Music Lighting

[Andy!]

Yeah I like the Idea of the strobe in the bass seems good. Also That thing for the guitarist seems cool anyone no more?

[the kid]

im pretty sure you can also get a fingertip "gerb" that you can use for the guitarist

 

What is this? I don't understand

[minimac]

it is like a spray of sparks that looks like its coming from his fingers. used by magicians and stuff. Click here<----Looks like this but obviously smaller and on a FINGER!! :P

 

Edited: by Peter

[themadhippy]

Top tip dont put 500w floods too close to drum kits if there highly varnished,the varnish has a nasty habit of catching fire,to make it more "intresting" the audiance thought it was all part of the show,the fire was soon extinguished thanks to the quick action of the singer with the help of the guitarists beer.

one effect that did look good was an oil wheel projector focused onto the bass drum

[Guest lightnix]

Sprinkling glitter on the surface of the drum skins can be quite cute :P

if led's can put out the poke of a birdie and there is the budget

OK, budget may be an issue here, but I think you'll find a Pulsar Chromathingy or two will probably outshine them in several more gazillion colours, without the heat issue becoming an issue.

 

The idea of special lighting on the drum kit is not new. Back in the days of regular dru solos (1970s) there was some band who used to do this, with an audio trigger on each drum, so that a given drum would flash every time it was hit. Got a bit annoying after a while I believe.

 

On the pyro front, there's always the exploding codpiece, as espoused by heavy metal band W.A.S.P.'s guitarist back in the 80s, although I heard that on one occasion it exploded inwards, rather than outwards, resulting in a rather hasty visit to the local hospital :P

[vinny baby]

OK, budget may be an issue here, but I think you'll find a Pulsar Chromathingy or two will probably outshine them in several more gazillion colours, without the heat issue becoming an issue

 

This is all very well but again, as most have agreed, at the moment they are way out of most peoples budgets.

 

why are LED products so exspensive, its not as if they cost a fortune to produce.

 

But its like everything else that is injected new into this industry, if its good, and they know every LD will want it, they make em exspensive.

 

they know that in the end people will give in and buy them regardless.

 

People will soon get board of the LED products, and they will be replaced by somthing else, and bleed us dry once again with it.

 

vince

[Stu]

I'm sure Lightnix will confirm this but isn't it something to do with the very expensive blue LEDs that pushes the cost up?

 

And it's also part of the 4part cycle of any new product - I forget the exact diagram from A-level business studies, but basically in the first part of the products life (stage 1, and sometimes 2), they have to charge an excess for the product in order to cover the R&D costs, inital outlays (such as advertising etc) and the like in order to be able to make back the money they have invested in their new product.

 

Only when the product reaches the cash cow status can the price come down in large amounts as they now only have to pay out for the actual production of the product and a little bit of advertising, as most is now done by word of mouth! Also in this stage, they might tweak the product a bit in order to make it sell more...

 

And when it hits the dying star phrase, then it's cheap as chips as they just want to get shot of the blasted thing!

 

Personally I think LEDs are going to be around for a loooooong time, but there you go.

 

Stu

[SparkySteve]

I don't think leds will be phased out for a long long time, especially as they are only just beginning to be developed! I recently bought some led stuff from lightnix/wavicle and was damn impressed (no plug guys... genuine impessivness over here!) and this is just at the beginning, imagine ten years time the possibilites, look at cd's.... people were saying they'd be phased out, but they've been developed to vcd's, dvd's etc etc.... leds are the pioneering front fro lighting, an personally I am willing to try these new ventures and so far it seems that its good, but can get alot better, don't write things off before they established themselves, otherwise nobody'll have the motivation to design great stuff and the whole industry will lose out. as yet we have no reason to doubt leds, so they get my vote.... again, personal views

[Guest lightnix]

At the risk of dragging this thread even further OT (time for a topic split ?)...

This is all very well but again, as most have agreed, at the moment they are way out of most peoples budgets.

Yes, it's true that they are dearer at the moment, although costs are falling and I would dispute the use of the term "most people". Most people in the entertainments biz, maybe, given the fact (as opined elsewhere) that they seem to think they are being ripped off by being asked to pay the same price for kit hire that they were paying over a decade ago. Apart from that, when you look at the range of colours and effects that they can produce and try to recreate that with conventional lights, they suddenly become much better value for money.

...something to do with the very expensive blue LEDs that pushes the cost up?... part of the 4 part cycle of any new product... have to charge an excess for the product in order to cover the R&D costs

Absolutely. Blue (and white) LEDs are still comparatively expensive to produce, although, once again, the costs are falling, I believe by about 10-12% per annum.

why are LED products so exspensive, its not as if they cost a fortune to produce.

True, there are factories in the Far East churing out the little dears fifty to the dozen by the nanosecond today, but the research costs incurred in arriving at this happy position are phenomenal, running into several tens of millions. Remember that the very first LEDs produced in 1960s labs could only produce infra red and had to be cooled with liquid nitrogen, as well as being huge by today's standards. There is still quite a high rejection rate, too. White LEDs are "binned" according to their whiteness - a minority come out "pure" white, others a tad blue, some a bit green, others faintly yellow, etc. - much like the early days of compact arc sources. I once heard that the first VL5â„¢ reflector cost something like $100,000 to produce. Now they stamp them out for about $10 a throw, but they still had to make a return on that initial $100,000.

But its like everything else that is injected new into this industry, if its good, and they know every LD will want it, they make em exspensive.

they know that in the end people will give in and buy them regardless.

That's just pure cynicism IMHO. Anyway, ask yourself: what proportion of the lighting market as a whole is made up by the entertainments business ? A very small part indeed, let me assure you. The giants of our so-called "industry" are but as tiny minnows compared to even minor players in real industries elsewhere. There are far bigger fish driving the development of LEDs forward: domestic / architectural lighting and the automotive industries to name but two. Compare the size of those markets alone with entertainments and you may get an inkling of what I'm talking about here.

they know that in the end people will give in and buy them regardless.

People will soon get board of the LED products, and they will be replaced by somthing else.

Again, just cynicism. Peopel will buy LEDs because of the advantages and benefits they offer, in terms of vastly improved power consumption, ruggedness, longevity and safety, not just because they have been ground down by the marketing. I don't think people will get bored with LED lighting for a long time to come and anyway, boredom is just an attitude, not a physical condition. LEDs offer a whole new universe of lighting opportunities, many of which are yet to be discovered. Anybody who is getting bored with that idea, this early in the game, is someone with a very limited vision.

...and bleed us dry once again with it

:P :P :P

I recently bought some led stuff from ... and was damn impressed

Aaawww shucks... if I'd realised it was you I could have dropped them over to Sidcup, we're only just around the corner.

this is just at the beginning

Yup :P I had an interesting little chat with a supplier today, hopefully there will be some "proper" LED bulbs in the shop by the Autumn,along with some other new toys (no plug, honest).

don't write things off before they established themselves, otherwise nobody'll have the motivation to design great stuff and the whole industry will lose out

As it arguably has already. Just ask yourselves (once again): would there even be a moving light industry, were it not for the foresight and investment of a single British rock band.

as yet we have no reason to doubt leds... again, personal views

No, there are many who share them, it's just that while this business is obsessed with the idea of che...(SHUT UP, NICK !)

 

Now, just sit back for a moment and imagine what you could do with these little babies... :P :P :P

[andy_s]

so that a given drum would flash every time it was hit. Got a bit annoying after a while I believe.

Define "while"! 10 seconds? 30 seconds? or a whole minute. Or perhaps for those of us with high annoyance thresholds, even the entire 15 minutes of Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick"

[the kid]

Yeh going back on the LED front I brought 2 for my project in school and 1 a white cost me about £2.50 the other a blue about £2.10-£2.25!!

[heff]

At risk of dragging this thread back on topic,

 

I have suspended an ordinary, gardern variety, 60w pearl lightglobe inside the kickdrum and it was fine.

 

The only time I needed to change it was when the tour moved between 110v and 240v countries. The band was silverchair.. a loud Australian rock band.. and the front skin was a translucent image of the bands logo on a black background for their Neon Ballroom tour.

 

If you are worried about the filament you can also get globes that deal with high vibration situations (the kind that are used in traffic signals) but I don't think it's necessary, just make sure that there is some ventilation, don't go too crazy on the wattage and make sure the system is electrically safe... ie don't run your cable under the bass drum pedal, etc.

 

Hugh Taranto

[Ike]

People will soon get board of the LED products

I agree completly I mean look how quickly everyone got bored with moving lights, discharge lamps, scrolers, triac dimmers, DMX, computerised lighting control, electric hoists etc etc etc

[WolvesAndi]

I was once on the local crew for status Quo and they had about 24 12x4 Marshall cabs aside, and they replaced 2 speakers in each cab with a par 61, but then replaced the mesh on the front of the cab (hopefully fireproofed). It looked cool, didnt use it till about the 4th or 5th song and it lit the stage, a kind of molephay in disguise at the same level as the band. it was a great surprise for all the punters.

[Ike]

I like that a lot, infact I plan to use the idea at the next possible opportunity.