Showtec LED Arc Bar 3

[PDD]

I've been offered some Showtec LED Arc Bar 3s for a forthcoming hire. I'm getting a demo soon, but in the meantime, has anybody used these in anger? I'm not looking to compete with Pixelpars or anything like that, but would like to know if they are reasonably bright, beam quality, throw, how easy to use and programme, etc? The primary application would be colour wash onto scenery, basically, and perhaps some general backlight duties for a musical (i.e. not too demanding but does need to cut it against, say, Mac 250 Washes)

 

Here's the manufacturer link: Showtec LED Arc Bar 3

[Tivoli Phil]

Haven't used them myself but have seen them used on a touring show. First impressions are good, light output was pretty good, showed up well through a approx 6k onstage straw wash. Programming I can't help sadly, they toured their own desk so everything was predone (how inconsiderate). The built in programs seemed pretty good, and the show technician said he had set them up next to pixel pars and not seen much of a difference, but I don't know if I would trust that.

 

Apologies if anything is slightly strangely phrased, I'm more of a sound guy so lighting tends to confuse me slighly

 

I'm actually looking at buying some for the venue I work at at the moment, so I'll be interested to see what anyone else has made of them.

[lxdad]

I have seen them used once before at a disco in a pub, I think that should tell you everything you need to know. They are not a professional lighting product suitable for use in a theatre. I would suggest Martin Stage Bars or Pulsar ChromaFloods or GLP Impressions.

 

LX Dad

[Paul J Need]

These are a fairly punchy unit and not at all bad for the price.

 

However, the cables for mains and links are a little untidy as hardwired to the rear of the unit - they can never be lost!

 

You may find these are a little narrow for lighting scenary - although 30 degrees the unit is very short so you will need lots of them to light a 4 metre wall for example. Chromabatterns would be more suited

 

If you would like a demo (edit: before your hire starts) please let me know and I'll try to arrange it in time.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[PDD]

Thanks all for the comments and advice. I've decided to drop them in favour of a couple more Mac 250 Washes, as the Arc Bars don't seem to be suitable for what I want. (They were offered as a substitute for Pixelpar 90s, in fact, so it doesn't look like that's a reasonable substitute anyway.)