Grand master fader

[Bad_Rock]

Somebody asked me a lighting console with Grand master. And sadly I have no idea of what it is :)

 

Thanks for your help

[David Lee]

A Grand master will control the whole output from the desk - I.e bringing it down to 0% means no output. (Strange request though, surely that can't be his only demand for a lighting desk)

 

Unless he means the very old Strand controller- Strand Archive but I doubt it.

 

p.s

Somebody asked me a lighting console

asked you what?

[Bad_Rock]

David thanks for your quick reply. They only asked me a lighting console with grand master. That's it :S I agree it's a estrange question but now that you have been so generous can you tell me if the Futurelight CP256 has it? Do I need a very expensive lighting desk to have a Grand Master fader/button?

[pritch]

Looking at the manual here:

 

http://www.tonkreis.de/D%20A%20T/Bedienung...0Steuerpult.pdf

 

It would seem that it doesn't. It does have a blackout button though, which will take everything straight to black, but it won't have the same amount of control as a grand master.

[Bad_Rock]

Hey Pritch help me on this one too... I couldn't find the "fade" function on this desk. Does it have it? BTW grand master might be translated to something like "general dimmer".

[pritch]

I'll be honest here, I've got no experience of that controller, so there's little I can do apart from look in the manual that I linked to above!

[David Lee]

We would need to know what it is controlling - I.e how many ways of dimming, movers.

 

Also what kind of show is it for - music may require flash/ bump butons, theatre needs a cue stack.

 

A lot of bog standard lx desks will have a grand master (wouldn't call it a general dimmer, just a grand master.)

 

To be honest I would get in touch with the guy and talk him through what he requires in more detail.

 

What is your role in this?

[Bad_Rock]

My role is to suply the desk as long as I have it :)

[Albatross]

Perhaps they are referring to the Grand MA console?

[Just Some Bloke]

Hey Pritch help me on this one too... I couldn't find the "fade" function on this desk. Does it have it? BTW grand master might be translated to something like "general dimmer".

You were right the first time in your translation: grand master is correct. It sounds like this client has had something like your CP256 before, realised it doesn't have a grand master and specified they want one so they can fade to black easily.

 

Have a look at what you've got and see if one of them has a fader labelled "Grand Master" and that should be a good clue. If it has one then supply that desk, if it hasn't point them at someone who knows more about lighting than you.

 

Frankly, the second option might be a better bet anyway or you'll end up supplying the wrong kit for the job and having to refund any hire fee you may have charged as well as losing any goodwill you may have built up with the client.

 

In business, it's always best to stick with what you know.

[Pete]

point them at someone who knows more about lighting than you.

Can't imagine that are that many hire Shop's in Bad Rock's neck of the woods!

[lee weathers]

masterpiece 108 is a good lighting controller with the grand master slider on it..

[Don Allen]

A little more info on Grand Masters

 

The grand master was included in lighting desks to allow the output of the desk to be controlled by a single fader, usually as a fade to black at the end of a scene. This allowed all the presets or sub masters to be left as they were if needed for another cue. Companies such as strand were putting six presets in desks to allow for more manual programmimg so the single grand master was a logical evolution.

 

With the addition of moving lights, the action of a grand master affected the non dimmer functions of moving lights in an undesirable way, such as panning the fixture to one side or changing gobos while a cue was running, if the grand mster was moved, so manufacturers either stopped putting grand masters on desks or provided split desk functions so the grand master controlled only conventional channels and moving lights dimmer functions, which allowed the other non dimmer functions such as pan, tilt etc to stay as they were programmed to be.

 

The Innovator was a good mixed desk design that had a grand master that did not affect the device traits if the device definition was set up correctlly.

[paulears]

masterpiece 108 is a good lighting controller .....

I think that must be the first positive comment the masterpiece has ever had on this forum. It pretty well gets slated all the time. I guess it does it's design job ok- but from the perspective of many people (me included) it is a disco product, and not really that useful in a general lighting situation - but of course, that isn't what it was designed for.

[Bad_Rock]

Can't imagine that are that many hire Shop's in Bad Rock's neck of the woods!

Sorry but what is it "neck of the woods"? Well yes there are not many suppliers on my city I n south america. As the saying goes "in the land of the blinds... the man with one eye rules":)