new console decision

[TheaterEd]

. This is for a production environment with a small number of conventionals, a decent number of LED fixtures, 10 moving heads, and 4 moving mirrors.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I would do anything in my power to lobby for the ION over the Element. My last job had the ION and I miss it terribly now that I'm back on the Element.

I agree with RickR on buying the right gear the first time. In my opinion, you already have outgrown the Element. It is capable of controlling your rig, but if you want
"quick access to movers and other intelligent devices" it just isn't what your looking for.

TL;DR Save up, dig deep, get the ION

 

[innovation88]

I've had a lot of good feedback for the Ion. What about the Congo Kid? I've done some research, and it seems like a grown-up Smartfade ML...which I'm comfortable with.

 

[JohnD]

The Congo vs Ion has been discussed in these forums several times. If you already knew how to use the Ion you probably wouldn't like the Congo and vice versa. Since you will be starting from scratch that may not be a problem. If you haven't already, download the manuals for both and take a look. They are both ETC and the support for either from them will be great. If you can buy used (most schools can't, for instance) you might consider a used Congo Jr. Right now 4wall/usedlighting.com has a Congo Jr with the master fader wing for well within your budget. You should also consider that the Ion is much more popular so more people will be familiar with it and if you ever need to rent or borrow a replacement quickly, you are more likely to find one than a Congo. You can frequently find an Ion for about $5K used but you will still need monitors and fader wings to get the most from it. Many people also insist on touch screen monitors for either console BUT you can get by with a standard monitor, in fact there are some users who don't like touch screen monitors since you can still do everything from the console.

 

[Tex]

The fact that there are several ways to accomplish the same task is one of the things I like most about the Eos family. I find myself either using the mouse or key presses to do most jobs, but the kids are all about the touch screens.

 

[innovation88]

Hey all,
I've decided on the congo jr with master playback wing.

I know many people don't care for the congo syntax. However, as JohnD pontes out, I'm not coming from an Ion or an comparable board, so this won't be much of an issue.

Watched the congo tutorial videos, and actually came away with a good understanding of the console!

I did look into Plexus, but we only use Apple computers running OS X for our control room. However, I did like what I saw with Plexus!

Thanks everyone!

 

[Chris Chapman]

Low end ION with a Fader Wing is cheaper and more flexible to the top end, tricked out (if that's possible) Element. Just sayin'.

 

[Footer]

Low end ION with a Fader Wing is cheaper and more flexible to the top end, tricked out (if that's possible) Element. Just sayin'.

Really? My quotes put it at 4k apart. Can you get an ion with a fader wing for 6k?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Chris Chapman]

I did a year and half ago. Ion with 2 Universes and a Fader Wing WAS right in the 6K range. Maybe creeping up to 7K. Current prices and mileage may vary. Element interface is "different" enough for me not to like over the Ion. Especially with LED's & Movers.

 

[agbobeck]

i am just going to echo what is being said here, if you have MLs, don't get an element. spend the extra 1.5k for Ion. we have 2 MLs and 12 LEDS and even with such a small intelligent rig i have a lot of difficulty programming. we had the budget to get an Ion but our TD decided it would not be necessary. right know i wish i had encoders at the least.

 

[DuckJordan]

i am just going to echo what is being said here, if you have MLs, don't get an element. spend the extra 1.5k for Ion. we have 2 MLs and 12 LEDS and even with such a small intelligent rig i have a lot of difficulty programming. we had the budget to get an Ion but our TD decided it would not be necessary. right know i wish i had encoders at the least.

To be honest the encoders are the things I'm least happy with on the eos line.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

 

[techieman33]

i am just going to echo what is being said here, if you have MLs, don't get an element. spend the extra 1.5k for Ion. we have 2 MLs and 12 LEDS and even with such a small intelligent rig i have a lot of difficulty programming. we had the budget to get an Ion but our TD decided it would not be necessary. right know i wish i had encoders at the least.

Yeah it's always best to get more console then you think you'll need if you can afford it. You'll never regret having to much console, but it can really suck when you don't have enough.