Making sure that band members are adequately illuminated during a performance can be just as important to a successful club gig as the hours of rehearsal needed to nail down the set list. The StompLight does just what its name suggests it does, putting multi-color LED lighting at the feet of players.
Following a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign last year, StompLight has announced full availability for its DMX Pro lighting effect pedal ahead of the National Association of Music Merchants show in California next month. The company promises stage lighting setup that takes mere seconds, foot controlled effects and road-ready durability.
The self-contained light unit in a stomp features Cree RGB LEDs shining at up to 400 lumens and player control over color, brightness and sensitivity. The user can cycle through available color options using a color wheel, or a built-in microphone can feed the band's noise into a spectrum analyzer to make the lighting dance to the beat. The StompLight also caters for pass through instrument or mixer input for a more tailored response, and there's a strobe mode with adjustable speed and brightness.
The clamshell design allows for 180 degree lighting adjustability, an aluminum chassis should help it withstand the rigors of a regular gigging diary and there's an optional Li-ion power brick to alleviate mains power supply concerns at venues.
Of course, lighting from the StompLight will shine up toward musicians instead of putting them in the spotlight, but the unit can be used to control a daisy-chained array of DMX light modules or the company's own DMX lighting slave unit. It can even be mounted on a mic stand for off-the-floor placement.
And housing dimensions of 4.75 x 8 x 3 in (12 x 20.5 x 7.5 cm) would see it pretty much dominating even a large pedalboard, perhaps leading to modulation or tone sacrifices in favor of custom lighting control. However, having had a few lighting disasters in the past – including blackouts during solos, tempo misfires and lost lighting remotes – I can see the appeal of placing stage lighting at the control of the musicians themselves.
The StompLight DMX Pro comes in black or white for US$299.99 and is available now.
Source: StompLight