Karaoke Forums

Most KJ shows I see don't have any kind of lights at all.

I've always felt at least some kind of lights are required to give things that 'live' kind of feel.. but i've found that a typical par38 light tree with controller, and maybe a gobo light or a mushroom light or two is sufficient.

My first KJ rig I really decked it out with a truss system, all kinds of effects.. fog machine.. I even built a fog cooler so the fog would just kind of hang on the floor.

Pretty much went nuts with it.. any used lighting effect I could find i'd buy and slap on the truss.. even found a cheap video projector and shot that into the fog running some random color patterns.

Nowadays i'm just running a single two tiered light tree.. just replaced the stand today, and that got me thinking.. how many of you use lights? What do you use?

I've always had stage lighting, 8 Par 38 cans with an NSI 8 channel light controller for setting scenes, chase effects, taps, etc. The dance floor has 2 intelligent lights (not sure model, been a while), disco ball, a water & fire effect, had a black light, but it died. Used to use a fog hog until we had a couple people go into a violent allergic reaction on two different occasions - the last was severe enough to call ambulance. We got rid of that.

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I just use (2) 10" colored disco balls, but I don't do dj work either. So it seems to be enough for my needs.

Rosario

For Karaoke, whenever possible, I use two trees with 6 Par-38's each. I have two DMX dimmer packs which most times I just let run on a fixed chase pattern although I do have a controller if I feel I'll have the ability to spend some time on the lights.

I say "whenever possible" because a few of the places I play just can't support lighting. Many times it's a matter of just having enough room other times its problem of not having enough power (i.e. 2 circuts; 1 for stage and PA, 1 for lights) available for my use. One place I used to play only had 6.5 ft ceilings so putting up lights would have just blinded the singers.

For DJ gigs I add in a full truss with some additional intelligent scanners and the ever famous disco ball.

Many on this board already know my opinion of DJ lighting. So many DJ's and KJ's just slap a bunch of random effects on a tree or truss and call it a light show. No way, it looks like crap and is what we refer to as the spin and puke show. From a KJ perspective, lighting a stage and lighting a dance floor are two different things. Lighting a stage should be done with cans. You're goal is to highlight the singer and when possible use color wash to create a mood. Effects, especially the type used by most DJ/KJ outfits are meant for dancefloor lighting where the effect itself is the desired goal. Even then, having just a bunch of random items launched up in the air has always been amateurish in my opinion. I buy things in pairs (to keep symmetry) and always ensure that they are co-ordinated either with a controller or with DMX linking between them.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Would love to use some mood lighting -- venues are just too small with no concentrated stage area

We had two trees but it is such a small place, we are now down to one. We have a par and spot with color gels aimed at the stage and some two-color lasers aimed at the dance floor. We also have a moonflower that gets turned on when the floor is really crowded. But we don't have room to do alot. When my boyfriend is there, there are some pars aimed at the floor also but if it is just me, I can't deal with it all, yet.

For Halloween, we have a disco ball in the shape of a skull with red LED lights that is pretty cheaply made but serves the purpose. We just don't seem to have the room/facilities/outlets to properly light it. But it spins on it's own via battery and adds a bit of Halloween touch.

We are thinking of having a 60s night with the old type light show with the two clear plates, the wesson oil, food coloring and overhead projector but haven't decided if it would be worth the trouble for the laugh. We will leave out the strobes, however.

I'm pretty fortunate in that both my current gigs (and the new one beginning in Oct at a brand new building) have lights. I do carry some for private gigs, nothing fancy but just enough to add atmosphere.

For karaoke I use 2 chauvet colorpallets.

Non-Karaoke events I have a huge assortment of DMX lighting.

I have two fo those too for DJ gigs...tell me how do you use them for karaoke?

on the floor or on a stand, behind the singer? or ???

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

I only do karaoke , 3 nights per week, in 3 different venues. One venue has it's own lighting, so no need to bring my own in. This place has a full array of lighting, and is on all the time. Plenty of disco balls, par cans, effects lighting. For my personal set up, I have one tree, with 4 par 38's LED, one Galaxian 3D, two mini pin spots and one Chauvet mushroom. Simple set up, it's only sound activated, but I could add DMX board when the time comes. It's basic, but does provide mood lighting for smaller venues.

I bought ColorKey PAR64 LED 1w*36 fixtures to replace my traditional lights, and now I can have more light and more bass than pretty much anyone else doing the venues I do. I don't bring these out for bar karaoke gigs, but I do use them for private events and live sound jobs that pay enough.

The 1w LEDs are way, way brighter than the cheaper/older ones. The difference is huge. The new 3*1w LEDs with three elements in each tiny lens are equally as bright but have no color shadowing and it looks more professional if you are standing/seated where you can see into the can, too.

These kind of fixtures are not cheap, but the LED fixtures will supposedly last 50k-100k hours of use, vs a few hundred to a few thousand for your average 100w-500w light bulb; so with frequent use they will pay for themselves through reduced maintenance cost, and you just don't have to worry about the electricity usage.

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Jeff Wheeler, moonlight DJ/KJ

I love to use my par 64's with smoke.
Sadly I don't often get a venue big enough to use them.

For my regular karaoke bar gigs I use no lights. Takes up too much space, too much time setting up/down.

For Private gig, if my customer wants to pay for it, I will setup my lights. Got a 10' truss with an assortment of special f/x lights and par cans. Also have a fog machine and projector.

Been thinking about getting one of the "Cool" fog machines that use only ICE to put a layer of fog on the floor.

I can't believe Skid Rowe isn't in this thread yet - hee hee. My lighting has kind of sucked, but I'm working on upgrading it and you guys are putting out some good ideas.

I have some par cans which I've just used to light my singers, but now I've splurged on a Chauvet 400g Follow Spot because I think it will be handy for weddings as well as karaoke. Dimming the lights and spotting the couples during the Grand Entrance should make for a nice dramatic touch. I think there will be some awesome pics to be taken of the singers in the spotlight as well -- but I need to make some sunglasses available.

Now I want to find a cheap DMX controller if anyone has any recommendations, because the follow spot has the ability to change colors which would be nice for some occasional mood setting. I found a little gadget that reacts to sound to plug the par cans into and that should liven things up a bit as well...

I appreciate the info on how the new LEDs are working. I have always wanted to go that way, not just because of electricity use, but because we are in a hot climate and I like the idea of lights that put out less heat.

The newer LED lights are amazing! They have came a long way since they were first introduced. Cost has come down a lot as well. You won't be disappointed.

In the distant past, I've used as many as 27 intelligent lights in my shows. Kinda like a small Vegas show. That was then.

I'm in a smaller venue now, and only use one Martin SCX-500 scanner. I use it as a remote controlled spoptlight. It's mounted on the wall about 30 feet away from the singer. From the DMX controller I can control the color, dimmer, strobe, direction, etc... No fog. Much less complicated than before.. The light stays at the club. No setup or teardown.

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My first choice IS Sound Choice.

Had one and was very disappointed with it.
Yes the ice does make it stay low.
As soon as the smoke hits something it rises.
You could probably adapt an ordinary one to do the same thing.

As far as fog machines go, I hesitate to even want one. I have one of my regulars with a pacemaker, I have been told that some of the chemicals they use for fog machines isn't good for people with health issues such as heart conditions, asthma, etc. So, in my case not a good idea. I do think it would really look amazing with my Galaxian 3D lasers tho.

Not sure about that one mate.
It is water based.
I have bad asthma and it has no adverse effect on me or others.

It would really help your lighting.