DJ lighting is a variant of
stage lighting that is used by
mobile DJs and in nightclubs. DJ lighting is generally used by
mobile disco
Mobile disc jockeys (also known as mobile DJs or mobile discos) are disc jockeys that tour with portable sound, lighting, and video systems. They play music for a targeted audience from a collection of pre-recorded music using vinyl records, cas ...
DJs and in most modern
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s and many
late-night bars.
There are many different types of DJ lighting such as scanners which use a mirror to reflect beams of light that move around, twister-style effects that project multiple beams of light that rotate in a twisting style and also
strobe lighting
A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope. The word originated from the Ancient Greek ('), meaning ...
that flash intensely.
DJ lighting can be controlled by an internal sound activation, where the unit has a built-in sound to light function. Other control options are master-slave (daisy chain) and
DMX control.
Types of DJ lighting
It is generally considered that there are four types of DJ lighting.
Party lights
In the DJ equipment industry, any party disco light that is designed and sold for home use is considered a ''party DJ light'' or a ''party disco light''.
Retro lights
In the early days of
disco, the main types of disco light were colorful rotating balls. They looked very much like a
mirrorball with multi-coloured
par 16 lamps in them.
Projectors
With the technology of
halogen lamps improving, the 80s and early 90s saw a new breed of DJ light starting to evolve. This was a projection-style DJ light that used a halogen lamp and a mirror to reflect the light. A halogen lamp shines onto a mirror via a
filter gel sheet to create the color and sometimes via a
gobo wheel to create shapes. In some DJ lighting effects a coloured mirror is used to avoid using color/filter gel.
Most modern projector DJ lights now use
LEDs instead of halogen lamps.
Lasers
Lasers are a relatively new type of DJ light. They use a
laser diode
The laser diode chip removed and placed on the eye of a needle for scale
A laser diode (LD, also injection laser diode or ILD, or diode laser) is a semiconductor device similar to a light-emitting diode in which a diode pumped directly with e ...
and an array of mirrors to project multiple colours and beams of light.
{{Artificial light sources
DJ Equipment
Stage Lighting