Led Disco Light Effects

[Dukesy 0]

Please give your feedback on your experience of using LED based lighting effects. Please also add any review or experiences (positive and negative) in relation to your own LED effects on the thread.

[spinner 0]

I use a pair of ADJ Punch Pro units plus controller for background colour.

 

Not as bright as the Acme halogen units (each came with 3 x 500 watt halogen lamps which I changed for 300 watt) they

replaced but good enough for most dancefloors.

 

I also have a pair of Acme non-dmx moonflowers, with gobos, which are not bad and again OK for most dancefloors.

 

A while ago, out of curiosity, I bought a dirt cheap QTX LED mushroom (used it once) which has surprisingly good coverage.

Edited November 28, 2010 by spinner

[gadget 0]

I've only ever used LED for par cans only - I've seen other LED fixtures, and wasn't that bowled over by them...

 

Not sure how i'd answer it really - in terms of actual disco lights - None though :)

 

Cheers,

 

David

Edited November 28, 2010 by gadget

[shifty 0]

I use 6 adj vizzi spots and find them to be a bit brighter than my piolet 150 discharge moving heads. I also use adj mega panels and mega bars which gives me plenty of colour to wash most venues.

[Norfolk DJ 0]

 

I've owned a pair of Chauvet Vue III for 2 years (Acme ImpossiblED type)

 

Nice and bright but too busy for small functions, but good in large halls and marquees. They are lightweight.

 

personally i won't be buying any more LED lighting as yet as they are not bright enough. I would like to replace my EVL Spins with the LED equivalent, but at the moment there is nothing of equal brightness.

[deejaymitch 0]

I was a sceptic when I first started looking at LED lights but now I am a complete convert. The obvious plus points are that they don't overheat, don't need bulbs constantly replced, have no moving parts to go wrong etc etc. But I was very dubious about their output. However there are some incredible LED effects out there that are big enough and bright enough to put many traditional halogen lights to shame.

[Thats entertainment 0]

I first bought a Impossibled and very happy with the wide spread on the light but does get a bit boring maybe

 

next bought a ADJ Warp because of the nice gobos and new colours that is does but the brightness is poor

 

then bought a ADJ Tri-Phase and very happy with the brightness (10watt)

 

also bought 2 Chauvet light banks, brightness good but just simple colours

[Raymilkybarkid 0]

I have purchased a couple of secondhand units recently for smaller functions.

IMO they are boring lights there is only a certain amount of configurations of Red, Green & Blue dots.

 

Par cans are the exception they look ok when used for uplighting etc.

 

There are now coming through the retro styles of lighting using LED's but they are very dim when put side by side to it Halogen counterpart.

 

These lights are cheap to buy, require little maintenance but.....of my research and looking at items for sale appear not to be as reliable. There have been lots for sale on Ebay as job lots as customer returns / not working.

 

 

[markyb 0]

In the last 12 months Ive gone from all halogen to all LED!

 

I started the year with all 250w scanners and barrells, then went to Datamoons as they were lighter and more compact, and now have only LED - 2 x Impossibled, 2 x Miracled and 2 x ADJ Par 64 uplighters.

 

To be honest I probably prefer the "warmer" and brighter light you get from halogen lights, but there are just so many benefits of LED. No bulbs to replace, no cool down time, and the biggest one for me - the weight!

 

Im sure LED lights will continue to get better and I will probably "upgrade" when something better comes along, but after years of convincing myself otherwise, Im now pretty confident that the general public pay less attention to details like lights than we do ;o)

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[DJMickeyk 0]

I have acme led par panels which are great, very versatile and lightweight, but eveything else I have is traditional halogen with bulbs. I have seen Led's in action and much prefer the traditional effect. Led's have a long way to come to match the traditional 250W halogen effect IMO, so can't see myself owning any LED's in the near future, pity because the advantage of no cool down time, lightweight design and no bulbs to change is very appealing, it is easy to see why they are so popular.

[mjmac 0]

I have acme led par panels which are great, very versatile and lightweight, but eveything else I have is traditional halogen with bulbs. I have seen Led's in action and much prefer the traditional effect. Led's have a long way to come to match the traditional 250W halogen effect IMO, so can't see myself owning any LED's in the near future, pity because the advantage of no cool down time, lightweight design and no bulbs to change is very appealing, it is easy to see why they are so popular.

 

depends on what you have seen in terms of led based stuff i spose!

 

my scanners, gobos... etc...etc... have all been swapped out over the past year with new led based equivalents... the only thing i would like to see improved is the size of the new breed led units... if your like me and have top open every thing up to see whats inside... most times these big boxes they are putting things in could be made much smaller as they are fully of empty space!

 

Also the cost... LEDs are cheap... including these luxeon LEDs that are now being used... but the purchase cost is huge! Im sure this puts more ppl off from making a purchase...

 

my ADJ UV lamp is the nutts (the power from this is as good as my uv canon was)... just doesn't have the wide angle spread but my new LED UV doesnt smash if turned on when its too cold... or not cooled down correctly!

 

I think the brightness from the ADJ Revo 4 could be better... the revo 3 was good tho!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gadget 0]

Not keen on "dot" led effects. they're rather boring... But the LED based gobo type effects do look a bit better (moving heads/dmx scanners / etc)... just need to match the brightness of 250w halogen fixtures, and the price to come down a bit as well ?

 

Cheers,

 

David

[DJMickeyk 0]

depends on what you have seen in terms of led based stuff i spose!

Impossibled and ADJ Revo's (not sure what marque) as some of the guys in my area use them, nothing wrong with them as such and boy do they light the place up, I just prefer my Datamoons due to the movements and range of colours and gobo's. On a packed dancefloor they are all the same really I suppose if you just need light splashing about the place. I love the Par panels, can be used on your overhead / t-bar or as uplighters or on the gound behind you, great bit of kit and so light to carry around.

[DJTREV 0]

There seems to be a lot of negative opinions regarding led lighting because of the dots of light rather than a gobo.I fail to see the difference from seeing dots all night to seeing the same gobo's all night,but I think I am in the minority

[gadget 0]

There seems to be a lot of negative opinions regarding led lighting because of the dots of light rather than a gobo.I fail to see the difference from seeing dots all night to seeing the same gobo's all night,but I think I am in the minority

 

I was thinking more of the static dots that don't move. Most, if not all gobo based lights move in some way or another!

 

Cheers,

 

david

[Norfolk DJ 0]

There seems to be a lot of negative opinions regarding led lighting because of the dots of light rather than a gobo.I fail to see the difference from seeing dots all night to seeing the same gobo's all night,but I think I am in the minority

 

I use both

 

I use dots, moonflowers ie gobo lights and lasers. It gives a nice variation.

 

Rob

[bigMCben 0]

For the last question I chose no opinion as I think LED design and brightness will improve, or what I should say is that brightness will become more affordable, as you can get really bright LED units, but they are expensive compared to regular lights. I think that where you use LED and regular side by side, you will notice a difference, but not if they're all LED lights. It's like having sd and hd tv on side by side. You'll notice a difference but if it's just sd telly, then your eyes will get used to it, and it's the same with LED lights.

 

I have a Revo III, LEDJ Stratos and a ADJ Nucleus, along with a scatter laser and I think it looks good, even better with a little smoke.

 

Given the cool running and no bulbs to carry and change I think LED lights are the way forward, but given the continuing arguments over vinyl/CDs/digital, people will have the same 'arguments' over lights.

 

EACH TO THEIR OWN :Thumbup:

[MintyDave 0]

Having gone practically full circle i have to say that led lighting is gaining favour again

 

I went from

 

4 x 50w halogen to goboflowers and 4 x 100w halogen scanners (too big too untidy)

 

to

 

2 x 100w halogen scanners and 2 x250w halogen goboflowers

 

to

 

to 2 x 250w halogen scanners + 1 acme miracled

 

to

 

2 x 250w halogen scanners + 2 250w datamoons (current standard setup)

 

but now im aiming to swap the datamoons for a pair of these.

 

http://www.djanddiscostuff.com/prodmed/3326.jpg

 

■Features:

■DMX channels: 4

■LED: 1 x Mega Bright 10W LED

■Master/slave, auto, sound active and DMX modes

■11 gobos/colours plus white

■4 push button LED display

■3-Pin XLR in/out sockets for DMX

■IEC power in/out sockets

■Jack socket for included CA-8 hand controller

■5-Pin Din for optional CA-9RTX wireless remote system

■Manual focus adjustment

■Ideal for discos, clubs, bars and mobile DJs etc

■Specifications:

■Power supply: 240V

■Power Consumption: 16W (each)

■Dimensions: 290 x 213 x 105mm (each)

■Weight: 3Kgs (each)

 

 

They are nearly as bright as the datamoons (need to have a second look to confirm) weight a mere 3kg each as opposed to 7kg each and run cool

 

my reason is that since i went active with the sound rig i have a weight issue (always been a chubby bloke but thats another story) with my g4' giraffe stand, the centre of gravity being too high. I have also gone through 4 bulbs in the past month due to hot fixtures and cold weather.

 

The datamoon kit is about 4 stone all in!

 

I will keep the datmoons for bigger gigs and they do look very nice in a room full of smoke, unless somebody wants them desperately that is.

[gadget 0]

Ello MintyDave !

 

Interesting, 10w LEDs being almost as good as the datamoons. What bulbs you have in the datamoons? (I've found this makes quite a difference in brightness to me).

 

Had a look at the phase1 video of them.. Looks interesting and fast gobo switching too.. The outer patterns don't seem to be 100% there on the video (ie slighty dimmer on the outside of the moving circle)..

 

Not that much more expensive than datamoons I guess either..

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

[Paul The Party DJ 0]

I use all LED and a laser. I have a Revo 3, a Messenger, a Starball, an InvincibLED, Stairville Par 56 for uplighting, and an Equinox Sigma laser. Everything is DMX'd so the circles created by the Revo don't look as dotty as some shows. We have scenes using the red and/or green settings to work with the laser etc.

I'm thinking of changing it somewhen (well that's what we all do isn't it?) but I'm fairly happy.

 

Of course the output and design will improve but I think some of the new stuff is too powerful - there was an area of BPM at the NEC that has some cans that were just too bright!

 

For me, it's all about weight, space and control - and that means LED's.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Paul The Party DJ

[MintyDave 0]

Ello MintyDave !

 

Interesting, 10w LEDs being almost as good as the datamoons. What bulbs you have in the datamoons? (I've found this makes quite a difference in brightness to me).

 

Had a look at the phase1 video of them.. Looks interesting and fast gobo switching too.. The outer patterns don't seem to be 100% there on the video (ie slighty dimmer on the outside of the moving circle)..

 

Not that much more expensive than datamoons I guess either..

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

 

eyup t'other Dave

 

there were all sorts of lights on the day i was in looking but next time i go i will insist on doing a direct a/b. i use cheap bulbs as thats all that was in stock at the time. i do notice osrams being that bit brighter than the soundlab lamps.

 

not far off and a reasonable price imo!

Dave

[DJMickeyk 0]

those acme cougars look interesting, as soon as there is an LED moonflower that comes close to the halogen ones I would definately consider them, if you are in checking them out Dave can you give us some feedback, particularly on how they look without smoke, I'm hardly ever allowed use smoke in any venue I play.

[Norfolk DJ 0]

those acme cougars look interesting, as soon as there is an LED moonflower that comes close to the halogen ones I would definately consider them, if you are in checking them out Dave can you give us some feedback, particularly on how they look without smoke, I'm hardly ever allowed use smoke in any venue I play.

 

American DJ also do the Express LED which is a goboflower LED light and these appear to be cheaper than the ACME Cougar

[DJTREV 0]

The ADJ Express cant be DMX'ed but for £104 from Thomann its not bad.

[gadget 0]

The ADJ Express cant be DMX'ed but for £104 from Thomann its not bad.

 

99 quid from DJ superstore...

 

Have to say the casing looks a bit on the ugly side. Also a whopping great heatsink on display on the left hand side as well.....

 

Having reviewed the video for that vs the Cougar - I have to say the Cougar wins - the gobos seem to stop half way on the ADJ Xpress.. the inbuilt programme(s) don't appear to be as good.

 

Quite like the Cougar - they must have used a half decent 10w White LED in that to get a good brightness - just like bulbs, there are good & not so good LED's

 

David

Edited December 1, 2010 by gadget