Weekend Warrior Stage Lighting Discussion

[Stinsok]

Played an outdoor venue at a golf club last night. We played on a very nice covered stage. Probably 20x15'. They had (2) Chauvet Washfx lights mounted on the front corners of the stage where the roof was supported. Probably 10 feet up. We didn't mess with them and used our own. After the gig was over someone turned them on. They were on a static amber setting and were super bright! Those two lit up the entire stage. I've been worried about PAR's when I should have looked into these!

Chauvet DJ Wash FX Tri-Color RGB Wash Effect

 

[DirtDog]

Played an outdoor venue at a golf club last night. We played on a very nice covered stage. Probably 20x15'. They had (2) Chauvet Washfx lights mounted on the front corners of the stage where the roof was supported. Probably 10 feet up. We didn't mess with them and used our own. After the gig was over someone turned them on. They were on a static amber setting and were super bright! Those two light up the entire stage. I've been worried about PAR's when I should have looked into these!

Chauvet DJ Wash FX Tri-Color RGB Wash Effect

Those are exactly what we use. Mounted on top our mains. They are bright!

 

[Stinsok]

Those are exactly what we use. Mounted on top our mains. They are bright!

I really want to try these out.

 

[FuturePrimitive]

I've got 2 of these. Where shall I stick 'em?
Front, back, sides? Together, separate?
All pointing the same way or something else?

We have the older square fixture version of these. I set 'em at the front of the stage (either side) facing in at about 45-60 degrees to the band. I angle each individual light in a different spot to cover the whole stage and avoid blasting any band member right in the face/eyes. I just set it to slow color fade and leave it, I also run sound while playing bass so I've got my hands full enough without trying to run a light show too! It's a simple set up but it gets the job done. Would love to add some haze but haven't done that yet.

 

[maxmaroon]

Video of the Marq rezotubes under pixel control...can't wait to add 5 more tubes down the road...lots of cool looks from these.

 

[Bullitt5135]

Played an outdoor venue at a golf club last night. We played on a very nice covered stage. Probably 20x15'. They had (2) Chauvet Washfx lights mounted on the front corners of the stage where the roof was supported. Probably 10 feet up. We didn't mess with them and used our own. After the gig was over someone turned them on. They were on a static amber setting and were super bright! Those two lit up the entire stage. I've been worried about PAR's when I should have looked into these!

Chauvet DJ Wash FX Tri-Color RGB Wash Effect

The downside to the Chauvet WashFX is that you can't dim them without a DMX controller. They are ridiculously bright. Since I'm too cheap and lazy to buy a controller and learn how to use it, I threw together a couple scrims (out of black landscape fabric!) to cut down on the glare. They were still bright enough for the small stage we were on. I may look into the Chauvet Slimbank T18 -- they may be easier to dim with the IRC remote control.

 

[superflybass]

The downside to the Chauvet WashFX is that you can't dim them without a DMX controller. They are ridiculously bright. Since I'm too cheap and lazy to buy a controller and learn how to use it, I threw together a couple scrims (out of black landscape fabric!) to cut down on the glare. They were still bright enough for the small stage we were on. I may look into the Chauvet Slimbank T18 -- they may be easier to dim with the IRC remote control.

obey 40 dmx controller will make things better!

 

[Big Hoss]

Folks,

Does anyone know of a budget friendly way to add DMX control to non DMX lighting?

 

[Goatrope]

obey 40 dmx controller will make things better!

Will the Obey 40 really work?

WashFX only has two "personalities", a 7 channel and a 24 channel. The dimmer function is only accessible via the 24 channel, and the Obey 40 is only 16 channels.

May want to confirm. Maybe it truncates after 16 channels? Dimmer feature is on channel 1 of 24.

 

[Big Hoss]

What did you use for the foot switches? How about a photo?

I can officially say never mind the stomp box. It turned out to be WAY more hassle than it was worth... Heavy, unreliable etc..

 

[superflybass]

Will the Obey 40 really work?

WashFX only has two "personalities", a 7 channel and a 24 channel. The dimmer function is only accessible via the 24 channel, and the Obey 40 is only 16 channels.

May want to confirm. Maybe it truncates after 16 channels? Dimmer feature is on channel 1 of 24.

I was able to dim in 7 ch mode its a bit of a process finding where it works. But I got it to

 

[Big Hoss]

Okay folks, here's what we have rigged so far. Not super happy with it, but it is working more or less.

We currently have 4 of these cheap Amazon LED PAR lights.
Amazon.com - GBGS Led Uplight RGB PAR Light Mini 86 LEDs 7 Channel DMX512 Colorful Wall Wash for KTV Bar Wedding Festival Party -

2 of these in blue, and 2 in I think red

Amazon.com: Gemmy 88619 Projection Kaleidoscope Spot Light: Home & Kitchen

So what I am looking to do with the repurposed Christmas lights which is basically what they are, I want to be able to turn them on and off with a pedal. Right now I am just switching them with a switch on a surge suppressor and my toe. Not the best option ever.

With the PAR cans we have them set to auto, and master / slave mode. Which I sometimes get right, others not. Sometimes they just seem to all trip into auto / sound activated mode and they don't follow the same pattern...

I haven't finished the mounts for the PA speakers, but they are close. Just needs paint and the eye bolts run in.

I am looking to make the lighting a bit more controllable from the stage, reliably. I built an oversize stomp box power controller that I had some heat issues with so scrapped that, so I need to come up with a better idea.

What say you folks? How can a tiny backyard party / weekend warrior band control their lights?

 

[Goatrope]

I was able to dim in 7 ch mode its a bit of a process finding where it works. But I got it to

Cool!

 

[maxmaroon]

I was able to dim in 7 ch mode its a bit of a process finding where it works. But I got it to

I looked at the dmx map and the first 3 channels are faders for RGB so they can dim in 7 channel mode but you have to dim each colour separately.
If you want to access the full 24 channels on the 40 you can (likely) address the fixture for e.g., fixture #1 (using channels 1-16) and then also utilise fixture # 2 for this same light (using the first 8 faders to control dmx channels 17-24) it will be trickier to program and you will have to waste that second fixture channel and 8 dmx channels to do so; I wrote likely because I have never tried this but it should be possible.

On a side note I have a brand new chauvet obey 70 that is free to go to a happy home...Bought it before quickly derailing to go the software route and only used it once...first PM claims it and all you have to do is donate the shipping (minimal) to your favourite charity.

 

[maxmaroon]

What say you folks? How can a tiny backyard party / weekend warrior band control their lights?

You can control the pars with a dmx controller: There are all sorts of small dmx controllers available: some are foot pedal based and some you would need a midi foot controller. Unfortunately, you can only cycle the power to the mini spots. I would leave the minis on all the time for ambient lighting and then get a dmx controller for the pars.

If you want to shut them all off and on at the same time you will have to cycle the power.

 

[maxmaroon]

Obey 70 has found a home!

 

[Cazman]

Okay folks, here's what we have rigged so far. Not super happy with it, but it is working more or less.

We currently have 4 of these cheap Amazon LED PAR lights.
Amazon.com - GBGS Led Uplight RGB PAR Light Mini 86 LEDs 7 Channel DMX512 Colorful Wall Wash for KTV Bar Wedding Festival Party -

2 of these in blue, and 2 in I think red

Amazon.com: Gemmy 88619 Projection Kaleidoscope Spot Light: Home & Kitchen

So what I am looking to do with the repurposed Christmas lights which is basically what they are, I want to be able to turn them on and off with a pedal. Right now I am just switching them with a switch on a surge suppressor and my toe. Not the best option ever.

With the PAR cans we have them set to auto, and master / slave mode. Which I sometimes get right, others not. Sometimes they just seem to all trip into auto / sound activated mode and they don't follow the same pattern...

I haven't finished the mounts for the PA speakers, but they are close. Just needs paint and the eye bolts run in.

I am looking to make the lighting a bit more controllable from the stage, reliably. I built an oversize stomp box power controller that I had some heat issues with so scrapped that, so I need to come up with a better idea.

What say you folks? How can a tiny backyard party / weekend warrior band control their lights?

Hoss... most of our lights a DMX but an easy way to control a "party/Christmas fixture is to get an industrial foot switch that is used for power tools. I velcro mounted one to a small piece of wood for stability and set it next to my effects pedalboard. If you have multiple fixtures you can just daisy chain with an extension cord. Simple, cheap, effective.

 

[jad]

I looked at the dmx map and the first 3 channels are faders for RGB so they can dim in 7 channel mode but you have to dim each colour separately.
If you want to access the full 24 channels on the 40 you can (likely) address the fixture for e.g., fixture #1 (using channels 1-16) and then also utilise fixture # 2 for this same light (using the first 8 faders to control dmx channels 17-24) it will be trickier to program and you will have to waste that second fixture channel and 8 dmx channels to do so; I wrote likely because I have never tried this but it should be possible.

On a side note I have a brand new chauvet obey 70 that is free to go to a happy home...Bought it before quickly derailing to go the software route and only used it once...first PM claims it and all you have to do is donate the shipping (minimal) to your favourite charity.

Yes, you can use 2 fixtures on an Obey 40 as you describe. I do it to pixel map the facets that point at the front of the stage to always be white. Complete PITA to program, by the way.

 

[DirtDog]

The downside to the Chauvet WashFX is that you can't dim them without a DMX controller. They are ridiculously bright. Since I'm too cheap and lazy to buy a controller and learn how to use it, I threw together a couple scrims (out of black landscape fabric!) to cut down on the glare. They were still bright enough for the small stage we were on. I may look into the Chauvet Slimbank T18 -- they may be easier to dim with the IRC remote control.

I feel your pain. It took me hours of research and a false start with my first ever DMX contoller (Chauvet obey 3) before I realized what I actually needed to run these lights effectively since they are switchable between 7 chan and 23 chan DMX modes. Ended up with an Obey 40 and run in 7 chan mode. With this, I can create a range of simple scenes and chases (mostly stick to scenes) that have a variety of self-programmed dim levels - or can be manually adjusted on site. Work for me!

Although, these newer LED wash lights with remote control seem to make more sense as the days go by - makes the controller and cabling redundant. Mind you, I can run a larger number of lights and have singular control over them with the Obey - instead of keeping a handful of remote controls organized and batteried-up.

 

[mellowinman]

Stay away from green. Use more white/clear. Never a bad idea.