120v - Favorite moving head
- Thread starterRandallCook
- Start date
We just replaced (supplemented) 6 HES Studio Spot CMY/Zooms with Martin MAC 700 Profiles. At the time I was spec'ing these (18mos. ago) there were few (if any) LED Profile/gobo units available, thus it was going to be a 700w or equal. In our case the 575w SS was not punchy enough for our need and we wanted to stay with 120v. We use these as a 6 lamp overhead/backlight hang as part of a 120 unit rep plot hang for variety/R&R acts.
Robe, Clay Paky and Elation were considered, but none of the larger NYC area rental shops had any to either demo or rent, with some ability to swap and/or supplement a criteria - I.E. no point in having 6 Robe's and needing to add 6 more when nobody local has any. HES had only just introduced the Intellaspot and Vari-Lite had not as yet intro'd the 770 or 880 and neither was available for demo.
Thus we demo'd (from 4 Wall) a Var-Lite 2500 and a MAC 700. The Martin was brighter as well as we liked the gobo set and animation wheel better, but that was all just opinion.
As well, depending on your use and needs, both the VL2500 and MAC700 are workhorses and there are ton's out in use. Thus if you deal with visiting LD's, there's a pretty good chance they know of and/or have designed around the features of both these fixtures. We find that the MAC700 kicks butt, intensity wise, FWIW.
Robe, Clay Paky and Elation were considered, but none of the larger NYC area rental shops had any to either demo or rent, with some ability to swap and/or supplement a criteria - I.E. no point in having 6 Robe's and needing to add 6 more when nobody local has any. HES had only just introduced the Intellaspot and Vari-Lite had not as yet intro'd the 770 or 880 and neither was available for demo.
Thus we demo'd (from 4 Wall) a Var-Lite 2500 and a MAC 700. The Martin was brighter as well as we liked the gobo set and animation wheel better, but that was all just opinion.
As well, depending on your use and needs, both the VL2500 and MAC700 are workhorses and there are ton's out in use. Thus if you deal with visiting LD's, there's a pretty good chance they know of and/or have designed around the features of both these fixtures. We find that the MAC700 kicks butt, intensity wise, FWIW.
jxgriffi
Active Member
We have 20 VL1000AS, 14 Studio Spot CMY Zooms, 12 Studio Colors, 14 VL2000 Spots and 8 VL2000 Washes. We too were a 120v rig so that was limiting.
As a permanent install, we are in the process of retiring the VL2000's and replacing with more Studio Colors and VL1000's. While I love the brightness of the VL's (and Mac 700's for that matter), it was the lamp costs that were killing us. We run 5-6 days per week and a 2,000 hour lamp life (HES/VL1000's) vs. a 750 hour lamp life (VL2000's) adds up fast for us. The VL2000's end up getting changed 3x's per year while I can go a full year on the HES/VL1000's.
I have plenty of punch for what we need in our space with the HES/VL1000's. While the extra punch would be nice from a 700 watt fixture...justification $$$$$ wise with the budget made it a little more difficult.
The other plus is the HES/VL1000's are convection cooled (no fans) so they are quieter and don't require as extensive cleanings as the other fixtures.
Just my two cents...
As a permanent install, we are in the process of retiring the VL2000's and replacing with more Studio Colors and VL1000's. While I love the brightness of the VL's (and Mac 700's for that matter), it was the lamp costs that were killing us. We run 5-6 days per week and a 2,000 hour lamp life (HES/VL1000's) vs. a 750 hour lamp life (VL2000's) adds up fast for us. The VL2000's end up getting changed 3x's per year while I can go a full year on the HES/VL1000's.
I have plenty of punch for what we need in our space with the HES/VL1000's. While the extra punch would be nice from a 700 watt fixture...justification $$$$$ wise with the budget made it a little more difficult.
The other plus is the HES/VL1000's are convection cooled (no fans) so they are quieter and don't require as extensive cleanings as the other fixtures.
Just my two cents...
RandallCook
Member
Nope. The Studio Spot is auto-ranging from 100-240 VAC and 50-60 Hz.
RandallCook
Member
RandallCook
Member
They're in Europe. The shipping is too much to get to the US for my pocketbook. I already got a quote from them for that listing.
I have no clue what the manufacturer would ship them as. PRG ships them with L6-20 connectors, as most users prefer to run them off 208V power, but we occasionally got orders that wanted a L6-20->2P&G adapter. Regardless, replacing the plug with an edison would be a very quick and inexpensive process.
If you have an account rep at 4Wall, call them directly and inquire about buying used products. They have a pretty regular replacement/sales cycle, and they will often have units that they can sell you in other depots that aren't listed on the website yet. If you have accounts with any of the other shops, call them up too and ask about buying used gear. I know PRG was selling off Studio Colors and Studio Spots about 4 months ago for very low prices.
RandallCook
Member
I do not have acct rep at 4Wall, but I tried sending an email to them and to PRG. Any other suggestions? Thank you very much!
maybe PRG nashville has a few fixtures being sold off....
But really? Studio spots?? Getting those would be like if I asked what video game system I should buy and someone suggested I get a Sega Saturn...
Look at VL440s, their 700watt or the industry standard of the Mac 700. You really don't want to buy an older light which I'm sure parts will become much harder to come by in a year or so when you need them...
But really? Studio spots?? Getting those would be like if I asked what video game system I should buy and someone suggested I get a Sega Saturn...
Look at VL440s, their 700watt or the industry standard of the Mac 700. You really don't want to buy an older light which I'm sure parts will become much harder to come by in a year or so when you need them...
jxgriffi
Active Member
Actually, Studio Spots and Colors are still manufactured and parts are very available. I just purchased a bunch and had them made in white for a space. They are still quite viable for the right need. We had a requirement of needing 120v, cmy mixing, convection cooled and a minimum 2000 hour lamp life. I challenge you to find a different fixture.
MSR700SA is a 750hr. lamp life. Fairly loud fans in both the VL and Mac700's. When you have 80 fixtures hanging in a space, that adds up fast in both lamp costs and noise. And also, for the prices, you can usually get 2 or possibly 3 for the price of 1 Mac700 or VL440.
So while they may be older fixtures, they are still rock solid and VERY easy to work on.
porkchop
Well-Known Member
Sounds like budget is an issue so they might be out of your price range, but all Clay Paky Alpha's are 120-240 VAC 50-60 Hz. In truth pretty much all their lights lights are capable of running 120 VAC, you just might have to switch out the transformer or rewire some of their older lights.
JXgriffi,
Ok, I agree with almost everything you are saying here.
With the exception of lamp life.
The times you are stating are the rated lives of the lamps.
While you may get a lamp to last 2000 hours in a studio spot.
I would venture that it would be very dim compared to a new lamp.
I usually re-lamp all my studio 575 fixtures at around 900-1200 lamp hours.
And usually they are getting very dim.
That being said, MSR700sa's are much worse. My VL2500's and Xspots are usually revamped around 600 hours due to fixture output dropping below what is acceptable.
Also, Just one thing to keep in mind.
I am very hesitant to recommend the Studio Spot 575 CMY for any application that has any sort of quick color bumps, The color mixing system on that fixture sounds like a gravel truck being run over by a freight train full of marbles.
You also cannot go from some colors without going through white, Since you have a system sharing 2 yellow flags, sometimes the fixture has to swap which one is is using, therefore going through open white on the way.
Ok, I agree with almost everything you are saying here.
With the exception of lamp life.
The times you are stating are the rated lives of the lamps.
While you may get a lamp to last 2000 hours in a studio spot.
I would venture that it would be very dim compared to a new lamp.
I usually re-lamp all my studio 575 fixtures at around 900-1200 lamp hours.
And usually they are getting very dim.
That being said, MSR700sa's are much worse. My VL2500's and Xspots are usually revamped around 600 hours due to fixture output dropping below what is acceptable.
Also, Just one thing to keep in mind.
I am very hesitant to recommend the Studio Spot 575 CMY for any application that has any sort of quick color bumps, The color mixing system on that fixture sounds like a gravel truck being run over by a freight train full of marbles.
You also cannot go from some colors without going through white, Since you have a system sharing 2 yellow flags, sometimes the fixture has to swap which one is is using, therefore going through open white on the way.
jxgriffi
Active Member
The MSD575 Long Life lamps are rated at 3000, hence my reduction to 2000 hours.
And yes, I do a full rig change-out at 2000 and they still quite a bit of punch left in them (granted, not a 700 punch...). With the whole rig always changed at the same time, the age isn't as noticeable. If I have a premature replacement, then yes it's obvious.
And yes the MSR700SA's are horrible for dropoff after 600 hours.
Oof,
Fair enough,
However, the long life MSD 575 lamp has 1500 less lumens than the MSR version.
with the inefficient lens train of the studio 575, I am never willing to give up the lumens, especially in a CMY.. (but I usually have 6-10 fixtures, not a ton..)
Studio Spot CMY fixtures bleed lumens like nobody's business. Newer fixtures are much more efficient with their lumens.
Fair enough,
However, the long life MSD 575 lamp has 1500 less lumens than the MSR version.
with the inefficient lens train of the studio 575, I am never willing to give up the lumens, especially in a CMY.. (but I usually have 6-10 fixtures, not a ton..)
Studio Spot CMY fixtures bleed lumens like nobody's business. Newer fixtures are much more efficient with their lumens.
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