Buy a digital sound board only if you have the personal experience and/or program to support it – the same goes for light boards.
I'm a lighting geek – so who am I to talk! - but I also have had many years of experience in high school operations, and I've witnessed too many of my Drama teacher colleagues struggle with digital sound boards (I've seen professional high school sound technicians struggle with them too!). It seems like from your bio that you may have the personal experience and the program at your high school to support having a digital sound board (which is what we all should have!), but I'm using this as a 'teachable moment' for anyone reading this who doesn't have the experience and program at their school to train and support sound students.
Already people are posting comments such as "unless you have really advanced tech theatre students" and "The learning curve wasn't too steep" and "If you have someone who can spend time with the students and show them the board" and "There are also plenty of online tutorials on how to use it if you ever get lost." If you are a Drama teacher who doesn't have the personal experience, or program at your school, to train and support students in sound - take these comments as Red Flags
In the desire to be as state-of-the-art as possible in high schools these days many 'decision makers' and 'consultant/advisors'(Darron West?) will automatically choose to provide a digital board (sound and lights) for a high school theatre. This is mostly because there is a school of thought that high schoolers should have the best technology available because they will soon go to a college or get a job where this technology is used. This is true, but not the whole picture.
"State-of-the-art" is not necessarily optimal in a high school setting. I've primarily experienced that the need to have an easy to learn and clear to use board trumps the need to have the best "technology" when it comes to sound boards. And, many of the professional sound techs that I've worked with in high school theatres agree - analog boards are more 'hands on' and better teach the student the concept of what sound "does". A student gets a better 'sound' education on an analog board.
But, as with anything there are pros and cons, and the choice depends on the primary functional use of your high school theatre. So it's important to consider who will be using your equipment before you decide on an analog or digital sound board. Consider these questions...
What is the extent of your (the Drama teacher) experience with running sound boards?
Will you or a colleague be providing vocational training for students?
Will the theatre be staffed by professional technicians?
Will the technicians who run the theatre mentor the students?
How many students a year will want to learn to be sound technicians?
Will students be running the sound board for your shows, and will it always be the same student(s)?
Will the theatre be primarily used by students who come and go every few years?
Will the theatre be rented to outside users?
Who will staff outside events, professional staff or students, or you, the Drama teacher?
Will outside users be expected to be able to run their own sound?
Will outside users be permitted to use the theatre's equipment unsupervised?
Who will restore all the equipment settings back to a neutral setting each time in preparation for the next user (be they school, district or outside)?
The answers to all of these questions will help determine if you want an analog sound board or a digital sound board. (The same goes for when choosing a light board – which is better for the student's primary education about what light actually "does", two-scene-preset or Ion?) If you are considering purchasing a new sound board, yes, you should purchase a "good" sound (or light) board, but that doesn't necessarily mean "high-end state-of-the-art" equipment. Only you know what's right for your situation, but consider carefully, because that board is going to be in your theatre for a long time.
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Beth Rand, EBMS
High School Theatre Operations Coach
Lighting Designer
Next HS Theatre Management Training for Drama Teachers online course: Spring Session starts March 5th.
NEW SERVICE: REP PLOT DESIGN - Never have to re-hang and re-focus all your lights again! (Can be accomplished remotely if you're not in the Boulder/Denver area.)
Author of "High School Theatre Operations" and "The High School Theatre Safety Manual" and several more books on Amazon and also at
http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.www.PRESETT.orgWestminster, CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-05-2018 11:15
From: John Perry
Subject: Digital Sound Board Purchase
We are in the market to purchase a digital sound board. Darron West, Tony winner, recommended to me a DiGiCo board. What do you use? Price?
Thanks!
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John Perry
Drama Instructor
Atherton High School
Louisville KY
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