re-recording with qu16 and ableton live

[JamesParticipant]

Hello,
This forum seems to be a “tresure” for newbies like. I’m not good at english. I work on a QU16 with a macbookpro and ableton live. Can somebody tell me how to do re-recording ? Playback some instruments (for exemple from 1, 2 3, 4) and record a voice (on 5…). Thanks for your help.

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

Should be able to play out with a DAW (use the USB-B as the “global USB source” and select the USB input on those channels) and record from any live channels as well…

Can you do the playback alone?
Can you do the recording alone?
Do you have the bumper manual? https://www.allen-heath.com/ahproducts/qu-16/#tab4

[ljefeParticipant]

What you’re trying to do is “overdub”.
I don’t use Ableton, I use Logic. Generally, by default, the sound coming from a DAW to the Qu-16 will arrive on channels 1 & 2.
In Ableton, make sure your stereo output is set to channels 1 & 2.

To hear the music from the computer, first link the channels-
On the Qu, press the green “Sel” button over channel 1
Press the green “Processing” button, upper right side of the touch screen
On the touch screen press the greyed-out button “Not linked CH 1-2”
The linking page opens, press the greyed-out “Not linked” button
Press “Apply”
Now channels 1 & 2 are linked, use the channel 1 fader to adjust the playback volume
Turn the channel 1 pan knob all the way to the left. This will turn channel 2 pan all the way to the right automatically.
Press the usb/preamp button on the upper left side of the Qu. The yellow light should be lit to indicate the channel will receive sound from the computer. If the yellow light is dimmed it means the channel will receive sound from the preamp.

Now you have a stereo set-up to hear the music from your computer

To record-
In Ableton, set a channel to input from, for instance, channel 3
Connect a mic or instrument to input 3 on the back of the Qu
If your mic needs phantom power, first mute the channel, then turn on phantom power by pressing and holding the 48V button on the left side of the channel’s processing screen (touch screen). Unmute the channel.
Arm the Ableton track for recording, don’t push play
Adjust the channel 3 preamp recording level. Try to input a signal that reads between -18dB and -12dB on the meters in Ableton. The channel 3 preamp will determine the strength of the signal being recorded. The channel 3 fader will adjust the monitoring volume of the mic as you record. Use the faders to get a nice volume balance between the stereo track and your mic. (Once the signal has been recorded, use the fader in Ableton to adjust the volume of the mic track for playback.)
Push play and record!

I hope I didn’t forget any steps. This is obviously just the basics, there are many ways to route signals in and out. The manual isn’t very thorough with regards to recording. Good luck.

[[XAP]BobParticipant]

I’d note that depending on the situation you may wish to record a hotter signal.
You are hopefully going to have more than one take, and a reasonably consistent level, so you can afford to trade headroom for lower noise floor (important if you intend to do lots of post processing).

[ljefeParticipant]

You know, I should have been more clear. I’m talking about keeping recording levels at -18 dBfs, as measured by the meters in the DAW. The meters in the Qu-16 are calibrated to show 0 dBu when the signal inside the DAW reaches -18 dBfs because 0 dBu in the analog domain translates to -18 dbfs in the digital domain. The A&H converters are optimized for this level, all analog outboard is expecting it. Computer effect plugins that use analog modeling or saturation (compression, limiting, EQ, console plugins, saturation) are also expecting a signal around -18 dBfs. If you feed these plugins a hotter signal you will get unexpected results.

The noise floor in a 24bit system is so low (144dB of dynamic range!) you would record the self-noise of your gear before that floor reaches audible levels.

So, more specifically, to the OP- keep your levels between -20 dBfs and -12 dBfs as measured by the meters in your DAW.

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