Lighting Desks

[lightbulb789]

Hi,

 

Were trying to find a suitable Lighting desk for are theatre/hall. Here's a little information on are theatre and are requirements.

 

We need a minimum of 48 channels, we mostly have Quartets, and fresnels etc. we're looking for a Full memory desk but also with presents so we can make slight adjustments during shows. We occasional (very rarely) hire out Moving/Intelligent lights so we need a desk which will control them without us hiring other controls etc.

 

Thats all I know of from the top of my head if theres anything else just say.

 

What desks do you think will be good with the description above.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Adam.

[andystone]

It would be good to have an idea of what sorts of shows you do and the budget.

 

I'm biassed as we are the Compulite distributor, but it's worth taking a look at the new Compulite Dlite as this is designed to cater for most things with 2 preset manual faders, separate submasters, theatre style crossfade playback with GO button and manual faders, full moving light control and a touch screen. More info on our web site at www.stagetec .co.uk.

 

If you want something theatre style with manual faders and memory it's also worth taking a look at the ETC Express or Strand 300 series.

 

If you are interested in the Dlite let me know where you are and I will put you in touch with one of our dealers.

 

Andy Stone

Stagetec Distribution Ltd

Compulite UK Distributor

[lightbulb789]

It would be good to have an idea of what sorts of shows you do and the budget.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

We do all sorts From School productions to out of school Presentations. So really anything you can think of which involves lighting we do.. Funding isn't really a problem at this stage. We're hoping to get a mixture of desk recommended and were look at the desk it's self and prices.

 

Thanks,

 

Adam

[peter]

Zero88 Fat Frog (or Leap Frog, if you've got the money) would do the job nicely.

[Light Console]

I second the Frog range.

I get the impression this is for a school application, IMHO Zero88 is always the ideal control platform for schools. There may be lots of buttons, but they all do as they say. Apart from setup, there are no menus to get lost in during a show. The setup part and record/edit functions can be locked out by a four digit code to prevent more curious operators. Best of all is the simple operation of moving lights. I have worked with one for the last six months (and the same the year before), every single day. I ran most of my moving light cues from the wheels.

Just heard about the Frog2, must go and find out more......

[lightbulb789]

Which desk out of the frog range would you say would suit us best?

[DSA]

Which desk out of the frog range would you say would suit us best?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That will mainly depend on what you want to spend. Take a look at the Zero88 website and the frog range specific Frog forums for info on specifics.

 

Basically it sounds to me that the fat frog would do the job for you - but if you tend to have a lot of movers etc. (13 to 24) then you may want to take the leap for the next one up in the range. (!)

 

Hope that helps.

David

 

P.S. further questions about the frog range would probably be better suited to the Frog specific forums (as previously linked). N.B. Potassium Neuf is also the Blue Room rep from Zero88.

[Ian_P]

Fat Frog.

 

48 channels of generic lights for your stage lighting, and up to 12 moving lights for when you hire in intelligent lights.

 

Brand New - £1,950 plus VAT

AC Lighting - Ex Demo Fat Frog Approx £1,300 plus VAT.

On this forum a second hand one for £1,000.

 

I purchased one from AC last year, and its an excellent desk, a good all rounder.

 

Cheers

[andystone]

Problem with the Frog range (am I not knocking them, they are great desks for certain applications) is that they are not really theatre desks. OK, they are great hands on desks, but if you are plotting theatre shows cue to cue, where you may want to set complicated cue times and trigger other things all from one GO button, not so great.

 

Just my humble opinion!

 

Andy

[SceneMaster]

I am also a fan of zero88 but have only ever used there dimmers, demux and other control gear and desks but never their frog desks. I was once told by a lighting technician friend (who currently swears by ETC desks and Strand desks) that frog desks are a bit opposite to the industry standard in the way they handle cues or memories or something. I can’t remember exactly what he said and what particular part of the desk he was talking about as it was a while back. Could someone explain if they think they know what he was on about?

 

***Just to make it clear, I am not disrespecting the desks as everything I have heard about them is positive and I have even have had a brief play around with a frog (when I mean brief, I mean 5 mins ;), thus why it not one of the desks I count having used) and it seemed fine I just want to know what this guy was on about.***

 

Scenemaster

[Stu]

Scenemaster - your lampie friend could have been referring to the swap round on fade times on cues. Zero 88 timed fades work to the priniciple of the up time on Cue 5 (for instance) is for Cue 5 and then the down time is for Cue 5 as opposed to being for the previous cue (4).

 

I know this is how the Sirius works (and I presume other desks of the time - Lightmaster XLS for instance), not sure if they corrected it for the Frog?

 

Stu

 

PS. Small edit made.

[colinmonk]

They were corrected on the frogs, its only the sirius that had bast*rdised times compared to the rest of the desks ( AFAIK )

 

I would second having a look at the DLite, I agree with Andy on the Frog Desk, if you want the facility to do something interesting with cue times, linking, etc..., or simply navigating through a cue stack of 100+ cues easily then I found the frog hard work when I tried 2yrs ago...

 

The DLite and others offer alot more features that you can experiment with...

[Light Console]

I used a Fat Frog, connected to 4 movers, 24 Channels of dimming, and one starcloth. Last year, I programed a light show, of some 300 cues in 5mins. This took hours to program, and I do recall struggling with it at times, but when I got the hang of it it was fine. Did get annoyed that I had to tap thru cues, and not enter the cue number, but that was without monitor/keyboard.

This year, it was all subs! I made full use of the remote function though, and made myself some foot controls!

I can't seem to find much more about Frog2 than was on the back of a magazine I got today, but would think that was too much for your application.

[Graham NZ]

If Andy is going to be biased then so am I ;)

 

Frogs have a playback stack that can work for theatre, there is a fade up and down time and an LTP time. It is also possible to override times easy and simply. With the software being planned in V10 then getting around the cue list and editing times will be a lot simpler. As normal this will be a free give away.

 

Graham

Zero 88

[James]

Graham,

 

Will there be any chance of a "Go button" via MIDI? I use SFX for sound playback and quite often it would be good for me to trigger LX accuratly and remotely, (ocationaly bypassing the LX op)

 

cheers (curious) James