To laser or not to laser

[jeffwall 0]

As most of you know only DJ at weekends when i get the gigs that is!

 

Sound.....no probs invested lot of dosh in my mackies and sub etc

 

Lights hmmmmm....not so hot im afraid!

 

Just use 4 NJD chaos lights which are good but bit boring

 

What do you suggest for a couple of hundred quid?

 

I saw a thread on laser 30mw jobs but have no dmx controller and dont know if they would be worth the money? Obviosly ive seen lasers before but are they worth the money and do they give a brilliant light show from just a single unit?

 

Any suggestions of a good couple of lights and a dmx controller? would be recieved most thankfully

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/beer.gif

[spinner 0]

Depends a lot on the type of gigs you do most.

 

Ours are mostly weddings and it's only very occasionally that we are asked to include a laser.

 

We had a Prolight Samurai and a Constella Apollo, both very similar and good but best with haze which, of course, cannot always be used.

 

Sold the Samurai and the Apollo goes out only occasionally.

 

 

[McCardle 1]

i have a green laser its either 20 or 30 mw but i only use it at large weddings and such because you just do not get the benefit of the effect in small pokey rooms i paid about £350 for mine but you can get them Here or here for less than the price of some dmx effects. i do not have or need a controller i just plug it into a socket and it follows the beat of the music you do not even need hundreds of pounds follow the link and you can get a nice 2omw for about £120

Edited September 19, 2005 by McCardle

[dj007 0]

hi jeff,

ive just got my 30mw f199 laser from limelight lasers.

i wont be using it until next friday but ill try and post a short video for you next week so you can get a rough idea what its like.

i will be using it with the built in sound to light program as ive not changed to dmx yet.

ive got a twin red laser which i have only used 4 times because you need lots of smoke to get the full efect. the green laser is only 10mw brighter but because its green it seems a lot brighter.

jim

 

[jeffwall 0]

Thanks for that jim. i believe green is the most visable colour to the human eye, hence they seem brighter in green? Thats what a laser company told me anyway!?

 

Anyone reccomend any good effect lighting other than what i have already?

 

[Corabar Steve 0]

QUOTE (Jeffwall @ Sep 20 2005, 06:58 PM)

Thanks for that jim. i believe green is the most visable colour to the human eye, hence they seem brighter in green? Thats what a laser company told me anyway!?

I was just about to ask that one

 

Acme Stormbird is quite a nice standalone piece with quite a wide throw (I've never used one in a venue where it hasn't been able to reach both walls), nice gobos & quite a bright lamp (250w) plus there's no need for DMX

[superstardeejay 0]

Save your money. Yes, green lasers are the brightest for your pound but dont bother if its under 100mW. If you're hoping for those time-tunnel effects like on the Frankie-Relax video or your local superclub then you'll be disappointed. 30mW are JUST about acceptable with a roomful of heavy smoke but a wedding gig will need the 100mW unit costing a grand-plus.

 

PS Lasers are fragile for mobile use, the bigger ones (and a few small ones too!) use glass tubes which will fail at the slightest bump in the back of your Transit.

 

PPS I repair lasers for nightclubs.

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve_Mitchell 0]

what is dmx?

[transeurope 0]

I wish I had the answer to this. Lasers are something that I am actively considering.

 

Yes green is noticeably better value for money.

 

I personally would agree with superstar DJs opinion that any laser under 100mW isn't worth a fiver for what it adds to your show. Yet when I had a pair of 30mW lasers younger kids, even upto like 20 used to go wild for them.

 

I think that us older hands have seen such impressive Medialas etc watercooled jobs in the 80s/90s that anything else looks mundane.

 

However for the large section of the population that does NOT go to cutting-edge nightclubs on a regular basis, I think what may be happening is that their experience of lasers is based on 5mW keyring jobs and the 30mWers look amazing to them.

 

DMX is a computer language used to control lights Steve.

 

You give each light a "name" and tell it what to do.

 

By doing this you stop "spin and puke" sound to light activation and get pretty cool effects like making your dancefloor go orange using an iColor/NJD Spectre light and then play an orange gobo through the crowd with an Abstract Twister 4.

 

You need a control pad that outputs DMX to do it or a computer that is programmed to do it.

 

DMX can be used with lasers to draw shapes, although all the sub EUR3k ones can't do that.

 

You can also force a laser to stop on a particular pre-programmed pattern using DMX. Most lasers will do that.

[spinner 0]

QUOTE (Corabar Steve @ Sep 22 2005, 08:21 AM)

QUOTE (Jeffwall @ Sep 20 2005, 06:58 PM) Thanks for that jim. i believe green is the most visable colour to the human eye, hence they seem brighter in green? Thats what a laser company told me anyway!? I was just about to ask that one   Acme Stormbird is quite a nice standalone piece with quite a wide throw (I've never used one in a venue where it hasn't been able to reach both walls), nice gobos & quite a bright lamp (250w) plus there's no need for DMX And it's available, as the JB Systems Stormbird, for £85 from Terralec.

[dj007 0]

ok guys here goes

i used my F199 laser for the first time on friday.

im not using DMX at the moment so it was set to sound to light and my opinion for a 30mw laser it was awsom. yes you do need quite a bit of smoke to get the full effect but even without its quite impresive.

 

now comes the fun bit.

ive done a 2 minute video which i will try and post so you can see for yourself.

if it doesnt work let me know.

im going to try and upload it to putfile hosting, its the only free site that i can find to host video. if anyone knows of any better sites to host the video let me know. its 5.9 mb

jim

 

F199 laser hope this works

[Steve_Mitchell 0]

your link works well Mr Bond.... That a good irene Cara mix. Who is it done by?

 

By the way laser looks good aswell..

 

 

[dj007 0]

thanks steve, at least somethings gone right this weekend.

bmw packed up just as i was leaving for the venue, rac couldnt fix it and its 5 months out of waranty.

a friend took some pictures for me and my digital camera jammed and is buggered and its one month out of waranty.

whats next http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/188.gif

 

anyway the track what a feeling is by global DJs and it never fails to fill the floor.

jim

[jeffwall 0]

Thanks Jim for taking the time to do the video for the thread.... really impressed with it looks good (better with the smoke as you said) your other lights dmx i see?

 

Cheers Jim am considering now....mmmmmm

[dj007 0]

glad you liked the video steve. im thinking of getting a dmx controller just for the laser.

the other lights are abstract gladiator 1ce barrel effects.

the two next to the laser are linked together by a dmx cable but are running sound to light. linking them without dmx can still be controlled by the dip switches. not sure of the number ive got them set on but they do the opposite of each other. the other 1ce to the left is stand alone and the other light is a source samurai.

jim