AV UNLIMITED GETS SNAKE BITE FEVER
In 2006 AV Unlimited bowed to the ever-increasing demand for intelligent lighting in their shows and invested in the Martin MAC 700 Profile Series to service their clients better. These 700’s worked tirelessly week after week, but some 8 years later the Brothers Ducray – owners of AV Unlimited - realized the time had come to invest in some new workhorses. Guillaume Ducray and Bruce Schwartz from Electrosonic SA sat down over a beer and as usual the shoot-from-the-hip time there were: not many options Guillaume said “Bruce, whatta you got for me, Willis?
In the 700 Range?”. There was an LED fixture in the pipeline, but it was a long way to market. Guillaume decided to wait. With an investment of this size he needed to make sure that it was going to be the right choice. Guilaume’s patience was rewarded, and after a year there was a worthy replacement for the 700s. In that time a lot had happened in the industry and manufacturers were upping their game, but all along there was another snake poised to strike.
The Martin MAC Viper Profile had been out for two and a half years. Other leading rental houses had invested heavily in the Viper Profile and it had rapidly become the darling of the South African lighting industry. Over this time the MAC Viper had proved that it was worthy of the title of: Favorite Workhorse Fixture. Time and time again feedback was and that these units were simply fantastic, that they were well built for the road and had superb optics with incredible light output from only a 1000w lamp.
The Viper had become the fixture of choice for many international tours and was a firm favorite amongst leading South African lighting designers. With over 160 MAC Viper Profiles in daily use around South Africa and taking into account AV Unlimited’s needs, Guillaume and Arnaud Ducray, as well as Operations manager Dale Strydom, all unanimously agreed to put their faith once again in Martin Professional brand and replace the tired MAC 700s with 18 Shiny new Martin MAC Viper Profiles.
“Being involved with the MAC Viper series has been an amazing journey,” said Electrosonic SA’s Bruce Schwartz. “When the MAC 2000 was retired there was a huge expectation on the Viper to be a worthy replacement for the rental and touring market. I saw one of the very first plastic and wood mockups of the MAC Viper in Denmark in 2011, and to see it slowly evolve from that prototype to become a world standard has been a privilege. I am very proud to have been involved in getting many of these Vipers into South Africa”
We know the choice of Viper’s for AV Unlimited will prove to be a very sound decision and that they will serve them for a long time again, just like the trusty 700s for so many years. A huge thanks to the AVU Team. Look after those snakes in Transit!