waynehoskins
Active Member
Some of you know that on the side I light shows at the local high school. It's a proscenium space (a bastardized one, but surprisingly functional), and for the past 20 years the stock of Lekos has been 12 1KL6-30s (historically all on the AP, though I always change that) and 6 Strand 6x16 axials (2216?).
Every show I fight with the stupid 1KLs to try to get light to come out the front of them and not suck very much; sometimes I have more success than others. The last two shows I've lit there I've ended up replacing the KLs in the downstage frontlight system (most important system in the whole stinking rig): last show with my fresh-from-Ebay 360Qs, this show with rental S4s.
The theatre department at the high school (possibly partly because I've ended up doing this twice now and gotten more light out of the replacements) is open to buying some new Lekos, and this evening after final dress for this show we talked briefly about that sort of thing and about how much they cost.
So here comes the dilemma: which Leko (okay, ERS) would you pick? I presume they'd have to go with new, though old units are great in my book. Source Four? SL? Shakes? 360Q?
They've got essentially an MD288 half-rack with 2.4Ks, not that it makes much difference really; and currently all of the existing fixtures are 6" units, mostly Fresnels (which work fine).
Part of me thinks S4 because it's the new standard; another LD I know really prefers the SL (and doesn't it take 7.5" cuts?); I know 360Qs pretty well; and I've even used a single Shakes once (and it didn't totally suck).
I think the initial thing is to get them about a dozen 26s, and then expand the inventory for overstage Lekos (which would have to be either 36s or 50s because of the stupid short throw). And some T3s to light the cyc; I was thinking three-cell Irises.
To me I think it's just between the S4, the SL, and the 360Q; I can't see any benefit to the Shakes in this case .. but what do you think?
Every show I fight with the stupid 1KLs to try to get light to come out the front of them and not suck very much; sometimes I have more success than others. The last two shows I've lit there I've ended up replacing the KLs in the downstage frontlight system (most important system in the whole stinking rig): last show with my fresh-from-Ebay 360Qs, this show with rental S4s.
The theatre department at the high school (possibly partly because I've ended up doing this twice now and gotten more light out of the replacements) is open to buying some new Lekos, and this evening after final dress for this show we talked briefly about that sort of thing and about how much they cost.
So here comes the dilemma: which Leko (okay, ERS) would you pick? I presume they'd have to go with new, though old units are great in my book. Source Four? SL? Shakes? 360Q?
They've got essentially an MD288 half-rack with 2.4Ks, not that it makes much difference really; and currently all of the existing fixtures are 6" units, mostly Fresnels (which work fine).
Part of me thinks S4 because it's the new standard; another LD I know really prefers the SL (and doesn't it take 7.5" cuts?); I know 360Qs pretty well; and I've even used a single Shakes once (and it didn't totally suck).
I think the initial thing is to get them about a dozen 26s, and then expand the inventory for overstage Lekos (which would have to be either 36s or 50s because of the stupid short throw). And some T3s to light the cyc; I was thinking three-cell Irises.
To me I think it's just between the S4, the SL, and the 360Q; I can't see any benefit to the Shakes in this case .. but what do you think?