Afterglow Lighting gives GLP’s JDC2 IP first rental base on America’s East Coast
GLP’s hotly in-demand JDC2 IP hybrid has been purchased by Baltimore-based dry hire specialist, Afterglow Lighting, making it the first on America’s East Coast. This gives the German manufacturer strategic bases on both coasts.
Founded by Matt Stephens in 1999, Afterglow’s relationship with GLP dates back to the original impression 90. He immediately placed the order for the new-generation fixture after being impressed with the demo at last year’s LDI Show, where it was one of only two products that really caught his eye “in an otherwise disappointing show.”
Having run the product’s predecessor, the JDC1, in his rental fleet he could immediately see that the radically upgraded model packed more visibility, increased output and advanced creativity. The new integrated beam line is equipped with 84 x 10W LEDs to produce a highly powerful flash. The other big attraction was the built-in DigiFX engine and NDI video option.
“When we invest in a fixture it’s entirely by intuition – we like to have products before they get popular, in order to lead the customers,” he says. “We are generally good at predicting where the market is going, although I do regret missing the boat [in not investing in] the Bar 20s.”
“GLP products are known as industry standards and we’re not going to have to push hard to get people to try these out,” he believes. He admits to having made the purchasing decision even before realising that it was IP-rated!
Afterglow is already pondering the most appropriate shows to put them on, especially where strobes are a prerequisite, and will also be arranging demos at their shop, working in tandem with their grandMA consoles.
“I’m very interested in the DigiFX – writing macros and writing programmes to see all the features,” Stephens continues. “We think the EDM community, in particular, is going to go bonkers for this, probably in the hundreds, and we believe the church market will like the video FX. It’s such a versatile fixture, with the punch of a hardcore strobe and the elegance of programmable video FX.” As to the IP65 rating, he says, “This is now definitely a sought-after feature by us and customers. Not only is it ready for the weather but it’s also sealed – service is generally better on a fixture that doesn’t have dust and grime getting into filters.
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