Ion to Colorsource console

[Kevin1844]

I've only been at this for a couple of years but I've become very accustomed to working with the Ion. I'm putting together a rental order and noticed that the Colorsource 20 is now available to rent and it's a LOT cheaper. The Ion is also not available when I need it at the from the company I prefer to rent from.

I've heard only good things about the CS20 but I'm curious about how different it's going to be. I don't mind a learning curve, but what i do mind is losing functionality. My biggest concern at the moment is working in cues and managing tracking and blocks and all that. If I add a cue in the middle of two cues, does that cue track through? Is there any way to see on screen what channels are being used in a cue and edit them without too much difficulty?

Pretty much anything I might need to know when going from the Ion to the CS20 would be great.

 

[EHansenLX]

Not knowing what kind of show you're doing, I might look at the Element if it's available. Has many of the features of the Ion while being less expensive. In my mind, the Colorsource 20 is just too limited with only 40 control channels. I'm not sure about cues tracking, though.

 

[Kevin1844]

This would be for a high school musical. Luckily I will not be affected by the 40-channel wall but just barely. It never hurts to learn a new board but I don't want to spent the whole time regretting it, so I figured I would ask others before committing.

 

[Patch29]

What are you going to be running in terms of lights? What brand? Model?

 

[Kevin1844]

24 conventional dimmers, Some ULD360 with conventionals. Some old Elation Opti RGB LED pars, and an iCue with DMX iris... and a Radiance hazer.

Also considering Elation Sixpar 200's

 

[Patch29]

24 conventional dimmers, Some ULD360 with conventionals. Some old Elation Opti RGB LED pars, and an iCue with DMX iris... and a Radiance hazer.

Also considering Elation Sixpar 200's

Well I would say the costs of using the element are better then saving a little and using the Colorsource which will take longer to set up and I don't know if can do everything you need it too. The Element is a great console ans since its also a EOS console you will already be a pro. I am surprised you used the ion in the past actually since it doesn't seem like its needed for just that.

 

[Kevin1844]

I would definitely go with the Element but our preferred rental company doesn't rent it. I would have to get it from a different, and far less conveniently located vendor.

 

[TheaterEd]

I run an element in my day job, but I just got at colorsource 40 for a local community theater over the summer and I have programmed a couple shows on it now. There will be a bit of a learning curve, but you can manage. I do not believe I had an issue with tracking. I believe it defaults to cue only, but I could be wrong. Biggest hurdle you may have is that it does not have an onboard fixture profile generator, so if you are working with off brand or outdated equipment you may need to download the program and build your own. That being said, I couldn't get that program to run and had to get creative... Additionally, the CS doesn't work well with fixtures that have built in UV. Other than that, its a pretty decent unit. Not ideal for a big show, but it sounds like it can handle what you're throwing at it.

 

[Kevin1844]

I had a nice chat with the extremely helpful folks at ETC. Our old LED's are included in the software already, so that's good. The console works exclusively in cue-only mode, which means a little more work and planning for me. It'll be a good learning experience for me, even if it's kind of frustrating at times.

Thanks for responding, everyone.