Best Board?

[tommulliner]

My local theatre has the ETC Congo and the ETC Congo Jr

They look quite good and run quite well. Maybe worth looking at them, im not sure what your looking for.

They seem to enjoy using it. Although quite expencive I think.

 

Tom.

[paulears]

Eh?

The Robe is a fine control for certain things, but it isn't remotely in the same league as some of the things we're talking about here. It's fifteen hundred quids worth of control that's good for clubs and bands who need simple programming of a bunch of movers. Indeed, a regular to our venue is even featured on the Robe site as he bought one two or three years ago. It's brilliant for him, but there is no way in the world it can run the OPs rig in any common sense way.

 

Scenes, presets and chases it does well. As for theatre style lighting - yuk! No proper displays - as in screens and limited support for dimmers. Great for loads of movers, not good for anything else.

[tvi675]

If you have a spare 11 to 12K kicking around, go for the chamsys magicq 100. I'll buy three!!!!!???? :D

Or even a 300, a mere snip at 17K+. That means I can only have two! Bu**er!

 

Not sure where you got your prices from but whoever gave you those is ripping you off :D

 

The MQ50 would come around your budget, and at the moment we are including them with a free touch screen. There are quite a few schools and colleges around who have a MagicQ system installed, in fact the first time I came into contact with one was one of the first manufactured desks that got installed into my college. The feedback that we get is that they are quick and easy for students to learn, but at the same time have all the features of just about every standard desk out there, and like Paul said, give you skills that are transferable onto other desks.

 

If you'd like to arrange a demo, drop me an email - matt@chamsys.co.uk - and we can sort something out for you.

 

Matt

[ChrisBogg]

I would also like to add to Matt's post and say that when we where talking earlier about transferrable skills the ChamSys system is similar to many other manufactures desks in the way it works etc. Take the Vista for an example. Go for one of these and you may wall turn out very good vista operators but I would think you may find it difficult to transfer the skills you have learned on a Vista to any other console. The Mq50 would offer an affordable option that is very similar in the way it works to a Hog and may other top level desks throughout our industry.

 

Chris

[Big Jay]

The EOS Family as a whole is a very good product line, and is very versitile in it's uses.

 

I recently managed to get a ION desk sent up to a college where I did traning to have a couple of weeks to play with it and think there getting on quite well with it (they come from a very strand based background) If user "littleboots" is reading, it may be worth him giving his opinions of using the desk for only 2 weeks.

 

One big thing is user support, alot of companies would be bouncing to take your money and give you a desk, but then forget you and move onto the next person with money, you need a company that would happily pick up the phone and answer any of your questions and even go so far as invite you to there warehouse/office for a cup of tea and a chat to answer your questions, or just to meet their customers face to face.

 

One benifit of the Element is being able to transfer your show to either the ION or EOS, and vise-versa.

[indyld]

House!!!

 

Using the above posts, I collected enough of the usual console suspects, reasoning and opinions to fill up all my squares. What do I win?

[gareth]

Bloody hell, this old chestnut again?!

 

Right, first and foremost - there is no "best" desk. One person's brilliant desk is another person's door-stop. Compare features, arrange demos, get plenty of hands-on time on the desks that you think might fit the bill, and make your own informed decision. You know your requirements better than anyone else.

 

Secondly - are you a teaching environment that trains students in technical theatre, in the hope that it'll prepare them for further study or even employment in that field? If so - think about what desks they're likely to encounter out in the big bad world. Clue - a Robe desk isn't one of them :).

 

Thirdly - Congo - hmm, possibly the most overrated desk on the market right now. I personally don't like them - maybe that's because I haven't spent enough time with them to get to know them properly. but generally I find that I can work out fairly quickly whether or not I like a control system and I just can't take to Congo at all. I'm not the only one either - I'm currently touring a mid-scale show around the Welsh touring theatre circuit, and the theatres we visit are full of Congos sitting forgotten and forlorn in dark corners while the old Strand 520s and 530s continue on active duty. Why? Because the Congos simply are't as good as the 10+ year old desks that they were intended to replace. Eos/Ion/Element, on the other hand, are well worth a look.

[LJS]

Thanks for all of the replies, I will have a more detailed look at some of the desks mentioned and see whats looking good.

 

I have to admit I agree with gareth in terms of the old desks being much easier and simpler to programme. The Head Tech has an old Gemini which is bliss to programme and when someone complains they missed a cue you can just add it on the decimal. I hate pogramming the Frog unless the cues have all been predetermined as its a right pain if any cues are missed out as you can't easily go back and add them in. This was one of the key things I also noted about the Element and Ion at the recent demo in Leicester is that rather than haveing just one decimal, you can go up to 2 decimals, effectively giving 99 cues between A and B which is great for indecisive people or moves in the dark (although I don't know when you would need that many.)

 

Thanks for the info on transferable skills too and I will try and get some visits in to some more local venues to check out their kit.

[LXbydesign]

Excatly as Gareth said re his second point , and some people are gonna shoot me down for saying this -...... I would avoid the pc' based systems for general student training in the world of production lighting.

 

Yeah sure, some are good but you tell me how many theatres, concert halls, conference centers, hire firms and the rest have them as part of their hire stock - as opposed to your Avos , Strands, MA's, Compulites, and Zero88's (sorry Gareth!!!)

 

I know 'once youve used them its just like using a normal console', but if I was trained up on a pc based system and then thrown onto a 'normal desk', I think I would be quite worried - depending on the situation.

 

Of course another factor is that it all comes down to cost, but their are plenty of 2nd hand industry desks out there at an affordable price.

 

I do think that the pc based systems are great in nightclubs etc. Ive just used one to program and update a lighting rig in a nightclub way up Carlisle -and it was great but if was to come across one as a tutor in a student training theatre I wouldnt be happy about it.

[gareth]

I have to admit I agree with gareth in terms of the old desks being much easier and simpler to programme.

That's not what I said, though, is it? To say that is to make a rather broad generalisation which doesn't always hold true (although sometimes it does). I was speaking specifically about Congos and their lack of success as 500-series replacements in a handful of theatres which I regularly tour into.

[LXbydesign]

I hate pogramming the Frog unless the cues have all been predetermined as its a right pain if any cues are missed out as you can't easily go back and add them in.

 

No its not and yes you can!!! You must be doing it an arse-about-face-way then!!

 

Agree about the gemini desk though. We used to get one in when I was at drama school (it was a fairly 'hi-spec' desk back then) and I just loved it. Further on down the line I used to do some work at Chichester Theatre, and they had one in there. When the Minerva Studio was built, it went accross to there, replaced by a Galaxy in the main house.

 

Happy Days.........!

[WiLL]

I hate pogramming the Frog unless the cues have all been predetermined as its a right pain if any cues are missed out as you can't easily go back and add them in.

 

 

It's been a few years since I've been sat in front of a frog, but certainly on the fat frog and frog2 desks, you select the memory you want to preceed your point cue, press the insert button and it will insert up to 9 point cues between two existing cues. Or you can just program a cue and record it as 12.1 or 12.5 etc.

 

I would be surprised if ANY desk currently being manufactured doesn't have this capability.

 

 

My vote is for the Zero 88 Orb, although seeing as I have one I may be bias. :)

It's a theatre desk which fits into tyhat price gap of 2-8k at around 6k I think.

[merlin24]

Take the Vista for an example. Go for one of these and you may wall turn out very good vista operators but I would think you may find it difficult to transfer the skills you have learned on a Vista to any other console.

 

That unfortunately is not a correct statement. Vista has a slightly different aproach to front end display, however it will program exactly the same as a Hog if thats your preferred method, or an Avo if thats your preference, or for that mtter you can configure it to program/run like most consoles out there.

To say that Vista programmers can only program Vistas is not true in any way shape or form.

 

As always you can contact me at AC and we will be more than happy to provide demos or Training.

 

There are massive changes afoot in Vista world, Some of you may have seen the preview at PLASA, more details will be up on websites as they become available.

Jands Vista Website

 

 

Andy

[Tomo]

At the end of the day, the 'best' console for you is one that you and your team feel comfortable with.

So the best way to decide is to try some out and see how they feel.

 

The majority of dealers are very happy to do demos for you, and you could always borrow or hire a console of interest to try out 'for real'.

 

Also, ETC run regular 1-day training sessions on Element, so that might be one way to help you decide:

http://www.etcconnect.com/training.aspx

[Joe Bleasdale]

May I suggest the new Compulite Vector Violet console? It’s small, but holds all the power of the Vector with the footprint of a Spark console.

 

http://www.compulite.com/index.php?page_id=374

 

The cool thing with this is that you can have a console that’s small and easy to use with great UK support, but then when you (or other students) leave school... you will be able to use the Vector knowledge on its bigger brothers such as the Orange, Green and Blue.

 

On the note of ETC, I have had some great support and training from them. :)

 

I suggest you take a good look at the consoles footprint and price, but also make sure your decision is based on something that is going to last for a while and is easy to use yet has some in depth features for future expansion.

 

Best,