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MaestroDMX review by Wilf Libgott
A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO DMX LIGHTING DESIGN
DJs and promoters know that in this day and age, a solid light show is essential to the success of most events. When a club has a lighting set-up that seamlessly adapts to the music, it just elevates the experience for everyone so much more. Just think how different a show would be without moving lights, colorful washes of light, and strobing when the show demands it.
Still, setting up a way to control all these lights is a different story altogether.
So the way all these lights connect and communicate with each other is with a digital communication standard called DMX. Previously, you’d need to invest in a DMX lighting console, DMX control units, and/or laptops. And then you’d need someone to program and control all of it.
Sure, you could decide to take a deep dive into DMX lighting design and learn all of it yourself. Or hire an LD every single time there is a show.
But not everyone has the time or money to do all that.
So listen! There’s a new solution that creates impressive light shows for you! And completely in sync with your music.
MEET MAESTRODMX
MaestroDMX is a portable little box that takes an audio feed from your mixer. It then analyzes the incoming audio to control all your stage lights with its built-in AI. And all of it in real time.
Say the music has a mellow mood, your lights will follow that lead. When everything gets more exciting, the system will detect that, and so, the lighting will get more intense. More movement. Faster patterns. More party!
Limbic Media, the company that developed MaestroDMX. sent me a unit to test. I’ve been an event promoter for more than a decade and as such have a lot of experience with DMX. After seeing demo videos made by the company, as well as videos from users around the world, I wanted to see if I could create similar vibes without much hassle.
EASE OF USE
One thing I find appealing about MaestroDMX is its user friendliness. It’s easy on the eyes and clearly laid out. All of its settings can be controlled on the fly from a browser tab on your phone, tablet or laptop. You could literally wander around in the middle of a packed dancefloor and make tweaks to the lighting. Fun!
So how does that work? The MaestroDMX box transmits its own Wi-Fi signal, and you simply log into that. No need to download any apps.
For me it’s quite a novel concept.
SETTING IT UP
To get everything working smoothly, the only thing you’ll need to do is to add the lighting fixtures you have into the system. MaestroDMX has both a built-in library of fixtures as well as an online library that’s constantly being updated, so you may find your fixture profiles in there.
Still, if your fixture is not within the library, you can manually add it. And if you have the DMX specifications of your unit handy, it’ll be a breeze.
I went through the manual adding process with some of my fixtures and I liked how everything was so clear cut. The interface works with drop down menus for each DMX channel which has visual features to make that process as easy as can be.
Once that’s done you can create a stage lay out and explore the show settings which you can tweak in real time to taste.
A REAL TIME SAVER!
At the time of writing, MaestroDMX makes use of up to three different fixture groups. Each such group has the ability to have different patterns assigned to it, as well as distinct color schemes.
These patterns and color schemes reflect different kinds of moods and situations. One combination of up to three groups is called a cue. And MaestroDMX comes with a number of standard cues. But you also have the ability to create cues yourself according to your own taste.
The system can then switch through these cues. Either automatically, via the browser tab, or even any kind of MIDI controller.
Beyond that, settings such as color layout, brightness level, intensity, background (contrast), strobe, blackout, blinder, and various others can be manipulated on the fly when the user chooses to.
All this means that you are going to save hours and hours of time.
As for myself, prior to a lot of the shows I did with standard DMX controllers, I would take days to create new customized cues on the boards, memorize them, and practice. As much fun as that can be, MaestroDMX removes the need to do all that.
PHENOMENAL COLORS
When testing Maestro, I was really impressed with the way it can handle colors. If you are used to working with standard DMX controllers, MaestroDMX will breathe new life into all of your units. No, let me put it this way: you’d never have imagined your fixtures could handle these kinds of colors.
Some of my fixtures have 8 different lenses. And each lens has 4 different LEDs. Maestro takes full advantage of that. You can see how it treats each lens as a different pixel. And it dims them in such an elegant way that you get all kinds of different shades of the same type of color gently pulsing to the beat of the music. It’s just such a pleasure to watch.
There are quite a few presets with different color schemes and it’s worth your time to check them all.
If you own any number of par lights, try it with those. It’s just so easy to set up and you’ll love the result.
THE COMMUNITY
MaestroDMX has only been on the market since last year. But in that short time frame, it managed to create an enthused community that actively engages in the private MaestroDMX Facebook group.
People proudly post their Maestro videos and members help each other with technical questions. It’s nice to see how so many people have adopted the system.
SUPPORT
There is a helpful support page where MaestroDMX is explained in clear language. It helped me with figuring out the system quickly. If you need more help with something, you can also submit a support ticket.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
As you’ve noticed, yes I do really like MaestroDMX and I am excited to work with it at all my upcoming events. But are there any downsides?
Well, if you are a control freak, you may give up a little bit of control to the AI as opposed to working with a DMX console. The AI really does the heavy lifting. If you want more control, consider adding a MIDI controller and customizing all your cues in detail.
IMPROVEMENTS
MaestroDMX is new on the market and its software is constantly being updated. So as good as it is now, it will only get better with each new software release. Future updates will include the ability to handle multiple DMX universes. I’m excited to see what the future brings. Even more so because I had a few suggestions of my own for the team, so I’ll let you know if these are picked up in any future release 🙂
CONCLUSION
MaestroDMX is a great way for DJs and event promoters to up their lighting game. It’s just so easy to use and when you spend a little time with it, you can get inspiring results from it. And if you are a club owner, trust me, getting MaestroDMX is a no-brainer.
And it’s not just a cool system for events. It’s also great for music studios and podcast situations where you want to add some vibe. You can have all kinds of lighting going on while you just focus on the music.
If you want to try it out, you can use our affiliate link to get an extra 10 percent discount: https://maestrodmx.com/discount/DISCOUNT4HAMMARICA?redirect=%2Fproducts%2Fmaestrodmx
This article appeared first on Hammarica
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