Thomas1987 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hi all, I'm looking to replace our 8 Martin Wizard Extremes this summer as they have all had a good life, but are getting to the stage where I would like to replace. A bit lost with this, as everything appears to be LED these days! I've seen LED gear from Chauvet etc, which is ok, but nothing with the punch of a well programmed wizard. I would like DMX control, run off our Pearl Expert, at least as bright as a Wizard, and as impressive as you like! Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of kit they've used? LED is not essential if discharge will provide a more cutting effect. Kind regards Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 what is the application? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigclive Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 what is the application? I think the Wizards are gobo-moonflowers, so probably a club. Good quality LED is actually quite surprising in a club environment these days. It might be worth getting a fixture to try out amongst your ageing wizards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 If you're looking for a barrel type effect, then the Wizard's are probably the best you're going to get in terms of dynamic effect. Personally I'm not a fan of the moonflower and barrel combo - you get too much mish mash beams and movement. I've programmed 6 Robe Club Roller 250CT's in a low ceiling venue and they work really well. Seperate colour and gobo wheels and rotating gobos (a few of them glass). Just to show you simple but nicely programmed normal barrels, these are Chauvet Q Roll 250's... I'm not sure if the UK have them yet but Chauvet have brought out the Intimidator barrel with a 60W LED and a 3 facet prism (the closest moonflower type you'd get from an ordinary barrel scanner. http://www.chauvetlighting.com/intimidator-barrel-led-300.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 A lot of the current led effects lights from ADJ chauvet etc are very heavily rgbw dot based which I don't like in the slightest. The older halogen and discharge effects are a lot more varied in the effect they produce. The wizard is quite a unique effect with its moonflower/barrel scan combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas1987 Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 It is, indeed, quite unique and a browse of the typical sites doesn't show anything thats particularly beating it! The situation is we've got 8 Wizards, paired with Mac 500s and 600s, which hopefully are getting replaced this summer with Mac 700 or the like and whilst they cut through with the 500s well, I'm concerned they'll get lost compared with the new gear. 1500 capacity room, 7 metre trim point to trusses. My thoughts with the Chauvet gear is that, yes, as you say, lots of it is "RGB" dots, shooting around the room - which personally I think is pretty horrible. Its not about what hits the floor as far as I'm concerned, its beams. And the Wizard Extreme pulls that off extremely well! Admittedly with a relamp and a service, I think the pretty reasonable optics would be ok, but they are getting on a bit. They are no 7 or 8 years old, and starting to develop quirks (not strobing without shutting shutter first), motors failing etc. Generally they're in good condition, need some TLC, but I'm now wondering if its worth selling them off and moving on. I just wonder though, if theres nothing at least equal, and with the sturdiness of them (and sorry but Chauvet gear just isn't, I've had it in the past, I'd say 4 years would be a good life for that kind of gear), maybe its not worth replacing! Edit: Sorry, thats unfair on Chauvet, the "Pro" items like the Colorado battens are actually pretty good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamtastic3 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Thomas, the barrel effect is a very niche effect. It's not got mass market appeal. Small clubs that need dancing beams yes, but big capacity rooms, no. Look at my post above. Maybe you might just want normal barrel scanners. In theory you should get more light out them than the Wizards because the beam is only split 5 or 6 times on a normal barrel scanner. With the Wizards, the light has to hit a fragmented dish and then hit the mirrors on the barrel.... At the end of the day, it's how you use the fixtures and where they are rigged.Do you have the Wizards come only during some songs and then swap to heads? Do you have a centrepiece rig that maybe the Wizards can form that are away from any moving beams? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenalien Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Maybe you might just want normal barrel scanners. In theory you should get more light out them than the Wizards I don't think so - the Wizard has very good optics, so its light output is substantial, unlike most barrel scanners. I have both Wizards and Q-roll scanners, and the Wizards blow the Q-rolls away. I like both though! @Thomas1987 - As reliability is your big concern, why not sell your old Wizards on Ebay and buy a new set? Purchasing 8 at once should get you a good discount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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