Strand Preset Palette

[Strand77]

Hi All

Just wondering if anyone has got one of these ? Have they Improved since they were first released. Considering one for AmDram Club

which may use moving Heads occasionally. Anyone programmed moving heads on this type of desk ?

any advice greatly received.

[Olit]

Hi All

Just wondering if anyone has got one of these ? Have they Improved since they were first released. Considering one for AmDram Club

which may use moving Heads occasionally. Anyone programmed moving heads on this type of desk ?

any advice greatly received.

 

I have used this desk with both the old and the new version 10 software, and there really is quite a difference. A majority of the old genius pro commands are now accepted and ssf. files now import properly. I would suggest that if you haven't already, you download the free offline editor from the strand website and have a look round it. The hardware can be a bit slugish at times with large shows, but I imagine for a AmDram club this wouldn't be a problem. In regards to Moving Light programming the desk handles them well, for small shows the move while dark function works surprisingly well, with the added ability to now 'Mark' cues as to where lights will preset. The built in colour picker is good, and the new text match for CMY fixtures works well to a degree (mostly dependent on your fixtures) where you can use the inbuilt Lee, Rosco, Gam or Appolo libraries to select colours I.e Fixture 10@L201.

 

Hope this may be of some use.

Oli

[Tomo]

Much as I hate to say this, the Strand Preset Palette is a complete dog when it comes to moving lights.

 

The reason for this is that it's got no encoders - to use moving lights with it you hold down a softkey (eg "Pan") and roll your mousewheel (not the big level wheel - your mousewheel!)

 

As a generics desk, it's perfectly capable though.

 

I'm told that the bigger ones (with encoders) aren't bad.

[Strand77]

Okay thanks for that can anyone recommend another desk was looking for a fader per channel desk but this is maybe not so important after all anyone any thoughts zero 88 Leapfrog ? Congo Jnr ?

[iamchristuffin]

How many movers and generics are we talking about?

 

The Fat Frog can handle 48 dimmer channels (with fader per channel) and 12 fixtures (scrollers, movers, etc.), and the Bull Frog can handle double this. I think the Bull Frog has now been discontinued though....

 

Still, I'm sure there's one floating around AC, usedlighting, eBay, etc....

 

HTH,

 

Chris

[HobitLight]

I think the Bull Frog has now been discontinued though....

The entire original Frog range has been discontinued and replaced with the Jester Range and the new Frog range with the Leap Frog 24/48, Leap Frog 48/96 and the Frog 2.

[David Buffham]

Okay thanks for that can anyone recommend another desk was looking for a fader per channel desk but this is maybe not so important after all anyone any thoughts zero 88 Leapfrog ? Congo Jnr ?

Hi, for a theatre desk around the same price mark as those two you mentioned, I would definitely take a close look at the ETC Ion. It has a compact control surface which is ideal for smaller spaces, and is very simple to use; yet extremely powerful. The user interface is great, and for theatre cue-stack operation, with or without moving lights, I doubt you'd find a better all round option. Ion runs the same software as the bigger Eos console, which has been intensively developed for theatre style operation. The software has had a lot of input during its development from key theatre users around the world, including those at the RSC and National. I use Eos on a daily basis for theatre shows, and I find it hard to fault it. Straight conventional programming is extremely fast, and even with moving lights the handling of attribute timing, marking & palette updating is very powerful but quick and intuitive. We bought Eos to replace Virtuoso and it is much better than that console - and you can get Eos software on the Ion hardware platform at a great price. We also own an Ion for smaller shows, and I'm as happy using that for some things as the Eos. I'd say Ion is definitely worth a look. :)

[peter]

Of the desks mentioned, Leap Frog 48 and Leap Frog 96 would be the ones that fill the design criteria - fader per channel. Eos and Congo both work through command syntax, not what the end user is requesting.

 

If you'd like to take a look at the Leap Frogs, you can download the offline editor for free from our website and if you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.

[David Buffham]

He did say "was looking for a fader per channel desk but this is maybe not so important after all", in which case it is worth looking at other alternatives. I know of a amateur group who bought a Strand LBX 10 years ago when fitting out their new theatre, on the basis that it combined fader-per-channel with memory operation; so that it would suit everyone. As time has gone on and people have got more acquainted with the memory operation, this has becomes far less important. So much so that in looking for a replacement desk they no longer see fader-per-channel as a necessary requirement and are considering options such as Congo Jr & Ion.

[Tomo]

How many dimmer channels do you have or expect to upgrade to?

 

The ETC options would be:

 

1) SmartFade ML (with SmartSoft if you want)

- 2 Universe of DMX, to control 48 dimmers plus 24 moving lights. Fader-per-channel style, with groups, palettes, submasters and cue stack.

- Built-in effects engine for all attributes.

- Doesn't need a monitor at all, but can be connected to a PC running SmartSoft to provide a GUI with additional editing functions.

- Physically tiny, so you can easily move it around the venue.

 

2) Congo Jr with Wing

- 2 Universes of DMX, to control up to 3072 'fixtures' (be they moving lights or dimmers)

(Can be upgraded to 16 universes over the network)

- Full Complete Control console for all types of lighting control.

- An extremely powerful and easy to learn effects engine.

- "Direct-Action" console with keypad

- Various Fader Wings available to suit budget, up to 40 faders.

- Faders can contain cuelists, presets, individual channels etc.

- Needs at least one VGA or DVI monitor, two preferred.

- Touchscreen-enabled.

- Network-enabled (ETC Net2, ArtNet, & sACN)

 

3) Ion with Wing(s)

- 2 Universes of DMX, to control up to 5000 Fixtures.

- Upgradable to 4 Universes over the network.

- Command-line based console.

- Powerful effects engine.

- Can attach several Fader Wings to give a maximum of 240 faders.

- Faders can contain cuelists, presets, individual channels etc.

- Needs at least one VGA or DVI monitor, two DVI monitors preferred.

- Touchscreen-enabled.

- Network-enabled (ETC Net2, ArtNet, & sACN)

 

You can download and try out the offline software for all these consoles for free - try the links above.

 

Of these, I suspect that the SmartFade ML is probably the best console for you, assuming you have a relatively small rig.

Otherwise I would be looking at a Congo Jr, as it has a shallower learning curve coming from fader-per-channel and dual-preset consoles.

Ion is great if you'd like to move to command-line consoles, but this tends to mean a steeper learning curve.

 

I'd suggest trying out the offline editor for the Zero88 consoles Peter suggested, and the ETC offerings, and then decide which is likely to suit your venue best.

 

Congo Jr can be fader-per-channel if you want. You can either flick the Master Mode switch into Channels Only mode, or (more usefully), load a few interesting channels onto the faders and mix'n'match with presets, effects, palettes, chases and other useful things.

[Strand77]

Okay thanks for that. Whats the price of a Congo Jnr with side wing or a Ion with side wing ?

[Tomo]

Ballpark figures are sub £2k for SmartFade ML, and ~£4k to £6k for Ion and Congo Jr with wings - those are list, so you'll probably pay a bit less in reality.

The price is quite variable for Ion and Congo Jr, as there are three (soon four) kinds of wings that can be connected to them.

For Congo Jr only:

- 40-Fader Master Playback Wing

For Congo Jr and Ion

- 2x20 Fader Universal Wing

- 2x10 Fader Universal Wing

- 1x20 Fader Universal Wing (coming soon)

 

More usefully, there are a few dealers relatively close to you that can give you demonstrations and prices.

 

I think two closest to you are probably Black Light and Northern Light, both based in Edinburgh.

 

If you have the time it would be great to come down to the ABTT show on June 11th/12th, as Strand, Zero88 and ETC all have stands there.

I'm sure they will all have examples of their consoles to try out, and see what you think.

 

That is a bit of a trek from Aberdeen though!

[Strand77]

Hi thanks for that. To answer your questions we are running up to a total of 48 channels. And will only occasionally use moving head lights on that note maybe the leapfrog 96 is a better option. But the Congo Jnr looks a good desk. On another note we would like to add a couple of Scrollers on stage for a colour wash can any one recommend what type of Fresnels would be good for this with say Rainbow Scrollers ?

 

 

Many Thanks