thedj Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 We have just invested in some new gear including a pearl 2004. So I've got all the fun of new DMX lines to install and making space to put it in etc etc. ;) We had a good play on one on a demo and have seen a few come in with tours. However, for those of you that know it,what can I expect to really P!$$ me off or is it as nice as I seem to find it???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxkev Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 The theatre stack is basic..... good for busking. Good moving light desk (yes for the sllet who read this I admit the pearl is ok, however frog 2 is far better)..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niclights Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 I love the desk. Helpful company, traditional layout, great busking and familiarity with LD's around the world make all the difference, but I'm not sure I'd want to use in a theatre. It's hard to say what things you might find difficult since it depends on your level of experience with other desks, how you like to operate and what you are controlling. I would say spend time on your patching. This is one of the harder aspects of the Pearl to understand, but careful layout is key to flexibility. For instance fixtures on the upper bank cannot be 'flashed' using the Preset Add buttons. Also fixtures on the upper bank are more awkward to select (requires [shift]+Swop) unless you setup groups to cover. Ideally try and keep all your fixtures on one fixture page. Changing fixture page can make things a bit confusing and have disastrous consequences if you are on the wrong one! If you must use multiple pages then this is probably the thing you will find most annoying. Use 'Record by Channel' mode & be precise about which fixtures/attributes you alter/store. Only values with an 'm' or 'w' in them will be stored (denotes programmer). For instance 01-FF shows handle 1 is being output at full. 01mFF shows handle 1 is being output at full AND is in the programmer. If you are busking then I recommend making use of 'Quick Palette' and 'Palette Paging' in combination with Run Takeover Mode. If you create palettes that are only for one fixture type and only one attribute then you can recall colours/gobos/positions etc with one button press (and only two presses if you require timed fades). Palette paging gives you access to 120 palettes by using the Fixture Page buttons. Although the desk allows you to layer as many fixtures and attributes as you desire on palettes, you will then have to be careful to select the relevant fixtures and/or attributes before recall. This = button presses = time. Any Q's/problems feel free to ask at the Avo forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bythesea.33 Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 the only thing I've ever had to p!ss me off with this desk (apart from Hog users) is the ongoing thing with not using the preset palettes.I had it recommended to me (from Avo) that you should say no!however, colour palettes each time... you'll get used to DMX ABCD 1234 in a flash! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andylights Posted January 28, 2006 Share Posted January 28, 2006 All good points above.... I would add... Quickly get into the habit of pressing <clear>, to clear the programmer between recording playbacks, otherwise you will end up recording stuff you don't want. As Nick pointed out, plan your patch layout. You may want it layed out logically or graphically, whatever you find most comfortable. The thing people seem to comment on the most, is running out of playbacks. Again, careful planning makes things a lot easier. Don't forget, that if you have a PB recorded on PB1 A and something else PB1 B , moving from A to B is going to turn off A. In other words, if you 'stack' cues, then plan how they will interact with each other. Make use of pallet buttons to turn on and off attributes and save on PB's. Be aware that the desk might get sluggish after a long programming session. Going into RUN mode will sort this. Also be aware that having MIDI disabled, keeps the desk at peak speed. (Avo button/user settings/option14 - only needs to be enabled if your using Visualiser or MIDI..well der!). Finally, if you do use <record by fixture>, don't forget to put the record mode back to <record by channel>. I forgot a couple of times, with disastrous results, that only became apparent during the show! It wasn't a good look. Enjoy...always enjoy... Regards, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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