I’m in the process of putting together a new audio system for church.
In my research the GLD series kept coming on top. I’ll need ~40 channels, which knocked out several lower end boards, and pricing kept me out of nicer ones (dlive). Even though the ME-1’s are pricy, they solve my current problems with channel limitations.
The problem…this board is old, and firmware seems pretty stale. Ipad app isn’t as nice as other boards. While I understand everything will become outdated one day, I don’t know that I should get on this late in the game?
What do you guys suggest? Go ahead with the GLD 112 and hope for ipad update later, or go with something else in the $8k range for console and stage boxes?
The promo right now gives two AR84’s with the purchase of the GLD 112 (I assume the purple non-locking version). The offer expires end of this month. Makes it a pretty good deal, but don’t want to sink $8k into a board if the replacement version is coming out in September =/
I wouldn’t say that the GLD is an old board. It was released near the middle of 2012. So its a little over 4 years old. That seems really quick for even Allen and Heath to kill off a board. The iLive lasted from 2007(?) until the last firmware release in late 2012.
Yes, the firmware is stale. Allen and Heath doesn’t seem to care about many of their customers. But thats not to say that the firmware is bad. the iPad app isn’t the best, but there is an excellent app for Windows and Mac. It gives you a picture of the board and gives you control to almost everything.
With the current feature set, I love the GLD. Its an excellent console. It is very easy to use, but also has a lot of power behind it. With A&H’s track record, I would say that we should expect at least one more update to the GLD before they kill it off. For the mid-size console, there isn’t too much else out there.
I dont own a GLD.
Even if there was a brand new mixer about to be released in September [speculation on my part]
You would probably still have to wait 6 months for stock?
I’m contemplating a GLD 112… however the app is holding me back.
You know the QU32 has 32 faders on the top layer
and stereo channels instanly accessible from an iPad or other device.
That’s not far away from 40 channels you were wanting.
5 cents worth of food for thought. https://community.allen-heath.com/software-timeline
Bear in mind as well that the GLD Mk2, whenever it ultimately ships, may well be lacking a lot of functionality in the v1.0 firmware. The GLD offline editor, for example, wasn’t released until v1.3 in September 2013, over a year after the console started shipping.
It’s never a good idea to buy a digital console and hope for updates later, no matter where it is in the product cycle (just search this forum for ducker requests, starting from firmware v1.00…), but if the GLD, in its current form, fits your application and budget better than any alternative, then you kind of need to go ahead. After all, it’s not suddenly going to lose anything (other than possibly resale value) whenever the Mk2 eventually does come around.
The GLD is great as it is. Minimally I would like to see the iPad ap updated, but a few new firmware perks would be nice too.
GLD is extremely usable as is, and I use mine constantly and have also installed one in our church. If the current feature set works for your needs, then go for it. Even if it doesn’t get upgraded again, it is still loaded with great features as it sits.
As a dealer I can say the only thing missing with GLD that is a sales issue sometimes is the lack of onboard mic pres. There are so many cases where obviously 4 just doesn’t cut it. You have to have a stage box to complete. This has come up time and time again selling against Midas, Yamaha and Souncraft to name a few. I think A&H missed the mark on this one.
The only thing I would like to see is an updated version with at minimum 32 onboard mic pres. I have a demo GLD 80 I use and show. I carry a AR2412/084 in a portable rack or a AB168 to use it. A big majority of my target market will have an existing copper snake so onboard mic pres just make more sense.
I dont own a GLD.
Even if there was a brand new mixer about to be released in September [speculation on my part]
You would probably still have to wait 6 months for stock?
I’m contemplating a GLD 112.. however the app is holding me back.
You know the QU32 has 32 faders on the top layer
and stereo channels instanly accessible from an iPad or other device.
That’s not far away from 40 channels you were wanting. ?
5 cents worth of food for thought.
In honestly the QU feels like an absolutely pony desk in comparison to a GLD. I’ve tried both, I’ve had to use both, and the GLD is a proper mid-high end piece of kit that holds itself well against other high end desks, whereas the QU feels like a budget entry level option, which it is. I appreciate there are lots of faders on the QU32 but they are rubbish, cheap faders that do not feel like those of a high end desk. I would be very disappointed to have a QU turn up on any show to be honest.
A GLD will do exactly what it does now. So if that satisfies what you need it to do - go ahead, it’s totally great. You can’t buy a desk based on what may/may not change. If it is right now, it is. Same with buying a laptop, phone, etc, if it is originally fit for purpose, then it is good enough.
And don’t forget: the GLD has many features that the iLive does not. I bought my iLive new in March of 2014, and then stood by and watched the GLD (and to some extent the QU) get new effects, new compressor models and Automatic Mic Mixing while the iLive didn’t. I (and I’m sure other iLive users) would have gladly paid for some type of DSP upgrade (like RAB-1 to RAB-2) to allow my iLive to use these new features.
If the GLD has enough Inputs and Busses for your needs, it’s a pretty feature-laden product.
I realize that the iPad app does not have access to every function of the board but it is a good app, I use it all the time to make changes to the mix or eq a channel while moving around the room, or mix monitors from stage while standing beside the musicians.
Granted they made all the features of the QU available in the app, but there are two major reasons (and probably a few more I’m not aware of) 1. they make a version of the QU with no onboard control and one with limited onboard control, perfect for portable gigs and some hall type versatile venues, and 2. the QU has dedicated input to channel routing, with limited expansion using audio racks like the ones for the GLD but still a finite number of channels in each version.
The only thing I can’t do on the iPad app with the GLD is routing for sockets to inputs and expansion cards (the stuff under the IO button) and modifying the settings of the FXs, but you can still mix the FXs once chosen.
The GLD is a very solid console with many features that can be configured to fit most peoples applications that need a board up to 48 channels.
Dave
GLD 112, AR2412, AB168, AR84, Dante Card
Also have a QU16
iPad apps for both ?
I have been waiting for a GLD upgrade so I can step up from my Qu16. However, Midas M32 price just dropped to $3500, which makes me no reason to not consider switching to that system. Please, I don’t want to leave A&H
Personally I won’t purchase another mixing board unless it includes side-chain control of compression. It has become such an integral part of my usage lately. I have stopped using my GLD80 and use an X32 which is less than half the price for the church I mix at. If I had side-chain limiting on my GLD I would be in nirvana. Don’t get me wrong, there are things that frustrate me about the X32. The GLD has much easier setup and ergonomics. The A&H personal mixers are quite pricey too for lower channel count IEM mixing needs. The folks at A&H don’t make an appearance on this forum too much lately so something is up.
I had to guest engineer at a festival Saturday afternoon (the engineer who had been running it had to leave for family reasons). It was an X32 with a DL32 stage box. First band was fairly straight-forward. 4 people - drums, bass, guitar and 3 vocals. 2nd band was 5 people - drums, bass, guitar, acoustic guitar, (2) congas and 4 vocals. Not as straight-forward, but added congas in vacant channels on the DL32. Unfortunately, they were nowhere near the other drums on the console, but not a big issue.
The 3rd band was 10 people - 2 keys plus a B3 with Leslie, guitar, bass, drums, (3) congas, 6 vocals, sax. There was no simple way to re-layout the inputs for the board to make sense, so we added inputs where we could with only 45 minutes to change over. So I had 3 layers of inputs with nothing where it should have been.
On the GLD, I could have put them on any input and dragged them EXACTLY where I wanted them on the console.
And I wouldn’t have had to listen to what I consider a very harsh sounding compressor on the X32.
All during that set I kept wishing I’d had the GLD rather than the X32.
I totally agree that the ergonomics and change of fader positions on the GLD are superb. This is the biggest frustration with the X32. I would say if you are doing the same band repeatedly then side-chain compression is a must. If you do festival style you never get enough time to fine tune your mix and will never use side-chain compression. Also the X32 cannot fade between scenes like the GLD can. The touch screen is wonderful on the GLD too. GLD scene recall is inelegant though.
I use a digital console in a church environment and use side-chain to slightly dim the guitars and keys during vocal peaks to keep the vocals on top without allowing the mix to get very loud. The vocals also have a bit of compression on each channel, self keyed of course. A multi-band compressor on the main mix just doesn’t cut it here.
I use side-chain compression to significantly dim the reverb and echo (about -18dB) when vocals are dominant and as they stop the effects being overbearing. This keeps the vocals up front and clear. This can sound gorgeous when used correctly.
A GLD with side-chain compression would be my ultimate weapon. I can dream, can’t I?
John, you can use the Dave Rat method with compression on subgroups to achieve what you want. He has a video posted on YouTube describing the setup if you are not familiar with it.
Very interesting video. I will favorite it on my browser. Thank you for the pointer. I will probably incorporate a few of his techniques into my next mix.
What cannot be done here is to reduce the level of the instruments that compete spectrally with the vocals. You only have the option of things going louder from your threshold.
