Best board for Busking from this list

[Sony]

So we are having a little "Blacklight Party" a.k.a. Rave without the drugs at our theatre as a kind of "hooray! end of the school year" type thing for our department. I'm hoping to rent some moving lights and stuff from ALPS or HO and the ETC Express 48/96 we have just isn't going to cut it. So I'm going to rent a board from them that can at least handle moving lights decently if not well.

This is a 1 night event, most likely on the weekend.

The current rig will be:

4 Martin MAC 700 Profile's (Renting)
4 Martin MAC 700 Wash's (Renting)
4 Martin MX-4's (Borrowing)
2 Martin MiniMAC's (Borrowing)
1 Martin Atomic 3000 DMX Strobe (Renting)
4 Apollo Right Arms (Own)
4 Apollo Smart Color 5.25" Scrollers (Mounted on the Right Arms) (Own)
12 Apollo Smart Color 7.5" Scrollers (Own)
2 Apollo Gobo Rotators (Own)
72 Unison DR Series Dimmers w/ Assorted Fixtures (Own)

These will be hung from our flying grid at a height of about 20ft, so mounting and things of that nature are not an issue. Neither is power which will be supplied by a NEMA 14-60R connector from our dance studio downstairs through a Distro (Only the Martin fixtures will be powered by the distro) and Breakouts I will be renting and 2.4kW x 6 Socapex we own.

I will be busking this show (I'll also be DJing it) and I'm wondering what board I should choose for the job. Now I am personally much more familiar with ETC boards and I have taken a couple classes on programming and using the ION so I am most familiar with it but I am open for suggestions. As for setup time, I will probably have from 10am till 8pm that same day to get everything hung, working and programmed. So considering this what board should I choose from the following list.

ETC ION 1000 w/ 2 x 20 Fader Wing + Touchscreens $250
Jands Hog 1000 $450
Jands Vista S3 w/ Laptop Included $450
ETC Smartfade ML $125
Jands Vista T2 $750

The prices are the price for an entire week, I'm only going to use them for one day. Am I generally correct that I can divide the price by 7 to get the price for a single day? I'm not sure on this as I am used to renting for a week at a time.

I feel the ION would most likely be my best choice (Does it have Tap/Music Sync?) as I am most familiar with it. This show doesn't have to be stellar...it's just a party with about 80 or more of my friends from my department and elsewhere, and as a parting Senior I would like to give them a show like they have never seen before

So which board should I choose for busking this show? Also any other suggestions, comments and/or questions are more than welcome.

 

[waynehoskins]

The prices are the price for an entire week, I'm only going to use them for one day. Am I generally correct that I can divide the price by 7 to get the price for a single day? I'm not sure on this as I am used to renting for a week at a time.

No, you would typically divide by maybe two. As an example, S4 PARs rented some years ago for $10/day or $15/week; full-up S4s $15/day or $20/week. Something like that. If ever I needed anything for more than one day, it was billed at the week rate, which was always equal to or less than two day rates. Basically, the day rate is a small discount for a one-day gig.

 

[Sony]

Thats unfortunate...thanks for the info!

 

[derekleffew]

...Am I generally correct that I can divide the price by 7 to get the price for a single day? ...

Depends on the shop, of course, but for many, there's no price difference between a one day and a one week rental. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Getting the console early allows you to patch, build palettes, set views, etc. before the day of the show.

As to which is best for this particular "show," which console do you know the best? When time is limited, there's no substitute for experience, and working with a familiar console (even an Express) will likely be more beneficial than a full Jands Vista, which, while easy to learn, programs like no other console. From your list, I'd choose the Hog 1000, but that's just me.

 

[beltsvillecrucib]

Rent from HO. They have a Hog 500, but those tend to be out on shows a lot, in which case you can get the 1000 for the price of a 500 ($300/wk). Plus service at HO > than at ALPS. For busking go with one of the hugs hands down. Throw the cue list page up on the monitor and you're good to go.

 

[Sony]

Thanks Derrek, I know the ION best so I think I will be going with that. I have never used a hog or a vista in my life so the learning curve might be a bit much. I'll call ALPS to see what their rental price for 1 day is, the problem is I cannot afford to rent this rig for a week. Thanks!

Plus service at HO > than at ALPS.

I beg to differ...at least in my personal experience, the guys at High Output have been a pain in my ass on multiple occasions. Never had any issues with ALPS.

 

[midgetgreen11]

I agree with Sony----ALPS is great. They're nice, willing to help, and their salespeople know what I mean when I ask for "cyc silk."

Just to clarify---a house in Providence, RI---which will remain unnamed--- I called and asked for cyc-silk and he began looking through his swatchbook and insisted they do not make it.

 

[garrettherzig]

Plus service at HO > than at ALPS.

Wow, I could not disagree more...

 

[beltsvillecrucib]

Hate to hijack, but if I have the option/money I will always take HO.

On one occasion a special pickup was arranged, showed up at ALPS and no one was there. Not even so much as an apology.

Also on numerous occasions I have received either equipment which wasn't working, or incorrect (i.e. wrong size scrollers).

At HO the rental managers are prompt and courteous, the equipment is in great shape and I've never had any problems (outside of the 80v VL500's that blow lamps left and right, however, looks to be a lamp or VL issue).

Any correspondence I have with ALPS, they seem to be inconvenienced by my business.

 

[NJLX]

For a board, given your time frame, i'd recommend using whatever you're most comfortable with(in this case it looks like the Ion). I've done shows with very limited experience on boards(read: less than 1 hour), but I definitely wouldn't want to attempt anything like this with movers. Also, using something you're familiar with will definitely make it easier for you to program, and probably lead to better effects.

High Output all the way. I've experienced great service and equipment from the folks here in Portland.

 

[icewolf08]

Couple things, the best board is the one that you are most familiar with. Everyone has their favorites, but you need to pick one that you know how to use. In the end you can achieve almost all the same looks and effect on any of them.

Second, as a former Bostonian, I would also always go to HO before ALPS. I even knew people who worked at ALPS who wouldn't use them. If I remember correctly, HO was a little more expensive, though after we developed a rapport with them they started giving us better prices. Again, this is up to personal opinion, if you have a good relationship with someone, keep using them.

 

[awhaley]

Since you're in college, presumably to learn, I'd take a different approach...

What do you want to learn more about? If you want the programming experience on the Ion to cement what you've already learned about it, then go that way. Otherewise, figure out what the most interesting console that you can afford to rent for a full week is and get that. If you want to learn the Hog, then go for it. Or ask the shops if they have better deals, such as a hog PC rig, or an older Avolite Pearl, etc. Another option would be to buy a dongle or rent or borrow an artnet node and use MagicQ.

If you can get a new console for a week, and manage to get the borrowed movers a few days early, then you can create a great opportunity for yourself (and your classmates) to learn a new system. (As an bit of rant, and not directed at you since you've taken the time to learn the Ion, TOO MANY students leave college not knowing how to run anything but a Kliegel format ETC console(express, expression, insight, etc.) )

But, since I ought to answer the original question too, if for various reasons you can't rent a board for the week, then I would have to echo the advice to go with the ion so you don't spend two thirds of your programming time buried in the manual trying to figure out what the buttons do....

 

[kmontagne]

The "best" board is very much a personal preference around ease of use along with factoring in cost, availability and other aspects. As for rental daily vs. weekly rates, it sometimes depends on the type of equipment (e.g. fragile and/or in high demand). The most common scale I see is the weekly rate is pretty close to the 3 day rental rate. Some places I use will rent equipment for 2-3 days at a single day rate if there is only one show day. The other day(s) can be used for setup and/or return.

I usually choose the rental company based on their availability of the equipment I need and my past experience with them. Locally I may use one of several different rental companies. When I travel to other markets I usually use a single vendor and have them cross rent any equipment they do not have.

 

[Pie4Weebl]

Get a hog, or better yet, see if you can get an MA, what you really want are boards which will get you easy access to multiple cue lists and effects, and that is something you can't easily do on an ion.

 

[Wolf]

Get a hog, or better yet, see if you can get an MA, what you really want are boards which will get you easy access to multiple cue lists and effects, and that is something you can't easily do on an ion.

The Ion can have multi-cue list via each "submaster" they can be told each to be a individual cue list.