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Originally Posted by baba  Well that sounds cheap looking at the pic, but I really don't know the lighting market. All I know is the LED lights are easier to work with because of weight, heat, energy, bulbs, etc.
I'd sniff around to see what the market will bear on these and upgrade if you can. |
Concert-quality (i.e. has a ton of focused light) LEDs cost more for a single bulb-style array than that entire rig is worth. A computer-controlled (DMX or otherwise) LED array costs well into four figures. An LED-based mover, with a focusing mirror or lense that will do something besides a gentle wash that dissipates at long range (i.e. more than 20 ft) is even more.
PARs eat power, plain and simple. Just buy durable bulbs, scale down your rig when you don't have enough power available, and when you want to expand, get something besides PARs, some cheap movers, mirror balls, whatever...unless you're playing some pretty large stages those suckers will light your band up like an airfield with no gels in place. No affordable LED will come even close to the amount of light those cans will put out.
For the most part, even a simple PAR-based light setup makes a band look way, way better than no light setup. It's a noticable difference, even if your average audience member couldn't say why you guys looked better than the band before you.
The only thing I'd say is put conventional plugs, ones that you see used at the venues you play, on the end of those cords. There's no reason to go using plugs specialized for use in professional lighting rigs, motor control, or proprietary setups. Some twist-lock or standard plugs from Home Cheap-o would do fine.
