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Martin M1


Thumperq

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Hello All,

My company has purchased a Martin M1 and is about to foist it upon me. My choice in this matter is little to none so before I kick up a fuss and stomp my feet for a lighting desk I actually want is there anybody out there that has used or is using one and wants to tell me all about it.Of course many thanks in advance and look me up if your veering the gulf region.

Sacha.

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Firstly thank you very much!

 

Secondly, is it any good really? I know thats a rather broad question but ill justify that but saying firstly im not that much of a lighting person. My background is really in stage, rigging and flying but I have used old Strands and ETCs. But as im now (allegedly) a technical manager and ive inherited a gigantic purchase order I need to know what its role is. Is it a theatrical desk, a rock n roll desk, is it intuitive and easy to use, is the command language going to require a new degree to be able to learn. Stuff like that. The website is like all product websites and says its capable of everything including solving world hunger. I kind of wanted the opinions of actual operators who have used it. I have the ability to be able to have it changed to an ETC GIO if I want, a desk I am vaguely familiar with but if its comparable to that then I wont have that internal fight.

 

Thirdly thank you very much again.

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Secondly, is it any good really?

 

Well... a desk is a personal thing. Really, I cant answer that, if you get on with it and delve into its cool features I think you will like, embrace and enjoy the console.

 

Is it a theatrical desk, a rock n roll desk,

 

Its a Rock 'n' Roll desk primarily but I am a firm believer that any desk can be used for anything (within reason). The skill is in the hands that use it. I use the M1/M2GO for TV stuff, Music stuff and Corporate with absolutely no problems. It has pretty much everything a theatrical desk has, so if you are looking for specific theatrical features - please do give me some examples of what you need to know/be able to do and ill run you through them.

 

is it intuitive and easy to use,

 

Another matter of opinion really. I have done a number of console demos on behalf of Martin here in the UK and everyone I speak to seems to like the desk and finds it easy and intuitive. The front panel is laid out well and the keypad is the same across the whole console range. Plenty of playbacks on there too. The screen layouts are completely customizable and can be stored for later re-use, they can be exported for use on another M-Series desk and stuff within the screen views is quite smart. For example, the preset (palette) screen follows what you are doing with the parameter controls, for example if you are using the Pan & Tilt encoders, the screen shows you the position presets, if your mixing color with the CMY encoders it shows the color presets etc. Also within that window there are tabs along the top of it so you only need one presets window open, and you can tab between the different types rather than having a load of unnecessary windows open. The parameter visualizer - this shows you what each of the encoders do on the relevant pages of parameters - is very graphical. It will show pictures of color slots, gobo slots and even media thumbnails from compatible media servers you have connected.

 

is the command language going to require a new degree to be able to learn.

 

Nope. The command line syntax is very similar to the Hog as Martin originally developed their line of consoles to compete with the Hog when that came out in the 90's. Its similar to Strand and Eos in the sense that its quite forward and logical. If you don't know a command, you can guess at it and probably get what you need. In the back of the current manual, there is a section called " Command Line Reference", take a look at that for information on the syntax. Stuff like RECORD, UPDATE, COPY, LOAD and EDIT all bring up a little options box in the bottom left of the touch screen when you press them where masking and other options can be done. This allows you to only store the color information, or only update the selected fixtures etc.

 

An example of some common commands...

 

1 THRU 10 ENTER < selects fixtures 1 through 10.

RECORD CUE 1 ENTER < Records the contents of the programmer into Cue 1 of the selected Cuelist. If there is no selected cuelist you get a popup asking to create a type of cuelist.

COPY CUE 10 @ 15 ENTER < Copy's cue 10 to 15 in the selected cue list.

 

Thirdly thank you very much again.

 

Your welcome. I believe someone from Martin Middle East should have contacted you via PM by now too..

 

Any more questions, please feel free to ask - I'm sure people reading have similar opinions and don't know much about the desk, answering questions in public means others can find out about the desk too. Martin also have a forum of their own - Martin.com/forum

 

Thanks.

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While trying to avoid another "which lighting desk?" thread, I will say that whenever I've walked up to the latest gen of Martin desks on a trade show stand, I can get them to work with logical button and screen prodding. They seem to generally work pretty much like a Hog/MA/Titan/MQ/<Insert other related ML console here>. I haven't used one on a show but don't see it being an issue if I had to.

 

If you have experience of other modern consoles the M1 will likely work for you. If you only have experience of older Strand or ETC consoles, there is probably some learning to do whichever desk you choose/have thrust upon you. These days there is more to modern lighting control than the command line. Enjoy!

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Martin's consoles have never really taken off in the UK - not sure why - but live music gigs seem to gravitate towards Avo / MA and Theatre seems to have shifted to ETC (or MA ;))

 

I've only seen at the M1 at trade shows etc but both it and the M2Go look quite nice (and intuitive enough to do basic things with just by sitting at it and prodding at the screen in a logical way as Rob suggests)

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