Hello Everyone. Been looking in here for a little while now and finally found the need to register and post! I know a few members from other lighting/sound/technical forums so hi to you all too!
Great forum by the way, it's refreshing to find one that is laid back and friendly whilst still covering the technical bits in detail, without resorting to the usual one upmanship and put downs!
So, to the title of the thread....
I've been reading with great interest all of the different threads of late regarding the 2 software/dac packages Mamba Black/Easylase and LA Freak.
I currently own 2 100mW green projectors with the Scaneco 10 and 20 scanner kits respectively. So far I've been running them DMX as I do lighting (and sound actually!) as a hobby, and recently acquired an AlphaliteXC dac and software. Whilst a seemingly ok piece of software, i have become aware of it's shortcomings as a product that may be pressed into use for shows rather than at home, particularly around some of the errors and freezes.
To date the Mamba setup was the clear winner, I've been really getting to grips with the demo, it's not crashed too much and I've been encouraged reading the threads with input from old_grumpy, that it's going to become a very stable and greater featured product.
Then i started reading about the LA Freak setup and some doubt was cast in my mind, as it is about £150 cheaper than Mamba, and everyone seems to rave about how good Pango kit makes their lasers look (and lets face it, mine need all the help they can get!)
My big concerns are as follows:
The FB3 seems to be designed for integrating into a projector housing, and I would definately want to build it into some sort of case like any other DAC, and run the longer signal run on the DB25 cable. Is this going to provide any problems?
I'm a hobbyist, but 'will work for beer and pennies' a couple of times a year I'd say, but wouldn't say that I'll ever turn any sort of profit from it - purely to mitigate some of the outgoings. Would you say that this would conflict with the 'hobbyist' license of LA Freak, as I'm wanting to do this properly?
How does the software compare between them? I like the fact that Mamba seems to be all integrated rather than distinct different applications for different purposes (LA suite) but is this simply a case of getting used to a different way of working?
For those who own or have used both systems, can you provide any real world commentary on the differences that are noticeable to you please?
Is the output noticeably better on one or the other?
Is the software annoying doing certain jobs thats seamless on the other?
How are things like 'busking' in the applications? (I use a Chamsys MagicQ lighting desk and the buskability is something that i like when lighting, and would want to have a certain amount of flexibility in the laser software too. I have a variety of midi controllers with buttons, CC pots, faders, etc so could be easily employed where supported)
It may be that Mamba is the better application 'out of the box' whilst LA Freak is the one that will shine with time - the other consideration i have is one of my few gigs that i do a year is about a month away, so a solution nneds to be sourced soon to allow some lead time on the config/getting to know you stages - again, the time spent with Mamba will pay off here. As you might've detected i'm leaning towards the Mamba route but I leave it you to perhaps convince me otherwise!!
Many thanks in advance for any help!