Automated Fixtures Studio Spot 575 VS VL7 fixture comparison

[HomeGrown]

My company is purchasing some older used moving fixtures to add to our rig.

We have amazing deals on packages of either HE Studio Spot 575's OR Vari-Lite VL 7 units. The rest of our moving rig currently consists of VL1000's as the workhorse unit. Would love advice on general performance, output, reliability, ease and cost effectiveness of repairs and general noise.

Thank you!

 

[danTt]

There's a reason the deals are "amazing," and that's because the lights are probably about ready to fall apart. They certainly were reliable units for a long time, but making an investment in gear of that age today is a certainly a choice, to put it mildly

 

[SteveB]

My company is purchasing some older used moving fixtures to add to our rig.

We have amazing deals on packages of either HE Studio Spot 575's OR Vari-Lite VL 7 units. The rest of our moving rig currently consists of VL1000's as the workhorse unit. Would love advice on general performance, output, reliability, ease and cost effectiveness of repairs and general noise.

Thank you!

My 6 SS CMY Zooms have never failed and even with issues, still worked. Ours are about 10 years old, in (road) house use, never on the road. We overhauled them 2 years ago and spent $4,000 doing noisy motors, motor chips, dichroic wheels, etc.... so $650 per unit on avg. after 7 steady years of use. They are not the easiest things to service, but I had a tech who new them inside and out and what to look for and how to do it. Money well spent as they are reliable if dated units. Parts are readily available from Light Parts in Austin TX.

I do like the dual rotating gobo wheels, that's a really useful feature. Better then my newer MAC700 profiles which only have one wheel of rotationals, and better then the VL line in my opinion. As well I always liked the High End gobo's better then the Martins and my operators have asked a few times if we could get the SS gobo's into the Martins, but that's a huge expense.

So your call on how much flash and trash you expect out of them, how much you are paying and what parts they need.

 

[soundlight]

What units other than the VL1000s will they be competing with? Depending on the vintage of the Studio Spots, you could be looking at a maintenance nightmare or fixtures that you'll have to hit with a sledgehammer before they'll give you any sign of a problem.

 

[HomeGrown]

We currently have the VL1000s and a bunch of source fours with Morpheus Color Faders.

In terms of new fixtures were trying to decide between studio spot 575s and Vari-lite VL7s

 

[SteveB]

We currently have the VL1000s and a bunch of source fours with Morpheus Color Faders.

In terms of new fixtures were trying to decide between studio spot 575s and Vari-lite VL7s

At this age you want to ask where can you get parts for the VL's. SS stuff is in stock at Light Parts.

 

[irked]

You absolutely do not want the VL7s.

Whether or not you want studio spots in 2016 is a question I can't answer for you.

 

[HomeGrown]

You absolutely do not want the VL7s.

Whether or not you want studio spots in 2016 is a question I can't answer for you.

Interesting! whats so terrible about the VL7s? We love our other Vari-lites

 

[soundlight]

VL7s are ancient. They require a VL rack, and that's not something you want to have to tech out. Any unit that requires a VL rack should not be considered a contender for purchase. The VL7 is a very different beast than your VL1000s.

I'd also suggest looking at purchasing new - the Chauvet Rogue R1 Spot is about equivalent to a Studio Spot 575 in many aspects, and it's a great little unit. Yes, it would cost more than these used units, but it would last longer and requires no expensive discharge lamps. You may think the 140W LED is not enough, but I've seen R1 spots look good in a rig with VL3000 Spots - which is a 1200W arc source. The R1s are also smaller and lighter.