Live Console suggestions?

[gregvitale]

I'm a house engineer/tech and a local high school (not the most amazing job i know but w/e it pays) and they are currently running a Mackie 3208...although not ANCIENT its been beaten up pretty bad and is NOT the right tool for the job. This school does everything from simple 1 mic meetings to 24 mic musicals with a full pit. And with no outboard effects (dynamic OR time) musicals are a feedback NIGHTMARE!! So I am currently TRYING to convince them to go digital because, as anyone who has done musicals knows, you NEED gates and compressors to make it run smoothly...the IDEAL console for them would be the Yamaha M7 but thats a little to rich for their blood (i got a quote for somewhere in the range of $50,000) so I'm looking for suggestions! Anything and everything you can think of. needs to be able to do 32 channels. PLEASE help. Thanks in advance

im currently looking at the LS9-32 and the DM1000 my problem is digital still confuses me a bit. The DM1000 does 16 channels analog but does 48 w/ the yamaha "my card" slots. My biggest gray area is how would i use the my card slots. OBVIOUSLY mics don't run straight to ethernet so i would need an a/d converter but I'm not really sure exactly what it is im looking for...i guess it would be an outboard unit w/ analog ins, much like a patch bay, and ethernet outs...thats not an "a/d converter" as i know them...any help would be appreciated

[eatthemeek]

Id go the LS9 personally. I work for a performing arts centre and we recently upgraded to an m7cl48 and I have to admit I was a bit confused with the transition but after a fortnight of using it it all makes sense and is very logical.
I'm surprised that you were quoted so much for an m7. the one we purchased was around the 30k mark (Australian dollars, so depending on where you are you dollar could get you even better). Not only that but a Yamaha rep will come out and give you training on the desk for free too.

So I think you're on the right track with Yamaha gear, definately your best bang for buck for doing musicals. Hope this helps

[ho-fi]

1+ for the ls-9
it's a console build for live-shows. it has graph-eqs, a whole virtual siderack (reverb, delay, multiband-dynamics...), is easy expandable (ls9-16 up to 32ch, ls9-32 up to 64ch) and it's way more intuitive to handle than a dm1000.
the dm1000 is a production-console. build for studio, broadcast, live. i did a lot of shows on a dm1000, it worked great and it sounds great aswell abut i have to admit that its interface is not that logical as the ls9's.
if you're not used to digital desks, the m7cl would be first choice. with its touchscreen you can work very fast and easy. the ls9 is a "slim" version of the m7. no touchscreen and a lot of "cursor-jumping"... but a good deal for the money.

yamaha provides a lot of different cards for the my-slots. digital (aes/ebu, ethersound, ADAT ...) and analogue. to expand your desk you can place a pre/ad at the FOH or on stage. yamaha does provide remote for preamps using a RS422 connection.

hope this helps

cheers, ho-fi

[aussie_techie]

just get an LS9-32 and be done with it, expand it later if you need to but to start with when you dont know the stuff all the extra possibilities just make a job more complicated.

[Addni]

Midas Venice 3200 and a rack of outboard any time over anything digital.

[tINY]

Are students ever running the console?

Also, musicals are not that hard on an old analog board like that with a cue sheet.

You can get a lot of gates and EQ for half the price of a new digital board.....




-tINY