I'm pretty sure it is an April fools joke since it was posted to their site yesterday and since it has a kind of weird name but I really want it to be true. If it actually existed and cost less then the Congo Jr (as their site would have us believe) I would seriously consider getting one. Anyone from ETC listening?...Possible new product?
ETC Congo Kid
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tyler.martin
Active Member
Strange attitude to not like the flexibility. It's a HUGE benefit, IMO to be able to store away the wings and clear desk real estate for when I need to plop down a Hog or MA, while keeping my Ion up and running. This way I can focus the house rig before the show desk is patched and running. Then put a wing back for the next day for a kid show and 2 for the R&R crap the following weekend. The wings plug and play seamlessly.
I also thought they'd be a big benefit to the rental shops as they can rent a desk plus a 20 fader wing one week, then same desk gets 2-40 fader wings for another gig, etc...
DuckJordan
Touring IATSE Member
A comparison:
Kid is effectively to Congo/Congo Jr. what Element is to Ion/Eos.
Re: detachable wings, while it is nice to be able to configure your workspace however you want, there are plenty of people who don't want to configure their workspaces. They want to show up and have as few distractions as is possible, and for some people (myself being one of them), the thought that I can move things around, makes me more likely to spend my time thinking about how I can move things around. Next thing I know I'm dragging another table up from the basement and rearranging furniture in the control room, seeking "the perfect workspace".
A lot of us here at CB are nerds -- when can, we will, but there are many users, especially at schools, churches, and small community theatres (essentially the target market for this console) that just dock their wings and never think twice about it.
But give me a moment to contradict myself; I leave our master playback wing docked because the other options for our particular workspace don't make an undocked wing very favorable (something I've learned only after moving it around a bunch), but my left-handed cohort likes to be able to move the wing from one side of the main console to the other side to make it a little more ergonomic. I also like being able to undock the master playback wing and use it with a client laptop elsewhere in the theatre.
To my amazement though, I can't name a single other Congo user that users their master playback wing with a client PC -- I know, I've asked around.
Excluding myself and our left-handed programmer, there's not a single person who steps into our control room and cares about the wing being attached to the main console or not.
Kid is effectively to Congo/Congo Jr. what Element is to Ion/Eos.
Re: detachable wings, while it is nice to be able to configure your workspace however you want, there are plenty of people who don't want to configure their workspaces. They want to show up and have as few distractions as is possible, and for some people (myself being one of them), the thought that I can move things around, makes me more likely to spend my time thinking about how I can move things around. Next thing I know I'm dragging another table up from the basement and rearranging furniture in the control room, seeking "the perfect workspace".
A lot of us here at CB are nerds -- when can, we will, but there are many users, especially at schools, churches, and small community theatres (essentially the target market for this console) that just dock their wings and never think twice about it.
But give me a moment to contradict myself; I leave our master playback wing docked because the other options for our particular workspace don't make an undocked wing very favorable (something I've learned only after moving it around a bunch), but my left-handed cohort likes to be able to move the wing from one side of the main console to the other side to make it a little more ergonomic. I also like being able to undock the master playback wing and use it with a client laptop elsewhere in the theatre.
To my amazement though, I can't name a single other Congo user that users their master playback wing with a client PC -- I know, I've asked around.
Excluding myself and our left-handed programmer, there's not a single person who steps into our control room and cares about the wing being attached to the main console or not.
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soundlight
Well-Known Member
jglodeklights
Well-Known Member
I have a hard time believing that an "ION Kid" would make sense within the ETC line up of consoles. Moving Light control within the Element has been well implemented, and if you price it out versus an ION, there honestly still isn't THAT much of a price gap between the two. It much more depends to what end the console will be used. Anything more and ETC would just be crowding their own line up way too much, even just to implement fixed faders. That isn't to say they wouldn't do it, though, ETC isn't necessarily known for always making the best decisions in regards to their control console line ups. Recently, though, they've made a lot of sense. Smartfade and Smartfade ML to target low end, lower tech venues/users with some flexibility (and recently upgrading the software to make them even more usable in venues that would have been targeted by the Element). Release the Congo and Congo Jr. for one market; the EOS and ION for another, and then release lighter consoles for budget and ease of use conscious end users. Hhmmm, where to put an ION Kid?
soundlight
Well-Known Member
From what I've heard, getting both is a very real possibility. "Well, the prototype looks like someone took a chainsaw to the EOS..." (that is a direct quote, but somewhat outdated - very beginning of product development so probably not what the final product will look like).
Just make sure the Sr. doesn't tease the Kid too much.
Nobody wants a depressed controller.
skienblack
Active Member
Do all of the ETC technical support staff have all of the consoles at their finger tips? Sounds like it could make for a very fun work environment.
We have all of the current release consoles, at least one of each discontinued line of consoles (i.e.: Express, Expression, Obsession 1 & 2, Emphasis, etc...) set up for our use, and can pull any of the other models of consoles as needed. Similarly, with all of our released products, we tend to have at least one of everything (excluding custom items) at our disposal to best help customers. In addition to our center bench area where most of the gear lives, each product specialist tends to have their product at their desk for extended testing/ease of support.
It is a very fun work environment. I can truthfully say that I love my job!
Pics or it didn't happen...
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