I did a search here and saw that you CANNOT SEND DIRECT OUT SIGNALS because everything goes to the main stereo bus. But then I saw this in a Google Search regarding basic surround mixing and this article says that there is a work-around strategy.
It doesn’t apppear to work. But I’m only using my SQ6 as my audio interface for my studio. So, I don’t know much beyond the surface knowledge of this desk. I thought I’d ask you “Power Users” about the validity of this supposed work-around.
Thanks
You absolutely can patch individual channel audio to a variety of destinations including but not limited to the USB interface using “Direct Outs”. You might also be interested in using “Tie Lines” instead of Direct Outs depending on whether you want the console to provide any audio processing or not. Use Tie Lines if you don’t want any console processing. I suggest that you go to the main A&H website and download the current (v1.16) firmware reference guide and look at it for your answers.
Page 23 goes over how you would route this. Page 46 goes over the “direct out” settings.
Thanks so much for your reply. I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. I can route signals to the desired locations and see that they are there from the led indicators. But the sound is only coming out of the Main L/R out.
If I use channels 1 - 8 as my L/R MAIN, CTR/SUB, SL/SR & RL/RR and assuming 1/2 = Main Output, where do I route 3/4 to get to the direct outs that are connected to my Ctr. Monitor & Sub? I’m using INPUT 9 as my test source, which is a stereo recording coming into that XLR analog input. I’d like to be able to send that signal DISCREETLY to each of the 7 monitors & Sub.
Can you talk me through the process? I must be missing a step in patching the connections.
Sorry I glossed over the part where you said you were trying to do surround sound mixing. Since the SQ doesn’t have a native 5.1 mixing mode (only the DLive does), we obviously do have to create a work around.
Long story short, I think you end up having to use a mono aux for each surround sound speaker. You will route the individual inputs to the appropriate auxes (ie any surround sound speaker you want the channel audio to be heard in). You can also set the appropriate channel send level so that your surround speaker audio is mixes accordingly and everything doesn’t have to be at the same level as the Main LR audio. You can then send the output of that aux wherever you need to (ie back to the computer via the USB interface, out an analog output on the console, etc)
Hopefully that makes sense. Sorry about not reading your OP as closely as I should have the first time!
Well, that’s pretty much what I did. As I said, I saw the LED’s pumping signal. But nothing was coing out of any speaker except for the Main stereo bus.
I currently have my I/O patched on a 1 to 1 basis for the first 24(LOCAL). I have the monitors set up for the first 12 (Optimistically hoping at some point to engage the height monitors). My source is on inputs 9/10. I have Auxs 1 - 6 at post fader activated on both 9 & 10. I turned the 9/10 faders to off and waited for signal to come through inputs 1 - 6. The LEDs show plenty of signal on those inputs as well as 9/10. But the sound, WITH THOSE FADERS OFF, is coming out of only my height speakers (Since 9/10 Direct outs for to the front height monitors). Everything I would do to 9/10 (ie: Mute, Pan, etc.) only works on 9/10. I can mute channels 1 - 8. But there was no sound coming out of those direct outs anyway. So, muting only stops LED activity.
So, what am I missing?
After the few hours, this is just a small attempt on my part:
Your linked AI-Mode isn’t available to me - my hardware seems unsuitable for such sophisticated tasks.
But it could also well be that an AI, as so often happens, was just telling some fairy tales.
Sorry if I don’t quite understand your plan yet, which is probably because English isn’t my native language.
But could it be that you only want to use the complex SQ to send your 8 (or later more) surround channels to the console via USB and route these signals to 8 XLR outputs for your speakers?
And you want to do it via DIR OUTs if possible, because you never plan to mix the channels together in any way in the console?
It’s not your missing language skills, it’s the description…
I don’t see a plan either.
I don’t understand the idea behind a surround mixing setup with devices that are not really made for this task.
What do you mean with direct outs in this context?
Maybe you didn’t understand what the term direct out means?
That is not that simple with that console. It’s made for stereo live sound mixing.
Setup for DAW surround sound monitoring using channel direct outs:
Now you should be able to change the volume of all channels together feeding the surround setup. This is just a workaround and is not a real permanent solution since it has some drawbacks. Remember the direct ot source is globally swithable only.
Setup for DAW surround sound monitoring using mixes:
This is a workaround too.
More like ‘R to Aux 2’.
It is possible to use stereo aux for that. I would separate the center and the sub channels.
I did some edits to the post above!
Ah yes, I understand now.
And hopefully he does too. )
I’m assuming he actually wants to do everything on the computer and just send his channels to XLR connectors, as is standard with an audio interface.
If that were the case, the DIR OUT option would actually be the clearest.
I apologize for not being clear about my intentions and I did say right at the outset that I knew that I was trying to develop a WORK-AROUND for the stereo limitations of the desk. But I can clear up a couple of things for you.
I absolutely know what a direct out is. I can literally say that those direct outs were the very reason that I purchased my SQ-6.
I have been successfully mixing ATMOS projects with it using the DAW to control everything and the desk simply as an interface. I use the USB ports to route the signals to the desk and it plays back very nicely on channels 1 - 12 DIRECT OUTS.
What I’m trying to do now is doing the same thing on the desk alone WITHOUT THE DAW.
The reason for this is that I am trying to use the desk, again, as a playback interface with analog sources.
If I have a DAW track playing back through my USB port to the desk, it will play through the direct out with no issue. But if I have a “Live Source,” ie: that very same track being monitored before recording it, it will not play through the direct out. What I am trying to do is find a way to feed that live source to the direct outs.
Here’s the ultimate goal. I want to use an ATMOS tuner to play ATMOS streaming and/or Blu-Ray content in my studio. My current mode of QC checks is to print my ADMs to my laptop and take it out of the studio and insert it into to my Home Theater setup via HDMI and check the mix.
I would like to hear other professional mixes on my studio monitors. To do that, I’ll have to go through the desk. So, picture this. Streaming service through the tuner, the 12 outs of the tuner are going to the 12 local inputs of the SQ. that gets routed to the DIRECT OUTS for listening.
The AI article said that this was possible. But I have yet to find a workable solution. Even when I get what appears to be a direct out signal to any pair of monitors, they are the only monitors that sound. I said I was using local inputs 9/10 for my test. Inputs 1 - 8 showed signal but I got no sound. Outputs 9/10, ironically came out of my front height monitors ONLY.
I’m trying to find the magic routing scheme that will let me play the Tuner without even having a PC in the scheme. Think boradcasting a Radio in ATMOS at a live event.
Replace the USB inputs (sockets) with the analog (local) sockets. That’s all.
If you need to switch between DAW and tuner, it would be better to set up different inputs for that purpose and use the mix out way.
You can switch the input pairs that contain a left and right signal to stereo inputs and use stereo mixes or subgroups as you like. But instant switching without a scene recall doesn’t work with the direct out way.
I understand that. But that is the exact goal. The article implied that it was possible. I’m trying to find out if that’s true or if I’m wasting my time.
I think you are locked into the idea of using direct outs for this listening functionality. I think you are missing the obvious and simple answer. Once the 12 sources from the streamer are in the console, you simply need to PAFLing the sources to hear the audio in your headphones. If you want to use studio monitors, I think you can send the PAFL output (ie the listen buss) to a physical analog output that you connect your speakers to but I am not 100% familiar with the SQ capabilities to know for sure. You can set the console up to allow for “additive PAFL” meaning you could PAFL all 12 sources at the same time if you needed to, or you could listen to each one individually.
Alternatively, you could sum the 12 streaming channels into a new and unique aux buss created for this purpose. You can adjust the send levels of each channel into this buss and then you could send the output of this buss out to a destination using the patching tab. This destination could be anything - a USB output, physical analog output, etc, etc, etc. You could also use the PAFL functionality to listen to this aux using your headphones, etc.
The term “direct out” is very accurate. When you use Direct Outs, you are taking a single audio source and sending it directly to a destination. You cannot send two different audio sources to the same destination however. So if you want to be able to monitor the 12 “mixes” that you are creating in the console, as well as the 12 returns from the streaming device, that would require 24 unique direct outs. If your surround speakers accepted two inputs each, your could set this up where one set of surround speakers could be used for both purposes, but otherwise it is going to be pretty complicated to make work.
I did replace the USB with analog sockets. I’m still only getting a single stereo out of a single pair of monitors.
I used local 9/10 and set up auxes 1 - 6 to send that signal out the direct outs. Based on that set up, I should be able to mute (since PAFL doesn’t allow soloing) any pair of monitors and still hear something coming out of the others. I see LED activity in channels 1- 8. But no output.
Which article?
A search result from an AI? What a b…t!
The last twenty or so A.I. searches somebody asked about were simply wrong results generated from AI.
That makes me think again that you have no idea what a direct out is on this console. Outputs have no direct out.
That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m clearly missing something in the routing. I have never used the PAFL section, as I have only used desks with SOLO/MUTE function. The few times, I’ve forgotten that it’s not a solo button and engaged it, it almost blew up my monitors.
This is why I was asking if anyone could talk me through the routing process step by step so that I might get more than one piece of the puzzle.
You really need to read the manual, please.
PAFL is a solo function for live mixing.
I did already, but obviously you have no idea how you do basic things on the console.
Mix buttons? Assign button? Pre button?
Easiest way is to use the routing screen.
