Since Pyrojunkies first dipped their toes into the world of MA control they have been busy servicing the needs of productions such as Bros, Jason Derulo, the Diversity Genesis Tour, the Ghost European Tour, the Kaiser Chiefs, Stormzy at Brixton Academy and the Capital FM Summertime Ball.

“We have been using an MA dot2 console to control our effects for a while and been really impressed by what the system offered us in terms of programming and creating new profiles,” opens Pyrojunkies’ sales and project manager, James Priddle.  “By the time we took the Kaiser Chiefs’ system out we were confident that we had found the console that was perfect for our unique requirements.  For that tour, we hired a dot2-XLF as a final test before we took the plunge and ordered a dot2 Core from Ambersphere Solutions.’

‘We worked very closely with Thor André and the rest of the Ambersphere team to get custom profiles and to understand exactly how we wanted the desk to work for us.  Any teething user teething problems were efficiently resolved by the team at Ambersphere who took my calls – sometimes rather late at night – nothing was too much trouble.”

Pyrojunkies offer a broad range of pyrotechnics and special effects: from pyrotechnic waterfalls and outdoor mines and comets, laser and flame effects, snow machines to confetti and streamers, their box of tricks is continually expanding. The New Magic FX PsyCO2 Jets are new additions to the magical toolbox of visual effects.  They create instant and rapid jets of CO2 that reach up to eight metres so precise control is vital to perfect delivery of the jets.  They were used on the Kaiser Chiefs show throughout the band’s performance.  “When you are touring SFX of any kind, each day and each venue presents with a new challenge; width, depth and height of the stage area makes a huge difference to the accurate deployment of our effects. And, of course, safety is always our top priority. With the dot2, the simplicity of programming and making new profiles were so helpful.  With tight get-ins and limited rehearsal times, it was great to know that the console was there to help us out.”

Does Priddle have any suggestions about the console in respect of its use as a SFX console?   “We are still learning about the console’s capabilities; I’m sure there is lots more for us to discover.  Specifically, for our particular requirements, I would like to add a ‘Safety Channel’ feature to work like a group master but without having to set up the group.  I will be talking to the Ambersphere team about this to see what can be put in place.”

Priddle’s enthusiasm for the dot2 is unequivocal, “We love the desk and will be investing in some more soon, of that I am sure.”