New Lighting Desk thoughts

[icutting]

We currently run a Strand 520i in a small theatre in a Sixth Form College. This desk has just recently thrown a couple of wobblies (it is 12 years old, so cant complain too much!) and I can't get hold of any spares for it.

We have just been given the go-ahead to replace it, so was wondering what people thought a good replacement would be, we have between £7000 and £15000 to play with. It's been a while since have had to source new desk, so forgive me. The current desk has 250 channels (which we use 140 for generic fixtures) and we have a couple of moving lights too, along with the smoke machine and haze.

[Joe Bleasdale]

An ETC Ion or Eos would be a great replacement. Easy to use, very similar to the 520 and a reliable console. If you ring ETC, I'm sure a demo can be arranged for you :)

 

Thanks.

[maxjones2000]

What sort of events do you hold?

 

 

For example, if it's mostly theatre, then an ETC ion would be good, but if it's mostly concerts, maybe consider something like an Avo Pearl Expert or Tiger Touch (personally, I'm an Avo fan!). Also, will it be students using it, or just theatre technicians? I only say this as we had an Avo at my college, and I was the only one in the school who knew how to use it! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

[Paul Turner]

Hi Ian,

The Jands Vista certainly is worth a look, its a way of lighting control that Students understand and pick up very quickly.

It can handle Theatre to Rock n roll and everything in-between, and has been designed to handle new type of lights, such as multi element LED fixtures etc.

I am on the road with demo consoles, so would be able to swing by and give you a demo should you like one.

More information ion the Vista range can be found here Vista website

We also offer student training courses that you can tie in with your curriculum content.

 

Please feel free to contact me via email at paul.turner@ac-et.com, or on my mobile 07775 904978

 

Many thanks

[jonhole]

Hi icutting,

 

Another console that has been replacing Strand 500 Series consoles is our ORB XF console. Both the hardware and software layout is very familiar to Stand users, but with large increases in functionality. I'd be happy to arrange a demo if you are interested. The cost of the ORB XF also gives you a significant amount of money left over to purchase extras - maybe a couple touch screens, networking nodes, wireless routers and iOS / Android devices which can be used for remote monitoring or as a riggers remote etc.

 

Let me know if you are interested - contact details are in the signature below!

[smalljoshua]

Depending on your style of work, an EOS would be good for primarily theatre, an Avolites Tiger Touch would be good for primarily busking.

 

The Chamsys offerings however are a very flexible solution for both, as are the Jands Vista consoles. For me, the Chamsys suits my way of working over that of the Jands (interface niceties) however the way the Jands handles colour in RGB/RGBA etc is very nice.

 

I've not used the ORB XF however it appears to be an interesting desk which should do what you need it to. It's all going to be down to your work preferences.

 

Just my 2 pence.

 

Josh

[gibbothegreat]

The key is the question that Max asked: what sort of events do you use it on. You mention that you only have a couple of moving lights, I would guess that actually the desks mentioned above will have a huge amount of functionality that you don't ever use. It may be that a much simpler desk wil serve your needs handsomely, and leave you with that money to spend on more useful things - possibly including more inteliigent lighting? For instance, the Zero 88 Jester TL Extra is a very capable and straightforward board, copes with movers and other fixtures more than handsomely, and has the advantage of coming in nice compact format. Try before you buy, for sure, but think about what you want before you get to that stage.

[danburns]

Another option would be the ETC Element. Handles a few movers, can have a touch screen added for easier control, and runs the same software as an Ion/Eos console.

[paulears]

How come you got a budget approval without the makes and models? - that's the opposite of how it's done. Here's £X pounds spend it on what you like rather than the usual, we need £X, and the bean counters give you 80% of what you need.

[gareth]

It's a bit pointless speculating until the OP returns and tells us more about what they need from the desk.

[J Pearce]

Most schools with technicians seem to be going down the Element or Ion route, with some taking Zero88 and the occasional Strand Palette.

[Trunker]

The Zero88 OrbXF is a great desk, although I would defiantely take advantage of all the free training you can get!!! It has heaps of processing power and you can do things with the desk I never thought possible. One venue I work at was the first in the country to use it live for a show.....I must say though, don't get it out of the box in the morning and expect to use it on a show that evening.

[mjriley]

How about a Chamsys MagicQ setup on a laptop/desktop with a wing or one of the new smaller dedicated desks.

[TheWiz]

Been using the Jands Vista S3 for about a year now. and granted I dont have a ton of experience on many other desks but I dont feel like I want any, this desk is beautifully powerful. It does everything you want so easily.

[GridGirl]

Been using the Jands Vista S3 for about a year now. and granted I dont have a ton of experience on many other desks but I dont feel like I want any, this desk is beautifully powerful. It does everything you want so easily.

 

I hate to be difficult, but really this is not a particularly helpful reply. If you'd said "I've used Ion/Eos, MagiQ and Hog a lot but I find the Vista to be by far the most suited to my needs" it would have been different - how do you know other desks don't do what you want them to just as easily, if not more so, than the Vista?

 

OP, a couple of years ago my old theatre company replaced an ageing and unreliable 520 with an ETC Ion (with a 2x20 fader wing) after much debate, research, trialling and experiments with a lot of other options (we did discard GrandMA without trying the desk, as we knew it was really too powerful a desk for our application so would have been overkill) and everyone is very happy with that decision. It's used to run large numbers of generics and sometimes moving lights and LEDs in a cue-stack situation, and occasionally for small-scale concerts. Operators like it - and it didn't take them long at all to get used to it after the Strand - and there has never been a situation where we couldn't make it do what we want. It's also worth noting that the Sydney Opera House is now all Eos and Ion-controlled. However, trying different desks out for suitability is key because what works for us may not work for you.