CQ18T Standalone Muti Track recording Freedom

[Blaqwater]

I’m sure Many will purchase this product with hopes of having the ability to recode without a daw only to discover?

[AllthatSam]

I for one will be using my cq18t mainly for recording, usually over usb.
But it’s Nice to have the option of just popping in an se card and to multitrack that way…

[Lee7]

@Blaqwater,

Unlikely…

[bullmoon]

I’m not sure of the point here. The CQ is not a DAW if that is what you mean, but I don’t think most people are expecting a DAW since that’s not how the product is positioned. It’s a very nice live mixer that can also record the performance. That’s how I use it and I can drop the tracks into a DAW for processing if I need to.

We like to record our performances and the CQ makes it easy to do – much better than hauling separate recording gear around. It’s pretty remarkable little mixer, I think.

[AllthatSam]

Exactly. I ordered mine mainly for recording in Logic. But I opted for a mixer rather than an interface because I can also use it standalone for rehearsal or for Mixing small stuff… In fact I almost ordered a DM-3 but then these little guys came out…
It’s cool to have the option to record a practice session or stuff like that, but when I’m tracking drums, I’ll be doing so in Logic.

[Blaqwater]

Unquestionably as an owner of the product , This mixers great! but it can be awesome with a few firmware updates; unfortunately, it just appears to be a skeleton of its true capability
the product wasn’t marketed as simply a digital mixer with recording capability. the term multi-track doesn’t imply but confirms an ability to record individual tracks to construct one complete recording. It clearly has the ability; with the repeat all and or a single option just think of it like reeL 2 reel

Digital Audio Workstation/software
An acronym for Digital Audio Workstation, DAWs cover every part of the music-making process from recording digital audio through creating beats and melodies with virtual instruments to adding effects to make everything sound great and perfecting your final mix of all the tracks.

[Blaqwater]

I would prefer to not be tethered to A DAW respectfully this mixers like a First date you wish could be much more.

[Blaqwater]

lol, some products just look sexy and you just have to have them for the moment this is just an ornament locked into my workflow. If it wasn’t built and designed so well I would return it

[Robert]

So, does anyone have any experience/recommendations of using and sd card vs a daw to record a live show?

I’m going to use my CQ-20 to record a show tonight. I’m not sure I trust recording to an SD card. With a DAW, at least I can see if a track is acting wonky and try to troubleshoot in real time.

[Lee7]

@Robert

I recorded our show via SD card on the 23rd Dec using my CQ-20B, works a charm. Just insert my SD card into my Mac and open up Logic and mix accordingly. I do it all the time using my QU-SB, but with a T5 SSD drive instead.

[Brian]

I’m sure Many will purchase this product with hopes of having the ability to recode without a daw only to discover?

First, if you purchased the device simply because it was “inexpensive” without actually doing any due diligence to make sure the system would work as you intended (ie the “hopes of having the ability to recode without a daw”) then that is a problem of your own creation. A&H does not bear any responsibility for the “short sightedness” of their users. (PS – that is me trying to be kind with my word choices. The real word I want to use there is much stronger).

I think the Allen and Heath marketing material is pretty clear about the functionality of the CQ18t. Here is the appropriate excerpt from the A&H website.

Recording & Playback
Capture the Performance, Wherever You Are

CQ packs in multiple recording and playback options to ensure you’re always ready to capture the performance.

An integrated USB audio interface enables easy multitrack recording, playback and streaming via your DAW, and an SD card slot is provided for reliable multitrack recording and playback on the go.

You can record and playback stereo files via USB key, and you can even playback from your phone via the built-in Bluetooth functionality.

The CQ-18T also includes a pair of headphone outputs which can be fed separate mixes, perfect for a portable production setup.

Second, I don’t know how anyone could assume that “multitrack recording” does anything except exactly that – it RECORDS multiple tracks/outputs of the device. That’s it. What you do with those tracks after they have been recorded it up to you.

Third, the CQ series is being marketed/sold as a very basic “intro” level mixing console. It has no expansion capabilities. There is no way to add I/O via a stage box, no way to integrate it with a hardware based monitoring system (A&H ME for example), no ability to integrate the console with Dante, Waves, or Madi, no MIDI support, no way to connect one CQ console to another console or larger A/V system, etc, etc, etc. This system is what it is. If it works for your use case, great. If it doesn’t work for your use case, don’t purchase it.

[Lee7]

@Blaqwater this 👆️

[dukediz]

funny that tonight I was listening to a song I wrote on the fly and was able to capture it multi-track on the cq18, I was thinking “I hope I can capture this sound and feeling in the studio”
That’s one reason I bought the cq18 and its perfect for the job. I plan on tracking with it with a daw soon, but this day and age for myself, live recording rules without all the perfect takes.

[Author]

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