I will make a quick reply then let it go. Yes you are right about bit depth but most often it is just to tighten up dynamics especially on singers. Also can be considered for making things just louder or in case of instruments like guitars an effect. Lots of uses.
I wasn’t going to reply. But, are those not all things that can be done later, either by the DAW, or possibly using your lovely vintage compressors?
Old habits are hard to break. And, there ain’t nothing like the real thing. No plug in I have ever found sounds like an LA2, CL-1A, 1176. I don’t care what anyone says. I still pull my 480L to mix since plugin verbs just don’t give the same results. Nuts. But still widely done.
Mark is politely and graciously stating the normal studio practice, let me put it another way…
Dry signal is required. You folks who want what is abnormal, and frankly not possible on any live console that I know of, need to find a good recording forum to get straightened out. And no, the X32 will NOT send 32 channels of DISCRETE effects/dynamics on a per channel basis. That gets done on the DAW. No recording engineer I ever met wants your “gakked up” tracks.
You folks who want “my mix” to be sent out might consider a 2 track.
-Tim T
Hey guys I don’t use a lot of compression on my tracks just on occasion but I do use some sort of eq just about always going into my DAW. All of you seemed to have focused on the compression. Eq is far more important to me. I use the Qu-16 for live shows, recording those live shows as well as wanting the Qu-16 for drum tracking, especially along with monitoring, in my studio. I know how I generally want my kik drum to sound and I can get it really close to what I am looking for with some eq. I assumed this mixer would allow especially eq if I desired. My first tech support person I got from Allen & Heath in an email showed me the steps of how to select post delay setting….till I told him that is what I was I was doing with no result. Then he told me it wasn’t possible. To me the feature of having the ability to have post eq especially, is important… I recognize that it my not be important for you the same way that many of you are recommending features the this mixer that I probably wouldn’t use regularly. I think my request or maybe even expectation, is still valid.
Dwight
Dry signal is required. You folks who want what is abnormal, and frankly not possible on any live console that I know of, need to find a good recording forum to get straightened out.
Geez, Detonator…that time of the month again? 
So for anyone who might just like to do things differently from the way you have done it, it is so important that not only should that not be an option, but those people should get schooled on a recording forum on how wrong it is?
Seems to me that strict adherence to rules limits creativity.
“Don’t you hear that gawdawful distortion coming from the guitar amp?! Go and fetch my Twin!”
If I’m mixing a band live, and making a multitrack recording at the same time, I really don’t want any changes I make on the desk to be recorded, as I’d have to try to compensate for them afterwards. And I certainly don’t want to be tied down & not adjusting something because it will effect the recording.
Hi all,
the request for a post-processing tap-off point for studio recording is legitimate, and I’ll make sure it’s logged in our wishlist for future firmware releases. Thanks Dwight for posting in the ‘feature suggestions’ category too.
PS There’s no such thing as a right or wrong workflow, it’s all down to experience and personal preferences.
Nice response, Nicola. :o)
In studio recording generally we are channel strip to DAW track input. EQ is in the strip if needed. Comp is either on an insert or between strip and DAW.
In live I am with Mark in that pre everything is preferred. I try to get a signal right after the pre if possible. DO or insert pre EQ. If I am just recording with no live PA then I treat it more like studio. On high recordings generally a console is not even used. Just mic pres to track.
Thanks, Nicola!
Nicola is nicely reiterating Allen & Heath’s policy of continually improving and updating their product at no charge, one of the reasons I have stuck with this brand. He is addressing ONLY possibly adding signal tap points (always a nice feature) in the future, and I agree with his comment about recording workflow preferences as being legitimate.
What I’m addressing is posters who don’t know standard multitrack recording basics, who bought a desk not knowing whether it could do what they find critical to their endeavor, who seem to not know the routing capabilities of the desk, haven’t figured out that you will not get 18 discrete fx signals without 18 channels of fx processing, and posit that the xyz mixer can… If someone is insulted by a recommendation of some needed basic schooling, not my problem. There is a great wealth of knowledge and experience in followers of this forum, but I doubt very many will respond to threads such as this.
If one’s creativity requires specific gear, BUY THAT GEAR. Read the fine manual. It’s no sin to say “I don’t know”.
Tim Tyler, the nice me…
Presonus studiolive seems to offer more for my needs for studio use, shouldn’t have listened to the sales man for the QU-16.
Before you buy a Presonus desk, trawl their user forums
for the problems users are having.
Very fussy on the type of firewire interface in your pc.
I had problems after I updated to OSx mavericks.
I want to record the vocal with a 14" reverb and a flanger. I don’t think I’ll be sorry later on!
Btw,I have a Presonus console which is being demoted to the “bsnds console”. Yes, it does have a selector switch to send effects to DAW track… But, no moving faders, no recallable gain, no DAW interface, no touchscreen and the eq is more limited. The 24ch is also more expensive which is strange. There are also many stories of in gig failures.
But its cool when it goes. A&H just offers more.
PS: Why would you want to record with FX etc when it can be done in retrospect and the focus is OFF tracking. Much more room for experimentation with dry tracks.
I provide the consoles features and fx to players during the session (send basic fx to keep players happy) but prefer my own time for decisions in mixing. Tracking is a separate process.
V1.5 adds a global source option for Input Channel recording to Qu-Drive and USB B. The tap-off point can now be set to either Insert Send or Direct Out.
I have the free version of cubase (LE AI 7) that came with an audio interface, anyone know if this will work as a DAW with the Qu-16? Also, do I have to download the DAW software to use with my mac?
Works but you’ll only be able to use 8 channels for inputs and 8 for outputs (software limitation. Get the full version if you want all the channels to be available). As for the download, you only need to download it if you want to use the Qu-16 as a DAW controller. Works fine as is if you only want to use it as a soundcard.
Ardour worked in terms of multitrack record and playback for me…
Free (as in beer and speech)
Nice on a Debian laptop (core audio)