I am pleased with the built in compressors on the QU-16. I would however like to on occasion hook up my outboard comps (WA67, LA2A). How are you guys connecting outboard comps since the QU-16 doesn’t have dedicated analogue inserts? I know how to connect my outboard reverb & delay. I guess what I am hoping for is a way to connect the comps as inserts and not as effects. Is this even possible?
Close as you can get involves burning mixes and channels. Ch1 (un-assigned from LR) feeds Mix1 (pre-fader) > Mix1 feeds outboard > outboard returns to Ch2, Ch2 gets eq, Ch2 feeds LR + mons.
I can actually afford to burn some channels. I say this because I would only use the compressors for the smaller acoustic gigs where it would basically be two acoustic guitars, two vocals, and maybe some percussion and backing tracks running through the board.
With the setup you describe above, you say “close as you can get”. Is that to say that it is not an insert? What is the difference between that set up and using the ST1 / ST2 ins?
ST 1-3 are stereo and fixed hard left and right. You would need to connect to both L&R inputs. I really wish AH would add a mono blend to those channels.
Ah, ok. I think I am starting to see the picture. I wish I was as smart as the majority of you when it comes to mixers.
In any event, I am guessing that running my single channel comps through the process described above is as close to an insert as the QU-16 will allow. From a sonic perspective, what, if anything, am I losing by not having the ability to run through a dedicated insert (besides losing channels). If there is no sonic difference then I guess all is good. If there is a sonic difference, then perhaps I should scrap the whole idea. Thoughts?
They’re not “true” inserts in that they don’t return to the same channel/mix as inserts on an analogue console would, hence having to burn mixes and channels. On an analogue console, normally it’s only the gain, polarity and possibly hpf that would affect what is sent outboard. Using the qu, you can end up with multiple gain stages and eqs affecting what essentially becomes the insert send (depends on where you tap things,) which is why some purists would argue that it’s not a “true” insert. There’s also the fact that using a mix instead of a proper insert socket means there’s a summation process (though in this case it’s only summing one channel,) whereas on an analogue desk you’re tapping the channel directly: no summation involved; yet another reason it could be considered not a “true” insert. The above reasons are why I used the phrase “as close as you can get.” It’s all semantics.
Using the stereo ins vs the mono ins is much of a muchness, it’s more a question of whether you use the outboard in a send-return config or a quasi-insert config (though it’s easy to argue that it’s more accurate to call a quasi-insert config on the qu a send-return config.)
@GCumbee
You know the left socket (at least on st1 & st2) is normaled through the right, so if you only plug something in to the left socket you end up with that same signal on both sides. Handy for when you’ve got wireless receivers @ the mix position with line-level outs: you can save a preamp. I think panning is a problem though.
The only sonic difference would be the latency caused by the extra da-ad conversion on the channels with the inserts vs channels that went straight to LR. 2 guitars strummed at the same time, one with an insert, one without, the one that goes out to your comp then comes back in could hit the lr bus a couple of ms behind the guitar that didn’t go through the insert. Whether that couple of ms is a problem or not is a different matter.
Thanks. Didn’t know that. I have only used them as stereo. I have used ST1-3 on the AR2412 as mic ins and they are hard left and right. That’s where a blend control from wide to mono would be nice.
Not sure if it works when using the ar, but def works when using the local ins on the rear of the console. Not sure about st3 though, given it’s one socket vs the 2 separate l & r sockets that make up st1 and st2. I agree that the wide-mono control would be handy. I have a feeling that extra options for panning stereo channels on ilive were added via firmware updates, around 1.7-1.8, iirc, so perhaps there’s hope yet.
The left jack must be a shorting jack. Much like many analog console always had. Left only bridged to mono. The AR can’t do that.
No, but you can patch the same input to both L&R to get the same effect…
Wow, you guys are brilliant! I wish other forums were like this one. Strait up and to the point answers with no drama. It is obvious that you know what you are talking about. It’s also nice to learn something new 
Thanks!
We don’t have time or patience for drama.
Drama comes after the sound check, not during it…
Hi guys,i’ new on the A&H family and I have the same problem, I’m trying to connect my outboard eq and compressor to my QU-16 and I can’t do that, don’t work. I can hear my changes of the audio file on ST1 channel but I can’t record that. Please can anybody explain me how can I do that. Thank you in advance…
why not just use the built in fx instead?
compressor and eq are ready to go with no problems when you insert them. no wasted inputs/outputs.
available on every channel strip.
if you insist on using an outboard analog style fx then you will have to send the signal to them via some output(s)
like matrix or mix and then bring them back into the Qu via an input normally a channel but it could be ST 1 or 2
not sure what you mean by "cant record that "
you mean record on the Qu drive,
or you cant record when you send your final out to a recording device whether CD via an output or to a DAW via USB
make sure you have ST1 sent to the recording device. problem solved, if that was really your problem.
Thanks for the immediate response, my problem is that I get to the headphones and speakers the audio signal worked by the eq and compressor, but when I go to record this signal to a track, my DAW (cubase 10 pro) records the initial signal , the one before entering eq and comp, maybe I’m wrong about something inside the mixer setup. I / OPatch, monitor or USB Audio, please look at the photos I uploaded, are they the right settings? I was used to another digital mixer that is broken now (RME fireface UFX), it was too easy. I would be very happy to have an answer as far as the matter is concerned. Thanks again … greetings from Italy
