Questions about lighting gear and Band Helper

[Brett Cahoon]

Hello,

I'm interested in running my band's light show using midi cues from band helper.  I love the idea of each song containing the necessary midi cues so that they stay with the song no matter where it's moved on the set list. 

Can anyone tell me what gear they're using as far as lighting controllers or other software for this type of thing?  So far I've only used simple hardware controllers to control my LED lights, so I'm a little confused as to what I'll need to get this type of thing up and running.

Thanks!

[Christoph]

Hi Brett, wie are using BandHelper in exactly the way you want. You would need a DMX lighting controller that can receive MIDI messages. Usually you can control the light scenes and/or chasers of the controller by sending MIDI note messages or program change commands. If you want to sync the tempo of a light chaser to BandHelpers metronome you would either need the light controller to recognize MIDI clock (seldom) or an additional device that creates specific MIDI messages in sync with the MIDI clock. Details vary with the actual MIDI implementation of your controller. Regarding the MIDI capable DMX controller, you can choose between hardware devices or software apps, e.g. "Luminair for iOS" by Synthe FX.

[Brett Cahoon]

Thanks so much Christoph!  I think I'm beginning to see the light (no pun intended).  Can I ask what specific gear you're using to accomplish this?

[Christoph]

For the stage lights we use a GLP Scan Operator FX II, that is a quite ordinary DMX hardware controller by a German company. It receives MIDI note commands to switch pre-programmed scene banks and chasers. We send MIDI from an iPad running BandHelper via an iOS MIDI interface. The GLP does not understand MIDI clock, but there is a specific MIDI note message that triggers the next scene in a bank. So additionally we have one of these fabulous MIDI Event Processors by Canadian company MIDI Solutions programmed to send this specific MIDI note in sync with the MIDI clock so the light scenes change exactly with the rhythm of the song. There is more MIDI stuff in our stage setup, e.g. remote controlled video sequences from an additional iPad and preset switching for several guitar and audio processors, but the lighting part is quite straightforward.

[Moon Dog]

I recently got my lights working with SLM so I know how to do it with BH as well.

To say that any of this is straightforward well lets just say that may be a bit misleading. I literally spent years getting this to work. The way mine works is I can do any sort of DMX programming on any fixture for each song. Mine works just as you would expect a system to work. I am not limited to one scene at any given time, you can combine any and all scenes in parallel or serial up to ten at a time. Mix and Match Fade in Fade out...its awesome.

Moon Dog

[pheldal]

I use an ethernet-attached device to control my lights. It is a simple ArtNet/DMX controller in the form of a black(blue)-box (Enttec OpenDMX Ethernet - ODE) that is pre-wired and hidden away in my stagerack. There are many software-solutions to control ODE from computers or handheld devices.

My lights and effects (PARs, Moving-Heads, Haze, Smoke) are controlled by a free application for windows/linux/macos called Q Light Controller Plus (QLC+) running on a Macbook computer. There are shows/scenes/sequences set for every song.

Bandhelper is used to choose the right set of scenes for the song. It runs on a tablet connected to a M-audio USB/MIDI-interface that is passing messages to a Roland Audio/Midi-interface on the Mac. There are a few too many gizmos in play for my liking, but it works. The light-controller software can take input from the net using OSC and thus be controlled directly from the network using apps such as TouchOSC. It would have been nice if Bandhelper could send OSC-messages so I could get rid of the whole bundle of MIDI-interfaces and cables.

In addition to Bandhelper initiating sequences of scenes I have a bluetooth 4-button pedal that signals scene-changes to the software on my mac. Bandhelper chooses the song. A song usually starts with an introduction, and the pedal is used to activate the appropriate lighting for each section of the song thereafter (intro, verse, chorus, instrumental breaks etc). The whole setup gets rather complicated, but the ability to set a matching background for each song and place focus on the key performer(s) in the right places is a great addition to any stage performance.

[arlo]

It would have been nice if Bandhelper could send OSC-messages so I could get rid of the whole bundle of MIDI-interfaces and cables.

OSC support is on my wish list and I'll add a vote for you.

[brettmckinney]

My lights and effects (PARs, Moving-Heads, Haze, Smoke) are controlled by a free application for windows/linux/macos called Q Light Controller Plus (QLC+) running on a Macbook computer. There are shows/scenes/sequences set for every song.

Bandhelper is used to choose the right set of scenes for the song. It runs on a tablet connected to a M-audio USB/MIDI-interface that is passing messages to a Roland Audio/Midi-interface on the Mac.

I know this is quite old, but would you mind sharing how you managed to get QLC+ working with bandhelper?  I'm using an Ipad connected to an iconnectMIDI2+, which connects to my laptop. If you could give me some info on your setup, I would greatly appreciate it

[Curt]

I have been looking into trying to incorporate this as well.  Currently I use a Behringer FCB1010 Midi for controller to send program changes to a midi licensed MyDMX 3.0 running the matching 3.0 software.  It does have a field I can edit for midi clock and would love to be able to set midi signals to trigger lighting scenes and time step changes to the tempo set in the BandHelper app. 

My first question is, how do you get Midi signals from the Bandhelper app on my iPad to the MyDMX server (PC)?