Truss! What to et?

[AnthonyGarcia]

So after being at SELEM and seeing what 10 plutos look like all mounted on a truss, I want one (that lem is a cancer). What are some suggestions to reliable but not expensive truss? I only have one projector but I have plenty of video / photo shoots coming up and although I may not be able to get something before them, It would help down the line.

[johnmcc]

American DJ dura truss is ok. I use the truss sometimes but most of the time just mount my lasers straight on top of the tripods works great!

[norty303]

I use a lot of Global Truss. In the UK we can buy it with spigots that are compatible with another brand, Prolyte, which makes it even easier to cross rent.

To be honest, I would put most thought into what stands you are going to use, as these are usually the weak point in any truss bridge system (in as much as they will usually be the limit, weight wise, of what you can lift). Again, the American DJ/Varilite/Stairville/Global Truss ST132 is the best bang for buck (by a long way!) as far as wind up stands are concerned. Obviously disregard that if you are planning on a fixed truss with truss uprights. I find the lifts much more flexible.

Maybe start with deciding how wide you would like to go. If it's not more than about 6m, then seriously consider bi-beam rather than tri or quad truss. It will easily take the load (if you buy a half decent brand) and be much easier to store. I have 8 pieces (2m each) hung on rails in the side of my workshop. 8 pieces of tri-beam stuff takes up a lot of floor space stood on their ends in comparison.

Maybe start with a set like one of these.... (if you're going to buy parts individually, don't forget the adaptors, and these are different depending on bi-beam or tri/quad truss)

6m bi-beam with up to 170kg weight limit
http://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_..._bundle_ii.htm

6m tri-beam with up to 170kg weight limit
http://www.thomann.de/gb/stairville_...bundle_iii.htm


As a footnote, I would seriously steer clear of most of the 'bargain' 'DJ truss setups' you find on ebay and other places. Every time I see one, they worry me immensely, and also look a complete pig to put up, usually not having winches. Aside from the health and safety aspects, I wouldn't want one, let alone 10 of my projectors on one of those.

Also, the ST132 stands are very versatile. With different hardware you can mount single lasers on the top of them, or small scaff bars... we even use them to wind truss up into place for fixing into fixed truss structures.

[Bradfo69]

I'll agree with Adam on the quality of the stand. Go with an ST-132 crank stand. It's sturdy as a rock, versatile, and can hold quite a bit of weight. They're around $200 each although you can find them on sale for a little less.
As far as bi-beam, I have two pieces of Global truss I-beam that give you about 12' and the vertical adapters (courtesy of Norty) that I could part with should you want to go that route. For one projector, truss is a bit of overkill (unless you're spanning over top a drummer or something) and you might start out just using one stand and base plate on top and then build as you go along.

What you saw at SELEM/Newton Show was a couple grand. (The totems were about $500 each)

Stuff ain't cheap!