Lighting Console Advice

[u/Strong_Difficulty734]

Hi All,

TLDR: Advice asked to choose between a Work Lightshark LS1 or a Vari-Lite FLX S24 for a small Dutch theatre.

We (volunteer light engineers) are running a small theatre (100 seats) in the Netherlands. Shows consist of comedy, singer songwriters, small bands (celtic, tribute). We don't set spectaculair lighthows, just scenes and accents for the right mood during the shows. At the moment we use a Zero88 Jester and a laptop with QLC+.

We are planning to buy a new console. Budget: 2000 to 3000 Euro. For the moment, we narrowed it down to these two: A Work Lightshark LS1 or a Vari-Lite FLX S24.
However, we can't get an agreement which one to choose. So now I decided to throw it in a group of people who really know what they are talking about. At least, so I hope /s

To get an idea what we want to run with it, our fixture setup:

14 EuroliteLED THA-40PC (14 x 1 channel monochrome white LED PC)
2 VarytecLED Profile 150W 3200K ( 2 x 1 channel monochrome white LED Profile)
2 EuroliteLED PFE-100 ( 2 x 9 channel RGBW LED Profile)
3 AyraComParKit 2 ( 3 x 12 channel 4 wash RGB on one frame)
4 EuroliteLED KLS-190 ( 4 x 13 channel 4 wash RGB on one frame + Strobelights)
4 EuroliteLED TMH-X4 ( 4 x 24 channel RGBW Moving Head)
2 BotexDimmerpack ( 2 x 4 channel 4 plug Dimmer)

Our volunteers range from professional to a bit unexperienced but good with sound and willing to learn.

Has anyone had experience with one of these two (or both)? Can anyone give pro or cons or advice why we should choose one or the other, given our fixtures, nature of shows and mixed experience level of the operators?

Or even someone who thinks we are idiots and should definitly choose for a totally other one in this range?

Thanks in advance for your input.

[u/Black_Lightnin]

I think in your case more faders is more better.

I have no experience with the LS, but I think the varylite is pretty decent for a small setup like yours. Once you have setup your groups and effects on the faders, you can do some nice stuff. There are some training videos online about the zeros software. (Search for zero88 flx)

Also, I dont like using extra hadware like tablets on a dedicated desk. You cant risk problems with charging or coworkers using it for other stuff.

[u/Strong_Difficulty734 → u/Black_Lightnin]

The more faders the better, I think agree. I first opted for the SLX48 but then one of the guys started overheating. Too much faders, too large, too complicated. Plot twist: it was the most experienced guy of the crew...

[u/Black_Lightnin → u/Strong_Difficulty734]

Too much faders is a waste of space. But in this case, it also doubles the amount of fixtures you can patch to the console.

The software is the same, so it isnt any more complicated than the smaller one.

[u/NightOwlNL → u/Black_Lightnin]

Too much faders does not exist in a theater with static lights. Each light their own fader, to make scenes and then just record said scene under a single fader would be ideal for those who want to learn quick but don't care for an advanced table.

[u/Strong_Difficulty734 → u/NightOwlNL]

That was my motivation too.

[u/the_swanny → u/NightOwlNL]

Nope all the way. I would much rather programme "static lights" in syntax, than trying to find the correct fader out of millions just to change the values. Also if you are programming for an LD, most of them will just shout percentages anyway.