lookin 4 links on building homemade lightshow

thanks

Thanks for the reply. Something went wrong with the php script when I posted and my message didn't appear but you got it right. Here's what I meant 2 say.

lookin 4 links on building homemade lightshow

Hi, Didn't know quite where to post this....
I record at home and play live (I'm sure a lot of members here do both). I want to build a modest light show for my band. If anyone had useful links to plans for wiring dimmer/switching boards or building stovepipe cans or whatever please share em.
Thanks a lot.
 
Re: thanks

A basic lightshow is easy...

a box with a few dimmer's installed to outlets, which then in turn run to halogen fixtures you buy in home depot.

Instant dimmable light.

Just make sure you fuse it properly and don't exceed the outlet you plug it into :)



girvan said:
Thanks for the reply. Something went wrong with the php script when I posted and my message didn't appear but you got it right. Here's what I meant 2 say.

lookin 4 links on building homemade lightshow

Hi, Didn't know quite where to post this....
I record at home and play live (I'm sure a lot of members here do both). I want to build a modest light show for my band. If anyone had useful links to plans for wiring dimmer/switching boards or building stovepipe cans or whatever please share em.
Thanks a lot.
Click to expand...
 
Par cans are pretty cheap and any homemade system is going to be a pain and dangerous in a public setting. Homemade lights and dimmers are cool for the rehearsal studio but don't take them out in public.

Look online for Par can prices and you can get pretty cool dimmers from American DJ for pretty cheap. Power is going to be the biggest problem. Any club or bar that doesnt have lighting installed probably can't handle much more than a few hundred watts over what the band will be drawing. Floor stand halogen work lights from can be usefull for adding some ambience with a bit of color gel.

What kind of locations are you in that you need extra lighting? I've done more lighting than audio work so if you can be more specific about what you want to do I might be able to give you some ideas. It may be better to buy/make a couple special effect lights that are lower wattage and will add more wow factor than a bunch of outdoor flood lamps or something else cheazy like that.
 
My wife and I have a 2 'person' country/rock midi band. I play guitar,keys,accordion,harmonica live and she's plays acoustic guitar. The PC plays midi files (mostly bass and drums) that I sequence in cakewalk. I run it thru my motu 2408 and use samples and sound Fonts instead of GM sounds.

The clubs around here don't have in house light shows. Most have a typical 60W bulb in the middle of the stage ceiling. All we really need are a few cans up behind us and one out front. My budget at this point is about $100 CAN. A lot of duos use homemade systems around here.

I have already consulted with an electrician on proper wiring and specs. As far as drawing a lot of power on stage goes my entire rig (including PA) runs off of 1 110V plug.

My plan is 1 tripod holding 4 100W cans behind us (if successfull I may make a second) and a max of 2 out front mounted off the cabinets. The cans constructed of modified paint cans with recepicles screwed to and wired thru the back.(I picked up a dozen new cans at a local paint factory so no washing old cans and burning paint) The tripods constructed of 2" abs pipe with a max height of 8'. Nothing big. Just a minivan sized show. It would be nice to implement a way to chase thru the lights. Maybe RadioShack(?) has something for that. I don’t need dimmers just on/off. I’m thinking 4 lights per rack paired up to be switched
In ‘scenes’.

As far as I'm concerned cheese is better than being in the dark and of course I’d like to afford some nice cans (don’t we all like nice cans [sorry ladies]).

Your concern about public safety is valid. I don’t plan on having a fire hazard up behind us and will insure that someone who ‘really’ knows what they’re doing helps me wire this thing.

Whew…Good to have some folks discussing this. Till the next.
Scott.
 
Thats a pretty tight budget. To be honest I would save your pennies and at least get something like this

http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=1109&cat=LightPackages

before playing out with lights in paint cans. Even one good wattage par can with a nice gel will look surprisingly good.

Something like this next package would really be a good for providing a decent amount of light over a small dance floor area.

http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=1121&cat=LightPackages

If you just want flash you could go with something like this
http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=919&cat=LightPackages

This is a typical dimmer pack that would be hooked up to a controller for dimming and chase
http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=66&cat=Packs_Controllers

Here is a dimmer with a built in chaser
http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=92&cat=Chase_Controllers

A new par can is only about $50 and I have seen much better deals on them occasionally
http://www.americandj.com/product.asp?ProductIDNumber=375&cat=Par_Cans

But you can find them used for dirt cheap. Check out theatres, schools and clubs and see if they need to sell any old stuff. Use those packages as a guide for the different components and you might find something at Radio Shack. Like most cheap stuff though it will probably break just when you need it.

I would recomend getting one or two par 46 or 56 cans and just using extension cords for now. You can slowly add on to it if you want more lights and a dimmer pack later on. A simple but bright properly gel'd light will look very professional and add to the value of your act as opposed to people being distracted by watching the paint can smolder and wondering how long the bailing wire and duct tape will keep it attached to the tripod. ;)
 
Thanks for the links. You have some good points there. The last sentence is great, lol! true, very true.
later
 
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