I am looking to invest in Martin Mania SCX700's (6) and a couple 800's. Any word on these lights. They look awesome in vids, but does anyone have feedback on quality optic scanners or another brand name. Also I am new at DMX, very interested but also confused. I am from Vancouver Canada, anyone out here that can help/teach.

Will I'm mainly mobile DJ here and don't do to many clubs. I have in light set is Martin Mania SCX700 X2, Martin Mania SCX800 X2. I love em a lot here and all. I had 700 for over 4 years and they still in good shape and only had change lamps on it 2 times in those 4 years because of heavy use on em. The lens in em are top notch compared to the competition. I had American DJ Products before and they don't hold candle to what I gotten from Martin.

Here what I exactly got for lights from Martin.

Scanners:
2 Martin Mania SCX700
2 Martin Mania SCX800
2 T-Rex

Effects lights:
1 Raptor
1 Mania EF3
1 Mania DC2
1 Mania DC3
1 Mania EFX800
1 Wizard Extreme

Moving Heads:
5 smartMAC

Strobes:
2 Atomic 3000 DMX with Atomic Color add-on

Martin Smoke:
Magnum 800


Controller:
LightJockey 2 running on a old Dell Dimension 4550 with XP I had. Added NEC ASLCD52V-BK-TR1 15" Touchscreen LCD Monitor
Detonator for Strobes

American DJ:
M-1616 (Mirror Ball)

Had custom made goal post stand done. Didn't want to spend tons money on stands and have it buckle under the weight of gear.


On side note Martin use to make speakers and all and been using em in my mobile system. But to bad they quit the sound business to mainly focus on lighting.

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DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

Last edited by wesleysnipez on Feb-24-2008 at 09:52

Very nice setup there, impressive! Looks like you have invested quite a bit. I am really interested in the Martin stuff, and I'll take your word that the quality surpasses the competition.

So with your controller (I'm new at this, so...)you can hook it up to a computer/touch screen, and control your lights on the fly or pre program or both? How much did that comp/controller system run you? Cause as a DJ myself, I wanna be able to control the music as well as the light show. So if I could make it as easy as possible with a computer that would be choice! How user friendly is it, or how easy to learn? I am having a hard time figuring out DMX, and the whole addressing bit...the truth is I dont really have the time to do too much DMX as I spend most of my time perfecting my DJ mixes.

As of today I have

Chauvet Scorpion Green Laser
Cosmic Frenzy Red Laser
Chauvet Fusion
Elation DMX Operator

...but obviously this doesnt do much and I am looking to add several(6-8) scanners and a few (2-4)Mania EFX and 3 American DJ color strobe (LED)...and when multicolor/color mixing lasers come down in price (fingers crossed) maybe one of those puppies.

My DJ setup is Pioneer 1000's (2) and DJM 600...so far

Oh yeah before I forget...how do you like the Mania EFX800? And does the SCX800 have the gobos where you can change the colors? or are the gobos set with the color shown in the promotional vids...like that red revolver gobo, can I change the color to blue or green or whatever or is it set to red with white circles? Thanks for your time man...

Reason why I trust em is because I had 5 American DJ products die on me with in 1 month and never had problem with Martin products I had. Expect for having return a damage box by shipper because it was damage during transport and when opened the box the head was damaged. They where prompt on sending me new replacement and all the shop I got em from.


LightJockey 2 is a free program. But I brought it as package to get Universal USB/DMX Interface and cables with it. Got for around $1500.00 if remember it right. Go here and see video that talks about program and toward end is another add-on they talk about.

http://www.carmenscomputers.com/pages/?id=89

If you by the package you get.
LightJockey Software CD Version 2.7.1
1 x Universal USB/DMX Interface
1 x XLR Adapter, 5 pin male – 3 pin female
2 x XLR Adapter, 5 pin male – 5 pin male
1 x USB Cable
Universal USB/DMX Driver Installer Software
DMX Tools Software Package
Instruction Manuals

Here is spec for a machine to handle the software.

Minimum System Requirements
64 MB RAM
Standard PC with Pentium 200 MHz or equivalent
Monitor resolution of 800 x 600 in 16 bit colors, with small fonts
USB or RJ45 (Ethernet) port for DMX interface hardware
20+ MB hard disk space
Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP*

Recommended
512+ MB RAM
Fast graphics card with minimum 128 MB graphics cache
Pentium 4 or equivalent
1024 x 768 monitor resolution, 16/32-bit true color, with small fonts
USB or RJ45 (Ethernet) port for DMX interface hardware
Network card
80+ MB available hard disk space
Windows 2000/XP*
*Windows Vista not currently supported

Will to get the touch panel to work you would need to get a add-on called LJ Manager 1.3.4. Basically here is the deal with it and it similar to this below.

Quick Panel
A new button on the main launcher called Quick Panel is now available.
The Quick Panel is very simple, it works very similar to the Touch Panel but all Sequences, Cues, Static’s, etc are available without having to configure anything. The default button grid is set to 10 Columns by 12 Rows which work best for Cues, static’s, and Loops, but it can be set by the user to any values from 1 to 256 However, the maximum total buttons is 256. Example, a [16 X 16] grid would be the maximum square grid that can be done.

Mania EFX800 is nice from the video there but just got it last week so haven't got around to test it out yet in my mobile set up of mine as yet. Just waiting for new gig to come my way to test it out at.

SCX800 has 8 interchangeable gobos with gobo indexing, rotation, shake, music trig. With out having unit in front of me I can't recall of hand with color part you ask because left as is when got it. I only used SCX800 1 time because I just got it 1 month ago. I just haven't got around testing it fully.

I hope this helps you out more.

___________________
DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

Last edited by wesleysnipez on Feb-25-2008 at 10:00

Yes, it definately helps out. You are quite knowledgeable in this area, thanks for your time in answering those questions...I am going to get the Martin light jockey package and those lights (when I get the right amount of money together)...please try to get back to me when you know more about the SCX800...

[email protected]

Uh oh...I just previewed Martins video on that smartMAC that you have, and as I knew nothing about it before I had never paid any close attention to it, but now I am blown away and almost speechless. I am very very impressed with the optics and gobos, not to mention the number of advantages the smartMAC offers. Now I am heavily leaning towards these lights, tonnes more than the SCX scanners. They are seemingly expensive, like almost 2grr each (ouch), but it just may be worth it. Can you give me your detailed customer review on these gems. Are they really worth the asking price? Cause the way I see it is, I could get twice as many scanners as moving heads, but where do you draw the line between quantity and quality. Also, you have 5 right? How is that number working for you...would you rather 6 or would 4 be almost equivilant to 5 (if you know what I mean). I also checked out Martins Atomic Strobe w/ color gel, and holy shh, nevermind the AmerDJ LED strobe, this is the mother ship. I checked the price and it looks like about 1500...after closely looking at your fixtures list, you must be loaded with cash...I must be honest, I'm pretty jealous, I can only dream of having that amount of equip...but one day for sure and then some. Oh yeah if ya care, you can check out my first DJ show which was just a couple weeks ago, I rented the EFX's and a couple lasers but I own the rest... youtube.com search Techja, again thanks for your time.

quote:

Originally posted by wesleysnipez Reason why I trust em is because I had 5 American DJ products die on me with in 1 month and never had problem with Martin products I had. Expect for having return a damage box by shipper because it was damage during transport and when opened the box the head was damaged. They where prompt on sending me new replacement and all the shop I got em from. LightJockey 2 is a free program. But I brought it as package to get Universal USB/DMX Interface and cables with it. Got for around $1500.00 if remember it right. Go here and see video that talks about program and toward end is another add-on they talk about. http://www.carmenscomputers.com/pages/?id=89 If you by the package you get. LightJockey Software CD Version 2.7.1 1 x Universal USB/DMX Interface 1 x XLR Adapter, 5 pin male – 3 pin female 2 x XLR Adapter, 5 pin male – 5 pin male 1 x USB Cable Universal USB/DMX Driver Installer Software DMX Tools Software Package Instruction Manuals Here is spec for a machine to handle the software. Minimum System Requirements 64 MB RAM Standard PC with Pentium 200 MHz or equivalent Monitor resolution of 800 x 600 in 16 bit colors, with small fonts USB or RJ45 (Ethernet) port for DMX interface hardware 20+ MB hard disk space Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP* Recommended 512+ MB RAM Fast graphics card with minimum 128 MB graphics cache Pentium 4 or equivalent 1024 x 768 monitor resolution, 16/32-bit true color, with small fonts USB or RJ45 (Ethernet) port for DMX interface hardware Network card 80+ MB available hard disk space Windows 2000/XP* *Windows Vista not currently supported Will to get the touch panel to work you would need to get a add-on called LJ Manager 1.3.4. Basically here is the deal with it and it similar to this below. Quick Panel A new button on the main launcher called Quick Panel is now available. The Quick Panel is very simple, it works very similar to the Touch Panel but all Sequences, Cues, Static’s, etc are available without having to configure anything. The default button grid is set to 10 Columns by 12 Rows which work best for Cues, static’s, and Loops, but it can be set by the user to any values from 1 to 256 However, the maximum total buttons is 256. Example, a [16 X 16] grid would be the maximum square grid that can be done. Mania EFX800 is nice from the video there but just got it last week so haven't got around to test it out yet in my mobile set up of mine as yet. Just waiting for new gig to come my way to test it out at. SCX800 has 8 interchangeable gobos with gobo indexing, rotation, shake, music trig. With out having unit in front of me I can't recall of hand with color part you ask because left as is when got it. I only used SCX800 1 time because I just got it 1 month ago. I just haven't got around testing it fully. I hope this helps you out more.

post some pics xD

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quote:

Originally posted by bas we're just rolling in that sweet sweet Beatport chedda SON. I PUT DIAMONDS IN MY SALT SHAKER SO I CAN HAVE CRUSHED DIAMONDS ON MY FOOD...it makes my dookie twinkle!!!

Will the weird part is this a local theater company I did some construction work to outside of there building to fix the stone walls. The walls was crumbling apart bad and my wife worked there as ticket agent and got me job to fix the walls. When I was done with job they about send the 5 Smartmac back because it was not what they wanted. So instead taking money I took the 5 Smartmac off there hands.

So we made agreement I pay the difference of about $3000 of what they paid for em in payments $150. I placed em on the lighting rig end top 1 in middle top and other 2 in between those 3. I love em because I replaced 2 banks par cams I had for em. Best part I seen MAC 700 Wash at the theater in action so thats how came about to buying Martin lighting. So when I saw Smartmac in action at theater I had to get em when they testing em out before they where about send em back. When I used em in gig people loved em. I just loved the Smartmac because they quiet compared to there other moving lights the theater had in action.

I saved money from my job to get the lights over time because I wasn't loaded with money. I just moved into my new house and all so all gear is in storage bin because I use my mobile DJ trailer to help on the move. Once me and wife get settled in and life gets back to normal I go get my gear out of storage here. I have look around I had some pictures of the last house party either on camera or on my pc some where if I didn't accidentally deleted em lol. Because my normal job keeps me busy and tough when people want to use me and have turn some of down because of my day job here.

___________________
DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

Last edited by wesleysnipez on Feb-26-2008 at 08:59

Got a question for you DJ Techja. What do think of Chauvet Scorpion Green Laser and Cosmic Frenzy Red Laser? I was thinking of getting laser for the future but the one off Martin would suck me bone dry because the price is to rich for my bones. As a Class 4 laser, the RGBL 1.6 may only be operated by a trained professional (Laser Safety Officer) that person alone to run it would suck me bone dry to. I found place selling it for $59,950.00 with out flight case and for $60,750.00 with flight case. So what did you pay for yours?

Thanks for answer me those two question and all when see this and all.

___________________
DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

What about Clay Paky lighting? How is this comparing to the Martins? I have heard this is top class equipment..

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image removed - over max allowd file size (50kb)

Never heard of the company until today. Plus I usually check for references in my area and check out first hand the lights before I buy. So won't be able to give my honest assessment. Where is there video of lights in action didn't see any and all off the site. The video I seen off the site doesn't give it justice because I was hoping for full video footage like Martin does and actually show lights in action. Only light I like is Astroscan so far by em.

___________________
DJ WESLEYSNIPEZ
Inspire Create Innovate

Last edited by wesleysnipez on Feb-28-2008 at 07:00

Okay first things first...

I find it absolutely hilarious that you are a DJ that is interested in lights that also works contruction for a day job...cause thats EXACTLY what I do. I do more framing and carpentry, but in the end I do a bit of everything in the field. The only thing we may not have in common right now is your married, but even that will change soon, lol.

Red cosmic frenzy. It's rated as as a small club/pub/bar laser. The red part is awesome IMO. It is half as bright as the green and the effect/patterns are square not rounded. Probably only half the amount of patterns as the green one (Green yield 5 hundred/Red about 30ish, kinda hard to say, with DMX you can kinda manipulate patterns especialy with the green one). Anyway it costs (red) about 300-400. This light is cool cause it is red, I usualy set it to a straight single line effect, and that dances beautifully around the club cutting throught the air like a...uhmm...laser? lol I would recommend getting this light in 2's or 3's. 1 is nice but it needs support, cause its not the brightest. Good return on dollar though.

The Green Laser about 1500, I think I overpaid though...you could do better on ebay know that I think about it. Its has a 'fatbeam' technology so the beam (10mw) Is quite bright in that respect. Nice pattern like Sky effect, circle patterns, box/wall of laser patterns. But would I but it again? No. But dont let that discourage you. I am a bit funny when it comes to lasers you see. I have always longed for the multicolor, big club laser (high expectations). I guess I got my head in the clouds and cant really except my lasers for what they really are. I kinda look down on them and in fact they are good for the money that is asked - comparitive to other bright green lasers which can cost 1-3grr. The reason I said no is cause the light has given me a few problems like when the beam hits the second mirror it only hits 3/4 of it and the other 1/4 hit the plastic part which hold the mirror for rotation and movement. I think this is my fault though. I have trusted the handeling of my light to individuals that havnt taken full care, I think. It got slightly damaged and I have been looking down on the light ever since, I'm a bit mad at it. Also I used it outside once when its was REALLY foggy, the moister may have damage it a bit but it looked aamazing outside as the beams went really far. But if this light is taken care of and used properly to its fullest extent through DMX it is a good light that is worth the money. But again these lasrs are better in 2's or 3's. The client/clubbers point of view is usually nit always straight on to the laser light. You need to be looking straight on to it to get the full effect other wise it dims out and you cant make out mid air patterns from the side...this is why I usualy set the laser to a straight, bright single line that cuts through the air at different places and obviousluy looks good from any angle cause there is no pattern being used. Take note of this you can buy that green scorpion through chauvet but as a green and red one combined. This is what I would have/should have done. The fatbeam on the red laser would be phenomenal. Also the lasers, I find, work best alone, without any other fixtures active, they need darkness.

Just checked through google. The Scorpian is about 300 and the RG55 Scorpion is about 500. These have come down in price alot! Now they are definately worth it! I waayyy over paid.

BTW I take back the comment that you are fully loaded. But you still hve a dream lighting set up. I am thinking of 3 smartMAC. What would you honestly recommend the best amount to buy - 1,2,3,4,5,6 ? and how would you set them up and can they mount on stanard lighting T bar with tripod? Or do I need trussing ?(yikes its expensive and not very mobile)Look forward to hearing back from ya...