ETC Express 24/48

[MillburyAuditorium]

Hello all, you may remember me asking about which light board our school should purchase, and now that school is back in I can really start thinking of a board, we had decided on an ETC Element,

But I had seen the ETC Express and it seems that it would be perfect for us, but im not sure, has anyone used this board? And would it be good for use in a small school theatre?
Or should we just go with an Element?

Thanks!

PS I love the phone feature xD That allows to plug a phone in and when you hit a number on the phone it will activate a submaster? Or does it work like activating a dimmer? And you dial the address? Looks cool xD

[icewolf08]

Express is a discontinued product. If that is the world you want to be in, then Element is the way to go.

[Grog12]

The Express is an excellent board that is no longer produced. Its 15+ years old and the Element is meant as its replacement.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Okay, thanks

Yeah, I couldn't find it on their site. Anyone know what most dealers will sell a Element for? We will probably be getting a....-cant think of the name-....well, our "major purchasing consultant" guy we have that worked on our theatre and used to work at Leviton will be coming in to show us whatever board we want him to bring, and so it will probably be the Element.

I am upset that it has a new display : P I did like the old one, like the Expression line has.

Does anyone know if you can, on the Element, label sub masters? Like on the Expressions 3, and most older boards use (Ones with monitors). It was VERY helpful when I used the Expression 3 last year, didnt have to put tape ont he board and scrible all over it xD

And does anyone know where I can find a video over veiw of the Element?

Thank you!

[icewolf08]

We have a video demo of Element on CB, you should be able to find it. And yes, you can label everything and anything you want to on it. As for price, it is usually done on a per request basis. Best way to find out is to call your local ETC dealer.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Okay, thank you : )

[gafftaper]

I know you had a good experience with Expression software but trust us you want to move ahead into the future and get an Element. You'll have a MUCH better experience than on that 15 year old software, the new software if FAR more powerful and flexible. Pricing on Element varies depending on the options you purchase. Ball Park estimate is somewhere around $4,000 (+/-$500 or so). Which is the same pricing neighborhood as that the Express was in. The best thing to do is just get a price quote. Call your local dealer. If you need help finding a dealer let us know. Read my collaborative article on pricing to better understand how pricing works in this industry and why we simply can't answer this question for you.

[MillburyAuditorium]

Thanks gafftaper,

Yeah, I understand the new software is better, I just wanted to make sure it had the same features of the old software : ) And now that I know it does I'm all set :D

Great, I had actually soon after posting found that ETC estimates about 5,500 for their smaller channel version, which is all we really need.

Yeah, I am aware that you cant really give me a price because how dealing works in the theater business, I am pretty sure our guy can get us a good price : ) I hope so at least.

Anyways, now that I know the Element is what I should tyr getting, I am going to go talk to the drama directors, and the other varius groups that use the theatre to be my faculty backup.

Really we do need a new board, Our current one has been taken care of as best as it possibly could be, but we have had it since the theatre was built (The Leviton Status 24/48) and it is jsut simply outdated and doesnt have many features at all and I dont want my "interns" to have to deal with tryign tog et a new board. I am also hoping to get the board pretty quickly aswell because the the Status is really on its last legs, we had it repaired last year for some memory dump problems and to replace the dead internal battery, so I am jsut worried that its going to just go kaput while we are putting on a production, and now if we get the Element before that happens, we will have a backup board. (And right now the only backup we have is if I bring in my tiny winy 16 channel Chauvet "board" xD Could turn on a spot or two : P Wouldnt even be able to handle the houselights, them being on 16 addresses :P)

I am not sure how old our board is :/



Well it certaintly will be exciting opening the packaging and what not :D Since we would have otg et a new one sicne, they have jsut come out.

I am just imagining our little tech crew huddled around the box giggling xD Certaintly will be like Christmas for us : ) We havnt gotten new equipment for a long time :/



Well, next job.

Get a new speaker system

(We had orderd a state of the art surround sound system when the theatre was built, but **** contractor five finger discounted them and ran off...so we had to take two of the speakers intended for out stadium and put them in the theatre as the main speakers. They do a good job, but just like everything else, it can always be replaced, and the stadium could have their 4 speakers again : P