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REVIEWED
REVIEWED: AFX Light ThunderLED
LED lighting has been evolving rapidly and we’re starting to see many more new products utilising LED chip technology. These lights tend to be very bright, as manufacturers can squeeze a lot into a relatively small space, whilst the power per unit is also getting more efficient and gratifyingly cheaper all the time.
Need to light up a room in vivid colours? Want to produce eye-candy effects, patterns and chases? Hit strobe on the big drops, guitar solos and other key moments, driving energy on your dance floor? All these and more are possible using lighting bars and par cans, whilst LED chip technology takes brightness to new levels.
Enter the ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar from AFX Light – an extremely powerful light that’s perfect for mobile DJs, combining eye-candy effects with built-in patterns, adjustable strobe and multiple control modes, all in super-bright mode.
We get a whopping 672 RGB 5050 LEDs in 24 segments and a further 420 white 5730 LEDs in 12 segments (the 5050 and 5730 values tell us the size of each individual chip in mm), all housed in a bar measuring just over a metre long (1050 x 160 x 190mm) and emitting light over a 135-degree field.
Lucky me got to test a pair at two weddings and – let’s get this out the way early on – I loved them so much I’ve decided to add them to my own lightshow!
I’m still learning the ropes as a relatively new DJ, but I found the ThunderLED Strobe RBG LED Bar instinctively easy to operate. On the rear of the housing is a user-friendly control panel that allows you to select from four built-in shows, utilising 10 speed settings and 9 strobe settings. This panel is also where you trigger sound-to-light mode, which can be adjusted for sound sensitivity.
You can also select from 26 colour settings and finely tune the LEDs to get the exact colour combination you desire. There’s also the option to combine these colour settings with pre-set strobe effects, which can be set from 0-25 flashes per second.
For the ultimate control of your output, there are five DMX channel modes: 4, 5, 6, 10 and 84. 10-channel mode gives you a good balance
of control without going over the top, plus you’re able to fully utilise all of the pre-programmed shows and, most vitally, that strobe!
At a metre long, these fixtures aren’t the smallest, but they’re lightweight (just 5.35kg) and therefore easy to transport for us mobile DJs. The ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar is also fitted with clamps for easy connection to other bars, enabling you to build a long line of continuous lighting.
In terms of power, you get PowerCon connectors with in and out for daisy chaining as well as 3-pin in and out for DMX. Once I started using the lights and experimenting with colours, the main thing that struck me was just how vibrant and vivid the colours are. The light they produce is also incredibly bright, so don’t make the mistake of looking too closely!
When I took my new additions out on the road, I used them as a wash effect behind my setup at a couple of weddings. Both units were linked via DMX cable and in master-slave mode. This gave a lovely colour change on the wall, whilst not taking up too much space. I tested the lights in a range of standard settings and found that they added another dimension to the room and the music.
Attached to upright poles on truss, or perhaps to your DJ booth, I’m confident the ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar will fill any room with stunning light and effects. Whilst I didn’t get to try this, I do think they’d be brilliant for placing along the top row of a truss cross-section, hiding that part of your setup whilst creating a stunning visual focus point. By taking advantage of DMX control, you could also use them to light a room in a more subtle way for cake cuts, first dances and other spotlight moments.
Watching recent stage shows, it’s obvious that lighting bars like this are being used more often by lighting designers – and AFX Light’s ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar can add another dimension to any lightshow. It’s well worth considering how these lights could play a part in your own show; no doubt your audiences will appreciate your creativity and the added atmosphere these lights can generate.
Need to light up a room in vivid colours? Want to produce eye-candy effects, patterns and chases? Hit strobe on the big drops, guitar solos and other key moments, driving energy on your dance floor? All these and more are possible using lighting bars and par cans, whilst LED chip technology takes brightness to new levels.
Enter the ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar from AFX Light – an extremely powerful light that’s perfect for mobile DJs, combining eye-candy effects with built-in patterns, adjustable strobe and multiple control modes, all in super-bright mode.
We get a whopping 672 RGB 5050 LEDs in 24 segments and a further 420 white 5730 LEDs in 12 segments (the 5050 and 5730 values tell us the size of each individual chip in mm), all housed in a bar measuring just over a metre long (1050 x 160 x 190mm) and emitting light over a 135-degree field.
Lucky me got to test a pair at two weddings and – let’s get this out the way early on – I loved them so much I’ve decided to add them to my own lightshow!
I’m still learning the ropes as a relatively new DJ, but I found the ThunderLED Strobe RBG LED Bar instinctively easy to operate. On the rear of the housing is a user-friendly control panel that allows you to select from four built-in shows, utilising 10 speed settings and 9 strobe settings. This panel is also where you trigger sound-to-light mode, which can be adjusted for sound sensitivity.
You can also select from 26 colour settings and finely tune the LEDs to get the exact colour combination you desire. There’s also the option to combine these colour settings with pre-set strobe effects, which can be set from 0-25 flashes per second.
For the ultimate control of your output, there are five DMX channel modes: 4, 5, 6, 10 and 84. 10-channel mode gives you a good balance
of control without going over the top, plus you’re able to fully utilise all of the pre-programmed shows and, most vitally, that strobe!
At a metre long, these fixtures aren’t the smallest, but they’re lightweight (just 5.35kg) and therefore easy to transport for us mobile DJs. The ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar is also fitted with clamps for easy connection to other bars, enabling you to build a long line of continuous lighting.
In terms of power, you get PowerCon connectors with in and out for daisy chaining as well as 3-pin in and out for DMX. Once I started using the lights and experimenting with colours, the main thing that struck me was just how vibrant and vivid the colours are. The light they produce is also incredibly bright, so don’t make the mistake of looking too closely!
When I took my new additions out on the road, I used them as a wash effect behind my setup at a couple of weddings. Both units were linked via DMX cable and in master-slave mode. This gave a lovely colour change on the wall, whilst not taking up too much space. I tested the lights in a range of standard settings and found that they added another dimension to the room and the music.
Attached to upright poles on truss, or perhaps to your DJ booth, I’m confident the ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar will fill any room with stunning light and effects. Whilst I didn’t get to try this, I do think they’d be brilliant for placing along the top row of a truss cross-section, hiding that part of your setup whilst creating a stunning visual focus point. By taking advantage of DMX control, you could also use them to light a room in a more subtle way for cake cuts, first dances and other spotlight moments.
Watching recent stage shows, it’s obvious that lighting bars like this are being used more often by lighting designers – and AFX Light’s ThunderLED Strobe RGB LED Bar can add another dimension to any lightshow. It’s well worth considering how these lights could play a part in your own show; no doubt your audiences will appreciate your creativity and the added atmosphere these lights can generate.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 120, Pages 86-87.
