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Please shed some light


steve mac

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Can someone please give a bit of advice. A local venue, one that I play at regularly, has built a stage in the corner of their patio. All entertainment will take place in the evening and will at most be duos. Now it is a small family run affair and money is not in great supply, so the are now looking to light the stage. The rest of the patio is lit with all weather security lights, set high and set low ie just a general broad light and surprisingly well it works too. So the question, what permanent lights would you suggest. Perhaps one all weather spotlight straight on set high up or would colours be better from the sides. Maybe low level lights are the way to go? . I am hopeless on this so any help gratefully received. Cheers Steve

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My suggestion is to look at some high intensity LED lighting. LED par cans are very energy efficient and generate next to no heat, and are very reliable (using a reputable brand and not any eBay "cheapies") And the LED cans can be used for any colour, even white light if preferred. Getting the sets with the built in scene (or colour) changing/fading hardware and a remote could be the best option.

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Can they be left outside permanently?

 

Yes assuming they are adequately covered.

I agree with RR that for outside you would need possibly higher than 10 watt, although this can be offset to some degree by using High Efficiency LEDs as opposed to standard, which means of course that under certain conditions, even 10 watt units (with enough cans, say four as opposed to one) would be fine. The LED cans btw are smaller and lighter than the old Par incandescent cans.

 

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I'm going to disagree with the advice on LED's here. Yes, they are great, don't get hot, etc, but as pointed out by others, eBay cheapies won't do the job, and this is also an outdoor area. I'd actually go with the old technology here. As people upgrade from the old Par cans these are getting sold off cheap. The OP mentioned price is a major consideration here. Get 2 pairs, straw or amber gels on the front and maybe some colour (possibly mauve/magenta) from the sides. Plus if you're outdoors on a chilly evening you may appreciate the warmth ;)

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I'm going to disagree with the advice on LED's here. Yes' date=' they are great, don't get hot, etc, but as pointed out by others, eBay cheapies won't do the job, and this is also an outdoor area. I'd actually go with the old technology here. As people upgrade from the old Par cans these are getting sold off cheap. The OP mentioned price is a major consideration here. Get 2 pairs, straw or amber gels on the front and maybe some colour (possibly mauve/magenta) from the sides. Plus if you're outdoors on a chilly evening you may appreciate the warmth ;)[/quote']

 

The ONLY time I'd use incandescent PARs, due to the heat issue, and you're right, these can be picked up very cheaply used off of Craigslist and/or pawnshops. philthumb.

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Thanks for the advice, heat isn't really an issue as the temperatures are rapidly heading up to the summer average of 110 to 125 degrees. Can anyone please advise on positioning bearing in mind that we may be stuck with just one or two lights ie front or side and height would floor mounted be ok or would the artist look like someone is holding a flashlight under their chin? Also I am a bit confused by the colors is just plain white not the way to go? Many thanks Steve

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Some LED pars may be too bright unless you have a way to dim them. I've got a couple of ADJ mega tripar profiles and they're very bright! I kind of agree with using old conventional par 38s. Gels should be used even if you want white. Amber gels will look better. There are multi colored gel packs available at guitar center or find a deal on Ebay. That way you experiment with different colors.

 

I had an LED flat par go completely dead a few weeks ago. The cost to repair it is close to the price of buying a used one on ebay. Conventional pars will need new bulbs once in a while, but they're simple fixtures that won't die on you like LEDs.

 

But, LEDs normally last for 50,000 hours. Both have their pluses and minuses. You could put on or two fixtures on each side of the stage angled in sideways. A hanging bar from the ceiling would be better but is there a ceiling outside?

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Thanks for the advice' date=' heat isn't really an issue as the temperatures are rapidly heading up to the summer average of 110 to 125 degrees. Can anyone please advise on positioning bearing in mind that we may be stuck with just one or two lights ie front or side and height would floor mounted be ok or would the artist look like someone is holding a flashlight under their chin? Also I am a bit confused by the colors is just plain white not the way to go? Many thanks Steve[/quote']

I would use them to the side but towards the rear if using floor mounts - which btw are only really effective for "mood" lighting" really. You would be better off with one either side at the front on poles and aim to "cross" the beams approx mid-stage. Actually your ambient temps there are another reason to avoid incandescents - they have a hard enough time indoors!

 

You are correct (imo) in saying that floor mounted front-stage will look a bit like a "flashlight under the chin" - cool for a transient "effect" but not what you really want permanently.

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