Lighting Advice?

[Taylor_M1]

Hey everyone, i've got a couple questions for lighting i'm currently doing for my church. I finally got a budget approved ($450/month) and am looking at getting some washlights, martin moving heads, stage lights for lighting the pastor and worship team, a hazer and a software controller.

The wash lights: Going to get about 16 Microh P12's. These will be on truss behind the worship team eventually.

Now for some of the questions...

For the white lights we are either going to buy 8-10 Par's, they will be at the back of the church (due to the horrible stage design) and are about 50' from the stage. The pro is that they are dirt cheap. The con, we have power issues at the church, I would have to have extension cords running all around the back of the church to power them as running the 4 we currently have almost seems to flip the breaker.

So we are also looking at Microh LED Max Par AW. The con is they are way more expensive, but they have more control with the zoom lens and power would never be an issue. They claim to compete with the old pars and are the transition to LED, they have a throw of 55' but I can't find any consumer pictures of them in use. Has anyone seen these before? And whats your advice, par or led assuming money isn't an issue?

For a hazer, I believe the popular one around here is called a radiance? (i'm in Canada too so unless I want to pay shipping/duties I don't have as much access to the brands). I was looking at Antari HZ-500 Pro Hazer, again...thoughts on this? The sanctuary is quite large and I don't want a "fog" machine.

Last and probably the most important question for me, the software. The local guy we are buying through uses Lightjockey and only recommends that. It seems to be the top of the software game but i've also heard people don't like it as it's outdated? The other thing is I don't know that I would need a controller with such capabilities for Church. I'll be doing color changes/using the moving head lights and nothing crazy (because its Church lol). I'll also do more "concert" style stuff for my friend's band and youth night's but again nothing crazy. So is it worth to go with Lightjockey or would something like Chauvet's showxpress be fine?

Last question, what Martin' moving head lights do you recommend in the price range of $1500-$2500 (each)?

Sorry for the length, thanks for the help!

[BillESC]

The Radiance is shipped from Canada. No problem (I'm a dealer.)

Do not go with Pars. Go all LED.

Can you post a couple pictures of the space?

[LiteTrix]

Not sure if your filmilar with MA lighting but they have a software called "GrandMA on PC" and its pretty much the same format as there lighting desk. I should also note that the GrandMA is one of the most versatile desks on the market currently. Programming and showing shows are like cutting through butter. The other option I would suggest because like you said Light Jockey is a bit outdated is Martin M-PC. M-PC isn't as easy to program and run as the GrandMA but certainly beats light jockey by a long shot. Expect to pay around a grand for the MA unit and you can use a Light Jockey dongle for M-PC. There is some sort of catch with that though. I can't remember what it is off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure you need a key and need to use the DUO interface which is compatible with both Light Jockey and M-PC. Not entirely sure about that though.


As far as hazers go, the Radiance is a winner in my book. Extreme output, quiet, and very low fluid consumption are some of the things I've experienced while using them.

For Martin Movers I think the only options you can look at are the 250 entour and Krypton unless you want to go used and get something a bit more powerful.

How many people does your sanctuary seat?

[DJ M&M]

if your having power trouble right now dont even think of getting conventional moving heads unless ur willing to get an electrician to come in and hook up a power distro specifically for lighting. Otherwise youll need to go full LED to save on power and ensure you dont have any black outs. the nice thing about getting a power distro is that you can use SOCA and SOCA ends to run all the power instead of extension cords. As for console based software its a pain in the ass unless you buy the wings for it. For you id go with lightjockey as it will allow you to proper control fade times between scenes and such

[Mystic]

Problem he will have with onPC is the price. You're looking at around $8000 for it and at $450 a month budget... gonna take a while. It's certainly the best option out there for PC based controllers and the wing controller is fantastic.

If you're running a lot of lighting and have power issues, I would recommend getting a power distro. You will need to have an electrician come in and hook it up, but I would go with a perm install and run all your lighting through that. I would also spend time cleaning everything up. Start by making breakouts from the distro to all your fixtures to minimize the amount of cables you have running and being able to give it a much more professional look.

For LED pars for wash, I would go with maybe Mac 101's depending on the size of the venue. This will give you versatility as well to move them around since they are a yoke light.

[Taylor_M1]

Hey Bill, Radiance seems to be the choice then, it's been recommended too much to pass up. You're in the states correct? I am also game to go all LED I just can't find much info on the Microh LED Max Zoom AW. I don't always trust the specs that are listed. I'll take some pictures at church this Sunday. OH and I forgot to mention, we are renting the church building as we have church at night, so I have to setup/teardown each Sunday which is why I want all LED (among other reasons). So the power suggestion which sounds like it would be amazing won't fly as the actual church won't want to bother as they don't do anything for lighting. The problem for me with power is just available outlets, there are only 3 along the entire back wall which is where I will be at, and I don't want extension cords running 75ft all through the back of the sanctuary. I have my pastor convinced with the more expensive LED's but I wanted to look into it a bit more.

Nope, not familiar with MA lighting I will check it out. I am trying to find a happy medium between lightjockey and showxpress, another one recommended to me was Chamsys MagicQ so i'll have to check that out as well.

The church seats about 400-450 people.

So for martin movers I should be prepared to pay about $3000 per unit then? I looked at Martin smartMAC @ $2500 but i've heard they don't pack enough punch for a band/church setting.

I really like the Mac 101's, they look like they should do exactly what I want as I don't care about gobos and such. Thanks for the help everyone it's difficult trying to find some of this info in the city I live in!

[Buszaj]

I second MagicQ. I've heard things about Light Jockey being very difficult to setup for the first time, to the point where Martin gets you to hire in their own staff to come in and program it (money grab of course).

[lovedjlovelaser]

The software you said is the laser software,like Pangolin`s QuickShow software?
My company specialize in stage lighting(laser,LED).If you are interested in,please pm me or leave me message.

best regards,
Lily

[Mystic]

The software you said is the laser software,like Pangolin`s QuickShow software?
My company specialize in stage lighting(laser,LED).If you are interested in,please pm me or leave me message.

best regards,
Lily

Lily, did you design this software?

[Dave Daschofsky]

LED par cans are the way to go, you can run tons of them without worrying about blowing a breaker and won't have to mess with gels to change colors. If you go with chauvet you can get a kit with a DMX controller and 4 cans for a bit over $400 and then just get more slimpar 56s and simply add them in.