Dimmer Hunt

[thetechguru]

"Strand are pretty much dead and do not make dimmers anymore AFAIK".

 

I know Strand have not stopped making dimmers - please do not post statements that are not factual and then justify them by AFAIK!!

 

We are Strand distributors/installers and are currently installing Strand Wallracks and control systems in venues throughout the UK and Ireland!

[Brian]

One thing to consider if you go the 'change all the dimmers route' is that you might need a complete rewire to bring the existing wiring up to current 'spec'. It's a bit of a grey area but some installers, who in the end have to sign of the installation, will insist that the existing wiring will need to be brought up to 17th edition standards. If this is the case then take the cost of the dimmers and double it.

[rossmck]

"Strand are pretty much dead and do not make dimmers anymore AFAIK".

 

I know Strand have not stopped making dimmers - please do not post statements that are not factual and then justify them by AFAIK!!

 

We are Strand distributors/installers and are currently installing Strand Wallracks and control systems in venues throughout the UK and Ireland!

 

Do strand still make their own dimmers... many of their recent ones were rebadged and available elsewhere (for a fraction of the price but without a strand badge) from memory, the Dig6 was a Light Processor Paradime and the more recent SD6 is made by the same people who manufacture the ShowTec Dim-Master 6 I believe?

 

At the risk of going slightly off-topic how much of Strand's current dimmer catalogue is made by Strand ?

 

I'd second AndyJones' suggestion that you're better looking to ETC these days, Strand was once a very respected brand and a de facto standard but personally I feel this has changed in recent years, they don't even make lanterns now :) - http://www.blue-room.org.uk/index.php?showtopic=35744

[johnlinford]

When I looked at replacing some dimmers about a year ago I had the price at about £10k for 5 24 way Chilli Pro racks to hard-wire a substantial amount of circuits that are currently patched. ETC racks were about double that. Both the ETC and Zero88 product lines have options for remote out stations to recall pre-defined states.

 

I'd agree with the general consensus that hardwiring everything to a set of Chillis is almost certainly not substantially different in cost to putting in a patch bay, and does have several benefits.

[cedd]

There is a halfway house between a full patch panel and channel-per-socket.

 

Our local venue has the first bunch of channels (48 I believe, it's been a while!) hard wired to common points front of house and on stage. This is enough to give a decent wash with colours and a few specials. These sockets tend to be left populated with lanterns. It's a council run venue so the ease of use putting together a stage wash for the simpler shows and events (brass band concerts, choirs, whatever) is great. There is a small 2 preset desk available permanently wired into these channels.

Then when our bigger shows come along (30 movers, Lots of LED's, video content, etc...) we have another 48 channels available, however these have a patch panel to the rest of the sockets around the house.

This allows for the pro's and con's of both methods - your patch panel isn't massive, there isn't scope for somebody messing up the basic setup, it's easy for a simple user to get some light on the stage, and there is the flexibility of patchable bars.

 

Worth a thought - but wow, a school with that many channels of dimming! I'd be seriously chuffed! Back in my days of school, we had 24 channels, and that was only if they all worked!

[charl.ie]

Back in my days of school, we had 24 channels, and that was only if they all worked!

Pah! We got by with 18.

[smalljoshua]

I like the idea of a hybrid setup, it seems something that although sounding convoluted and difficult to work with at first glance could be very versatile if done right.

 

I'm lucky to have 8-10 working channels at school anymore, I don't complain though (often :)) and just get on with doing my best with limited resources.

 

Josh

[Congresstech]

I can personally vouch for the Zero88 Chilli's, I've got 3 x 24 way and 2 x 4 way. 72 channels spread across the rig, with FOH paired, stage on singles, IWB cyc bar, and dips at stage level. Then one of the 4 ways is set to hot power providing power to 16A terminations on each IWB, and the other 4 way providing my house lighting circuits. It's one of the best systems I've ever worked with, and can personally recommend them to anybody. As others have stated, the ability to set presets and change DMX values from the control panel is a superb feature.

 

And I must comment on the after sales service I receive from Zero88, it is second to none. They don't deem any question as being silly, and always have someone on hand for a site visit if required (my venue is only a 10 minute walk to their factory though).

[Joe Bleasdale]

Have you taken a look at the Compulite Dimmers?

 

We do CompuPacks, CompuDim 2000, CompuRack and MobileDim. CompuRack and CompuDim are more install orientated, whilst the CompuPack and the MobileDim are portable or Rackmounted.

 

If you want me to send you some brochures out of the current range's, PM me an address to send them to.

 

Best Regards,

[SoLiEn]

I can vouch for the compuracks, they are solid beasties.