question: What digitial boards do you recommend that won't blow the budget (keeping in mind this is a school
theatre - funds not exactly flowing). Thanks for a possible solution!
How many channels? What are the requirements? Do you need everything in it including the kitchen sink as well as the bathtub?
Yamaha's 01v96 is good for starters, almost bought one myself, but had a reality check and stuck with my Onyx 1620 (Bought a Gibson SG instead). Beg pardon, random ponderings. Anyway,
Yamaha's new LS9 or M7 might be more along the lines of what you want to rent to demonstrate.
For a cheaper solution to the Yammies, you may want to look at
Mackie's TT24 (*gasp*). I've got friends who've bought one and are quite pleased with it. I think they've fixed the bugs that plauged the early units.
If it were me, I'd probably look at the M7. Now, that being said, digital is not cheap. A good M7 will run you around $15k new, the LS9-32 retails for $11k. An 01V is around $2200, and the
Mackie, last time I checked, was around $7k.
Definitly rent one of the boards you're looking at first, to demonstrate that it may not do all he thinks it does; that you don't need a
console with a full bathroom built-in to run sound. The rates shouldn't be that bad (all things relative of course), it'll definitly be cheaper than buying one.
All that being said, you said you had a Venice? Ok, so it's lower-end Midas, but it's still a Midas. Stick with it. I'd rather mix on a Midas than most digital boards, with the exception of DiGiCo and the
Yamaha PM1D and 5D.
Good luck