Hi everyone,
I’m using an Allen & Heath SQ-6 and I’d like to understand how other engineers handle gain staging on this console.
At what level do you usually keep your channels on the SQ6 meters during live mixing and recording?
To me, the multitrack recordings coming from the SQ6 seem quite low in volume, even when the live mix sounds good through the PA.
What levels do you normally aim for on individual channels? For example:
- -30 dBFS
- -24 dBFS
- -18 dBFS
- -12 dBFS
- -9 dBFS
- -6 dBFS
- -3 dBFS
- 0 dBFS
- +3 dB
- +6 dB
Do you usually keep signals conservative around -18 / -12 dBFS, or do you push closer to 0, +3, or even +6 on the SQ meters?
I’m trying to understand the best balance between:
- proper live headroom
- avoiding clipping
- strong multitrack recording levels
Also, what do you consider the ideal gain structure for:
- vocals
- drums
- bass
- guitars
on this mixer?
For non-transient sources, I usually try to get the source’s gain to just “tickle” the yellow parts of the meter during normal parts. The break between green and yellow is the “unity” level which is -18dBFS on this console. Obviously there will be times when the source is either louder or quieter, but the majority of the time I want it at the top of the green and hitting the yellow pretty consistently, but not constantly.
If it is a transient source (like a drum head) then I gain the channel up farther so that it is always in the upper yellow region and getting into the red on the hardest hits. This is because the “average” volume of transient sources is much lower than non-transient sources. Transient sources need to be gained up louder than non-transient sources to “sound the same” to the audience.
PS - the A&H consoles don’t have a true “peak” indicator. A true peak indicator lights up when the source is actually peaking. On these consoles, the “peak” indicator is just a high volume warning light that activates when the source is -3dBFS away from peaking (that’s according to A&H, but I honestly think it lights up even slightly lower than that). That means there is still a decent amount of headroom from when the light starts flashing to when the source will actually start to peak. This means a source that occasionally lights the peak indicator on the loudest parts only is probably fine and doesn’t need to be turned down.
First off, no one needs “strong recording levels” these days.
Since I nearly 100% use my SQ as a recording console (not a reinforcement or broadcast console) I try and keep my mains levels in the low yellows. I work with an engineer who does live broadcast and he runs his SQ into the red all the time with, it seems, no degradation of the signal. He is a heavy user of parallel compression for broadcast.
I am becoming of the opinion that the SQ is a bit sloppy in it’s metering and only experience seems to be a true indicator of meter accuracy at the top levels.
Also, remember that the mains meter and all the other bar meters read differently. I can’t remember but one is sort of a VU (Mains meter IIRC) and the others are DBFS meters. Someone here know which is which.
D.