I didn’t get any good footage of the dj banks in action last Friday night but I did get some appreciation for their brightness! I was blinded more than once when I looked back to adjust the PA (I had one of them behind us on top of the mixer). LED lighting has come a long way baby. The colors POP and they follow the music in a way that makes me forget they’re simple “chasers.” They are worlds better than a static strobe or beacon  or non-sound-activated chaser (are those still around even?). I was getting compliments* on the lighting at our first break even (before the rowdy drunk people who are impressed by kazoos started giving feedback).

This is the type of subconscious lighting fixture that no one really appreciates until it’s gone. It’s definitely not as “background” as some lights but it’s also not flashy-splashtacular like a laser or derby. It’s just a reliable, steady, constant, cheap, light-weight, low power, marvelous, hands-free-sound-activated addition for the show. No need to program or sync anything, just turn it  on and go. The LED’s are plenty bright and they don’t need smoke to cut a trail. It won’t trip any breakers either- you could probably have 20 of these running on a single socket with no problems. And, come to think of it, 20 Chauvet dj banks running at once would be quite massive! I even saw a youtube review suggesting two of these bad boys for a complete “budget” dj light show. I wouldn’t go that far but I’m still impressed by the throw of this super light fixture! I will say this: two dj banks in a living room party could definitely carry the night. In a club you’d need more for sure (scanners & derbys  & ???).  But, thinking outside the box, what if you really did have 20 of these bad boys for the show? No, they won’t be linked by any external source other than sound (actually kind of optimal if you’re technically challenged) but that would open things up for some interesting combinations.  I think it would be pretty awesome actually. And at around $70 each, you can afford to add on quickly.

Another good thing about the chauvet dj bank is the fact that it doesn’t require a truss to be effective. You could, literally, put it on the floor, and it would throw some odd but cool angles of light. And it’s light enough to string up or tape to the wall even. I must say, I’m getting more and more impressed by these new LED light fixtures. They’re light, cool, bright, small, long-lasting and they don’t trip breakers! In short: they are the future now. I can’t tell you how big a pain it was in my first band when everything had to stop because the lights (once again) threw a breaker! Back then I blamed the skimpy wiring at our shoddy gigs… but what if there was no need for blame at all? Hello?

* I do have to add, as a slight disclaimer, that our last gig was at a place that probably doesn’t get many acts with lights… I mean, it wasn’t a living room but it was kind of a dive. So the fact that a couple of Chauvet dj banks & some Christmas lights & a Dekker lit up their world might not be saying much. Or maybe it was because we sounded so awesome? :p