Need advice setting up a dmx led rig

[jpowell]

Hey gang, loving this website. My name is James and I'm putting together a lighting rig for concerts of bands. I am new to this but very excited. I don't have a big budget. In fact, I'll probably be buying everything piece by piece.

I'll be using a black macbook.
I am prepared to spend about $400-$500 on software.
I prefer a software where I can program something, but still change it on the fly without effecting anything else.
A visualizer would be cool.
Being able to stack scenes, cues, etc. would be nice.
Being able to upload a song into the program, and then program the lights to that would be a LIFE saver.
One program had scenes, cues, and triggers and I thought that was cool and convenient.

Keep in mind this is solely for bands. I say that because some bands do the same show every show. And some bands never do the same show twice. I want to be able to cater to both. I'll be using led bars, lasers, fog, and led par cans. ANY suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated.

Talk to ya soon,
James!!!

 

[BillESC]

Welcome.

There are several free DMX software programs available, do a Google search. I'll you'll have to do is buy a dongle which can be found starting around $ 65.00.

As for fixtures, Blizzards Puck Fab 5 warrants looking at. It features seven 15w five in one diodes giving you RGBAW color mixing and these have a MAP of only $ 255.55

 

[jpowell]

Well I was wondering if someone could help point me in the right direction as far as software goes. I've looked into Compushow, MyDMX2.0, Emulator, and Showxpress.

 

[wolfman005]

Chamsys MagicQ PC is great stuff if you can work around the learning curve. I would buy a playback and programming wing if you can swing em

 

[len]

Forgetting the equipment for a minute, a few thots/questions:

Who is your customer? What do they expect? What is their budget? What size stage, etc. will you be trying to light? How long will you have between load in and start time? What kind of power is available? I'm not saying you don't know all of this, but if your goal is to make money, you really need to start with things that are going to make your customer happy and yield a good ROI for you.

 

[mozsey]

Chamsys MagicQ PC is great stuff if you can work around the learning curve. I would buy a playback and programming wing if you can swing em

GrandMA on PC is also great with less of a learning curve. You get a bunch of executors with cue sequences. I've been using it to pre-vis, and I love it. It's also free to use one universe.

 

[JCarroll]

I dont think MAonPC is free for one universe...

 

[mozsey]

I dont think MAonPC is free for one universe...

Unfortunately, it looks like their site is down. But I do remember reading that you get one free universe if you have an ARTnet module.

 

[jbilyj]

If you run Windows on your Mac you could use LightFactory (https://www.lightfactory.net/). You can get a half universe license (LF50) for $200(NZD) or a full universe for $499. Then just get a ENTTEC USB DMX PRO or similar.

 

[jpowell]

Forgetting the equipment for a minute, a few thots/questions:

Who is your customer? What do they expect? What is their budget? What size stage, etc. will you be trying to light? How long will you have between load in and start time? What kind of power is available? I'm not saying you don't know all of this, but if your goal is to make money, you really need to start with things that are going to make your customer happy and yield a good ROI for you.

Hey thanks for the response. These are questions I've thought about and answered for the most part. I'm just stuck on which software to get.

 

[JohnVirgo]

u might find something that interests u here - athe very least they offer good advice and info LED Canada | Architectural LED | Commercial LED | Industrial LED | Residential LED | Landscape LED | Exterior LED

 

[InnovativeLED]

James,

Mike from Innovative LED here...

Check out the Blizzard Lighting "Eclipse" package..... You can download the trial software from the Blizzard Lighting website. Blizzardlighting.com

That way you can try it out before you invest in the package.

Mike
Innovative LED Stage & DJ Lighting

 

[bishopthomas]

Hey, Mike. Welcome to Control Booth. Aren't you the US distributor for Blizzard Lighting? Or maybe it just seems that way because your web site only has Blizzard products for sale. Control Booth is pretty good about keeping the commercial advertisements down to a minimum. You may want to reconsider your first and only post being an ad. Although your "advice" is probably helpful to the OP, it comes across as more promotional than helpful. At least, that's my opinion.

Again, welcome to Control Booth, and I hope you'll stick around and chime in from time to time.

 

[InnovativeLED]

New to the Forum.... will try to keep advertising to a minimum as you mentioned.....

But to set the record straight....
Blizzard Lighting is a USA based company out Waukesha, WI and I am a stocking Blizzard Lighting dealer.
I started my LED Lighting company in early 2011 and decided to only sell Blizzard so that I could concentrate on keeping products in stock for quick shipment.

Blizzard's Eclipse is a great DMX Lighting control software package & dongle and I wanted to make James aware of it.

Thanks for the info about Control Booth and I look forward to being part of the community.

Mike

 

[bishopthomas]

Awesome! Again, glad to have you here. There are a few of us business owners around here, as well as TD's at theatres, high school students, and representatives of well known lighting/sound companies (ETC, Behringer, Apollo, etc). So a very diverse crowd and a huge knowledge base. So, welcome!