Vocals get quiet & guitar sounds muddy

[HarleyParticipant]

Hey you guys,
This is probably a noob question but it’s driving me crazy. I am using a Qu-16 as my DAW controller going into Logic Pro X. It’s worked fine but for some reason even with the gate out and the rest of the FX and EQ out the gain on the vocals starts hot and gets quieter and quieter when singing. Even if you keep your vocals at the same level when recording they keep dipping in volume.
Also, all guitars going into the instrument jack on the back of the unit sound muddy or muffled. Maybe my other issue is also causing this problem but the guitars don’t have a problem keeping the volume level the same they just don’t sound great.

I realize the Qu has onboard FX but this simple project I don’t want to use any of the effect from the Qu I just want to use it as a multitrack interface and use plugins in logic after everything is recorded. So I’d like to not have any EQ or FX on while recording but I’ve got everything OUT and something is still happening. What am I doing wrong?

Any ideas?

Thanks for the help!!

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

Levels won’t change inside the QU.

What is your output send confit, insert send or DO?

Section 8.14 of the manual.

Also, I think the jack inputs are line in, not instrument in – wrong impedance.

You’ll want a DI box to hook up a guitar, passive or active, phantom power is available from the mixer if needed.

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

Having read your other thread, the avid will do the job of a DI

[SteffenRParticipant]

it could be a shortened microphone cable… maybe

[HarleyParticipant]

Hey Bob thanks a bunch for the help!
You’ve saved my day with the line in/instrument jack issue I appreciate it!

For some reason the when I look in my manual Section 8.14 talks about the Qu-Drive instead of the insert send or DO. I tried searching for it in other parts of the manual but I haven’t found quite what I’m looking for.

STEFFEN, thanks for the idea. I checked the mic cable and it seems to work fine in other situations.

Just to recap! I can sing/talk into the mic for 7 seconds and even if I’m keeping my vocals at the same level the gain/level of the vocals decrease all by themselves. The vocals will start out at the perfect level in the meter and then as you keep speaking they get softer and softer. I’ve made sure the Gate, Eq, Comp are out but the yellow Gate light still lights up. Could that be part of it?
I’ve tried the same thing keeping the Gate, EQ, COMP IN, and I get the same results. I’ve yet to understand what I’m doing wrong.

Thanks again for your help fellas

[MarkPAmanParticipant]

Section 4.1

[HarleyParticipant]

Do I have a different manual than everyone else?! My Section 4.1 talks about the back of the unit instead of output or direct out sends.

Did I get the prototype manual? 🙂

[Nicola A&HKeymaster]

The User Guide gets updated any time we release new firmware. Always check you have the latest User Guide from our website as a reference: https://www.allen-heath.com/key-series/qu-series/#tab4

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

Also check what version of the firmware you are running (not that there are any features I’m aware of that would reduce volume).

The GR light will come on whether the compressor is enabled or not.

What do the meters on the QU say about the volume? (I’m assuming you’ve been talking about the DAW meters so far)

[eotsskleetParticipant]

The decreasinh volume points to a compressor! Check if you have a compressor with high attack-time set up in your Software if not in the qu-mixer!

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