Community Theater Console

[Sam31955]

Looking at a new console for community theater and interested in some feedback. Deciding between HES Hedgehog 4 II and ETC Element 2. LED rig, just barely on 2 universes for foreseeable future. Mainly in and out volunteers with high school students and community members with 2 steady Tech people. 4 plays/musicals per year and a dozen orchestra performances with a spattering of talent show in there make up the year. Thank you for any Pros and Cons

 

[robmerow]

Go with the Element.

Pros: You are the target market 100% & anyone who has programmed for any theater will know how to use it.
Cons: More hoops to jump through to busk a concert (but you didn't mention that you do those).

 

[Ken Summerall Jr]

Go with the Element.

Pros: You are the target market 100% & anyone who has programmed for any theater will know how to use it.
Cons: More hoops to jump through to busk a concert (but you didn't mention that you do those).

I would concur, unless you have a bunch of movers the element is the way to go.

 

[JChenault]

If you think you will have movers in the next 10 years I would not get an element. Etc has not done a reasonable job of designing an interface that can handle movers without encoders.

I’ve tried to use an element to control a moving light. Exercise in frustration

 

[Ken Summerall Jr]

If you think you will have movers in the next 10 years I would not get an element. Etc has not dimple a reasonable job of defining an interface that can handle movers without encoders.

I’ve tried to use an element to control a moving light. Exercise in frustration

Agreed, It can be done but boy is it a struggle. If movers are an option then you may want to look at the ETC ION. Much more mover friendly and still accessible for volunteers. The Hog family is a whole different "animal"! (See what I did there?)

 

[Footer]

Agreed, It can be done but boy is it a struggle. If movers are an option then you may want to look at the ETC ION. Much more mover friendly and still accessible for volunteers. The Hog family is a whole different "animal"! (See what I did there?)

Agreed... a programmer based console like the Hog line will cause more headaches then its worth for people who don't want to spend the time to learn it. ETC is simple...what you see onstage is what you record. Pick the best EOS based console you can afford.

 

[Dionysus]

I think you will continue to get a lot of consensus, get the best EOS console you can afford, the element 2 is great. The only thing it's missing is the encoders as mentioned (WAY better than the element), there are affordable ways around that, however such as a touchscreen which is not a good as encoders but it works.

EOS is EASY to learn, and has great capability. As mentioned its a bit of a learning curve to set up to busk for music events but I typically don't see that as much of a problem, and typical usage in a theatre the EOS is best suited to.

 

[Les]

the element 2 is great. The only thing it's missing is the encoders as mentioned (WAY better than the element)

For my own edification, what differences (or limitations) are there between the Element and Element 2? I thought all EOS Consoles could run the exact same software, save from some very old Ions (and of course reduced addresses on the Element line).

I have an Element and find it manageable with a handful of movers. Especially if they're just being used for chases and basic moves. Positioning VL1000's for specials is a pain, but I usually use palettes for that.

 

[cbrandt]

I usually draw the line for the element series at between 6 and 12 movers. Once the rig is larger than that, managing that many parameters becomes difficult unless you're very diligent. A few movers is no problem.

The biggest differences on the element 2 is updated hardware "under the hood". ETC also updated the panel layout so that it matches the Ion button layout.

 

[Dionysus]

For my own edification, what differences (or limitations) are there between the Element and Element 2? I thought all EOS Consoles could run the exact same software, save from some very old Ions (and of course reduced addresses on the Element line).

I have an Element and find it manageable with a handful of movers. Especially if they're just being used for chases and basic moves. Positioning VL1000's for specials is a pain, but I usually use palettes for that.

The element 2 has a number of keys on the surface that they left out of the element. Remember that a lot more functionality in EOS was locked out before a few years ago on element. There are several controls that are more of a pain to quickly access on the old element that the element 2 has made much easier to hit. A perfect example is the "color palette" key.

No problem running movers on the element or element 2, however a mouse or touchscreen needs to be a thing.

As mentioned the real thing lacking on element (2) is encoders which makes life quicker and easier when dealing with some of the parameters (such as pan/tilt).