Tiger Touch 2 Lighting Console Rental: Specs & Fit

What the Tiger Touch 2 Actually Is

Renting our Lighting Control Console puts a full touchscreen lighting desk in front of your operator instead of a laptop running free software off a USB-DMX box. The Tiger Touch 2 is a dedicated hardware console: a built-in multi-touch screen, physical playback faders, and encoder wheels for live color and position tweaks, all running on hardware built for a stage, not an office desk.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. A software-only rig depends on a laptop that can crash, sleep, or get a Windows update mid-show. A dedicated console boots into its show file and stays there. For a corporate keynote, a wedding reception, or a multi-act concert, that reliability is the actual product, not a nice-to-have.

The console runs multiple DMX universes at once, which is the number that decides whether it fits your rig at all. Each universe carries up to 512 channels of lighting data. A small setup with a dozen LED par cans might use a fraction of one universe. A show running moving heads, LED wash fixtures, and pixel-mapped video panels together can burn through several universes fast. Booking the console tells you upfront it has the headroom for a rig built from our full moving head and LED par catalog without needing a second desk patched in as a workaround.

Physically, it ships in a road case, connects over standard 5-pin DMX or an Art-Net/sACN network link if you're running an Ethernet-based rig, and pairs with the Aluminum H-Frame Truss and moving head fixtures most of our clients already book together.

Touchscreen Control vs. a Laptop Rig

The biggest operational difference is how fast someone can actually run the show. On the touchscreen, playback faders are physical, so an operator can bump a cue, hold a fader, and watch the stage at the same time. Try that on a trackpad and you're looking down at the screen exactly when you should be watching the band walk on.

The interface groups fixtures visually, so an operator handles color mixing, gobo selection, and position with dedicated encoder knobs instead of hunting through nested software menus. For a one-day corporate event where your operator might be someone from our crew who hasn't run your exact show file before, that visual layout cuts the learning curve from hours to minutes.

• Playback faders let an operator fire, hold, and blend cues manually during a live band set, where cue timing isn't scripted
• Touch-and-drag patching speeds up last-minute fixture swaps if a moving head goes down mid-event
• Multiple DMX universe output means lighting, LED walls, and effects like the Cold Spark Machine can trigger from a single console instead of three separate controllers
• Built-in effects engine handles chases and color sweeps without programming each step by hand

None of this replaces a skilled operator. It does mean the operator spends their attention on the show instead of fighting the interface.

A dedicated touchscreen console keeps an operator's hands on physical faders instead of a trackpad, photo: Call Me Fred / Unsplash.

Which Bay Area Events Need This Console

Not every event needs a dedicated lighting desk. A single-room conference with a handful of LED Par Can fixtures on a static wash can run fine off a basic controller or even a DMX preset scene. The Tiger Touch 2 earns its rental fee once a show has more moving parts than one person can track by memory.

Corporate galas and product launches are the clearest fit. These events usually stack moving heads for key lighting, LED par washes for stage color, and a scripted cue sequence tied to a run-of-show timeline: welcome remarks, video package, award reveal, closing. Programming that sequence in advance and firing it on cue from physical faders is exactly what this console is built for.

Live music bookings are the other main use case. Bands don't run scripted cues. An operator watching a set list needs to react to tempo changes, extended solos, and encore calls in real time. The physical fader layout and encoder wheels let an operator busk a lighting show live, matching energy to the music instead of running a pre-programmed loop that ignores what's actually happening on stage.

Weddings sit in between. A reception with uplighting and a DJ set rarely needs this level of control. A wedding with a live band, a choreographed first dance cue, and color changes timed to toasts benefits from the same real-time control a concert needs, just at a smaller scale.

If you're unsure which category your event falls into, the deciding question is simple: does the lighting need to react to something happening live, or does it just need to hit the same three cues every time? Reactive shows want this console. Scripted shows can often get by with less.

Pairing the Console With the Rest of Your Rig

The console is only as good as the fixtures patched into it, and most Bay Area shows we run pair it with the same core set of gear. A truss-mounted rig using the Aluminum H-Frame Truss gives moving heads and wash lights a stable hang point, and the console's multi-universe output means you're not stuck choosing between hanging enough fixtures for real coverage and staying within one universe's 512-channel limit.

For rigs mixing fixture types, like LED Spot-Wash Moving Head (CMY) units for color-accurate key light alongside 380W Beam Moving Head fixtures for aerial effects, the console's fixture library handles both without manual channel mapping for each one. That saves setup time on load-in day, which matters when you're working a tight window before doors open.

If your event also runs an LED video wall, the console can trigger lighting cues in sync with video content through timecode, so a product reveal or brand moment hits lights and screen at the same beat instead of drifting apart. That kind of sync is one of the harder things to fake with a basic controller, and it's usually the detail that makes a launch event feel produced instead of assembled.

Our crew sets the console up as part of the full lighting package, patches your fixture list, and walks your operator (or ours) through the show file before doors. You're not handed a case and a manual.

Multi-universe console output supports full moving-head rigs on truss without splitting fixtures across a second desk, photo: Scarlett Alt / Unsplash.

Booking the Console: What to Confirm Before Load-In

A lighting console rental works best when it's booked as part of the full lighting package rather than as a standalone box. Before you lock in a date, confirm a few details with your rental vendor so load-in day doesn't turn into troubleshooting.

• Fixture count and universe usage: tally every DMX device on the rig, from moving heads to LED pars to effects like a Cold Spark Machine, so the console's universe capacity is confirmed before the day of the show, not during it.
• Operator plan: decide whether your own tech runs the console or our crew staffs it. A reactive live-music show usually wants an experienced operator who can busk cues, not just fire a pre-built sequence.
• Rigging plan: if fixtures are hanging from truss, that setup needs its own safety sign-off before the console patch even starts. Our truss and rigging safety checklist covers what to confirm for load ratings and inspection.
• Show file prep: a run-of-show timeline handed to your operator in advance means cues get built before load-in, not improvised in the loading dock.

You can see the full console listing and the rest of the lighting catalog it pairs with on our rental menu. Most Bay Area bookings combine the console with truss, a moving head package, and at least one wash light run for stage color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to know how to program a lighting console to rent one?

No. Most clients booking the Tiger Touch 2 rent it as part of a staffed lighting package, where our crew builds the show file and either runs it live or hands it off with a walkthrough. If you have your own lighting operator, we'll confirm fixture patch and universe count with them ahead of the event so they can build cues before load-in.

How many fixtures can one console run?

It depends on fixture type, but the console outputs multiple DMX universes, each carrying up to 512 channels. A rig of a dozen LED par cans might use a small slice of one universe. A show combining moving heads, LED wash fixtures, and pixel-mapped panels can span several universes, and the console is built to output that many without a second desk.

What's the difference between this and running lighting off a laptop?

A laptop rig depends on software staying stable for the length of your event, and the operator works through a trackpad instead of physical faders. The Tiger Touch 2 is dedicated hardware: a touchscreen, physical playback faders, and encoder wheels built for live control, so an operator can react to a live band or a scripted cue without fighting a mouse.

Can the console sync lighting with an LED video wall?

Yes, through timecode. That's common for product launches and galas where a reveal moment needs lighting and screen content to hit the same beat. It's a setup detail we confirm during planning, not something added last minute.

Does a wedding reception need this console, or something simpler?

Most receptions with uplighting and a DJ run fine on a simpler controller. If your wedding has a live band, a choreographed first dance cue, or color changes timed to toasts, the reactive control this console offers is worth the upgrade. We can help you decide during your initial quote call.

The Numbers Behind DMX Lighting Control

DMX512, the protocol every lighting console in this category speaks, has carried up to 512 channels per universe since the standard was set by USITT in 1990, according to the Entertainment Services and Technology Association's published specification. A single moving head fixture typically uses 16 to 24 channels depending on its feature set, which means one universe can run roughly 20 to 30 moving heads before a second universe is needed. Add LED par cans at 4 to 8 channels each, and a mid-size corporate rig of 12 moving heads plus 20 LED pars can still fit inside one universe with room to spare.

That math is exactly why universe count decides console fit before anything else does. A show stacking moving heads, LED wash fixtures, and pixel-mapped LED panels for video sync can easily need 2 to 4 universes running simultaneously, and a console limited to a single universe output simply can't patch that rig without dropping fixtures. Confirming your total channel count against console capacity during planning, not on load-in day, is the one step that prevents a rig from being half-lit at doors.