Mid-America Sound Corporation, one of the largest full-service concert and event production companies in the US, has invested in Ayrton GHIBLI, Khamsin and NandoBeam S6 fixtures for the company’s inventory and for client installations and added grandMA3 units to its console roster. Ayrton and MA Lighting products are both distributed exclusively in North America by ACT Lighting.
Greenfield, Indiana-based Mid-America Sound has more than 40 years of experience in sound, lighting, rigging, roofs, staging and backline. The company made its first acquisition of Ayrton fixtures in two rounds in 2018 when it was in the market for more framing fixtures for touring and large corporate events.
“ACT Lighting demoed the new GHIBLI for us,” said Bob Williams, Owner and CEO of Mid America Sound. “The build quality was really good, and Ayrton had a great reputation with its other fixtures. We purchased our first GHIBLIs in May 2018 and went back to ACT for more in October of that year.”
Mid-America Sound’s GHIBLI LED spot luminaires have been used on multiple tours and larger corporate events. We are really looking forward to seeing them out more in 2020.
“They’ve been rock solid; we haven’t had one issue with them and we love all their features,” Williams reported. “We get a lot of calls from theatre and opera designers who tell us GHIBLIs are what they want.”
Next, Mid-America Sound purchased Khamsin LED profile luminaires for Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the NBA’s Indiana Pacers. “The Fieldhouse is a very high arena, and they were looking for a fixture that would deliver punch over a long distance and cut through TV lighting,” said Williams. “The Khamsins are up on truss in the four corners of the arena and used for special effects lighting, event highlights and audience ballyhoos and other looks. The Fieldhouse has been very happy with them.”
In January 2020 Mid-America Sound purchased 20 NandoBeam S6 compacts LED moving heads for the John R. Emens College-Community Auditorium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The venue hosts Broadway shows and other theatrical productions as well as university events and regional events.
“They were looking for newer technology to replace older LED wash fixtures,” Williams reported. “We demoed several fixtures for them, and the NandoBeams impressed them the most.
Williams said Mid-America Sound expects to purchase additional Ayrton fixtures with the Perseo compact multi-function luminaire first on the list. “We need IP-rated profile fixtures primarily for outdoor events,” he noted. “We like Perseo’s quality and output, which will complement the GHIBLIs as well.”
Mid-America Sound is a longtime user of grandMA consoles and is currently migrating from grandMA2 systems to the latest grandMA3 units.
“We were one of the first to order the grandMA3,” said Williams of the company’s full-size console acquired last year. We’ve also just purchased a grandMA3 light.” Williams added: “With all of our Ayrton and grandMA3 acquisitions ACT Lighting has always been there with great product support.”
