Crowd says i need bigger ones?

[johnb46804]

I originally posted this question as a reply to another thread and thought after i should start a new thread. I have always stayed away from NOABs for lack of value. I shot 3" OMB in a finale before and all i remember was it was to high(seemed like it was shot in the next neighborhood) and probably not very loud with all of the other shots going off. My crowd this year says i need bigger breaks even though i shot 2 cases each of Sharp Shooter and Chronic and 1 each of Big Sexy, Apocalypse Now, and Massive American. I was thinking of doing a segment in the middle next year of just Lg break 2" and 3" cakes and would like some input on product to use, timing , and setup for effect. Any advice is appreciated.

[Bazerk]

500g cakes with low shot counts are as big as your going to get aside from canister shells bud.

[johnb46804]

Thats what i always thought too, i was hoping for some setup ideas to fill the sky with lg breaks only but not overwhelming i guess? Im not sure i know how to phrase the question i want to ask correctly.

[Bazerk]

Thats what i always thought too, i was hoping for some setup ideas to fill the sky with lg breaks only but not overwhelming i guess? Im not sure i know how to phrase the question i want to ask correctly.

Try multiple firing spots. This year, for the first time, I did a left center right setup and it turned out amazing. If you watch the video I posted you will see what I mean. The first 5 mins of my show was almost all 200g cakes that I mounted on an angled board and it did a good job of filling the sky. Check it out.

https://youtu.be/UyU1D60HTZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU1D60HTZ0&feature=youtu.be

[johnb46804]

that angle board was something i was gonna try this year but rain moved my show up a day and i had to settle for straight shooting my cakes. I was gonna start with 2 old ironsides, then 2 sharp shooters, massive american, and Big Sexy, overlapping of course!

[tongpopyro]

what's up john, I'm from Fort Wayne too. have you tried 1.4pro 62mm, and if you haven't used slices. I used 62mm and slices for the first time this year and the crowd loved the slices. Slices don't have huge breaks but cover a wide area and look very professional. this is the link to my show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVVHSkWk0M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVVHSkWk0M

[johnb46804]

Hey Tong Po....i haven't tried any dominator stuff but i have some cakes that are similar and get the same effect. its been awhile since i have been to the dominator site and now I'm going to have to work some of their stuff into next years show! nice video buy the way.

[ilovecrackle]

This is my opinion so take it for what its worth. :cool: Me personally, I stay away from NOAB's. Yes, they have slightly larger breaks than good 2" cakes out there but there are way to expensive for me.
There are some great 2" cakes out there. I would just get more of those.
Also something you could try is try multiple locations like Bezerk mentioned above and add layers to it.
As an example..... try 2 stations with a few 2" cakes and multiple 200 gram cakes breaking underneath it.
That way you have your lower 200 grams and the larger 500 grams over top of them giving it a larger area that is filled. You could even add some mine cakes below the 200 grams and fill the sky from bottom to top.
Or you can get some fan cakes, have those breaking lower with your 2" cakes over top.

This is what I do or have done in the past. Hope some of this helps. :p

[cmalloy513]

I had some NOABs in my show this year and I couldn't even tell that they were any different than my 2 inch cakes like Secy Rider, Midnight Sunburn, or Warrior Recon. Next year I'm going to stay away from them because they simply aren't worth it

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Best and easiest way I can think of to get the effect you're going for is to use multi-level breaking cakes like Mardi Gras Fiesta, Vegas Lights, Glitter and Doom in multiples, and set them off at the same time. If you can separate them into stages (left, center, right) and use a firing system to have them all go off at the same time, I think you're going to have a nice finale your viewers will really enjoy. If you want to incorporate some fan-style mortar racks into all that, it will be that much better.

[johnb46804]

I agree with all of you guys and i have tried most of your ideas except the stations. I keep telling myself this year is the year i get a firing system but i spend all the extra money on more cakes!!! my show has grown to the point i need a system badly. i just can't justify the cobra system yet and I'm not sure the cheap made in china ones are for me. part of my problem is my shoot site is a little narrow. i line everything up straight at the crowd. I had no problems with my finale. They just want to see some bigger booms and i thought maybe i would try something like whacky tobacky and 3"omb and maybe pure intensity and whatever. by the way, i was trying to post my video today but i think my file is to big

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Very impressive show Bazerk!! Hard to see in the video, but I'm assuming the majority of the show was 1.3G stuff?? In your finale it looked like you had some milk carton racks. I saw tubes jumping out of the crate all over the place as they were going off. What happened there? How did you get the overhead view? Was that a drone I saw going up at the very beginning of the show?

Most impressive!! Very well done.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

by the way, i was trying to post my video today but i think my file is to big

Post it on You Tube and copy the link in a message here. Easy peezy.

[johnb46804]

https://youtu.be/wErn653CEbU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wErn653CEbU&feature=youtu.be
.
In full disclosure this was recorded for reference only. I also apologize for the quality. We used my wife phone last year and it was crystal clear.

[cheeto]

Try multiple firing spots. This year, for the first time, I did a left center right setup and it turned out amazing. If you watch the video I posted you will see what I mean. The first 5 mins of my show was almost all 200g cakes that I mounted on an angled board and it did a good job of filling the sky. Check it out.


Nice, you inspired me on how to up my show for next year, esp since I live in NY where I believe an atf liscense is hard to get. How far apart where your 3 setups. Also do you have pictures/video of your setup?

[Bazerk]

Very impressive show Bazerk!! Hard to see in the video, but I'm assuming the majority of the show was 1.3G stuff?? In your finale it looked like you had some milk carton racks. I saw tubes jumping out of the crate all over the place as they were going off. What happened there? How did you get the overhead view? Was that a drone I saw going up at the very beginning of the show?

Most impressive!! Very well done.

Actually Rick, the first 17 mins of the show was all 1.4 except for 3 1.3 cakes I put in there. The first 5 mins was all 200g cakes, but like 6 at a time. They blew me away! They were on an angled board that I made and I will definitely not underestimate a good 200g cake ever again. The milk crate was mainly my fault but those were 25 2in salutes going off in there at one time. The pressure of the lift blew the bottom of the milk crate out and allowed it to become like a spring board. I will put a piece of plywood in the bottom next time and that will resolve that issue. The overview shots were indeed from a drone and yes, thats what you saw taking off in the beginning. Next year there will be 2 up there which ought to allow from some pretty cool video editing. Thank you for watching the video and the kind words Rick. That show even exceeded my expectations.

[Bazerk]

Nice, you inspired me on how to up my show for next year, esp since I live in NY where I believe an atf license is hard to get. How far apart where your 3 setups. Also do you have pictures/video of your setup?
Unfortunately, this is all I have as far as the setup goes. The boards from left to right were about 25-30 feet apart. Next year I will do the same distance apart but slightly angle the left and right boards out a bit.
122712281229123012311232

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Actually Rick, the first 17 mins of the show was all 1.4 except for 3 1.3 cakes I put in there. The first 5 mins was all 200g cakes, but like 6 at a time. They blew me away! They were on an angled board that I made and I will definitely not underestimate a good 200g cake ever again. The milk crate was mainly my fault but those were 25 2in salutes going off in there at one time. The pressure of the lift blew the bottom of the milk crate out and allowed it to become like a spring board. I will put a piece of plywood in the bottom next time and that will resolve that issue. The overview shots were indeed from a drone and yes, thats what you saw taking off in the beginning. Next year there will be 2 up there which ought to allow from some pretty cool video editing. Thank you for watching the video and the kind words Rick. That show even exceeded my expectations.

If you have a list that you'd be willing to share of the cakes you used, please PM it to me. I don't have a budget for drones or Cobra firing systems (yet!!) but I can certainly buy better 200G cakes. If you can recommend some high flying, big break mortars that would be greatly appreciated too. My modest finale was good this year, but the shells never filled the sky like I thought they would. I'm going to quadruple the number of mortars for next year, but without bumping up the quality of the shell, it's only going to be more of the same. Literally.

I need to get my 54 so I can buy quickmatch to fix some of the timing issues I've been having. Guessing with visco just isn't getting it done.

You're a rock star my friend! I'm still playing in the 1.4G universe, but any help you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated.

[Bazerk]

If you have a list that you'd be willing to share of the cakes you used, please PM it to me. I don't have a budget for drones or Cobra firing systems (yet!!) but I can certainly buy better 200G cakes. If you can recommend some high flying, big break mortars that would be greatly appreciated too. My modest finale was good this year, but the shells never filled the sky like I thought they would. I'm going to quadruple the number of mortars for next year, but without bumping up the quality of the shell, it's only going to be more of the same. Literally.

I need to get my 54 so I can buy quickmatch to fix some of the timing issues I've been having. Guessing with visco just isn't getting it done.

You're a rock star my friend! I'm still playing in the 1.4G universe, but any help you can throw my way would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Rick. I will compile a list of everything I used in conjunction with my script so you can see what fired and when. This will allow you to see real life video of each firework up until the finale. I was in 1.4 for the last 10 years man so I know what your dealing with. I can tell you that my shows will always remain 1.4 heavy simply because if you get the right product, you can put on an amazing show. The quickmatch was a fantastic upgrade for me. In the video you can see the first board using quickmatch for the first 12 cues. Worked perfectly. Thank you again for taking the time to watch and critique my video. I learned a lot from that show and I was hoping to get more people, with better knowledge, to input some of their wisdom or pointers on it as well.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

Thanks Rick. I will compile a list of everything I used in conjunction with my script so you can see what fired and when. This will allow you to see real life video of each firework up until the finale. I was in 1.4 for the last 10 years man so I know what your dealing with. I can tell you that my shows will always remain 1.4 heavy simply because if you get the right product, you can put on an amazing show. The quickmatch was a fantastic upgrade for me. In the video you can see the first board using quickmatch for the first 12 cues. Worked perfectly. Thank you again for taking the time to watch and critique my video. I learned a lot from that show and I was hoping to get more people, with better knowledge, to input some of their wisdom or pointers on it as well.

We've got a line on a possible site for a storage container finally!! If that comes through then I'm going to fast track the paperwork to the ATF so I can get my 54 before the New Year holiday. I'd like to experiment with some quickmatch and a small variety of 1.3G cakes, before I go all in for next years 4th of July show.

My buddy is also trying to get his 54. This year he put up 70 cases of 500G cakes and 1000 mortars as part of his show. 70 cases!! To get around the visco timing issues he uses mainly 10 sec per ft fuse and faster. His entire show, including the finale, was about 12 min long. You can check it out at "Lakeside Pyro" on You Tube. It was nice, but 70 cases in 12 min... You just don't get the individual effects when they're all going up that fast. Seems like there must be a better way. Quickmatch and a Cobra firing system seems to be that "better way."

I seriously appreciate you putting together that list for me!! I loved the big, high breaking mortars you had. I'm also a big fan (pun intended) of the fan cakes. They really fill up the viewing area nicely. I already took your idea and I made a list of about twenty different 200G cakes I'm looking at to put together the opening of next years show. I'll probably pick 4 or 5 of them and string them together with 2 sec per ft fuse so they all go off together to start the show on a high note like you did. Your crowd seemed very impressed with that opening. (So was I!) I need to take all of these "lessons learned" and act on them now so I don't forget by this time next year! lol...

[cheeto]

Thanks, i used the 3 spots to fire from this year and it came out great. here is the last couple mins. The very end had a little less bang because i was shooting in the rain and 2 of my 30 shot racks didn't go off. I didn't have a big budget, but for what i spent it came out reallly good


https://youtu.be/PvQjFPGtHts?t=15

[adultuser]

Best and easiest way I can think of to get the effect you're going for is to use multi-level breaking cakes like Mardi Gras Fiesta, Vegas Lights, Glitter and Doom in multiples, and set them off at the same time. If you can separate them into stages (left, center, right) and use a firing system to have them all go off at the same time, I think you're going to have a nice finale your viewers will really enjoy. If you want to incorporate some fan-style mortar racks into all that, it will be that much better.

Agreed 100%. Try and paint the sky with a mixture of heights and breaks. If your looking for one cake or mortar to get the job done, you need to bump up to 1.3 Class B.

[adultuser]

And Bazerk- really nice job!
And Rick- if you are going to get your ATF primarily for the quick match, take a look at Cannon, they have some really fast fuses that you can order.
https://www.cannonfuse.com/store/pc/Quick-Fuse-2p12111.htm
Its not quite quickmatch, but when you wrap it in tape, its pretty darn close to my eye.

[Rick_In_Tampa]

And Rick- if you are going to get your ATF primarily for the quick match, take a look at Cannon, they have some really fast fuses that you can order.
[url]

I've got boxes of fuse from them. Picked up 10 packages of their fast fuse again this year. I want a 54 so I can order bigger, badder, better, louder 1.3G cakes!! Not looking to blow up the neighborhood, just want to spice up the show a bit with some new products and a few salutes.

[Dion]

Bazerk that was RAD! Great Job! I must have watched those tubes bounce out that rack ten times lmao!! That's how you rock the block!

[Pyro Paul]

I have 3 noabs that I recommend, Whacky Tobacky, King Crown and Khaotic kaboom. I had them in my finale that actually went off and my neighbor asked me if I was using class B fireworks. The breaks on those 3 noabs are effin HUGE. BTW, khaotic kaboom comes 4 to a case for around 80 bucks at SO76 if you buy wholesale so that one is actually cheaper than a lot of 500 gram cakes.

[cheeto]

Pyro Paul, yeah the end of my show always includes whacky tobacky and 60 gram shells. Whacky tobacky breaks are really big.

[Pyro Paul]

only thing bigger than that is gonna be 1.3 4" shells... try king crown and khaotic kaboom or pyro candy though, kinda mixes it up

[Kenny East]

For consumer the best way to get a good full finale with big break that are not too high... Fan racks or multiple locations fired at once... Loaded with 60gram cans. My audience likes sky puke, so i give them plenty of multi level sky puke... Fire some comet to report cakes angled kinda low, some cans and double break shells fanned over that, and a bunch of 3" shells over the top... Even a cheap import system can step up your show by a great leap, without adding a huge cost to your show.

[EdwardH]

Try multiple firing spots. This year, for the first time, I did a left center right setup and it turned out amazing. If you watch the video I posted you will see what I mean. The first 5 mins of my show was almost all 200g cakes that I mounted on an angled board and it did a good job of filling the sky. Check it out.

https://youtu.be/UyU1D60HTZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU1D60HTZ0&feature=youtu.be

I am always amazed by the sheer volume of your shows and the amazing video of your events is really something.

[EdwardH]

what's up john, I'm from Fort Wayne too. have you tried 1.4pro 62mm, and if you haven't used slices. I used 62mm and slices for the first time this year and the crowd loved the slices. Slices don't have huge breaks but cover a wide area and look very professional. this is the link to my show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVVHSkWk0M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siVVHSkWk0M

Wow! this one had me on the edge of my seat the hole time. Really something! Dominator should pay you for the video as it showcases their products in the way that they need to be times and shot. I have a bunch of slices and will throw them in after seeing how awesome yours were!

[Engineer Cat]

Try multiple firing spots. This year, for the first time, I did a left center right setup and it turned out amazing. If you watch the video I posted you will see what I mean. The first 5 mins of my show was almost all 200g cakes that I mounted on an angled board and it did a good job of filling the sky. Check it out.

https://youtu.be/UyU1D60HTZ0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU1D60HTZ0&feature=youtu.be

Great show and very helpful.

5 years after you posted this I realized I need to add some angles to some of the cakes I have setup being the rain is making setup in one small spot. It will make a huge difference! THANKS!