The MAC 600 certainly lived up to the company's slogan at the time, 'Tougher than the rest'. Marketed as the 'MACnificent Team' along with the MAC 500, which launched later that same year, the MAC 600 gained a loyal following that changed Martin's reputation forever, says the company.
With their purchase of 300 units in 1997, PROCON was the first to bring the MAC 600 to the rental market, a transaction that other rental houses would soon copy. In honour of that first purchase Martin recently presented PROCON with a gold-plated MAC 600.
Morten Carlsson, PROCON CEO, accepted the fixture on behalf of the company. He commented, "The MAC 600 has been our workhorse for 10 years now. In 1997, we bought the first 300 fixtures which was a real adventure for us because we had only seen a prototype and at that time had no idea what to expect from it. But we said to ourselves: 'Let's give it a try!' At that time we didn't expect that the MAC 600 would be the most profitable fixture we ever owned. Meanwhile, we have used each of them on over 2000 shows - and it's still continuing. The MAC 600 changed the market - it allowed the designers to spec large amounts of daylight washlights for a reasonable price."
An untold number of lighting designers the world over have relied on the MAC 600 as an integral part of their designs over the years. Lighting designer Seth Jackson reminisces, "One day back in 1998, I was minding my own business, oblivious to the world of Martin, MAC, or anything in between. At that point, I seemed to remember a Robo-something, but that was about it. Then Martin US called. Before I knew what had happened, I'm in Florida looking at MAC 500s and 600s. Within a few hours, I was sold on the lights and the company. I called up my vendor for Barry Manilow, Bandit Lites, and changed the order that day. Manilow would be All Martin MAC series. The following seven months were filled with great support, terrific performance, and not one failure for the entire tour. The MAC 600 has been a part of my shows ever since. Its size, speed, and colour mixing can still fit the bill for me in a lot of different situations."
Lighting designer Peter Barnes is another long time MAC 600 user. "I remember I first used MAC 600s on The Spice Girls world tour. When at rehearsals I looked at the 10 units I had on the front truss and thought how nice it would be if they were just a little narrower so that I could light the musicians individually without so much spill. I called Martin's Hanne Alsen who was looking after us at Martin, and asked her if Martin made a narrower lens for the MAC 600. To my surprise she told me they did, so I asked if there was any chance we could have 12 lenses and she agreed. I went back to rehearsing and waited for what I thought would be a small box of 12 Fresnel lenses to arrive in the post. Two days later a truck pulled up outside the rehearsal studio with two large pallets on it that needed a forklift to offload."
(Jim Evans)
