I've condensed the user guide to these steps: CHAUVET STAGE DIRECTOR 50 Recording Entering Recording Mode: • Press and Hold [RECORD] while individually pressing the following channel buttons in this order: [1], [5], [6], [8] Create a Scene: You can create 12 scenes per scene master page. You can create a scene for a static look (like all on full, or only blues, or spastic strobe) or as a series of cycling steps. • Press [Mode Select] until 1-24 Single mode is selected • Tap the [PAGE] button to select the scene master page for this scene • Setup the faders as desired for the first step in the scene. o To toggle between fader pages to setup channels 25-48 vs. 1-24 (Hold Record and hit AUDIO) • Save the step by pressing [RECORD] • Repeat for each step in the scene • Adjust the speed or fade sliders to establish the desired settings for the scene • Save the completed scene - Press and Hold [RECORD] then press the corresponding scene button (buttons under channels 13-24). All LEDs will flash indicating the scene has been saved. Repeat the above steps for each scene to be stored. Edit an existing Scene • Press and Hold [RECORD] while individually pressing the following channel buttons in this order: [1], [5], [6], [8] • Tap the [PAGE] button to select the scene master page for this scene • Press [Mode Select] until ChaseScenes mode is selected • Press and Hold [EDIT] then press the corresponding scene button (buttons under channels 13-24). • Release the [Edit] button and the selected scene should be lit. • You are in edit mode. • Edit a Step o Use the Step button to advance through the steps to the desired or next position. o Adjust the faders as needed to make the desired changes to the selected step. To toggle between fader pages to setup channels 25-48 vs. 1-24 (Hold Record and hit AUDIO) o Save the step by pressing [RECORD] o Repeat for each step in the scene o When done skip down to Finalize the scene • Delete a Step o While in Edit mode (see above), use the Step button to advance through the steps to the desired or next position. o Tap the [Delete/Rev One] button. All LEDs will flash to indicate the step has been deleted. • Insert a Step o While in Edit mode (see above), build the step by adjusting the faders to the desired look. o Press [Mode Select] until ChaseScenes mode is selected o Use the Step button to advance through the steps to point after you want this new step to insert. (ex. If you want to put a new step “a” after step 3 and before step 4, then step through until step 4 is being displayed) o Tap the [Insert/% or 255] button. • Finalize the scene: o Adjust the speed or fade sliders to establish the desired settings for the scene o Save the completed scene - Press and Hold [RECORD] then press the corresponding scene\button (buttons under channels 13-24). All LEDs will flash indicating the scene has been saved.
Thank you so much for the great video!!! I have watched many educational videos on youtube that have been so esoteric or so basic that they are worthless. Yours was spot on -perfect!!! Saved me hours of frustration. CONGRATS ON A JOB WELL DONE!!!!
I do need to update this video. I'm glad so many found it helpful. Here's a few more tips: FADE: I originally thought that the Fader will only work if in step mode. Nope.....it works in audio mode as well. If you put it on 0.5s fade, once the audio sensor hears the beat, it will fade to the next setting. Its a really cool effect.
Our church recently found one of these in our loft after our Obey 40 got ruined by juice. I got extremely frustrated trying to transition from the 40 to the 50 after realizing what needed to be changed: the dip switches and channels. While the Stage Designer 50 is nice and all, it does not control as many DMX channels as many other boards might (as far as I know). This is something to definitely look in to before purchasing a light board.
Thanks Barry! I just found your You Tube Channel and this is the first lesson of Chauvet Stage Design 50. I am having problem to undestand their instruction. Hope you post more video how to program Moving Head lights mixing with conventional dimmer pack for par 64. I will come back for more. Again, thanks a lot !
Hi Barry, It seems like your video became a safe haven over the years for all those struggling to get the board running. thanks for the effort, otherwise I would have thrown the thing into a corner a long time ago! Although I'm quite happy with the CSD50, a couple of times I lost programmed scenes after turning off the board. Online I read some posts with the same experience but without much detail. I was wondering if you've had the same experience? And if so, if you found a way to tackle it? Thanks!
My color bar has different options or DMX. I set mine to 6 channel mode and use 1-6 for one color bar, and 7-11 for the other. I then set the addresses (following the instruction manual) to 1 and 7. ch 1 = white, ch 2 = red, ch 3 = blue, ch 4 = green, ch 5 = strobe, ch 6 = dimmer. So for my second color bar, which is set to address 7, "blue" would be the 3rd channel which is slider 10.
Setting up DMX addresses with dip switches. Dip switches read like this: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, etc. So if you want to set an address of 22, that is 16+4+2 which means you need to flip those switches on. The right most switch is the 1, the one to the left of it is the 2, etc. So 22 would be 10110...or up, down, up, up, down....if you have, say, 8 switches, it would be 00010110. If you get stuck, goggle it!
Most guides will have directions for setting the light addresses. My 4 channel switches look like this: Channel 1 = dimmer, Ch 2 = red, Ch 3 = blue, Ch 4 = green. If I set the dip switch to 20 (00010100), that means 20, 21, 22, & 23 are channels 1, 2, 3, & 4 on this light. NOTE: In some cases, everything will be shifted by 1 channel because 00000000 = 0, but it registers that as the "first" channel, so 0 is really 1. Therefore 20 is really 21, so this makes my light work on sliders 21-24.
Hello. I need your help. I have to use this controler in two weeks, but it's already set up. It's controling standard LEDs, but I can't make them strobe. I think that the dimmer has been set to a maximum value right before the light starts strobbing. Do you know how to reset a fader so it reaches its maxumum defaul value?
WARNING: I recently had to troubleshoot a problem for a good 10 minutes because my fader was all the way down to 30 minutes. That meant that none of my light appeared to change. When testing our set up, but the fade at zero.
Hi Barry, thanks for the video. I haven't bought the controller yet but I have a few questions. I require slow changing scenes like for 10 min. If I create a scene can I have different speed and fader times. Like first scene 5 minutes a 10 minutes slow fade to the next scene last 60 min and a 3 min change to next one? Or do I need to create a chase? Last question regarding cross-fading with the master A+B. Can I use this in manual mode to change from scene to scene. Sorry about my confused question but that is the state I am in. Totally new to the subject.
I recorded already the scenes just like you did and well, I recorded it on scene 7 to follow your steps. When I turn everything off and I turn on Scene 7 the light turns on yellow but the lights don't go off as what I recorded. One thing I noticed on console the step above the LED is not flashing like yours is. I'm not sure why. How could I get it to flash like yours in the video? Would be much appreciated if you could reply! Thank you
So if I want this light off, I slide 21 (the dimmer) down. If I want the light red, I slide 21 and 22 up (dimmer up and red up). If I want it kinda dim, I can either slide red down OR slide the dimmer down. If I want white, I slide them all up.
Ok i just got this console and have a issue with lights not responding to console! My lights have the digital read out not dip switches! What do i do for addressing them?
Can you please provide some detail on what exactly you plugged into the RCA audio in jack of the DMX controller? Is it a microphone or pickup connected to your kick drum for instance? Or just a mic in the room? Or maybe a piezo pickup mounted on the kick drum? Or maybe a direct out from your mixer's kick drum channel? I'm trying to get a sense for how you did that to get the changes to be as good as they are. Also - how hot is that signal and what sensitivity do you find ideal? Finally, does it work just as well in a live performance setting (assuming your band has a lot of stage volume)?
Hi Randy, In the video I mic'ed the kick and the snare. If I remember correctly, I ran it into a small mixing board ($50 4 channel board) and then used a 1/4" to RCA jack. I've since done this live and have used two different techniques. For REALLY loud bands (like my old metal band) I'd run a mic to of the kick drum to a small mixing board like I said above. I'd then adjust the EQ and boost the lows and cut out the miss and hi's so that only the kick drum would get picked up. I also found that I could better control the sensitivity this way. I'd boost the levels on the board to the max, and then boost the level on the light controller until it starts picking up signal. I'd then back off the levels on the board until I hit the threshold of what the controller would pick up. I now play in a classic rock band and find that the controller mic works fine without the hastle of setting everything else up. I just set the controller behind the drum set so that it hears the drums a lot more than it hears the amps. This seems to work just fine.
barry1492 Hi Barry, Thanks so much for not only replying, but for providing the level of detail that is most helpful. If it helps any others, here is why I was asking...I am in a band (cover/classic rock mostly). We play in small venues, but still, it can get pretty loud. And I'm trying to graduate from having old incandescent strictly dumb sound activated Par38s to using LEDs and such with some more control. So I got a bunch of LED fixtures first. I originally tried using my new fixtures using the "sound activated" mode on one (as master) and slaved all of the other ones to it to follow (i.e. no controller being used). And that had worked great when testing at reasonable volumes. I thought I was good to go. However, unfortunately, it did not work well at all in the live setting given the volume. The built-in mic on the fixture was obviously absolutely trounced by the extremely higher sound levels and all of the lights effectively operated like rapid strobes the whole time! Yuck! So, the next step is that I bought the DMX Operator 192 which has a built-in mic as well as an RCA input jack. And for the next gig, I was hoping to have the better chance that my approach would work more effectively. So far - during less-loud testing - the built-in mic of the DMX Operator 192 seems to work well. I have hopes for that because, unlike the built-in mics on the fixtures, the DMX controller seems to "latch" onto a sound and not let go until it changes. But of course, until it is tested at full volume (we don't practice often, just gig), I won't know for sure. So, your detailed answer provides me some good insight. I think I will first try the controller's built-in mic and see how it goes. But I'll take along a plan-B (to have a mic on stage near the drums that I can adjust the volume on before it enters the DMX controller. Plan-C will be to try using a line-out from the bass players rig into the DMX controller's RCA input. And Plan-D will be to take some signal from a direct out from the audio mixer board. Based on your reply, I'm certain at least one of those 4 approaches will work for me as hoped. Again, thank you so much for the help here. Great video and technique (music and technology) by the way - I'm impressed. Randy
Randy Williams One quick update that may help out others. I got the audio input working fine (into my DMX Operator 192). I was able to get it to work using a number of methods, mics/preamps/mixer-out/etc. But, I am most please with the way it works when I'm using a piezo pickup to drive it. So, here are the details: I just bought one of these on e-bay (www.ebay.com/itm/141105828604?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 ...or search for "AD 20 Piezo" on ebay) - for very cheap - its intended to be used on an acoustic instrument like guitar or mandolin. But to my surprise, it works PERFECTLY when taped to the beater head of the kick drum. No preamp or anything needed, just run the piezo into the RCA input. Very controlled, very consistent - I'm very happy with that! Hope that helps someone out there!
I badly need help on how to set up the dmx addresses. My fixtures are not responding at all to the controller except when I press FULL ON. The manual is toilet paper as u know. No useful info in there. Any help will be appreciated. Very informative video btw
Hey Hunter, I honestly probably haven't touched this thing in about 6-7 years, so I don't know how much help I can be. That connects to a mic inside my kick drum. I'm pretty sure I had to run it through a small mixing board first so that i could adjust the levels so that it only changed the lights whenever I played a beat on the kick drum. In theory you could run some sort of DJ music through there, too, but again, you'd have to adjust the levels so that only the pulses in teh beat would change the lights.
Will this controler allow me to just do a simple soft fade whenever i want to transistion/switch scenes? I have 4 banks (4 rows of lights) and i want to have them fade instead of going on and off. which my current chauvet obey 70 seems to not do... appreciate it!
Hey, I probably haven't done anything with lighting in over 5 years, so I can;t really give a great answer, but I'm pretty sure that it had a fade option. I'd recommend checking other videos if this one doesn't answer your question. It looks like more people have put out tutorials since I did this one.
