Q Light Controller+

Hi All,

Just dropping a line to say “Hi!”, and looking forward to picking the collective brain while I figure out what I’m doing.

I’m the bass player in a London based electro-post-punk band (Leg Puppy), and I’m trying to put together our stage lighting. It won’t be big, as I’ll have to carry it, along with my bass gear, on public transport, but hopefully it’ll make an impression.

So far I have just two fixtures (2 x Stairville 240/8 led bars), and I’ve just this morning ordered an enttec dmx usb pro mk2 (with midi breakout cable). My intention is a total 4 or 6 of the same led bars; they’re pretty easy to carry and place, and I have a dream of (amongst other things) turning them into an on-stage sound level meter (lightjams says it can do that, so I’m hoping qlc+ can too).

My bass pedal board is based around a Boss ES-5, which aside from being a cool pedal switcher also has impressive midi capability. What I’m hoping to achieve is that as I select guitar pedal settings I will also trigger my lighting. If it works then I’ll be a happy bunny.

Looking forward to everything arriving and being able to get stuck in. For now I just have the learning curve of figuring out this software.

Rich

Welcome to the forum and happy learnings
If in doubt - check the instructional video's and manual. If you can't find the solution, shoot your questions here.

Thanks!!!

I already have a question. I'll do a search of the forum before I think of posting it up

Hi Rich,
I too am a UK bass player and sometime lighting tech. I'm putting together a show for my band(s) with QLC+. So far, its proving to be both a blessing and a frustration - mainly because I have no prior experience of DMX or how to fashion various 'looks'. That said, I'm progressing well and should have something functional for our shows in the next few weeks (Virtual Console and all fixture now controllable at least!).
I too am interested in triggering/controlling the lights over MIDI. I used to have an ES-8 and found its MIDI functionality to be superbly good. That said, I have since chopped this in and now use a Line6 Helix. I am hoping this is at least as good.
Of course you'll need to be careful when mapping MIDI commands to programs or buttons you are also using for loop changes. I had looked at a Rocktron Midi Raider as an independent switcher - these are pretty reasonable and can store a ton of MIDI commands. I also bought a WingFX - which could be amazing for this task as its wireless and attached to your guitar. I'm going to start playing with this soon. I'll let you know how I get on.
Good luck with QLC+ - it is a learning curve but the Forum here is very good.

DId you ever find a controller that you can use? Sorry to pop up an old thread.

I too play bass in our band Sex Pump. I am using an FCB1010. It works great!

For programming, you must program the FCB1010 other wise out of the box you will not get what you want, it is set up for a musicians controller. It will do some stuff( simple buttons for instance, chases do not ), so it may just seem broken. I programmed every foot pedal to control using midi notes. This way I can control every feature.

The FCB1010 has 10 banks, so I program each song using a bank, so I can just switch banks when there is a new song.
Pedals 1-5 are the lower pedals, pedals 6-10 upper set of pedals.

Set up this mapping from the virtual console-

Pedal 6( upper left pedal ) : static look, usually for song intros and light in between songs.
Pedal 1( lower left pedal ) : stop for my main chase
Pedal 2: Play/Pause for my main chase
Pedal 3: Previous step in my main chase
Pedal 4: Next step in my main chase
Pedal 10( upper right pedal ): Some flash cues, only for a few songs

Each song has a chase programmed for steps, this way I only have to worry about setting up the next look/scene by hitting one pedal.

when the song is over, I stop all scenes, switch banks, then trigger either the static look( pedal 6 ), or Play on the chase( pedal 2 ).

I only control 8 lights, but it works really well. Using Massimo's raspberry pi image, I can pack all that stuff up in my FCB1010 case.

Equipment list:
FCB1010 pedal board ( might lighting console )
Raspeberry Pi ( qlc++, out of the box, you can upload your project, connect the midi/dmx in your universes )
Entec DMX Pro USB ( DMX to USB )
Roland UM-One ( midi to USB )

I have seen a Eurolite Big foot switch, but it can only handle 12 fixtures, and does not seem as friendly as QLC+.

I recommend using the fcb programming software by Mountain utilities ( https://mountainutilities.eu/fcb1010 ).
Programming tutorial : https://youtu.be/MMJQ-AHRSMs
Editing tutorial : https://youtu.be/SYNND5nMWhc
Idiots guide : http://host.mtnsys.com:81/faq-fcb/IdiotsGuide.htm

Plus Massimo's tutorial on qlc+.

Cheers!

--John

Hi John,

Not sure if your post was intended for me, or the other guy that replied, but I'll answer as though it was for me

I've almost finished putting together my rig.
I have a custom RPI running Massimo's qlc+ build; custom because I've built the dmx interface described elsewhere on the forum, and added on a wireless dmx modules (plus sleep/wake button and a screen). I use my old iPhone running midi designer software to select the next song, and a boss es-5 as the centre of my pedal board; this controls the effects pedals for each section of each song, as well as sending midi data to the RPI to control VC in QLC+.

I'm just waiting for a delivery of the last few wireless dmx receiver modules so I can finish modifying my fixtures, then I'm all done.

I'm considering making some wearables using addressable LEDs too, driven by spi on the RPI. I'm hoping to use the same wireless dmx transceivers to make them mobile (with 5v battery packs)

Hi John,

Not sure if your post was intended for me, or the other guy that replied, but I'll answer as though it was for me

I've almost finished putting together my rig.
I have a custom RPI running Massimo's qlc+ build; custom because I've built the dmx interface described elsewhere on the forum, and added on a wireless dmx modules (plus sleep/wake button and a screen). I use my old iPhone running midi designer software to select the next song, and a boss es-5 as the centre of my pedal board; this controls the effects pedals for each section of each song, as well as sending midi data to the RPI to control VC in QLC+.

I'm just waiting for a delivery of the last few wireless dmx receiver modules so I can finish modifying my fixtures, then I'm all done.

I'm considering making some wearables using addressable LEDs too, driven by spi on the RPI. I'm hoping to use the same wireless dmx transceivers to make them mobile (with 5v battery packs)