Skip to main content

I purchased this system last week and used them at a Christmas party. Im thinking of sending them back, as I was not at all impressed with them in a dark 30 x 30 room. These are my firstmoving lights, I have a set of Par 64's. I was expecting them to fill the room a lttle more, it was basically like having no light at all. There were no instructions included with the included controller. They didnt look near as impressive as they did in the video on the home page.

My question is, am I doing something wrong? Are there settings I need to go into to get them more intense or brighter? Should I send them back and upgrade to something a little better?
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Wow, what a loaded question:

"something easy to set up that looks good"

Honestly, there is NO right answer for that, because to each their own.

Heck, give me some 10-foot spans of square trussing combined into a 40-foot span and then use some 1-ton motors and hoist those Par64's up into the rafters, now that's easy AND looks good.

I think really what you need to do is say "hey, these are features I am somewhat interested in" and see what ideas people throw at you.

For example, a Sunray III, while very basic and is sort of like a variant on the them of the mirror ball, doesn't look all that great on its own, but with fog, can be pretty neat. The Mystic or Vertigo, on the other hand, can look good with or without fog, but tend to look better with fog. The Sunray III just simply rotates at 6rpm(more or less), while the Mystic and Vertigo are sound activated. All three are "high tech effects".

If you want moving lights, I think the big key there is operator creativity. My concepts aren't as good as others. But, with a creative light designer(thank you MyDMX for making this so much easier thanks to the 3D Visualizer), wiht use of things like gobos, color wheels/color mixing and movements, one can come up with quite a good lighting show. Properly done, this can be done with really a minimum of fixtures, which I think would address your "easy to set-up" concept because sometimes less is more.

These days, there are no "all in one systems". Maybe a turn-key package that includes some lights and a controller might be as close as you get. You can always grow the system as you see fit.

Case and point: My lighting is getting more and more complicated, but I don't have a tech to run and help set my lights, so lighting often takes more of a back seat than I would prefer(I'm a sound company, not a DJ). But, for as simple as my DMX Operator is, it has definately been more than enough to let me grow. Now that I'm migrating away from the DMX Operator in favor of MyDMX, even my next few lighting upgrades won't surppass my DMX Operator.

My suggestion is to do what you've been doing. That is: view the videos or better yet, order the ADJ Demo/promo DVD and catalog. Yeah, I know, it does incurr costs to ADJ, but this is how I use it:
I go through the DVD and the catalog at the same time. I actually take notes and jot down stuff and scribble out the stuff I DO NOT like(sorry, it happens), X out stuff I have and don't want more of(say, Par38's, Electra....), circle stuff I am interested in. When possible, I go to stores to check it out. Although, in this case, Jingles talked me into a set of 64 LED Pros and MyDMX, and even an OptiBranch/4, which I must say I am quite pleased with.

One thing the ADJ videos don't necessarily tell is if they are using more than one fixture when it's not obvious. I haven't seen that video so perhaps they are using multiples aimed differently but from close positions. No clue, I declare blissful ignorance on this one for now.

Maybe start with some DMX-capable scanners and a pair of moving yoke fixtures that can also do washes. This might be complicated for some. Maybe add some other type of lights here and there.

Any system with a decent controller will let you upgrade and grew, as will MyDMX. Better to buy ABOVE what you need for a controller, that's really key. But even though Jingles wants to ask about budget and you say cost isn't much of an option, even I would want to know some sort of guideline for spending. Some of this stuff gets way up there really fast. Jingles and I are somewhat opposites in some cases. He's a lighting guy, no question. He's got some good eye on some good stuff. I am a sound guy and I'm struggling to get by. I want good stuff, I want to spend when I can, but often I have to cut back. I too have expensive tastes in gear, but as a sound guy, my focus is on sound, so I don't go for perhaps the type of lighting fixtures I probably should be getting.

I'd listen to some of Jingle's suggestions. I'd also read the suggestions of other folks who choose to chime in here.

I've been pleased with Jingle's advice. It's served me VERY well. Only think I will suggest is perhaps replacing those 16 Per 64's with 64 LED Pros.

Have loads of fun. I'm out for a few days.
I have 3 actually. I have a 2048Fc+ dongle which is compu live software by Elation our sister company here at ADJ. I also do tech support for Compu Live. I also own MY DMX and do support for that. I also have a magic 260 console. For a Revo system I would recommend for you a DMX operator 192, also I owned one of those at one point in time. lol.
Sincerely,
I actually install sound and light systems and recently installed an Elation 260 with 12 Par 64 leds. I like the Elation, but it is probably overkill for what I need. I originally wanted the Revo system, but it was not available even from ADJ. Im thinking i should return the other system and get this one.
so are you one of our dealers? And ya the box says elation but you know who you would have to call for support? ADJ. Elation makes them, ADJ distributes them and supports them. So we keep running out of the revo systems? how about individually price them in together? You know like per scanner? Or use the Saturns for now till the revos come in.
Sincerely,
Sometimes some stupid part goes out of stock and it's hard to get them for some reason. Perhaps that is the deal with the Revo system?

I mean, if that's what you wanted, that's what you should get. Thats just my opinion. I don't have the time or money to waste on something that I don't really want.

I remember a few years back some relatively inexpensive components suddenly went in short supply and it caused a major product I carried to become simply "out of stock" for a while. Amazing how an expensive bit of data comm gear(used for most dial-up internet solutions) had to sort of put on the brakes waiting for these components to become available again. I got lucky that it never hurt sales, but it did cause me some concern for a while.

If your normal contact has issues, let me know, I can refer you to another dealer. Don't know what his answer will be, but I can pass it along anyways. I have to contact him to get an invoice and pay him for the latest items I've ordered.

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×