Just because something is made in China doesn't make it bad. There are many major products made in China. The trick is to minimize risk by watching quality of components,
build quality, and buying from someone who is going to stand behind the product down the
road to support it.
Don't buy the cheapest fixtures you can find from "Joe's random website", E-bay, or direct from "Guangzhou Super Best
Stage Lighting". You have no guarantee of quality components,
build quality and no one to back them up. These products may have pictures and specifications that look exactly like a
Martin product. They may be built in the same factory as Elation... heck maybe even the same assembly
line. But what are you going to do if they
break in two months? Who do you go to for parts? Who do you get to fix it? You are buying a disposable
fixture with no guarantee of how long it will last or if there is any sort of possible repair when it's done.
What should you consider buying?
1) Most importantly.
Call your local dealer, the person you will go to for repairs and ask what low budget products they are selling
and servicing. If you need it repaired, and you want your guy to fix it, make sure he can before you buy. Odds are really good that, as Esoteric mentioned above, they may be working with a Chinese manufacturer to import a product with their brand on it to be the
house brand. This is fairly common these days. PNTA is one of the top Dealers here in the
Pacific Northwest. They sell "K9"
LED's. Yeah, you never heard of them right. It's clearly a name that's been slapped on the product and is being sold by half a dozen dealers around the country as the
house brand. While I'm a
bit hesitant to buy them, I feel a lot better about purchasing a K9 light over just about any other low budget
LED because I know that Seattle's resident repair
wizard Carl has torn them apart in the back and knows what makes them tick. If Carl can fix them, then I know I've got a
fixture I can trust, because I trust Carl.
2) If your local dealer doesn't have something they sell, then expand your search to dealers from other places that you can trust. Look for a
house brand from someone like Esoteric that you can trust. Esoteric may not be close enough to repair it for you, but unlike "China, Inc" Esoteric's reputation is on the
line when he sells you a product. Mike's going to make sure that it works out of the box, that the specifications in his advertising match the reality of the
fixture, he's going to help you if there is a warranty repair issue, and he's going to make sure it has a decent
build quality (compared to other low end products). "China, Inc" is motivated by making a fast buck, regardless of the long term results. Someone like Esoteric wants you to be a happy customer, tell your friends and buy more gear in the future. He has to minimize the risk for you in order for that all to happen. Thus the dealer becomes a layer of protection in the Chinese wild west.
http://www.controlbooth.com/wiki/Collaborative+Articles:Dealers+for+Supplies+and+Equipment
3) Finally, look for emerging smaller "no name" brands that actually stand for something. There is Blizzard, a year ago we were all talking about Neo-Neon or Irradiant products, these are "no name brands" that rise above the rest and establish themselves as name brands you've heard of. With that name identity comes reputation. Blizzard is a small, but rapidly growing brand. While it's far from having
ETC standing behind the product, you are getting a recognized name, with a fairly large and rapidly growing dealer
network, and this translates into a company with a reputation on the
line. Which is what you need to
build another layer of protection into the
purchase. Now combine the Blizzard brand name with a dealer you can trust
excitable:
quiet down BillESC we know you sell them
) or better yet, be lucky enough that your local shop deals in Blizzard and you've created multiple layers of protection that should help insure your
purchase is not a complete waste.
Finally a couple closing thoughts:
Never buy a bunch of these products without testing one in person first. Ask for a demo. If you can't get a demo buy one and make sure it meets your needs before you
drop a couple grand on a whole kit.
Watch carefully for quality of components. Some
LED fixtures just say "Super bright
LED's", others try to dazzle you with a massive number of smaller
LED's. The good ones come with a brand like Luxeon or Cree stamped on them. Know your components.
Remember that you are buying low budget gear, they are cutting corners somewhere in: quality control, skill of the labor, component quality, and/or
build quality. You should never buy this kind of gear for highly critical applications because the chance of failure is always there. Don't buy this kind of gear and expect it to survive a 150 day 160 city tour in the back of a Ford van. It's not built for that. Don't buy this kind of gear and expect it to survive really heavy use like 10 hours a day 7 days a week. You might get lucky and it might be fine, or it might fry by Thursday.