Over 150 venues selected Zero 88 control desks and dimming for their fringe appearance this year, with products being supplied from a large variety of Zero 88 dealers including Northern Light, Black Light, Hawthorn, HSL, Stage Electrics and Stage Lighting Services. On-site backup was provided by members of the Zero 88 team throughout the month long festival, including a number of training and support consoles supplied directly to give venue staff members an opportunity to try out equipment even whilst theirs was in use.
Continuing its partnership with the festival, which began in 2003, the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe proved to be one of the busiest years for Zero 88 with up to 200 products in use throughout the month.
As a testament to their quality and reliability in this demanding environment the usual eclectic mix of old and new products were in operation at the festival, from a bank of vintage ID1216 dimmers controlled by a Sirius 24 console right through a large number of current products such as nine of the new ORB series consoles (ORB and ORB XF).
A number of key features included in Zero 88 products have come from suggestions made by operators at the fringe, and each year it proves a great test-bed to sound out new ideas amongst operators of varied skill levels. Zero 88's product manager, Peter Kirkup, stated "There's no other opportunity like this, where up to 1000 shows a day can be using our equipment. No matter what, you can guarantee someone will come up with something we've not heard before."
(Jim Evans)
