I’m certainly not complaining that it doesn’t have LCR, or any other feature. I bought the equipment I have fully aware of what it can and can’t do, and I’m an extremely happy customer. In fact I’m still overwhelmed at just how good it is 18 months after purchase, and I still get excited every time I sit at it to mix which I’m lucky enough to do at least 3 times a week.
This section is specifically for feature requests so that A&H know what user’s would like, and gauge how widely used these things would potentially be. They then use whatever internal business decision making processes they have to determine what features to include in future.
One of the many advantages of digital consoles is that their functionality in a great many areas can be expanded through ongoing development, which thankfully A&H are keen to do in a user-led way.
I have invested in a SQ7 plus most of the addons, a GX4816, DX168 and DX012 already. I really have zero interest in adding to that by purchasing a theoretical additional controller at some point in the future which may never even come.
I have a product which may be able to do something that I, and others, would find useful should A&H feel it’s viable and would benefit enough users. This is why I added my +1 to this along with my use case it would address.
Dave you are absolutely correct: this is the proper forum for feature suggestions, and that is exactly what I am doing.
The ability to update the SQ’s current platform is limited by it’s 36 bus fixed architectural design. I completely understand the frustration many very satisfied users have with the fact that this or that needed feature is missing in their SQ that is available in the D-Live or in their previous desk. Software can be a license option or provided free in up-dates however the designed platform chips that control much of the missing features cannot.
Dave I completely understand your frustration with the SQ’s designed dichotomy offering: it has world class sonic performance while limiting it’s feature set to an assumed entry level need. This is the Henry Ford business model that was totally appropriate with yesterday’s analog protocols, however in today’s digital world of silicone chip core platforms, the Henry Ford business model is obsolete. I also bought the comp package for my SQ5 and have been very happy with it but would prefer e few of the absent features that are available with the D-Live. The primary difference between us is our respective preferred fader count and the fact that I understood the fixed limitations of the SQ line before I made the SQ5 purchase. Would you purchase a license that would facilitate a LCR protocol: and the answer is, ABSOLUTELY! Would I buy the universal Processing controller that I am requesting, ABSOLUTELY!
The question that needs to be evaluated is, would a fully loaded processing controller with all of the flagship A&H technology be a better option if you had the option of paying for only the features you needed, when you needed them?
Hugh
+1 on this. The SQ fits super well into high school auditoriums, but many have a typical LCR setup, and it would be great for this console to be able to be used in those environments. The less x32s I can spec the better!
Just as a fix for anyone that is running into this, I have found a solution that works well.
Using 1 mono group for the center speaker and 1 stereo group for the LR speakers, you can assign channels to each group as needed, and mis everything from the Main LR bus. This has worked out ok for me. If you wanted something in both C and LR and wanted to pan across all three speakers, I don’t have a solution for that.
When doing this, make sure that after you have the groups routed to your appropriate IO, that in the routing area, you turn off the group into the Main LR bus. Otherwise you will get duplication of audio as the discrete channels will already be in the Main LR bus, but also the groups would be sending back into the Main LR bus by default.
Still would love an official bespoke method to handle LCR from AH on these consoles!
If I understand you correctly, it might work if you use auxes instead of groups.
For example, Aux 1 becomes Stereo LR and Aux 2 becomes Mono C.
Both follow the Main mix post-fader.
During setup, you specify for each input channel whether and at what level it should be present in the LR panorama and/or C.
The actual live mix you do then in the Main mix (whose master no longer has any function).