Prebeat - Frequently Asked Questions

We have a small showroom in Hartlepool, however not every product shown on our website is available from here.  It is always worth checking with us before travelling, but if an item shows "next day delivery" on the product page we have it available.  Other messages (such as 2 to 3 day delivery) are products which are not available immediately from our showroom.  Please be aware that orders placed on our website cannot then be collected - payment needs to be made in our showroom at the time of collection.

When you visit the product page on our website you can see the delivery times for each individual product.  Some will be available for next day delivery and others take 2, 3 or 4 working days depending on their availability and location.  You can also check delivery estimates once the item(s) are added to your bag.  

Uplighting is a lighting effect that's created when light fixtures are placed on the floor and then pointed upwards. They can fully transform a space and are often used to alter the mood of a room. They work well for weddings and in different types of function rooms. 

There are mixed opinions on the difference between smoke/fog machines and haze machines and whether they can set off smoke alarms in venues.  The factual answer is yes they can, as both work in a similar way using a water based fluid that is heated up which will rise due to the heat.  However, a haze machine uses a lighter fluid that flows from the machine and disperses differently due to the fan.  To the eye haze can be hardly visible sometimes and the density is much less likely to set off those alarms if used carefully to just enhance your light show.  These are oil based haze machines, but this information is for the ones using water based fluid only.

Haze machines produce a flow of translucent haze, while smoke machines produce clouds of fog - so knowing which one to buy really just depends on what kind of output you're looking for. Often, smoke machines are used for visual effect for maybe a stage show, whereas both smoke and haze will enhance the light show - just haze won't be as "in your face" as smoke so is often preferred in a more discrete setting.

A bubble machine uses specific fluid that is lifted on to a wheel and blown out by a fan to create the bubble. People often think you can use washing up liquid in a bubble machine, however, it's often too heavy and gives a poor performance so we always recommend using professional bubble fluid. Of course, the larger the machine, the more bubbles it can often produce.

Active speakers (also referred to as powered speakers) already have the amplifier built into the back of the speaker. Whereas passive speakers don't and require the addition of an amplifier to power them.

There's a huge selection of stage lighting available and this is generally the term used for lighting which provides a colour wash effect. You need to decide if you want full colour mixing where you would chose a fixture with HEX LEDs in it - or just basic colours and then you might look at cheaper options with TRI or QUAD LEDs within them. Stage lighting is mainly in the form of a par can or lighting bar and this presents different wash options and spread of the actual beam. We would advise to check out the videos of the various products to get an idea of the colour wash the stage lighting will offer.

Bands produce a large variation of live music and it's important when choosing the speaker you need to take this into account. Buying cheap speakers will reduce the sound quality for the performance, whereas a higher quality speaker will give a wider frequency range, more volume and greater clarity of the sound output. There's nothing worse than being in the audience listening to a great band through a bad PA system that's struggling or distorted. Visit a showroom and have a listen to the different products available, as sound is something we always advise to get right first time.

There are many great brands of powered speakers available - take something like the FBT VN2000 system which consists of their FBT SUBLINE112SA and FBT Ventis 206A speaker. This system packs a punch and offers a high quality output, perfect for a band who may be using an array of instruments as well as the vocals. It's important the vocals come out of your PA system with clarity. Make sure the speakers have a wide frequency range and a high SPL rating.

When you're performing live on stage, a cheap dynamic microphone just won't cut it. The Shure SM58 has been renowned for years as the first choice for any live performer. However, don't dismiss other brands - for instance take the JTS NX7 or NX9 models which offer great performance. Just remember that your microphone is reproducing your sound and you need it to do a great job, so don't buy a £20 cheap one which may be okay for speech or you may regret it.

When you're choosing the speaker needed for your gig, there are many factors to take into account. How many people will be in the audience and how large the room is are important, as you don't want a speaker which struggles as you need to increase the volume. Set yourself a budget and then look around for the best available choice - and always remember the speaker showing it is 1000w doesn't always mean it's the best sound. Check out the SPL rating of a speaker which impacts how loud it is. As an example, two speakers might be 400w RMS each - but if one has an SPL of 107dB and the other is 121dB, then there will be a huge difference in output.

The more you spend on a smoke or fog machine, the larger they are - and this reflects the output. It's important to know the venues you will use your smoke machine in, as sometimes, a small 600w or 900w machine will be more than capable of meeting your needs. The machines with the larger heater are often able to produce smoke/fog quicker than the lower powered machines which will need to re-heat regularly.

We do accept POs from government agencies such as schools and councils.  Just emailed that over to us and make sure it includes all contact information for accounts and delivery.  There are occasions such as high value orders where we may ask for payment with order, but will contact you if this is required.