SQ5 – Gain rotary button problem

[SandlesParticipant]

We have an SQ5 in our church auditorium, in use for 15 months, not a lot of expertise among our group of operators but we get by ok usually. I switched it on for a practice session couple of weeks ago – red LED showing on the LR button, but I did not understand the implication of that at the time – no clue as to how it got to that state or who had played with settings and couldn’t get any sense out of the board. Only 2 of us have Admin account access and the other guy didn’t do it. Eventually figured out how to change role back to “Mix Master” from “Listen Level”, and reset to “Standard”. Lost all settings, routing, scenes – giant PITA, took us about 3 hours to get the board back (almost) to where we were, because, of course, I hadn’t bothered to keep a separate copy of our “show” – but I have one now!
“Almost” because we have a funny problem – the desktop Gain Rotary no longer controls Pre-amp gain, it adjusts Trim. Gain can only be adjusted using the touchscreen rotary, and changes to this are shown by changes to the gain control graphic.
Okay – any ideas please on the following:
How can I get back to the condition of Gain Rotary actually adjusting gain? What might have caused the original change of role and loss of stored settings and scenes? A suggestion has been made that the firmware might have auto-updated and glitched during that process – is that possible? The mixer is neither permanently powered on, nor permanently connected to the internet.
We love using the SQ5 – beats the board it replaced hands down.

[SQuserParticipant]

> … not a lot of expertise among our group of operators…
> … no clue … who had played with settings
It’s really very collegial of people, who have no idea but are still making changes.

> How can I get back to the condition of Gain Rotary actually adjusting gain?
You could found it in the manual on page 76 (see picture).

> What might have caused the original change of role and loss of stored settings and scenes?
You should ask that the experts in your group.

> A suggestion has been made that the firmware might have auto-updated and glitched during that process – is that possible?
No, this is not possible.

> We love using the SQ5 – beats the board it replaced hands down.
Which one was it?

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[EdHParticipant]

Hi,
I also operate in a church environment with the SQ5 with the following approach:
I take a regular backup of the SHOW file & also keep cloud copies.
I also created several levels of user access to prevent access to parts of the mixer that could cause issues & where users do not have the need or knowledge to access. this means that many of the knobs on the top surface do not light up, screens can be shown but do not permit changes. This is a real insurance policy & takes away some user anxiety where they fear accidentally changing something during a service. I have users who have only volunteered because of this restriction.
The USER setup is the SETUP section of the manual, page 91.
In practice, I disallowed access to nearly all functions & even processing – leaving the preamp gain only for adjustment plus AUX outputs required. All the EQ & Compression ect had all been pre-set until those users learn to use it well. I have a SOFT key set for the Automatic Mic Mixer function which is a game changer to clean up multiple speech mic’s & is perfect for inexperienced users who leave mics open. I also prevent overwriting of the core scene. I think that USER access control is an effective way of ensuring that settings do not get changed without thought.

[SandlesParticipant]

Thank you @ SQUser for your answers – I must have been in panic mode reading the manual looking for answers!
@ EdH – Yes, a lot of effort will be put into ensuring that access levels and permissions are appropriate for different users, and also ensuring that more regular backups are done for show files. Hadn’t thought of the AMM function – sounds worth pursuing.

The SQ5 was purchased to replace an 8 year old Pre=Sonus StudioLive 24.4.2 which suffered power supply failure and gave me one of the most stressful hours of my life.

Again, thanks for the responses. I’m not really proficient in this area – I’m a mechanical engineer by training and inclination, and am always suspicious of anything with electricity in it! (Steam power rules – OK?)

[SQuserParticipant]

> The SQ5 was purchased to replace an 8 year old Pre=Sonus StudioLive 24.4.2
Ah, thanks – that’s understandable. )

> Steam power rules – OK?
Yes – I love steampunk!

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