Control interface for CQ series with motorised faders

[Ben]

I’ve seen this suggested a few people before, so I would like to add my voice to theirs in suggesting that Allen & Heath introduces a control interface with motorised faders that can connect to the CQ series mixers via the network port.

I realise this is something that can now be done with Mixing Station and other third party midi controllers, but an official Allen and Heath option, something like the one in the attachment would be awesome. Something like this paired with a CQ-20B would make a superb little rig for people who don’t need a large IO count.

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[Hugh]

Ben, I certainly can appreciate your desire for tactile controls with your CQ: However you are probably fishing in the wrong pond with any expectation of this feature becoming a CQ factory option.
There is a very large percentage of SQ & CQ owner/users that will never need as many I/Os as a CQ20b or a Standalone SQ5 offers. IMO a tactile equipped control device for the outstanding GX/DX expansion stage boxes would meet many more work flows when packaged with an SQ5 sized or smaller controller with a greatly reduced internal I/O capacity.
The I/O and processing flexibility to move from a small ensemble 8 channel processing up to 48 channel management would have a much greater potential market.
Please remember the CQ line is an entry level offering that by design limits expanded deployment of features and I/Os and it is priced accordingly. This forum is full of wish list requests for features that are impossible or in some cases highly unlikely to be made available. The CQ entry level line offers high quality sonic processing with several automated features that are very attractive for novice SR practitioners: However it is a one trick pony with few if any possibilities beyond it’s stated limitations.
In the event your needs may exceed the CQ’s limitations, move up to the SQ line!
Hugh

[Brian]

A&H already produces this type of product for some of the other console lines – the IP6 and IP8 for example. However consider the fact that they cost has much or more than CQ consoles themselves (IP6 retails for $999 while the IP8 retails for $1699), I can’t imagine this would be a popular option if A&H took the time to add them to the CQ lineup.

I realize the “Mixing Station” option would be considered a “work around” and it is not as convenient as plugging in a device directly into the console and having it work “out of the box”. However, it is available today and is much more affordable than any solution that A&H might offer in the future – if they even offer something. (I think the odds are that A&H will not offer anything like this for the CQ series). Plus it is extremely easy to get MIDI fader banks working with Mixing Station, and the available fader banks have a lot more options than the A&H offerings (which only offer knobs or faders, but not both on the same device). Long story short – go the Mixing Station route – it’s going to be better at just about everything.

[Brian]

PS – after looking at your diagram more closely, I think we can all say with certainty that there is no way A&H is producing that product for the CQ series. There is no doubt it would cost at least 2-3 times more than the CQ console itself. If you are looking for that style of control surface, the QU series is a great place to start. The QU-16 retails for less than $2000 which is definitely cheaper than what a CQ console would cost with your “addon” control surface, and it has a lot more features than the CQ series consoles do.

Long story short, if what you created in your attachment is your end goal, you bought the wrong console.

[Author]

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