Custom Layers between Mixes

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This topic contains 3 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of Tim Tim 1 year, 10 months ago.

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  • #107229
    Profile photo of Tim
    Tim
    Participant

    Hi Guys,

    Potentially going to be purchasing a SQ5 with stage box soon, and while getting familiar with Windows/Ipad app, came up with question that could be a deal breaker.
    So when in Setup – Strip assign to layers, it seems that everything i assign to layer A , b ECT is all the same for every mix ( main L/R, Auxes, Groups ect)

    Is there a way to make each mix have custom layers, ie Main L/R has 8 inputs on layer A, and aux send 1, has only 1-4 inputs on layer A.
    Would be awesome if this were possible, then Audience mics can be mixed in Aux 1 with all other inputs ect on Layer A or B or which ever one i choose, and Main L/R mix can have a totally different Layer system.

    Cheers

    Tim

    #107230
    Profile photo of Tim
    Tim
    Participant

    Also, would be great to hear the opionions of anyone who has A/B listened to the DX168 stage box and the AB168 stage boxes,
    I am aware that the preamps are different and one is 48kHz and the other is 96kHz, but in a blind test, is there much difference tonality wise?
    Would be used in a church that can be rather loud with Audience singing so, we are looking to save money where we can. Cheers

    #107235
    Profile photo of KeithJ A&H
    KeithJ A&H
    Moderator

    Hi Tim,

    No I’m afraid this is not possible.
    I can kind of see your thinking because you wouldn’t need to see any channels which are not being sent to a particular mix, so it’s definitely an interesting concept for us to keep in mind.
    Sorry if it’s a deal breaker, but I’m not aware of any consoles which work like this (please come back and rub it in my face if you’ve found some as I’d genuinely like to look into them!).
    The way sends on faders works (and I’m fairly sure the way most engineers think about them) is that your channel layout remains consistent and by selecting a mix, you are temporarily viewing channel contributions to that mix. Which is slightly different to using mix keys almost like folders as you suggest.
    Your method wouldn’t work on our larger consoles either as you would loose the mix key (which are on the channel strips instead of down the side) as soon as you pressed them!
    So it’s a fundamental part of the workflow and arguably far less complicated and quickest to setup than having 17×6=102 layouts to consider.
    For example, what happens when someone says “actually, can I get some tambourine in my wedge” just before the performance? Would you then need to go into a setup screen to assign it to a layer in that mix? And then what happens if you also have scenes which are changing all layouts?

    What is possible is to duplicate channels across custom layers so you could use a few for your FOH and a few for mixes.
    To go further than this, you can also to use scenes and recall filters to recall only channel strip assignments without affecting anything else, so you could then have SoftKeys set up to show specific groups of channels and then use the mix keys as normal.

    On the subject of expanders, the AR/AB boxes are great and I’m sure you’d be very happy with them.
    Others will be able to comment on their experiences, but I can say that we voice our preamps to sound similarly full and clear across all ranges. Where you’ll get differences in sound are things like transients and stereo imaging.
    The DX’s are technically superior (not just because they’re 96k although that does play a part) and I find them to be more accurate/transparent. Partially because in a dLive system you could be stacking up 128 channels of the same preamp, so any colouring of the sound becomes more noticeable.
    The DX’s also have a slightly lower latency because there is no SRC going on at the SLink port (as there is with any of the 48k units).

    Thanks,
    Keith.

    #107236
    Profile photo of Tim
    Tim
    Participant

    Thanks Keith for the reply,
    I can see what you mean, and I guess it does make sense to keep the layers consistent.
    Probably isnt a deal breaker lol, the features of the desk are still outstanding, just would have been a great option to have.

    Great idea about assigning soft keys for this though, will definitely look into it.

    Also thanks for the info re-expanders, if anyone else has experiance with these, be great to hear your thoughts.
    Probably wont be having to many channels, all up I’d say our system would require a maximum of 35 channels.

    Cheers
    Tim

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