How to create and use DCA on both the QU32 and QU16 - Allen & Heath QU series

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[@RealRekcin]

Hi Rob, thanks so much for this. This really helped me out, mainly the DCAs and using the assign button. That really opened my eyes. Great stuff...

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx. Glad it was helpful

[@danhere1340]

A very clear and helpful video. I'm a new Q16 owner. Thanks Rob!!! 🙂

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx and welcome to the qu16

[@IvarsI]

Very good explaining Rob. Thank You!

[@MrEveningflight]

Thanks so much for your helpful videos! I have just bought a QU16. Planning on using it with a Digital Audio Interface in a home-studio. And also use it with my band both on stage and rehearsal. So much to learn...😀 Thanks from Sweden!

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx for the feedback. Glad you found it helpful

[@mcarthurchorus4902]

Thank you for this. I'm a high school music teacher, find this very helpful.

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx for the feedback

[@tara3228]

thanks for the videos rob, I'm doing an internship for my church and these help so much!

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx. Glad you found them helpful

[@kawkaw8173]

Hi Rob your qu 16 video very helpful I keep watching over and over again thanks so much

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx. Glad you found it helpful

[@tinusgreyling667]

Thanks for all the advise have a awesome day

[@anthonyjackson4982]

Great tutorials for a great mixer

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx Anthony

[@alexandros1985]

Another helpful video thanks a lot!!!!

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx. Glad to hear you found it helpful

[@davidfallin6388]

Great video. Thank You Rob

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx David.

[@josephjean-baptiste5638]

Good Stuff, indeed. Clear and precise explanation. thanks

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx

[@crustyjusty7]

I recently downsized to the QU16. Very helpful... I thought I had lost DCA controls, but it was there all along! I rely on DCA’s pretty heavily when live mixing bands.

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx Justin. Glad it was helpful. You’re not alone as a lot of owners seem unaware that they are still available. I rely on them too for live mixing!

[@asilva_media]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 Yeah I just commented that they didn’t have DCAs, but after further research they do! My bad. You just have to put it on the custom fader bank.

[@SergeyBagramov1]

Thanks, very useful for my QU-24.

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx Sergey.

[@Dmitry_Manu]

thanks a lot

[@quintonburton9205]

Good video. Keep it up! Perhaps you can make a video about sending a mix to a live stream. Maybe through OBS via USB from the mixer.

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx Quinton

[@davidmam]

we do this using a specific stereo mix and output to pc via your sound interface of choice. It is just another mix.

[@lscossar]

Very helpful explanation of DCA groups on the A&H Qu Series mixers! I'm working with a Qu-16 and mine does not behave as you describe at 11:00 in the video though. Just as a note, mine was in for servicing recently and a factory reset was performed in the process. I mention this because all the basic settings on the mixer should be set to their default settings. When I follow along with the video and select channels 13-16 on the custom layer, my SEL lights do not light and the touch screen does not switch to the DCA Group Settings. Likewise, the faders do not control the levels of the DCA groups. I was able to access the DCA Group Settings another way to set up my DCA groups and control their levels from my iPad. Do you have any thoughts why my Qu-16 is not working the way you have outlined in the video? I suspect something is turned off in a menu somewhere but I have no clue where to look. Thanks for all the great work you did with these videos. Have you considered doing one about mute groups?

[@HackingHollywood]

That's brilliant. I love learning. Thanks man that'll make mixing on my QU-16 a lot more fun! I'm curious about the master metering system for these boards; is it DBFS? When I take the stereo out into an interface (ATEM 2/ME), it reads -20 DB quieter. Not sure if I have the ATEM settings wrong (It's set to unity gain for that input, but maybe it should be set to mic level instead of line) or if I'm misunderstanding the metering system. Still learning! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx. Glad you found it helpful. The QU series were created to bridge the jump to digital from the analog MixWizard Series. The meter is VU based and not dbfs. You are quite right that 0 dbvu is equivilent to about -18 dbfs (-20 is close enough). Here’s a great article... www.audiorecording.me/what-is-the-difference-between-dbfs-vu-and-dbu-in-audio-recordings.html

[@onzkicg]

Thanks for the explanation. In terms of practical procedure- say all your mic faders are at -20db, once you go to your custom DCA, what’s your fader position should be as starting position (that is equivalent to that -20db)? Is it at zero or need to be identical at -20db also? Thanks

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

The principle of unity applies to the DCA channel like any other. When the DCA fader is set at unity, it is neither boosting or cutting the incoming signal (whatever the channels at sending to that DCA). When you raise or lower the DCA fader, all individual channels are raised in proportion to each other

[@tony8236]

Hi Rob. Thank you for the video. Is it possible to send if necessary the DCA in mix 1-2-3 ecc?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Actually there is no audio in a DCA. It is only a remote control of the assigned channels. So you don’t “send” the DCA anywhere. The audio goes wherever the channels are sent.

[@cgonzt5636]

Hi, I have a question on proper fader position when mixing- I noticed myself after gain staging all at unity/0 db- I tend to start from there already as my main average base position, and for those channels that I want to get loud moves up certain db accordingly. Other channel that I want lower goes a bit lower accordingly- but overall they are very near 0, or if not just playing up or down within those shaded parts +5 , 0 -5. Is what I’m doing wrong in any way? I am just judging the level using peak meter. I don’t have a separate decibel meter device to check the auditorium sound I am producing. Basically just my ears intuition of loudness + the peak meter. Thanks!

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Sounds like you have a good handle on the process. All the meters etc are just tools and ultimately you should always reply on your ears. If it sounds right and you’re happy with the results then it’s right. If it doesn’t sound right then use those tools to fix the issue

[@johnjunietify]

Rob when using a DCA will they only impact the L/R mix or can they be set to effect Mixes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5-6, etc. simultaneously?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Thx for the question John. A DCA is simply a remote control for a group of faders. So using the DCA has the same effect that moving the channel faders would have. It will typically always impact LR unless a channel is unassigned from LR. It would impact a Mix if that mix is set to post-fader. If the Mix is prefade then it would not be impacted by the channel fader so the DCA would also have no impact.

[@KeefeLee28]

I may be mistaken, but I assume they are all set relative to what the DCA bus is set in respect to the individual post fader channel? (i.e. if channel 5 was set at unity 0 db and channel 6 is -6 db, then adjusting the DCA bus of -6 db will result in as if you individually pull each -6 db, so if you flip back to the individual channels, it should have moved -6 db below)?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

You are quite correct Keefe…well almost. First moving the DCA fader is equivalent to grabbing all the assigned channel faders and adjusting them at the same time. 2 minor points, 1) that movement is technically relative to the position of the channel fader , so if ch5 is at 0 and ch6 is at -6, then reducing the DCA -6 will certainly reduce ch5 -6, however it may only reduce ch6 to -11 (rather than -12). The result of the DCA would be to have all ch turn full off at the same time. Eg. You wouldn’t want ch6 to turn fully off with ch5 still stuck with some level and no way to shut it off completely. So they are reduced proportionally to each other. 2) DCA are not reflected by the motorized faders. So you will NOT see the faders physically moved by -6 when you flip back to the ch view.

[@arturomendez569]

How do I control DCA volume on Qu 24 if there is no fader?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

DCA on the qu24 work in exectly same way I explained for the QU16. They are assigned by default to the Custom layer.

[@arturomendez569]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 thank you very much!!

[@henryvanweeren7233]

Hello Rob! Have you dabbled much with the QU-PAD software? I've noticed there are 3 custom layers. Can you use all 3 with the actual mixer by cycling through, or is it only through the software? Or can you set up to use just 1 custom layer at a time on the actual mixer? Secondly, you can even include softkey controls--5 per strip, up to a maximum of 15--on the custom strips as well. It is pretty fascinating how much extra flexibility the remote software offers for a simple 16-channel digital mixer.

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Hi Henry. Yes i use the qpad software all the time. The 3 custom layers are a function of the software only. The desk is limited to one. There is a setting to have the software layer1 match up with the custom layer on the desk.

[@henryvanweeren7233]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 So, custom layers 2 and 3 on the software can be changed around for use on the QU-16 custom layer?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Sorry no. Custom layers 2&3 in the software are only available in the software. The closet you can get is to have custom layer1 in the software mimic the config of custom layer1 from the board.

[@tinusgreyling667]

Hi Rod hope all is well. Is qu32 mixer bluetooth compatible? Thanks

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Sorry the QU series do not have any bluetooth interface.

[@anonymissed3611]

On qu16 Da screen, didn't see the pencil icon for naming dca group. Can it be labeled on qu16?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Certainly. I can’t attach a pic here but see pg 45 of the qu manual. www.allen-heath.com/media/Qu-Mixer-Reference-Guide-AP9372_10.pdf#page45

[@anonymissed3611]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 Great! Can you use 2 mix outs to send L/R mix minus certain inputs to create a stereo "mix-minus" feed? (to send to zoom caller for example)

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

You dont really need to use 2 mixes. Mix 5-6, or 7-8, or 9-10 are already stereo mixes. To create a mix-minus simply bring up only the channels you choose in that stereo mix and leave the zoom audio off

[@anonymissed3611]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 Ah. So the mix outs are natively stereo paired. Great for what I was asking. Can they also be used as independent mono outs for basic monitor feeds?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Mix 1-2-3-4 are mono, and Mix5-6, 7-8, 9-10 are stereo… technically you could use “one side” of each stereo pair as a mono out, but not both sides as two mono outs

[@onzkicg]

You’re pressing layers, not custom am I right? I use Qu24

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Depends on the board. On the qu32 the DCA are on the upper layer. On the qu16 (and qu24) DCA are on the custom layer

[@onzkicg]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 Thanks! By the way, if I am on custom dca layer, example your all vocals layer, if I press Mute on that particular dca group, it means all those mic are muted, am I right? Meaning this is not only helping with fader control but mute/unmute the group as well?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

Yes DCA mute will mute all assigned channels much like a Mute Group. Give it a try !….

[@onzkicg]

@@soundadvicewithrob3083 By the way, while on DCA, are the faders on normal layer would also move, I mean mechanically? I mean once you go back to layer button, you would see that these faders moved in proportion to how much you adjusted while you were in DCA?

[@soundadvicewithrob3083]

No there’s no mechanical connection between channel faders and the DCA that are assigned to