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Author Topic: Lanbox LCX advice  (Read 10521 times)

Dan Reavey

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Lanbox LCX advice
« on: September 10, 2017, 10:35:13 AM »

Hi
I'm considering a Lanbox LCX DMX controller and I've concluded that this with my Yamaha MFC10 would be the easiest lighting setup for my band.
The Lanbox has way more capability than I'd ever need but the small size and easy setup is key.
We have 2 ADJ 12P Hex lights as main side floods plus 4 ADJ Mega TriPar Profiles that we add depending on the gig.
For really easy operation I just use the small RF remote control for the 12P Hex's but as I play keys, it's not easy to have any kind of light timing.

I also have a Transcension DC1224 DMX desk which runs the lights fine but doesn't get taken out much as it's a bit large in it's case. Plus I take 2 keyboards and most of the PA so the Lanbox
would be ideal.
From what I've read online, the LCedit software takes a bit of getting used to. I'm not using any movers and just need a few static scenes, a couple of chases, blackout, strobe and to activate sound to light on the 12Ps.
Any advice on using LCedit would be welcome before I make a purchase.



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Scott Hofmann

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2017, 01:41:32 PM »

Hi
I'm considering a Lanbox LCX DMX controller and I've concluded that this with my Yamaha MFC10 would be the easiest lighting setup for my band.
The Lanbox has way more capability than I'd ever need but the small size and easy setup is key.
We have 2 ADJ 12P Hex lights as main side floods plus 4 ADJ Mega TriPar Profiles that we add depending on the gig.
For really easy operation I just use the small RF remote control for the 12P Hex's but as I play keys, it's not easy to have any kind of light timing.

I also have a Transcension DC1224 DMX desk which runs the lights fine but doesn't get taken out much as it's a bit large in it's case. Plus I take 2 keyboards and most of the PA so the Lanbox
would be ideal.
From what I've read online, the LCedit software takes a bit of getting used to. I'm not using any movers and just need a few static scenes, a couple of chases, blackout, strobe and to activate sound to light on the 12Ps.
Any advice on using LCedit would be welcome before I make a purchase.
So you've chosen this approach because you do not want to have a laptop present running things during your show? Because there are $90 USB/DMX dongles for a laptop that will accomplish the same thing a lot cheaper otherwise.
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Scott Hofmann

Dan Reavey

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2017, 03:37:29 PM »

So you've chosen this approach because you do not want to have a laptop present running things during your show? Because there are $90 USB/DMX dongles for a laptop that will accomplish the same thing a lot cheaper otherwise.

Yes that's correct.
I really only want to have to plug in one pedal board to operate the lighting but these tend to be
quite limited in channels and features.
The keyboard area on stage can get quite cluttered with the band mixer behind me so I need a minimal but fully featured lighting solution.

However there seems to be very little info and user experience available online for the Lanbox
and there are no similar units available from other companies.
You're right, there are USB DMX interfaces and free lighting software available. If I go down that route, I'd probably get a small 10.1" Netbook running Freestyler plus an Entec OpenDMX or one of the Pro ones.
Then use the Roland UM-1 USB to DMX cable to connect the MFC10.
If the Netbook and dongle can go in a small case it wouldn't take up much room onstage.


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David Buckley

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #3 on: September 10, 2017, 04:55:46 PM »

The Lanbox is a unique product.  You use LCEdit to program the thing, and then at the shows you use just the box - no LCEdit - and "indicate" to the box what you want to do by one of the interface options.

So editing the LANBox with LCEdit is a infrequent activity.

The interesting bit is, without a dedicated lighting operator, how to indicate to the box you'd like it to do something so you can have a dynamic light show without paying an operator.  This is not a problem unique to the lanbox but is common to any operator-less setup.  The lanbox offers more options in this space than most alternatives.

As a keys player, you can do a split on your keyboard so the last few keys at one or other end of the keyboard go out a different MIDI channel and trigger changes in the LANBox through MIDI.  You have feet, a couple of switches in a box wired to the box contact inputs.  Its been a while, but I seem to recall that you can even wire a switch as a "tap" to get on-beat chases.  And/or give the drummer a MIDI pad, and let him share lighting duties.

You can do these things with most laptop based packages and some real consoles too, with caveats, for example MagicQ on laptop, which you can get into for just a a few bucks, needs an external expensive interface box to respond to MIDI.  And MIDI implementations vary in quality, and ease of interfacing with from the musical instrument world.

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Dan Reavey

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #4 on: September 10, 2017, 07:07:52 PM »


As a keys player, you can do a split on your keyboard so the last few keys at one or other end of the keyboard go out a different MIDI channel and trigger changes in the LANBox through MIDI. 

Thanks. Yes, that would be a very easy setup. The Lanbox would probably fit in my tool/accessories case.
With no user forum or reviews, I'm not sure sure how popular it is but it looks just the thing
for my situation.
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Bill McKelvey

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #5 on: September 10, 2017, 07:27:48 PM »

Thanks. Yes, that would be a very easy setup. The Lanbox would probably fit in my tool/accessories case.
With no user forum or reviews, I'm not sure sure how popular it is but it looks just the thing
for my situation.
Have you been to the main site?
http://www.lanbox.com
They used to be very good about answering questions. I have an older version, LCE, and it took quite a while to wrap my head around the programming. There used to be an example manual on the site on how to set-up/program things.
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Dan Reavey

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #6 on: September 11, 2017, 06:07:47 AM »

Thanks.
Yes have been on the site.
Doesn't seem to be a fact or spec sheet with size, weight etc.. but found
one at MidiLite.
Manuals for the LCX and LCedit are on the Lanbox site so that's ok and I've had a read of the LCedit manual and it does explain things well. 
« Last Edit: September 11, 2017, 04:20:24 PM by Dan Reavey »
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John L Nobile

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #7 on: September 11, 2017, 11:09:01 AM »

I used one for years to run a show as it was the only Mac Based controller I could find at the time. Very powerful but that was years ago. I don't know if it's been updated but it doesn't looks pretty much the same and the guy that started it died a few years ago.
I found it a real time consuming pain to program. I had outside LD's come in to program it every year and they swore the whole time.

I was however able to sync it over midi with Logic and run the show.

Lanbox strength seems to be the ability to run as a standalone controller that is highly programmable if you know your stuff. It even has a command line interface if you can learn how to use it. I don't know how many lights you need to operate but I'm sure that there are many programs out there that are much easier to use.
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Bob Charest

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #8 on: September 11, 2017, 02:06:59 PM »

Yes that's correct.
I really only want to have to plug in one pedal board to operate the lighting but these tend to be
quite limited in channels and features.
The keyboard area on stage can get quite cluttered with the band mixer behind me so I need a minimal but fully featured lighting solution.

However there seems to be very little info and user experience available online for the Lanbox
and there are no similar units available from other companies.
You're right, there are USB DMX interfaces and free lighting software available. If I go down that route, I'd probably get a small 10.1" Netbook running Freestyler plus an Entec OpenDMX or one of the Pro ones.
Then use the Roland UM-1 USB to DMX cable to connect the MFC10.
If the Netbook and dongle can go in a small case it wouldn't take up much room onstage.
Hi Dan,

I've done what you're describing and posted about it on PSW and a DJ chat thread.

I'd be happy to either email or talk with you about my setup.

I modified a Behringer FCB1010 so that the power supply and pedals were removed. I ran power back to the pedalboard utilizing the two unused MIDI leads.

I also had help from a user who had learned the layer structure of the lanbox.

Feel free to get it touch.

Best regards,
Bob Charest


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Bob Charest

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Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2017, 02:09:34 PM »

Have you been to the main site?
http://www.lanbox.com
They used to be very good about answering questions. I have an older version, LCE, and it took quite a while to wrap my head around the programming. There used to be an example manual on the site on how to set-up/program things.
One of the founders (Fokko van Duin) passed away a few years ago. The activity level for the site has not been kept up since.

He provided wonderful support for the product when I first started.


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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Lanbox LCX advice
« Reply #9 on: September 11, 2017, 02:09:34 PM »


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