paulears Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 We've done this a few times, but the topics haven't helped much because people have recommended all sorts of kit, yet my last two purchases of cheap ones that were given a plus here were a bit rubbish, really. What need is a hazer that has haze, not smoke - so hangs around for a while. What I don't have is much money - so maybe £800 - but ideally I'd like to spend less. So does anyone have a machine they really like, that cost less than this. DMX control would be great, but it's not essential. I don't mind if it eats fluid - this, is a consumable and I don't have to pay for it! Size isn't important whatsoever. Suggestions from users would be great. I've already researched the net and found so many contrasting opinions, I'm now lost. What I don't want are suggestions for kit you have not got or used yourself - so if you saw one in a venue, on passing, without having to fill the damn thing up and control it (or even kick it) - I'm not further forward. I'd even appreciate advice on what NOT to buy - so comments on things to avoid would also really help me. I've gone through 4 machines in four years, when the total running time end to end is probably less than 6 months. By the time the guarantee period is up, they maybe have 40 or 50 shows on the clock - so they don't get really heavy use. The last two make excellent smoke machines, and eat fluid like one too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark_s Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I'm a big fan of the Look Solutions Unique - although (and going by previous threads on here I'm the only person with this complaint) I seem to often get given hire units with a noisy fan. They do however produce a nice, even haze, and are very economical on fluid. You should be able to get one for under £800 without too much trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunk_1984 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Le Maitre MVS is a good choice and it doesn't drink fluid, it was on offer from CPC not so long ago in the £500 region, but still reasonably priced here: http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/search/browse.jsp?N=411+2005+206019&Ntk=gensearch&Ntt=mvs&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial Unique would be another good choice, and even at AC list price comes into your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Edwards Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 We recently went for the Le Maitre MVS and after recommendations from two unrelated well known major suppliers of all things theatrical. We always struggled with both filling and maintaining haze in our venue with many other hazers both hired and toured in. Mostly Jem in various models and sizes. The MVS fills our 12m3 stage (and roughly the same sized auditorium) in minutes and is easy to maintain. Consumption is better than any of the others I've used. On average it seems to use about 2-3mm of fluid per 2.5 hr show (2.5L bottle, once haze is established hovers around 10-20% to maintain depending upon how long the doors get left open in the wings!!!). The only thing I cannot tell you about is longevity as I have only had it for 6 months and it has only done about 100 hrs.(What I will do for historical viewers is post back if I have any future issues). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart91 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 +1 for the Unique. We've been very pleased with ours and LDs seem to like it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Johnstone Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Unique all the way for that budget! It won't let you down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Unique all the way for that budget! It won't let you down! Until some forgets to shut it down correctly and the dreaded E8 message appears Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLX1 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Used one of these on a panto recently,gives a nice clean haze and haze density can be adjusted which is a plus, http://www.thomann.de/gb/look_unique.htm Thanks,TheLX1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I haven't used itCan you read? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Thelx1,its not good form to edit your post once somebody's quoted you,in your original post you said " I haven't used it,but it looks good in this video" now you claim to have used one in panto,so which is it and out of curiosity what panto was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLX1 Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 Mad hippy: I have been browsing the internet and thought that the tour hazer deserved a mention as it seemed good for the price,my fault for not reading the original post properly,I haven't used the tour hazer and I used the unique in a school panto which we borrowed some equipment from a friend of mine who owns a lighting hire company. And sorry about changing the post, felt a bit of a prat once I read the original post :( Sorry,TheLX1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom_the_LD Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 I've used the Tour Hazer from Smoke Factory (seen here - http://www.thomann.de/gb/smoke_factory_tour_hazer_iis.htm), the Base Hazer Pro from Haze Base (http://hazebase.com/products_hazers_en.htm) and also the Le Maitre XS Hazer (although I haven't used it via DMX; only standalone). I'm not too sure what to say about them really! Our of the two I'd have the Tour Hazer because you get individual control of the fan and the pump. I believe the XS is only a single channel - I'm not sure if you can control the pump level or if it's only a simply on/off relay; I seem to recall the STAR Hazer was only on/off but not sure about the XS. I find that with the Tour Hazer I can take the pump level right down (to about 5%) and still have a nice steady flow. I've used it in small 99 seat venues for subtle haze, right up to gigs in a 780 seat venue and indeed outside shows. I find it more versatile. Very economical on fluid too - mind you so is the XS. On a 2 week run of "Oliver!" I think we used about half a tank on the XS in a small 113 seat venue (although it wasn't on constantly). Something else which may (or may not) affect you is that the Tour Hazer comes built into it's own flightcase. Whereas with the Le Maitre stuff (G300, XS, MVS) you will need to buy a separate flight case. I don't know how much the Haze Base is and a QUICK search on google shopping and Thomann didn't show anything up but it's essentially the same innards as the Tour Hazer. I find that you can't go quite as low on the pump with it though. But, on the upside, it's in a small case. I hope there's some information in there that's of some use to you! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 Useful stuff here gents, thanks very much so far. Interesting how two or three are already getting the votes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 Another +1 for the MVS - I have 2 Unique 1's & 2 Unique 2's at my current venue - my past venue we had 2 Martin K1's, 2 MVS's and 2 Robe Fazer1000's - of all the hazers, the MVS gave the best and most consistant results. The Unique 1 seems to have better control over density than the Unique 2 - although the 2 outputs more "haze" it feels like it needs another fan or something just to stop it from being smoke-like. The Martin K1 is big and bulky, and whilst the output is quite nice as far as particle size and dispersion the quantity is rather low - especially for such a large unit. The Robe Fazers are rubbish. MVS has great control, great quality and quantity of haze - the main issue I have is with the bottle carrier (which is extra $) - it does not come with a bottle. And the MVS 5L fluid bottle does not fit... That and I don't like the membrane buttons on the top. But once it is set and working - awesome machine. Once you learn the characteristics of your stages airflow, the ability to direct the haze means you can play with it to get even coverage maintained throughout a show. I used to have a cue list for haze that had a pre-curtain haze setting (slow sweep at near full) and then a 5 step loop that would maintain an even haze on our stage really nicely, combating the 2 air conditioner intakes that some genius decided should live in the wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyro_gearloose Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 For those of you on a tight budget take a look at the QTX HZ-2. I've just used one for a month of panto and it was surprisingly good. It was surprising because I was expecting it to be just another cheap piece of disco tat, but it actually worked rather well. It has separate fan and fluid pump controls. It gave good haze with good hang-time, though I did manage to get through 10 litres of dense fog fluid, but thats just me (this was the fluid it came with. It worked well as haze though). Fluid works out at around £17 for 5 litres. I should say that I have used LeMaitre hazers (MVS and Neutron star), and Unique 1s and 2s, and I think that the QTX is easily as good especially when you take the low price into account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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