LX desks for touring houses

[andystone]

Admin: Is there a way to change your vote on this forum?

Andy: I had already clicked the Hog button before the Compulite's were added

( sorry ) although on the basis of the question, given the choice I would choose Compulite!

Come on Gareth, answer the man, can he change his vote, we need the votes!!!

 

Andy

Stagetec

[gareth]

well if any of ya tour into our venue youll hate us with our ADB

Hmmm ... I removed ADB from the list in favour of Compulite because I'm only aware of a single venue (Courtyard in Hereford) who currently have an ADB (a Tenor, I think - horrible desk, anyway!). Both the Lawrence Batley in Huddersfield and the Sherman in Cardiff used to have Vision10's, but they've both ditched them in favour of Strand desks. Which venue is yours, Hippy? And which flavour of ADB do you have?

[gareth]

Admin: Is there a way to change your vote on this forum?

Andy: I had already clicked the Hog button before the Compulite's were added

( sorry ) although on the basis of the question, given the choice I would choose Compulite!

Come on Gareth, answer the man, can he change his vote, we need the votes!!!

Whoah there! ;)

 

After Colin posted his comments, I had a poke around "under the bonnet" to see if there's a way to alter a vote. It doesn't look as though bog-standard moderators can do it - if it can be done at all, it'll need to be an administrator (i.e. Richard or Peter) who does the tinkering.

[andystone]

Can I post straight away on the same topic?

 

Well, I am anyway!

 

What would be an interesting poll from our point of view is what people are looking for on a lighting console. Obviously everyone has a personal preference, usually based on what they use most, I started off life working in theatre and working on one of the first Compulite consoles so I've stuck with them.

 

But, what are people looking for now? OK, price is an important issue, but do people want lots of faders/submasters, multiple crossfade playbacks, graphic screens, 10 million DMX outputs....or what?

 

Being involved with a manufacturer they are always striving to put into their consoles what people want. You may think they design what they want, but I can certainly say that with Compulite they are always listening to the users and whatever they say usually (as long as it is for the good of the many) goes - at the end of the day this is what sells consoles.

 

Andy

Stagetec

[gareth]

What would be an interesting poll from our point of view is what people are looking for on a lighting console.

Why not set up just such a poll then?! Just hit the "New Poll" button while you're viewing a particular forum, and follow the prompts - it's really simple to do. And you're right, I think it would be an interesting poll. The only slight snag is that each member can only cast a single vote for a single 'option' - so if you wanted to vote for, say, colour touchscreens and a large number of playbacks/masters as being equally important, you could only vote for one or the other. Still, must be worth a go!

[Bryson]

Thanks for adding Compulite, however I have to say that I think the answer has to be the Strand 500 series, it may not be the best desk (subject to discussion of course), but it is the most popular in touring theatre venues and has to therefore be the easiest for transfer of shows.

 

Andy

Stagetec 

 

And the fair play award goes to Andy Stone....

 

Seriously, though, who is going to vote for a Gemini these days? Replace it with ADB. I still voted Strand, but I know a few folks that would go for ADB Vision or Pheoenix

[gareth]

Seriously, though, who is going to vote for a Gemini these days?  Replace it with ADB.  I still voted Strand, but  I know a few folks that would go for ADB Vision or Pheoenix

Well, OK, perhaps not a Gemini - but I can think of a few people, self included, who'd much rather stumble into the control room and behold the lovely softly-glowing front panel of a Galaxy Nova in preference to some of the other options in the poll! They might not be current-generation technology, but Galaxies rock!

 

But I suppose you're right! Poll changed accordingly ... ;)

[andystone]

Why not set up just such a poll then?!

Done!

 

Andy

Stagetec

[themadhippy]

I removed ADB from the list in favour of Compulite

funny that we've just replaced an ancient compulite with a vision 10 running isis(I think) in the most easterly theatre in england (if you dont count the small arty place down the road ;) )

[gareth]

funny that we've just replaced an ancient compulite with a  vision 10 running isis(I think) in the most easterly theatre in england

Ah, yes, just noticed that your profile reveals your place of work ... I remember it! Only toured there once, in (I think) late '97 - I seem to remember it being very very cold, and Lowestoft was pretty much a ghost town when we arrived on the Sunday evening! The auditorium is (or was, at least) painted a particularly unpleasant shade of green, as I recall. And I remember that old Compulite of yours - it was old when I visited, do you mean to say it's only just been replaced 6 years later?! ;)

 

So the only other theatres in which I'm aware of the existence of a Compulite desk are Basildon (Towngate) and Bolton (Octagon). WNO have one, too, if I recall correctly. Where else do you have Compulites installed, Andy?

[themadhippy]

The auditorium is (or was, at least) painted a particularly unpleasant shade of green

still is

[mac500]

I would say for the usability any AVO Desk.

 

I would be interested in seeing how powerful the compulite range is, when I had work experience at the BBC 3 years ago it seemed like the whole range of compulite desks were being used.

[colinmonk]

Compulite desks are very popular in the TV industry, I would probably say (and am bracing to be fought with) that Compulite are typically the industry standard in TV. Many TV Programs utilise their desks.

[gareth]

I would say for the usability any AVO Desk.

I didn't put Avo in the list because there are only a couple of receiving venues I'm aware of which have Avo desks, and they're both backup/rock'n'roll desks which exist alongside other, more theatre-based desks.

 

Don't forget, this poll is not really about useability, which desk is your personal favourite, what you'd specifiy on your own jobs, etc. - it's about what touring electricians like to find as in-house desks at receiving venues for the purposes of making their lives easier and more pleasant when it comes to transferring their show into a desk.

[gareth]

Compulite desks are very popular in the TV industry, I would probably say (and am bracing to be fought with) that Compulite are typically the industry standard in TV. Many TV Programs utilise their desks.

They're certainly very popular, but I wouldn't say they're the "industry standard". Compulites are commonly used as moving light consoles (with Hogs running a close second), and a few hire companies (FTVS for one) use them to run generics too. But many studios still have Galaxies as their generic console, and those that don't seem to be a mix of Compulite, ADB and newer Strand consoles.