flash flash flash flash flash flash

March 20, 2008 12:40 PM

I'm looking for a particular kind of strobe light.

I find myself being the impromptu "DJ" of all the house parties I visit recently, and I've been thinking to myself, how damn cool would it be to whip out a sweet strobe and "knock it up a notch"?

Specifically, in addition to being able to flash at timed intervals, I need a strobe that has at least one of the following two features:

1) Manually triggerable
2) Responsive to an audio input

The second one would be absolutely grand, but I'll settle for the first.

Specifically, what make/model am I looking for, and where should I be looking? I live in Toronto, if anybody knows of anywhere local.

posted by tehloki to Technology (4 answers total)

You should be looking at The Source by Circuit City-mostly former Radio Shack stores. They sell a few different strobe lights. I didn't keep the box for mine (so no make/model)but it plugs into a normal household outlet, has an on/off switch and a handle on the top, maybe for ceiling mounting. It was around $28. They had higher end versions that you could power through your sound system as well but honestly I didn't really look at them. Hope that at least points you in one decent direction.
posted by BridgetR at 1:03 PM on March 20, 2008

the cheapest ones you're going to find that will have some semblance of pro features are probably going to be by American DJ. Looks like their official canadian distributor is in toronto: soundsdist You can probably just call or email them and they will tell you what you want and where to find it. If you have a guitar center type store in toronto, try there, as it'll probably be easier to get under MSRP. Keep in mind that in the pro audio world, typically, if you pay full MSRP you are getting jacked. My guess is you are looking at around $100-200 for something with a trigger, but that's totally out of my ass.

some advice: if you do find one with an audio trigger, don't trigger it to the bass kick. you will seriously get ill.

back in 2000 I travelled to germany and checked out the world-famous (well, i think so) Tresor, and the only lighting in the basement was a strobe that was triggered to the kick drum -- it was absolutely nauseating. I stood behind the dj to try and avoid getting sick.

of course, i suppose the 10 red bull/vodkas didn't exactly help.
posted by fishfucker at 1:34 PM on March 20, 2008

Best answer: here's an am-dj strobe that might fit the bill: sound active w/ internal mic. So yeah, about $100, and you don't even have to buy a trigger for that particular item.
posted by fishfucker at 1:38 PM on March 20, 2008

Check website/back issues of MAKE: - I remember there being a project for capturing photos of balloons in the process of popping that involved an audio trigger for a flash/strobe (leave shutter open in dark, pop balloon, bang of balloon popping triggers strobe, image is captured of baloon in mid-pop). Whatever dongle or homemade circuit used there might work for you.
posted by bartleby at 1:53 PM on March 20, 2008