Lighting Board

tss_rocks

Member
Hey All,

We're getting ready to do a fashion show at our school. Yesterday our old (20-year old) Strand Mantrix II was acting kind of weird. When we plugged it in and gave it a whirl today, no luck.

We're tossing our old AMX board in the trash, and have an AMX-DMX controller card installed in the CD80 Dimmer Pack and we're renting a Jands 24 Ch. lighting console; which gets the job done.

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a 24 Channel lighting board with the following:
-DMX (Obviously)
-Bump Buttons
-Chases
- 2x24 and 48 channel mode

We're also looking for a "budget-friendly" board too. We dont have a whole lot to spend. Thank you sooo much guys!
 
ETC and Strand both make 24/48 boards which are easy enough to use. I'm not sure what your definition of budget friendly is (really varies), but, my guess is that both desks are in the $3K - $4K range.

Both desks are pretty intuitive, and are capable of controlling intelligent fixtures. If you're plannign to ever expand the # of channels you need, the Strand 300 desk would probably be a better choice, as you can buy panels for it which add an additional 24 channels at a time. The ETC board is one big piece of plastic.
 
On ETC Boards such as the Expression III, you can add dimmers to expand the number of channels without having to perform 'surgery'. All you have to do is add dimmers whenever you are ready. There is no soft-patching necessary, because you have direct access to all channels. To store channels or looks, you have ten pages of twenty four overlapping submasters. The Expression III, however, would not be considered very budget-friendly, at around 20k. Whichever way I look at it, I would buy the ETC (such as an Express 96ch) which would probably fit your budget and application very well.
 
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Thanks for the suggestions, guys. We went with the Jands ESP II 24, the company we're currently renting it from is going to sell it to us the exact model, brand new for $2,100 (CDN). Not bad at all.

I really like it, it's a major step up from the Mantrix, and will serve us well. Our school is scheduled to close June 2006, but if it does remain open, we've been promised a new auditorium, and we've been told that this board will suit our needs now and in the future if that does happen.

Once again, thanks for your help.
--Matt
 
Your in ontario so you can give chrsitie lights a call.

If your really in the market for console you can shoot me an email with your contact info and ill pass it on to some sales reps.

Your best bet for a cheep console is a jands esp 24/48 im sure chrstie still has a few of them and they are dirt cheep.

JH

ps. just read your post about the esp dont but it new it is a waste of money get it used. I bought one for a school used and it has operated problem free for 5 years now.
 
Ummm... before there are more posts with recommendations... note that this is over 2 years old, and his school should already be closed :)
 
Ummm... before there are more posts with recommendations... note that this is over 2 years old, and his school should already be closed :)

hehehe you beat me to it. :mrgreen:
 
While Strand and ETC are both good for their 24/48 desks, i've got three other options you could consider, most of which are in the good quality for small cost catagory.

1) Jands ESP II 24/48. Has what you want, chases, bump buttons, 24 with two presets or 48 in wide mode, 512 DMX, FX and XF Cues and programming capabilities. I have worked with these boards for a long time, and they are almost maintenence free, with many boards working with no problems for years. They are a relatively good price too.

2) LSC Atom. Pretty much a ESP but with a slightly different user interface. Has the normal 512 DMX, bump buttons, presents in 24, 48 or wide mode with 48 channels. 9 pages of sub-masters, with easy to create chases, XF and FX cues all in one.

3) Maxim have a good desk, which is basically just a LSC Atom with a bit more of a user interface. Has all the necessities, as stated above, and should suit your needs.

All three of these boards I have used, and most are hassle free. The only problem I have encountered is that the Maxim needs to be off at the desk, but on at the mains power so the internal battery can be charged. My programmer didn't know this, and he lost a day's worth of programming because the board was switched off at the wall after the days work, and had no onboard battery left for back up, or memory storage. Apart from that though, these boards are, in my opinion, very good value for money and should suit your needs perfectly.

Dan
 
The thread is two and a half years old. If the ESP was bought, then it was bought a long time ago.
 
LSC forever! They make amazing desks at an amazing price, great stuff for all types of use ranging in all levels of complexity. Their PatPad mover control is amazing too.
All three of these boards I have used, and most are hassle free. The only problem I have encountered is that the Maxim needs to be off at the desk, but on at the mains power so the internal battery can be charged. My programmer didn't know this, and he lost a day's worth of programming because the board was switched off at the wall after the days work, and had no onboard battery left for back up, or memory storage.
Not a problem I plan to have - the maXim battery lasts for ages and ages and ages.
I can't recommend LSC (especially their dimming) enough!
 
Ummm... before there are more posts with recommendations... note that this is over 2 years old, and his school should already be closed :)


Nope, the school is still open. Heh!

The Jands is still kickin' there with the new DMX card in the CD-80 for a solid couple years now. Everything is working well apparently (from what I hear). By the sounds of things, their student activities/tech crew are in serious debt, and that'll be the last of their purchases for a long time.

I'm onto new and better things anyways... who needs a Jands, when you can be working with an Expression 48/96, WholeHog or a Pearl 2004?

:)
 

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