Fx , Side chain, Ducking

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This topic contains 9 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of D.J. D.J. 5 years, 11 months ago.

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  • #66333
    Profile photo of Tom
    Tom
    Participant

    I have an qu 32 and qu 24, I would be undecided between gld and sq6, so
    the editability of fx is the same or similar to the gld console?
    It have peq only or anithings? Side chiain is limited? Ducking is present?

    Thanks
    Thomas

    #66340
    Profile photo of KeithJ A&H
    KeithJ A&H
    Moderator

    Hi Thomas,

    The editability of the RackExtra FX units themselves is the same (though at present I should note there are a lot more units available in GLD).
    If we’re talking about input channel processing functionality, then SQ and GLD are very similar, and if you’re asking whether the FX return channels are the same, then SQ does have PEQ on the FX return channels, but these are not ‘full’ input channels.
    Sidechaining is freely assignable, and includes filters.
    Ducking is not included at present, although it is currently being looked into.
    Hope this helps a little!
    Thanks,
    Keith.

    #68895
    Profile photo of JohnOC
    JohnOC
    Participant

    What about a De-Esser – I see the GLD has one but the Qu doesn’t.
    Given the behaviour of some our speakers, a De-Esser is kind of a must šŸ™

    #70077
    Profile photo of Rob-Spence
    Rob-Spence
    Participant

    I have 2 GLD80 mixers and have been very disappointed that ducking was never implemented.

    The Ilive, QU and dLive all have it. All my previous Yamaha mixers have it. I hoped to replace my aging LS9-32 but alas I still need it for the duckin functionality. Itā€™s a shame to haul out this huge desk for shows with 10 inputs just to get the ducker.

    I was led to believe that the SQ would have it too. I waited till after v1.2 came out. My mixer arrived yesterday and I could not find ducking. Now I find that yet again I have invested in A&H and am disappointed.

    The SQ seems really nice but drastically unfinished. Heck, mine came with v1.0 firmware and it took me way too many hours to update it and the tube plugin. In fact, re enabling the tube was the most frustrating and unnecessarily complicated process. Is A&H trying to drive away all the fans they are finally attracting after all these years?

    #70078
    Profile photo of Rob-Spence
    Rob-Spence
    Participant

    Speaking of side chains, I only see inputs 1-8 as available for the side chain. How do I get other sources (such as the rest of the inputs, groups, auxes or matrices)?

    #70086
    Profile photo of KeithJ A&H
    KeithJ A&H
    Moderator

    Hi Rob,

    I’m sorry you’ve found the upgrade process frustrating. The whole idea is very new to us too, but we’ve tried to make it as streamlined as possible whilst still being secure, and we’ve also made sure it’s a one-off process for each SQ (hard resets or firmware upgrades do no necessitate ‘re-upgrading’). Driving away or disappointing fans is the last thing we want to do.
    It should only take 10 to 15 minutes to go through the whole firmware update and Tube Stage upgrade process, so it would be really useful for us to know what you had difficulty with to enable us to make it easier in future.

    Could I also ask why you consider the SQ to be drastically unfinished?
    As with all our digital mixers, it is exciting to be able to add to the functionality even many years down the line, but we would consider the SQ a finished product with any version of firmware.
    Updates either add extra features or improve on what is already there, but we obviously don’t want anyone to be disappointed at any stage.

    Regarding the side chain sources, when touching the ‘Side Chain’ source box, you should get a list pop-up, and then use the touchscreen rotary to scroll through all input and output channels.

    Thanks,
    Keith.

    #70100
    Profile photo of Rob-Spence
    Rob-Spence
    Participant

    Ah, the rotary encoder. I didnā€™t try that. I will today. Thanks.

    The upgrade process required entering the serial number which is not on the diagnostic screen along with other useful info. So, it involved uninstalling the mixer to access the lower rear and balancing the flashlight, pencil & paper.

    Since I had already entered the SN as part of registration of the mixer, you could have supplied a drop down of registered products to choose one for upgrade.

    In upgrade of the firmware, it was rather unpredictable as to if the mixer would recognize the USB stick.
    The first one I tried was recognized and I formatted it. I downloaded the update to my MacBook and put it on the stick. The SQ recognized the stick again and found the update. The update started ok, then failed with an error saying it could not write the (not sure of exact words) non volatile memory.
    I got another USB stick and tried to do it again. This time I had to format it on a windows machine for the SQ to see it. I formatted it on the SQ and this time downloaded the update to the windows computer. I didnā€™t notice that instead of downloading the binary as on the Mac, it was a zip file so the SQ didnā€™t see the update. Back to the PC and unpacked the binary. Then, the SQ never (after minutes) finished ā€œcheckingā€ the USB so I removed it and tried again. Same thing.
    I got a 3rd USB, formatted it on the SQ, put the binary on it from the Mac again and this time the update worked.
    All three USB sticks worked just fine on both my MacBook and my window laptop.
    After all that I went through the complex process of upgrading the plug in.

    #70131
    Profile photo of lightingman117
    lightingman117
    Participant

    Keith,

    Whilst Rob has your ear let me interject a bit and agree with Rob’s sentiments (and really the general community) that the SQ feels unfinished.

    First, let me preface that the SQ is a good board right now for many/most users & seems to have great future potential.

    Also, I think a definition of ‘finished’ vs ‘unfinished’ might be in order to help provide a basis for this discussion.
    Finished = having all features discussed/available at product launch & subsequent statements; AS WELL AS normal features that other consoles from A&H have.
    Unfinished = functional, but lacking said features.

    (I think definitions are typically the crux of the difference in opinions)

    Lastly, I think all of the veterans in the community & mixing world understand (to an extent, not as intimately as you do) the timetables, marketing, profit margin, development/testing effort, pressure to perform/excel, difficulties, etc. in regards to being a manufacture.

    To help give a gauge on why we (the community) think the board might be lacking/unfinished, I present the following points. I’ll give the item that is missing, and a small blurb about where it comes from to provide a basis for our desire as it seems ‘simple’ (in reality nothing in manufacturing/software/hardware is simple/easy as testing is needed & development time and sometimes it’s just not doable with the hardware resources/topography).

    Note: limited to A&H statements or available on other similarly priced/marketed console(s) (NOT features from more expensive consoles or ).

    Legend:
    x) firmware version – feature missing – blurb about why users/we have issues with the lack of this feature

    1) V1.2 – MBC/DeEsser – Stated at announcement
    2) V1.1 – Factory Presets weren’t included – hurt the less experienced user & resalers reputation was hurt.
    3) V1.2 – Ducker – standard on QU now.
    4) V1.2 – Expansion cards not done – can’t create full ecosystem until this is done.
    5) V1.2 – Expansion plugins not done – many desire/want the advanced features DEEP processing enables at the SQ lower pricepoint. Good job with Tube pre-amp to pride something from the get-go.
    6) V1.2 – DAW implementation isn’t done – all the recorders expect/need this
    7) V1.2 – PAFL via mix out & routable – all the recorders expect/need this
    8) V1.2 – Show file saving – I think most thought this meant you could recall shows (with their 300 scenes) directly from the board. NOT a USB Flash Drive.
    9) V1.2 – Offline Editor – stated at announcement.
    10) V1.2 – SQ-APP – missing features now standard on QU. (FX/tap, routing, etc)
    11) V1.2 – Spectrum Analyser – Expected on any newer board these days.
    12) V1.2 – Scene by scene safes

    13) V1.2 – PW protected logins for different users

    So here’s some of the larger items I’m aware of.

    Most of these are from the FB announcement & the technical datasheet.

    I think that SQ is well on its way to fulfilling some/all of these items, but it isn’t there yet and to say the board is feature complete or finished seems disingenuous.

    All the best,
    Nathan

    P.S.
    I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY LOVE** that you guys, Keith, Nicola, Alex, etc. contribute, listen, learn, improve. It’s what has made me fall in love with A&H more so than other companies (we do what we want and don’t care about you). I’ll say I was a bit afraid with QU’s stagnation, but I get moving on to bigger/better/different things.

    At the end of all this, and having been in software development myself (hint source code plz, I’ll develop the features I want šŸ˜› haha). Please don’t feel like I’m/we’re harping, mad, trying to frustrate, bother, dehumanize, etc. you or the developers. We (I) mean well, and hope you can improve your processes. Because I absolutely get it and the pressure of customers/clients and how annoying we (I) can be! šŸ™‚

    #70137
    Profile photo of Rob-Spence
    Rob-Spence
    Participant

    +100 for Lightningman117

    As alluded to, we expect functions that are common on most desks we encounter at or around the price point. Admittedly I am a bit frustrated that development of the GLD stalled so soon. I am sure the lack of side chain inputs to the gate & compressor were engineering oversights though a bit unforgivable given the initial price point for that desk. I think it was 3 times the cost of the SQ with stage box.

    I bought my SQ for an event in 3 weeks that requires a ducker. The QU has it and the dLive has it. The SQ has the side chain input but is lacking many of the common gate & compressor library functions. I have now to explain why the new mixer canā€™t do the job. Embarrassing.

    So, for me, my priorities are the ducker, mono matrix, show files and off line editor.

    I do like the desk and I hope the rest of the features show up soon.

    Thanks for listening to my rant…

    #70218
    Profile photo of D.J.
    D.J.
    Participant

    +100 for lightingman117 and Rob-Spence from me as well. I actually couldn’t state it better, so I will refer you to each of their well-thought-out and detailed comments as they speak for me as well. If “scenes” can’t be all-inclusive when saving, then the ability to save “shows” directly to the console is an absolute must-have; a ducker on a console in this price range should be a given. All that being said, I do LOVE the willingness of Keith, Nicola, and others to join these forums and “take their licks” from we users, so to speak, so much respect to the A&H team for all the hard work that has gone into getting this product where it is today. In all honesty, I did buy an SQ6 because it SOLVED a lot of problems for me that the Qu-32 couldn’t (virtual patching of sources and the ability to patch in outboard hardware to any physical input/output is invaluable!). Bottom line is that the SQ is a fantastic board, and despite some of these noted shortcomings I am still glad I upgraded. I only ask that you keep hearing us out and work on getting some of these “need to have” features integrated. Then there will be a much larger consensus that the board is “finished” rather than “unfinished”.

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