A1 Audio recently supplied a Martin M1 console to Newcastle’s Hunter Theatre which is located on the campus of Hunter School of the Performing Arts. Hunter Theatre is one of the region’s prime performance spaces and hosts a wide range of concerts, musicals, plays, dance and other events. Seating 380 patrons, Hunter Theatre has created its own niche by being an intimate yet fully serviced proscenium arch theatre equipped with a fly tower and orchestra pit.
Gavin Pickles is the man responsible for teaching lighting and sound to the students and he recently decided to add a Martin M1 to their inventory for one main reason – sheer simplicity of use.
The M1 is Martin’s all-in-one lighting console that sets new standards in simplicity for a full featured desk. With the full power of a larger console and the agility of a smaller one, it is the most affordable full-featured lighting console on the market.
“The students and I have found it very easy to pick up,” he remarked. “We’ve had Strand consoles in the past and I did look at an ETC Ion but found it to be not suitable. The standard 10 cuelist faders and the 12 playback faders on the M1 make it easy to control any show. Without any knowhow of the M1, you can soon find yourselfup and running in no time.”
The Martin M1 has been designed from the ground up with a single philosophy in mind – simplicity. The surface is clean and easy to navigate with fewer buttons and options to overwhelm the user.
“I really like the effects engine on the Martin M1, it’s very easy to get some effects up and running on the fly,” Gavin stated. “A lot of the stuff we do runs live however I recently programmed a show with thirty moving lights and I found it easy to drive. It was easy to programme and update cues and track forward.The M1 has all the great controls of the bigger consoles but without the heavy motorized faders. ”
The M1’s growing popularity stems from a design based on simplicity combined with a fast dual-core processor that ensures an extremely responsive user interface. The easy-to-use concept and portable package has struck a chord with lighting programmers and designers across the globe.
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