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The Martin M1 console is designed for medium to large venues. It features a folding high-resolution touch screen, built-in trackball and four rotary encoders for control. It also has 24 playbacks and 12 assignable buttons. Four DMX outputs come standard with expansion to 16 possible, and additional fader wings can be added for expansion. Programming is simplified with custom macros, extensive fixture libraries, and a built-in effects generator in a console that is oriented to an automated light-style of programming.
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If ETC’s Eos, Ion, and Element consoles are too large for your venue you might consider the SmartFade consoles for conventional fixtures or the SmartFade ML for control of a mix of conventional and automated fixtures. Each SmartFade console handles up to 512 dimmers and supports chases, submasters, and cue stack playback, as well as single-scene or two-scene playback. The SmartFade ML handles 24 automated fixtures and an additional 48 dimmer channels. It has a built-in effects engine, encoders for automated fixture parameters and faders for intensity channels. Additionally, the SmartFade ML allows you to use a Mac or PC running free SmartSoft software to connect via USB. SmartSoft allows you to view live displays and allows on-screen editing of various parameters, adding ease of use to the programming and editing process. The SmartFade line of consoles is a good choice for the small- to medium-sized venue.
While it seems as though it was just last year, 14 years ago this month I was prepping what seemed like a simple lighting plot for a prominent Christian touring artist. The assignment, although simple in scope, was much harder to pull off when it actually came time to do the shows. You see, the tour involved doing shows at every Six Flags amusement park in the United States.
What does this have to do with how to pick a lighting console, you may ask? Well, over the course of the summer of 1997 I used almost every lighting console manufactured at that time. Local production companies provided all of the equipment, and I was forced to use whatever equipment they could provide. That meant that some days we had great gear and some days we were lucky if the lights came on at all.
Although I specified my two preferred consoles of the day, a Celco Gold 90, or the Avolites Sapphire, most of the time I didn’t get them. That meant that some days I was using a console that I had never used before, and that made for some stressful afternoons of programming and some interesting shows.
From that tour I learned that console choice is personal; every console has its own syntax, and a console is nothing more than a tool.
CONSOLES ARE PERSONAL While my “Six Flags” experience stretched me and I became a better lighting designer and programmer, I quickly learned the first rule of lighting consoles: lighting console preferences are very personal and very much based on how well you understand how the console operates.
The best console for you is always going to be the one you know how to use. Conversely, the console you don’t know how to use is always going to be the “biggest pile of junk” you have ever touched.
This is why it always frustrates me to hear that some church tech wants to buy console X because the band they just saw was using that console. While it may be a great console, if the people at the church operating it don’t understand how it works, it will never be an asset to them. They tend to give no consideration as to why the band was using console X, only that they were.
Just as bad is when churches get console advice from touring guys because they tend to get recommendations based on what the touring guy knows and not what fits a church’s needs. As a consultant, I am constantly testing and evaluating consoles so that I can make recommendations to clients based on what fits their needs, which may not always be what I personally know or like the best.
Currently, there are two lighting consoles I consider to be my primary consoles and they are the only ones I will use to program shows. It isn’t because there aren’t other great consoles out there, it’s because I know how to make these two consoles work for me and I don’t have time to learn other consoles in depth to the point that I am comfortable programming shows on them. Given the time, I would love to be a phenomenal programmer on every console out there, but it just isn’t feasible.
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Greg Persinger is the owner of Vivid Illumination. He can be reached at greg@vividillumination.com.
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ADD NEW COMMENTDear Dissappointed - Making product recommendations in a magazine is sort of like recommending a car. Do you need a luxury car, a sports car, an economy car, an SUV? Do you have a family? Are you looking for new or used etc? Making a definitive product recommendation should only come after a thorough evaluation, and an in-house demo at your church.
Posted by Editor on 03/17/2012 report abuse
This is my .02 cents. Martin Light Jockey for small or portable churches, the software is free so you can put it on as many computers as you want then just plug in the usb, to dmx controller. The controller cost around $1200. Once the initial programming is done anyone can use it.
For more advanced churches I suggest the ETC Congo series. Much more theatrical capabilities. However you will find yourself programming more with this unit. The etc is more advanced so it does take some training.
Posted by Guy on 11/15/2011 report abuse
“Currently, there are two lighting consoles I consider to be my primary consoles”
Which two do you like?
I can’t stand that this publication will not make any type of product recommendation or comparisons.
I understand their money comes from advertisers, but so does CNET’s.
For once can’t you tell us more than what we can read on manufacture’s websites?
Posted by Disappointed on 06/21/2011 report abuse