feeta Posted January 27, 2006 Share Posted January 27, 2006 Hi Guys, I'm looking for a bit of info on the TourLights. (as seen here) - sorry, the title of this post is wrong but I couldn't edit it to change it. The heads are actually called Tourwash and Tourspot. Are they any good? I've noticed they are a fair bit cheaper than the Robe's and Martin's of the equivelent spec. Is this because they have skimped on the important parts such as gears and used plastic instead of metal? Any help would be uch appreciated. Cheers ;) Moderator edit : you might not be able to change the topic title, but we can .... and have .... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Used the Tourwash several times, and for a budget fixture it's pretty good. The ones I hired were literally brand new - first and second outings from Zig Zag back in 2004. Never used a Tourspot in anger, just played with it in the shop - seems OK, but I don't like stepped zooms. Build quality looked ok inside - tougher than the equivalent Coemar units in my opinion. I hired from Zig Zag Lighting (Leeds) - you might want to give them a call and ask how they have stood up over the last couple of years. I've always found Neil Hunt to be very helpful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I'm currently using eight TW575's in two venues. There have been problems, but many of these were due to the fact that they are early models (ex-Plasa '04). They have been used for 1.5 yrs in house almost daily under hostile conditions (oil & beer mainly!) Actual operation/features of the units are fine. Remote zoom is a bonus. Plasic casing would be a slight worry if on tour but it's not too bad. The main reason I purchased these was they are effectively AC's own make & therefore servicing was available & reliable. This has proven to be invaluable & AC have provided replacement swap-in units for any downtime.My only real gripe with them is the colour matching of the dichroic sliders, especially magenta. AC have looked at this but could not find a problem. It is very obvious at my end when I try to create pinks or ambers! HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James S Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 They are fairly good. The early ones had problems with the casing in that when the bulbs blew the bits smashed through the plastic (they since sent out panels to be fitted iside to stop this). Cant really complain of any other faults except from the rather cheap taky plastic (where it screws onto the metal frame is perticularly bad). Good units in terms of output but they are rather noisy (despite having adjustable fans) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelite Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 The fixtures are built by the Italian company, DTS. You may view the other moving head fixtures they manufacture at http://www.dts-show.com/prodotti1_eng.php?cat=moving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterogeek Posted January 31, 2006 Share Posted January 31, 2006 OK here is my opinion, these things are cheap, and a fair bit noisy compared to the more expensive Martin fixtures for example. Fine if you want to hire for a week or so, but if I was going to use them for any longer then I'd go with the established brands. If you are going to buy then clearly you get what you pay for, Martin's MAC 550 may be more expensive but you are getting more features and almost certainky a more reliable unit.... and what happens if something goes wrong will the makers of the comedy spot 575 be there to support you when the gobo wheel gets out of step or a wireset causes a stepper dirver to blow... I doubt it...My advice is go with the big brand lights... companies like martin and VL are huge because they are good at what they do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 The main reason I purchased these was they are effectively AC's own make & therefore servicing was available & reliable. This has proven to be invaluable & AC have provided replacement swap-in units for any downtime. HTH If you are going to buy then clearly you get what you pay for, Martin's MAC 550 may be more expensive but you are getting more features and almost certainky a more reliable unit.... and what happens if something goes wrong will the makers of the comedy spot 575 be there to support you when the gobo wheel gets out of step or a wireset causes a stepper dirver to blow... I doubt it...My advice is go with the big brand lights... companies like martin and VL are huge because they are good at what they do As are AC surely?Also not to sure they'll appreciate their production being called a "comedy spot"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Yup. Some people don't bother reading... AC servincing & support has been great & I have used over the long term. I would argue that Martin make the most unreliable products known to man & just because they are the most well known name does not mean they are all that good. I have never seen a moving head that doesn't go wrong - Martin units in my experience are just as bad as any other. They don't have many more features that I am aware of either. VL, High End and Clay Paky I would say were worth the (great deal of!) extra money if you've got it. Sounds like advice from the user that doesn't have to worry about purchasing to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikienorth Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 6 Months, 4 units over Spring/Summer 2004. 4 Tourspots to be precise Only late in the 6 months did something go wrong, and all it was was a peice of the UV filter glass coming loose, in one of the 4 units. Granted, it was a pig to repair, but it took 4-5 months of rigourous daily use in damp, cold (on an ice rink) subjected to extremes of heat and cold (on ice, too close to a flame jet for my liking) along with rough treatment twice a day for this one thing to happen. For what they are they seemed very impressive during those 6 months. I've seen them once since, and again, for a unit being toured in a daily move, it seemed to be holding up well, at least, that was the impression the touring crew gave when they passed through here. On the same gig other more well known 'brand' of moving light (much mentioned in this thread) were far less reliable, even accounting for the fact there were 8 of their units in the rig over 4 tour series, and the units were the 1200W HMI feature packed model... To sum up I liked the Tour series stuff I saw, and yes, the P/T motors weren't quiet, but if you are in rock and roll, do you care too much? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feeta Posted February 2, 2006 Author Share Posted February 2, 2006 Hi guys, Thanks for all your replys. I'm just working on a low budget refit for a community theatre so price is a big decisive factor. They won't be used daily and will be almost perminantly fixed. They sould like they'll do exactly what I want. The only problem may be the noise. I might see if I can get some on demo just to test out. Cheers, Feeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadyn Posted February 2, 2006 Share Posted February 2, 2006 They sould like they'll do exactly what I want. The only problem may be the noise.Hi, I've just had a load of these on tour with me for Jamie Cullum, and generally they held up quite well. No real problems with them, just the UV heat shield came free on one unit. We had 8 TW and 12 TS out, only had to swap 3 units in a total of 5 weeks, one of which was a broken pin the DMX input caused by rough treatment by local crew. Prior to that they were out every week for 3-4 days with another band. Only problem we found was poor light output, but that was solved by re-lamping (average of 700 hours per lamp) and actually setting the lamps up correctly. They do also allow you to adjust fan speed, though you need to make sure you have very good airflow to keep them cool.Hadyn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidW3d Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hi guys, Thanks for all your replys. I'm just working on a low budget refit for a community theatre so price is a big decisive factor. They won't be used daily and will be almost perminantly fixed. They sould like they'll do exactly what I want. The only problem may be the noise. I might see if I can get some on demo just to test out. Cheers, Feeta We have some ex rental ones for sale if you need to save money dave@3dproductions.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Have used the tourspot 575 and both 350 and 575 versions of the wash the 250 model has a lot of problems with overheating went back for service and same again just a few weeks later. I haven't had a problem with the 575 but I know there have been some serious problems with the ones we have. Evan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightsource Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 Hi guys, Thanks for all your replys. I'm just working on a low budget refit for a community theatre so price is a big decisive factor. They won't be used daily and will be almost perminantly fixed. They sould like they'll do exactly what I want. The only problem may be the noise. I might see if I can get some on demo just to test out. Cheers, Feeta We have some ex rental ones for sale if you need to save money dave@3dproductions.co.uk Think you're a little over a year too late for this one, If you notice, Feeta posted his comment on the 2nd of Feb 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I'm going to take the opportunity of this surprising resurrection to revise my appraisal. Faults continue with my 'Wash 575's and I had to purchase a spare just to combat the constant failures. It wouldn't surprise me if I have had at least one unit on repair at any time in the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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