Who makes a light console with presets?

ksteele

Member
I have a new ETC conventional lighting system with a SmartFader 24/96 console. The SmartFader does not support presets. By presets, I am referring to assigning scenes to buttons on the console and playing the scenes back by simply pressing the appropriate buttons. It offers "stack" or "cue" mode, but not direct access to the scenes.

I need a console that will allow me to set a custom scene, then assign the scene to a button including the amount of time it takes to fade in. I should be able to recall the scene simply by pressing the button. I would like about 24 of these preset buttons.

Does anyone make a lighting console under $4000 with these features?
 
I have a new ETC conventional lighting system with a SmartFader 24/96 console. The SmartFader does not support presets. By presets, I am referring to assigning scenes to buttons on the console and playing the scenes back by simply pressing the appropriate buttons. It offers "stack" or "cue" mode, but not direct access to the scenes.
I need a console that will allow me to set a custom scene, then assign the scene to a button including the amount of time it takes to fade in. I should be able to recall the scene simply by pressing the button. I would like about 24 of these preset buttons.
Does anyone make a lighting console under $4000 with these features?

Well, very few consoles have a true button for that feature, most higher end consoles can do that on a pallet on a touchscreen. I would look at the DJ market, they might have something with a tactile control. On most consoles you could write a simple macro or a "goto" button to do that rather easy.
 
I have a new ETC conventional lighting system with a SmartFader 24/96 console. The SmartFader does not support presets. By presets, I am referring to assigning scenes to buttons on the console and playing the scenes back by simply pressing the appropriate buttons. It offers "stack" or "cue" mode, but not direct access to the scenes.
I need a console that will allow me to set a custom scene, then assign the scene to a button including the amount of time it takes to fade in. I should be able to recall the scene simply by pressing the button. I would like about 24 of these preset buttons.
Does anyone make a lighting console under $4000 with these features?


Ummm.. The Smartfade will do this - or at least something very close to this.

Record a memory to a fader. Bring in the fader at the time that you want your "preset" to occur in

It's not exactly a button press, but it's pretty close....


go here for more info....

Jeff
 
For less then $4,000 you can get a used Express, they all have 10 pages of 24 subs.

I've also used an NSI MC 1616. It's got 16 bump buttons. Cross fade time is controlled by a fader, not programed into the button, but besides that it seems close to what your looking for. For an extra $50 you can get it with DMX in addition to Microplex.
 
For less then $4,000 you can get a used Express, they all have 10 pages of 24 subs.
.

Correct. You can easily configure ea. of the 24 Sub's bump buttons to fade in/out in a prescribed time, with a push of the button.

A simple Express 24 would work well. Probably would have been a better choice to begin with.

SB
 
I believe there are some new Strand consoles that might allow you to do what you want but budget might be a problem.

Personally I like the Used Express 24/48 idea.

If you can push your budget up you can push buttons all day on a Congo and not run out of presets.

EDIT check out the new Strand Sub Pallet... 128 submasters. Price is the only question.
 
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grand-MA makes one. You use the executor buttons to do exactly what you want. Basically you assign a cue list to one of the executor buttons. Pricing wise you probably want to look at the Micro or the Pico...but it still may be a little spendy.
 
For a few hundred bucks, you can pick up a NSI MLC 128R or MLC 16. Both do this. You just set the stage how you want it, push record twice, then the scene button. You control the fade time between the two scenes with the turn of a dial. Both support several hundred scenes, and you can use conventional or moving fixtures. These are great boards for smaller shows or taking a small show on the road.
 
Ooof...so for the record my suggestion doesn't make your budgetary constrictions. By any means.
 
For a few hundred bucks, you can pick up a NSI MLC 128R or MLC 16. Both do this.

Yea, a lot of the super cheap boards like the Elation Scene Setter 48 not only allow sequences on demand, they will do proportional overlap of scenes. In fact on that board, you can set the lower 24 channels as submasters for preset scenes which can all contain proportional channel dimming. Unfortunately, you can't stack DMX boards! ummm... however, let me interject a sneaky way of doing that- If your dimmers and instruments are set to hold the last value given, you can actually use a double pole switch to hard switch between DMX lines. (in other words, use more than one board!) Nobody talks about it, but it's been working for me for years. (Back in network IT biz, we used to do this with network lines.) I always figured hashed data packets would be a problem, but I guess they get a clean one in about one 44,000th of a second and are happy as I have not run into any glitches. Needless to say, the switch should be in a shielded box and needs to keep the circuit common (pin 1) and case ground separate. (Warning- these are my results and may not be yours!) ;)
 
Yea, a lot of the super cheap boards like the Elation Scene Setter 48 not only allow sequences on demand, they will do proportional overlap of scenes. In fact on that board, you can set the lower 24 channels as submasters for preset scenes which can all contain proportional channel dimming. Unfortunately, you can't stack DMX boards! ummm... however, let me interject a sneaky way of doing that- If your dimmers and instruments are set to hold the last value given, you can actually use a double pole switch to hard switch between DMX lines. (in other words, use more than one board!) Nobody talks about it, but it's been working for me for years. (Back in network IT biz, we used to do this with network lines.) I always figured hashed data packets would be a problem, but I guess they get a clean one in about one 44,000th of a second and are happy as I have not run into any glitches. Needless to say, the switch should be in a shielded box and needs to keep the circuit common (pin 1) and case ground separate. (Warning- these are my results and may not be yours!) ;)
That is why people like Doug Fleenor make DMX mergers. So that you don't have to do things that you really shouldn't.
 
That is why people like Doug Fleenor make DMX mergers. So that you don't have to do things that you really shouldn't.

Doug makes great stuff, but $1,300.00 is a little... well... I'll hang on to my $4 switchbox, and play the safe role and recommend you use a merge box :)
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I failed to mention I would like to have about 64 faders on the board to manually control the dimmers and set the scenes before assigning them to buttons.

Has anyone ever used an NSI MC-7532? In wide mode, it offers 64 channels. It also allows scenes to be recorded to bump buttons. The bump buttons can be configured in normal, toggle or kill mode. Toggle mode allows scenes to be turned on by pressing a bump button then turned off by pressing the button again. I think kill mode will allow me to change scenes just by pressing each bump button, but I'm not sure. Anyone have any experience with this?
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions. I failed to mention I would like to have about 64 faders on the board to manually control the dimmers and set the scenes before assigning them to buttons.
Has anyone ever used an NSI MC-7532? In wide mode, it offers 64 channels. It also allows scenes to be recorded to bump buttons. The bump buttons can be configured in normal, toggle or kill mode. Toggle mode allows scenes to be turned on by pressing a bump button then turned off by pressing the button again. I think kill mode will allow me to change scenes just by pressing each bump button, but I'm not sure. Anyone have any experience with this?

An express 48/96 will do all that plus a lot more. Though I am not sure if you can assign a fade time to a bump button and have it hold without haveing to bring up the handle on the sub (lemme know if I am wrong and how to do it). If you want to go the NSI route, more power to ya, but those boards are extremely limited.
 
An express 48/96 will do all that plus a lot more. Though I am not sure if you can assign a fade time to a bump button and have it hold without haveing to bring up the handle on the sub (lemme know if I am wrong and how to do it). If you want to go the NSI route, more power to ya, but those boards are extremely limited.

Yes, any Express will allow looks/cues/presets to be recorded onto a submaster and then recalled in a defined time by pressing the bump button. All the Express series have 24 subs as well and I would think the 48/96 would fit the bill for a console with more 64 faders in single scene mode as well as the 24 subs.

The sub setup is a follows: Note that you have to have bump buttons enabled in setup for this to work.

- Record the desired look into the sub
- In Blind, press the Sub button, then soft key S2 - Sub List
- Using the up/down/left/right arrows, scroll to the sub you need to adjust, and key in L to R - Bump Enabled (Option 1), then desired Up time, then Dwell column as Hold (use the Clear key to toggle thru), then Down Time. Note that Up and Down times can be different. The Type column should say Pile-On.

Back in Stage, you need only to press the bump button to activate the look. This method will hold the activated look until you press the sub bump a 2nd time to start the down fade. You do not need to run up the sub fader handle, doing so over-rides the fade levels (you can park the fader at a minimum level and still run the up/down fades). Note that while the sub look is active off the bump toggle, the bump LED will flash once the look is at 100%,, as a reminder that you have a sub look active, even though the sub fader is not up.

I'm guessing this works on the Expression III/Insight III as well.

Steve B.
 
****...learn something new everyday even when i'm not looking to..thanks Steve.
 
You can also put times into your bump buttons just through using the 'time' function.

Record your sub as normal THEN
XX [time] (then you enter upfade, dwell, and downfade times)

I do this when I write a warm-up sub. I record one sub with all my intensity channels at 30% or so, and then give it an upfade of around 20 dwell of 20, and downfade of 15. This way I can push the bump button in the booth, walk downstairs and check to see that all the fixtures are on and working. It also warms up the lamps slower, which is better for improving lamp life.

Zac
 
SteveB - Thanks for the details - it really helps.

Back in Stage, you need only to press the bump button to activate the look. This method will hold the activated look until you press the sub bump a 2nd time to start the down fade.

Is there a requirement to press the bump a 2nd time to fade down? Can I just press the next bump button to transition into the next scene?
 
SteveB - Thanks for the details - it really helps.
Is there a requirement to press the bump a 2nd time to fade down? Can I just press the next bump button to transition into the next scene?

Nope, you will have to press it again.... as far as I know. There is a work around to this to trigger a macro to release the other sub when you hit the next one, you would have issues though due to haveing to program the macro to release the previous sub that you hit by number, otherwise it would trigger whatever is on the number sub. Just for my own brain, what are you doing that you want the tactile buttons and can not get away with CUE # GO?
 
SteveB - Thanks for the details - it really helps.
Is there a requirement to press the bump a 2nd time to fade down? Can I just press the next bump button to transition into the next scene?

Yes, you press the bump button a 2nd time to activate the down fade. You can define a dwell time of XX which will automatically start the downfade.

There's no real way to write in a macro (that I've tried) to use the bumps/subs this way as a crossfader, as the macro needs to know the number of the sub to downfade. The beauty of the fade up/down on a bump-on-sub, is the randomness of the playback.

This is how I often use it, when I get a childrens theater tour/one-off that writes a dozen or more sub looks, but will run 50 or so cues. Rather then writing a cue stack, we write subs (and label them) and then play them back in whatever order the SM calls it - "Hot", "Cool", "Night", "DR Special" and back and forth and so on. I simply press the next sub for an up fade and the current (flashing bump button) look for the out. This is really, really useful when a company is doing a longer Sat. or Sun. matinee, but a shorter weekday school time and has scenes cut.

Only slow part is there's no way to record the sub fades with a default time(s) as can be down with cues, but it's generally very fast to arrow down and punch in an up times, etc...

SB
 

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