North West Lighting FX

[icewolf08]

Re: Northwest Lighting

I don't think American DJ even has 575w moving heads for that price. I wouldn't get involved with them if I were you. The fixtures look like knock offs of knock offs, and while the price looks really nice, at this point in time I would be very wary of any 575w moving head that costs under $4k. It might fall apart when you look at it!

 

[DijiStudios]

At work the other day we got the massive neo-neon catalog, it was a blast to flip through and see all the different brands, just with out lables. They claim to be the oem makers for that gear and not making knockoffs, I wonder just how true that claim is....

Technically, by contract, the company I work for is supposed to be the master distributor for Neo-Neon for the entire United States. Neo-neon totally broke that contract after we ordered a few million dollars in their LED products and keep selling to companies like American DJ and Chauvet.

Their products aren't that bad if you know which series to go with, but the majority of the stuff is crap. Luckily, we only purchased the 1-Watt LED fixtures and 3-Watt LED fixtures to sell as an OEM.

But yes, they do make stuff for American DJ, Chauvet, Robe, and other companies.

 

[gafftaper]

Re: Northwest Lighting

Has anyone had experience with them? Are they a quality product for the money? The website is linked below.Thanks!!!!
Home Page

I seriously doubt you are going to find anyone around here who has purchased from them. I live 20 miles from the address listed for the headquarters... from what I know about the area it wouldn't surprise me if that's somebody's apartment and they drop ship straight from China... I don't know that for sure, but it isn't exactly an industrial neighborhood.

I don't think American DJ even has 575w moving heads for that price. I wouldn't get involved with them if I were you. The fixtures look like knock offs of knock offs, and while the price looks really nice, at this point in time I would be very wary of any 575w moving head that costs under $4k. It might fall apart when you look at it!

Alex is so right here. If you want a 575w moving head that you can really call a quality product you need to spend around $4k or more. If you are looking for a cheap product that has a reputation of being sort of low end DJ gear but isn't too bad for the money, and won't fall apart when you sneeze: you've got American DJ and Chauvet both have been the butt of more than a few jokes around here, but there is a market for low end gear and they sell a lot of it, so we probably shouldn't be laughing. Looks like the ADJ Accu Spot 575 runs about $2k. It's not a work horse but at least it has a dealer network, is a known product to repair guys, and is unlikely to catch fire when you plug it in.

I also want to point out that even though none of us have purchased Neo-Neon gear around here, it still has some sort of reputation (we have a couple dealers on CB and we also know they are OEM for some ok products). Northwest lighting is a complete unknown. If you buy you are rolling the dice in the dark. It may be the greatest purchase you ever make or it may not work and you may not be able to even find someone who can fix it (how do you get parts for an unknown product from a tiny unknown Chinese company). Will they be in business next week? WAY too many questions for my comfort level.

 

[DHSLXOP]

Re: Northwest Lighting

I seriously doubt you are going to find anyone around here who has purchased from them. I live 20 miles from the address listed for the headquarters... from what I know about the area it wouldn't surprise me if that's somebody's apartment and they drop ship straight from China... I don't know that for sure, but it isn't exactly an industrial neighborhood.



Alex is so right here. If you want a 575w moving head that you can really call a quality product you need to spend around $4k or more. If you are looking for a cheap product that has a reputation of being sort of low end DJ gear but isn't too bad for the money, and won't fall apart when you sneeze: you've got American DJ and Chauvet both have been the butt of more than a few jokes around here, but there is a market for low end gear and they sell a lot of it, so we probably shouldn't be laughing. Looks like the ADJ Accu Spot 575 runs about $2k. It's not a work horse but at least it has a dealer network, is a known product to repair guys, and is unlikely to catch fire when you plug it in.

I also want to point out that even though none of us have purchased Neo-Neon gear around here, it still has some sort of reputation (we have a couple dealers on CB and we also know they are OEM for some ok products). Northwest lighting is a complete unknown. If you buy you are rolling the dice in the dark. It may be the greatest purchase you ever make or it may not work and you may not be able to even find someone who can fix it (how do you get parts for an unknown product from a tiny unknown Chinese company). Will they be in business next week? WAY too many questions for my comfort level.

Actually - I have purchased from NW Lighting FX, and they actually have a decent product for that price range. While its no Martin or Vari-Lite (or any of the other major companies), with a relatively low budget and my want to learn how to use moving lights, they are actually pretty decent. Here's the only issue that I found, though, the company is (obviously) in the Northwest; I'm in South Florida - When I got my fixtures, they each had small defects from shipping. (one's color wheel is off a bit and on the other one, when I move the prism in, it sometimes gets stuck) But the guys at the company were great about trying to get them fixed: they sent me two new ones (that actually were worse, cause they sent them in the box, instead of the flight case), but now they have been trying to work with me to fix my lights. Though their very far from the best product on the market, they're still a decent light for low budgets.

 

[gafftaper]

Re: Northwest Lighting

Actually - I have purchased from NW Lighting FX, and they actually have a decent product for that price range. While its no Martin or Vari-Lite (or any of the other major companies), with a relatively low budget and my want to learn how to use moving lights, they are actually pretty decent. Here's the only issue that I found, though, the company is (obviously) in the Northwest; I'm in South Florida - When I got my fixtures, they each had small defects from shipping. (one's color wheel is off a bit and on the other one, when I move the prism in, it sometimes gets stuck) But the guys at the company were great about trying to get them fixed: they sent me two new ones (that actually were worse, cause they sent them in the box, instead of the flight case), but now they have been trying to work with me to fix my lights. Though their very far from the best product on the market, they're still a decent light for low budgets.

Well there you go... we found an actual customer! CB always amazes me. Sounds like he's getting some decent customer service help too. You still have the potential problem of it not lasting very long, or of the small company going out of business and not being able to get parts. But it's cheap and apparently works well enough to keep DHSLXOP happy. Anything at this low end of the market involves risks. Maybe it's worth the risk to you and maybe it's not.

 

[Pie4Weebl]

Re: Northwest Lighting

I don't think American DJ even has 575w moving heads for that price. I wouldn't get involved with them if I were you. The fixtures look like knock offs of knock offs, and while the price looks really nice, at this point in time I would be very wary of any 575w moving head that costs under $4k. It might fall apart when you look at it!

I got my hands on a 575 neo-neon fixture and I was impressed, ton of punch in a really small package and a price to die for. The thing was smaller than most 250 watt fixtures out there and had a ton of features!

 

[SHARYNF]

can you give us a link to the fixture you are working with?
thanks
Sharyn

 

[Pie4Weebl]

can you give us a link to the fixture you are working with?
thanks
Sharyn

This guy here

 

[gafftaper]

Hey Pie, I think there is a lot of interest in Neo-Neon. How about a review of your Neo-Neon 575 in anew thread and how much did it cost you?

 

[thelightguy87]

It's nice to know other people have not been too disappointed with low end lighting. I've been talking with a sales rep from Beyond Lighting, from china, I mentioned possibly making a purchase and was given much more detailed answers. They claim to have an R&D department. Also were pretty clear about different series of fixtures being of different quality. The fixtures that look like MAC knock offs are the ones that are significantly cheaper than others and she even told me they are of much less quality, both in construction and components. As soon as I save up enough I am buying 2 fixtures with lamps and a dual flight case. Price with shipping is $1800. It's a bit risky, but I'm gonna stop at 2 if I don't like them. I'll be sure to give a full review of them when I get them. I'm not worried about tech support. A friend of mine has been working on a variety of intelligent fixtures for years so he could do any repairs if needed. And this manufacturer has been around for a while so I'm not worried about them disappearing. I've got a few months before I will be buying these, but probably come january or so, I should have them for sure. For anyone interested I have a full catalog price quote from this company. I'm sure a few of you are curious, maybe not to buy, but to laugh at the prices.
Index of /china

The file labeled price quote is what I'm buying but there is one that is of everything they sell. This is "Beyond Lighting".

 

[derekleffew]

...I've been talking with a sales rep from... They claim... she even told me...

No offense to anyone intended, and this is applicable to US-based manufacturers as well, but...

"How do you know when a manufacturer's representative is lying?"

"When his mouth is moving!"
​

Caveat emptor, my friend. The best advice comes from unbiased users.

 

[avkid]

"How do you know when a manufacturer's representative is lying?"

"When his mouth is moving!"
​

Derek, play nice.

 

[thelightguy87]

Oh believe me I have every doubt until I see these things myself. I know I'm going out on a limb here, but hey, someone must have done that for Neo Neon and whatever other China OEM manufacturers too, right? I look at it as, it may seem cheap, but not cheap enough to forget about if it sucks, so i'd definetly regret it, but I think these lights will do everything I need them to do. Nothing more. I own several High End Trackspots and Trackspot 2's. When I want quality equipment I go to well known companies. When it comes to low end gear, i don't need to pay extra for a name when I can get the same thing without the name but half the price. What's the difference between buying direct from neo neon and AMDJ? Price, Name, Tech Support.

 

[gafftaper]

What's the difference between buying direct from neo neon and AMDJ? Price, Name, Tech Support.

To me the biggest difference is that AMDJ, Chauvet, and Elation are not going to be out of business tomorrow. You will be able to get parts for their products and find someone who repairs them. Since Neo-Neon is OEM for these manufacturers, it's a bit more of a risk, but if things go bad, you are likely to possibly be able to find parts and tech support for the equivalent Elation product. With these unknown companies. You've got none of that. If the product arrives DOA and the company closes down. You've got nothing. I'm all for taking risks now and then to save a few bucks, but to me there's a big difference between purchasing from an OEM and a complete unknown company. Mamma always said, "If it seems too good to be true it probably is".

What is their Warranty I see no mention of it on the site?

Are they UL listed?

Did you notice the counter on their website only has 1421 hits currently? How many people have actually purchased their stuff if only 1400 have seen the website?

Take a look at their "Heavy Duty C Clamp" for $7.99

Is that a 1/4" bolt connecting it to the yoke? No thanks.

 

[icewolf08]

I completely agree with gaff here, and I also want to add. At a listed price of $877 for a profile moving head, it would cost more to fix the fixture the first time it broke than it would to just buy a new one (kinda like inkjet printers). Now sure, at some point with any fixture you will end up spending more to maintain it that you paid for it. You will eventually do this in lamps alone! Is a fixture really only worth 8 lamps? Even a source 4 is worth about 25 lamps.

Back to maintenance. What will it cost to get the fixture repaired when something breaks, and how long will it take? If you local shop isn't a dealer will they even touch the fixture? If you have to ship the fixture out for repair, the shipping alone will end up in the hundreds of dollars on top of the risk of further damage due to transport. Plus, what do you do when a fixture goes down in the middle of show? Who is going to help you out when there aren't any local place to get a loaner? With almost every fixture or piece of gear that I own I know that someone else in town has some, so if I ever have an issue I know that there are people I can ask for help or a rental or a loaner.

 

[thelightguy87]

I should mention that I'm not interested in buying from northwest lighting fx, but from Chinese manufacturer, Beyond Light. Which has been around for over 10 years. Yes they are UL listed, and they have a 1 year warranty.

 

[gafftaper]

Does Beyond Light do OEM for any other companies?

 

[thelightguy87]

I did find mention to being an OEM, but didn't mention for what companies.

 

[audereengineering]

Getting UL or any other "quality" approval process in China is normally an overnight process independent of the fact that some types of testing can not be done overnight with an infinite number of resources...

Both very good and very bad products are made in China but the "external" approval stamps just do not mean much at this point.

 

[gafftaper]

If it's a TRUE UL rating then it should mean something. There are a lot of crazy ratings that the Chinese manufacturers come up with that don't mean anything. But a real UL rating... which you should be able to confirm with Underwriter's Labratories... is not something you can just do over night.

There is a reason that some theater's insurance companies would revoke your insurance if they found you using something that wasn't UL approved.