StigHetl Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 Good afternoon!I do apologize if this is posted in the wrong forum. I need a new stage lighting controller, but I am not quite sure which to buy, or where to buy it from. That's why I'm asking here. We don't have unlimited money, so I don't know if I want to go higher than $1700. If you know about a really great controller for up to $3500, shout out! I am actually not quite sure if these controllers have a specific name in English, but we just call them light mixer here. I want a mixer to be used for scenes. Where I can put all the fixtures into submasters. I don't need the oppertunity to make scenes and chases. I just want submasters. That's all I'm asking for right now. I don't need to controll any moving heads or LED-lights with it. I know my description is a little bit poor, but I'm sure someone here knows about a great controller that would fit just for me! Thank you very much,Stig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathanhill Posted April 8, 2014 Share Posted April 8, 2014 We call them lighting desks, consoles or boards here in Blighty. It may be helpful to know the genre that you are lighting, as this can have an impact on the specifics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StigHetl Posted April 8, 2014 Author Share Posted April 8, 2014 Lighting desk, of course! I do everything from revues, musicals, performances, theatre, cabarets, and so on. I'm just going to use conventional light. I have another mixer for LEDs and moving heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattwearing Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Chamsys Magic Q Dongle is always a good thing to have in your bag! Its only £60. 1 Univers of DMX direct out of your laptop. I have used mine on all kinds of things and it is great for testing kit too. The software, you can download for free. http://secure.chamsy...3&product_id=53 You also have a variety of views. Touch screen, Normal, Basic. Basic is cool as it is just 48 Channels and 10 fader banks, great for a basic generic rig. You can also get PC wings, that also connect to your PC / MAC. Have fun! Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timsabre Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 The Behringer LC24-12 is a good stand-alone lighting controller for conventional lights.How many channels are you controlling?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StigHetl Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thank you very much for great answers!The Magic Q looks great, but advanced. timsabre, I can currently control up to 24-28 channels. The last lighting desk I tried, was the Strand lighting 200 Plus Series 24/48 Lighting Control Console, and I loved it! I really want a desk that is similar to this one. Unfortunately this desk might be a little bit to expensive for us. Also, what do you think about the Elation Stagesetter 24? Can I use that one for this purpose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kgallen Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Zero88 Jester 24/48? Not sure if these are available in Norway. They seem to be around £1300/€1600, but probably less if you ask for a quote from a supplier.http://www.zero88.com/products/consoles/jester2448/index.shtmlThere is a moving light version if you wanted to rationalise your controls, have a browse through the Zero88 website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StigHetl Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Thanks for the recommendation!I think it's available in Norway. Sent a mail to a store that might sell them. I have also been looking at Jands Event 408 DMX Lighting Console. What do people think about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattwearing Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 I will second the Zero 88 comment....Very basic, user friendly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david.elsbury Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Isn't the 408 a rather ancient console? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashley R Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 the 408 is rather ancient. but will control plenty of dimmers, and moving heads/ scanners/ LED if need be. might be good cheap option to get some physical faders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 The snag is that the concept of desks like the 200 was simply an evolution from the old style, fader per light controls we've always used. The faders got smaller, and we got more of them. Often the small desks had two rows and you could cross fade between them for scene changes. As soon as they could take 'snapshots', and remember them, things started to change. The 200 is the last of a kind really - plenty of faders and some basic memory functions. Then the world went mad! Controls split in their operational style and complexity. Some users, with fixed lights that need to either be selectively on, or with flashy flashy needs for music started to be made, very often dedicated to particular lights that used multiple DMX channels. You mentioned moving lights on one controller and the more typical fixed lights on the new one - but this is flawed. Operation is more complex than it needs to be, and you have to remember different operating styles and systems. It's usual nowadays to forget about the differences between simple and clever lighting, and control the lot from one device. The simple DMX controls with a bunch of faders and displays make this very difficult. I know one nightclub where they now have 3 lighting controls, spanning 20 years, each one added when some new lights were bought that the old control couldn't work. The latest one could actually work them all, but the operators, in three age groups cannot agree to relinquish their skills on their own era controller - so they all get used. So the brand new moving lights work on control 3, the old moving lights on control 2 and the 1970s stage lights on control 1. Simply mad! A modern control either hardware or software, if programmed properly can do everything. The Jands you mention is quite capable of this, but is sadly now considered geriatric - and just less easy to program when you add multifunction lights that need specific things from a control. Spares and servicing will gradually get note tricky. 10 years is ancient in modern lighting lifespan, in another 10 years, a 3 year old control may well be 'old'. Many on this forum recommend almost without thinking MagicQ - simply because we like it, and can generate good results, but there are many software based systems. In reality, the missing feature on software systems is knobs and faders - if you can add these things, then you have best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newburytech Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 The Jands Stage CL might be a good one to look at. Can be used as both a dimmer desk and LED control desk. In the UK. it's under £1000. http://jands.com/stage-cl/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhole Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 Zero88 Jester 24/48? Not sure if these are available in Norway.There's a full list of our Western Europe Distributors available here:http://zero88.com/distributors/westerneurope/index.shtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattwearing Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 The snag is that the concept of desks like the 200 was simply an evolution from the old style, fader per light controls we've always used. The faders got smaller, and we got more of them. Often the small desks had two rows and you could cross fade between them for scene changes. As soon as they could take 'snapshots', and remember them, things started to change. The 200 is the last of a kind really - plenty of faders and some basic memory functions. Then the world went mad! Controls split in their operational style and complexity. Some users, with fixed lights that need to either be selectively on, or with flashy flashy needs for music started to be made, very often dedicated to particular lights that used multiple DMX channels. You mentioned moving lights on one controller and the more typical fixed lights on the new one - but this is flawed. Operation is more complex than it needs to be, and you have to remember different operating styles and systems. It's usual nowadays to forget about the differences between simple and clever lighting, and control the lot from one device. The simple DMX controls with a bunch of faders and displays make this very difficult. I know one nightclub where they now have 3 lighting controls, spanning 20 years, each one added when some new lights were bought that the old control couldn't work. The latest one could actually work them all, but the operators, in three age groups cannot agree to relinquish their skills on their own era controller - so they all get used. So the brand new moving lights work on control 3, the old moving lights on control 2 and the 1970s stage lights on control 1. Simply mad! A modern control either hardware or software, if programmed properly can do everything. The Jands you mention is quite capable of this, but is sadly now considered geriatric - and just less easy to program when you add multifunction lights that need specific things from a control. Spares and servicing will gradually get note tricky. 10 years is ancient in modern lighting lifespan, in another 10 years, a 3 year old control may well be 'old'. Many on this forum recommend almost without thinking MagicQ - simply because we like it, and can generate good results, but there are many software based systems. In reality, the missing feature on software systems is knobs and faders - if you can add these things, then you have best of both worlds. Just thought I would add to this….Chamsys do offer several wings for control solutions which connect to your PC/MAC via USB. Sadly in this case the software may be too advanced for the needs. Had I have realized this I would have recommended the Jester / Juggler desks. I do agree with you, the Magic Q is highly recommended. Rightly so too! Isn't the 408 a rather ancient console? PRE HOG! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.