Hey, I am in the process of getting a sound upgrade for the stage at my church. An A/V guy came in and suggested we get a Crestron system to run our sound, and I was wondering if anyone here has any experience with them in theatrical settings.
A little bit about the space I'm working with: It is a large multi-purpose room that happens to have a stage tacked on to one end (think gymnatorium, except replace "gym" with "banquet hall"). The space is mostly used to hold dinners and the occasional class/meeting, but a couple years ago we started to actively use the stage. We do 2-3 children's productions a year. I have gone and purchased a bunch of DJ gear to give us basic sound (because it's cheap, and I have no budget), but the lack of permanent wiring is starting to become annoying (I have to run an audio snake and several other cables through a couple doorways, though all within the banquet-atorium).
Sound-wise, the space has two different needs: first, the janitor, who knows nothing about sound, needs to be able to hook up a single mic on a stand for meetings. Second, I need to run sound for the shows/musicals that are put on twice a year.
For previous productions, I usually have 2-3 hanging mics picking up voices, a mic for a piano, and something running sound effects. I wouldn't mind getting wireless mics, but we just don't have the budget for them, nor the staff to run them once I leave.
What I'm wondering is, has anyone ever used the Crestron systems for running sound in theatrical settings like this? It looks like a good volunteer-friendly system. I'm just worried about the fact that everything would be run via a touch screen (probably an iPad), so I wouldn't have any physical controls (volume faders, mute buttons, etc). How big of a concern should this be?
Thanks so much for any feedback.
A little bit about the space I'm working with: It is a large multi-purpose room that happens to have a stage tacked on to one end (think gymnatorium, except replace "gym" with "banquet hall"). The space is mostly used to hold dinners and the occasional class/meeting, but a couple years ago we started to actively use the stage. We do 2-3 children's productions a year. I have gone and purchased a bunch of DJ gear to give us basic sound (because it's cheap, and I have no budget), but the lack of permanent wiring is starting to become annoying (I have to run an audio snake and several other cables through a couple doorways, though all within the banquet-atorium).
Sound-wise, the space has two different needs: first, the janitor, who knows nothing about sound, needs to be able to hook up a single mic on a stand for meetings. Second, I need to run sound for the shows/musicals that are put on twice a year.
For previous productions, I usually have 2-3 hanging mics picking up voices, a mic for a piano, and something running sound effects. I wouldn't mind getting wireless mics, but we just don't have the budget for them, nor the staff to run them once I leave.
What I'm wondering is, has anyone ever used the Crestron systems for running sound in theatrical settings like this? It looks like a good volunteer-friendly system. I'm just worried about the fact that everything would be run via a touch screen (probably an iPad), so I wouldn't have any physical controls (volume faders, mute buttons, etc). How big of a concern should this be?
Thanks so much for any feedback.