It would be amazing to have the ability to add IP Controllers to SQ Desks (especially the IP-8 for new SQ Rack). I don’t know about anyone else but we’d happily pay for this functionality upgrade, perhaps in the same way we do for plugins. We’ve tried external midi controllers in the past but the mapping is such a faff and you have to have conversion between MIDI on USB with something like a BomeBox. The way the IP controllers work with Avantis or DLive is so much easier and with the new form factor would be perfect addition for installs and live where some hands on fader control is required.
Pretty please. Thank you.
+1
SQ-Rack & IP8.
+1!!
+1 (and it seems that A&H is planning a pretty big firmware update to coincide with the SQ Rack release, so it is possible this would be added at that time).
That being said, Mixing Station is a great way to get Midi support on the SQ. We use a Waves Fit Controller (with a DLive) and it works great. The Fit Controller is cheaper and WAY better than any of the IP offerings from A&H. Even if the SQ system supported IP controllers, personally I would be hard pressed to use them over Mixing Station and a motorized midi fader bank.
Fingers crossed @Brian
Like the idea about the mixing station but I do like the simplicity of the way A&H have integrated the IP controllers with DLive.
I’d also be a bit worried about relying on a PC and then an external controller there’s a few more things to go wrong there. What are you using to run Mixing Station is Mac best?
I understand the “simplicity” that the IP devices bring to the A&H ecosystem. I might be more willing to try them if they weren’t designed to be so limiting. The fact that they don’t offer a controller with faders, encoders and buttons all on the same unit is mind boggling. Add to that the very high cost of the devices (compared to other alternatives), and I simply can’t bring myself to purchase/use them. But there is definitely something to be said for their “plug and play” ease of use with the A&H systems.
I’m a Windows and Android user. I’ve used Mixing Station along with Midi devices using both. Yes, it is super easy to use a Midi device (like the Waves Fit Controller) with an Android device. (I’ve used it with an Android tablet). Obviously the Midi device connects to the computer/tablet via USB, but the computer/tablet can be connected to the A&H console via WiFi which is what I do when I am using a tablet.
Our current situation is a “Surfaceless” DLive system with DLive Director and Mixing Station running on a Windows computer. That computer is using a hardwired network connection and the Waves Fit Controller is plugged into the Windows computer. You can use both softwares at the same time, but obviously the Midi device only works with and controls the Mixing Station software.
To be honest, I actually like using Mixing Station better than the Director software, but I have to use Director with the RackUltra FX because those aren’t supported in MS yet. Outside of that, pretty much everything I need is available in MS and the customization that is available in MS makes the user experience much nicer overall IMHO.
Makes sense I think I’ll have to have a better look into Mixing Station. I do have an Icon controller that I’ve used in the past with a Bome box but sounds like I might get to where I want quicker with Mixing Station, but will still take a bit of fiddling about with MIDI mapping to get a custom set up. My use case is a custom controller with very specific controls that the user can interact with (e.g. only access certain channel faders or buttons)
Mixing Station supports a few of the more common midi motorized fader banks “out of the box”. What this means is that the developer has already mapped out the most common Midi commands. So fader 1 on the Midi device will already control fader 1 on your mixer by default, etc, etc, etc. Obviously not every Midi device has been “premapped” like this (and I don’t believe the ICON devices come premapped).
However it is very easy to change the premapped settings if you want to change their function, or set up a controller that doesn’t come premapped (like the ICON). That is because MS offers a “Find Controller” feature that allows you to press/move the hardware fader/encoder/button on the Midi device, and the software will automatically read the incoming Midi command and take you to the correct Midi command so that you can program it correctly. This makes it VERY easy to set up Midi devices and it’s pretty much idiot proof.
All you have to do is press the “Find Controller” button, then physically interact with the Midi button/fader/encoder that you want to program. The software will automatically find and take you to the correct Midi command and all you have to do is press “edit” to program in the functionality (from the drop down menu system) you want for that particular button/fader/encoder. It handles all the Midi code, etc required to make it work. Once that physical button/fader/encoder works like you want, you simply repeat the process for the next button/fader/encoder. Depending on how many physical buttons/faders/encoders you have to program, it could certainly take a little time to set up Midi hardware that doesn’t come “preprogrammed”, but the process is really point and click.
Hopefully that makes sense.
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I think the combination of IP8 and SQ-Rack would be extremely useful on tour as a playback console using a DAW.
Avantis and dLive do not support multi-channel via USB (although Dante and WSG are supported).
Also, the rack-mounted AHM series is IP8 compatible and works great as a matrix, but it’s a shame it doesn’t have FX.
I’m looking forward to SQ-Rack becoming IP8 compatible.
It’s funny how time changes things…. Just 8 months ago we were using the Waves Fit Controller with Mixing Station and I was talking a little crap about the A&H IP Controllers. Now we have flipped - sold the Wave Fit Controller and moved to using IP8 and IP6. Of course one of my biggest gripes about the IP devices is their cost which still holds true, but I scored on a couple of deals that allowed me to acquire the IP devices for well below market value. We currently use 3 IP8 at FOH and have two IP8 and 6 IP6 on stage for monitor use.
For FOH use, each system (IP8 with Director vs Midi Controller and Mixing Station) has it’s pros and cons……
The biggest con with Mixing Station is the fact that it is another software. Obviously you can run both Director and MS on the same computer at the same time, but there were times when I needed to use Director for some functionality and while switching back and forth wasn’t hard, it does break up the work flow. Plus this is at a church, so it was harder for other volunteers to “grasp the workflow” when it was broken up between two software systems. If this was a system that I was using alone, it wouldn’t be that hard to use MS with a motorized fader. But expecting other people to work like this was asking a lot.
The biggest con with the IP6/8 devices is the fact that they act as completely separate devices. This means that pressing a button on one device doesn’t “change anything” on a different device. For example, pressing the “select” button on the IP8 at FOH doesn’t also change the “currently selected channel” on the Surface (or DLive Director). Or pressing a “mix” button on the Surface/Director doesn’t change the faders on the IP8 into “sends on fader” mode. This is a big workflow constraint IMHO. The system would be much more user friendly if the IP devices could interact like that with the Surface/Mixrack. While I understand that there are times when you want the two devices to be completely independant of each other, it would be nice if A&H added a “link mode” that would tie the IP device into a single Surface/Director instance so that it would act like an extension of that Surface/Director with button presses, etc affecting both devices.
I still don’t like the fact that A&H doesn’t offer an IP device with both faders and buttons/encoders, but we run an Elgato Stream Deck at FOH to give us physical buttons which works great. Of course we could just use the Director softkeys, but since there is no way to label those buttons (no board tape on the computer screen😉 ), using the Stream Deck is much more user friendly. We don’t have a Stream Deck model with physical encoders, but they make versions with encoders as well if that is important to your work flow.
The monitor situation has really changed over time. Originally we had the musicians control their mix using software. Then we switched to using ME-1 to give the musicians physical hardware to control their mixes which they liked better than having to use their phones. Then I found a great deal on the IP6s and transitioned to those which allowed us to sell the ME-1 system. The musicians like the IP devices better than the ME-1 because every source has its own encoder without having to use groups like we had to with the ME-1. It gives the musician the ability to access the various sources quicker and easier when they need to make a change. Using the IP devices also means that we went back to using busses internally in the console for all of the IEM mixes. This means the audio engineer has the ability to PAFL and adjust the monitor mixes too which is VERY handy. Obviously with the ME system, only the musician can listen to and adjust their mix.
I’ve set up the two IP8 on stage so that they can be “shared”. For example, one IP8 is used for three background vocalist. The singer simply presses the correct “mix” button at the top, and the IP8 will then control their mix. This way all three singers can control their individual/unique mix with a single unit. You could set up an IP6 to do this too, but seeing the motorized faders move helps the singers know when the “mix” has been changed. We have also set it up so that we can load a scene where the FOH sources can be adjusted from the stage using the IP8. This makes running small events at the church were there isn’t a dedicated “FOH engineer” easier. Those events typically only use a mic or two and having the ability to control the volume of those sources from the stage is helpful. Usually they can just dial in the volume once and leave it alone during the event.
Long story short, we have had a long and winding path to get to where we are today. I’m happy with the end result however and I think our system is in a very good place currently. - especially given the budget I had to work with.