Need tips on lighting for shows

[FromTheBalcony]

I've played with alot of bands, and my favorite ones always seem to have a great lighting setup also. My band has never even thought about investing in such a thing, but i believe lights that sync up with the sound can really add alot to the performance. So here is where my question comes in. Is it possible to get lights that go along with the sound for a relatively affordable price? or is it imperative that somebody controls the lights because currently thats out of the question.
Any tips are greatly appreciate thank you!
-DJ

[JoeJealousy]

no offense but from my experience with bands that bring their own light show with them tend to piss off other bands because they take forever setting up and tearing down. Its a cool effect and when done right it does enhance the performance, but try to keep it simple. Personally i have seen waaaaaaaay too many bands spend 30-40 minutes setting up their stage effects (lights, boxes, etc.) and spending 2 seconds on setting their gear and then half way through the first song they realize they forgot to tune. I have even seen a dude forget to turn on his damn amp cuz he was so caught up in making sure his stage's side of the lights were set up just perfect for him. Anyways, thats my rant on the subject, and to each their own. Hope you guys do well.

[FromTheBalcony]

no offense but from my experience with bands that bring their own light show with them tend to piss off other bands because they take forever setting up and tearing down. Its a cool effect and when done right it does enhance the performance, but try to keep it simple. Personally i have seen waaaaaaaay too many bands spend 30-40 minutes setting up their stage effects (lights, boxes, etc.) and spending 2 seconds on setting their gear and then half way through the first song they realize they forgot to tune. I have even seen a dude forget to turn on his damn amp cuz he was so caught up in making sure his stage's side of the lights were set up just perfect for him. Anyways, thats my rant on the subject, and to each their own. Hope you guys do well.

yea i know what you mean, im not looking for anything spectacular. But i saw amen the animal live last year and they each had 1 light on top of their amp. and when they started playing and the lights just went right along with this intense bass drum intro it was the coolest thing i ever saw. So im just curious if its possible to have something like that without having someone to control the lights.

[Alex_Burton]

I've played with alot of bands, and my favorite ones always seem to have a great lighting setup also. My band has never even thought about investing in such a thing, but i believe lights that sync up with the sound can really add alot to the performance. So here is where my question comes in. Is it possible to get lights that go along with the sound for a relatively affordable price? or is it imperative that somebody controls the lights because currently thats out of the question.
Any tips are greatly appreciate thank you!
-DJ

You can get programmable lights for sure. I think the easiest and cheapest way to do it would be to sync them to a click with Ableton Live. Definitely be tasteful with it though, bad light shows make me want to blow my brains out.

[FromTheBalcony]

You can get programmable lights for sure. I think the easiest and cheapest way to do it would be to sync them to a click with Ableton Live. Definitely be tasteful with it though, bad light shows make me want to blow my brains out.
thanks! ill definitely look into it

[patrickhowell]

no offense but from my experience with bands that bring their own light show with them tend to piss off other bands because they take forever setting up and tearing down. Its a cool effect and when done right it does enhance the performance, but try to keep it simple. Personally i have seen waaaaaaaay too many bands spend 30-40 minutes setting up their stage effects (lights, boxes, etc.) and spending 2 seconds on setting their gear and then half way through the first song they realize they forgot to tune. I have even seen a dude forget to turn on his damn amp cuz he was so caught up in making sure his stage's side of the lights were set up just perfect for him. Anyways, thats my rant on the subject, and to each their own. Hope you guys do well.

Yeah, if you have a light show, you need to practice setting up and tearing down a lot so you can make it smooth and seamless.

[ALLS_Garrett]

http://www.cheaplights.com/cart/page33.html

The last one on the page. We use that wired into 3 light boxes. The boxes are linked by outlets on the sides, so all you're doing is putting the box down and plugging it into the other one. And you can control it via footswitch. It's really easy, and we're always told how wonderful and uniqure our light boxes are.

[PawelPotapowicz]

We use scrims and a few lights that light up the scrims a bit. Be conservative, tearing down and setting up will take a while to catch on and you don't want too many lights at once. Technical difficulties are a killer when you've got a light that goes out or a plug that falls out or something. Definitely be smart, think it all over, and just be conservative.

Some good lights to start out with are your simple construction lights that are $25 bucks at home depot, that's what amen the animal used on top of the amps. That's kind of played out though, be creative and remember not to face bright lights at the audience. You may look cool glowing and all "god-like" but your audience is going to hate you for burning their retinas.

Can lights are also a good start for may putting behind your drummer to light up from behind or under him. These start at about $10 and you can find them at guitar center or really any music store. These give more of a yellow glow as opposed to the construction ones which light up really bright and give a clear white glow.

Each venue is different so make sure to adapt to your situation. I would also look into buying a trunk or road case from craigslist or something. Nothing crazy or expensive, just something you can throw your lights and wires into to organize them and to know where everything is. This will help your set up and break down time.

Have fun!

[PawelPotapowicz]

For example, that picture that I have ^^^ looks awesome, however the audience HATED us after that for having such bright lights facing them. Remember to keep in mind that you are playing for an audience, not for yourselves.

[FromTheBalcony]

thanks alot everyone, really helpful. This is exactly the kind of stuff i was looking for

[FTeric]

i remember seeing The Early November a long time ago right when The Room's Too Cold came out and they had lamps set up all over the stage and on their amps. it was so simple but gave off a really nice vibe. i would just go for simplicity if you're playing for a smaller audience.

[FromTheBalcony]

i remember seeing The Early November a long time ago right when The Room's Too Cold came out and they had lamps set up all over the stage and on their amps. it was so simple but gave off a really nice vibe. i would just go for simplicity if you're playing for a smaller audience.

That sounds really cool actually. maybe lava lamps... :p

[FTeric]

yea man, the whole "roomy" vibe went along with the theme and title of the album so well.

[JLG_Misha]

I've played with alot of bands, and my favorite ones always seem to have a great lighting setup also. My band has never even thought about investing in such a thing, but i believe lights that sync up with the sound can really add alot to the performance. So here is where my question comes in. Is it possible to get lights that go along with the sound for a relatively affordable price? or is it imperative that somebody controls the lights because currently thats out of the question.
Any tips are greatly appreciate thank you!
-DJ


The best would be to have a person to handle the venue lights for you until you can afford a real light person with his own rig. Bringing "homebrew" lights cheapens the performance in my eyes. But if you are dead set on it, there are midi controls for lights to sync up with the click of the song.