Control/Dimming Advice for choosing a light console

[Pden]

Hi all, I know this question is probably asked weekly but I’m hoping to get some advice specific to my situation.

I used to run and design lighting for theater a while back. 2004-2007 just before LEDs really started taking over. So my knowledge is outdated.

I am involved in an all volunteer community theater/venue in rural Washington. I purchased a lighting system for the space a few years ago and it has been serving us ok. (Incandescent Par cans + ERSs, Leviton DMX dimmer packs and a NSI ncm-1628 which is clunky fossil at best (even for my standards) and certainly not user friendly. But couldn’t beat $100 for fifteen 500w fixtures, dimmers and a board.

I’d like to upgrade to a better board that will allow us to slowly expand/improve. We certainly don’t have the budget to upgrade to LED fixtures. I’m looking for something that:
-Is relatively user friendly (so that another member of the group can at least operate the channels without too much fuss)
-is at least 24 channels, if not more.
-can write and recall cues/save shows
-can soft patch
-has the ability to also control LED fixtures if we slowly start to upgrade. (Does dual incandescent/LED control even exist?) this would just be a bonus

Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Les]

What's the budget? That will inform educated suggestions.

If your budget is quite limited, I'd suggest some form of PC control (my personal preference would be ETC Nomad) since smaller consoles are usually less than user-friendly.

Element II or used Element I if you want a full desk and have a bigger budget.

The ETC ColorSource line of consoles are affordable and would likely serve your immediate needs, but I find them to be less than user-friendly when programming, and you might find yourself getting claustrophobic as you upgrade other things in your system.

Hybrid systems do exist and are a staple of many theatres, including my own. You patch an LED fixture similar to the way you would patch a dimmer pack. The major difference is how modern consoles handle multi-parameter fixtures and channels of control.

 

[almorton]

I'm involved with an all volunteer run theatre in the UK. We transitioned from an ageing and failing strand desk to an ETC Ion several years ago. This made it easy for us to then transition piecemeal from all dimmer to some LED to all LED over a number of years. It's a long planning exercise, but I'd say don't restrict yourself from the off by going for a cheap and limited console. An Element is well worth a look, as are FLX and MQ desks. If you have deeper pockets more options open up, but have a serious ( and frank) discussion with some dealers about the future.

 

[dbaxter]

A computer based lighting control system would certainly fullfill your needs and budget. The things to watch for would be that it's not DJ oriented, but designed for cue-by-cue theater work and has softpatching abilities. Both for conventional instruments and your future LEDs. You will need a DMX interface to go from the computer to your dimmer packs. Both DMX King and Enttec make reliable units.

 

[jon.hole]

...well worth a look, as are FLX...

Thanks for the recommendation @almorton ! I'm biased (I work for Vari-Lite), but our FLX & FLX S consoles are definitely worth a look... thousands have been sold every year since 2018, so there's a userbase of well-over 10,000 users (currently mostly outside of America, although that is quickly changing since Vari-Lite's acquisition).

Details are available here: https://www.vari-lite.com/global/flx-series

Training is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PjutcG1V_8&list=PLbMewrDGCXOGKfNxT5Q408r0c-rZCKd1n

To answer your specific questions:

-Is relatively user friendly (so that another member of the group can at least operate the channels without too much fuss)
-is at least 24 channels, if not more.
-can write and recall cues/save shows
-can soft patch
-has the ability to also control LED fixtures if we slowly start to upgrade. (Does dual incandescent/LED control even exist?) this would just be a bonus

1) Being intuitive is our #1 priroity with FLX S. Simple things like physical keys that don't change (whereas others have "soft keys" that aren't always the same), encoders, and patented multi-touch user interfaces for colour and movement control.
2) FLX S24 can control 48 fixtures, and FLX S48 can control 96 fixtures. Each of these can be as simple as a dimmer or as complicated as a multi-cell moving light
3) FLX S has multiple cue stacks / lists (49 on FLX S24 and 97 on FLX S48) with a total of 10,000 cues shared across them. Recording a cue is a three-step process - turn on the lights, press RECORD, press the GO button of where you want to store the cue
4) Yes, FLX S has full soft patch, also allowing you to match multiple fixtures onto a single "channel". As well has a very extensive library, it also includes support for RDM & GDTF
5) FLX S has lots of clever colour interfaces for controlling LEDs, including picking a colour from any image you load into the console, "Mood Boards" by LEE Filters, and milti-touch colour picker to fan colours across your lights. It also has a whole range of default effects, from various rainbows through to specifics such as police, fire, fireworks, etc.

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions

 

[jglodeklights]

I’m going to second the FLX S series and throw the Chamsys QuickQ series into the mix. Both are pretty stellar when it comes to ease of use with relative parity between how dimmer fixtures and multi parameter fixtures (like LEDS) get turned on and recorded at the basic level and meet all the requirements you’ve stated. Personally, I find the Quick Q a little simpler to interface with. Both feel a bit more modern and powerful than the Colorsource Console and are competitive on price. Both also have networking built in at the base level whereas the Colorsource only adds this at the AV version. Heck, the QuickQ even has a built in WiFi system and can pop up a QR code on screen to allow you to join to use your mobile device as a remote. I’d scrounge the money up for one of these before I went with a software based solution simply because I’ve dealt with that before. It either works great or you run into issues on the PC side. More steps to start up and troubleshoot that can be a roadblock for some users. Plus ultimately it’s not that much less expensive than an actual compact console.

 

[Van]

ETC ColorSource 24 is an excellent choice for Educational/Multiuse spaces, which will allow you to learn, grow, and train the kids and yourself. Built-in tutorials and Fabulous support.

 

[kenact]

I do lighting design in several theaters that generally have either ETC Express boards or simple Elation boards. I never use them. I always use a laptop with QLC+. I can interface with a multi-universe DMX or Artnet setup.