brandy_z28 Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Hello! I figured I'd say hi since I've been lurking for the past few months.I've always been into lots and lots of lights, no such thing as too many (until the breakers and fuses start popping!) and I've used a Mr Christmas for the past two years. This year I found myself quite frustrated with it's limitations. That's what got me here. My head starts to hurt whenever I read up on DMX and electrical jargon though. I've got a LONG way to go! So, in short, I don't know jack sh*t but hope it starts sinking in. We got our first Christmas potato this year ! :cool: I hope to make each year bigger and better! Our tax refund will be going to purchasing LOR controllers, how many is yet to be determined. I initially thought 32 channels would do me but I started an excel spreadsheet and listed what I wanted to be able to do and good gosh I hit 112 channels real quick! I've trimmed it down to 80 for now. What happened to baby steps?Thanks for having such a cool place for addicts like me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Roberson Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Welcome!!Be a sponge...:cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSelph Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 brandy_z28 wrote:What happened to baby steps?What is this "baby steps" concept you are referring to? We newbies have all been warned on here to start small and take our time, but did we listen? Based on the posts I have seen...I don't think so...myself included.Addiction: The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as in Light-O-Rama, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe withdrawals.GUILTY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Baby steps are for babies and for people who don't believe in reading instruction manuals and help files. I say go for it!I can relate all too well Brandy. My first year we started out debating 16 vs 32, then 48 vs 64, then 80 vs 96... by the time first light came around we were at 144. Lots of people said too many, too many, too many. My response was need more, need more, need more...Come to think of it, I'm still saying the same thing: need more, need more, need more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsMeBobO Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Its not just the channel count, its the variety of lights too! Floods, Strobes, Lasers, Drip tubes ...Have fun with your planning and welcome to the madness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurickle Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 ItsMeBobO wrote:Its not just the channel count, its the variety of lights too! Floods, Strobes, Lasers, Drip tubes ...Have fun with your planning and welcome to the madness.VERY true. I dramatically jumped channels this year and the key thing I would do differently (and will do this coming year) is to use fewer elements for each song. The target I think I'm going to go for is to only use about half of the channels for each.There are a couple key reasons for this:1) Too much flashing at once can become too busy and distract from the beauty.2) When different things are going on with each song, it adds diversity to the display. The songs feel less like "more of the same" and instead, each feels truly unique. Audiences are then surprised when the new song uses elements they hadn't seen in the previous one. The result is that they're more entertained while at the same time being more inclined to stick around and see what else you've got.So you actually end up with less sequencing to do for each song while getting greater impact for your effort. It's a win/win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandy_z28 Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 Thanks for the warm welcome!I have noticed that the displays that keep me guessing are the ones I'm drawn to the most. Less is more in some instances. Thank you for that insight! I put together a 'show' while I was playing around in the demo software and it sucked eggs. It was way too busy! I found a few freebies from here and looked to see what they had done and it's helped tremendously so far, I think. I've had a lot of OH! and AHA! moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Weiland Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 brandy_z28 wrote:... I initially thought 32 channels would do me but I started an excel spreadsheet and listed what I wanted to be able to do and good gosh I hit 112 channels real quick! I've trimmed it down to 80 for now. What happened to baby steps?Well isn't everything supposed to be done BIGGER in Texas? Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Hvasta Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Brandy, welcome to the addiction and the greatest group of just-not-right people on the planet!! Everybody starting out, at some point, has the same question everyone else has asked over the last 10yrs, but the problem is new to you.. so if some of us answer curtly, we apologize in advance, as we've seen it before, and answered it many times.. If I can, I offer this bit of advice... read the manuals for both the controllers and the software (S2/S3/SuperStar/etc) and FAQ in the headers in each group. They can answer a LOT of questions that come up. Once you've gone thru them, you can state that you have read it (and might even have found your answer)Again, welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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