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Thread: All in one lighting solution....ideas please :)

  1. #1
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Default All in one lighting solution....ideas please :)

    OK, I've got a LOT of lighting at my disposal, but I need more believe it or not.

    Let me explain....

    I'm happy with my adult party and wedding rigs - they're exactly where I want to be. For these particular events I'm either there all day and have a couple of hours to set up, or at the very least for an evening only gig....an hour. No problemo!

    But, I'm starting to do a lot more parties for the little ones at the moment. Setup and breakdown times for these are running at around half an hour each way...which is hard work for an old fella like me who's then got to spend the next couple of hours entertaining said 6 year olds

    At the moment, I'm using a brace of the MK1 Equinox Gigbars plus a cheap and nasty KAM batten that I won at a dealer night (which needless to say is falling to bits already and won't be in use much longer!). It's not pretty, but for these parties actually look the part. At a push, I can be up and running in 22 minutes

    I'd ideally like a pair of <insert fixture name here> which do the job of horrible dots on the floor ('cos the kids love them) AND wash lighting (because some of the village halls can be dark and gloomy places). The wash lighting is the important part here, and I'd like to do away with the batten.

    Whilst the GigBars "sort of" work and look impressive to the average 6 year old, they're not nearly bright enough, especially when I need to turn on the full lighting for safety reasons for the games I play with them.

    So my question....is there anything similar to the GigBars which is brighter? Are the MK2's (or the generic equivalents which are popping up all over the place) any better?

    I think what I'm looking for is a pair of "all in one" fixtures which will provide a LOT of wash, with dots as a secondary but important consideration (cluster lasers on top are NOT important....I don't even turn those on!)

    Any sensible ideas?

    The budget for these isn't mahusive. Whilst kids parties are a lucrative pastime, I don't want to blow the bank because let's face it....they don't know any different

  2. #2
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Well this won't be the answer you're looking for, but the Chauvet Swarm Wash FX would be on my short list. ( Would have been the equivalent Hadron, but they're discontinued )

    Wash light RGBWAUV, dotty moonflowers, cluster lasers, and a tasteful strobe which won't feature much in your shows, I'm sure. The Swarm 5 didn't do wash, and the strobe was an overpowering effect, so it has to be the Wash. The ADJ Stinger 2 is equivalent to the 5, and not suitable for your needs.

    Best I can do on a Monday morning, I think you're looking for the Holy Grail.
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  3. #3
    Imagine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Well this won't be the answer you're looking for, but the Chauvet Swarm Wash FX would be on my short list. ( Would have been the equivalent Hadron, but they're discontinued )
    Yes, I've been looking at those. Need to arrange to do a day-trip to my local dealer to see them in the flesh though having been caught out with the Swarm 5's. If they're anything like the WashFX's I own, I think these could be the kiddies

    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    I think you're looking for the Holy Grail.
    Aren't I always

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    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Yes, I've been looking at those. Need to arrange to do a day-trip to my local dealer to see them in the flesh though having been caught out with the Swarm 5's. If they're anything like the WashFX's I own, I think these could be the kiddies
    You are not alone there, my Fenland friend. No wash facility, and a strobe that could be used as a weapon!

    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    Aren't I always
    And there you are among a multitude of similar searchers.

    Currently, at my parties, I'm loving a pair of Hadron 4-in-1 lights, with a pair of Crossfire XPs, on upright poles. For weddings, I swap the Crossfires for my Chauvet scanners, with appropriate gobos. Still feel I'm missing something.
    Last edited by Excalibur; 16-12-2019 at 12:20 PM.
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    If a couple of gigbar MK1s aren't bright enough I fail to grasp how a Swarm washFX would be.. or even 2 of the blighters. I started out using an Equinox gigAbar which was more than ample for most places but I tired of it so replaced it with two Stairville Crown FX PARs. They're basically clones of Chauvet's FX PAR 9. They're bright as & easily enough for just about any venue I've ever played. They're a steal at around £70 each.

    Otherwise.. all in one lights wise I don't think you've ever gonna be able to find something that does everything you need in one easy to manage box.

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    Which leads me to my frustration with the lighting industry.

    I think there's a demand for good quality all-in-one fixtures, but the current selection are woefully under powered.

    The Swarm Wash FX is the only one that's been on my list should I need an all-in-one fixture.

    If not, is it a case of a short t-bar with a Wash FX on one side and a decent Derby effect on the other, all prewired and assembled, ready to be rung up?

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    If a couple of gigbar MK1s aren't bright enough I fail to grasp how a Swarm washFX would be.. or even 2 of the blighters.
    Eek.....one of my local suppliers has just sent me a pair to try (arriving tomorrow).

    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    If not, is it a case of a short t-bar with a Wash FX on one side and a decent Derby effect on the other, all prewired and assembled, ready to be rung up?
    Yes......and no.

    I'm after lightweight and VERY easy to get everything on a trolley in 1 (max 2) trips. Some of the halls I do kids parties in are complete swines for the 30 minute load in/load out. Having t-bars makes things bulkier to transport (the Gigbars are a pain in the bottom with the size of the case they're in which apart from their dimness, is one of the reasons for looking at something else)

    I also have a regular venue (in there tomorrow night as it happens) which is underneath one of the Cambridge colleges. Space is at an absolute premium when you're in there with the vaulted ceilings (I have to assemble the Evolves on their sides and tip them upright to fit in), and getting in involves a set of 600 year old very worn and snakey stairs....again, bulk isn't my friend on this one.

    For gigs like this, the smaller and more compact I can make everything....the better

    Will try them tomorrow and see what they're like. Reading around (and indeed speaking to my dealer), I have a suspicion they could be here to stay though (and yes, I'll take the WashFX's with me as a back up as well....just in case)

  8. #8
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    Ah, sir would like moon and stick.

    The best wash effect on the market at the moment (in my opinion) is the Chauvet FX Par 9s, or Justin's suggestion of the imitations. Very bright and I am yet to meet a venue that it will not wash out. The Chauvet's are a very good price, the imitations are even better. Problem is, that will give you the wash but no dots but if it helps, when DMX'd properly, they are actually very pretty lights to look at.

    Could a pair (or more?) of the ADJ Jellydomes do the job? Probably not bright enough for the wash mind.

  9. #9

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    4x Battery pars uplighting the room? Then you're adding light and not shining some stupidly bright lights into peoples faces?
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  10. #10

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    This seems brighter (wash) than the Swarm Wash

    https://www.prebeat.co.uk/lighting-c...fect-p216/s222

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