SQ Master Fader Issue

SQ SQ Troubleshooting
1

Hey guys, I have a bit of an interesting one.
I thought the motor in my SQ-6 master fader was dead, because it doesn’t update when changing between mixes. But it appears that it is not the case.

  • Version 1.6
  • Mixer Role is “Mix Master”
  • Master Fader LED is blue
  • Master Fader moves perfectly during calibration
  • Master Fader maintains physical position when changing mixes with the mix keys.

If a band member, for example, has adjusted their mix’s Master volume and I jump to that mix, their Master will jump to match whatever the SQ Master fader position was (generally 0dB mixing FOH).

Same result if I am viewing my Outputs layer and adjust Mix Master Levels from there. Then jump to the same mix I adjusted on the fader bank.

Where with a given mix is selected, and I also adjust the mix Master from the my fader bank layers, the Master Fader does not “track” or follow the positon of the same selected mix Master. That fader after a second, will then jump back to match the position of the master fader.

Unfortunately I didn’t take a video at the time. But can do tonight, I think.

Any thoughts?

2

Does it still happen if you remove all devices connected to the console?
If so, (and before resorting to a rather vague theory,) please try the following:
What happens if you completely disable the master fader by setting it into Listen Level Mode?
How do the main fader and the other master faders assigned to a layer behave then?
Does the same problem occur as with the master fader in Mix Master Mode?

3

Thanks for your thoughts.

I’ve now seen a few states of this abnormal behaviour, and it no longer moved with the calibration. I believe the fader needs to be replaced. I will try that first and update with my findings.

4

Ah, so you were able to identify in some way the Master fader as the source of the problem after all and my follow-up questions were obsolete.

It seems my misunderstanding was probably that I initially understood the error occurred reproducibly every single time.

5

Finally got around to replace the fader.

No joy, no motor movement.

Double checked again with nothing plugged into the back of it except power.

Fader is unresponsive to movements in calibration or anything else, including attempting to move it via SQ Mixpad app.

I could only guess the motor driver is dead? All cables are connected interally securely. Encoder and position tracking is still perfect.

Any ideas?

6

Keeping in mind I am out of warranty.

Support suggested that I swap the fader plugs with the fader next to it. This ruling out any possibility for direct fader motor/part issues.
The problem moved to the next fader (with the cables swapped).

A&H are recommending a Fader Board replacement to resolve the issue.
I will update once this is sorted.

Fingers crossed!