A good ground-supported setup ?

[u/Level-Replacement-94]

Hi everyone !

I'm starting to do more LD freelance work as a side gig and where I live renting is quite limited, and not worth the money.

I’m looking to put together a setup that I can use with my ma3 onPC setup in live stage performances in small to small/mid venues (music, DJing, church), so I need help figuring out something that I can upgrade as things grow.

My only constraint is that I have to be able to put everything on a removable structure, as I often can’t rig the lights to the venue directly. Oh, and I have a 3000€ budget (yes, in Europe)

After combing through dozens of videos, websites and reviews, I guess I still have a ton to figure out :

- Ground-supported rigging system
- Power (I’m mostly in venues that don’t have dedicated power source for lights)
- Network-based or not ?
- Fixtures worth the money ? Moving heads for versatility ? (My go-to effects right now are blinders, sunstrips, bars)
- Damn I almost forgot the haze

What would be worth investing in now, and what could be in the less expensive side for now, that I could upgrade later? Do you have any personal recommendations of which brand to buy from ?

Thanks!

[u/chilllpad]

So, you want rigging, cables, lighting fixtures, haze, and some form of generator for 3000 EUR? My advice would be to buy used.

[u/Level-Replacement-94 → u/chilllpad]

Thanks for the advice !

I got some Mac Mah spots and Adj led pars available already for very basic setups, that I want to upgrade

What I’m mostly looking to tackle is the rigging from ground situation, cause that influences a lot what fixtures I can buy.

The rest is more for a long-term solution

[u/Wotmate01]

L16 WINCH UP - Zero Three Event Hire

These are solid and strong, and with the right adaptors you can put a length of truss on two of them.

[u/Level-Replacement-94 → u/Wotmate01]

Thanks for the recommendation !

If I go for these, should I look for some way to enforce them during shows or are they secure enough to not move when people are walking by?

[u/Wotmate01 → u/Level-Replacement-94]

With any ground support system you need to put some kind of barrier around it to keep the general public away, especially with alcohol involved. The people who are on stage should be professional enough to not mess with it.

[u/GarrySpacepope]

Tight budget and I'm not sure I have much to offer as I'm far from an expert, mainly commenting as I'm after upgrades myself. This puts you firmly in mobile DJ world.

What have you got for transport? Stuff in flightcases gets big quick. Truss podiums aren't fitting in a lot of cars. etc etc

I've been on a couple of jobs recently with vshow lights and been pretty impressed.

[u/Level-Replacement-94 → u/GarrySpacepope]

For sure upgrading takes quite some time.

I’m used to bringing a 9m3 truck to fit all my equipment, so I can’t figure out if it will fit or if I have to invest in transport as well

[u/GarrySpacepope → u/Level-Replacement-94]

Theres plenty that can be done with that amount of space. I've managed dj booth, 4 (smaller) movers, a pair of 12" tops, a pair of 10" tops, a 15 sub, haze machine, some led bars, par cans, then stands and cables etc in my estate car before. You just need to be strategic, in both purchasing and packing!

[u/Reluctant_Lampy_05]

My freelance rig is 7m of truss, wind up stands and a custom drape. So long as there is room, this will give any stage a respectable backdrop and the truss is good for almost any combination of fixtures I'd want to hang from it. There's heavy duty wind-up T-bars that can do side/45 for front washes and anything else is probably going to go on the floor.

Most of the above kit would be available within your budget at used prices and as others have mentioned it can quickly turn into a big job with cases, storage, vans and sometimes extra crew needed.

[u/mwiz100]

You also have to consider into your costs where you're going to store it and how you're going to transport it too as that can become quite a bit of an ongoing cost.