tommulliner Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 We have the desk now, and so this week I will be having a play... will let you know how it is. It has had some very good reviews, so im hopeful! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted November 15, 2009 Share Posted November 15, 2009 Hi Joe, Both the Vector Violet consoles and possibly a Vector Orange fit with your budget. If you want me to send you some brochures for the consoles, please let me know. I can also sort out demo's if you wish. However the Vector Violets are not fully released for a few months yet. The Vector Orange is avaliable now. All of those consoles have the abilitys you need to control those fixtures as well as room for expansion with more universes and support for media server thumbnails with Catalyst and Hippo. Vector Consoles I am not going to blab on about which console is best, there have been some great suggestions already, but its up to you. I am here should you (or anyone else) wish to go down the Vector line. Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern123 Posted November 16, 2009 Share Posted November 16, 2009 The Smartfade is a lovely little desk and pretty straightforward to operate, I do love the way it shows you the colour palette on the buttons - great feature and very handy in a dark control room. Will also leave you a chunk of change. For your budget though and to allow for expansion, I'd suggest the Ion would be more suitable. You could also get the visualisation software package that they can offer via a 3rd party. As to the idea that Frogs are somehow 'easier' to operate, I can't agree, we have one and it's frankly a pile of poo for moving lights in theatrical shows. I don't find the Jester ML much better either, and the manuals are useless. At least the Smartfade actually does move dark - as opposed to 'move disco' on the Frog. Not sure about Compushite (Shudders) was put off them a long time ago by a desk in one of the 1st Theatres I worked in which had delaminated around the 'Go' button - you had to earth yourself before using it, in case you gave it a static shock and crashed it! When I replaced it, I went for a demo of their new version, and poor old Mr Stone couldn't even get it to work for the Demo! So we got a GSX instead - Fore! Of course, you could just go all out and get a Pearl Tiger, but it might be more difficult for people to operate who don't have a scooby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Not sure about Compushite (Shudders) was put off them a long time ago by a desk in one of the 1st Theatres I worked in which had delaminated around the 'Go' button - you had to earth yourself before using it, in case you gave it a static shock and crashed it! When I replaced it, I went for a demo of their new version, and poor old Mr Stone couldn't even get it to work for the Demo! So we got a GSX instead - Fore!I am not sure which desk you where shown, but distribution is done by different people now. And I can pretty much say in confidence that a full demo of the console's software and hardware would be done by me now and I can assure you, I would demo a working desk! One of the main Compulite lines now is Vectors, they are very "theatre-ish" but they are at home in many other environments. For example Nelly Furtado had Compulite Vectors running her UK and European tour. X Factor's video is also done on a Compulite Vector Blue with Green Hippo V3 servers talking to the console providing on screen thumbnails for programming. There is also a Vector Green in the mix as well. This isn’t a selling post, I was just pointing out that the consoles are used outside theatre and are stable indeed. If you would like anymore information, please do let me know. Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattern123 Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Joe, I'm sure they are much improved, and certainly seem popular in TV, this was 14-15 years ago at Action Lighting! But I'd still be wary, it's just the way it is. It's experience that does that to you I guess, I've seen Compulite fall over, Frogs fall over, Strand desks crash and lock up, I've even had an old Pearl give up - mainly because it was Hired and almost in pieces. All of them seem more stable these days, thankfully. Cheers, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Joe, I'm sure they are much improved, and certainly seem popular in TV, this was 14-15 years ago at Action Lighting! But I'd still be wary, it's just the way it is. It's experience that does that to you I guess, I've seen Compulite fall over, Frogs fall over, Strand desks crash and lock up, I've even had an old Pearl give up - mainly because it was Hired and almost in pieces. All of them seem more stable these days, thankfully. Cheers, Steve. If it was 15 years ago it will not have been a Vector as it was not out at that time, Vectors are more recent using dual core technology and the like. Thanks for the insight though. Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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