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Live Sound, Live Lighting?

Skel

Skel

Jun 19, 2005
3,237
45
Boulder, Colorado
#1
I hope it's okay to discuss lighting in this forum - it seems to go hand in hand with live sound.

I'm just learning about PA's and lighting. I was in guitar center the other day and they had some kind of very low wattage LED bulbs that looked really cool to me. I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about. They put out little beams of light. The only problem was, you needed a fog machine or something to get some "smoke" in the air in order to see how these lights put out the beams. Or cigarette smoke, and I don't think you can smoke anywhere these days, except outside and I mean WAY outside.

Also, has anybody ever used just a simple $500 laser and let it just do random things, simply for the entertainment value? I'm not implying that having one would compensate for being a bad band, I just think adding a little entertainment to embellish the music is not that bad of a thing if it's easy to implement it.
 
#3
Sure I see this as the right forum for discussing lighting.

LED PAR lamps are great, but you didn't mean these ones right? However, they're relatively cheap and you don't need colour filters with them. You don't sweat as much in front of them as well as they don't get hot. Other plusses are that they consume very little energy and last longer. Regular 300/500/1000W lamps have a much shorter life.

Fog machines are fun from time to time, but mostly they're unnecessary. Never used a laser.
 
#4
We use some stuff, but not the LED stage lights. We have been wanting some, but the cost has been an issue. However, like the above mentioned, those things are pretty much a one time investment. With par cans (incandescent), you are always replacing bulbs, gels and they do get extremely hot.

As far as smoke goes, if you're going to have any light (besides a really expensive green laser), you're going to need smoke to make it really effective. We have this four headed scanner thing and a big mushroom light. They look ok by themselves, but the smoke machine really sets them off.

Here is a not so good example, but you get the idea:

l_47f2db048e0a47e00ce17251bbdc46a6.png


That light stand behind the drummer would just be flashing if not for the smoke.
 
#6
Moreno_IV said:
We use some stuff, but not the LED stage lights. We have been wanting some, but the cost has been an issue. However, like the above mentioned, those things are pretty much a one time investment. With par cans (incandescent), you are always replacing bulbs, gels and they do get extremely hot.

As far as smoke goes, if you're going to have any light (besides a really expensive green laser), you're going to need smoke to make it really effective. We have this four headed scanner thing and a big mushroom light. They look ok by themselves, but the smoke machine really sets them off.

Here is a not so good example, but you get the idea:

l_47f2db048e0a47e00ce17251bbdc46a6.png


That light stand behind the drummer would just be flashing if not for the smoke.
Click to expand...


Ok this is good to know - so the LED's are the way to go if you can afford them. I hate that head of traditional lights.

Yeah, that light beam looks very cool by your drummer - that's the kind of stuff I'm talking about. Didn't know "green" lasers were the most expensive, but then again, I know absolutely nothing about them except that I want one.
 
#7
Yeah, I think the LED cans run about $170 a piece or so. But, you shouldn't have to replace anything on them for years, if ever. I think those LEDs have a 100,000 hour life span or something.

The green lasers are the only ones that will produce a visible beam without smoke (at least as far as I know). Here are some at MF:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=green+laser&st=

There are some cheaper red lasers that will project on the wall good, but they still need some kind of medium (smoke) to be seen in mid-air.
 
#9
when done right lasers and led's look far classier than par cans. i'd suggest a mister rather than a fog machine. i prefer only a couple of par 56's for stage (or led's if you can) and use the majority of lighting effects to highlight the dance area to encourage some movement. i really hate fast chase patterns on stage when performing - it's just distracting to me.
 

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