Hi guys
I want to be able to control the level of all FOH speakers (via LR, Mtx1-4, Grp1-4) from one DCA group fader and also all the stage mnnitor speakers (via Mix1-4) from another DCA group fader, on Qu24. Fine, so i will assign LR, Mtx1-4 & Grp1-4 outputs to DCA1 and assign Mix1-4 to DCA2 and put these on custom layer. But am wondering if i say had DCA1 fader at -30db but on the normal input layer i had LR at +10dB. Would the LR out level be at +10db,-30db or -20db. So really my question boils down to which takes precedence,the normal mix, DCA or combination of both?
Provided you’re within the limits of the desk, then it’s both., so -20dB in your example.
They are added together - but can’t exceed 0dbFS (at least without clipping)
Also be aware that if any of the DCAs are set to -inf you won’t get any sound from any channel/mix controlled by that DCA, as -inf + x (whether x is the level of the channel/mix or another DCA controlling the same thing) still = -inf.
If you’re feeding mtxs from LR you should only apply the DCA to LR. If you apply the same DCA to LR and the mtxs and put it at +5, you’ll get +5 on LR but effectively +10 on the mtxs (+5 from the LR signal feeding the mtx + another +5 from the effective mtx fader boost.) Same rule applies if you’re feeding LR exclusively from groups: you don’t want the same DCA controlling the groups + LR.
Same with FX.
Post fade sends to, e.g., a reverb FX will be moderated by the DCA on the channel - the FX return then doesn’t need to be in the DCA, else the FX balance will shift whenever the DCA is changed.
Thanks guys for clarification 