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South Africa Goes grandMA

World-wide grandMA is becoming the most specified console, say MA Lighting. This trend is no different in South Africa, where at least 12 new users have opted for the MA Lighting brand as their console of choice within the last year. In a recent review carried out in South Africa, users were asked for feedback.

Tim Dunn, director and renowned lighting designer at Gearhouse South Africa has great respect for both the grandMA console as well as the team behind it. "From a lighting desk point of view, the back up and the investment are amazing. It's actually freaky what the grandMA can do. The console is both powerful and completely stable. One thing I try to share with the guys is that the desk should not restrict you. Don't think of the technology but decide what you want to do and then do it. I find new things every time I work on the desk."

Victor Vermaak, AV Unlimited, purchased a grandMA ultra-light over six months ago. In the industry for the past five years, Vermaak started programming on a another desk but now enjoys the user friendly approach of the grandMA ultra-light: "The grandMA ultra-light is so much easier to use and there are so many ways of doing a thing. It's so simple to make changes while the show is running and I've not had a problem yet."

Willie Botha, lighting designer at CS Audio, looked to upgrade their console, and they had to consider various options: "We went for what we thought would be flexible and the most powerful console for going forward," commented Willie, who finally decided on a grandMA full-size. "It's extremely powerful as well as very logical and I enjoy it very much. I am still learning, but it's not that difficult and I'm getting there more quickly. There is so much more you can do. I have so many ideas in my head that I couldn't realise on other desks or which would take to long to complete. Now it is possible."

Sean Rosig, lighting designer at Gearhouse SA, reported: "The grandMA has been the best console I've ever used. It is extremely user-friendly and all the functions are fully customisable. You can make it work for you instead of you working for the console. I enjoy everything about it, especially the networking capabilities." Gearhouse did a lot of research before purchasing their five grandMA consoles, with Bill Lawford doing his fair share of investigation. "grandMA is the desk of the future," said Rosig. "It is something we can keep for the next ten years. It is a solid console that has never crashed during playback."

Robert Grobler from Global Events made a joke: "I have a big gun for a big boy!" he said, referring to his recently acquired grandMA full-size. He believes the purchase was the only way to go. "For the type of shows I'm running (television, DVD and theatre productions) and the features it has, it's the perfect desk. One of the big reasons I've bought the grandMA is that for a whole year running there will be a tribute to Pink Floyd going from venue to venue."

Lighting designer Johan Cilliers has been at Gold Reef City for the past six years, and recently took ownership of a grandMA light. "I love the desk - it's the best I've ever worked on. If I could rate it, I would give it a hundred out of a hundred," he said. He finds the light easy to work with and enjoys the added features, particularly the grandMA 3D rendering, which will enable him to work from home.

"The grandMA ultra-light is a little smaller than the console I wanted due to a budget restraint," said Sean Caie from the Grand West Casino, "but it's fantastic if I could just figure out one or two small things! There is nothing bad I can say about the console and the support has been more than can be expected."

Glenn Duncan was the lighting programmer for Hairspray as well as Saturday Night Fever, the first two shows to feature at the newly established Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg. "I was very happy with the grandMA and it did all I needed it to do," explained Glenn. "It is a powerful console and I think a good choice for the theatre. We use a lot of gear which does keep the desk busy and it has been very stable. The support has been great too," said Glenn. "This was also one of the deciding factors that made the purchase worthwhile."

Mid last year, Mark Gaylard, MGG, bought a grandMA ultra-light console. His Pearl was out on hire for a long-term period and he was short of a desk. Although he personally hasn't worked much on the grandMA ultra-light, Mark found the buy a good value for money with some great features included. "It will allow me to expand on grandMA video at a later stage, I like it because it's easy to busk on and it is already working hard."

MJ Event Gear took ownership of their console some ten months ago. "To date I have had no problems and no crashes, and trust me," says Francois van der Merwe from MJ Event Gear, "I can crash a desk!" When working on a gig in Germany for the Soccer World Cup, van der Merwe became aware of the enormous popularity the grandMA enjoyed. "We saw the whole of Europe going grandMA," he said. Mike Jones, owner of MJ, spoke to Belgium Luc Peumans from Painting with Light, and as he only uses grandMA, it was added confirmation that the grandMA was the benchmark in consoles. "When you buy a grandMA you are not only buying a console, you are buying a whole system which is backed up. Everything uses the same show file and the desk is very comfortable, very user friendly and very powerful. I like everything about the desk and the support is very good."

"We actually purchased a grandMA full-size because of the service we get from DWR's Duncan Riley," commented Simon King from the Pretoria State Theatre. "The console is great and totally different. It's quite a big challenge, but something that steps ahead of the rest." Particular features he enjoys are the five monitors presenting him with information.

When Trish Henry from Rivers Church started looking for a console, she contacted every hiring company the church had ever used and even lighting designers such as Declan Randall, to ask what they would recommend. "In the end I chose the grandMA light because of the great back-up service offered by DWR. The console may be a little more than we currently need, but I felt confident that we would have excellent support service from DWR," she reported.

DWR Distribution cc is the distributor of MA Lighting in South Africa.

www.malighting.com

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South Africa Goes grandMA

15th October 2008

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