Cold spark Question, Wedding DJs

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carol sparkc

New DJ
Aug 6, 2021
4
0
27
Hey what’s good everyone hope y’all are doing well and club and or wedding season is treating all well as we come out this Covid stuff. During Covid I have been remodeling my set up and updating things. The last item in my list as I prepare for wedding shows are cold spark machines. In an effort to not just keep up with competing DJs who have a larger operation than myself to maintain appeal in things offered, but also simply give a better production than years past. Anyways, I know Chinese market items are hey ho whoa hey yo no wait gtfo here. But seeing many DJs like Joe Bunn and Jason Jani Rick Webb selling items through Covid and seeing listed items and some being Chinese it makes me go if the giants trust some of the stuff I’m sure I could.

That being said the Chinese spark machines seem to have the fine and fair certifications of testing and electrical sign off far as their stickers and etchings show in their machines. I know that may not be worth much as their regulations are muuuuuuch different than ours and not in the best way. But curious for those who have Chinese eBay alibaba Amazon choose your source cold spark machines. Have they been trusting and well working?

I’ve been told you get what you pay for but to be honest I’ve had Chauvet and Chinese lighting and I can’t tell a difference and both have equally been reliable and trusting without fail. I’m just curious if the Chinese cold spark machines are just as good as sparkular blitzz etc or if there’s honest concern of smoke fire and kaboom
 
I have 4 of the chinese knock-offs and swear by them. I picked them up for $250 each when they were first being introduced by the company (don't remember who they were). So far, knock on wood, they've worked flawlessly. One thing, they throw off dust and I normally set them up right in front of the head table. Consequently, I've shifted all my First Dances to after dinner (so I'm not throwing dust on the B&G's plates). They have been a tremendous thing for me and the room never fails to GASP! out loud when I fire them off. I also coach the couple on the timing, where to stand, and how to do a dip right after they fire off. It's made for some pretty amazing photos.
 
So long story short... you're not going to see a major difference between the knock offs, and Sparkular (I count blitzz as a knock off). The price difference (and it's a big one), is more related to other things... most small... but one is a critical difference. The small differences relate more to quality control and the fact that each unit is field tested and approved, an amazing support staff that is there for anything you need, smaller units which make em slightly more discreet, and that for sparkular you have to use a specific firing controller, which while it adds to the expense, offers a lot of valuable real time info on the units.

The biggest difference comes to this... and this is gonna be a local thing. Because sparkular units are deemed the safest, due to their rigorous testing, and the fact that they've done a lot of marketing and local outreach, they've branded themselves in a way that many venues and even local fire marshalls only allow their brand. If you find yourself in a market where sparks are common, you may want to check the venues you frequent for any such policies. In NJ a few (not many, but enough) of the higher end venues want you to use Sparkular Only. Some venues here, don't care which ones you use, but that you must have a class D fire extinguisher (about $700).

I've had both, the knock offs and sparkular. I started off with the cheap ones... got great marketing content... but within 6 months bought the sparkular as I saw the demand for this service and the likelihood that I'd be in venues requiring them. For reference of how popular they are... 12 of the 17 Weddings I've done so far this year have had them
 
Taso makes some great points. In my case, I'm only using them in my own venue, so safety issues aren't as big of a concern. I know where they're shooting and the only flammable thing is 2X6 boards so not much chance of a problem. I'll echo what he said on marketing. These things provide a GREAT visual and everyone wants them at their event. I'm convinced, these spark units have sold a number of my dates already. Hope this helps.