Showtec Showmaster 48

[Duncan Wynne]

Does anyone know of a Video Tutorial for a Showtec Showmaster 48? I have no real knowledge of the system but I get roped in to do the lights once a year for our village Panto and have to re-learn the programing. A tutorial video would be great, any sauggestions?

 

[erik10_4]

The Showtec Showmaster 48 is just the big brother of the Showtec Showmaster 24 and the programming sequence is therefore identical (just more channels).

video on programming the Showtec 24 will therefore be a very good start and will probably tell you all you need to know to use this very simple desk.

 

Edit: There is also an overview of the controls

Edited January 17, 2020 by erik10_4

[sunray]

Does anyone know of a Video Tutorial for a Showtec Showmaster 48? I have no real knowledge of the system but I get roped in to do the lights once a year for our village Panto and have to re-learn the programing. A tutorial video would be great, any suggestions?

 

I'm in pretty much the same position [Cobra colourcontrol48], all I've done is download the manual and sit in front of the desk with a couple of fittings connected and run through the manual. As a follow up I've printed & laminated the page on programming which stays with the desk. I don't make any claims about being professional but I seem to get by. My first 2 shows were busked on a 24CH desk.

 

[erik10_4]

Does anyone know of a Video Tutorial for a Showtec Showmaster 48? I have no real knowledge of the system but I get roped in to do the lights once a year for our village Panto and have to re-learn the programing. A tutorial video would be great, any suggestions?

 

I'm in pretty much the same position [Cobra colourcontrol48], all I've done is download the manual and sit in front of the desk with a couple of fittings connected and run through the manual. As a follow up I've printed & laminated the page on programming which stays with the desk. I don't make any claims about being professional but I seem to get by. My first 2 shows were busked on a 24CH desk.

 

 

The Cobra Colour Control seems also to be a differently badged version of The Showtec Showmaster models and programming is identical. You seem to be quite comfortable in programming it but, if not, you may also be interested in looking at the link I have posted above {Post #2].

Edited January 17, 2020 by erik10_4

[sunray]

Does anyone know of a Video Tutorial for a Showtec Showmaster 48? I have no real knowledge of the system but I get roped in to do the lights once a year for our village Panto and have to re-learn the programing. A tutorial video would be great, any suggestions?

 

I'm in pretty much the same position [Cobra colourcontrol48], all I've done is download the manual and sit in front of the desk with a couple of fittings connected and run through the manual. As a follow up I've printed & laminated the page on programming which stays with the desk. I don't make any claims about being professional but I seem to get by. My first 2 shows were busked on a 24CH desk.

 

 

The Cobra Colour Control seems also to be a differently badged version of The Showtec Showmaster models and programming is identical. You seem to be quite comfortable in programming it but, if not, you may also be interested in looking at the link I have posted above {Post #2].

Thanks Erik, yes I did look and despiite it looking like the same product, and I've always believed it to be so, the programming shortcut is not available on the Cobra.

 

I'd say I'm only comfortable as far as 'I get by', the once or possibly twice a year isn't enough to get confident.

 

[erik10_4]

Hi Sunray

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "the programming shortcut is not available on the Cobra". Looking at the cobra manual online, and watching the video link I posted, the programming steps for a scene look identical to those used on the Showtec. Just for my knowledge base could you perhaps describe what you mean by the "programming shortcut" as I have always felt that programming this type of desk was, in itself, a pretty quick and simple process? Many Thanks

Edited January 17, 2020 by erik10_4

[sunray]

Hi Sunray

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "the programming shortcut is not available on the Cobra". Looking at the cobra manual online, and watching the video link I posted, the programming steps for a scene look identical to those used on the Showtec. Just for my knowledge base could you perhaps describe what you mean by the "programming shortcut" as I have always felt that programming this type of desk was, in itself, a pretty quick and simple process? Many Thanks

Hi Erik.I didn't realise it was your video, well done.

On the Cobra I have to enter the 4 digit number to to program scenes, you intimate it is not required on the Showmaster.

These are not 'difficult' and the manual is fairly easy to understand. In fact I find I do all the programming at home from a script rather than at the venue and it seems to work out OK. The issue, for want of a better word, is lack of practice due to me only using the desk ocassionaly. The Cobra doesn't have the same detail in the display either so there is no indication of step number which I find makes it easy to lose track of where we have got to, especially for editing.

 

The irony is I was very close to purchasing the Showmaster but then the Cobra came up on Ebay for £55 and believing it was the identical product...

Edited January 18, 2020 by sunray

[erik10_4]

Hi Sunray,

 

Thanks for the reply. The video isn't mine, I can take no credit, I just posted the link to someone else's video. In terms of the the 4 digit number to program scenes, Although the video publisher does not mention it in that clip, on the Showtec desk you DO have to enter the 4 digit code also to put the console into 'Record Mode' before you start programming. This is just a security feature to protect the scenes or shows you have already programmed and stop some eager hobbit overwriting your hard work. This is important particularly if the desk is installed in a location where other people can play about when you are not around. In practice, once set in record mode, the Showtec desk will stay in this mode while you are programming any number of scenes and indeed,when to turn off and startup again. When you want to protect your programme and therefore come out of record mode you simply hold down the 'Record' button and tap 'Rec Exit'. The desk will then default to Record OFF on startup and you will have to re-enter the code to put back into Record mode. So, you will only have to enter the code when you have deliberately exited Record mode to protect your programme. Looking at the manual for the Cobra I'm pretty sure that it works exactly as I have described with the Showtec. I have used Elation, Showtec and Transcention badged versions of this desk; they all use the same chipset and therefore look & work exactly the same. Judging by the manual, I would be quite surprised if the Cobra was not exactly the same as all the other desks (other than there being a variety of 4 digit codes to enter Record mode). Similarly, looking at the picture of the Cobra desk in the manual, 'Rec Step' is shown as the top LED light on the left of the display so I'm sure this will work the same as the Showtec. The display will only indicate the current step when you are recording MULTIPLE scenes at the same time (on pressing the Record button in between scenes). The step numbers are NOT displayed once you have committed a series of scenes (sometimes called a 'chase') to a playback slider OR on actual playback. If you find I'm wrong on any of this please let me know.

 

Editing can be a bit of a pain but with 4 pages each allowing 24 individual scenes it's possible to record 96 individual scenes on individual sliders without having the need to record multiple scenes to one slider and then use the 'Step' button to progress though the show. In practice, a show containing 50 or less lighting scenes changes takes me approximately half an hour max to programme so I rarely 'edit' and just re-programme the lot or re-programme(over-write) a particular scene slider when the Director has a great new idea for that scenes lighting

 

In summary, I really do think the Cobra desk is exactly the same in features as the Showtec (and other aforementioned varieties of desk). Although I have used a few high end desks, for small venues without extensive lighting rigs, I actually think that this console is a good little performer for it's price, features and user learning curve. As, you say, it's only through practice that you get really familiar with any desk. Best Regards

[sunray]

Hi Sunray,

 

Thanks for the reply. The video isn't mine, I can take no credit, I just posted the link to someone else's video. In terms of the the 4 digit number to program scenes, Although the video publisher does not mention it in that clip, on the Showtec desk you DO have to enter the 4 digit code also to put the console into 'Record Mode' before you start programming. This is just a security feature to protect the scenes or shows you have already programmed and stop some eager hobbit overwriting your hard work. This is important particularly if the desk is installed in a location where other people can play about when you are not around. In practice, once set in record mode, the Showtec desk will stay in this mode while you are programming any number of scenes and indeed,when to turn off and startup again. When you want to protect your programme and therefore come out of record mode you simply hold down the 'Record' button and tap 'Rec Exit'. The desk will then default to Record OFF on startup and you will have to re-enter the code to put back into Record mode. So, you will only have to enter the code when you have deliberately exited Record mode to protect your programme. Looking at the manual for the Cobra I'm pretty sure that it works exactly as I have described with the Showtec. I have used Elation, Showtec and Transcention badged versions of this desk; they all use the same chipset and therefore look & work exactly the same. Judging by the manual, I would be quite surprised if the Cobra was not exactly the same as all the other desks (other than there being a variety of 4 digit codes to enter Record mode). Similarly, looking at the picture of the Cobra desk in the manual, 'Rec Step' is shown as the top LED light on the left of the display so I'm sure this will work the same as the Showtec. The display will only indicate the current step when you are recording MULTIPLE scenes at the same time (on pressing the Record button in between scenes). The step numbers are NOT displayed once you have committed a series of scenes (sometimes called a 'chase') to a playback slider OR on actual playback. If you find I'm wrong on any of this please let me know.

 

Editing can be a bit of a pain but with 4 pages each allowing 24 individual scenes it's possible to record 96 individual scenes on individual sliders without having the need to record multiple scenes to one slider and then use the 'Step' button to progress though the show. In practice, a show containing 50 or less lighting scenes changes takes me approximately half an hour max to programme so I rarely 'edit' and just re-programme the lot or re-programme(over-write) a particular scene slider when the Director has a great new idea for that scenes lighting

 

In summary, I really do think the Cobra desk is exactly the same in features as the Showtec (and other aforementioned varieties of desk). Although I have used a few high end desks, for small venues without extensive lighting rigs, I actually think that this console is a good little performer for it's price, features and user learning curve. As, you say, it's only through practice that you get really familiar with any desk. Best Regards

 

OK Thanks. I caught what he said about the code and assumed ...

I have used a Showmaster in playback mode and thought it displays the chase step, it was a while ago to I may have remembered it wrong.

 

[Duncan Wynne]

The Showtec Showmaster 48 is just the big brother of the Showtec Showmaster 24 and the programming sequence is therefore identical (just more channels).

video on programming the Showtec 24 will therefore be a very good start and will probably tell you all you need to know to use this very simple desk.

 

Edit: There is also an overview of the controls

 

Thanks for that, I've subscribed to the Videos and I'm getting there. Thanks again.