vksl1990 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Hello All, I am looking for a new desk to use for theatre use. It will need to have Moving light control as well as being able to control around 45 generics. It would be nice to have the option to be able to use it as a live desk to for busking etc too. budget is around £2500 anyone got any recommendations? Thanks a lot for all your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Hi Matt, A Jester ML48 should come in under your budget. You don't state your skill level but this is a nice simple desk which most people should be able to pick up. Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patakskrause Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 For that kind of money you could spec one of the new Chamsys PC wing compacts, along with a touchscreen desktop/laptop. That would make a very powerful setup, plus you have the advantage of using an iphone as a focus remote, which is not an option on the jester as far as I'm aware. The dudes at Chamsys are very nice, so give em a buzz and they'll be able to tell you a hell of a lot more! Hope this helps. Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vksl1990 Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 I have already got a Avolites Titan Mobile which they use on occasions but ideally wanted to avoid going for a pc wing for various reasons, one of which the Lighting tech dosent like them! Thanks a lot for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Have a look at an ETC SmartFade ML - 48 dimmers, 24 moving lights, 2 Universes of DMX.Has a theatre stack and is very buskable. Easily found for under £2k The next step up for a theatre-focussed console would be an Element - same OS as Eos/Gio/Ion, so very widely used in the UK.2 Universes of DMX and either 250 or 500 desk channels, can be dimmers or movers or whatever. Those are around £3.5k to 4k, so a little above your budget but might be worth stretching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medina Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 What about Congo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Depends on your focus - Congo Kid is an excellent busking console and a good theatre console.Same price as an Element. Aside from your personal preference, to some extent the better console of these two for you depends on how many moving lights.Congo Kid has physical encoders so is better for 'many' moving lights than Element's onscreen encoders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdherring Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I would also recommend the SmartFade ML and if money allows a Element. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Aside from your personal preference, to some extent the better console of these two for you depends on how many moving lights.Congo Kid has physical encoders so is better for 'many' moving lights than Element's onscreen encoders. We're looking at element and ion (and Congo kid has been in the mix, and there are conflicting voices discussing Chamsys desks too) ATM for our theatre. We'll be getting a demo of the etc desks in the not too distant future at Whitelight, but as a heads up, how much of a faff is it using the on screen encoders? We currently only have a couple of mac 550s, some LED pars and battens and an atomic plus some preludes with scrollers which are not just plain old dimmer channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmosis Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 On Ebay there is a Jands Echelon 1K (hog) for a very good price. It is great for busking and has tracking cue stacks with marked cues. another option is the Chamsys MQ40 list price is £2900 but they offer big discounts for people who do the course. It has 4 universes and again theatre tracking mode. alot of desk for the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Jands Hog 1K is such old technology now. I'm not sure that I would be comfortable recommending it for anything, to be honest. Surely for 2.5k the OP could do better? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osmosis Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 1364843459[/url]' post='469359']Jands Hog 1K is such old technology now. I'm not sure that I would be comfortable recommending it for anything, to be honest. Surely for 2.5k the OP could do better? :) Hog 2 operating system might be old technology but the basic syntax is still used by high end systems and has been copied by the likes of ETC and Chamsys. It is still a much more advanced operating systems than that used by Avolites and zero88.To be honest it is my Jands Echelon for sale on ebay. The only reason I am selling it is because I have ordered the Chamsys MQ60 which I plan to take advantage of its pixel mapping, the size of the console is also a big thing, able to take it on the tube or even as carry on luggage on a plane if need be unlike my old Jands.Like I suggested the Chamsys MQ40 is a lot of desk for the money and within budget, it is perfectly at home in a theatre environment unlike anything offered by Avolites or zero88. Also it is a real console, not a laptop with a wing, I would like to know what happens when you get a skype call or when the machine decides to do a virus scan mid show. I have ordered the mid range MQ60 because of its network and artnet capabilities, something you need when pixel mapping hundreds of fixtures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Hog 2 ... basic syntax ... has been copied by the likes of ETCAre you sure about that? If anyone copied anyone (and I'm not suggesting that was the case), then I'm not sure you can say it was ETC copying FPS. After all, both the original Wholehog and the ETC Obsession appeared on the market at about the same time (1992). I would like to know what happens when you get a skype call or when the machine decides to do a virus scan mid showIn all fairness, as long as you're using a machine that's been properly set up for the application at hand (running a show control system) then those things aren't going to be an issue as you wouldn't have Skype or an automated virus scanner running, or even installed, on the machine. I've run many events in the past on a PC-based MagixQ system, and while I'll grant you that it's not the same as a dedicated console it's never presented me with any problems of that nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXbydesign Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I would like to know what happens when you get a skype call or when the machine decides to do a virus scan mid show. 1. Dont have Skype open!! 2. Switch off the virus scan! ( or use a MAC ) 3. Also for (1.) you could switch off wi-fi - but then I use mine for the I-Pad control although the router isnt connected to the internet! B-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistermorton Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 2. Switch off the virus scan! ( or use a MAC ) Macs need antivirus too, you know. As do Linux machines. Just that windows is more ubiquitous so gets more of the attention. Highly recommended for Android phones, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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