Do many of you have a Martin Rush Wizard ? It's the replacement for the trusty Martin Wizard Extreme.
I gave them a whirl recently and can't really make my mind up about them. Initially, they were on sale pre-release for £1000 so stuff that - I could buy a dozen American DJ or Equinox LED fixtures for that money and have enough change to buy a big wheelie bin to put them in after 6 months. I have a bit of a problem with these marques!!
The Rush Wizard is now £750 (ish) and a lot less than the release RRP so it is about the same price as the old Wizard Extreme. It is expensive and yet made in China.
The new wizard has a plastic outer case rather than a steel one yet it somehow seems as well made as the old Wizard - solid but thankfully a whole lot lighter than the previous model. I can lift the new one with one hand. I could lift the old model with one hand whilst pushing my hernia in with the other. Anyone who is familiar with this light will be thankful for the weight loss.
Design wise the rush wizard is quite pretty and more compact than the old one. There are still silly design faults though. The old Wizard had pegs to hold the fan guard onto the chassis and these were positioned where your fingers grip as you lifted the light up. They broke off when you lifted it. Martin have removed this design flaw. Well done. Instead, the digital menu panel and buttons are now equally vulnerable and no doubt much more expensive to replace when my fat sausage fingers go poking through them. I am aware of it now so it'll be my own fault if I damage the light but for the designers in Denmark, nul points.
Powercon in and out connectors create a professional feel but aren't really necessary for mobile use. 5 pin DMX is a bit daft. I can't quite see the point other than protecting against connecting a loaded sound signal to the DMX in which would play havoc with the unit. 5 pin to 3 pin adapter cables are 4 quid so it's no big deal. DMX is fairly standard so the unit is easy to programme. The on board menu with LCD display is a delight to use - thank you Martin Lighting. ADJ, with your crackpot, tetchy and forgetful Starburst menu please take note.
The gobos on the new rush wizard are smaller than those on the old one and the lovely white and pink rose gobo is missing. Boo, hoo. In fact, the gobos are a bit of a let down. The slowest mirror pan and rotation is a bit too quick for my liking but at least there is no judder like the last model at the lowest speeds. I really liked the ultra slow pan and rotation on the old wizard because it meant the light was good for slow, medium and fast movement - a master of all trades. The new one doesn't quite match its predecessor in this respect. Maybe a firmware upgrade could address this?
The gobo colours on the new rush wizard are excellent and this is where it comes into its own. They are clear and very intense. Although it has a lower wattage lamp than the old one , the brightness is amazing. It still has the odd shadow on some parts of the gobo spread but light beams are almost laser like (the trade off is the 1smaller gobos) and the light throw is nothing short of amazing. It has manual focus so is ideal for mobile DJ's. It is still the room filler it always was and possibly more.
Would I use it in a small venue? Good God no. It'll blind people and be uncomfortable unless it is high mounted way beyond any field of vision. Honestly, the rush wizard has some serious light output. It is incredible in this respect. Would I use it in a big room? Wow, yes - but not for the first or last dance unless it's a Gay Gordon.
On cheaper lights you sort of expect the inbuilt programmes to be a bit mental and all over the place. The new Wizard is pricey and has the benefit of years of development by Martin so of course, the self run programmes will be excellent? No, instead, Martin have installed the usual spin and puke routines that are all but useless. Why can't just two or three of the many auto routines be subtle??? Personally, I think the light might be best deployed high on a smoke filled nightclub ceiling where gobos take second place to beams. The incredible brightness would easily cut through any thickness of club haze.
So, worth the money? Very hard to say but it's a Wizard and it is a proper light with interesting traits although an exact copy of the old one only brighter and lighter would have done me fine.
Glad I bought them? Well, yes, because they are in a different league compared to some of the rubbish on sale at the moment and not many other DJ's feature them. I will grow to like them. If I don't they will be for sale on here soon and at that point I will tell you how absolutely fantastic they are. Score: 6\10 for now. 9\10 if I don't get to like them.
