Classic Gear Live - Back for 2024!

[Rob Halliday]

So we were such a hit last year, we are BACK!

Classic Gear Live, a selection of wonderful bits of entertainment technology blasts from the past, returns to PLASA, next week - Sun 1st to Wed 3rd September.

For your delight this year:
The Vari-Lite Artisan, VL2 and VL4, back by popular request from those who missed them last year.

A Wholehog II console, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its 1994 PLASA debut, controlling the Vari-Lite's contemporaries with a quite different approach to movement: the Martin 518 and Clay Paky Goldenscan moving mirror lights.

A generation back from both of those, Avo's QM500, from a time when the desk's length told you it's channel count!

A fully restored Strand Galaxy Nova console, including the Group Masters the functionality of which isn't really available on any current console.

Zero88's Sirius, for many people their introduction to memory control.

Lights and colour changers from CCT, and lights from Strand and Altman.

The Optikinetics Solar 250 projector, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

And to prove we're not all about lights:
The original automation console from 'The Phantom of the Opera' in 1986.

And the Cadac mixing desk custom made for the original 'Starlight Express' in 1984, which pioneered the computerised assignment of channels to VCA faders which is still used to mix every theatre show to this day.

Plus a vast array of vintage rock and roll audio gear from Chris Hewitt.

Plus what are products without people? There will be wonderful selection of people on-stand at various times who designed, built or used these products, happy to talk about them. They include lighting designers and old-school Vari-Lite programmers Andrew Voller and Pryderi Baskerville, David Bertenshaw and Alan Luxford from Strand Lighting, Neil Rice from Optikinetics, Kevin Foakes, author of the amazing book 'Wheels of Light', Nick Archdale from Flying Pig / Carallon, Paul Johnson from the Historic Stage Lighting Collective, Jon Primrose from the Theatrecrafts website, and many more - if it's like last year, more will just appear!

And I'm REALLY looking forward to Monday 2nd Sept at 2.30pm when Martin Levan, sound designer of the original 'Starlight' and so many other shows besides, will join Gareth Owen, sound designer of the new production of 'Starlight', for a fascinating conversation on the evolution of musical theatre sound design over the last forty years.

I can't wait. I hope to see you there. Stand D55, at the back of the hall. Olympia. Next Sun-Tues (Sep 1-3).

And I believe you have just two days left to register for free tickets:
http://plasashow.com

 

 

 

Edited August 27 by Rob Halliday
(Updated pictures)

[Stuart91]

17 hours ago, Rob Halliday said:

Classic Gear Live, a selection of wonderful bits of entertainment technology blasts from the past, returns to PLASA, next week - Sun 1st to Wed 3rd September.

This is excellent news. I'll definitely be down for a poke around. 

I know it's probably just a typo, but the show is only Sun-Tues, not Wednesday. Just in case anyone sees it and turns up to an empty hall!

[gareth]

That last pic caught the person in the flowery shirt taking a sneaky photo of the chap in the jacket's name badge 😆

[AndrewGrant]

13 hours ago, gareth said:

That last pic caught the person in the flowery shirt taking a sneaky photo of the chap in the jacket's name badge 😆

Who looks to be Ken Billington

[gaspipe58]

I was dreading coming up to the show. Now.... I know what it's like to be a young puppy when he sees a ball for the first time. Still dreading the drive but can't wait to get there.

[Rob Halliday]

The Classics are there, waiting for your company!

And a crowd of experts, who designed, built or used the products, will be there to talk about them., Including, Martin Levan, the pioneering sound designer, who will be talking about 40 years of theatre sound in a conversation with sound designer Gareth Owen at 2.30pm on Monday, and then hopefully hanging out on the stand afterwards.

See you all tomorrow!

(And yes, as noted, PLASA is Sun to Tues... thanks for spotting that!)

Rob.

 

Edited August 31 by Rob Halliday

[paulears]

[paulears]

[paulears]

Rob’s hard work paid off! Monday was crazy! I kept getting messages saying people came but couldn’t even get on the stand. PLASA we impressed, I think, by the popularity.

the very strange thing was the look on people’s faces. We also met loads of people who said “I used that!”. They recognised the exact control. The founder of Avo revealed he actually made the big desk we had and the operator of the Les Mis automation desk told loads of stories. Two of the Cadac people came over, one R&D and ones sales, and gently patted the beast! We had a bunch of students on the stand, and they were great - the ‘right’ kind! The irony for me was we were so busy, all I saw of the rest of the show was on the journey too and from the loo! Thanks to all the BR members who stopped by and said hello. The Pink Floyd sound system next door, sounded amazingly good for the vintage, and was very popular too!

[gareth]

Seeing a Galaxy Nova looking in such pristine condition makes me very happy 🙂

[alistermorton]

It was great to see the classic gear still working. 

[Glyn Edwards]

29 minutes ago, gareth said:

Seeing a Galaxy Nova looking in such pristine condition makes me very happy 🙂

Am I right in thinking that the Galaxy Nova was actually the 4th iteration of Galaxy (and the first / last version to be finished in grey, its predecessors being beige)>

[sandall]

10 hours ago, paulears said:

 Monday was crazy! I kept getting messages saying people came but couldn’t even get on the stand.

In that case I'm glad I had a look before lunch, when you could still play with things & go misty-eyed.

[gareth]

8 hours ago, Glyn Edwards said:

Am I right in thinking that the Galaxy Nova was actually the 4th iteration of Galaxy (and the first / last version to be finished in grey, its predecessors being beige)>

Absolutely correct. One of the first memory systems I ever got my paws on was the Galaxy 2 Premier. After a few years on LP90 and an early 430, getting back onto a Galaxy Nova when I worked at Glyndebourne was a real joy 🙂

[paulears]

Some of the BBC guys had their handwritten acceptance notes, which were really interesting to read.