Is there anyone out there skilled enough to extract the firmware and edit the Gate so we can finally have an Expander on this console? It’s fking unbelievable that A&H has denied us this tool. This board is way too expensive and nice not to have one of the most useful tools for contolling feedback and stage volume, especially when they already gave us a gate. Please someone make this happen, id pay several hundred dollars for the new firmware with that addition. Thanks in advance.
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I have the same sentiment, and it’s probably one of the most long-requested features on this forum… even the old Yamaha 01V96 has it. All it needs is changing the “infinite” slope of the gate to a ratio…. and as we know, noting is infinite anyway…
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Gonna chime in and heavily agree. Wtf are y’all doing A&H? Sure this is something that you can integrate. PSE would be better but geez, at least give us the standard gate with a knee control.
Hopefully it goes without saying and the OP is only suggesting it to make a point, but any modification of firmware would violate the EULA.
Inclusion of an expander is high on the suggestion list, and has been discussed many times internally. Unfortunately we do not currently have a viable solution for the SQ series, as the expanders we spent a long time working on for dLive and Avantis make use of the extra processing power available in the input channels of those consoles.
We will continue to investigate, but I’m afraid it’s not as simple as you seem to believe - a gate only cares about whether a threshold has been reached, where an expander is much closer to a compressor and needs to vary GR proportionally. To make an expander that operates correctly, this also needs to be done in a non-linear way (working in dB), which requires more cycles/processing.
Thanks,
Keith.
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Would it be possible to make an add in card for expander processing, like a GPU, just for channel expansion processing? You may have already looked at it. I don’t know if it would make for unacceptable latency or if would have to be limited to like 16 inputs or something. We would be interested in hearing if this option has been looked into. And thank you taking the time to read and respond to this thread. And a big thank you for keeping the quality and ruggedness of products to a high standard.
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Hi Keith,
Thanks for the feedback. I understand and appreciate the challenge (I work in this domain of processors and math every day), but if an old Yamaha 01v96 with a much less powerful processor/FPGA can handle the complexities of switching between gate/expander mode, then surely the SQ can somehow… if the log/proportional math is too demanding, then perhaps the DEEP processing path could be an option, or even substituting a compressor with an expander….
I think this addition would be as big of a milestone as removing the USB switch in 1.6.0 
Cheers,
Trev
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We dont need anything more than a couple of fixed points for an expander setting, the ratio doesnt need to be fully adjustable, just 2 differrent fixed options like the M32. A lot of people would pay a lot of money to get this feature.
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Yet the X32 can do it with infinitely less processing power? Bruh, give us a break.
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SQ+ has a dual threshold expander now, so it seems… (was it a reaction to all the posts?)
so theoretically (as it seems to have a similar core to the old SQ), can we perhaps have it on the SQ5 as well? The 01V96 has considerably less power than the X32, which has considerably less power than the SQ, … excuses and cash-grab? You know, we are not stupid.
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It’s worth pointing out that the SQ+ has different internal hardware present to facilitate the new RackUltra FX and other new features - Keith’s previous post still stands true.
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Having to sell my relatively new board sounds like a total nightmare. Dont think a gate is worth 3k after i lose half the value of my newish non + board trying to sell used. This whole situation is lame. I would have never bought the SQ line if i knew it was missing such a simple standard feature. 
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No offense intended here, but adequately researching a product (especially one that costs thousands of dollars) before you buy it is on you. Unfortunately too many times people look at the input count and maybe the buss count when selecting a system and never look at any of the actual features/functions until after they make a purchase.
A quick “test drive” with the SQ software (SQ Mix Pad) in offline mode would have shown you what features the console has or doesn’t have prior to purchase.
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true, but that being said, there were lots of improvements to the SQ over the years that are way more complex than an expander…
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You’re free to be for or against whatever brand you want. So you mention giving a break, OK give us one. No offense, but the only thing positive you’ve posted was your exit to get a Wing. Get a cup of coffee on your way over there. Have a great day anyway.
I’m upset because I bought the SQ five months ago, though I’ve only mixed two shows, as the season has just started. But literally the day before the + drop, I bought all the add-ons! So I basically have the same $ invested as buying the +, but without the new features.
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