Control/Dimming - EOS vs. Element

[carlmnz]

I am looking into buying a new console and have always like the The ETC brand boards. I wanted to know if anyone has any suggestions or comments on the EOS or Element. I am the TD for two Theaters that are basically just road houses. We get bands, comedians, musicals, dance recitals you name it. We dont do much with moving lights but have scrollers and may invest in a few movers later on. I worked several years with Cruise ships so I have plenty of experience with the THe Hog 2 and GrandMA so I know anything like that would be over kill. Besides the Eos and Element are there any other suggestions. I like having plenty of submasters or channel faders but also need the option of adding movers.

Help.

[epimetheus]

Theater size, number of dimmers, etc would be helpful. Did you leave out the Ion for some particular reason? It sits in between the Eos and the Element in the ETC product line. The Ion and Eos consoles allow for the addition of universal fader wings to add more physical control, up to 300 faders total.

Edit: Out of curiousity, where in SE Texas are you? I'm in Houston.

[icewolf08]

Eos and Element are at total opposite ends of the spectrum. Element is the very basic console, and Eos is the flagship. Depending on the scale of your rig you might consider the Ion, which is the midrange console in the ETC line. All run variants of the same software and the interface is very similar. You can add fader wings to the Eos and Ion. Eos and Ion will give you the most flexibility and ease of use for movers.

[carlmnz]

I am in Beaumont, Just started this summer. I didnt leave it out for anyparticular reason. I liked that the element had 60 faders already on it. I know that you can get a playback wing for the others but would rather not have to purchase anything extra if I could get away with it. We just have conventionals and scrollers so moving light control is not essential. Most shows that have movers bring there on boards in. Would just need something that would run a few movers later on down the line.

[epimetheus]

We just got an Ion at my church and I am quite found of it. We're using it in a church setting with light theater at times as well as a decent amount of movers and LED fixtures. I see the Eos line as a great theater board with enough flexibility and features to be used for concert lighting. The Eos line can't take the place of a MA or Hog, but it isn't designed to do that.

[bdkdesigns]

While I understand not wanting to purchase extra equipment, I don't really understand your logic. I'm not sure if you've checked on pricing yet, however you can buy an ION with a fader wing and still have a lot of money left over compared to just purchasing an EOS. The ION gives you the flexibility to expand in the future without going too far overboard.

As an FYI, my venue has an EOS and two IONs.

[carlmnz]

I guess I needed to just put Eos family and not Eos v elelment. The Element gives me the channel faders I would need with out buying an extra playback wing. The Eos and Ion would just be extra and an Ion with a playback wing would be better budget wise for the things I would be using it for with out spending the money on an Eos. Basically I could use the pros and cons of each.

[artisanrhodes]

I have been working on a Ion demo for about a week now and I have fallen in love . Once you get past the learning curve and find out how easy it is to do things that where very time consuming on an expression .
so you end up spending less time programming and more time desighning a show.

[gafftaper]

Do you know that Element is down in the sub $4k Neighborhood while EOS is in the over $25k neighborhood. They are VASTLY different in what they can do. Unlike Strand, where all seven consoles run the exact same software, ETC's consoles are similar in syntax and terminology, but very different in how they work. Sounds like you need to think about Ion.

As for the differences.
-Element is designed for Schools, churches, and small theaters that use mostly conventional light fixtures. It can handle a few DMX controlled toys but not a lot. If you are running up to two racks of dimmers and have a couple moving lights, scrollers, rotators, I-cues, Right Arms, Seachangers, etc that you occasionally use. This is probably the console for you.

-Ion is for larger theaters, schools, and churches which need a lot more channel outputs. This is a board for people who regularly use a medium sized collection of DMX controlled lights and accessories. I would say up to 20 moving lights plus other DMX toys is probably okay with Ion.

-EOS is for high end users with lots of moving lights being used ALL the time. It's sort of a hybrid of an old Obsession and a Hog. Think Broadway, Vegas, Concerts, and Mega churches. Unless you have more than say 20 moving lights in your rig you probably don't need EOS. Not that we wouldn't all love to have an EOS, it just doesn't make sense price wise for most of us.

[carlmnz]

Thats what I was looking for finally Thanks. Ion would be perfect for one of my spaces and Element would be good for the other. Thanks!