I just wanted to bump this thread in light of the new Freestyler guide.
Yes, Thank you. I just stumbled on this thread and thought I should say a few things....
Basically, all of the answers to your questions are
YES
You CAN set a scene with your pars, even if they are not DMX controllable, and have them do whatever you like, provided you have them hooked up to a DMX relay pack...(Think Copilot DMX)..
You CAN set ANY fixture, including pars, to be sound controlled and turn the sound control off when needed. The sound level/sensitivity is also customizable as well.
FreeStyler comes with a visualizer, but I do not use it. Why? I use something else and I think i will teach you my way of visualizing as you will learn more and your programs will be more compatible.
I LOVE the audio interaction because you can get a lightshow up and running in a matter of MINUTES. Did you lose all of your programs? Venue too big and resizing the movements doesnt work? Well, all you have to do is set the sound control function to a random DMX variable and the attributes will change with the music. If you do not want an attribute to change, color for example, you can "Override" the random variable and keep it the color you like. You may also release the override command to go back to random.
Look through my guide please. It took much time to write and I am sure it will help beginners as well as advanced users.
Thanks,
rlelek