Zero 88 Juggler Manufacture Date

[Archie D]

Hi all, hope you are well.

I was just curious.. from when to when were the Jugglers being manufactured?
Usually, on a page (for example the Jester Series https://www.vari-lite.com/global/products/jester-series) it tells you when they were manufactured, this case being 2008-2017 for the ML range. However, on the Juggler page (https://www.vari-lite.com/global/products/juggler) it does not mention the manufacture date anywhere.

I am aware that the Jester Series superseded the Juggler, but does anybody know this information per chance? Many thanks for any info you can supply me with.

[kgallen]

Juggler was a ‘simple’ 2-preset desk so I don’t think it was superseded by Jester which is a programmable desk. 
 

I think the lineage was more like:

Level series -> Juggler

Alcora/Elara -> Jester

Illusion -> Jester TL, ML

Sirius -> Frogs

Stage Electrics had Juggler in stock (albeit clearance) earlier this year. I’ve not seen Jesters on sale new for a long time. 
 

So in answer to your question, Juggler could have been current until 2021/22 timeframe I recon. The datasheet says ‘(c) 2018-2021 Signify’ as a copyright date. The Juggler manual says 2005. So it was around for some time.

Maybe search on the forum to see if Jon mentioned a discontinue date. 

[Archie D]

10 hours ago, kgallen said:

I don’t think it was superseded by Jester

Strange, I did hear somewhere that the Jester did, although it just could be my head playing tricks on me. You are probably right in what you've presented here with the line-up of consoles, so I appreciate the confirmation.

 

10 hours ago, kgallen said:

Juggler was a ‘simple’ 2-preset desk

It also can store memories (or 'steps' as it calls them, each step being part of a 'sequence') as well as having the ability of being in 2 preset mode. I've had a play with mine at home and although rather simple in the operation of it, I admire its simplicity.

 

10 hours ago, kgallen said:

Maybe search on the forum to see if Jon mentioned a discontinue date. 

Thank you for the information you have provided me regarding the data sheet and the manual dates, I think I can try and work on figuring out dates with the info provided.
I will continue to do some more digging on the forums as you have advised. Thank you again and have a lovely day!

[Charlie Newman]

There used to be a huge archive page of Z88 products but seems like the Signify folks got rid of it - it only went down a few months ago. Real shame as it had a lot of great info including all the old desks...

[Archie D]

1 hour ago, Charlie Newman said:

seems like the Signify folks got rid of it

Bad luck then. By chance do you (or anyone else) happen to remember the URL to that page, or have it saved anywhere?
We could always check https://web.archive.org/ on the wayback machine to see if anybody archived it..

Or do you mean this page? https://backstage.zero88.com/control (further down it has legacy products - they just give the same descriptions as on the Vari-Lite pages)

[Charlie Newman]

On 7/15/2025 at 11:55 PM, Archie D said:

Bad luck then. By chance do you (or anyone else) happen to remember the URL to that page, or have it saved anywhere?
We could always check https://web.archive.org/ on the wayback machine to see if anybody archived it..

Or do you mean this page? https://backstage.zero88.com/control (further down it has legacy products - they just give the same descriptions as on the Vari-Lite pages)

I'll have a look when I get home (I fear I may have deleted my bookmark), but that's a good shout