The grandMA is circling the globe with lighting designer/director/programmer Susanne Sasic for R.E.M.’s world tour in support of the Athens, Georgia-based alternative rock band’s latest album, “Accelerate.” A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of the grandMA in North America.

“We have carried a full-size grandMA for lighting control on all of our shows this year; it is definitely my console of choice,” says Sasic who is currently in Scandinavia with R.E.M. “The entire summer leg of this tour has been either European festivals or different local productions of our own shows.” The grandMA controls the entire rig of moving lights, fixtures and dimmers.

“One of the great advantages of the grandMA is the easy cloning and copying of fixtures, as well as the ability to pre-program on the grandMA on PC,” says Sasic who’s based in Hoboken, New Jersey. “Having A.C.T’s new East Coast warehouse 20 minutes from where I live made the start of this tour very easy. I spent a few days there programming my show with no pressure or time constraints; it was a great resource for me.”

On tour Sasic runs the grandMA on PC in Parallels on her laptop so she is able to quickly patch and program different fixtures and make changes to the show on a daily basis before arriving onsite.

“I enjoy the stability and reliability of the grandMA’s operating system, the easy and dependable file management, and the ability to carry around a year’s worth of shows on a pocket-sized USB drive,” she points out. “The overall flexibility of the desk layout and the ability to change the function of individual executor buttons and faders is great and makes running shows a pleasure!”

“It’s great to work with such a wonderful designer like Susanne. Projects like these reaffirm our decision to open an East Coast office so that we may be close to our customers in the area,” comments A.C.T Lighting’s VP of Sales Brian Dowd.

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients. For more information call 818-707-0884 or visit www.actlighting.com.