USB Interface: Utilizing Multi-Channel Input

Qu Qu General Discussions
1

So I have a possibly odd question: I’m looking to make some upgrades at a community theater that I’ve been involved with since childhood, and their systems are hopelessly out of date. Currently running a Mackie CR1604-VLZ (Yes, the older one) straight into a desktop running Windows 7. This all started from trying to fix a buzz that I finally traced to coming from the direct out on the computer, since we’re not using any sort of interface (I know, I know, I walked into this situation and I’m trying to elevate things one step at a time lol). Should have been the first thing I checked, but that’s besides the point. The theatre is a black box style and has four speakers total, and once I got thinking about upgrading and fixing some things, I realized that if I get an audio device with multiple outputs, I could run the system in 4-channel surround, which would be a massive step up.

All this to say, I have a twofold question:

  1. Can SCS11 see the qu as an audio interface and can I set it up as a 4 channel device to mix in surround from SCS? And I guess an addendum to this question would be, is a qu style mixer even the right tool for this job, or should I switch directions and look in a different place?

  2. My second question is more relevant if question 1 is a no: If I were to set up separate devices in SCS that each send one channel of output to a channel on the qu to then map each one to a separate output and send those outputs to their respective speakers, can I even do that? And if I can, is this getting way too complicated to make any sense?

What leads me to posting this is I haven’t been able to find anyone taking more than a stereo input from a computer, so I just want to make sure it’s possible, and again to make sure that my head’s even in the right place and I’m approaching this problem the right way.

2

The computer would see the QU as a sound card, the audio outputs from the computer can be brought into the input channels.

Connection would be using the USB B connection on the mixer.

The buzz from your computer could be fixed by using an interface or transformer isolation between the computer and mixer.

Peavey has a USB DI called the USBP, inexpensive and works great.

3

Thanks! So I’d be able to set up a multi channel audio device in SCS and set those outputs to go to the board?

I had the same thought about using a USB interface, I tried it with my Scarlett and weirdly it didn’t fix it, but when I plugged in a laptop to try it with a different computer it did go away. When I plugged in the laptop though I realized that while the buzz from the computer was gone there was a different, smaller buzz coming from the board itself, all the old preamps and components and all that. So it is possible I may have mistaken that for the buzz from the computer and thought it made it through the Scarlett interface, but they were distinctly different so I doubt it. Either way, I’ve got a proposal in for a new computer, board, and 4i4 interface, so we’ll see if I can get approval, fingers crossed. :slight_smile:

4

The needed board inputs would need to set to the USB B inputs. You would need to assign the multi channel outputs to be on the board channels you want them to come in on.

Make sure the system buzz is not coming from another channels input source.