to MIDI notes then I create a lighting MIDI track in Cubase along side our backing track (we record our own backing). This MIDI track is then played back using Cantabile software (which handles all of our backing requirements) and I have a cheap USB to DMX lead.

[AlecSp]

For simple pub band lighting, I went for this very cheap option
4Pcs/Lots 12x12W RGBW 4 in 1 LED Par Light 12x18W

I run them as two linked pairs on separate speed slow colour fades. No mountings, just on the floor as uplighters behind the band. They fit in the tiniest of spaces, around the band.

I definitely wouldn't want to be wrangling additional stands and light bars for many of the pub venues we do. Plus coloured front light can look pretty grim - side/back/up light is where it's at. I'd love more control over them, but it's more kit and more to worry about during playing.

Best of all, they were £80 for 4 lights. Punchy, and do the job.

In action (and it was a plain wall/curtains):

[Aled Hughes]

Hi

We use these:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_cl ... _bar_5.htm

Inexpensive and they give a surprising amount of light. We tried them on sound to light but we found (and with audience feedback) it becomes very boring and then annoying after a while, so we moved to a slow fade. However with DMX there are many possibilities and it's something I'm trying to get my head around.

It's also got a decent white which I'd recommend.

A pair has just arrived. They seem solidly built, straightforward to operate and a nice warm yellowish white. Also, conveniently, they have IEC outputs which I gues could power the speakers next to them. They seem just the ticket!

It'll be a couple of months before I can try them on a gig, but my new studio room at home should be ready this week, so I might set up a disco for the kids before moving all my gear in!

[S2]

I never saw the IEC outlet!! That would be ideal for when I mount them on the PA tops. I’m using them at a really cramped gig tonight so I’ll try it out.

I’m also looking at the links that Shuffles posted above. Think I’ll order a DMX thingy to go to (preferably a tablet but if it only works on my MacBook then I guess I’ll have to use that) to see if I can come up with something a bit more inventive.