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[William Schnake]

We are looking into getting a hardware controller for a small light show.  We are currently using 18 Blizzard ProPar 7/4 LED lights.  As I said this is for small shows and I don't see us adding more light to this setup anytime soon.  I was thinking Elation Show Designer 1 for the small system so that I could free up my laptop.

We have been using Martin MPC with a laptop and Enttec dmx dongle for small to mid size shows.  However, I would rather not have to pickup another laptop and dongle to be able to do a second show.

Any thoughts as to if the Show Designer 1 would be a good bar - small festival fit?

Thanks
Bill

[Josh Daws]

bill, martin just released the M-Touch, take a look at it. it only does 1 universe, but if you use their dongle you can expand this to 3 universes...anyways its around $750CA

[Mike Pyle]

I have a few Magic 260s that I put on the shelf when Elation discontinued it last year. I have found them to work very well for this application, especially like that it has a master dimmer.

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

We are looking into getting a hardware controller for a small light show.  We are currently using 18 Blizzard ProPar 7/4 LED lights.  As I said this is for small shows and I don't see us adding more light to this setup anytime soon.  I was thinking Elation Show Designer 1 for the small system so that I could free up my laptop.

We have been using Martin MPC with a laptop and Enttec dmx dongle for small to mid size shows.  However, I would rather not have to pickup another laptop and dongle to be able to do a second show.

Any thoughts as to if the Show Designer 1 would be a good bar - small festival fit?

Thanks
Bill

I'm sure Duane will be around soon to talk about the Show Designer.  If you can live with pre-recorded chases and the like, it's probably fine.  It's not a busking desk, though.

[duane massey]

Yep, here I am!..... not sure what you mean by pre-recorded chases, as I normally roll my own, but....
The learning curve on the SD1 can be a bit tough on rookies, but once you accept the basics of the SD1 it is the only controller in it's price range that is truly useful. Nothing else comes close, period. If you invest enough time to set up scenes in an order that suits your needs you can run the desk much as we used to run lights in the "old" days, but still have all the benefits of the "intelligent" fixtures. The only real downer is the lack of a master fader, which has always irritated me, but you can easily work around this IF you are using either one type of fixture or fixtures that all use the same channel for dimming.
If you do decide to pick one up, feel free to contact me for help if needed.
And, no, I don't work for nor am I affiliated with Adj or Elation, I just like the SD-series.

[Mike Christy]

I went with a SD1 on Duane's advice, I think it was a good choice. There are some quirky things  about it, and it does tie your hands sometimes in the way it operates - like if you want to have a constant spot light on, you need to program it into each scene, otherwise it goes out on scene change, even if you bring it up manually...

You do need to spend 4 to 6 weeks programming your fixtures, chases and presets into it, but then building scenes, then switching from each scene is very very powerful and impressive, especially with movers - coordinating colors and movement. Tap Tempo controls your speed. You could never do what it does manually, not with a conventional board.

One other thing, your "light show" and fixtures kind of meed to be defined up front - buy them first, set them up - basically have them all together and setup before you start programming your basic scenes. You can add fxiture and elements to the scenes later, but it seems best to me to have everything defined up front.

With that said, I still carry a basic 8 chan dmx controller for those acoustic acts that just need stage wash and spots.

Mike

[Terry Martin]

I've got an SD2 that I've been considering to get rid of if you're interested. 

[duane massey]

SD2 is a significant step up from the SD1 in all aspects. SD3 even more so, but it has been discontinued. Mike's comments are pretty much right on, although I might quibble over the amount of time needed to get your basics set up. He is correct about the lack of a latching "solo" feature, but this is typical of almost all the controllers that can be found for under $1K.

[Mike Christy]

...although I might quibble over the amount of time needed to get your basics set up.

You haven't seen my sequences...

[William Schnake]

IF you are using either one type of fixture or fixtures that all use the same channel for dimming.
If you do decide to pick one up, feel free to contact me for help if needed.

Thanks Duane.  Currently we are using 16 of the same light and two additional lights for drummers on small shows.  For our small festival shows we will be using 3 types of lights.  Front truss will all be the same light model, back truss will be another and drum lights.

Bill 

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