24th August 2019
#1
Here for the gear
Lights synced to backtracks without computer.
Hey guys! New here. 
TLDR: What gear do I need to sync a premade lightshow to backtracks without using a computer live? And what software and hardware should I use for creating the lightshow?
My band want to start using some automated lights during our show, but I can´t seem to find the "right" solution. We already own some dmx lights used in music videos etc that we can implement in our future shows.
We are currently using a standalone hardware player for our backingtracks, which is very reliable and works great. But I´m not sure it´s capable of sending midi.
We don´t want to use a computer/ipad etc as I personally don´t rely on them for live purposes. I want a dedicated machine doing the job. I have read and seen that alot of bands are doing it that way, using software on a computer like https://www.dmxis.com/ to arrange and also play the backtracks and lights live.
Also, these kinds of software, can it save the scenes I make for each song as a midi file and I just load it in whatever machine we use (if we find a good one) sending it to a dmx controller?
Do we need a separate player for the audio that can also send midi simultaneously as playing a WAV file AND a dmx controller for the lights?
Is there no cheap (around 2-400 $) unit that can handle all this in one system? Playing audio tracks as well as starting a pre-programmed light show made for just that track?
The less the person controlling it all live (the drummer) needs to think about, the better.
If there is no ONE machine that can handle it all, what is the bare minimum without a computer? A hardware player sending audio to FOH and midi to a dmx controller simultaneously with the push of the play button?
Sorry if I seem confused, it´s just because I am!
TLDR: What gear do I need to sync a premade lightshow to backtracks without using a computer live? And what software and hardware should I use for creating the lightshow?
My band want to start using some automated lights during our show, but I can´t seem to find the "right" solution. We already own some dmx lights used in music videos etc that we can implement in our future shows.
We are currently using a standalone hardware player for our backingtracks, which is very reliable and works great. But I´m not sure it´s capable of sending midi.
We don´t want to use a computer/ipad etc as I personally don´t rely on them for live purposes. I want a dedicated machine doing the job. I have read and seen that alot of bands are doing it that way, using software on a computer like https://www.dmxis.com/ to arrange and also play the backtracks and lights live.
Also, these kinds of software, can it save the scenes I make for each song as a midi file and I just load it in whatever machine we use (if we find a good one) sending it to a dmx controller?
Do we need a separate player for the audio that can also send midi simultaneously as playing a WAV file AND a dmx controller for the lights?
Is there no cheap (around 2-400 $) unit that can handle all this in one system? Playing audio tracks as well as starting a pre-programmed light show made for just that track?
The less the person controlling it all live (the drummer) needs to think about, the better.
If there is no ONE machine that can handle it all, what is the bare minimum without a computer? A hardware player sending audio to FOH and midi to a dmx controller simultaneously with the push of the play button?
Sorry if I seem confused, it´s just because I am!
Last edited by Boffa; 24th August 2019 at 11:17 PM.. Reason: added info
