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Black lights

Black lights have been a popular lighting effect since they were brought into the common market, and they're perfect for the club and rave scene.  As a DJ, having your own lighting makes you far more marketable, and black lights are going to be a necessary part of your setup.  The sort of lights you want to buy will vary, and online can usually be bought for $200 to $400 each – but one may not be enough.  You'll want to look at your options, compare them to the venues you normally DJ, and make a decision from there.

One of the more popular models of black lights are the bar black lights – usually containing two or more bars or, what we recommend, twelve or more slots for high output UV bulbs.  These are the most popular for use in any theatrical productions, dance productions, or similar.  They don't have moving parts, they don't consume much power, and they can last forever (or about 50,000 hours, whichever comes first).  The biggest advantage comes in the wash of light that it provides, however, since it hits a full forty degrees horizontal and ten degrees vertical.  Don't rule it out as a DJ!  If you're setting up a “stage area,” one to four of these things to hit up the perimeters will be brilliant.

Ceiling lights are the other popular model, and while they aren't as accessible to your average DJ (who doesn't have the time to do massive setup before each performance), they offer the distinct advantage of being able to move if needed.  You can point and direct them as you want, and put them on rotators in order to get variety in the black light effect.  Some other models that rotate and are placed on the ground as also available, though those can be a bit tricky, sometimes finicky, and pricey too.