Fav older bits of of kit

[willjam39]

We had a thread in lighting recently about restoring a lighting desk from earlier days and it got me thinking. Do people have a favourite/older bit of kit they still like to wheel out and use to get certain effects or just for fun? Mine would be the trusty Strand 520.

[Stuart91]

Not really "kit", but I've got some flightcases that have been gigging for 15+ years. One in particular (a rack case with mixer space on top) has been through umpteen upgrades, starting with a Spirit Folio desk and going through two iterations of digital console. It's still used on a nearly weekly basis.

[kitlane]

I still have a lot of VGA based video gear that I refuse to give up on. Even the composite video stuff comes out occasionally for shows with lots of old TVs.

 

Maybe I should ask my wife which is her favourite/older bit of Kit.

 

Actually, probably best not to.

 

Kit

Edited February 25, 2020 by kitlane

[sleah]

I've got some flightcases that have been gigging for 15+ years.

Good grief, they're still brand new!! :D :D

Some of my SKB rack cases were bought in the 1990's :P The amps inside some of them are that age too, and still perfectly good :)

[James Remo]

Trackspots, arcline, solars and quasars.

[cedd]

I’ve got a Coles 4038 ribbon mic that gets brought out occasionally. Beautiful sounding timp overhead. Assuming I can find a boom stand strong enough to hold it. My condenser mic stock also includes some trusty old Calrec mics that, aside from needing an internal rewire due to perished cabling, are as good as the day they were made. . Edited February 25, 2020 by cedd

[J Pearce]

Even the composite video stuff comes out occasionally for shows with lots of old TVs.

 

I’m still maintaining a stash of composite video kit for MD cams on operas and musicals. Should probably buy a few more monitors really.

[Andrew C]

Patt 123 and 223 (well, 743 as I converted them) lanterns. Less so the barndoors prone to flapping in the wind.

[alistermorton]

Patt 123 and 223 (well, 743 as I converted them) lanterns. Less so the barndoors prone to flapping in the wind.

 

Ditto. And Ditto.

 

 

 

[paulears]

I've just dumped loads of my old gear. I sold some on Ebay, but the remainder from the 80s onwards is just out of favour. My store still has lots of video kit I can't bear to get rid of, even though it's pointless to use nowadays. Long ago I spent a fortune on a Betacam Sp camera for some video work I had a contract for and I still have it. I've got somewhere another with a Hi8 back end bolted onto it. I've also got a really nice video switcher and electronics crate that hasn't been switched on for ten years. I've got some Patt 264's, and some 243BPs that are still in use in the theatre, despite being a bit rusty! If anyone wants a For-A video switcher, it's free to a good home, but for some reason I n' throw away the cameras!

 

None of the cameras in these pictures get used - but the Ampex cameras (one redeemed itself with the lens that I use on a more modern cameras still) cost the price of a decent car! It did pay for itself though. The other I bought second hand as a spare. The spare's tape mechanism is now dead though. Not much to go wrong in a 243, but plenty in video kit.

[sandall]

AKG D190 & D202, Betacam-SP player, Pat 223/743 (plus pop-riveter for the barndoors), Sil-30.

[ANDYLASER]

Trackspots, arcline, solars and quasars.

Very nice. :)

[d_korman]

My Avo 8

[willjam39]

I had to look a fair few of these items up Some great work horses still going.

[alistermorton]

My Avo 8

 

Yep, mine's still going strong, despite the leather case being chewed by our (then) new puppy 15 years ago.