Moving heads to rent out

[Pete McCrea]

A lot of the bigger companies are and have been incorporating Robe for the last few years. I gig a gig for Siyan (ColdPlays plus many other big bands prefered light co) back in 2004 and they were buying more and more of the Robe units. Read LSI and more and more shows and LD's are asking for them. Plus as others have mentioned the prices are very competitive.

[musht]

People with a long enough memory would remember when Martin were regarded as a disco gear outfit, smoke machines and Roboscans for the club market but not up to big league touring. One of the marketing strategies was to sponsor a Gary Numan comeback tour with exclusively Martin lites.

Robe made lites for loads of different brands for several years before launching under their own name, have quite a lot of experience making the things.

High End Systems appear to be rapidly heading for the `where are they now` pile, what happened?

 

What about the Chinese fixtures that were creating a stir here a month or so back, name escapes me , the ones no one could get a firm spec on?

[StevieR]

High End Systems appear to be rapidly heading for the `where are they now` pile, what happened?

 

Well, they certainly make good, well respective fixtures but I think its simply a case of them being too expensive in the current marketplace. Moving lights are so common place these days that the prices need to be coming down and this is why companies like Robe are beginning to clean up after the big boys.

 

Steve

[Pete]

What about the Chinese fixtures that were creating a stir here a month or so back, name escapes me , the ones no one could get a firm spec on?

 

Unilyte,is the name I think you meant.

 

HES make good gear,but they're a pain to get parts for,especialy since all spares have to come from Dallas!

So its Robe,Martin or Varilite. Personally id have Varilite if you can afford the budget,but its a big price gap.

 

Im starting to wonder if the OP just fancied a troll.

[tokm]

High end might be on the way down according to some people and though I'm not a major fan of them, I must say that they seem to be doing alright for themselves.. Plenty of shows use their catalyst servers and X-spots still seem pretty common.

 

I think the company on the way down might be Clay Paky! Ok I know the alpha spot things they do are nice, but can't remember the last time I saw any on lx kit lists. Only thing they have still around is their scans, which seem to still be 'industry standard'.

 

Hmm, has the O/P actually told us his budget or a rough idea of what he'd like to spend depending on what he could get?

 

Tom

[musht]

Mebbe with High End its case of one thing worse than being talked about, thats not being talked about.

 

Few interesting lid off looks here,er, none of them High End:

 

http://www.mikewoodconsulting.com/articles.htm

[gingertom]

Mebbe with High End its case of one thing worse than being talked about, thats not being talked about.

 

Few interesting lid off looks here,er, none of them High End:

 

http://www.mikewoodconsulting.com/articles.htm

 

 

What does that equate to in some kind of English?

[musht]

Mebbe with High End its case of one thing worse than being talked about, thats not being talked about.

 

Few interesting lid off looks here,er, none of them High End:

 

http://www.mikewoodconsulting.com/articles.htm

 

 

What does that equate to in some kind of English?

 

 

Your right Oscar Wilde was Irish by birth.

[gareth]

I think Tom's point was that if you listen very carefully the sound you'll hear is that of Mr Wilde spinning in his grave ...

[musht]

Whoosh,nope sorry still havent got Tom`s point mebbe its the bunged up head, any cold cures ?

 

Obviously I assumed too much of the reader and my point was not clear enough, wondering wether moving lites have now moved to a commodity status where they may be specified by general size 250/575/1200, gobo features and colour cmy/wheel etc brand becomes a secondary consideration as long as brightness and reliabilty are assured?

 

Presume this sort of market is where the AC Tourwash and ,thanks for reminder, Unilyte `brands` are aimed.

 

What are now big name Brands may be preferred by major hire companies for more complex reasons than simple reliabilty, manufacturers are keen to see their product used in the right places and large companies with financial track records have access to more ways to pay.Martin and Robe have both been exclusive moving lite suppliers to Eurovision for example.Still unlikely that your ProWobbly II 150`s are going to be easily cross rentable though.

 

Even Rolls Royce advertise mebbe High End and Clay Paky equipment is in silent, faultless use across the world, so simple to use it never generates a posting , .they both appear to have a relatively low profile, and in this thread at least and the microworld of the blue room seem to be mentioned relatively rarely.

 

Martin crops up on Ebay searches as a spam keyword attached to anything that would even plug into a Martin item, sure Robe will feel they have arrived when their name is attached to XLR cables in Ebay searches.

[Nick S]

Whoosh,nope sorry still havent got Tom`s point mebbe its the bunged up head, any cold cures ?

 

His point may have been related to the "check spelling" button, a rather convenient service.

 

Even Rolls Royce advertise mebbe High End and Clay Paky equipment is in silent, faultless use across the world, so simple to use it never generates a posting , .they both appear to have a relatively low profile, and in this thread at least and the microworld of the blue room seem to be mentioned relatively rarely.

 

If this was true, surely we'd see them being mentioned in the numerous "recommend moving head" threads...the 'microworld' here does encompass a fair portion of the world

[musht]

Grammar check would be handy TBH ;-) , but its an internet forum not the Nobel Academy. Sure Tom knows what he meant. Meantime back near the topic

 

If this was true, surely we'd see them being mentioned in the numerous "recommend moving head" threads...the 'microworld' here does encompass a fair portion of the world

 

Hence why asked `what happened?` :-)

 

Was slightly suprised that Mike Wood`s series of technical reviews of moving lites did not include any High End units hence the comment beside the link.Though there are reviews of Chauvet and Elation branded moving lites, not generally brands thought of in the same league as other models reviewed.

 

Do clients specify moving lites by brand or features?

Will they accept substituton from a brand they haven`t heard of or had previously thought of as being down market?

[gnomatron]

Do clients specify moving lites by brand or features?

Will they accept substituton from a brand they haven`t heard of or had previously thought of as being down market?

 

I specify by brand and model when I'm dry hiring, but the realities of hire stocks usually get in the way of that. If it's a brand I'm unsure of, then I'd expect the price to reflect that. I'd certainly be peeved if I'd specced Mac 250s and had Robe ones arrive instead at the same price; even more so if it was Pilots or chinese stuff I'd never heard of.

[Pete]

I'd certainly be peeved if I'd specced Mac 250s and had Robe ones arrive instead at the same price; even more so if it was Pilots or chinese stuff I'd never heard of.

 

Even worse if the custom gobo's didn't fit!

 

But seriously,Hire stock shouldnt get in the way. I had a job on,just needed a dozen radio mics (you'll see the point) specced Evo's got Trantecs. I sent them back on the same van. Job went to a different company. I wouldnt have minded apart from they never told me,there logic was "We've got them in,he can have them instead". Well no actualy I wont.

 

Same if Im hiring lights. If I spec 250+s and get Kryptons,Ill be happy. If I get stock 250s theyll go back becuase they're feature short.If the hire Co says "Pete we've only got Robe's in but we'll do you an extra 10% off" then Ill be fine.

 

If they offer me a chauvet unit, Ill laugh.

[Paul J Need]

Read with interest lot of the post above.

 

Can I suggest you go do the sums:

 

If you can hire say a MAC250 Wash or Entour for £20 per day ( £60 per week) what price would you need to rent out a River moving head for? £3 a day perhaps? A fiver tops?

 

I would probably suggest, unless you have the hire business for these units or any other make, you don't buy any. The market is flooded with MACs etc.