Cq18t Main L/R out asignment problem to aux outs

CQ CQ General Discussions
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Hi All, can anyone explain why i cant assign the main stereo output to aux 1/2,3/4,5/6 to be POST MAIN FADER. so i can with one main fader control all outputs , at the moment all main mix out is sent to auxilary outs PRE MAIN FADER, WHY CANT I HAVE THEM POST MASTER FADER SO I CAN WITH ONE FADER CONTROL ALL OUTPUTS.

It makes no sense as i have clearly selected POST Fader in the AUXILARY setup and this is represented correctly when using input channel strips , but it is not working when using the MAIN OUTPUT STRIP, am i missing something?

All i am after is for all outs to be the main mix controlled by the one main fader, this is a very simple expectation.

Thanks in advance

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Maybe I’m misunderstanding your request, but if it was about changing the levels of your master faders of Main LR and Outputs together, you could certainly do this with a suitably configured DCA “group”.

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Thanks for the suggestion, yes it’s a work around but not a fix. I expect the same operation as all other channels when assigning outputs to aux faders, if I have chosen POST FADER as an option in the Aux send then I expect a POST FADER placement of the input of that AUXILIARY not a PRE FADER placement if I choose the MAIN OUT CHANEL, this to me is a BUG as its misleading and it’s not giving me the needed result I want , which is , I need all outs to be a stereo main mix and all of them to be controlled by the ONE main mix fader , nothing tricky or unusual , it’s something some users want for different reasons.

Example, I might have a need to feed 5 zones or less of the main stereo mix and want simple level control over all of them on one fader , I am a solo artist and do my own mixing on stage and I want to monitor the main mix levels I want to hear in my in ears the level changes I make going to the front house etc etc.

I don’t like using DCAs as it unnecessarily complicates things if I need control of multiple faders I would rather use GROUP FADERS , DCAs are my last resort.

DCA faders don’t have metering , in my case this is important as I control everything while performing and I want to see levels instantly at all times, you can not insert an effect in to them to control the overall grouping, CQ18T has 8 channel faders on display by the time I place all my needed faders on screen so I can see all the relevant levels I am hogging up a space with DCAs that don’t give me much usefulness apart from volume control vithout visual feedback.

DCAs are not assignable to physical faders, this sucks big time and another reason for not using them.

All said, I prefer GROUP FADERS ANY DAY , and I expect to be able to create all AUX outputs to be PRE OR POST FADER NO MATTER WHERE THE SIGNAL COMES FROM.

DCAs are a cheap, simple workaround to give you volume only control of multiple faders nothing more.

That’s not my opinion, it’s a technical fact.

I’d rather have 2 group faders than 4DCAs on a mixer like this it would be a lot more useful to me.

Thanks again for the suggestion it might have to be the final solution due to lack of thought from designers.

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Sorry in advance - it’s probably my poor English that’s causing me to have trouble following you.
But I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding your little console.

It sounds like you expect your “Main LR” could be an input channel for an Aux.?
But that’s not the case - take a look at the block diagram.
Main and Aux work in parallel and can’t be used sequentially - at least not internally.
What you might mean could be something like a matrix.
Multiple zones with the same mix would be a typical application for matrices.

You need groups and possibly matrices, but you buy a inexpensive console that doesn’t have them and you’re complaining about it.?

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This is not an inexpensive mixer , you can buy a much cheaper analog mixer with some group facility.

I would not mind using DCAs as long as I could dedicate a DCA to physical faders, but you can’t even do that , this destroys the purpose of DCA control on such a small mixer with limited control surface.

I don’t want more out of this mixer , I just need good functionality that follows some logic.

Why would you not make the output stage be able to have PRE OR POST fader selection to all auxiliary outs? This is narrow minded logic that does not make sense.

Not everyone needs a big mixer with lots of channels, I need a small mixer with flexibility to create a work surface that I require , I have a Yamaha 12ch analog mixer that does what I want that costs $300AU I have spent close to $2000 AU to upgrade to a digital mixing desk that can’t provide me with two stereo main outs that is controlled by one master fader, that’s sad :cry:

I also have an XAIR18 digital mixer that can easily give me 8 XLR CONNECTOR OUTS with any combination of outs I choose , but I have chosen to purchase the CQ18T for its compact size, its built in screen and the ability to have external dedicated fader and switch functions , I was happy to pay a $1000 Au more for this , I did not realise it had such limited functionality , yes it’s very nice in a lot of ways but it needs a bit more thought when it comes to MUTES , DCAs and its output routing , yes I do miss the XLR connections on AUXes but it’s a small mixer and I rather have small than a large work surface, as I do my own mixing on stage and I don’t want it to stand out as it is fairly close to me where I can reach for the physical faders easily.

Everything is perfect with the CQ apart from the limited functionality that does not need to be so limited as it’s mainly software driven, so I hope my feedback gets back to the designers.

MUTES , please check out XR18 logic.

CQ Bad logic, once you dedicate a mute to one function button the same channel can not be muted by another function button , this creates operational limitations and we only have 3 buttons to play with so let’s make it flexible for them to be able to be programmed as needed.

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Inexpensive?? ? ? ? ? ?

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If you buy a digital Allen & Heath console, the three CQ models are the least expensive.
A price comparison with an analog console is inappropriate.
But if it better meets your needs, nothing’s stopping you from using one.

That’s not correct - you can do it.

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The (6 Outs or) Aux busses on analog or digital consoles usually represent the option to create additional mixes for monitoring, for example, whose levels follow the Main LR mix (post-fader) or do not follow it (pre-fader).
They are not intended to duplicate the main mix 1:1, as matrices can do.

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Ok, perhaps I am looking at it wrong,

Perhaps you can guide me to how I can make AUX 5,6 be my SUB OUT FEED that also is controlled by the master fader, so I can adjust the SUBS separately yet retain the overall front house mix on one master fader as normal without using DCAs .

My thought was I could simply select the master fader , choose sends to , select aux 5,6 that have been put in to stereo link , and presto I should have a SUB mix out of AUX 5,6, and because I have chosen Post fader as I use the master volume this feeds my front house tops out of main outs and also feeds my subs through aux 5,6 which now gives me a seperate SUB volume control on the mixer using AUX 5,6 master fader.

This to me seems very logical and simple , yet when I do that there is no signal appearing on aux 5,6 input.

But if I do the same on a channel strip it works fine , to me this seems to be a bug with the logic of the desk or perhaps it was not thought of being done.

There is no reason for this not to work just like normal channels, plus there are many more uses for this if it worked.

I am very new to this mixer and apologise if I have missed things like the DCAs being placed on physical knobs I swear I had a good look in the list and could not find this , I have just recently upgraded my firmware and yes you can do this now , either I have missed this or it’s just been added recently, but that’s great news as now I can achieve things I could not before,

Thanks for pointing this out, any idea why the DCAs don’t move the actual faders instead you have small arrows going up down, what’s the go there it seems pointless ?

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I don’t see any possibility without DCA.
But I also don’t know how you handled it on your 12-channel analog console, which does exactly what you want.?

As I said, you can’t route your main mix internally to another mix.
It’s not an input channel, but an output.
And all output channels only lead to the output jacks (except for recording).

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In your case it could be also an option of using an external way, where you split your main LR and feed it back to a stereo input, which then feeds only one or more auxes.

You can simultaneously see the position of your mix fader, which you can also change, and the effect of the DCA fader position, without actually seeing it on the screen.

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We can pay less and get more elsewhere.

UI24R completely destroys it for features and USB connectivity.

Those other mixers you describe would be completely inappropriate for the use cases of the cq18t. Just because it’s smaller with less inputs and outputs doesn’t mean it should be artificially limited by software. The i/o is already enough of a limitation to differentiate the product.

That kind of shady business practice is unfortunate and reflects poorly on a company, but its not the biggest issue with the unit.

The main issue is that one of the stereo USB inputs does not function, the driver is defective and there’s no ETA for when it’s going to be repaired. So anybody who buys the CQ18T is not getting the advertised features they’ve paid for. I can think of no other company in this industry that would find this acceptable.

A fix should be pushed within a week for such a major issue, this appears to have been present since the release of the device.

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That may be so, but everyone is free to choose a different console.
That’s the market.
And - at least here in Germany - I am free to return a device, especially if it doesn’t live up to its promise.
If many people did so, for the reasons you cite, it might prompt A&H to reconsider more quickly - but also maybe not.

But the OP’s main issue isn’t related to the CQ, because even with dLive, there doesn’t seem to be a way to mix the master to an aux.

What do you mean by that?

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Just ignore Legend. He has an ax to grind with A&H and takes every opportunity to post how they are doing things wrong and how he would do things better because he is a “software developer” and knows things…..

It’s fine to post your displeasure about features or the way things work in appropriate threads - even if you have to start those threads/conversations yourself. But when you start using non-related threads to push an agenda and bad mouth the company and products, that’s when you lose my respect and I stop listening to what you have to say.

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Tanks SQuser, my opinion is , a channel input has an output, a master channel also has an input of all channels in to it and an output , it actually is the same as a normal channel strip it can have inserted EQs and Feedback exterminator etc, and it also has the capability to send itself back to any AUX feed , this is already possible because if you select the master fader then SEND TO it actually gives you an option to choose these destinations, the problem is A & H have decided not to make this to actually work, this is stupid from a marketing point of view, because I will never go and buy a more up market flexible output stage A & H mixer because my main reason I purchased this mixer is its small size and I will not ever purchase the more expansive mixer of any brand to get this flexibility, yes I know how to achieve a work around to get what I want but that’s not the point.

The point is why on earth would you give us the ability to assign the output stage to Auxiliaries then not do it so it actually works.

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Sorry, but I don’t see any advantage or logic to this,

Why not just move the faders themselves to represent the mix relationship and get rid of the arrows altogether as they serve no purpose except complicate something that is simple , and seeing the faders move respectively looks and feels nicer than a small arrow, this is a small simple mixer why complicate it, I rather have the main output routing fixed instead to give us actual operational user benefit.

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Hi SQuser, this block diagram is very basic and it does not accurately represent what the mixers software is claiming it can actually do and what it actually does do.

Example, the main output strip can be routed to the 6 AUXes and 4 FX, this is not shown in the block diagram and as I have pointed out earlier it does not actually work.

AHHA! The penny has just dropped :flushed_face:

The issue is , no matter what strip you choose either a channel strip an FX or MAIN output strip, the SEND TO function always has the same options displayed, even though you can’t send to these destinations from this source, this is fooling the user as we automatically assume we can send to them because they are always available as a choice.

This is known as stupid logic , if you can’t do something then remove the options in view so the user is not presented with a carrot they can’t eat.

When I choose a master fader then SEND TO then nothing should be available that does not exist.

This applies to all strips, when you select them and choose SEND TO , only available working destinations should be on screen.

When I see a carrot in front of me I expect to be able to eat it, or I get very pissed off :enraged_face:

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If you don’t believe me and of course also doubt the block diagram, please just read what the user guide says:

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This isn’t about your personal situation; you can, after all, use DCAs in completely different ways.
So please believe me, the developers had some thought behind this.
Just the example of you completely closing the DCA to infinity.
Now you wouldn’t be able to move the individual faders of the DCA group, which would certainly surprise you too.

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You can use DCAs for this!

I hope they can add more features you’d like after they fix the broken USB driver.

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As sic0048 already wrote, this question shouldn’t be part of this topic.
It’s a user forum, and no one of us can answer you.
Therefore, it’s better to address it directly to A&H Support.

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It’s unpleasant to always dismiss everything as stupid just because it doesn’t fit your logic and you’re perhaps unwilling to think a little further.
Perhaps you, as a solo artist, only need 2-3 input channels and would like to use the rest of your fader bank with an FX, two Outs for your monitors or zones, the main LR and a DCA (see image).
In your opinion, what should the right “Sends To” section look like?
Hidden just because you can’t send your Main LR to Out1?
Or perhaps better visible so you can still choose how to send your three inputs and the FX return specifically to the main, outs, or FX?

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