i just purchased a CQ12. I’ve posted recently about other questions before I purchased the unit. Thanks for your responses. I now have a desk in hand and will be starting out using the Quick functions. The pre-sets are showing as country, jazz, etc. I’m in a bluegrass group, so I selected country. All the channels are full of some of the preset instruments I need (i.e. banjo, fiddle, guitar). There are no presets for mandolin or dobro, so I’m assuming I have to use the “strings” setting, and then tweak them as need be. One question I have, is that I’d like to have the channels side by side, without any space between them (of the channels I took out that weren’t needed such as drums, keyboard). How can I get the channels to work side by side so I can get most of them on one screen? Thanks for any info. While the CQ12 seems to have lots of cool stuff, it’s not really intuitive. The manual is clear as mud.
Check out the custom layer pages (77-78) in the manual. With it you customize the layers and move channels around. I believe this works with quick channels as well as complete channels.
TBH, the manual explains how you can change any channel to any possible signal type.
So which signal is on which channel depends only on the plugged in sources.
Page 85ff explains it.
Thanks for your response. So I just need to be clear…When I use the Quick set up function, the various instruments are pre-assigned to a channel. Banjo for instance is in channel eight, while drums are in channel one. I’ve figured out out to use the layer function to move the instruments I need to be side by side on the fader screen. Question is, if I just relabel the input on the config screen, does that mean the pre-set functions will also be reset to each channel? If the deck has already determined that banjo is in channel eight, so when using the feedback function, it bases it’s response to the predetermined EQ etc for that instrument. But if I relabel input one as banjo, will the predetermined EQ and such follow as well? Am I making sense?
The presets are just a starting point to get you up and running quickly. There is nothing magical about them, it is just a simplified interface for the full settings. They just preconfigured some settings, named them to correspond with what might work well with certain instruments, and gave you a limited control interface.
For strings like mandolin and dobro try any of the other string settings. You never know what will work for you. For example, I found that the Lead Guitar guitar quick channel worked better for an acoustic guitar than the Acoustic Guitar quick channel.
And the High vocal settings worked better for pretty much every vocal, male, female, low range, high range, etc…
As for having the channels you want on the main screen, as others have already mentioned, read the section in the manual on custom layers. That’s where you would do that.
In the reference guide, it is written that this is just a starting point.
A simple change of the name should not change any processing.
The quick preset (a template for the entire mixer) defines what is on which channel.
The presets in the quick channel screen are different. These apply individual processing to the selected channel. They provide an easy-to-use set of controls for the task. But sometimes the needs are different, then you can switch to the full channel, giving you gate, EQ and compressor on the converted channel.
If you do not need certain channels, you can copy the processing and routing from other channels to the channel you want. Everything is just a possibility, nothing must stay like it was.
If your setup matches your requirement, save it as a new template/show.
And it is good practice to test all functions before you use it.
Save scenes along the way so you will have several points in time from were you can recall the settings you liked most.
Remember, scenes are snapshots of the entire mixer.
I have been producing and engineering Bluegrass recordings and live performances for more than 50 years. I produced “The Old Home Place” Rounder 044, that won a grammy. Forget the idiot presets because they are not anywhere close to the protocol you will need to pursue for a good mix. The reason is acoustic string instruments all offer unique harmonic and projection qualities and consequently there is no optimum setting for EQ or compression.
- Read and comprehend all of the instructional info pursuant to setting up appropriate compression that will regulate the dynamic range of each instrument. When properly done this is a process that will suppress DB spikes while lifting the pasages that are too low to be audible. Getting this process right will require a lot of hard work and bad mixes however when done properly it is a real key to leveling up less than session ready players!
- The PEQ is by far the best EQ to deploy if tonal balance is an issue with any input. It also is required to deploy the Feedback suppression Algo. To that end it is important to understand the fact that individual channel feedback control is not available with the CQ desks: The feedback filters are set on outputs that are global so while it may resolve a problem with a given input it will present unwanted results when too many collective cuts are deployed.
The best advice I can offer is to ascertain how well the band sounds with out sound reinforcement. If the players listen well to each other and do not play over the top of leads your job as a mixer is to “Do No Harm”. If that is not the case an honest exchange with the band about persistant problems is important to discuss from the get go!
Hugh
I wish there was a way to assign the feedback assistant to individual input channels instead of just the outputs. With my old setup I sometimes did something like that. I had an outboard dbx AFS2 that has two channels and I would connect the two mics that were the most problematic directly to the AFS2. That allowed me to mostly eliminate feedback on those two mics while not affecting the rest of the mix.
I don’t know if there is a hardware limitation that prevents them from allowing assigning a FBA slot to an individual input channel. On the vocal channels I would be happy to trade the PEQ for a FBA.
Holy Crap!!! Thanks for your response. I’m honored to have you respond. That album got me started playing music. Truly one of, if not, the greatest BG album, ever. Anyway, I’m a weekend warrior when it comes to playing gigs and running sound. Sounds like I got a lot of learning to do.
You’re not alone. I’m on the same boat…for 30+ years. Still feel like I have no clue either playing guitar or running sound for my bands.
In my project studio I have a complete Waves LV1 Classic console and a boat load of plug-ins that includes isolated feedback control. Truth told I never use it here in the studio and very seldom in live performance situations. Please remember the CQ line is an entry level desk that comes with world class audio quality and, even with the limited processing available, a very managable pathway for a good mix for a bluegrass band. As I mentioned in my first post, master compresion and PEQ: they are the magic alixer pros will use with any desk mixing a bluegrass band. However in the event you must occasionally need the feedback ALGO, Please remember even a very narrow notch filter on an output will have a detrimental effect on the overall harmonic content while helping the problem input.
The most diffacult goal for any band is to learn to play in tune & in meter as a unit and never playing over the top of leads. Thru the years I have learned that some folks really are not into the hard work it takes to become session ready: and there is the conundrum. A long time ago I foolisly thought I could, as a producer, pull most any band up to an acceptable performance level: WRONG, Some folks are destined for mediocrity!
At this point I enjoy my CQ20b for my small sized solo shows and my favorite bluegrass buddies. I set up tube mics, a pair of KV2 EX10s on poles, a wedge and a 702-AS-11 sub: It’s a 15 min set up and never needs the feedback algo.
Hugh
That’s interesting.. that’s not really what the mic in is for on a DR…Once you unplug your mics from the DR and back into your mixer, the anti-feedback settings on the DR are mostly useless if you’re EQing or processing.
If you start throwing AFB on individual channels, you’ll end up sonically “hiding” them in the mix, and bringing your levels up to match - that will then make you ride the channel and the master over and over again because AFB is going to fight that channel.
If you really want to do this, you could route an input to an aux out, run AFB on that aux out and then patch it back into another line input - That will mostly do what you want.