DCA Functionality Question

[funkcityParticipant]

Re: DCA Functionality Question
Qu-16 with iPad remote
I have used the DCAs to control choir mics effectively. Thank you!
What I expected to see however was the slave faders under DCA control to “move”
as I would see in a traditional moving fader console. Is there a rationale behind this or is that
something I’m just harking back to?

Thanks,
Jay

[cornelius78Participant]

Closest I’ve seen is Yamaha’s “fader groups,” which aren’t quite the same as DCAs. I don’t see how it could be implemented on the Qu though. Physical fader tracks go from -inf to +10. DCA control on the Qu allows a channel’s fader’s signal to go from -inf to +50. What should happen when a fader’s “true” level (original fader’s level + DCA master(s’) dictated adjustments) is > +10?

Extreme example to illustrate a point: Imagine you have a channel with it’s fader set at unity, and it’s controlled by all 4x DCA masters, and each DCA master is set at +10. That gives you +40 on that channel. That channel’s own fader track only goes up to +10: you can’t accurately represent that channel’s signal level on its fader. If you then pulled the channel fader down to +5dB, then you’d still be at +35, which is still > that +10 that the fader track allows for. Should the fader then snap back up to +10 to show the signal level is > +10? Perhaps the channel fader motor should lock at +10 until DCA adjustments are made? That would be all sorts of awkward, especially as the Qu16 doesn’t have dedicated DCA faders and scene recalls can re-organise the custom layer (potentially removing the DCA master faders.) It’s the same problem even if the channel is only controlled by 1x DCA master. What if the channel’s own fader level is +5 and the DCA master is at +6? You’re at +11 and the fader track only goes up to +10.

[funkcityParticipant]

Agreed. The current configuration is quite powerful.
But having worked on analog desks and digital desks from
Neve, SSL, Flying Faders and such, those VCA faders had significant limitations as you illustrate, but the concept of the group of faders being controlled was easily seen by the ACTUAL movement of the faders. If zero was where the master was parked, or -5 0r -10, you knew you could boost the group 10, 15 or 20 dB respectively. Its just something that was natural. But I see your point.

[AndreasModerator]

just a small comment from technological view. Just imagine you’re turning the DCA fader to bottom (-inf), all controlled faders then will be set to bottom too, right? The mixer would simply loose the relative levels of the channels and you consequently can not adjust one channel slightly while under DCA control.
For me it is absolutely ok to always see the relation on the source channels whatever the controlling DCA fader currently does.

[funkcityParticipant]

Well it seems Digico solves the preference problem by offering
Control groups being user selectable to:
“VCA style” (group faders do not move but an offset is imposed on the grouped faders for gain manipulation) or
“Moving Fader style” as you might see on Flying Faders system. The Master moves and the slaves also move.

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

VCAs wouldn’t have had moving channel faders – but I’d quite like to see an outline of the DCA faders on the iPad app – with the DCA number across the top (my drums for instance are in two DCA groups, so I’d see a pair of translucent DCA faders as well as the solid channel fader…

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

Might be possible to have a “top pane” tab with mute group/DCA membership and buttons/faders for them all as well?

Wonder if asciiart will work?

DCmute [] [] [] []
MG1 []| || || || |
MG2 []|O|| ||O|| |
MG3 []| ||O|| || |
MG4 []| || || ||O|
......| || || || |
...DCA 1. 2. 3. 4

[funkcityParticipant]

Bob
That is yet a 3rd way but it lets you know you have altered the level of the grouped members.
Interesting. Nice idea!

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