Hello,
We use the AUX outputs for IEMs, and each band member adjusts their own levels using CQ4You. Most of the time, we don’t have a sound engineer, so the guitarists increase their volume when needed during certain parts of the songs.
We encountered an issue during our last gig: the guitar levels are fine during the verses, but during the choruses, their volume increases and overwhelms the entire mix of other members.
Is it possible to insert a compressor or limiter on the guitar sends?
Or perhaps there is another solution that I haven’t considered?
The channel processing will always affect the main output of that channel. This means any channel processing (like compressor settings) specifically “set” for IEM use would also affect the FOH sound as well.
If you want different compressor settings for IEM and FOH use, you need to duplicate the channel (one source going to two or more channels). You’ll set up one channel for FOH use (that isn’t used for monitors) and one channel for IEM use (that isn’t sent to the PA). Obviously if you do this, all of the channel processing can be different (different EQ, different gate, different compressor, etc) for FOH and IEM use.
Channels get used up either way, whether routed externally or internally. The guitars probably don’t need to be in stereo for the monitors, so one channel would do.
I can’t quite wrap my head around what’s happening here:
If a guitarist turns up the volume of his guitar in his IEM using CQ4You, that really should never affect the other musicians’ IEM mixes.
And besides: If he want to hear his own guitar louder, it stands to reason that he won’t hear the others quite as well as a result.
So the “problem” strikes me as a contradiction.
Of course, you can use the compressor of his stereo guitar channel if needed, which would be a compromise affecting the PA and the IEM mixes, which is usually fine.
Alternatively, you can also use the compressor of an IEM mix itself to tame it a bit.
He is certainly the boss, and it is his prerogative.
Obviously, he does this for the sake of the PA sound, but - without proper control - it can be just as disadvantageous for the audience as it is for the other musicians listening on their IEMs.
In this case, the compressor on the guitar channels would benefit both parties.
After all, the goal is likely not to actually increase the guitar level, but simply to make it “sound louder”.
I mean the targeted reduction of potentially excessive level peaks using the compressors found on every output mix channel.
What you are envisioning, doesn’t exist even on larger consoles.
Even with those, you generally have to strike a balance between the PA and the monitor mix - or split the input channels, which isn’t easily done on the entry-level CQ console due to its lack of patching options and an insufficient number of input channels.
But then, they should also affect all IEM mixes to the same extent.
You can also find them under PROCESSING - OUTPUTS in your CQ MixPad.
Please also refer the “OUTPUT / Compressor” (and, if applicable, “OUTPUT / LEVEL and LIMITER”) pages in the User Guide.
