Control/Dimming Sweet Light

[lalibretti]

Has anyone used the program Sweet Light? I've been hired to do some programming and system set up for a church. They're using Sweet Light and considering buying a board. I'm going to attempt working with Sweet Light before looking into consoles for them.

Any input is appreciated!

 

[LXPlot]

It looks decent, although 3-pin output suggests mediocre quality.

 

[shiben]

It just bothers me that you dont seem to be able to run tons of universes of DMX on one interface, implies not a ton of fixtures.

 

[jglodeklights]

It really depends on what you need to do. If you only need to run simple shows, great. If you are going to use more complicated shows and do some crazy things with awesome moving lights, investing in an Enttec or Chamsys USB to DMX dongle with Chamsys MagicQ software (which is free) with a MagicQ PC control panel may make sense. If you don't use many moving lights an used ETC Express Console or ETC SmartFade/SmartFade ML may make sense.

 

[FlashBang]

I have never used the system myself, but my predecessor had picked one up to control a couple of Robe moving lights. He told me it was a PITA but would do the trick for sure. I wouldn't put much weight behind his comment on it being a pain, he wasn't the most motivated individual I've met.

 

[CanYouHearMeNow]

I've used the ETC Express 48/96 for years and is actually how I learned lighting. It is still one of my favorite boards. 24 Submasters, 10 pages, DMX 1-512 and 513-1024, 2-scene mode, AB & CD cues. It is useful for any circumstance and I highly recommend it or one of ETCs newer consoles as this has been discontinued.

 

[derekleffew]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've heard (and said) it all before. Most popular lighting console ever. Over 19,000 units sold, from 1995-2009. Yada, yada. But the horse has expired; it's time to move on. There are far better products available now. (And none of them have trackpads. )

 

[jglodeklights]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've heard (and said) it all before. Most popular lighting console ever. Over 19,000 units sold, from 1995-2009. Yada, yada. But the horse has expired; it's time to move on. There are far better products available now. (And none of them have trackpads. )

I like trackpads. I don't like consoles not designed for moving lights with crappy interfaces for conventionals. Standard languages, I like.

 

[mattbarber51993]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've heard (and said) it all before. Most popular lighting console ever. Over 19,000 units sold, from 1995-2009. Yada, yada. But the horse has expired; it's time to move on. There are far better products available now. (And none of them have trackpads. )

Lol, my school just got an Express 48/96, before we had a really old Strand console. I would say it's the best bet. Too bad we don't have any moving heads so we can't use the track pad. We got it the monday of our tech week. We then got yelled at for not having cues ready that night. *sigh* I can't wait for college.

 

[DuckJordan]

Lol, my school just got an Express 48/96, before we had a really old Strand console. I would say it's the best bet. Too bad we don't have any moving heads so we can't use the track pad. We got it the monday of our tech week. We then got yelled at for not having cues ready that night. *sigh* I can't wait for college.

On topic my thoughts on the sweet light are the same as quite a few, Looks to be DJ quality gear...

Oh and Mattbarber, its no different in college than high school, just a higher expectation, and more late nights.

 

[TimMiller]

Best thing the track pad is for on the express is setting dimmer levels. Moving lights are a real pain on the express and you hit the max dimmer count really fast. I do not understand why you have a limit of 250 dimmers yet you have 1024 channels. The express was a good conventional board for it's time like windows xp but now there is newer and greater technology. Most of the moving light consoles have very nice conventional functionality.