JohnMazurowski Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 I saw these on youtube and VOWED this will be my NEW goal. Little did I know how expensive it was. lmao. Any advice from the pros? What should I start off with and How? Thanks for all your helpJohn
Don Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 Consider starting with the demo version of the software. It's fully featured, it just won't control any lights. You can get a really good idea of the software this way. Also consider a 16 channel starter kit. It will have everything you need (including the software license) to get you started. You can then expand from there in any direction you want to go.
sonoma Posted December 18, 2013 Posted December 18, 2013 I started 4 years ago with just the basic licence and an 8 ch. triac board. they sell @ light o rama for around $100.00 or so.
zeighty Posted December 19, 2013 Posted December 19, 2013 All very good advice. Just don't hesitate too long. I have 10 songs in my show (1st year) and I started sequencing in February. It is easy to under estimate the time required to do this. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast, especially when you go from the Visualizer to real lights on the house. Awesome feeling.
Dave Pursel Posted December 19, 2013 Posted December 19, 2013 I recommend and also started out with the Light-O-Rama basic starter package. Controller w/integrated MP3 director (so I don't have to dedicate a computer to the shows) Software License to create the sequences. Of course that was 7 years ago and I'm now up to 15 controllers. Nearly a mile of wire. You need to start small (learn how to walk before running) so as to learn the basics of sequencing and setup. As indicated in other post make sure you start early with your setup (October). I now do a small (three controllers) Halloween show which lets me get some of the setup (wiring and controllers) done in early october without having the house and yard look like Christmas (my wife will not tolerate Christmas decorations in the yard until about the second week of November, which makes it tough to get setup in time). And last but most IMPORTANT. Planning and documentation. It will help you the following year so you don't have to reinvent the wheel trying to remember where everything connects up to. Setup is faster. I label all my harnesses with labels. Use colored electrical tape to easily identify which color strands plug in where.
George Simmons Posted December 19, 2013 Posted December 19, 2013 It all depends on what your standards and goals are. When I first got started in Jan of 2008 Sharon and I started small. We watched videos of 16 channel displays. The first 32 channel video we watched convinced us in about 5 seconds that 16 was almost a joke. Then we watched 64-channel vids and decided we needed that many. Long story short, we started with 144 channels and have never looked back. We literally were just finishing connecting the last extension cords up until five minutes before show time, but it was a blast! Bottom line? I advise you to start with whatever you're comfortable with. Make sure you leave yourself the time to sequence whatever you decide on. A well-sequenced 16-channel display beats a poorly sequenced 64-channel setup any day. Good luck!
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