[TommyParticipant]

The last firmware update was May 2016. I think A&H have abandoned the QU Series all together. I would have like to have seen a multi-band compressor put in the onboard processors and mentioned it. Nothing was said by the A&H reps either way. It’s like they avoid any suggestions or comments for modifications or anything else on the QU Series.

I know it’s an extra piece of gear to have to carry and set up, but you can track all channels with a computer using the USB B output on the back of the board. That’s probably the answer you would get from the A&H reps if they were to even grace you with an answer to your question.

[TommyParticipant]

You also have to set up the software to get the signal from the right channel. If you’re new to recording, it will take some time to learn that. Mark has a great idea of recording it to a thumb drive via the QU Drive, then import it into the software. If all you’re doing is the LR mix, it is a much simpler method. I use my QU32 at the church where I record to the QU Drive, an external CD recorder, and record the multi-track directly to my computer. I only do the multi-track in case we want to try to do a more “professional” recording of the praise team. I do so many different recordings also just for redundancy. I have had one fail before, so now I have three options in case one or two fail. And trust me, if you hit the wrong button while recording, you will lose one of them.

[TommyParticipant]

Yes, you would. The return signal you be so minimal that it could not drive the headphones. Sweetwater has some very inexpensive headphone amps, and I’m sure your local music store could get them fairly inexpensive as well. At my church, we had to enclose our drummer since he beats them really hard. I can only imagine how loud it is inside that enclosure. The minimal signal being returned would not be loud enough over just the ambient sound from the drums. The headphones would just be acting as ear plugs for the drummer.

[TommyParticipant]

Yeah, I wouldn’t if it is the portable type that you use for easy power anywhere. Gas powered generators don’t give you true clean power. They are good for power tools, small appliances, and lighting, but I wouldn’t trust them on sensitive electronics. The big commercial type give you a lot more stable power, but unless it is utility power, I wouldn’t put faith in any generator when it comes to sensitive electronics. The Tripplite UPSs are definitely the way to go to clean up your power from any generator. Not to mention, Tripplite usually has a KILLER warranty if your electronics gets damaged behind their product. You do want to make sure you calculate your load and get the proper size though so you don’t overload and blow up the UPS.

[TommyParticipant]

I have been caught before with a bad recording, so what I do for my church when recording the sermon is use two forms of redundancy. I record to the QU Drive, record straight into my DAW, and have the mix going into a CD recorder. I setup a template for my DAW so all I have to do is arm all my recordings prior to the start of service. Most of the time all I have to do is to check record levels in the DAW during post production and export as MP3 since we upload our sermons to the church website.

To get the max volume I can, I actually record two tracks of the pastor’s mic. I run about 4:1 ratio of compression at -15dB on the main track. I run 9:1 ratio of compression on the second track at -35dB. This allows me to get the audience in the mix without using shotgun or any other ambience mics in the room. I found that I get too much return from the mains through other mics and it made the recording sound like it was in a tunnel. For added volume to the mix, I run a limiter input gain at 14dB, ceiling at -2dB, and threshold at -4dB. Then mixdown an MP3 file at 64kB/s bitrate and 32kHz sample rate.

My pastor really loves the level of sound on the website with these settings. Earlier this year, we started video recording the sermons and they use my audio file for the video.

Since it is only one track and only speech, it isn’t like you need any dynamics, so these settings have given me the most volume without actually clipping during mixdown.

Hope this helps

[TommyParticipant]

Another option is, if you had the second mixer you could use it as a sub mixer for your drum set. Use the mains out or a mix out to send the mix of the drums to 2 inputs of the QU-16 if you’re running a stereo mix, or if you didn’t want to use 2 inputs, send that signal to ST1 or ST2 input.

As far as can you cascade mixers? I have not seen that option if it exists.

[TommyParticipant]

I have a Qu16. I got my bag from a place called Under Cover out of NY. It cost me about $175 I think it was with shipping, but it is supper nice and rugged also. They make bags and carrying cases for a lot of different mixers and speakers.

[TommyParticipant]

I tried a couple different ones, but found the SanDisk Extreme is the only one that works well for me. I use my console to record Sunday morning services at my church. My external hard drive failed one Sunday so I lost the recording that day. Now I run my DAW capturing via USB-B as well as recording through QU Drive. Making sure I have redundancy for the next time something fails. The SanDisk Extreme is the only one I found that does not give me errors.

[TommyParticipant]

I had the same issue one time. Did you pan each one on the input channels? One channel would have to be panned hard left, and the other would have to be panned hard right. If you didn’t do that, you were sending both channels as mono to a stereo mix out. Once I panned mine like that, I had the stereo I wanted.

Hope this helps.

[TommyParticipant]

When I want to hear the whole mix on one of the Mixes, I Que the mix I want (lower right side), then on the left side use your Layers keys to flip between your Channel layer or the Mix layer. When you hit PAFL at the channel you want, your layer button will decide whether you’re listening to the individual channel going to the mix, or if you’re listening to the overall mix. This is also where you can Que up your ST1, ST2, ST3, and FX. When you hit the Layers button, it will light for the layer you’re on. Green for Channels and I think Blue for your Mixes and such.

Hope this helps.

[TommyParticipant]

Yeah, I went straight to Google Play from my phone and couldn’t find it. When I went from the link after applying, it came up without a problem. Thanks! I look forward to playing with it to see how well it works.

[TommyParticipant]

Just looked for the app, but could not find it on Google Play. It shows up for the X32, but not showing up for the QU.

[TommyParticipant]

I just never thought of using the QU16 compressor. Before I purchased my QU16, I was using a TASCAM US-1800 Audio Interface to record with. When I purchased my QU16, I just used the template I had already stored on S1. I will have to reconfigure it now, but it does make more sense. I am still learning the recording side and still trying to learn the power of the QU16. Since all that is a side-line work, I don’t get to sit there and play a lot.

Thanks for that help! It will also make it easier to keep the recording going when I have to miss a Sunday.

[TommyParticipant]

There is no way to have a Windows machine control the QU or the QU to control the DAW on a Windows machine. All you can get is the tracks to your DAW via the USB-B port on the rear of the desk. You can have the DAW to return only a stereo track back to the desk via any of the inputs. On any given Sunday morning, I record our church services. I also send a mix to our camera so there is a clean audio signal going into the camera. I accomplish this by using the DAW to process the signal and send it from the DAW to the QU via ST3 input, then out Aux 9,10 to the camera. This way I can use the DAW to place a limiter on it so I have a strong enough signal for the camera. My Pastor likes to move the mic away from his mouth a lot, so this is the only way I have found to still hear him on the recordings.

I have a QU16, but I know the issue is that unless you have a Mac computer, you will not be able to use the control functions between a PC and the QU. Someone told me once that it is because Windows does not want to allow you that much control of their software.

[TommyParticipant]

Thanks for the help. Reformatting the thumb drive solved the issues. I was able to update to V1.8, then go ahead and update to V1.82.

Thanks again

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