Hi,
As some of you are where I bought an Allen & Heath QU16 a couple of months ago and more recently picked up one of the new iPad Mini Retina's.
I've been using the QU-Pad app to mix FOH and for soundchecks. Generally I think the QU-Pad app works ok but I think it lacks some important features (for me) and find the PEQ really fiddly and awkward to control!?
I downloaded different iPad mixer apps from other brands check out their feature set and ease of controllability. The other apps that I downloaded are :-
Behringer X32-Mix
Soundcraft ViSi Remote
Presonus StudioLive Remote AI
Mackie Master Fader
Midas Mixtender 2
I’ve also downloaded the GLD Remote to find out how the QU-Pad compares to their higher end desks.
Generally the controls on the QU-Pad work pretty well apart from the PEQ. When making adjustments to the various parameters the controls are very fiddly and awkward to use!? I also noticed this with the GLD Remote app aswell. I find the controls on the Behringer, Presonus and Mackie apps far superior. I like having knobs or sliders for controlling the EQ and fine tuning as a second option to dragging your finger around. The controls work ok for adjusting gain and frequency but the Q control is very hit or miss and half the time the frequency or gain ends up changing instead of the Q by accident!! It would be fantastic to have the same dedicated sliders like the ones for controlling the Channel, Compressor, Gate and Pan parameters in the QU and GLD app’s. It would also be nice to be able to change the colours of the channels as in the GLD app.
Below are some requests I’d love to see appear in the QU-Pad app. I’ve marked which I believe are essential but recognise this is personal opinion!
Feature Requests
1/ Full controls of all FX and parameters (essential)
2/ Load and Save Scenes and Shows (essential)
3/ Sliders to control each parameter of the PEQ! (essential)
4/ Have a Meters tab underneath the CH, Gate, PEQ and Compressor tabs to be able to view all I/O meters. I love the way the I/O meters are displayed at the top of the Behringer X32-Mix app and would be great to be able to choose to view these! (essential)
5/ SoftKeys (essential)
6/ Signal Generator (essential)
7/ When iPad is rotated to portrait view the complete channel strip showing full Channel, Gate, PEQ and Compressor to be displayed on one page like the Presonus StudioLive Remote app.
8/ To be able to draw a quick rough eq curve in the GEQ by dragging finger across the bands.
9/ Talkback
10/ QU-Drive controls
I feel some of these controls are pretty essential whilst a few would be nice luxury’s. I’m really hoping some of these will be added in future revisions of the QU-Pad app? After spending some time with all these different apps the Behringer X32-Mix seems to be far more comprehensive and some of the features are easier to use. Also, the Presonus app is very good (apart from the SL range not having digitally controllable gain).
This is in no way a criticism of the QU16 which I find to be a superb mixer with fantastic audio quality, features and excellent layout + workflow!
What are other user's of the QU-Pad app thoughts/experiences?