Robe Shines in De Effenaar Installation

De Effenaar is a busy live music and multi-purpose venue in central Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Its two very flexible spaces offer capacity for 1,300 people (standing) and 400 (standing) respectively, and a cafe restaurant area can cater for up to 100 people for functions and special events.

The venue has an eclectic program of arts and entertainment and the average performance rate is about six shows a week throughout the year.

The venue recently made a large investment in Robe moving lights at the instigation of technical manager Charles Konings. The Robe luminaires replaced all the previous moving light stock in the large hall, and were supplied by the Dutch office of Benelux distributor Controllux.

The first delivery of Robes into the venue was in 2009 in the form of four ColorSpot 250E ATs. These were then followed up in 2010 with 12 x ROBIN 300 Spots which were deployed in the small hall. They then decided to purchase 16 x ROBIN 600 Spots and 24 ROBIN MMX Spots in December 2011 to replace the existing moving lights in the large hall.

The ROBIN 600 Spots are rigged on the over-stage trusses and the MMXs on a box truss over the audience.

So why did Konings choose Robe in such a highly competitive market? "It was a combination of our very good relationship with Controllux," he explains, "And the quality of Robe compared to other brands." He added, "It's really important that my crew are happy with the equipment they are using."

The ROBIN 600 Spots were picked for the speed, silent operation, and high light output, the company says. The MMXs were selected because they are the very latest technology and for their special and intricate effects: "No other brand's product is doing this," explains Konings, "MMX is an amazing fixture and everyone is impressed."

One of the venue's main freelance lighting designers is Natasha Von Haaften, who says, "We are all very excited to be working with the new Robes, they are very fast, have good color-mixing, and are completely versatile -- with the zoom out and the frost filter in, they can even mimic a wash source."

In both halls the lights are controlled by grandMA light consoles.