Ableton Forum

project: video a dancer in a strobe light, with the strobe light flashing to the music at a custom-made (as opposed to constant) interval.
lighting budget: $200

because the strobe is the only lighting element i foresee using, i don't want to invest in a midi-to-dmx converter.

do you think it could work to control a sound-activated strobe light within my Live set this way?
-create an individual MIDI track that plays a simple, monophonic waveform (for instance, a sine wave).
-send this sine wave track out of its own output on my audio interface into a headphone speaker, taped over the mic hole on the strobe light.

i don't have the strobe light yet. otherwise, i would have tried this out already. the strobe i want is $150, but given my budget, i may have to choose between this and a cheaper strobe ($50) in combination with a midi-dmx converter ($150).

any thoughts?

thanks,
d

speak_onion wrote:http://colorsynth.com/

the interface looks great - do they make a strobe version?

dm_hawk wrote:

speak_onion wrote:http://colorsynth.com/

the interface looks great - do they make a strobe version?

That one can strobe. They only have that one product.

The ColorSynth uses a hi-power RGB LED that draws a half an amp of current. The brightness of the fixture can be very intense, especially compared to the strobes that you could get for $200 or less. One ColorSynth can light up a DJ table all by itself such that you can easily see your equipment, and the crowd in a small venue could easily see you without any other light. For larger setups, multiple ColorSynths can be chained together and all of them mount on top of microphone stands.

A great demonstration of the brightness on stage can be seen in this youtube video of Nonagon performing with two ColorSynths.

There are many ways to achieve strobe effects, from adjusting the master level, to sending note data, buy my favorite is the built in strobing that is controlled by MIDI CC #1. This strobing is an internal square wave oscillation of the master level, the speed of which ranges from tens of thousands of strobes per second to one strobe every few seconds (with 127 speeds in between).

I built the ColorSynths with Ableton users specifically in mind, so if you have any questions please fire away.
And best of all - you can change the color of the strobe, with over 2 million total possible colors in the RGB spectrum (127*127*127)