Help a poor old fat man....please....

Hey Uncle Tony! Let me be the first to say Welcome to the Forum! 2 Wildflowers and the Simple Scan system would look pretty impressive. Another thing you may look into would be 2 Fascinators, if you are using them on the crowd, they will give a good effect and they have a huge coverage area. Just make sure whatever you get, don't plug them into the dimmer packs!

I highly recommend the Luna 4 system - covers a large area and is nice and bright. If you have to deal with ambient lighting or no fog, look into the Luna's.

You really should get American DJ's latest video with all their lighting effects on it - you only pay $5 for shipping!

quote:

Originally posted by dmjerbear;
You really should get American DJ's latest video with all their lighting effects on it - you only pay $5 for shipping![/QB]

Huh, I got my video free!...I guess I rate in this forum!

-AMP

Thanks for the advice so far...keep those cards and letters coming in folks....we will have another drawing next hour and you, too, could be a lucky winnder....

Oh, wait, that is another thread.

Seriously, we will have to deal with ambient lighting. For instance, the Moose Lodge we are doing New Year's has their bar with a florescent bulb just 2o feet from the stage. And then add in our 12 PAR-38s. So there will be a lot of other "room light".

And we may have some problems using very much fog. It seems that most of the fog juice we have found seems to irritate both of our singers' voices.

Since we are tight on time, I doubt I will try to get a copy of the video. But, I appreciate the suggestion.

I did make a point to check out the online "video" demo of the various units I mentioned along with a host of others.

I will make a point to check out any other models that are suggested on any reply to my questions, including the Fascinator.

I am looking forward to getting more input from anyone who has an opinion or who uses any of the products I mentioned. I like to get other folks opinion, even if I ignore it.

Thanks again.

Tony...the man, the myth, the legend in my own mind.

I would definatly fo with the the
-luna 4
-simple scans
-facintors

I would forget about the fab 4.


also one idea that I saw once that I thought was a really good idea was the put a lotus behind the band shinning up behind them and on the cieling.

Get the Simple Scan System and the two Wildflowers! Thats a kickbutt system!!!!

Be careful not to wash out any lights. 150w vs. 300w might be a big dif. Also, if you want to overcome ambient light, the lights must be fairly powerful.

Keep in mind, effect lights should be used for exactly that...effect. That means used for brief periods such as say a guitar solo or such. With 12 par-58's cranking these will easily wash out all but the heartiest of discharge lamp equipped effect lights.

That said, you can easily add significant "WOW" factor by simply adding a couple of Pro-Gressors linked in sound active mode and cut the par cans and hit the effect lights during the songs breakdown/guitar solo etc. and light the whole joint up! Keeping their use to a minimum of say 30seconds or so keeps the "WOW" factor way up there too.

At the end of the break, simply switch from the effects back to the Par-58's.

Another very simple, yet extremely effective effect for bands especially is this: A 2' section of pipe with 4 pinspots splayed (spread your four fingers out and you get the idea of what I mean by splayed)on each 2' section. Use 4 sections of these four pins, one on each side of the stage either mounted vertically or at say a 45* angle shooting from stage left rear, to stage right front and two more centered, yet still left and right on a more horizontal plane directed out to hit the center of the dance floor and then run them on a chaser where they can either chase, or be a full on deal. You could also use many combinations with a decent controller.

While this is a very simple thing to build, it can really make a very cool effect on a wider stage. It can also be used on virtually any sized stage and the looks and angles can be tweaked by postioning the whole rack or even individual lights in different positions.

I must say, on a very fast chase it really looks cool.

Just a thought...

Bob

I agree with Bob. The pins are great (and I like the idea of groups of four!). Also, pins are cheap (but a great effect). I have played in a band doing classic 60's for many years (classic 60's REALLY sells - we had no problem getting gigs!). One effect we ALWAYS used was the great, retro oil wheel. ADJ sells two versions, the Groove wheel and the Trance Wheel. They are basically the same thing but the trance has a removable reflector head. We run the oil wheel effect on a white sheet that we painted our band name on - which we hang behind the band. (The sheet also reflects black lights REAL well!) It is a great effect and the moving oil light draws attention to your name (good PR!). The Groove and Trance are in the $100-$130 range and are worth every cent! (Note: the oil effect will wash out at times when you're running up the pars but, no difference! At breaks, everyone will comment on your band banner!!!!!!)

Greg

gb, that's an awesome use for oil wheel effects! It goes with the whole 60's vibe. It actually isn't a bad idea for DJs, either. I may try that when I get enough money!

Thanks for all the input so far. I was able to make a deal for the two Wildflowers that my local dealer has in stock.

I am satisfied with the price and when possible, I think you should support the local guy who will stock the bulbs and other parts for service after the sale.

That said, I am not finished. As funds become available over the next few weeks, we/I/the band intend to add some additional lighting.

I had an opportunity to go to Oklahoma City this week and fell in lust...er, that should be love with the XP-3 and almost bought a pair at a national music store chain (but not one currently in bankruptcy...so that narrows it down some).

I was especially impressed when they told me the demo units were on during the entire day during regular store hours. They told me these units were just put up last Saturday.

However, they only had the two demo units and one new in box. So, I passed.

So, now with my remaining budget, I am going to be lucky to afford the Simple Scans by February.

My local guy suggested one Lotus as a "center piece" for behind the band or to set on the floor and aim towards the dancers along with the Wildflowers. That is pretty close to Megastever's suggestion. If we get the Lotus we will try both ideas and see which works best for our clubs. It may be that we like both ideas.

The local buy also has some demo Vertipro units that he will let go as well. The price for the two is slightly higher than the one Lotus.

Any suggestions regarding our next acquisition? Save for the Simple Scans (maybe mid January?), save "a long time" for the XP3 or go for the Lotus or the pair of Vertipros?

BTW, as far as "wash out" we currently intend to pull the DMX faders down on the PAR cans when using the various effects. (Thanks for your concern Drew and Bob.) And as I mentioned, these effects lights will be aimed at the audience at most performances, not at the band. We hope that 180 degree separation will help also.

The local dealer (one man retail/internet operation) suggested against the DMX controller for most of the lighting we are looking at.

So, any suggestions in that regards?

We thought that some kind of low tech, low cost on state foot switch would allow us to control what and when we wanted the effects lights for the audience...and we would let our sound/light man control the PARs with the DMX controller. Or not. So, if there is low cost a way for our sound/light man to control these effects....???

And I appreciated the suggestion gb (Glad you signed "Greg" or I would have thought "GWB"...) but, we don't do any psychadelic 60s rock..Just top 40 stuff from the "dance" and "doo wop" days. Actually, pretty tame stuff. If we did Led Zep, Cream and any Dead stuff...I would be all over the water effects. I thought they were very 1968 San Francisco-ish.

As always, should you or any ADJ Forum member be captured, you will be disavowed. Or something like that....

Seriously, I appreciate all the suggestions.

Tony...
The old, the wise, the fat. Or at least 2 out of 3....