Sound In Gloucestershire Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I am looking to buy a mirrorball, probably around 50cm ive seen the skytec/prolight/maplin ones which seem ok (cheap of course) are there better ones out there? The ones ive seen seem to look like half the mirrors are ready to fall off already Also from peoples experience, should I be looking for Bigger squares or more smaller squares of glass?Majority of the time this will have a couple of Source 4 JNR's shining on it this will not be for install use, will be for one off gigs Thanks for any help EDIT just thought id show what ive found so far Skytec http://www.skytronic.co.uk/product/index.php?s=151.400about £50 Prolight http://prolight.co.uk/item/mirr04/About £60 American DJ http://www.americandj.eu/product_info.php?products_id=368About £50 Showtec http://www.highlite.nl/index.php/highlite/...irrorball_50_cmThis one is about £35??? Seems VERY cheap Soundlab http://www.soundmastersdirect.co.uk/mirror.../prod_2671.htmlAlso £50 all the ones ive found seem to be the cheaper companies, the two that stand out to me are the Skytec One and the Showtec one, with the showtec winning because its so much cheaper! The "smoother" looking ones, look alot more sturdy and professional, but are they actually better, or is it preferable to have bigger pieces of glass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baldwin Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Bigger pieces of glass give you fewer, fatter beams - which is a more strident effect than large numbers of small tiles. But small tiles give sharper focus on any projected gobos (pinhole camera effect). Horses for courses, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenalien Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 You should also take into account the thickness of the tiles - thinner is better if you plan on using the ball with a laser at some time. I think you'll generally pay more for thinner smaller tiles because the mirror balls take longer to make, but the overall effect is a smoother finish to the outside of the ball, which also makes it less likely to get damaged as there are no sharp, projecting edges - not the case with cheaper mirror balls, that can cut you when handling them. Quality costs, up to you what you want to pay. It's also worth thinking about a padded case to carry the thing in, they are easily damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sound In Gloucestershire Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 thanks for the opinions, does anyone know of any top brands selling these? No offence to these brands, they do alot of good gear, but they are all essentially Chinese box movers, stacking high, selling cheap etc Ill probably go for one with the bigger pieces of mirror then, I do want striking beams oving around the room as for cases, they tend to be about £100 for a £50 mirrorball, it seems excessive, when I wont exactly be stacking anything on top of it, so the box with a bit of foam may suffice? edit also on some of them, I see a 2nd hook which it says is for the safety chain, how does that work on a revolving mirrorball? Or is that for non-rotating ones? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modge Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 as for cases, they tend to be about £100 for a £50 mirrorball, it seems excessive, when I wont exactly be stacking anything on top of it, so the box with a bit of foam may suffice?I always wrap them in black tat and pack them in a flight case with enough cable they can't move. Possibly not perfect but I've never taken one out and found tiles missing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam (ADH) Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 We keep the Showtec Professional mirrorballs on our fleet and they have the smaller finer mirror facets. The effect is more striking we find. Especially when you shine S4s or moving heads onto them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Another thing to remember is what the actual ball of the mirrorball is made from. You can get fibreglass balls which are more durable but are heavier than polystyrene balls, which are a little lighter but the mirrors tend to be uneven on the surface. I've bought a few 50cm Soundlab mirrorballs in the past. They are polystyrene made but I've had no real problems with them and were cheaper and the biggest size I could find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete LD Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 also on some of them, I see a 2nd hook which it says is for the safety chain, how does that work on a revolving mirrorball? Or is that for non-rotating ones? On most rotators you get a safety point that rotates. The safety is in case of the link from the rotator to the ball failing as oposed to the clamp holding the rotator to the bar (which needs its own safety bond for that!).Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Light Engineering have some spectacular mirror balls and other shapes: http://www.light-engineering.com/gallery/html/mrgallery1.htm Little facets will project a gobo image whole whilst bigger mirrors will split , LE make big mirror facet balls for that purpose http://www.light-engineering.com/mirrorware.pdf Probably not same price range as Showtec though, MBs are relatively fragile and look well sad with facets missing or polystryrene core ones that have been crushed into mirror lemons, decent box even a rigid diy one is worth the investment.. Unless specifically want a gobo look, try 12V 100W PAR 56 as light source, fits standard can and standard electronic lighting trafo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 On most rotators you get a safety point that rotates. The safety is in case of the link from the rotator to the ball failing as oposed to the clamp holding the rotator to the bar (which needs its own safety bond for that!).Pete Yes, one night I was in a nightclub having a few drinks after a get-out and "Mr Ball" decided to split up with "Miss Rotator". Luckily for her, a female on the dancefloor below only got a small bonk on the side of her head as it fell -but it could of been worse and a nasty liable situation for the club. However, she did not take it further and returning the following week I noticed nice little safety bonds on the "re formed couble"!! Amazingly though, dispite the fall, the ball did not break - or lose ANY bits of mirrors!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Alcock Posted December 10, 2008 Share Posted December 10, 2008 Unless specifically want a gobo look, try 12V 100W PAR 56 as light source, fits standard can and standard electronic lighting trafo. I'll second that. The 12V 100W Par56 is known as a GE 4545 lamp (Marine Searchlight). I made a couple of Par cans with these in specifically for mirror ball use. I mounted the transformer on to the yoke of the lantern. Stunning effect. Not as good as say a MAC500, but a lot lighter (and cheaper). Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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