Lighting Setups

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Hey guys.

Looking for some ideas today.

I've been rocking pretty much the same light show for three + years of a couple of Martin EFX 600s on poles and a couple of par cans behind me. Naturally with wedding setups they need to be fairly quick to setup. I've not really been keeping my eye on new lighting products so looking for ideas I guess from people who have actually used them. I'm half tempted to going back to an overhead section as with the venue lights off with my current setup it is a tad too dark (using par cans onto the floor is overpowering the effects of the efx600s).

Pictures would be good

[Benny Smyth]

Are you looking for an entirely new thing, or just a few modifications here and there?

Either way, would you mind posting a picture of a typical setup? May give me some inspiration to suggest something.

[Excalibur]

Powerbar and two moonflowers. Not too far distant from what you have.
Powerbar and two moving heads on totems.
Powerbar and two of almost anything you fancy, scanners, lasers or barrels.
Surprisingly, I'd recommend the Equinox Mightybar, not the Stairville. It's just designed brilliantly.

Two Chauvet Swarm 5s ( Not entirely serious, but it would be one hell of a display )

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Powerbar and two moonflowers. Not too far distant from what you have.
Powerbar and two moving heads on totems.
Powerbar and two of almost anything you fancy, scanners, lasers or barrels.
Surprisingly, I'd recommend the Equinox Mightybar, not the Stairville. It's just designed brilliantly.

Two Chauvet Swarm 5s ( Not entirely serious, but it would be one hell of a display )

I'm keen to stay away from the powerbar as it's a good lighting output but surely you'll struggle to see anything else? (lighting effect wise).

[funkymook]

I'd recommend the ADJ DOTZ Bar - it has filters so you can either get a wash or a more concentrated beam (still fairly wide though, but it's more directional). I use mine with a pair of Cheetah's which sit on top of it. Very effective, small footprint and very quick and easy to set-up.

[Shaun]

I'm always looking for ideas to add something new, but so far nothing has taking my eye over the last few years.

Through the years I've tried a multitude of different lighting setups, from moving heads on totems, to scanners, barrels, lasers, washes and moonflowers.

I keep going back to the same rig though for the majority of events (just a powerbar and a couple of moving heads). The rest of the lighting and truss totems are in storage and only get brought out a few times a year at most, when the event dictates a larger setup.

The main reason I keep going back to the current light system is that its more than adequate, and the setup time is really quick. The power bar is bright enough to fill the majority of dance floors, whilst the moving heads offer a bit movement.

Until something comes along that's a game changer...I think I'll be staying as is for the foreseeable.

.

[dicky]

Hmm I don't know if I dare comment after the eyebrows I raised on my last lighting video I posted yesterday so don't take my advice lol, but next week I am gonna try a smaller version of my rig with just the following on the 12ft gantry above my 6ft booth

2x Equinox Triclops Beam (dmx master/slave) approx £99 each http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcLjPilR5Ks sorry can't find a video with a pair of these running

1 x Equinox Six Shooter approx £149 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUvdcgh13lE

2x ADJ Octo Beam RGBW (dmx master/slave) approx £179 Each http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6K5GX2V7m4 - I really like the old skool pinspot effect these give, even crisper and brighter than the classic PAR 36's and look great with a fogger. Yet they are kinda retro and up to date as well being RGBY LEDs

2x LD 488B 760mW 4 tunnel lasers (dmx master/slave) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eilzwqSBrjw these cost me about £130 each - won't run these all the night though!

A 150mW Red/Green firefly laser projected behind me

My Mirror ball and four old skool PAR 36 pinspots (static colours)

The booth screens with a couple of crystal ball lights beneath the stand illuminating them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2zfA0MneXI - actually I find these give a lot of light all around me and they were dirt cheap and even DMX! master/slave

Oh and I have an LED water effect I project onto the centre booth screen panel

May put a couple of moonflowers on as well to cover the dancefloor

Will post some videos of this up after next Thursday's gig.


One thing I don't have yet is any uplighters or floods - still looking for something bright that is not too expensive. Suggestions welcome

[dicky]

Oh and I just thought to ask - what is the best speed for mirrorball motors?

I tend to think they kinda make you feel seasick if they are too fast. Seen the QTX mirror ball motor at £15 - will take 5kg which is more than enough for my.... err.... ball size

These are 0.8rpm is that a bit too slow for the classic effect? Or about right?

Rich

[funkymook]

Oh and I just thought to ask - what is the best speed for mirrorball motors?

I tend to think they kinda make you feel seasick if they are too fast. Seen the QTX mirror ball motor at £15 - will take 5kg which is more than enough for my.... err.... ball size

These are 0.8rpm is that a bit too slow for the classic effect? Or about right?

Rich

That's about right - as you say much faster and you get that swirling seasick effect (I made that mistake once).

[Shaun]

Surprisingly, I'd recommend the Equinox Mightybar, not the Stairville. It's just designed brilliantly.

A great unit, but it has it's flaws. The remote is as useful as a chocolate teapot. I bought a mightybar in the hope that I would be able to dim the chases via the remote [it does have a dimming function on the remote after all]. The dimming only worked on static colour though....and the dimming effect wasn't very good at that. Plus, the mighty bar is super bright, so unless you want to burn out the punters retinas you have to make sure the beams are pointed out of eyesight. I found it to be too bright for most situations so unless you use it with a DMX controller (using your own programmed scenes and not the inbuilt scenes) then it may be to bright for many as you won't have control of the dimming function. The bar also sits on a spigot with a securing pin, so when used on a bouncy dancefloor the bar tended to wobble and see saw a bit as I found out once. Why they used a spigot type attachment for it to sit on I'll never know.

On the plus side, the colour tones were gorgeous as it used RGBW instead of just RGB. The build quality and over feel of the product was also outstanding.

So, good points and bad relating to that particular suggestion.