American DJ O-Clamp 1.5 Review

Hi!

Not everything that I review for Rex and the Bass has to be expensive or high-zoot, but most all of it is very good gear. The American DJ O-Clamp 1.5 is another winner, and it will not drain your life savings to add a few of these to your lighting set-up.

Some folks do not mind using C-clamps to affix lighting elements to their trusses, but I prefer the security of O-clamps that go completely around the truss tubes when heavy stuff is dangling over my head. American DJ sells three different versions of the O-clamp to fit 1-inch, 1.5-inch and 3-inch truss tubing. Actually, they are all 2-inch clamps, but the smaller sizes use plastic inserts to bring them down to the proper diameter. So, I can use my extensive collection of 1.5 O-clamps with either 1.5 or 2-inch trusses.

The ADJ O-clamp is made of injection-molded plastic with a swing-out bolt that secures the two halves together with a wing nut. Each clamp comes with a standard-thread bolt that fits most lights, and they also include a wing-nut and washer in case your light base is not threaded. As these are plastic the weight limit is 28 pounds for each clamp, so you are not going to be able to mount heavy speakers with these.

For my set-up I use O-clamps to mount all manner of things to my On-Stage lighting truss. This includes Chauvet 4-Bars, pin spots, a mirror bar mount, and (on occasion) small powered speakers. For the 4-Bars I needed to use longer mounting bolts, but I did not have any trouble finding the right size at Lowe’s. It was simple enough to pop the adapter inserts out and replace the bolts, but you have to get small-head bolts so they fit into the slot and allow the inserts to go back into place.

I have seen a few of my fellow internet pundits complaining that these clamps do not fit well, and that they wish the adapter inserts were made of a softer material instead of hard plastic so they can grip the truss better. This has not been my experience. I have always been able to mount my equipment at whatever angle is needed without slipping. Maybe they have different brands of trusses with slicker finishes or slightly smaller diameters tubing. Either way they work fine for me, and if I ever had any problems I would just use a bit of gaffer tape to take up the slack.

Thus far I have experienced no problems with these clamps damaging my truss tubing -- no matter how hard I crank them down they have not caused any scratches, scuffs or dents!

So, the American DJ O-Clamps are pretty much the best thing since canned beer, and as I said earlier, they are not terribly expensive. In fact, they have a list price $7.95 and a street price of $5.95. If you do not need to hang heavy equipment, these are all you will ever need!

Mahalo!

On Stage LS7730 DJ Lighting Stand With Truss Review

Aloha!

As time goes on, most DJs (and some bands) start to add lighting elements to their stage set-up. My lighting has grown from a single Chauvet 4-Bar to two 4-Bars, some pin spots and other effects. When it was requested that I bring a disco ball to a recent school dance I decided it was time to step up to a lighting truss, and I went with the On Stage LS7730.

The LS7730 is just about as cheap as it comes for a truss system. This set includes two tripod base lighting stands with three section shafts and T-bars. The T-bars have mounts to hold four par cans each. There are also two five-foot truss sections that can also accept four par cans each. It can be set up tall, up to a touch over 10 feet and it is rated for 200 pounds (110 for each stand, and 80 for the truss). It should be noted that the manufacturer recommends that only static lights be mounted to this assembly.

When I got my new truss home and took it out of the box, I found that a few of the plastic set screw handles were broken. As there is no packing materials in the box and it came from China, I counted myself lucky and did not return it. God know how much stuff could have been broken or bent…

Looking over the components, it is obviously a budget set-up. It is made of black powder-coated aluminum, and the tubing is very thin. There is not a single weld anywhere on it, and the truss sections are screwed together with plastic connectors. But, when it is all put together it is surprisingly rigid. The American DJ O-clamps work great on this truss as they come with plastic spacers that fit this tubing perfectly.

I was able to figure out how to put it together without the instructions, and it took about 10 minutes to get it together. There is a bit of fiddling needed with the pins as it is tricky to get the holes lined up, but it was not an insurmountable hurdle. Mounting the lights took a bit longer, and it took two people to get it everything where it needed to be. If this thing had cranks it would have been a way easier job as the light could have been attached when it was closer to floor level, but that feature would have doubled the price.

Once it was together it looked really sharp, and as I said, it was sturdy. I mounted the pin spots for the mirror ball to one of the T-bars and to the stands, and it was a neat effect. Tear-down at the end of the event was simple, but I always had to keep in mind that this thing is fragile, and I was super careful when loading it back up into the van. On Stage sells a carry bag (LSB6500, list $85.99/street $45.99) for this system and I will look into it. There are a lot of parts, and it would make load-in quicker if everything was kept together in a single bundle (the total weight is around 40 pounds).

By the way, this would also be a great stand for hanging a projection screen, if you are into that sort of thing.

The On Stage LS7730 lighting stand with truss has a list price of $367.99, but of course you will not have to pay that much. The MAP on these is $199.99, but they sell all day long for $179.99. If you can handle that this product is just good enough for the job, it really is a pretty good value.

Mahalo!