The console surface is where technology meets volunteers. The right lighting control should make complex systems feel more manageable. Photo courtesy of Obsidian Lighting Controls and Justin Stancil of Thunder City Pro.
Whether your venue has 10 lights or 100, you have to be able to control them. We all need a lighting console, but how do you determine which one is right for your ministry? Before we tackle how to choose the right console, let’s clarify how NOT to choose a console.
- Do not purchase solely on price. If you pay less for a console that doesn’t do what you need it to do, then you’ve wasted whatever money you spent.
- Do not get a console because another church uses that console. You may have different needs.
- Do not get a console based on your needs today, ignoring how you intend to grow and expand in the future. There’s no reason to spend more money in 3-5 years when you could get the right console from the start and grow into it.
We want to find the right balance of capability, usability, and budget. So, let’s define what the lighting needs are for your church with a list of questions:
- How many fixtures do you currently own?
- How many do you expect to add in the next 5 years?
- Are you lighting: Traditional worship? Contemporary worship? Concerts? Christmas/Easter productions? Conferences?
- How many fixtures do you have? Moving lights, LED fixtures, House lights, Architectural lighting, Special effects
Once you can identify these basic elements, you can dig into specific console features that fit your situation.
Let’s go over a list of what you should look for.
Volunteer friendliness may be the most important feature your lighting console offers.
#1 - Universe Capacity
One universe of DMX is 512 channels. Back in the day, when all we dealt with were dimmers, that would have given us control over 512 lights or more! Today, one fixture typically takes up multiple DMX channels. Something as simple as an LED PAR can might only be 4 channels (Red, Green, Blue, Dimmer). More complex moving light fixtures like the Ayrton Huricán take up many more (around 70 channels).
Here’s what to consider with a console’s universe capacity:
- How many universes are included?
- Can the console expand to more universes?
- What is the maximum number of universes the console can support?
Offline software can turn training and pre-programming into something that happens before the pressure of Sunday.
#2 - Ease of Use and Volunteer Friendliness
This is perhaps the most important factor to consider for churches. No matter how much or how little money you spend on a console, if your people can’t operate it well, you’ve wasted that money. Unfortunately, this is also the most difficult factor to evaluate. It’s important to get your hands on the console and get some training so you can make an educated decision. Rent or demo the console and have someone knowledgeable about it come and show you around.
Most consoles can do the same things; it’s just a matter of how they approach it. Look into its programming workflow. How does it handle cue creation? Presets and palettes? Effects? Busking? Is the console designed with specific genres in mind, like theater or arena shows? Find a console that meshes well with your weekly workflow and your team’s skill level.
Previsualization can help churches avoid last-minute programming marathons.
A lighting console is often a 7- to 10-year decision. Choose accordingly. Do not buy the console with the most bells and whistles. Buy the one that fits the mission. Photo courtesy of MA Lighting and ACT Entertainment.
#3 - Physical User Controls
For consoles with physical surfaces, look at the layout and find out how the console is designed to be operated.
Here are some good items to check on:
- Faders: How many physical faders are available? Can pages be changed easily? Are the faders mechanical?
- Encoders: Are parameter adjustments intuitive?
- Touchscreens: Built-in, external, or both? Multi-touch support?
- Buttons and Executors: Dedicated buttons for key functions? Customizable layouts (user-defined keys)?
The more complex your lighting rig, the more “handles” it usually helps to have available. However, some consoles are designed to keep the cost low by operating as a software-only solution. These can be great! You need to cover the same list of questions above, but for a digital environment. All-digital solutions are nice for simple rigs, and many of these products can support less expensive external hardware like simple fader wings.
The right lighting console should serve the room, the team, and the future.
#4 - Networking and System Integration
Extremely simple lighting systems may still use old-school copper DMX lines as infrastructure, but most rigs are now utilizing some flavor of network communication. Therefore, it is important to understand what your potential console can speak.
Here’s a short (not exhaustive) list of possibilities:
- Art-Net
- sACN
- DMX
- MIDI
- SMPTE
- OSC
Many of these languages also allow the lighting console to integrate with other systems like media servers, show control systems, timecode control, and video broadcast systems. And before you dismiss these as features only big churches need, do a little YouTube research. These features can help smaller churches become more automated and easier to operate with fewer team members.
#5 - Offline Software and Visualization
This may not be as important for some applications, but for ministries that handle multiple large events throughout the year, the ability to pre-viz and pre-program becomes a game-changer.The most obvious advantage to this feature is the ability to prep an event weeks or months ahead of time without even being in the venue. Does it save time? Maybe, maybe not. But it does allow you to spread your time out over a longer span. This eliminates the need for all-nighters once the rig is actually loaded in (unless you just really enjoy that sort of thing).
Another use for offline software and previsualization tools is training volunteers without them having to be in the room on the rig. In fact, if the console you choose has free offline software, you can encourage trainees to download it on their personal computers and train them via digital means.
Playbacks, encoders, touchscreens and keypads are not just specs. They shape how realpeople run real services — and the Obsidian NX2 is a reminder that compact does not have to mean limited. Photo courtesy of Obsidian Control Systems.
#6 - Redundancy and Backup Planning
This is especially important for larger churches, but make sure you consider the stability of the console (ask around) and how it handles redundancy and backup. Features such as backup show files, backup console options, session networking, and redundant processors become very important when preparing for something to go wrong. The question is not whether something will fail, but how quickly you can recover.
Wrapping Up
The Best Console Is the One That:
- Fits your ministry’s needs
- Matches your team’s skill level
- Has room to grow
- Fits the budget
A lighting console is typically a 7–10 year investment. Taking time to evaluate workflow, capability, and usability is more important than choosing the cheapest option or the option with the most bells and whistles. Good stewardship requires that we put in the work, do the research, and choose what is best for our ministry.
