If you’re a DJ or club owner looking for a DMX lighting controller, you might feel like something akin to Goldilocks and the Three Bears. There are huge lighting consoles with 512 or more channels designed for theaters, mega-clubs and other gigantic installations – too big for your needs and budget. Then there are “basic” controllers that can run about 8 or 10 fixtures -- too small to handle all the moving lights in your growing arsenal (not to mention too skimpy on the features end).

What to do? Well, Elation Control Systems has introduced a new DMX board that looks to be about just right size-wise. Their Magic 260 controller is a 19-inch rack-mount unit with 260 channels that can operate up to 24 moving lights with 16 channels each. It can store 1152 scenes and 264 shows. Elation says it’s aimed to fill the huge gap in the market between, say, their Show Designer and DMX Operator.Price-wise (suggested retail $799.95), the Magic 260 falls pretty much in the middle of these two units. Since a mid-level DMX controller has been virtually non-existent in the marketplace, we were curious to see what kind of features Elation put on it.

During our recent test-drive, we were pleased to find that the Magic 260 not only has more channels and memory than so-called basic units, it’s also right up there feature-wise with the big boys. For instance, like Elation’s Show Designer, it comes equipped with a large library of pre-installed profiles for Elation Professional and American DJ fixtures. You can even download profiles for other popular brand-name lights from the company’s website (www.elationlighting.com). This saves you the time of programming your own, and it’s an especially helpful feature for the Magic 260’s target “intermediate” market – the large numbers of DJs and clubs who want to get more involved in professional DMX control, but don’t care to become lighting gurus.

This group will also appreciate the fact that the Magic 260 has its own built-in pre-programmed effects engine. It’s got some pretty cool moving patterns that look really professional, like figure 8s, circles and even a wave effect, so you don’t have to program your own movements either if you don’t want to.

Another way Elation has geared the Magic 260 specifically to mid-level users is by including a Help Button on the controller. This really unique feature guides you step-by-step through the process of recording scenes and shows (in English and Spanish, no less!), and will be very enlightening for those looking to get more advanced with DMX.
Besides its 260 moving light channels, the Magic 260 has four on-off buttons for switch-pack control. This is a nice feature, because it lets you control non-DMX fixtures with the Magic 260 too, simply by
connecting them to a power pack, so you can run your whole show from one board.

All in all, we found the Magic 260 easy and fun to operate. It’s got four large rotary wheels for manipulating moving lights, plus a pan/tilt joystick that can be assigned to any of the fixtures for ultra-sharp road-hugging control. There’s an 80-character LCD display for user-friendly programming. There’s even a USB input where you can plug in a USB work light or memory stick, or attach a U-link cable to save scenes and shows to your computer (Elation is selling these USB accessories as separate options).

After testing the Magic 260, we can happily report that DJs and clubs who want to step up to the next level of DMX control now have a just right alternative. More practical, user-friendly and affordable than the huge stage consoles, this long overdue mid-sized unit can control an impressive array of lights and has features that go well beyond basic. Before our test drive, we wondered how the Magic 260 got its name. Now we think it’s because Elation waved its wand and finally made a “missing” mid-level DMX controller appear.