MAC 101 – THE LITTLE SUCCESS STORY IN SOUTH AFRICA
Success stories of leading companies in the Entertainment Lighting industry who made the MAC 101 part of their installations...
Since its release in South Africa in January 2011 the Martin MAC101 has been a hot favourite, with Electrosonic selling over 400 units in six months to its clientele around the country.
CES (Complete Event Solutions) in Johannesburg was the first customer to put their faith in Martin’s new ‘little’ wonder. Having seen the MAC101 in action on YouTube, Dylan Bridle immediately requested a demo of the unit at Electrosonic and ordered 32 of them for the Armin Van Buuren ASOT 500 show and soon thereafter a further 16 units, bringing the total to 48, which have been used for numerous gigs ranging from H20 to James Blunt to Kings of Leon. “We just love ‘em – plain and simple,” said Dylan.
Following a demo given by Electrosonic at DNG’s Neil Harvey warehouse in Johannesburg, Allan Dickinson bought 16 MAC101s. “It’s easy to see the benefits of these small, bright and fast units which we can use for anything from a corporate event to a band setup,” said Allan.
When Sunfire Sound in Johannesburg expanded their inventory to include a lighting rig, John Kudsee included 8 MAC101s and has not looked back.
Cool Music in Pretoria bought 8 MAC101s and have been delighted with their clients’ response. “With the MAC101, show business has become a pleasure,” said Jurie Botha.
After using Electrosonic’s demo units on one of his shows, René Rossol from Bombsquad realized they were exactly what he’d been looking for and bought 8 MAC101s.
The success of the MAC101s performance at the Goldfish outdoor concert in Stellenbosch in April persuaded Marcel Bezuidenhout from Audio Engineering in Cape Town to invest in 8 MAC101s – the first sold in Cape Town. “They are unrivalled at the price and so easy to scale up or down according to the show,” said Marcel.
Another Cape Town company smitten with the MAC101 is Ultra Events. Initially buying 8 MAC101s, Costa Champanis loved them so much that after a fortnight he bought another 8.
Rigging their first show with the units proved to be the easiest setup ever due to their light weight, single clamp attachment and daisy chain power and signal. “The amazing little diffusers on the units make the package so versatile that I feel tempted to buy even more!” said Costa.
Although JP Wilson of Unfazed in Cape Town has numerous moving lights, he saw the arrival of the MAC101 as an opportunity to get creative and acquired 16 MAC101s.
Andrew Black from Enterstage in Johannesburg was so impressed with the performance of the 8 units in Electrosonic’s demo room that he immediately ordered 16 RGB units. The JIMS motor show later gave him the opportunity to purchase 16 more CT (Amber/White Units) which were used with great success on the Nissan Stand. “The price versus output was a no-brainer,” concluded Andrew.
Rocca Bar in Durban, part of the VDP Clubbing Empire owned by Guy Van der Post, tested 8 MAC101s hung in the club by Electrosonic’ s KZN branch for a weekend demo. A phone call from Ryan James the following Monday confirmed that Rocca Bar was definitely keeping them!
When Gert Smit from XGX/Palm Tree Events in Johannesburg became fed up with renting units, he and Palm Tree Events pulled out all the stops and bought 24 MAC101s. “For the amount we’re spending versus the results, there’s no question that it was the right decision,” said Gert.
Steven Wolhuter from Cape Town AV rental company Vision Media, first borrowed some of Electrosonic’s demo units for a show and then bought 8. “They are small, bright and quick to load in and out,” said Steven.
Because of the number of international tours to South Africa that were specifying Martin MAC101s, Gearhouse SA felt they needed to buy their own units instead of renting them. They ordered 48 MAC101s from Electrosonic which were delivered from Martin in Denmark in six days and were immediately loaded onto the Kings of Leon tour. “These little miracles are going to serve us well for many tours to come,” said Stuart Andrews.
When Clint Cawood from CCPP (Clint Professional Productions) in George landed the prestigious Dimension Data year end function he immediately ordered 24 MAC101s. “I wanted LED products for the show and these were the perfect fixtures,” said Clint.
With his finger always on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of entertainment lighting, Benjamin Goldblum from Newland Music in East London used 6 MAC101s for his installation at the St Yves Club in Camps Bay, Cape Town.