Andy! Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Well we had a toss up at school wether to get the frog or the strand. well we go the strand 300. also is there much diffrence between the 300 and the 500 if so which would you get? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andystone Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Your choice is very limited! No-one here can make this decision for you, yes we can express a preference, but it all depends on your requirements. You have to decide what you want out of a console first, what is your budget, what is it going to be used for, who is going to be using it and what features do you require. Only then can you start looking at what is available and make a decision ideally by borrowing each one for a show and trying it out. AndyStagetecwww.stagetec.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Strand 300 versus Strand 500 - basically, it's the same software running on different hardware. 300 - more expandable (extra submaster panels), more portable, some models have nice space-saving built-in LCD monitors.500 - much better control surface, more outputs, better build quality (IMO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy! Posted February 9, 2004 Author Share Posted February 9, 2004 Your choice is very limited! No-one here can make this decision for you, yes we can express a preference, but it all depends on your requirements. You have to decide what you want out of a console first, what is your budget, what is it going to be used for, who is going to be using it and what features do you require. Only then can you start looking at what is available and make a decision ideally by borrowing each one for a show and trying it out. AndyStagetecwww.stagetec.co.ukI just wanted to see what was the best out of them to see if our school did the right choice of pinking the stand than the frog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 There really isnt a "better" console. For a school situation, with fewer than 48 dimmers, I think a Fat Frog would be a perfectly reasonable situation. For a venue which recieves tours, a Strand desk would be almost a necessity when spec'ing new kit. Bear in mind that the Fat Frog is around £1.5k and Strand 300s start at about £3k for the basic package. But you do get a lot more facilities for the money on the Strand desk - it does things the Fat Frog could only dream of. You get what you pay for, facility wise. But then, do you need dimmer profiles, fixture depatching, etc etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Hmmm the 300 series might be right for you - depends on how many dimmers you've got. Over 48 and the Fat Frog isn't an option anymore, and it becomes the Bull Frog (or is it the Mambo?), which starts to cost the same as a 300. The 300 has the bonus of using an industry standard (and when I say this, I do realise alot of venues have a Frog) software that is used on pretty much all tours, and in most major recieving houses. The only thing I don't like about the 300 is their laptop like features. Just doesn't feel rugged enough, and the buttons get on my nerves. If I had the choice, and enough money, it'd be a 520 or 530i over a 300 for me. But sometimes you have to be realistic, and look at other options. Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalmatthew Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 My main reason for using a frog is that it is simple, remeber you have to plan for future tech crews. I was in this postion a year ago. I decided that the Frog was the best bet as it is very simple to use. Faders are up for up down for down. They are pactched allready for dimmers and if you get any of the higher ranges, fixtures can be addded as well. Although if you have more dimmers then the strand is answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 Isn't there a 24/48 'hands on fader' variety of the 300 series? Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted February 9, 2004 Share Posted February 9, 2004 There's a 48/96 if you want one - I have one being delivered on Monday. In fact, can you not keep buying fader panels if you like? What is the limit on fader panels on a 300? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy! Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 Isn't there a 24/48 'hands on fader' variety of the 300 series? StuYou taking about the seris 24 desk I used that. Except half way through the show it packed up, luckily it was in the Blackout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyoung Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 My school only had Analogue dimmers, but their desk is knackered (it was one of those little orange manual 2-present strand ones, whatever they're called). They're not in the market for buying new dimmers although it would be nice as they've only got 18 dimming channels ... so are there any decent programmable analgoue desks out there? I think the Sirius had both analogue and DMX output options, but am I right in thinking it's not made any more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Potassium Neuf Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 By "Frog" do you just mean the basic "Frog" desk or the entire series ? There are currently five desks in the Frog Series ... Frog, Fat Frog, Leap Frog, Mambo Frog and Bull Frog :P Not forgetting the Frog Box which will play back shows recorded on any of the above desks :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Dan, The sirius desks have been superseeded. If you want analogue control, have you considered second hand. I have seen several sirius desks on various web sites recently (PM me and I will give you the URL). You will, however have to ensure that your dimmers and the desk use the same control voltages. You could also consider a modern DMX desk and a demultiplexer. The Demux generates the analogue control voltages to control your dimmers. You then have the advantage that you can control DMX equipment such as scrollers in the future. HTH Ellis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 They're not in the market for buying new dimmers although it would be nice as they've only got 18 dimming channels ... so are there any decent programmable analgoue desks out there? I think the Sirius had both analogue and DMX output options, but am I right in thinking it's not made any more?Correct, the Sirius is no longer made. You will not find a new memory desk which only has analogue outputs, usually they are DMX out and you have analogue outputs as an option. Have a look on the zero88 site at the Alcora and Elara or on the Strand site at the 100 and 200 series. The past concensus here is that the 200 is a very good desk for the money although it doesn't have an analogue output option. An external DMX to analogue will cost around £150. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Isn't there a 24/48 'hands on fader' variety of the 300 series? StuYou taking about the seris 24 desk I used that.If by your spelling you mean the Sirius 24, then no I was talking about the Strand 300 :D Stu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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