Control/Dimming Martin M1 good or bad

[rockvisual]

considering a Martin M1 for our Church
thoughts

 

[Sony]

Because it is a very new board that was just recently released I don't believe many people if any here on these forums will have a considerable amount of experience using it. I do believe most of the people who have touched the M1 on these forums have mostly only been familiar with product demo's and not a production environment. Therefore they have only really used the board for maybe a few hours, not enough to get a conclusive result.

That being said however, most of the comments I have heard about the M1 have been quite favorable, I've even heard some say it's better than the Maxxyz, but again these are early reports.

Just a question but why are you considering the M1? What is a typical rig at your church? How many lights/movers and what typically are you lighting, are you lighting church services or are you doing rock concerts. We may be able to come up with other suggestions for you which could also fit the bill.

 

[rockvisual]

We are running about 48k of dimming with 30 conventional lights, 15 leds parcans, 12 scrollers and 4 mirror movers
our lighting needs vary from theatre, to live band sets to just talking heads
we have been running a emphasis 2d with a expression face plate but we feel limited and it's difficult for volunteers
thanks

 

[Sony]

Is there a specific reason you have not considered an ETC Element or Ion? No offense but with only 30 conventional fixtures, a few scrollers, 4 mirrors and 15 LED parcans the Martin M1 would be complete overkill. Also it is not as easy to learn as you would think as it takes after it's bigger brother the Maxxyz and is meant specifically for concerts and rigs with large amounts of movers, playback faders and things like that.

The EOS series of consoles from ETC would suit your needs well or possibly a Strand Palette console. I think you should consider looking into the ETC Element, it would do what you need easily with tons of room for expansion later on if you do happen to pick up a few movers. It is also way cheaper then the Martin M1 and has a highly intuitive interface which is easy for beginners to grasp and understand.

 

[kendal69]

...Also it is not as easy to learn

I'm sitting in front of one right now and it is AMAZING. One thing it has a built in touch screen which makes programming a flash.

I must challenge that statement about learning the board. I have never ever run a computerized board like this and the M1 has no instruction manual that comes with it as it has not been written yet. I sat in front of it WITH NO CLUE and was able to select my 3 watt LED that Martin wrote a profile for me and brought up the color chart and was able to operate the board. All within an hour. Now for a person to use this board to it's fullest sure you need a manual and one is coming at the end of summer, but I'm sure I'll have it figured out by then.

Sure it's like buying a Ferarri to drive to the grocery store, but for me it has all the latest LED lights already built in and it is built for whatever you can throw at it and I'd rather have a board that CAN DO IT than a board that falls short. I finally have a board that will do more than what I ask of it rather than a board that will not do what I ask of it.

The COLOR CONTROL is jaw dropping. It has a window that brings up GAM colors, Roscoe, LEE and a mixer, so all you do is screen touch the color on the screen and at least my 3 watt LED instantly turn that color, No guess work no tweaking, no "that's close" it's SPOT ON that color. This alone is what sold me on this beuty.

The size is incredible and will do the work of the big boys in a smaller size. Has the exact same software as their top of the line unit. It's expandable yet expanding is not needed. You can add additional screens, has 4 DMX universes with more added if needed.. 1000 cue list. On the fly timing adjustments.

iPhone MaxRemote, a native iPhone application that allows quick access to most programming functions of the system. The iPhone remote is a true application and not a remote view of the console screen.

Color Control......A generic color picker and access to multiple librariesfrom LEE, Roscoand GAM with hundreds of choicesmakes finding the right color a breeze. No longer is the color a combination of DMX values. Quick access through the M1 color browser helps to find just the right one.

Audio in and out
4 XLR 5pin F DMX512 out ports (RDM compatible)
1 XLR 5pin M DMX512 in ports
2 EtherCon RJ45 USB Wing connections1 DVI or VGA monitor output
6 MiniJackAudio in/out2 RJ45 Network connections2 PS2 Keyboard and mouse connections1 DB-9 M RS-2322 XLR 3pin 12 volt desk lamps3 MIDI In/Out Thru ports (optional)
IEC Power in/out with switch4
Intel Duo core processor. Keyboard attachment or internal screen keyboard.
M1 or Maxxyz Compact?
•Smaller
•Lighter
•Faster
•More faders
•Flip screen
•Higher resolution screen
•More external monitor support
•4 Encoder wheels
•12 user keys
•Flash Master

 

[Stebro]

after using the M1 for a week, and after touring the Hog 2&3 and Ion, i feel like the M1 is a blend of both hog and ion consoles. with the added benefit of Telnet support through the Maxxyz manager. the price of the M1 compared to the ion is comparable and vs. the hog3 its a steal (it seems). i will check in after i put this thing through the ringer in the coming months.