[croydon_clothears]

Hi Armin,
Dante is a protocol that works across all brands that use it – it doesn’t care who makes the hardware.
I would suggest that installing a network switch, if there isn’t one already, would be essential as it will give you additional ports for other Dante devices and laptops for Dante Controller.
the new Netgear AV range would be my first choice.
The Yamaha DM7 and the Rio stagebox connect with Dante, which should be through the switch.
If your A&H SQ5 Dante I/O then plugs in to another port on the same switch, all of the DM7 and Rio inputs and outputs can be accessed.
Any source that you bring in to the SQ5 on Dante can be routed within the mixer to its S-Link port and then onwards to your fleet of ME-1s or any other outputs.
You can reverse the pathways, maybe from an A&H 2412 stagebox, routed via a Dante output to a Yamaha I/O port, either on the DM7 or the Rio.
Be warned though – setting it up needs a clear head and a lot of planning.
A Dante card is basically a programmable gateway.
The network side needs to be patched with Dante Controller and the internal mixer patches need to be done within the mixers and the stagebox.
I’ve configured several temporary rigs using almost exactly the same kit and while it’s tedious at the pencil and paper stage, it will work brilliantly when complete.
Reach out to me if you need more help, I’ve tagged the thread to notify me.

[croydon_clothears]

Buy some ME-1/ME-500 personal mixers for the band to do their own personal stereo IEM mixes.

[croydon_clothears]

A little late to this thread but like you I have 4 x ME-1 panels and I travel them with their accessories, 10/15 metre Ethercon cables and a Presonus AVB PoE switch in one of these:
https://www.studiospares.com/cable-gig-bag-50-by-trojan-pro-459670.htm

[croydon_clothears]

I’ll confess I’ve not given this all my attention…but…

Could you do this in “Ganging” or perhaps with a DCA Group?

[croydon_clothears]

It’s no good saying the same thing three times, we need MORE information – and RTFM.
So you’ve proved you’re incompetent, let’s go back to class.
1 – Are your speakers actually working? Check powering and that you’re in the proper input.
2 – With LR mix selected (above main OP fader – blue light should be on) put Min fader to the 0dB mark and fade up a channel with some audio on it that’s routed to LR OUT.
3 – The bright flashy LED thing that us professionals call “The Meter” should be lighting up green and yellow.
4 – If it’s not, then you are listening to something on your headphones that isn’t on LR Out.
5 – Have you got a PAFL button pressed somewhere? Check ALL THREE layers.
6 – I’d have a good look at the VSX26 speaker processor if I were you – probably not configured properly.
7 – Stop flapping about like a wet hen and follow the signal path PROPERLY through the system, tracking and verifying what works along the pathway.
8 – Don’t blame the kit – most faults can be traced to the idiot who connected it up.

[croydon_clothears]

Although the highlighted scene on power-up is “Scene 1”, the mixer itself is configured to whatever you left it as when you powered down.
It’s a quirk that can be a little irritating but as long as you realise what’s going on, you can live with it.
I’m guessing that A&H figured that the heaviest use of Scenes would be theatre and House-of-Worship venues, where there’s a predictable work-flow through different saved configurations on a daily/weekly basis.

Let’s say you’re doing a three week run of a pantomime.
Every segment of the show, from the overture to the finale, has its own configured Scene on the mixer.
As the show progresses, the operator just hits “Next” (this can be a Soft-Key function) at the appropriate moment and the desk smoothly re-configures.
It’s easy to imagine a transition from a solo FOH scene (maybe the Dame chatting to the audience) to a full-on company number with the pit orchestra.

With every Scene having been fine-tuned and stored during Tech Runs and Dress Rehearsals, preferably with a sensible naming structure, it makes for a very stress-free time at the FOH Audio position and an ability to create a really professional show.
This is also where the “Scene 1” highlight comes in to its own – having walked away the night before, when the operator boots up the desk, all he/she has to do is hit “Load” or the designated Soft-Key, and everything is ready for curtain-up.

You can use the same philosophy for live music too, either allocating each Scene to your band’s play-list in your preferred performance order, or if you’re a venue operator, putting the Scenes into blocks for each band during the sound-checks.

Perversely, my QU-Mixers go out on everything from corporate presentations to live broadcast, pub quiz nights to music festivals.
Over time I’ve built up a library of template settings for each genre, which I load in via the QU-Drive port as a base to work from.
I keep these in Scenes 80 and upwards, then if I need, say, the corporate template for 3 x suits, 1 x host and Q&A, I copy it in to Scene 1 and go from there.
Hope this helps!

[croydon_clothears]

They don’t “have” to be password-protected.

[croydon_clothears]

To be accurate, Qu-You doesn’t have a password access.
It’s your devices dropping off the wireless network and the network asking you to log on again.
It sounds like this is happening when your iPads/iPhones go to sleep.

So stop them doing it.
Settings > General > Auto-Lock – set to “Never”.

To stop your devices switching away from your desk’s router to the venue’s local one or any other you have logged on to in the same area, go into Settings > Wi-Fi >
Make sure your device is logged on to your router.
Then against any other network names displayed, press the “info” logo and on the next page select “Forget this network”.

Also – turn off “Mobile Data” and disable Bluetooth.

Make sure your devices are fully charged. If they drop into “Low Battery Mode” at around 20% charge level, they are also likely to fall off-line.

[croydon_clothears]

If you have installed latest firmware and it’s still faulty, then it’s a warranty issue.
There is most certainly a fault there and if it’s new then you must get it fixed (for free) ASAP.
Contact your reseller immediately.

[croydon_clothears]

DAW control on the Qu-series is compatible only with Apple Mac computers.
The drivers are native to Macs and any DAW using HUI or Mackie control protocol can be used.

More here:
https://www.allen-heath.com/key-series/qu-series/#tab5

Although you can’t have DAW MIDI control on Windows machines, you can stream via the USB port to audio software such as Adobe Audition, ProTools and Ableton – others available!
This allows you to record in multi-track format and replay to the mixer but you’ll have to use the computer for machine control and take the replay inputs on to the channels as USB inputs.
You will need to install the Windows ASIO/WDM drivers also available on the link above.

[croydon_clothears]

Just to add a little more FAT32 formatting knowledge here.
While Windows won’t format drives larger than 32GB.one of the favourite ways to quickly set up drives in FAT32 is readily available providing you have both a host Windows computer and Internet access.
Go here:
https://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm
Then click the “Windows GUI version of FAT32 Format” on the left of the screen.
Your target drive will need to be already connected to the host machine.
Double/triple-check that you are targeting the correct drive before you format!
The “allocation unit size” dropdown needs to be set to “32768” which generates the correct cluster size for A&H connected drives.
It can take some time for your mixer to recognise the drive after external formatting.
Rebooting the desk with the drive already connected can speed up the process.
All of this doesn’t negate the strict requirements for streaming communication between QU mixers and drives.
From personal experience Qu-Drive drives with their own power supplies tend to work well although QU-Drive is usually happy with high data-rate memory sticks – I use Sandisk Cruzer Blade 128GB sticks unless it’s mission-critical when I plug in a Glyph GT062 2TB RAID array drive, which mirrors on the fly to two separate 1TB drives.
Usually the USB B streaming port is feeding a computer with Pro-Tools or Adobe Audition in this scenario.

[croydon_clothears]

All of CBBC’s “Hackertime” series 5 (possibly available on iPlayer) was recorded through a QU-24.
Sample an episode here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZBzjUW2ix0

Stereo mix to the QU-Drive USB memory stick and all individual tracks streamed through the USB port to a PC running Pro-Tools.

Spoiler alert!!!
Recording of Series 6 planned for MAY 2016.

[croydon_clothears]

Firstly – FAT32 is still the only disk format that is truly cross-platform compatible.
In other words it will work on whatever computer/digital device that you connect it to.
However it’s elderly and clunky and has a whole bunch of restrictions.
Windows computers will not natively format any drive larger than 32GB in FAT32.
However there are third-party applications, including A&H mixers, that will format a larger (often MUCH larger) drive in FAT32.
The absolute maximum volume (drive) size for FAT32 is 8TB and the absolute largest individual file size is 4GB.
As you head towards these limits, it’s not unusual for specific platforms to fall over long before you get to the theoretical edge.
A&H have limited FAT32 volume size to 2TB to retain integrity with delivery speed to the external drive

You MAY be able to salvage your files with drive recovery software and/or specialist help but as you have already broken the rules for the A&H platform you will have to weigh up the potential cost of this against writing off the gig to experience.

You don’t need a 4TB drive unless you’re doing Live Aid or the entire night of Comic Relief.

A&H mixers are not at all unique in demanding rigorous specifications for their streaming hard-drives.
In IT terms audio multitrack recording needs very precise and controlled constant data communication, which is actually unusual in the industry.
It’s less about data rate and more about consistency as there is a lower level of data-correction and buffering compared to most IT applications.
Sorry to rain on your parade but please use it as a learning experience and next time stick a well respected 500GB drive in the slot and fill your boots!

[croydon_clothears]

Hi Roy,
I happily manage PA gigs with just 4 FX engines even with some horrendously complex band set-ups.
Typically…
FX 1 for general Vocals, maybe a Classic or Hall model with 1.5-2.5 seconds decay.
FX 2 for otherwise dry instruments like snare, horns DI strings/acoustic guitars etc – usually EMT + echo or a warm medium-size Hall.
FX 3 I keep for delay FX specific to individual songs.
FX 4 is usually ADT or Chorus, again song-specific.
I manage levels through the FX sends with the FX return buses nominally set at unity (0db) and then store the settings either in rehearsal or on the sound-check with a unique Scene Memory for every song. This is actually far faster than you might think!
Songs with an FX change (for instance backing vocal ADT on the chorus) can be managed through muting on soft-keys.
I would also suggest setting up your mixer with a global FX Mute on one of the soft-keys.
The ability to kill all reverb/delay instantly between numbers can only be truly appreciated when you’re out there doing the gig!
Enjoy your new QU-16, as you explore its immense possibilities, especially if you’ve been analogue until now, you will find it a truly liberating experience.
Enjoy!

[croydon_clothears]

I’m currently using my QU-24 with a Sandisk Cruzer Blade 128GB USB stick drive.
From the Qu-Drive port that gives me over 8 hours recording with the 18 tracks available.
So far (10 weeks daily use) I’ve had no issues with errors.
For streaming via the rear 32/32 USB port we’ve used both Windows with Adobe Audition and MAC with Logic Pro and ProTools.
Our favourite drive here is a Glyph RAID array which is two 1TB drives mirroring (in RAID 1 format) either via USB or Firewire from the host computer.
We use a chunk of vibration damping foam that we got from a plumber’s merchant, usually used to quiet down shower-pumps, underneath the drive and this seems to do the business!

[Author]

Posts