1.4 pro

[Salutecake]

So just acouple of thoughts about the 1.4 pro stuff - no specific order or reason. They cut the prep time way down, they packed a punch, in PA saved the 12% surcharge, colors were nice, loud,and consideering using all pro cakes instead of canister shells.
The only downside I see, and some cakes broke the mold, but a lot of pro stuff seems like it's based on the 1.3 stuff -- they shoot straight up in the air they make good end pieces but no or I should say angles or zipper cakes -unless I missed them or ordered too early.

again just my 2 cents

[Birdman]

I only used 6 canister shells in my show this year. I too appreciated saving the 12% tax! As for 1.4 Pro with angled shots, I think that's where slices come in. But I have seen some zipper cakes out there and a few others with angled shots. My concern is that there seems to be a lot of either long duration or instant firing cakes with "thunder" being stocked then the more "traditional" single shots, slices and single effect cakes that don't contain loud breaks. They're out there but I feel a lot retailers are catering more to the "where's the big stuff" crowd and not to those that want to produce a show with a variety of effects. Not so much a complaint as an observation. But I do fear if this does develop into a trend we could end up having to rely more and more on consumer 1.4 to get a variety of effects or will have to source product from multiple retailers.

[jknepp1954]

there are 49 shot and 81 shot zipper/x style/ fan style cakes out there. WE have some of them at Kneppy's Fireworks.
https://kneppysfireworks.com/index.php/789-2/

[Salutecake]

Thanks Joyce I will keep you in mind for next year.

Birdman, just an observation on my part too, I hope the pro expands a bit, and they were loud, at least the majority of the 1.4 pro stuff I used.

[topshelfpyro]

definitely angled cakes in pro, mostly seem to be 42ish shots or compounds that come with multiple cakes that could be shot individually instead of together. Whoever you buy from its best to keep an eye on incoming shipments and order what you want right then or things disappear. I know some vendors limit how many you can buy to help spread the love which is great and also annoying depending.
I bought a couple of items this year when they were listed as in transit and were sold out upon arrival. lol you gotta be ready with the old visa/mastercard when its available.

[Salutecake]

I know part of not knowing what is out there is that I shoot a lot of 1.3 and the 1.4 and pro are more like pieces that fill in the gap. But I will say after shooting off some of the pro stuff, I liked what I saw and will probably look a little closer for next year.

[Birdman]

Now that I met my wholesale minimum I can jump in and purchase a cases here and there throughout the year which is going to be a huge advantage over this year. Not to mention because I now have to order by the case I have in inventory enough product to duplicate this year's show. I only used about half of the product in every case. This will allow me to start scripting much earlier.

[Salutecake]

Well for me, it was a kind of use up from last year type of deal, but thinking about it I say that every year and always end up having leftovers. I purchased a few single cakes to match up some leftovers from last year but most of everything I buy is by the case. I usually have 4 cake positions and that works for buying the cases of 2 or 4 to a case, occasionally that odd case of 3. with that I just started buying 2 cases, lol a chineese marketing gimmick?

[BMoore]

This is the first year I’ve put 1.4pro into my mostly 1.3 show and I was pretty impressed. There is quite a bit of overlap where I wouldn’t know the difference between a 1.3 and 1.4 cake if not for the label. I also had some 1.4 pro cakes that put some 1.3 “Baby B” cakes to shame. I think we are seeing a lot more innovation in the 1.4 pro category than 1.3 right now. Not having to use the entire case of 1.4 pro is a side benefit. I use contingency storage for my 1.3 and having to fire the entire case even if not needed can be an annoyance at times.

[Salutecake]

I hope your right on the innovation in the pro stuff, because I can really see buying more 1.4 pro cakes than the 1.3 cakes. Although I agree on having to use full cases of 1.3, nothing in the pro stuff comes close to even a nice 3" shell.

[BMoore]

I hope your right on the innovation in the pro stuff, because I can really see buying more 1.4 pro cakes than the 1.3 cakes. Although I agree on having to use full cases of 1.3, nothing in the pro stuff comes close to even a nice 3" shell.

Totally agree with you there. I was really talking about small to medium sized cakes. When it comes to shells and big 1/1 cakes nothing is going to touch 1.3. I'm not going to be handing in my 54 any time soon!

[Salutecake]

Agreed BMoore!

[barehm]

As someone who shot a ton of 1.4 pro this year, look around - lots of angles, unique effects, etc. If you don't shoot slices, start - my audience told me regularly that they were the best effects they saw in the show and I only shot about 20 of them.

For anyone going to PGI, lots of vendors will have 1.4 pro at their tables.

[Salutecake]

Your right about the slice barehm. I can hear the response of the audience everytime they go off.

[Justice Pyro]

I saw somebody compare a salute cake by an OL brand to a 1.4 pro and the pro won. I have heard tho it really depends on the brand and heard some 1.4 pro sallys suck just like OL. You can watch the vid for yourself here (its not mine) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgpNaQELCZ8