Moving heads

[pareshj 0]

Hi all,

 

I couldn't find discussions/reviews on Moving heads but one of my purchases in 2006 would be to find some decent moving heads, to give you an idea of costs. Ideally, I'd like to pick up 4 within the

 

I don't know what to look for at the mo so wonder if you folks with the moving heads already can share your experiences on what to look out for and what to avoid

 

thanks

Josh

 

 

[tonyj 0]

Pm Headlinedj a forum member here...hes well into this type of kit, he use to carry 4 moving heads very impressive rig. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/tongue.gif

[scottsdisco 0]

Ive just bouht two Funky Daddy-0. I was very impressed with these lights and the features they have and only £250. What more could you ask for.

If you want more details PM me.

 

Scott

[shifty 0]

I have been using Pearl River pilot 150's and 250's for two years never had any problem with them.

[Jimbo55 0]

Great idea

But.........................

 

The venues you are gigging at really need to have high ceilings for the best effects. Then they really can put on a show. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/thumbup.gif You will also have to flight case them. I have had two spot knights for around a year now and no problems.

 

I have used them floor mounted in a criss cross column type show. Stand mounted on my Ultimax stand (One on each upright) you can use them scanner syle with low ceilings or full effect if you have a high ceiling venue. Joy stick control on your dmx controller will allow you to spot light the happy couple etc (although you can do this with a good scanner)

 

Plan on working several dmx scenes for them to show them to the best effects. Although four together will do an amazing stand alone set. Just a bit to much strobe for my taste. Dmx control will allow you to use them in most venues. Long Dmx cable will allow you to place them in most places. I would love to mount 6. 4 in a line with the DJ and the other 2 at the back of the venue 1 in each corner. with two twin lazers (Green and Red) and a single blue lazer. With two good hazers and an "up for it" crowd. Bliss....... (working on it but too late for this year)

 

Jimbo

[wizard 0]

I have 4 spotknight moving heads cost approx £850. very bright ..so far very robust ,,,easy on the bulbs.... great effect.

 

BUT

Difficult to transport without expensive flight cases ( although I use plastic tubs... cost a tenner each and lined with foam)

 

worth every penny in my opinion, however they cannot be used at every gig. too damn heavy and awkward to hang from truss unless you have ages to set up. look good on floor if on stage but if in small venue they are worthless ...so think " do I really need them or do scanners give the same effect !!

[YourBigEvent 0]

MAC 500 are nice, only about £5k each too.

 

Once set up a rig with 36 MAC500 and MAC600 on !

 

 

[Gary 0]

for mobile use, apparently its wise (long term) to avoid the single arm design, especially if you're looking at types with more features, eg: more weight in the heads.

 

I've more or less chosen "revolutions" for a purchase early next year - these take all the best Pro's of a scanner (speed and no audience-whacking moving parts) and the 360 (continuous) rotation of a moving head unit - with alledgedly better long-term reliability than either.

 

However, these are pricey at £900 each, so the other option that I'm looking at is multiples (8 x ) of a cheaper dual-armed moving head.

Edited December 14, 2005 by Gary

[pareshj 0]

great stuff all, durability, flightcasing, weight, effectiveness are all important points I was worried about

 

Gary what do you mean by the revolutions? do you have a link to them?

[BigBen 0]

It may be worth giving Black Vinyl a call - he has four for sale...£800 I think...?

Blackvynil

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (pareshj @ Dec 14 2005, 09:38 AM)

great stuff all, durability, flightcasing, weight, effectiveness are all important points I was worried about Gary what do you mean by the revolutions? do you have a link to them?

 

http://www.clubsound.nl/webshop/images/mos300.jpg

 

 

Edited December 14, 2005 by Gary

[partychris 0]

I have 5 Martin Mini Macs and 2 Knight spots both very good and reliable and both very different in price !!

£1000ish for the macs new and £250ish for the Knight Spots!

 

But as you can buy 4 spot knights for 1 mini mac !! not much comparison really!

Go for knight spots.. http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/cool.gif

 

Gary is there a link for these lights? who makes them..

 

Although they look like the old spind heads from a few years ago !!! where are they now?

[M3KTG 0]

I use 2 EVL mini Spot 150's they work well for us han no problems (touch wood)

[HeadlineDJ 0]

I used to use 5 EVL Mini spot HTI 150's as Tony mentioned but changed them all over to EVL SA250's.

 

These are the single arm versions with 630' of pan so can rotate more than once, this is particularly useful as it prevents the unit having to swing back and forth all the time to reach a particular point.

 

As for single arms not being reliable this is directly in connection to the size/type of bearings used for the pivot.

 

Cheaper ones use inferior bearings, the EVL stuff is very reliable to be honest the SA250 is designed as a club install fixture so is designed to run and run night after night.

 

In my mind if any one is going into moving heads then I;d storngly suggest aovinding anything halogen,,. what's the point on having a halogen moving head when standard scanners can match them on output and performance., you need moving heads to stand out and punch through all other lighting.

 

I use 150W discharge scanners and barrels, so when the 250W discharge moving heads fire into the light show they are instantly noticed and produce the required effect, but then I go a little anal towards lighting sequences sometimes running shows with upto 2500 sequences prior repeating over.

 

Currently I run my movers on a separate DMX circuit to the rest of the lighting and also have analogue control for others, so this give a very versatile show which can be changed by a touch of any number of buttons.

 

To me Human sight is a gift we shouldn't ignore or pass off so easily, encompassing people in sound and colour provokes emotion which makes our jobs easier.

 

 

[ChrisPointon 0]

Thomann are currently offering a 2 head package, featuring:-

 

(2x) Stairville MH250H Moving Heads featuring 14 Gobos & 11 Colours + White

(2x) Lamps 24V 250W

(1x) Handheld Controller

(1x) Link Cable

 

The above package costs £378.81 which is roughly £189.00 per moving head, and Uk Carriage is only about £7

 

Although the supplied controller is very basic, they use standard DMX-512 protocol and so can be connected to any standard DMX controller. Each fixture is 5 channel giving total control over movement direction, gobo, colour etc.

 

The MH250H can operate in stand alone (music) mode or full DMX and also features a gobo shake effect, and has one replaceable gobo enabling you to have your own custom logo (roadshow name etc) incorporated onto the gobo wheel if required.

 

For more information visit the Thomann website, click on the UK flag from the welcome page, and enter 173323 into the search box to view the package deal.

[Gary 0]

QUOTE (HeadlineDJ @ Dec 14 2005, 11:16 PM)

As for single arms not being reliable this is directly in connection to the size/type of bearings used for the pivot. Cheaper ones use inferior bearings, the EVL stuff is very reliable to be honest the SA250 is designed as a club install fixture so is designed to run and run night after night.

This is the danger. Club lighting, safely immobilised on a nightclub ceiling doesnt get subjected to the angling, turning, bumps, jars, knocks and nudges that mobile lighting does, irrespective of make or model.

 

Clipping a corner kerb, going over speed humps, finding unexpected potholes all subject mobile gear to wear'n'tear which club lighting only sees prior to its first nights use.

 

Three completely separate manufacturers have pointed me away from their single arm lighting products as soon as "mobile" got mentioned.

[pareshj 0]

Thanks Chris, HeadlineDJ - do you recommend the Thomann ones. I was worried that they are "grey import" types and therefore a bit dodgy considering they are coming overseas?

 

Anyone else bought from this site before?

[MadGutts 0]

Moving heads are great effects, but there are some things that need to be considdered...

 

A moving head effect is slower than a scanning head.

Moving heads cover 360 degrees around (often more) and 270 degrees over (again sometimes more).

 

So if you are using moving heads without a controller, most of the light effect will be in your face and not on the dancefloor.

 

I only use moving heads when they are mounted on trussing above the dancefloor, or behind a band, as the effect they create is more dramatic than a flower effect or scanner on its own.

 

If you are mounting your heads on a gantry above your show then the head will cover the whole area beneath it - including you... Which is great if you have a controller as you can make the heads light you up, or someone doing a speech. But if the lightshow is left to its own devices, it may well not spend as much time lighting the crowd as you and your kit.

 

If the Head is on the floor, or on top of a speaker, the majority of the lightshow will be in the air. This can look quite good as long as the show doesn't blind everyone!

 

I think the moral of the story is that if you are going to use moving heads then make sure that your scenes are programmed and the heads do what you want, when you want. And the important thing to remember when positioning moving heads is....

 

 

 

... There orientation has got to be the same every show! i.e. the head must be round the same way, and on the correct side of the show everytime!

 

I use 4 PR300 heads and am looking for some more. They only go out on the BIG shows and with the bands. But i have 2 DMX controllers to control my show, and the PR300s and some other effects are controlled on my laptop.

 

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

[ChrisPointon 0]

Hi, PareshJ - I can't comment on the Moving Heads themselves because to be fair, i've never seen them working, maybe somebody else has http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/533.gif .

 

Sometimes you can say that cheap automatically = crap quality but I know from many years experience that this isn't the case with all Disco Equipment. Look at the Class D speakers for example, very competitively priced and rumour has it they are comparable with products costing 100% more!.

 

Like I say, I have no experience of the Moving Heads from Thomann, they may be a good buy, or they may be a pile of pants http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/533.gif so can't recommend them personally or give a review, however Thomann themselves have a very good reputation, and being based in Europe do have some good prices on branded as well as little known products, and because UK Vat is already included in the purchase price you shouldn't get stung by customs.

 

The only obvious drawbacks I can see from the website are the fact that they use a conventional 24V 250 Halogen Lamp over a Metal Halide type, and the controller is almost next to useless for any real lightshow http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/tongue.gif

 

You are right to be concerned but Grey Imports are just as easily stumbled upon within the UK, as they are from Europe, and you shouldn't just write off a company just because they aren't UK based, some European companies have a far better level of customer service than UK ones!. Despite my own previous reservations about importing I recently bought a Blaupunkt Sat Nav system from Germany, £105 cheaper than the comparable UK price and it was on my doorstep within 3 days.

 

However the brand Stairville is also available from this UK Distributor maybe you could get a demonstration from them? - the I-move package also looks suspiciously similar to the Stairville one! http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/html//emoticons/smile.gif

 

I think Thomann have been mentioned here before:- Thomann Search Results a couple of members seem to use them already