Shine Some Light

SlapHappy99

SlapHappy99

Dec 27, 2010
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#1
Sorry if this is a bit off-topic...

My 4-piece folk/pop band has been playing in dark pubs and similar places for a few years, so I'd like to get some simple lighting to improve our look. I was thinking of a pair LED PARs that I could clamp onto our speaker stands or maybe just put on the floor pointing up. Ideally, there would be a remote control so I could dial in some intensity and color and just leave them on. Maybe I would change the color between sets. I want to keep it really simple - no lighting consoles, etc.

It looks like Chauvet and American DJ are the major players in this space. Also, there are lots of cheap LED PARs on eBay, but I suspect this is one of those "you get what you pay for" products.

Any suggestions?
 
#3
And clamping them to speaker stands is much better than on the floor pointing up. Lighting from below looks cool against walls or curtains but makes people look creepy. Plus they are blinding! Put a couple up high pointing down from the speaker stands and a couple shining up from the floor against the back wall for some contrasting backlighting.
 
#5
IMG_2679.JPG IMG_2677.JPG
Chattam County Line. I used 3 units per side. Clamped vertically to a set of extra tall speaker stands (think stop light). The trees were about 20 to 25 feet to the side and maybe 6 to 8 feet out front. I blended red and green to get that shade of yellow orange. These are rgbw leds that color mix in the bulb. Colors are very smooth...

Pics below are at dusk. This was 12 units pretty close in but it was mid summer and quite light outside. Band 1 is JellyBread with Erik Lewis on bass. He is a bad mofo! Band 2 is my sound company's favorite funk band ManimalHouse from Portland. These guys are way too much fun...bass player and drummer channel David Garibaldi and Rocco...
IMG_2529.JPG IMG_2509.JPG 10-watt x 9 LED Flat PAR Stage Light (RGBW) - Monoprice.com

Monoprice 9x10 watt at $60 per unit are great. Figure out a way to clamp a pair to the TOP of your speaks. 4 units, a few cables and a basic DMX controller and you are there.
 
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#8
Have a look at the video below. This is what I installed at the small club I manage. It is simply two of the AVE LED par cans out front and two of them aimed across the backdrop all on a slow fade with slightly different fade speeds. There is also an LED strip on the floor at the back. I've got two of them at home which we simply gaffer tape on top of the FOH speakers at other gigs we do.

 
#9
Too few band geeks even think about lighting! Sad, because what people remember is actually seeing a band and how they dressed, more than what the band sounded like. Sad but true.

I'm queer about this topic, so permit a few of my simple thoughts:
There's stage lighting... and there's "light show" lighting.
If you're the appointed "lighting mook", decide how much thankless time (also money) you want to spend just before each gig setting up and programming lights and worrying about it.

Try to get your people to wear whites and brights. Black is ridiculous, IMHO.

My band would stand up there in total darkness wearing black, and not give it a second thought if it wasn't for us self-appointed lighting mooks.
My #1 job is to play bass, but we can't be in darkness, so I chose to concentrate on simple "stage wash lighting."

My 3-step suggestion (ymmv):
Never use green as a wash. That's correct, never - unless your band is The Munsters.

1. With simple white lighting instruments on stands (or from the ceiling) from a front 45 degree angle, wash the stage with two floods using Bastard Amber color gel. You'll all look tan and young and healthy, (even if you're white and old and dying like me.)

2. From an extreme side light, squirt the side of everyone with a daffodil gel.

Rosco - Roscolux They're cheap and last forever.

3. From the back of the stage, pound everyone's back of head (and the crowd) with 2-4 blue gelled "rim lights". You'll make a stunning halo in everyone's hair. A rim light means you know your stuff. (These are important, if you axe me.)

Leave all these lights on until quitting time. You'll be a hero, and everyone will say Wow, except for anyone else in your band, who will just look at you funny.
Here's a shot of our singer under the lighting I just described...
You'll find quick 20 minute ways to throw these lights up before the gig. Linda Villareal.jpg
 
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#10
Gel ? Eee gad
Bastard Amber is dmx rgb 255, 125, 27

I like Special Lavendar as the accent which is rgb 255, 122, 255

And yeah. Keeping it simple is the way to remain sane while playing, singing and in my case also mixing from stage...

I use an auto fade mode on those monoprice lights I linked to and vary the delay times fixture to fixture. Depending on the room, I may also want some upright on the walls. I cut down Some plastic painters buckets from Home Depot. High in front, low in back and a slot for the cables. For weddings, I wrap them in gift wrap... they make nice accent lighting.
 
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#11
SuperK said:
I bought some of these off Amazon: Amazon.com: LaluceNatz 18LED Par Lights for Stage Lighting with RGB Magic Effect by Remote Control and DMX512: Musical Instruments
They are inexpensive and feel cheaply made but for light duty they work fine. They come with a remote and a can operate in a variety of different modes. For what you are describing they might be a good fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks @SuperK . How wide of a beam do these throw? In one of the video reviews on Amazon it looked pretty narrow
 
#12
SlapHappy99 said:
Thanks @SuperK . How wide of a beam do these throw? In one of the video reviews on Amazon it looked pretty narrow
Click to expand...

From 10' away they throw about a 4' wide beam.

I second what Big Sky says. Never use green, get some amber light up front to light up the faces, add some colored side wash, and add a color in the rear to add depth. Now if I can get just get my band to stop wearing all black......

Here is a color chart I use. Found it on the Googles.

ColorMacroDMXvalueschart.jpg
 
#14
SuperK said:
From 10' away they throw about a 4' wide beam.

I second what Big Sky says. Never use green, get some amber light up front to light up the faces, add some colored side wash, and add a color in the rear to add depth. Now if I can get just get my band to stop wearing all black......

Here is a color chart I use. Found it on the Googles.

View attachment 993718
Click to expand...


Nice chart but... that light is 18 watts(at least I read the amazon description as 18x1. That means you need 5 of them to lay down as much light as the 9x10 I linked to... So $150 vs $60 and 4 more interconnect cables... more time, more things to go wrong...
 
#17
I gotta a couple of the 10 watt RGB led landscape lights with plugs (mentioned in weekend warrior stage lighting) off ebay super cheap. Have used them clamped on mains and on floor tilted up as side fill / wash lights. I use the slow fade. I also use one tree with four par 38 cans with floodlight bulbs and RGBY gels. I've done many shows with just the one tree off to the side. As I've gotten older ease of setup has become a priority. I would also add that most of the shows I do are small to medium size venues.
 
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