Considered the hub of performing arts and entertainment in Auckland, New Zealand, The Edge comprises of five of the city’s finest venues, Aotea Centre, Herald Theatre, Auckland Town Hall, The Civic and Aotea Square, all located within minutes of each other in the Auckland CBD.  

Catering for all interests from intimate theatre and large scale musicals to outdoor rock concerts, The Edge has always used Strand consoles for their lighting control. The lighting control consoles had reached the end of their life, and needed to be replaced.  

Malcolm Ibell, Head of Lighting at The Edge sought a solution that would meet their needs today as well as in the future, and shortlisted three options including MA Lighting, Strand and ETC.

A major consideration for Malcolm was the networking abilities offered by a console. He needed a complete streaming ACN network throughout all their buildings, all linked with fibre optics.

Malcolm also required a network that would allow him in the future, to send different protocols down and plug in a different kind of gateway at the other end. ETC also had their own reliable current network control protocol system Net3.  

The Edge took delivery of three EOS 4000 consoles, three EOS 4000 RPU, two ION 3000 consoles, two Ion 3000 RPU, six 2x20 fader wings, a 2x10 fader wing, a 1x20 fader wing, six Radio Remote Focus Units as well as output gateways and accessories. The lighting equipment was supplied by Entertainment Lighting Solutions Limited.

Malcolm had earlier replaced a console with an ETC Ion, which gave his crew the chance to become acquainted with the platform.

According to Malcolm, the initial feedback from his operators has been positive, especially the console’s user-friendly operation. Malcolm describes the ION 3000 consoles as lovely little consoles that offer amazing bang for the buck.

According to Malcolm, the Radio Remote Focus Units are constantly in use and the Wi-Fi-equipped venues allow anyone with an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to use it as a remote.

Alex Mair from Jands provided two weeks of training on the ETC consoles for Malcolm’s team, followed by ETC’s Josh Selander for a further two weeks.

ETC lighting controls are available from Jands , a leading Australian distributor of professional sound systems, lighting equipment and staging systems.