With 24-48 channels you need a whole system designed for you. So contact some of the local companies that have been suggested. I suggest you set a budget range before you talk with the company. Tell them we want a lighting system for under $X that has X dimmers and X lighting instruments. The company should send a person out to see the church, design a system, and give you a quote.
There are level of quality issues to be considered. You don't necessarily need the highest quality gear in the world if the lights are only going to be on for 2 hours on Sundays and your biggest production is the Christmas program that will have half a dozen light cues. You can get a simple 24/28 NSI console with 24 programmable memory scenes for about $900 (They have a nicer version with real sub masters for about $3000) NSI dimmer packs with 8- 2.4k channels will set you back about $2200. So you could put together a very basic but decent quality 48 channel NSI system for under $15,000. Add another $5,000 for a bunch of lights, pay the guys installation and you are done at around $25,000. This system isn't going to win any awards but it will give you good washes every Sunday and leave lots of room for specials during the Christmas program. You won't be running any moving lights on this system and by professional theater standards, a lot of folks around here would consider it junk. But there is nothing wrong with it. It's reasonably priced and very functional for basic illumination 2 hours a week on a budget. There are other low end but decent quality brands out there as well such as Dove. Your system designer at the company you deal with will probably have a specific brand they sell in this low end range.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Strand and ETC systems. Both of these companies are putting out gear light years ahead in technology over the NSI/Dove solution above. BUT it's technology that you may NEVER need. If you think you are going to put a lot of hours on the system every week or if you think you want to use moving lights on a regular basis then you should definitely consider moving up to the big boys, but it's going to cost you. You are probably looking at $8,000-$15,000 for the control console alone. Dimmers cost more, and a decent moving light runs $5,000-$15,000. A basic 48 channel ETC or Strand system is probably going to cost you close to double the cheap system above. The current console I like from ETC is Congo... and Congo Jr. is the same thing just smaller for around $12,000 (depending on the deal you get). Strand has several styles of console to choose from that use the same software for a similar price or a little less depending on which design you like best. This is going to be a very controversial statement... but I would not recommend an ETC Express at this point. It's the most popular lighting console ever built... it's also 15 year old technology that is scheduled to be replaced in the next couple of years. They put a patch to make Express sell a few years longer by coming up with the Emphasis system. Same goes for Obsession, it HAS BEEN the standard in big theaters but now it's gone (no longer listed on the ETC website). EOS is here to replace Obsession but you probably don't need a $35,000 Broadway show quality console in your church. Express has been a great board but it's far behind the technology of the Strand Palette or the Congo (just try to run a couple moving lights on an Express). Anybody who badmouths the new Strand gear obviously hasn't seen it. I have spent a good deal of time experimenting with it. That Horizon Software has been great for years and the merger with the Strand Palette has had amazing results. Both are quality new products that are far ahead of Express. I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two whatever ETC replaces Express with completely kicks Strand's butt, but for now it's old technology so go with a Strand or a Congo Jr.
If you think that in 5 years you might want to do a show with a couple of moving lights in it... you are probably farther ahead to go with the cheap system and rent all the gear including the light board to run the moving lights. Do you know how many moving lights have a lamp that only lasts 300 hours and costs $50 to replace it? I've spent a lot of years doing tech at my church and I fully understand the unique needs and dynamics you have to deal with. Feel free to e-mail me privately if you have any more specific questions.
There are level of quality issues to be considered. You don't necessarily need the highest quality gear in the world if the lights are only going to be on for 2 hours on Sundays and your biggest production is the Christmas program that will have half a dozen light cues. You can get a simple 24/28 NSI console with 24 programmable memory scenes for about $900 (They have a nicer version with real sub masters for about $3000) NSI dimmer packs with 8- 2.4k channels will set you back about $2200. So you could put together a very basic but decent quality 48 channel NSI system for under $15,000. Add another $5,000 for a bunch of lights, pay the guys installation and you are done at around $25,000. This system isn't going to win any awards but it will give you good washes every Sunday and leave lots of room for specials during the Christmas program. You won't be running any moving lights on this system and by professional theater standards, a lot of folks around here would consider it junk. But there is nothing wrong with it. It's reasonably priced and very functional for basic illumination 2 hours a week on a budget. There are other low end but decent quality brands out there as well such as Dove. Your system designer at the company you deal with will probably have a specific brand they sell in this low end range.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Strand and ETC systems. Both of these companies are putting out gear light years ahead in technology over the NSI/Dove solution above. BUT it's technology that you may NEVER need. If you think you are going to put a lot of hours on the system every week or if you think you want to use moving lights on a regular basis then you should definitely consider moving up to the big boys, but it's going to cost you. You are probably looking at $8,000-$15,000 for the control console alone. Dimmers cost more, and a decent moving light runs $5,000-$15,000. A basic 48 channel ETC or Strand system is probably going to cost you close to double the cheap system above. The current console I like from ETC is Congo... and Congo Jr. is the same thing just smaller for around $12,000 (depending on the deal you get). Strand has several styles of console to choose from that use the same software for a similar price or a little less depending on which design you like best. This is going to be a very controversial statement... but I would not recommend an ETC Express at this point. It's the most popular lighting console ever built... it's also 15 year old technology that is scheduled to be replaced in the next couple of years. They put a patch to make Express sell a few years longer by coming up with the Emphasis system. Same goes for Obsession, it HAS BEEN the standard in big theaters but now it's gone (no longer listed on the ETC website). EOS is here to replace Obsession but you probably don't need a $35,000 Broadway show quality console in your church. Express has been a great board but it's far behind the technology of the Strand Palette or the Congo (just try to run a couple moving lights on an Express). Anybody who badmouths the new Strand gear obviously hasn't seen it. I have spent a good deal of time experimenting with it. That Horizon Software has been great for years and the merger with the Strand Palette has had amazing results. Both are quality new products that are far ahead of Express. I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two whatever ETC replaces Express with completely kicks Strand's butt, but for now it's old technology so go with a Strand or a Congo Jr.
If you think that in 5 years you might want to do a show with a couple of moving lights in it... you are probably farther ahead to go with the cheap system and rent all the gear including the light board to run the moving lights. Do you know how many moving lights have a lamp that only lasts 300 hours and costs $50 to replace it? I've spent a lot of years doing tech at my church and I fully understand the unique needs and dynamics you have to deal with. Feel free to e-mail me privately if you have any more specific questions.
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