Ayrton fixtures accompany Peter Frampton’s “Never Say Never Tour”

Gregg Maltby, a Las Vegas-based independent lighting designer, chose an array of Ayrton fixtures for Peter Frampton’s “Never Say Never Tour.”  Versatile Ayrton LED fixtures such as the Diablo and Eurus profiles and the Zonda 9 FX washes comprise about half the rig.  ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

Frampton’s North American tour kicked off in June in Huber Heights, Ohio and wrapped in Sandy, Utah in August. The legendary artist recently extended the tour with a series of November dates starting in Louisville and finishing before Thanksgiving in Nashville.  OSA International, Inc. in Nashville, the lighting vendor for the tour, provided the Ayrton fixtures to longtime customer Maltby.

“I’ve used Ayrton lights for a long time, including for Huey Lewis, Boston, and the Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly Hologram Tour,” says Maltby.  “But these particular Ayrton fixtures were new to me.  [OSA Vice President/Lighting] Mark Fetto set up a demo for me in their shop, and I designed the plot around those lights.”

Fetto and OSA International have invested heavily in Ayrton in recent years. “Ayrton makes some of the most durable equipment out there; we have very few problems with the fixtures, especially in a touring environment where they hold up very well on the road,” Fetto reports.  “We have more Diablos than any other profile in our inventory; they’re great for corporate shows.  The Eurus have become our workhorse profile, and we’ve ordered 36 more of them.  The Zondas are new but as designers get their hands on them they’re finding more and more ways to use all the effects they offer.”

Maltby uses six Diablos as his main front key lights.  “I use them as lekos since I can shutter them,” he explains.  “They’re awesome and shockingly bright.”

He mounts nine Eurus in upstage truss and rolls out six on the floor where they serve as the primary effects lights creating fans and aerials and projecting gobos in dark colours.

Six Zonda 9 FXs act as Maltby’s main upstage wash lights.  “They backlight the band really well and are great for patterning eye candy,” he says. “I love them.”

“All of the Ayrton fixtures are awesome,” Maltby declares.  “In three months on tour we’ve changed out only one light in the rig.  They are bullet proof, really dependable.”

“We’re continuing to add more Ayrton lights to our inventory,” says Fetto.  “ACT’s Eric Abad, in Western Regional Sales, is great and helps us get what we need.”

Eric Abad concluded, “Mark and the entire team at OSA know what they need from their gear and, even more importantly, what their clients will demand.  This makes them incredibly easy to work with and a great match for the Ayrton lineup. »

Text: Courtesy of ACT Entertainment
Photos: © Gregg Maltby