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Sujet: What lights shall I get?

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I'm slowly developing my small DJ business, and I've partly sorted the whole speaker situation out for what I want. But what type of lights do I need and how many to get started? I don't know nothing about mobile disco lights, so please inform me what you'd recommend for most events as I am clueless about disco/dj lights. I aim to not look badly unprofessional so please recommend decent lights as it'd be appreciated. Thanks, Rich.

Also would you say these speakers are any good? Thank you once again.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Peavey-Pro-Sub-Subwoofer-Pro-15-PA-Speaker-Package-Kit-DJ-Disco-/170782734184?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item27c371b768
 
Posté Sun 25 Mar 12 @ 7:32 pm
There is no set "these are what you need" answer.

It depends on your budget for a start. It then depends on what transport you have.

If someone says that you need ten £1000 lights, that are 30kg each - can you afford them, and can you transport them?

And no, Peavey speakers are not particularly good!
 
I would say go for lights that have DMX you can get cheep once with DMX. Why go for DMX? well if you later one decide to get a DMX controller all your lights can be programed. and almost all lights that have DMX also work in sound active mode too.
If you want some cheep lasers the American DJ micro lasers are really good and come with a wireless remote. but don't expect to cover Wembley with them though.
I'll also recommend getting a fog machine as most lights don't get the right affect unless there is some fog in the room.
 
as said above, there are no rules for and against lighting, it\\\\\\\'s all about fitting it in with your needs and the design ideas of your \\\\\\\"Show\\\\\\\".

all mine are DMX controllable and the entire package has cost me less than £700 in total, 4 scanners, 2 barrel, 2 mutliplex and a laser

also a fogger for effect :-)

also in the background a par bar for flood \\\\ first dance
 
I'm going to suggest the opposite :) - welll kind of, anyway

If you think your mobile gigs are going to be you alone, I would suggest effects that:
1. Look good by just tuning them on
2. Don't require to run as pairs to look good
3. Don't require dmx to look good
4. Always work (obviously)
5. Don't consume a lot of power

You don't really have time to mess with the lights ones you've put them up - you are busy djing - and power can always be an issue when you mobile DJ in weird places

So I would go for good looking stand-alone effects that use LED as light source

I'm not saying that they shouldn't have DMX - only that they should be good looking without it. If you plan to expand to do two-people gigs, where one in in charge of the lights, or plan to use your lights more creatively, then DMX is the way to go

All my lights look great running on programs or sound control, and they are all "big lights" in the sense, that 2 of them is enough to light up an avg sized ballroom. I normally bring 8 on two stands, and mix between them, so only 2 or 4 of them are runing at any given time. This really just requires that they are lights with lots of beams at the same time and a big coverage angle

Like I said: Alway choose LED's, and mix between ones that have a motor in them, so that the light moves around in normal movements, and the ones with a lot of static dots that just gets turned on and off in patterns

Other than that, look at the unit. Does it look professioinal or does it look like a toy? To me it's important that the units looks professional when they are not running and the house light is still on during dinner - If they look good both on and off, it doesn't matter that you got them cheap :)

So they don't have to be expensive. American DJ makes ok stand-alone lights. You can look them up on youtube to see what they look like running, and to see other peoples comments on them

Regarding fog, I would go with a Hazer. It chops up the fog and releases it slowly, so you don't blast it in to the room (women especially seem to hate that), and make less smoke looks just as look

/Klaus

Example of cheap motor driver LED effect with big output angle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xLG8iIbT1c

Effect of cheap dot-patten based LED effect with big output angle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59cjm_ZDDFo
 
Klaus,

you seem to have mis-interpreted my post :-)

was not inferring that he should / shouldn't have certain types of lights, merely that it's whatever he deems suitable for his show, and by his show i was not suggesting that it's all about him, mores his business target,

even though i have listed all mine seemingly in pairs, they are all capable running independently and without the need for computer DMX control,

images shown above were of a wedding gig done in march last year, and an all day event which gives me the time to set up, and sort control options for the lighting

yet the whole basis of the system is that it can be broken down depending on the event and used as per requirements..

at the end of the day, the target audience is what you should be basing your needs on,

every-opinion counts, but none should be seen as the answer to all your questions
 
i would buy these :-D
 
I would seriously recommend that you DO buy lights in pairs - it looks more professional than having a random mish-mash, and provides a balanced (literally) appearance.

I would also recommend that you avoid the low priced LED based "dot" lights. They have a bad reputation (in the UK anyway) for looking "cheap and nasty", and are not the sort of thing to choose if you're looking for a smart show.

Check eBay for pairs of 250W halogen lights such as gobo moonflowers, scanners and barrels.

There are also some lower powered LED lights with gobos which are small, light and not too expensive.

Oh, and a fogger/hazer is not such an essential purchase these days, as the majority of venues don't permit their use.
 
Renegade- I really like the look of your setup, in fact I might imitate your tripod flood light setup with my megapixel. I am just curious though why didn't you hide your wires better? Is it because they weren't long enough. The rest of your setup is so clean and your scrims look great, seems like a shame to have cables sticking out.
 
speakers are ok for beginners change them when you can afford it,you pay for what you get if you know what I mean
 
jn015647 wrote :
seems like a shame to have cables sticking out.


I noticed that too! I was biting my tongue, trying not to comment in case it caused offense... :-)

Far better to run your cables carefully along the rear of the T bar and the tripod, using velcro ties (or electrical tape if you're cheap!).
 
:-)

all criticism is good, and certainly wouldn't have caused offense.. lol

that was purely just after rigging in and was eager to get it on camera, all cables were hidden and run along t-bar before any arrivals at 2pm.. :-)

behind was even worse.. :-) but all was tidy before showtime, lo

l


have since changed a lot of the behind the scenes systems though yet the one constant remains......... VDJ
 
mission control from behind the scenes now runs with this, and of course the other laptop running the lighting systems
 
dickie100 wrote :
I'm slowly developing my small DJ business, and I've partly sorted the whole speaker situation out for what I want. But what type of lights do I need and how many to get started?
Also would you say these speakers are any good? Thank you once again.


Hey Dickie,

Peavey is fine as low budget starting point, but don't expect the world of it, nor expect to be able to use it on big or volume demanding crowds.

Lights, well, in my perhaps old fashioned opinion you start with the basics which is atmosphere. So start with two bars of four RGB led spots and control them with a DMX controller you hook up to your laptop. With this you can create any color and atmosphere you like. Get a strobe and fogger and than start adding effects but be careful they don't get boring or corny. DMX controlled intelligent light will be the most flexible. Like simple LED moving heads or scanners.
 
Thank you all for your comments, you're all a big help! Thank you!

I must say that scanners are going to be a must have using as DMX lights etc. I think from what a lot of you have said I will use them in pairs and stick to DMX or what ever. My aim is to keep my loading minimum and practical, so in my case I prefer to carry big heavy coffins with a lot of already set wires and equipment already wired up, than having to constantly walk in and out collecting more stuff and tiring myself out.

I think when it ever comes to it, I'll just have to play around with lights and see for myself of how to use them.

Thanks once again.
 
 


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