Smoke machines - a couple of issues?

[The Dark Lord]

I have a couple of questions about smoke machines.

Just bought a new set up LED lights ........ 5 x QTX SP-SW, a t-bar lighting stand and a couple of their footswitches.

I gotta say they are ....... awesome.

Here's the thing. We fancy getting a smoke machine to make the lights look more dramatic - mainly just for the closing number of the set.

Do they set the smoke alarms off in the pub / club?

Do landlords get annoyed when you use them ..... we play in small to medium places. I guess we wouldn't use them for the very small things .... but are they okay to use .... or do you get told off?

[EBS_freak]

Depends on the venue. You may want to look at hazers though - they are more fire alarm friendly. Talk to the gaffer before hand to avoid any sticky situations... you just have to accept, as awesome as it makes the lights look, you won't be able to at every gig.

[Happy Jack]

Placing the smoke machine too close to a bass rig may give entirely the wrong impression:

[IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/121005%20The%20Telegraph/JDTheTelegraph1.jpg[/IMG]

Also, avoid using "flavoured" smoke unless you really, [i][b]really [/b][/i]enjoy the smell of slightly scorched artificial strawberries.

[tonybassplayer]

By no means an expert ( our drummer was so left it to him ) when we played hotels etc we were ok with "haze" machines but very definitely NOT with smoke machines. subtle difference in look but massive in setting of alarms etc I believe.

[EBS_freak]

A hazer can still trigger an alarm but that requires a lot more effort than with your standard smoke machine. When buying a smoke machine, don't just go for the cheapest though - you may want to investigate ones with timers to ensure a constant stream of smoke, or possibly in the future, you may want something controllable by DMX. Also look at how much smoke they generate - for example, small smoke machines can take up to a minute or so to provide good coverage. Other monster machines can achieve the same in a few seconds.

[The Dark Lord]

Cool. Had never heard of a [i]haze[/i] machine before. I'll surf.

[bertbass]

Some find that the smoke can get in the throat and can bugger up your voice.

[Chrismanbass]

i've used a smoke machine on functions and dj gigs before and i can safely say that yes they do set off smoke alarms and yes venues do sometimes get annoyed

especially when you wake all the guests up in a hotel

needless to say we didnt get asked back to that hotel

[KingBollock]

When doing Discos I always hated venues that put smoke alarms near to where we would be set up. Discos, for me, were [i]all[/i] about the lighting, there didn't seem much point if you couldn't have a smoke machine to show them off properly.

[JTUK]

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1352244128' post='1860769']
Some find that the smoke can get in the throat and can bugger up your voice.
[/quote]

This.....
Fog machine over smoke everytime...IMO

[Dr M]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1352411712' post='1862847']
This.....
Fog machine over smoke everytime...IMO
[/quote]

This is actually a common misconception. Unless you're referring to dry-ice low-fog machines (which I'd suggest you avoid unless you [i]seriously[/i] know what you're doing), fog and smoke are just different names for the same effect.

With fire alarms, the trick is talking to the venue. Some venues can isolate and turn-off certain areas - this is ideal, but mostly found in theatres. If a venue has a heat-based (rate of temperature rise usually) fire alarms, you're fine. If they have [i]smoke[/i] alarms then there's a good chance that any atmospheric effect will set it off (smoke or haze).

With regards to smoke vs haze, the question is what effect you want to achieve. Haze, if used properly, is basically invisible. It serves purely to enhance lighting and make the beams visible. Smoke on the other hand is the white billowing effect you'd expect.

I actually work in this industry, so if you've got any questions I'd be happy to help as best I can.

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='Dr M' timestamp='1352462280' post='1863330']
This is actually a common misconception. Unless you're referring to dry-ice low-fog machines (which I'd suggest you avoid unless you [i]seriously[/i] know what you're doing), fog and smoke are just different names for the same effect.

With fire alarms, the trick is talking to the venue. Some venues can isolate and turn-off certain areas - this is ideal, but mostly found in theatres. If a venue has a heat-based (rate of temperature rise usually) fire alarms, you're fine. If they have [i]smoke[/i] alarms then there's a good chance that any atmospheric effect will set it off (smoke or haze).

With regards to smoke vs haze, the question is what effect you want to achieve. Haze, if used properly, is basically invisible. It serves purely to enhance lighting and make the beams visible. Smoke on the other hand is the white billowing effect you'd expect.

I actually work in this industry, so if you've got any questions I'd be happy to help as best I can.
[/quote]

Is the correct answer! I'll PM you with a lighting set up question if ya don't mind ........ or maybe I should do it on here so everyone can see?

[Dr M]

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1352469160' post='1863475']
Is the correct answer! I'll PM you with a lighting set up question if ya don't mind ........ or maybe I should do it on here so everyone can see?
[/quote]

Yeah, no problem. I'll respond to a PM, or if you think the info would be useful for anyone else, feel free to post the questions here.

[tonybassplayer]

I think I remember our drummer using the same machine ( for smoke and haze ) but just changing the chemical he put in but i could be wrong as at set up time I always had another thousand things to do as usual lol