Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 Hi, I'm an audio guy, I have some experience with lighting , but I'm definitley not a squint by any means The question I have is this: I have a pretty decent lighting rig for small local shows, but we have been doing more and more small national shows. My rig right now consists of four par 64 six bars with socopex, two ACL bars with four par 64 sized cans, two blinders with 10x 50w 12v pr16 bulbs in each, and one 6 bar with par 56 fixtures. I have a bunch of 2"x12"x12" square truss and good stands for the truss. My biggest problem is that my dimmers and controller are not acceptable fo most of the national riders I get. I'm using three NSI NRD8000 dimmers and a NSI 7024 controller. I need some suggestions for DMX dimmers and controllers that will pacify the nationals LD's and won't break my bank. Brands like American DJ and Chauvet are also not an option for a lot of these riders unfortunately. Normally we just get a lighting company to do the lighting so that we don't have to deal with it, but there's been a few last minute gigs that a local venue has been throwing at us lately that the lighting company that we usually do buisness with couldn't do. We have been able to rent enough extra cans and stuff to meet the usual 60k rider specs, but I'd kind of like to have dimmers and a controller that is a little better, more compatible and more reliable than the NSI stuff. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BillESC Posted September 2, 2005 Members Share Posted September 2, 2005 If you see yourself doing more and more of this type of lighting gig in the future, invest in an ETC board. The Expression or Obsession consoles will be happily accepted by most LD's. The NSI dimmers are fine products and their new DS 12-24 is a very cost effective dimmer pack offering 12 circuits of 2.4Kw for around $ 2000.00. One of the DS 12-24's and a couple of your NRD 8000's adapted to DMX will easily handle a 60+ K rider using an ETC front end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted September 13, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 13, 2005 I'm trying to keep the cost down, probably $3k or less for now. A few that I have seen that fit that range are: Leprecon LP-X24Strand MX ETC INSITE 2X ETC Express 24/48 Any opinions on any of these lighting consoles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted September 26, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 26, 2005 Bump for the question above ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rimmer Posted September 29, 2005 Members Share Posted September 29, 2005 Originally posted by ATOMICDOG1 I'm trying to keep the cost down, probably $3k or less for now. A few that I have seen that fit that range are:Leprecon LP-X24Strand MX ETC INSITE 2X ETC Express 24/48Any opinions on any of these lighting consoles? Look at some prices for used Avolite Pearls.. Or even an Avolites Azure.. They are common as muck over in the Uk and I know people in the US know what they are and often how to use them.. Good desk for pretty large gigs.. I use them almost exclusively.. Rimmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Craig Leerman Posted December 21, 2005 Members Share Posted December 21, 2005 You should look at the 7500 series from NSI. That way you could keep your current dimmers, as the 7500 boards output both DMX and Microplex (at the same time if need be) The 7000 series of consoles have a rather limited feature set. Your 7024 has only 2 chases, and 24 submasters. A 7524 on the other hand has 8 or 16 pages of 24 submasters, 24 chases per page, Cue Stacking and most importantly, SOFTPATCHING. Softpatching is the ability to assign any dimmer chan to any console chan. You are not limited to a simple 1-1 patch. I have a 7532 and a 7516 that do the bulk of my gigs. I have yet to have a road LD refuse the 7532 on smaller shows. If you are looking for a different console brand, look at the ZERO 88 FROG console line. They have a FROG to meet your every need, and they are extreemly afordable. They only output DMX though, so you would need to get a DMX to Microplex converter or upgrade your dimmers. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted December 27, 2005 Author Members Share Posted December 27, 2005 Thanks Craig.I have looked at the Frogs, but since I had never heard of them I didn't pursue them. I have looked at the 7500 series NSI boards. I liked them fine, but if this past summer was any indication, I'd like to get something a little more acceptable (out of four national acts lighting riders, two specified "No NSI accepted"). I might have to take another look at the Zero 88's. I'd like to get something that can also run a few basic intels, like track spots etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ATOMICDOG1 Posted December 27, 2005 Author Members Share Posted December 27, 2005 Hmmm, I like the look of the Zero 88 FatFrog console. It can do 24/48 plus 12 intels... Now I just have to find one for sale in the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zygoat Posted April 2, 2006 Members Share Posted April 2, 2006 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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