Looking for a new console

[anttech]

Hi all

 

 

I am looking for some views on which console to buy.

 

I Have been looking at both avoilites tiger touch 2 and chamsys mq60. another option has been the Hog Hedgehog but this is rather limited in outputs and scalibility.

Looking for views on what people think of both.

 

 

I do a mixture of corporate, live and theatre and so the desk needs to be fairly universal. I am not really intereasted in gettting a pc wing instead prefer a proper console.

 

 

 

Look forward to hearing your views

 

 

 

Ant

[ianknight]

Are you looking to use it mainly yourself or use it yourself and hire it out to clients?

 

If you're going to use it yourself then have a look at the Zero88 Orb - you might be surprised to find it ticks a lot of your boxes, however if you're intending to hire it out then you may encounter some resistance with an Orb and would perhaps be better looking at an <bear baiting> "industry standard" </bear baiting> desk.

 

Whichever way you feel you want to go, talk to established dealers who can demo the console to you - ideally in a location you know so that you see how it fits to what you're intending to do with it.

[timsabre]

Tiger Touch and MQ60 are pretty similar in terms of functionality... the Avo has more playback faders on the panel and is more "buskable" in my opinion but that may just be down to my familiarity with the Avo way of operating. I also think the Avo user interface is a bit slicker, seems to take you to where you need to be with less button presses. On the other hand the Avo cue stack still does some weird and unexpected things to me sometimes.

 

Like Ian says you need to get hands on and see which you like. Avo will happily demo for you if you can visit them in London and I'm sure Chamsys would too, they are in Southampton.

[anttech]

Ian - not really wanting a zero 88

 

 

I am more looking for peoples views. spoke to one person who said that they though the avo fixture profiles were not as good as they used to be esp with some led stuff

 

 

 

 

 

[Lobster Lighting]

Have you looked at any of the martin m series consoles? M2go or M1 Worth a look.

[WiLL]

Ian - not really wanting a zero 88

 

 

I am more looking for peoples views. spoke to one person who said that they though the avo fixture profiles were not as good as they used to be esp with some led stuff

 

 

wow.

 

looking for peoples views as long as they aren't about Zero88 you mean?

Isn't that being a bit Deskist? :P

[timsabre]

I am more looking for peoples views. spoke to one person who said that they though the avo fixture profiles were not as good as they used to be esp with some led stuff

 

Have not experienced this. Sometimes they don't have personalities for some of the more random chinese tat but there is a good range of generic personalities (e.g. RGBD etc) which you can use. Chamsys have this too.

[Young Johnstone]

I also strongly advise you check out Martin M Series. M2go would be ticking every box and can have a nice big screen!

 

I own M Series consoles, and for me, they rock. I can put them on any type of show and they'll fit in nicely!

I should also add that I made the swap from Avo about 6 months ago.

[top-cat]

I would be concerned that the M2GO doesn't fit the "I don't want a PC wing" bill... I appreciate it has it's own computer... but if you're going to cart around an external monitor, why not cart around an all in one PC and open yourself up to the options the wing world brings? (you can get a MA2 onPC command wing + fader wing for the price of a tiger touch, but there are no worthwhile MA console options at this price point).

 

My stand is that Chamsys and Avo products offer perks and disadvantages over each other... Chamsys support for media is IMO extremely good, the cue stack system as has been said is also not quite there on the Avo where it runs fine in Chamsys - a feature which I'd say on a 10-fader board is pretty invaluable. But the screen is ridiculously small, the tiger touch does give you 10 more faders, and I'd say the build quality is a bit better on the Avo.

 

So ultimately as has been said, go and have a look and a play for yourself, all manufacturers do training and it's the best way to really decide what you like.

[ianknight]

Ian - not really wanting a zero 88

 

 

I am more looking for peoples views. spoke to one person who said that they though the avo fixture profiles were not as good as they used to be esp with some led stuff

 

 

wow.

 

looking for peoples views as long as they aren't about Zero88 you mean?

Isn't that being a bit Deskist? :P

 

Actually almost a bit Henry Ford too and perhaps an indication that a mind has almost been made up but is waiting for affirmation.

 

My advice (seeing's you asked for advice/views) is to get Richard Lambert or Jon Hole to give you a demo of something running ZerOS - they've moved on quite a bit from Alcora :P

[ceecrb1]

My 2p as an mq60 owner...

 

I have had mine since september and it has been very well used in that time...

I've done everything from live tv, live bands, festival stage to dj nights etc

 

On every job I felt that an accessory was entirely neccessary to get the job done (well).

eg tv job: I NEEDED a 2nd montior showing output screen or program screen so I could communicate data back to the LD quickly.

 

Busking, the 10 playbacks is never enough.

I built my own arduino based mini box with 16 flash buttons for 16 more playbacks.... it cost less than 100€ however it is home made and once in a while buttons stick on and there are a few errors.

So I recently bought an extrawing compact.

 

My latest purchase was a 12" ELO touchscreen.. I spent a long time waiting for the right price on ebay and definately got me a bargain.

 

It is a great console and I'm very happy with my purchse.. but if you are budgeting you do need to see it as "the start". It will need addons later to get the full potential out of it.

 

My most "standard" show is with a band I tour with.

I am actually hired by the owner of a rig, so we turn up, rig the truss, pa, lights everything... and we hire out the rig to the bands who wish to turn up..

So we can do a month with the same band or never see the same band twice in the same month, so busking is the key.

On these days I generaly will take the console and the midi-box.. and some times will add the touchscreen but it is not entirely neccessary.

 

Dont let you think that I am an unhappy owner! I love my desk! It is hardy ever in its flight case, either on the road with me or on my desk beside my pc doing something...

You CAN do a show with no accessories using the exec screen etc.. Its just that I preffer a big physical button that I can mash blind.

[Young Johnstone]

Well the M2GO is another option. For me its more powerful than both consoles, but its personal choice! Unfortunately Chamsys just doesn't 'click' with me.

I suppose you could look at the M2go as a wing in a sense, but the screens a great size which is what I really like and it can all pack down into a peli quite neatly.

 

MA wise, I believe their releasing a new console this year that's going to be just up from MA on PC / Command wing combo.

 

If it was a choice between Chamsys and Avo, I'd go for the TT.

[anttech]

Ian - I have been using the leapfrog and solution at a few venues I work at. I agree that the software has developed but feel it is still lacking slightly.

[ianknight]

Ian - I have been using the leapfrog and solution at a few venues I work at. I agree that the software has developed but feel it is still lacking slightly.

 

Fair do's but on an Orb ZerOS becomes a different more powerful beast - the control surfaces on the Solution (aka LeapFrog) do limit it quite a lot.

[top-cat]

If it was a choice between Chamsys and Avo, I'd go for the TT.

 

So would many, but I and many others would take the MQ.

 

Hence the vitally important step of trying both out and seeing which one you personally prefer. For anyone who is used to syntax based programming, the avo offers nothing.