More custom layer depth/options and midi (qu16)

Forums Forums Qu Forums Qu feature suggestions More custom layer depth/options and midi (qu16)

This topic contains 7 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of SteffenR SteffenR 3 years, 10 months ago.

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  • #91923
    Profile photo of jBam
    jBam
    Participant

    Hi there… relatively new qu16 owner here, and loving it as a diverse product for my needs.

    I plan to use this as the centre piece of my live electronic setup. While it has a lot of broad typical features suited to bands, it’s very close to a legendary piece of kit for live computerless electronic music… meh… I mean, it’s still pretty legendary as is 😉

    I was hoping for a little more versatility in what you could assign to a custom layer though, with assignments that don’t seem to be possible (hence posting here)… I’d love to be able to assign an individual channel’s send level for an aux fx rather than just the master channels (e.g. sends returns) for aux’s… this would allow me to turn up a reverb send on e.g. a clap or snare sound periodically, without changing other send levels to that fx unit. At the moment, if I want to increase a delay or reverb send for a given sound for builds and drops, I need to navigate out of the custom layer… with a lot going on, I don’t end up doing that – I just have a specific fx unit for that sound, but it seems like a waste of an fx slot or external unit (occasional fx flushes)…

    personally, if I could, I’d setup the custom layer with a few dca’s for key groups (4-6); and then have the 12-10 other faders set to channel aux sends (and, sure, a few masters too). That would be so perfect for the style of music I and many others write/perform…

    I do see that these parameters are controllable via external midi (but need computer connection, which I don’t want to use)… I guess that means that it may be possible to configure the midi message to send internally?… ie, hopefully this type of feature isn’t “impossible” 😉

    And now that we’re chatting midi, I’d also think it would be incredible if you could use the usb out as class compliant computerless control of midi gear… with more detail available to midi settings (e.g. set a fader to send midi ch1 cc1)… that way I could setup 4 faders to control modulation sources on e.g. a synthesizer. not sure if computerless midi is a hardware limitation though…?

    #91926
    Profile photo of SteffenR
    SteffenR
    Participant

    this request will break up the workflow concept of the console
    so it will not happen

    but if you press the mix buttons you change the input faders already to sends no matter wich layer you are on

    and you can assign any midi controller to the board that can handle midi over TCP
    or use a Bome box to route and convert your midi
    and with this you should be able to send midi from the console to the console

    #91942
    Profile photo of jBam
    jBam
    Participant

    Hmmm… not sure that I fully agree with the workflow concept point. The custom layer seems to be currently geared to fixed installation users only, which seems slightly like a missed opportunity (custom layer “could” be really handy to use as I mention too). The way I see it, giving access to custom layout for only those controls which are available on two standard layers is a slight shame… it’s the “verb send on channel 2” that’s tricky to access quickly, not the 32 easy-access channels… and it would be very handy if the depth of customisation extended to “anything that can be on a fader can be assigned”.

    Some other examples beyond how I would use it:

    changing a lead singers reverb level during a chorus;
    guitar delay during a solo;
    custom layer as an easy access multi monitor mix layer; etc

    Personally, I would really be aiming to change e.g. four different effects at once, so the mix/fx button swap doesnt work for me.

    Bome box is a solid call though… I was thinking of midi message converters, but thought I’d need a computer connected. so this can be used alone without a computer?! Time to do some more reading, you may have just made my day 😉

    would be great if a&h saw the use of what I’m talking about too though. “If you can access it on a faded, you can pop it on a custom layer”… then let users decide how they would like to config their board.

    Don’t want to sound too whiny though… it’s an awesome board for what I’m wanting. That would just take it a level (“layer”) deeper…

    J

    #91943
    Profile photo of jBam
    jBam
    Participant

    holy heck… yes, bome box suggests direct support to qu devices!

    Well, despite my thoughts on how this would be great to build into the unit, it seems I’m probably able to get what I want(!), so that’s rad…

    Thanks for the tip 🙂

    #91955
    Profile photo of SteffenR
    SteffenR
    Participant

    if you press on a mix button the faders are mix sends
    what happens with a fader that is a send fader all the time?
    what happens if you can raise that fader by accident as a monitor send?

    The QU is a live sound desk for small applications with extremely simple user interface
    that makes it to a very fast and intuitive system
    and the task you has is a very special one, that makes it not worth to develop a general solution to it.
    but with the midi possibilities you can design your own tool to do what you want

    Home Page


    https://special-waves.com/

    have fun !

    #91958
    Profile photo of
    Anonymous

    Nice links!
    Thankyou Steffen R

    #91972
    Profile photo of jBam
    jBam
    Participant

    I do appreciate the discussion, but I’m still not sure how that’s too different from the current workflow when selecting an aux send on the mix layer where various faders are not active as sends in that layer (e.g. “FX1 Send” is not an active fader for FX2 send as FX1 send cannot also send to FX2; it’s the FX return that can). So a static fader (i.e. one that doesn’t change) on a custom layer is the current workflow. I’d imagine the easiest / most consistent approach would be to do the same, and just leave a custom layer channel send fader at a real-world value when selecting a mix layer.

    Either way, it’s just a feature suggestion that I see some very good uses for (for me, and probably others in the broader market), and I find it a little odd/limiting that the custom layer is limited to the extremely-easy-to-access faders. I get that the QU16 is a church/small-installation hit, with excellent sales; but there’s a (big) side market in electronic music that’s screaming out for something like what I describe (just a little less “band; conference; church”; and a little more “do what you want with this diverse feature set”… far from open source, but still with a do-what-you-want-how-you-want approach). The only thing missing to me that would allow the Qu16(24/32) to be that unit is the depth of accessibility on the custom layer… and maybe some more midi input/accessiblity (e.g. ultimate would be to control FX parameters via faders on custom layer too… I won’t go too far down that discussion though haha)… In honesty, hey, I think you’ve solved all of that for me with the BomeBox suggestion… 🙂 *cudos*

    I’m not one to ask for features usually – but the current situation seems to be only a tiny step away from allowing at least the “any fader on a custom layer” aspect…. and, midi… if more detailed midi messaging is not possible within the current unit (e.g. hardware limitations), then I have no doubt that if they made a QU_V2 for a comparable ball-park price with more detailed midi mapping + automated faders (e.g. with midi feedback to current values) and connectivity, it would be on every electronic producers wish list hey… I know many producers who wouldn’t think twice before buying that unit, and they’re just local mates of mine… I have a feeling that production forums around the web would explode if that feature set was available ;)… Heck, even the church crew would be happy with the QU series custom layer also controlling lighting (via Midi) wouldn’t they?

    All of that said, I’m very used to workarounds, so I’m just trying to find a BomeBox in Australia that won’t take months to ship – thanks again for the tip! I contacted Bome, and they’ve confirmed that it can do all the weird and wonderful things I’d hoped (well beyond the scope of my initial intent in this thread), so that’s very fun.

    Actually, as a closing thought: A&H… any thoughts of teaming up with Bome for a QU_V2 ;)… then everybody wins :)…

    #92020
    Profile photo of SteffenR
    SteffenR
    Participant

    the QU_V2 could be the SQ already

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