Basic Question

Sorry, another question or two. Would the Stage Pak 1 be a better choice (includes Stage Setter 8 and two DP415 dimmers)? It's a bit cheaper.

I would also like to have the lights pulse to the music (sorry, don't know the technical term). Would either the Stage Pak 1 or the DMX Operator be able to do this?

Hi tbsmith, welcome to the forums. First question, DMX is the way to go. It is the industry standard and if you ever want to expand your light show, you will have to use it eventually. Things like movers and LED lighting all use DMX.

The DMX Operator is certainly not over kill if you want to add things later on like movers or LEDs. It will also do the 'hit a button and go to a solo light look' that you are looking for. With the Scene Setter 8, you will physical have to move some faders to do that instead of just hitting a button. Also, any DMX console will work with any DMX fixture (mover, LED, etc) or dimmer pack/rack. It is a question of how easy is that console to use with that fixture or dimmer pack/rack.

LEDs use a lot less power then conventional lighting does. They also have the ability to change pretty much any color you can think of (gold, silver, and bronze are the hard colors to make, and brown is also very hard, though haven't been asked to make that one yet). That can also cross fade into between colors, as oppose to color scrollers which scroll through colors, a nice effect and touch. Opti 30 RGBs will completely blow away Par 38s color for color. You also don't have to carry around dimmer packs with with LEDs, just the lights and cable.

As for the last question, the DMX Operator can do 6 chases with fade times, meaning pulsing and on off, the Stage Setter can only do chases, meaning on off but no pulsing.

Anymore questions, feel free to ask and welcome again.

Hi SerraAva,

Thanks for answering my questions! I have settled on the Elation DMX Operator. But I'm glad I was sitting down when I checked out the Opti 30 RGBs They do look like they would be awesome, but they're not in the budget right now.

One or two more questions, does anyone make a box or bag for the top T section of light stands? I figured I'd put the tripod section in a microphone stand bag (hoping these 12' high stands will fit)?

Tom

Using an Arriba AC-150 case(If I recall, I fit 8 Par 38's on an LTS-2 T-bar into that bag. 4 on top of the T-Bar, 4 beneath. But, I was unable to fit the LTS-2 tripod in there because I ran out of room. I would suspect if I did half the cans, the stand would fit.

If you want to save time, mount the Par38's on the T-Bar and leave them there. This is where time is wasted. Set up the tripod, then drop the populated T-Bar on it. Otherwise, mount 4 lights onto the T-Bar before or after putting it on a T-bar. Either way, that's extra time.

But, if you want to split it up, I'm sure you could put multiple LTS-2 tripods into a single AC-150 bag, which would be convenient for carrying around. Or, even better, if the whole tree worth of stuff fits in a bag, all the better. And with side pockets designed to carry a dimmer pack!

The ADJ LTS-2 stands do rise to 12 feet hight.

As far as what Sera says about LEDs:
Oh my goodness! Once I got my 8 64 LED Pros, I want to simply trash my 32 ADJ Par38's.(but I can't, I don't have the money to do that yet!). Saves money, less current draw, brains in the fixtures(DMX capable), oh so much better in every single way.

It's more money. Yes, no doubt about it, but man, you don't have to carry a dimmer pack either. It's worth it. Better than wasting money on Par38's and dimmer packs when you can save that money towards some LED cans.

As far as settling for the DMX Operator: I don't see you "settling" for anything. That's a fantastic controller. I have one, I love it. I'm moving onto MyDMX now, but I've barely scratched the surface of all the neat stuff I could have done with the DMX Operator. At the same time, it gives me a fail-over solution in case MyDMX gives me grief.

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the info. I found some cases that fit the tripods AND pre-assembled T bars with 4 par 38's at Walmart, of all places. They are made for golf bags, but the size is almost perfect for these lights. The price is right at $37 each. They are from walmart.com actually and will deliver to the local store for free. They only drawback is they are on the flimsy side, but who can complain for that price.

I like the DMX operator! We've used it for one show and it was easy to use. It has lots of capability.

Regarding the LED lights, I went to Guitar Center and they just don't seem to put out the same amount of light as the PAR 38's. But I guess I need to see some working in a real setting.

Cheers,
Tom

Sometimes it takes thinking outside the box to get the job done. I carry my mic stands in a drum hardware bag. I need to get a second bag and more stands.....

Just think about this though, the Walmart bags are flimsy and might not hold up too well, while the Arriba Cases bags are designed for the application you ideally want: reduce items to lug(consolidate) and protect it. And that that price, I can complain, because I think it's a waste of money that could be spent on a better case. I've learned the hard way, and I try to prevent others from making the same mistakes.

As far as the LED Par38's not putting out like a regular Par38, the best thing to do is as you noted: seem them in a real setting, or a controlled setting so you can comfortably A/B compare. I bet on full white they are close, but color mixed, maybe falls off a bit.

I thought about drum/mic bags too, but wanted a hard case. Since we'll only use them once a week or less, I think the ones I bought will be fine. they were built for putting golf clubs in checked luggage, so maybe I was a little harsh when I said they were flimsy. Time will tell.

Yes, I would definintely need to to an A/B comparison of the LED's before spending that kind of money.

Thanks for you comments. By the way I checked your web site, but it took a long time to load. I have broadband so I don't think it was me. Just fyi.

Tom

It's my end. I'm self-hosting and my ISP is once again going through another round of "crappy service for all" apparently. It's kiling me. I can't afford off-site hosting and I don't like the lack of control.

It took me over an HOUR to get into here to respond to your posting about SLOW load times. So, I'm well aware of it. Thanks for trying. I just posted 3 new videos last night from my last 3 events(OK, 1 event that lasted 3 days).

If money becomes less of an object, there are cases that make those fiber-board cases. I'm surprised at how well those stand the test of time. Yeah, costs a bit, but I like the hard ATA cases better myself. But, if I get a drum set(I'm building my own backline for fail-over purposes), I'm getting fiber cases.

Why am I building my own backline?
A band I frequently work with will pull crap like:
Guitar player forgets strings, picks, cables, doesn't have amp, left his guitar at home(yes, drove 8 hours, left his guitar at home. How the heck do you FORGET YOUR GUITAR?). This guy forgot picks at a show. Chose to break a cable of mine instead of accept the fact that he had a loose wire in his connector, or shows up with broken strings. I can get strings replaced, I carry picks. I have a soldering iron. Turned out to be easier to throw him out on his butt.
I'll get a Variax 700 and a Line 6 modelling amp. Should make everyone happy. I shouldn't be
Keyboardist has an excuse: great player, doens't own any decent gear. OK. I got great gear and TOO many options. 4 keyboards, 5-6 rack synths, and a rack sampler. I can't even recall all I got but it fills up a 24-channel rack mixer.

Bass: Back-up only. Never had a problem with bass. Go figure. But I have a small bass rig.

Drums: Tired of dealing with crappy drums, so I'll get a nice 5-piece Tama Fusion kit, then work with my favorite percussionist to get the right cymbals, pedals and other hardware and it's done. In the meantime, I got a decent electric kit that sort of fills the gap as I need to upgrade the kick solution. Plus, here's the kicker: I am going to choose the kit color based on what's really gonna look nice with lighting so it blends well. Probably a kit with a pearl coat, those look great.

But back to LED lighting: I'm a sound guy, so for me, lighting is just a necessary evil. I was doing a show and well, I can agree that the colors being so pure can be a bit harsh, but wiht a bit of knowledge, you can warm up the lights by tweaking certain things a bit here and there. For me, I don't mind the "sterility" of the colors. Better an LED than a set of lights with gels and dimmer packs for the same effect. Less to set, less to strike, less to lug, and LESS power draw.

I would like to double my 64 LED Pros, but I still need to learn a bit more about lighting first.

Wow, sounds like you could use our band:-) We wouldn't last long if we played stunts like that! I do guitar and vocals, but leave the rest to the people who know how to do it. Good idea about choosing the kit color, it will make a difference!

I already spent close to $1,000 for my lighting setup so it will be a while before upgrading to LED. Hopefully the prices will start coming down.

Good luck Chris,
Tom

My first purchase into lighting cost me $1200. 10-foot trussing system with T-bars, 6 Par38s, SUnray III, ELectra, DP-DMX20L and a DMX Operator.

Prices are dropping all the time. My advise: keep your eyes open and mind open too. You'll find some good deals on a light that caught your eye.