One of my first roles was to evaluate the audio equipment we offered and identify opportunities to invest in new technology says Rob. "Stage Electrics' aim is always to be at the forefront of the industry and our policy is to ensure that our hire stock reflects that."
With Stage Electrics servicing high-end corporate clients, as well as West End and touring theatre productions, Rob needed a system that delivered great intelligibility, combined with a compact size and economic price point. L-Acoustics ARCS Wide and Focus was the choice.
"ARCS Wide and Focus is an extremely flexible product. It can be a plug and play system when required and can be used on an extremely wide variety of projects from large scale to small scale, from bands to high end corporate events," says Rob. "You can ground stack or fly it and set up is pretty foolproof as the angles of the cabinets are pre-determined. This means you can simply put it together, turn it on and off you go, so I'm totally confident I can send it out as a dry hire item.
"It's also a very financially suitable system for us. Because the cabinets are passive, it's a lot friendlier with amp channels, so you can run four cabinets from just one L-Acoustics LA4 amp. Our clients like it because they are getting a big system at a very cost conscious price, but with no compromise on quality."
One of the system's first outings was for Motorcycle Live at Birmingham's NEC. "It worked brilliantly," recalls Rob. "The engineers came back absolutely raving about it and the support from Stuart Down and the rest of the team at L-Acoustics has been brilliant."
As well as its ARCS Wide and Focus system, Stage Electrics' inventory features a wide range of equipment, including Shure UHFR radio mics, Lake LM26 and LM44 processing, Yamaha QL1, QL5 and CL5 mixing consoles, SD11, SD9 and SD8 consoles from DiGiCo and L-Acoustics Kiva and their full range of coaxial speakers.
"It's all about making the right purchasing decisions," concludes Rob. "I'm very ready to invest in more equipment if we need it, but I won't stock anything that will just sit on the shelf. I am really excited by the opportunities ahead as we grow and develop the audio hire business. I know that we have a great range of fully serviced products and I'm confident that we can provide whatever our clients should need."
(Jim Evans)
