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[Gary Phillips]

For a high school auditorium installation with ~50 LED washes, ~ 20 S4, and ~12 rental movers, what lighting console would be a good choice?  Budget is "whatever it needs to be."

[Scott Carneval]

I think that's a question best suited for whoever is programming and operating the console. There are dozens of good hardware and/or software consoles available but if your lighting guy is familiar with X and you spec Y you're bound to run into some issues.


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[Cailen Waddell]

Etc ION or Gio.  It's a theatrical standard.  Has the same interface as an EOS which students will be exposed to if they continue in the field.

Get a 4 universe output count. 

Figure around 9k for an Ion 2000.  17k for a gio 2000, if you have a dealer who is your friend.

Both will require external monitors. And possibly dmx gateways.

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[Shawn Keck]

Anything by ETC will be a safe bet and more universally known...they are like the Yamaha digital consoles of the lighting world...there may be better and flashier consoles out there, but most any engineer can hop behind one and they are intuitive and an easy console to learn on and operate. Not so much true for some of the other random lighting consoles out there.

Have seen many educational venues with some off brand or random console that the installer sold them...only to have no one on site that can figure to dang thing out or know how to program it.

Coming from someone that has been working in theater since I started high school...stick with ETC for a high school theater...please.

 

[Steve M Smith]

I haven't been involved with lighting properly for many years.  However, a few weeks ago, I was called into a local theatre at a few minutes notice to sort out lights and sound for a show due to the person doing it becoming ill.

The lighting controller took some time to get to grips with as scenes had to be programed (as I'm sure is normal with most now).

I think simplicity is the best option for venues where many people will be passing through using the equipment.

I was hoping to find simple control with perhaps two banks of of dimmers with masters.  Instead I had to go through all of the presets already programmed until we found a few we could get away with.

Oh yes... leave a copy of the manual with it.  That would have been useful!!


Steve.

[Gary Phillips]

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts.
The venue here is a 1300 seat high school auditorium that will undergo a complete renovation beginning in May 2016.  The consensus among the teachers, staff, and volunteers is that everyone participating in a production (cast and crew) should learn something from their participation that they can then apply as they move through college and onto their adult lives.
So with that in mind we will be pushing for equipment that is used in college and professional theater venues so that the students have a reasonable grounding in the use of the gear before they move on.
Any other thoughts on all of this will be appreciated!

[Jeff Lelko]

Another vote for the ETC EOS platform!  The Ions tend to be the most popular in schools for good reason, but an ETC sales rep will be more than happy to explain and demo the various EOS consoles to be sure you get the right board for your needs.  ETC's support is also second to none, so buy with confidence and they'll be there to back you up!

-Jeff

[Cailen Waddell]

Yes - etc has 24 hour service with a 15 minute call back time.   You can get a tech support technician on the phone 24 hours a day...  Not many places do that anymore.


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[Tom Bourke]

Yes - etc has 24 hour service with a 15 minute call back time.   You can get a tech support technician on the phone 24 hours a day...  Not many places do that anymore.


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Not only that but the tech on the phone will have the same version of console you have in front of them if needed.  I toured the ETC facility a few years ago, the tech support department is a museum in it self!  ETC is a very help full company and will point you in the right direction.

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