Dance lights/effects for gigs?

gtaus

A few years ago I asked about stage lights for the band and some of you guys recommended the Chauvet color banks for about $40.00 each http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-Color-Bank-4Color-SoundActivated-Light?sku=803107. That has been a great investment for the band and believe it or not, those color banks have almost 100 shows on them and still are working great. I bought extra bulbs but the original bulbs are still working! So, we are really happy with the performance of those lights.

Now I would like to ask for some suggestions for dancing lights/effects for the the crowd. Without going all DJ on our setup, are there any lights and/or effects that you guys would recommend us looking into getting? We want something to encourage more dancing for a basic Rock 'n' Roll cover band. Any ideas?

guitar3456

The LED stuff has shaken up the traditional lighting since with LED you can use more units and maintain efficiency and low heat. LED lighting comes at greater expense than traditional systems.

For an avg cover band to get some dancers in the right mood:

This kit is good-
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Venue-Party-Pack-with-Lighting-Effects-and-Fog-Machine?sku=801731

For individual light options on a budget-
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-LX5-LED-Moonflower-Effect-Light?sku=801640

We use two of these:
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/American-DJ-Tri-Phase-LED-DMX-Moonflower-Light?sku=809538

Then there are-
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/American-DJ-Aggressor-Tri-LED-Effect-Light?sku=581112

You could find standard (non led) scanners on the cheap these days. With the popularity of LED tech, 250w scanners you can find around $75 on CL.

Avengers, Aggressors and Scanners are pretty popular choices for floor lighting since they have a nice spread and less annoying light than laser products emit. Plus, the fact they are legal and Lasers not so much easy to find places that let you use them (Liability Risk).

gtaus

Thanks for the links. I'll be checking those lights out and see what kind of deals I can get on them. It's good to know from you guys what works with the crowd. From there, I guess it's what we can afford.

BTW, someone on this forum recommended the Chauvet color bank lights to me a few years ago and I'm really glad I went with them instead of the more expensive and bulkier PAR cans. Some friends of ours in another band saw my color bank lights and got all excited about them. When he found out that I only paid $40 each for them, and he had spent hundreds more for his lights which he did not like, he just shook his head. Sometimes you can actually get more than what you pay for. I have always felt that way about the Chauvet color banks - what a great buy that has been for us.

guitar3456

Cool !

Yeah, I see a lot of places with the colorbanks. Some now have swapped the incandescent ones to the newer LED style. Are they as bright? Well not quite imo, but they are decent for stage wash or fill. The bigger part is they draw next to no current which means low power consumption, low heat.

Are they $40? haha ahahahhaahahahahahah no ! Still , some bands use the $40 ones but most places converting are fixed installs at clubs. The LED style of colorbanks I think are around $70 and a bit smaller (not near as deep).

gtaus

Just to let you know that I really do check out the suggestions I get from this forum, I looked into the Chauvet LX5 and thought that was pretty cool. Then I saw that they have a step up model from that, the LX10 http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-LX10-LED-Moonflower-Effect-Light?sku=801641, which is basically the LX5 with an attached scanner/mirror/motor for only $10.00 more.

YouTube has some nice demos of both models. I just thought that for $10.00 more, I'd rather go with the LX10. If the motor or mirror ever breaks, then I still have the base LX5 unit. Can't go wrong that way.

To make a long story short, I just called up my local light effects shop and asked if they could price match MF. I had a 20% off coupon for MF, so the locals matched the price. All said, I picked up the LX10 for $56.00 this afternoon. Now I am anxious to see how well it works at a gig.

shredd

We will be eagerly awaiting your report on the effect it has on the drunken floozy segment of your audience. :P

gtaus

\shredd\ wrote:

We will be eagerly awaiting your report on the effect it has on the drunken floozy segment of your audience. :P

Turned on the light in the second set, a bunch of our target crowd immediately jumped under the light and started dancing. What's the saying? ...like moths to a flame...?

philflood

I love the LED stuff. I use it in my karaoke rig. The best thing is there is no cycling required. With the older stuff, they could only be on 10 min and then had to be off 20 or 30, I had a timer to cycle them, but they were large, etc. Now I run a bank of 4 lights they are on all the time. I have two effect I shoot at the wall and two that hit a disco ball. Works awesome.

gtaus

\philflood\ wrote:

I love the LED stuff. ....

Have to agree. First thing I noticed in the specs was lifetime rating of the LED's was something like 100,000 hours!

guitar3456

The LED's last a long time, but the PSU regulators, led driver ic's, processor IC is less than likely to outlast the led.

Best thing about the new LED gear is low power consumption and no limits on duty cycles. They are getting cheaper each year too.

gtaus

Just wanted to say that we used the Chauvet LX-10 light scanner the past two nights this weekend and it really adds something to the dance floor. Still working with a better way of mounting it to our pole. I bought a C Clamp, but evidently there are different configurations of C Clamps. Anyway, the C Clamp I bought is not right. Once we get the mounting set, I think it will be even better. Again, thanks for the recommendations that got me this far.

0Dannyboy

:shock: WOW! I was just thinking the same thing My band after a year of playing small clubs need to kick the show up a bit.
Soooo what about some lights...we do outdoor patio work alot in the summer time at resturant/clubs and I thought some lights (if they were compact and professional) would kick things up a bit...turns out my brother has a wedding rig and I can borrow some light on the 7th my next gig ...I suspect as your post shows we will kick the party up a knotch....If all works well I will invest in these soon...there new!

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Chauvet-4PLAY-6Channel-LED-Light-Bar-and-Effects-System?sku=485511