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Author Topic: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade  (Read 25456 times)

Jeff Lelko

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #60 on: July 06, 2018, 01:38:33 PM »

For anyone following along at home, Elation have posted the photometric test report files for the Seven Par 7IP fixtures on their website. 
I have to say, they are WAY BEYOND the detail of the specs found in any other fixture in this price category that I've compared yet.  In fact, they're so detailed that I can actually get a reasonable idea of how they compare to other types of fixtures but there's a lot of information on the sheets that is over my head.  Hats off to Elation for that.

Here's a link for anyone interested.

Thanks for sharing!  I’m hoping to see one of these in person next time I’m near Elation’s Miami showroom.  I was just down that way a few days ago but was on a tight schedule (and driving Hazmat) so I couldn’t stop. 

It also looks like the Chauvet Maverick Storm is priced a hair lower than my guesstimate further up the page.  Not bad for what you get so long as it has enough output!
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Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #61 on: July 06, 2018, 07:37:53 PM »

Thanks Jeff.  For my budget, it would need to be several hairs lower than your guesstimate, but it does look pretty incredible.

At $800/each CAD, those Seven Par 7IP's will set me back $6,400 for 4/side, which is.... somewhat easier to swing for me at this point.

My FOH canopy/tent took some strong wind on Canada Day and suffered catastrophic failure.  Fortunately my gear is built better than that so it held up fine, but now thanks to the KD Tents thread here on the forum it looks like I have some other things to spend money on again.... 
Why is it that every time I buy something cheap I buy it twice?  I'll learn.  I think I need a "buy once cry once" tattoo on my hand, or maybe just on my wallet.
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
Live Events - Life Events - Corporate Events

Mark Lee

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #62 on: July 19, 2018, 05:23:30 AM »

Maverick storm 1 wash is too expensive!

To get a similar one, Hi-LTTE Thor Storm Wash IP 67 (19*40w), please visit www.hi-light.com.cn.
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Jeff Lelko

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #63 on: July 19, 2018, 07:09:57 AM »

Maverick storm 1 wash is too expensive!

To get a similar one, Hi-LTTE Thor Storm Wash IP 67 (19*40w), please visit www.hi-light.com.cn.

Firstly, I feel it is priced fairly for what it is.  Secondly, please read the rules about vendor participation in these forums.  Posts like this are not allowed.
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Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #64 on: March 25, 2019, 05:21:49 PM »

Hi folks, just wanted to check back in and give some updates on my quest for better lounge-level stage lighting in a portable rig.

Firstly, I picked up a couple Gator 88-key padded keyboard cases for my ADJ Dotz Par LED's.  I can have them pre-wired and connected to a t-bar, one t-bar per case. The whole thing is lightweight enough to easily carry or use the small included wheels to roll into the venue.  Also light enough that I can toss the whole case on top of some subs in the van. 


Photos attached.
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
Live Events - Life Events - Corporate Events

Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #65 on: March 25, 2019, 05:28:58 PM »

Secondly, I've been quite happy on small stages having four LED's per side for front wash.  Much better than when I was trying to do that with two fixtures per side.  A couple recent gigs (less than 250 people at each) with small stages allowed me to use them as primary front wash.  At 36 watts max per fixture, it works nicely for venues with limited power availability.


Photos attached.  Turns out being an exceptional photographer while also running sound and lights is an art-form I have yet to master, so the photos are not the best but give an idea of where I'm at.
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
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Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #66 on: March 25, 2019, 05:33:18 PM »

Thirdly, since I don't always get the luxury of small stages or indoors, I ended up purchasing eight Elation Seven Par 7IP fixtures to use for front wash and move the Dotz Pars behind the band or as uplights as needed.  All 16 fixtures can fit on one 20A 120v circuit with ease.  I have not yet gigged with them, but so far I'm very happy with the build quality, colour rendering and colour mixing of these babies.  I did a very unscientific test comparison of the (36-watt RGB) ADJ Dotz Par and the (185-watt RGBAW+UV+LG) Seven Par 7IP.  I put them on a road case and aimed them at the ceiling (which is off-white) from about 5' away. 

Ignoring the difference in output for a moment, the real difference is apparent in the whites and ambers as you can see in this photo.  Dotz Par on the left, 7IP on the right, full brightness.  It was more difficult than I realized to get my iPhone 5S to capture a realistic image of what I was seeing with my eyes, so this is just for the sake of general comparison.
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
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Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #67 on: March 25, 2019, 05:44:41 PM »

Finally, I needed a way to transport all the new 7IP fixtures so my first idea was to put them in the Gator cases and pick up two more.  Did a test fit, and unfortunately since the cables attach to the back of the Elation lights versus the sides of the Dotz Pars, I was not able to get it all into the case with the cables attached.  I would prefer to transport fully patched to save time on site.  Funny because I had previously mentioned that the side-attachment of the cables on the Dotz Pars limits my vertical aiming due to clearance of the cables and brackets, now I have a new (depth) problem.

The other issue with those heavier fixtures was that the case was now too heavy on one side (each 7IP is 11lbs, versus 5lbs per Dotz Par) and the little rollerblade wheels on the keyboard case kept wanting to lift up on one side so it wasn't as practical as I'd hoped.

So I had this thought about re-purposing a case I already own, made for drum hardware but currently used for mic stands.  I haven't really loved the way I transport my mic stands - the tiny wheels on this case are useless when its full up with 20 K&M tripods and there's no dividers to keep the stands from getting scuffed up quickly.  Plus I have to lay it down and undo the straps to get one stand out.  I figured I would upgrade to an upright rolling case like this for my mic stands and then use my drum hardware case for the 7IP fixtures.

Unfortunately, once I attached the clamps, I can only fit one t-bar in the case at a time.  Two is just slightly too big, and one leaves a lot of dead space in the case (not so great for a little guy-in-a-van company like me for transport and storage). 

Photos below with Mini Clamps from The Light Source attached. 
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
Live Events - Life Events - Corporate Events

Jeremy Young

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #68 on: March 25, 2019, 05:53:07 PM »

So now I'm back to the drawing board for a good way to protect these 7IP pars while transporting them.  All my searching just brings up road trunks but that's a little big for what I need. 

I'm considering trying the mic stand case again, but removing the clamps from the t-bars first so I can spin them which might let me get the lid closed with all 8 inside.  I'd make up some dividers to keep them from hitting each other, but I'd still have to attach them to the t-bars on site which I was hoping to skip.

I also looked at hanging the t-bars from some e-track mounted on the walls of my van up high and just transporting them as pictured with no case.  They are IP65 rated so if they are sitting outside for a moment during load-in/load-out in the weather it won't be the end of the world.  My fear is that the lens on these is flush with the front of the fixture so if I place them on the ground regularly with their face downward I might scratch up the lens (case solutions would have included padding inside to help with this).

My other thought is to abandon the cases altogether and make a rolling frame that I can attach all four t-bars to (meat-rack style).  The downside would be load-in logistics in smaller venues, the old "stairs" problem I still run into in my end of the pool.  I primarily work by myself so having something movable by one person is the goal.  Open to any tips or ideas on that front.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your help getting me this far.  I've been trying out some different lighting software (Onyx and Chamsys) to see what I like best before going the route of M-Touch or QuickQ to replace my Luminaire setup, but for now Luminaire does what I need and I'm looking forward to my next big-stage show to get some real experience using the new Elation fixtures.
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Brown Bear Sound
Victoria BC Canada
Live Events - Life Events - Corporate Events

Jeff Lelko

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Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #69 on: March 25, 2019, 08:27:32 PM »

Looks great Jeremy, thanks for the update!  I'm glad to hear that you're really enjoying your investment. 

Regarding transportation, you've pretty much hit on the usual suspects.  Cases or meat racks work well for pre-rigged assemblies, though as you mentioned can get large and heavy.  I forget exactly where, but I've seen lens protectors that are made of flexible plastic and basically rubberband onto a Par's hanging bracket knobs.  While it's not tour-grade it seemed to work well for the scenario you mention - transporting not in cases but wanting some protection for scratching/gouging the lens.  Pros and cons to all this!  They also make quick-release clamps, so while that wouldn't give you a pre-rigged option it's much quicker than screwing each clamp down.  Hope this helps!
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Making a plan for a lighting upgrade
« Reply #69 on: March 25, 2019, 08:27:32 PM »


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