Starting to Rebuild My Lighting Setup

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steve149

Shine on you crazy diamond
Staff member
Sep 26, 2011
28,175
45,944
Connecticut
Currently it's some Blizzard uplights (Q12A), a pair of 4Bars (one orig, 1 Tri), an Inno Pocket Scan (2nd one broke) and a pair of Blizzard Flurry Moving Head Washes .. plus some misc lights (UV bar, laser).

I'm looking to go smaller, more contemporary, so I just picked up a pair of Chauvet Wash FX2 to hopefully do what I do with the 4Bars. Next up is a pair of moving head spots .. something in the 30-50w range I think. Then maybe a pair of totems (I like the folding ones simply because of space).

As for the spots, I like the ADJ options of Pocket Pro, Spot Pro and Focus Spot One. Prices run from around $300 to $650. I may hold off until the DJExpo, but if a deal pops up ...
 
Most of my stuff is Chauvet. I was turned off by ADJ awhile back (The MyDmx Go was the latest and yet another example).. I still buy their stuff from time to time. Imo - in order of quality:

ADJ
Chauvet
Martin
 
Currently it's some Blizzard uplights (Q12A), a pair of 4Bars (one orig, 1 Tri), an Inno Pocket Scan (2nd one broke) and a pair of Blizzard Flurry Moving Head Washes .. plus some misc lights (UV bar, laser).

I'm looking to go smaller, more contemporary, so I just picked up a pair of Chauvet Wash FX2 to hopefully do what I do with the 4Bars. Next up is a pair of moving head spots .. something in the 30-50w range I think. Then maybe a pair of totems (I like the folding ones simply because of space).

As for the spots, I like the ADJ options of Pocket Pro, Spot Pro and Focus Spot One. Prices run from around $300 to $650. I may hold off until the DJExpo, but if a deal pops up ...

This is the ideal set up to take you into 2020 ... it is sleek and exactly what the modern client is and will be looking for.

and the mydmx go runs it smooth as butter...

cc
 
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This is the ideal set up to take you into 2020 ... it is sleek and exactly what the modern client is and will be looking for.

and the mydmx go runs it smooth as butter...

cc
2020 .. I was hoping for a lot more mileage ... :)
 
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Have you used these before?

No. I have the Chauvet Intimidator 355 IRCs which are a higher wattage fixture. But given what Steve was looking for, I thought these looked attractive at a pretty affordable price.
 
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i have the intimidator 355's as well....and highly recommend them... i can cover an entire wall with gobos on the other end of a gymnasium... or use it in an intimate setting and wash the dancefloor perfectly

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i have the intimidator 355's as well....and highly recommend them... i can cover an entire wall with gobos on the other end of a gymnasium... or use it in an intimate setting and wash the dancefloor perfectly

Those 355s are beasts and I debated between those and the 255s. I ended up buying 4 of the 255s but wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just get 2 of the brighter fixtures. Even my 255s are plenty bright however.
 
Those 355s are beasts and I debated between those and the 255s. I ended up buying 4 of the 255s but wonder if it wouldn't have been better to just get 2 of the brighter fixtures. Even my 255s are plenty bright however.

i think u made a good choice.... id honestly like to have 4 movers....to cover the floor from all angles (set up permitting)

When not using haze i think its better visually to see gobos hitting multiple walls...

cc
 
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i think u made a good choice.... id honestly like to have 4 movers....to cover the floor from all angles (set up permitting)

When not using haze i think its better visually to see gobos hitting multiple walls...

cc

Before movers I was using 4 scanners; 2-25 watt and 2-50 watt units. The 4 beams do cover a lot more, even at a lesser power.
 
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Before movers I was using 4 scanners; 2-25 watt and 2-50 watt units. The 4 beams do cover a lot more, even at a lesser power.
Anything is better than my scanner (previously plural) with a 12w LED.

The 2 Wash FX2 I picked up are REALLY BRIGHT. Each 3 LED group is as bright as the individual pods on my 4Bar Tri (which are about 30-40% brighter than my orig 4Bar). With 6 groups vs the 4 pods on the 4Bar, the Wash FX2 is about 50% brighter overall. So my 2 will certainly cover the dance floor. When testing, I had to run them under 10% (they were facing me) so I could see the myDMX Go actions without blinding myself. And they're small to boot. Only thing I lose is the ability to aim the pods to where I want them. The FX2 has an angled front, so it does cover decently.
 
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wash fx is bright, but IMO, pointless as it looks awful when looked at due to the optics. Sure, you can run them at 20%, but seems a little odd. You have to bounce it.

I highly considered using the washfx, but went with the Core Par 80s which are super easy on the eyes in comparison.
 
wash fx is bright, but IMO, pointless as it looks awful when looked at due to the optics. Sure, you can run them at 20%, but seems a little odd. You have to bounce it.

I highly considered using the washfx, but went with the Core Par 80s which are super easy on the eyes in comparison.

have to disagree ...simply for the bitmapping capabilities....great eye candy either aimed away...up...or directly at the dance floor....just drop the brightness down and you have both an effect light and a color wash... best wash light on the market

cc
 
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wash fx is bright, but IMO, pointless as it looks awful when looked at due to the optics. Sure, you can run them at 20%, but seems a little odd. You have to bounce it.

I highly considered using the washfx, but went with the Core Par 80s which are super easy on the eyes in comparison.
Maybe, but 2 of them would look sucky with the myDMX Go .. which will be the driver for now .. and if I got more than 2, then I might as well stay with the 4Bars.
 
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have to disagree ...simply for the bitmapping capabilities....great eye candy either aimed away...up...or directly at the dance floor....just drop the brightness down and you have both an effect light and a color wash... best wash light on the market

cc

We can disagree, it's okay. I had the original pixel mapping Chauvet Pix Par, so I get the eye candy, but even on that light, I put heavy diffusion on it. Dimming helps, but you lose the wash effect greatly when you lower the brightness. As I mentioned to you before, add diffusion to the washfx, and it looks better.

I prefer a brighter light that looks easy on the eyes.
 
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