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    Mike Foudy
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Upgrading from an Ion console

I have a 3,500 seat room, 4 universes, 11-21 moving lights (11 weekly, plus 10 rentals for 2 large programs a year), 40 LED wash fixtures and roughly 200 ellipsoidals/pars.  I have had an Ion console for 7 years or so and thinking about upgrading to another ETC console.  I use volunteers weekly (very non-technical but dedicated folks), but I program everything and run the large/involved programs.  What console would y'all recommend?  Ion XE?  Gio?  Gio @5?  Eos Ti?

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    I'd go for the XE or just a hardware update. (Win7, 2 NICs, SSD) Being able to use reasonably priced touch screens is a huge benefit, for both you and the volunteers. Magic Sheets can make them very comfortable on the console.

    If you use faders a lot then (another?) fader wing would be nice. If you run on the fly or do a lot of concerts then motorized faders can save some effort.

    I think the only real benefit for going further up the line would be to have motorized faders. They focus more on higher output counts. Since you have at least 6 universes (due to upgrade change) and only need 4 I can't see much use of 12-20.

  • 0 in reply to RickR
    Thanks Rick,
    My volunteers are older and typically don't go beyond the "GO" button. So it has to be simple enough for them AND at least give me as much or more than the Ion. I don't really need the motorized faders. One less thing to go wrong!?! I will look into the XE for sure. Thanks for your input!
  • 0 in reply to Mike Foudy
    The Magic Sheets are great for people who don't know what they're doing.
    You push a picture & that happens.

    The Xe is a fine ETC console with 4 built in DMX universes.
    If you have a fader wing, you can plug that into the Xe or you can go with the Xe20 and add that capability for minimal cost.
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  • 0 in reply to Wuz314159

    As an 'older' person I understand what you are facing, but don't under estimate us. Technology can overcome many of it's own limitations. Here is a pretty simple MS I built for some volunteers.

    The shapes are groups and the colors are palettes. Touch or click twice and done! You could easily add a record cue button and they might never see the rest of the functions.

    One other thing is worth emphasizing. All the Eos family run exactly the same software. The Element trims a few features but the others are all them same. I hear a rumor that something new in v2.7 might not run on older systems, but it's likely a pretty minor feature. Added keys and screens might not justify a whole new console.

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