Newbie!

[Tone]

Thanks so much for the help guys as I really need and appreciate it. Its 3 weeks to my first gig and I'm kind of brickin it haha.

I will check out those lights, I think my budget for lights to start is around £300-400. I was thinking of getting a DMX buddy and DMX lighting, what do you think?

[Tone]

Too many cheap lights there doing the same thing.

Get a couple of really good lights.

Just having 1 x Chauvet Wash FX and 1 x ADJ Quad Phase HP will outperform all of that.

Don't get a bubble machine unless you're doing kids parties, and the smoke machine - I've used mine twice in twelve months. Very few venues allow it. So if money is tight, drop it.

Here's my big tip: you can easily add further lights down the road. But sound system is much harder - you end up just replacing it. So spend as much as possible on sound, with the aim to not need to replace it for 3 years, knowing that you can easily grow the light show later on. That will save you so much money.

I wasn't going to buy all of those lights, they were just the ones I had been looking at. I'm really appreciating the help with this though as I'm a complete novice and could do with help choosing the correct stuff.

I have looked at the lights you mentioned and like them, I also looked at the Chauvet Cubix 2.0 Moonflower Lighting Effect which kind of interested me too as I like the patterns it creates, what do you think?

Obviously I don't want to purchase a load of lights that do the same thing so I think I'm going to spend the afternoon researching lights as I'm seeing different names like wash, moon-flower, scanners etc and don't understand what they all mean.

In the meantime though I know you said the 2 you suggested would outperform all of the lights I listed but will a couple of lights be enough?

Thanks again for your help so far!

[Benny Smyth]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned this, bearing in mind so many folk on this forum were banging on about it last year.

Personally, I hate the thing with a passion BUT I think that it could prove to be ideal as a 'My First Lightshow' thing.

And on the other end of the 'smoke machine' comment, I use my haze machine at most of my gigs. Each venue is different, but I will echo Gavin's sentiments on spending more on sound than lights. Clients notice crap lighting, and they notice uh-mazing lighting. Anything in between goes largely unnoticed.

[Tone]

Surprised that nobody has mentioned this, bearing in mind so many folk on this forum were banging on about it last year.

Personally, I hate the thing with a passion BUT I think that it could prove to be ideal as a 'My First Lightshow' thing.

And on the other end of the 'smoke machine' comment, I use my haze machine at most of my gigs. Each venue is different, but I will echo Gavin's sentiments on spending more on sound than lights. Clients notice crap lighting, and they notice uh-mazing lighting. Anything in between goes largely unnoticed.

Cheers Benny.....

Sound has always been at the forefront of my purchase wishlist and have decided to go with the Yamaha DXR15's as thats all my budget allows is around £1000. I hear these are enough for most small type of gigs around 250 people I think. I thought I would purchase the subs to go with them at a later date. The speakers come with a 7 year warranty so I thought they are also a safe option and should last me at least the 7 years. What do you think?

[Benny Smyth]

What do you think?

Yammys sound good. You'll get good mileage out of them.

[Excalibur]

Testing all my gear, which amounts to quite a lot for somebody not long in the game.. came to about £40 all told.

Not a huge amount in the scheme of things, but that and PLI are important nowadays.

Just having 1 x Chauvet Wash FX and 1 x ADJ Quad Phase HP will outperform all of that.

Don't get a bubble machine unless you're doing kids parties, and the smoke machine - I've used mine twice in twelve months. Very few venues allow it. So if money is tight, drop it.

Here's my big tip: you can easily add further lights down the road. But sound system is much harder - you end up just replacing it. So spend as much as possible on sound, with the aim to not need to replace it for 3 years, knowing that you can easily grow the light show later on. That will save you so much money.

All good advice, especially smoke and bubbles. Only add them later if you think they're a worthwhile purchase

I will check out those lights, I think my budget for lights to start is around £300-400. I was thinking of getting a DMX buddy and DMX lighting, what do you think?

Sorry, no idea. However, if you buy a couple of good lights to start with, you won't need to look into DMX for a while. Let's trot out a couple from me.
Compact Teutonic powerbar. Will light up any venue, and many of us, self included, are happy to do gigs with no more than this.
All-in-one., or the latest model Chauvet Swarm 5. Five colour LEDs, strobe and laser in one box. The new models are better featured than the old ones. The significant downside is that these are a little manic at times, and more suited to eighteen year olds and under, I feel. My rig for anything 13-18 is likely to be two of these and an LED wash light.

Surprised that nobody has mentioned this, bearing in mind so many folk on this forum were banging on about it last year.

Personally, I hate the thing with a passion BUT I think that it could prove to be ideal as a 'My First Lightshow' thing.

Correctamundo. Until the lights go down, it's one of the ugliest fixtures I've ever seen. Darken the room, and switch it on, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. I've used one, and it does what it says on the tin. In effect, it's a Swarm and a Powerbar in one, but less powerful. Fabulous piece of kit to have for quick set up gigs. It's probably not the answer, but it's certainly an answer.

have decided to go with the Yamaha DXR15's as thats all my budget allows is around £1000. I hear these are enough for most small type of gigs around 250 people I think. I thought I would purchase the subs to go with them at a later date.

I think the RCF 715 Active MKII's would be a great choice if you have the budget, and I doubt you would need subs with them unless you are getting some pretty big gigs.
.

Pe7e's absolutely correct.
If you need subs with those cabs, you'l be playing to over 300 people, I'd say. That's a big gig. Personally I'm happy to do many functions for 100-150 with a pair of 12" speakers of lesser grade than the Yamahas, and with 15" I can do much bigger/livelier ones.
I have subs, but they don't go out every gig. 15" Yamahas will do all you need for a very very long time. The only proviso, ( and I think with cabs of that quality, even this is debatable ) is that if you were doing a lot of speech based functions, twelves would be preferable. That's splitting hairs, really.

[Tone]

Great feedback guys, much appreciated......

One thing that I am wondering about is how loud do you know what to play at? May seem like a silly question but I don't want to get told off haha. Do you use a SPL meter or something or do you just judge it with your trusty ears?

[Excalibur]

Great feedback guys, much appreciated......

One thing that I am wondering about is how loud do you know what to play at? May seem like a silly question but I don't want to get told off haha. Do you use a SPL meter or something or do you just judge it with your trusty ears?

So many possible answers, so few of them serious or helpful..

Let's settle for remembering that some venues nowadays have noise issues, so loosening Aunty Mabel's dentures at fifty paces shouldn't be our main aim. Quieter is usually better than louder, depending on the function and the audience.
You can get apps for most phones to show you decibel level, but on its own that's not the whole story, just a guide.

[Benny Smyth]

Good rule of thumb is if you can hear them talking, it's too quiet. If they're on the dancefloor and you spot that they have to shout at each other to communicate, it's too loud.

Venues will let you know if it's too loud. They won't give you both barrels at the first prompt (unless you really are taking the mick), so you won't be told off. Just smile, apologise and dial it back a bit.

Or, at least, pretend to do the latter.

Use your ears. Don't use numbers on a device.

[Tone]

Thanks again guys, much appreciate the advice to help me with my first gig as its quite daunting doing it on my own.

I've been finding out other stuff on Youtube and various sites today especially with the lighting however I definitely need more help choosing some. I have come across the Mega TRIPAR Profile Plus which seem like a good deal; still more research to do though as still feeling unsure. If its ok I'll post a pic up of the venue somehow and see what anyone thinks of my light selection.