GazBar Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 Hi guys, First post here so go easy on me. We use a Bull Frog as our main lighting controll at my school but we need a cheap controller for the drama studio. Basically 24 channel, Some memories would be nice but nothing too fancy. I was thinking of a Behringer Eurolight LC2412. Any opinions or sugestions would be great. Thanks Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 Well, you could get a Behringer - but you'd do far better by spending a little more money and getting a proper lighting desk. :blink: 24 channel desk, with memories? That screams "Strand 200" to me - available in either 12/24 format (which would give you one manual preset of 24 channels plus two pages of 24 subs each), or 24/48 (which would give you two manual presets of 24 channels each, plus two pages of 48 subs each - and a bit of scope for expansion to more than 24 channels in the future). The 200 series are excellent desks. Call your local Strand dealer for a price. No doubt someone will also jump in at some point with a recommendation for the new Zero88 Jester - this also seems like a good little desk, but it costs quite a bit more than the Strand, and you may well find you're better served by the cheaper, and slightly less complex, desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 Don't go anywhere near the Behringer - I'm ashamed to say I have one and I wish I didn't (it just about does the job for little 12ch rock rigs I suppose!). It's worth putting your money to something a little better... Right, well at the moment I'm currently speccing a desk for our studio theatre. 36 ways of dimming, so a little more than yourself but I am looking at the same desks. The Strand 200 is nice & cheap and excellent for what it is (reminds me of the old MX :) which I adore) and for live work but if you need a tradition theatre stack then it's not as suitable - things like you can't record fade times into the cues but set them on a cue by cue basis for instance, and the stack works by cycling through the submasters recorded. The Jester (as mentioned by Gareth) is my current favourite, seems to have just about anything you could need. Submasters, a nicely implemented theatre stack (999 cues, fade times, insert cues, chases as cues etc etc), the ability to control another 12 (in the 12/24) and 24 (in the 24/48) aux channels, such as strobes, smoke machines etc, good use of video output, dirt cheap for what it is. Also can be used as a DMX backup console via the use of the DMX in. Basically it's similar to the old Frog, so this might be useful in you being able to quickly pick up the Jester. The ETC Smartfade is a nice idea - pages of channels so you can control more channels than you have faders (24/96 for instance) which is a feature over the other two, however if your not a fan of cycling back and forth in pages to get to channels you require then this may not work as well. No video output which might not suit what you have to do. The theatre stack mode on the Smartfade seems a bit long winded - basically you set up your looks, then put them into the order which you require. Fine if you have alot of repeated cues, but not if each one is different. Again this desk can be used as a backup console. Anyway I hope this helps, I appreciate my needs might be different to yours but I thought it was worth posting all the same. Desks are very much a personal choice, so what works for me might not work for you. All I can say is spend a good amount of time pouring through available product info, talking to local dealers, other users of the consoles your interested in, the other people who will have to use it etc. Good luck in coming to your decision.Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted September 15, 2005 Share Posted September 15, 2005 There is also the minim from lsclighting http://www.lsclighting.com.au/Minim.html which has an australian list price of $1,320 which has 3 pages of 12 memories. It is a cheap and dirty desk, no disk drive. Personally, I would not go for it. I am looking at getting a maXim for a school at the moment, http://www.lsclighting.com.au/Maxim.html, which has cue lists + scene masters. It is really simple and the smaller ones have the option of a disk drive and screen output, whilst it's standard on the larger ones. au$2,145 for the 12/24. I have not had a chance to look at the Jester yet (some time next week I am going in for a demo), so I really cannot judge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 hmm, strand 200 series 12/24 board - Look it up don't know how much they cost just know its in a small studio at one of the colleges I work at. Look at zero88 12/24 boards too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonino Posted September 16, 2005 Share Posted September 16, 2005 you could probably pick up an old sirrus quite cheaply, has memories, sub-masters, effects etc, an old desk but I've never had any problems with them :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazBar Posted September 16, 2005 Author Share Posted September 16, 2005 Thanks for all of your sugestions. I see that the beringer was not a popular option. The strand 200 looks good and the price is not too bad, We do have an old sirrius 24 but apparently it does not have the DMX board fitted, Im going to check that today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_tods Posted September 17, 2005 Share Posted September 17, 2005 Another vote for the Strand 200, I have used it on several school shows and it suits the job perfectly. It's also extremely easy to program and surprisingly versatile with some nice chases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueShift Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 strand 200 is the business for what you're after. its cheap and very versatile - you can even have the complete set of faders as subs for bigger, more complex requirments. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham NZ Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 And then you may want to wait until October for Juggler, the smaller brother of Jester. 12/24, 4 cue stacks and thats it.....oh and the price will be tasty. If you were at PLASA and visited the pub you would have seen it. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazBar Posted September 19, 2005 Author Share Posted September 19, 2005 Mega pain in the arse :) , Found a sirius 24 wich would save some money that could be spent on lighting, However there is no DMX board fitted. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Am going to look at a strand 200 next week <_< , Thanks for all your help Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryrobot Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Mega pain in the arse :( , Found a sirius 24 wich would save some money that could be spent on lighting, However there is no DMX board fitted. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Am going to look at a strand 200 next week :) , Thanks for all your help Gaz<{POST_SNAPBACK}> You could probably just get hold of the DMX board for it then? Zero 88 tech support are excellent, they might still have some you can buy. They are still so popular that I imagine they'll still be keeping spares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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