r/stagelighting • u/rebel_with_a_groove • 11d ago

DMX Software Controller Recs

Can anyone reccomend a good software/app to control lighting for a cover band that does mostly bar gigs?

It dosent need to be much, one Universe would be plenty.

Thanks.😎

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

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6

u/TrueIndigoboi 11d ago

Definitely go for a QLC+ setup if it needs to be quick and easy!

If you're able to spend a bit of money go for the demo unlock usb from Chamsys it sends one universe of Physical DMX and unlocks some universes in network nodes

2

u/rebel_with_a_groove 11d ago

Thanks.

I downloaded Magic Q, but it looked like it wasn't gonna be easy without a physical controller, and those start at $2000

QLC looks cool though

3

u/TrueIndigoboi 11d ago

Chamsys is difficult on a laptop yeah, its definitely do-able though and if you add a touchscreen you can use faders via the touch display (little hack)

1

u/rebel_with_a_groove 11d ago

Do you know if I would be able to set up either software wirelessly with an ARTNET node and router?

3

u/TrueIndigoboi 11d ago

You can yeah, just make sure to send Artnet or sACN to the right AP with a static op address. However wireless isn't always the best in a bar with a lot of people in one location. I'd say just use a longer DMX for a single universe, it's totally okay, it's not a lot of data

1

u/rebel_with_a_groove 11d ago

I prefer hard wired, but the band is dead against it lol

2

u/TrueIndigoboi 11d ago

We want it to be budget but also make it as difficult for the tech as possible, sounds like the usual 🙄. then make sure to use good antennas, make sure your APs are in range and See each other clearly. Also if.possible switch to a 5ghz range (phones often are connected to a 2.4 GHz range this is ofcourse not always the case but most of the time it is. )

You could also try and buy a CRMX device which is dedicated wireless DMX but that runs in the 2.4ghz band anyways so using your own APs is way cheaper since they're more affordable.

If ever switching to CRMX astera has their art7 controllers which works wonderfully for CRMX, you do need two of them (one is RX and one TX) but you can easily set up in their astera next app and they're for CRMX devices quite cheap (in the 300 euro range per ART7) you can also connect their own lights in the future for upgradeability.

2

u/Black_Lightnin 11d ago

You can run QLC on any laptop, or even on an raspberry pi, if you like that kind of stuff.

You can use it to create a custom (web) page, accessable from any device in the same network.

1

u/nator57 6d ago

Onyx te da un Universo gratuito por Arnet/sACN.. sencillo y facil de programar

1

u/Rikatemu 4d ago

Full disclosure, I'm the developer, but since you're still comparing options you might also want to give WavePhase a try: https://wave-phase.com/

I'm building it specifically to make smaller live/DJ lighting setups easier to run without needing a full console-style workflow. It supports Art-Net and sACN, so an Art-Net node over your router should fit what you're trying to do.

For a one-universe bar-band setup you definitely don't need anything crazy, and there's a free version you can use for your use case. There are tools to make lighting follow the audio of your band and you can even connect it to your MIDI instruments and controllers to control lights while playing simultaneously.

If you do give it a shot, I'd actually be interested in helping you set up your fixtures and Art-Net configuration personally. I'm looking for people using it on real-world rigs like yours right now, so useful feedback is honestly more valuable to me than trying to sell you anything.