Okay so I've just played around with my SQ6 in my office.
Spent forever (I'm not well versed with DAW's) figuring out how to make Studio One and then Tracktion send multitrack to the board. [SQ AISO driver installed fine on W7 x64 and showed up immediately... once I plugged it in
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Tried midi for you Kevin; couldn't get anything
Some initial thoughts in no particular order:
- Chromatic Channel Metering is excellent. I changed the "lower nominal level" color to yellow from 'green'. and moved the "active open mic" lower limit to -55dB from -50dB. I think that should be the default. I also think there should be extra buttons to load 'presets' eg. this preset works great for this recording/multitrack session. Live will probably be different. Shows contain the settings for this.
- The Layer buttons flash red when clipping is occurring indicating issues on other layers. Perfect. (there is a separate peak light that lights ~3 or 4 dB before 1kHz audible clipping).
- Really needs some way to speed up routing/patching all the inputs.
*patch - one-to-one patch all button
*DCA & Mute Grp assign - blocks of 8 and or select all buttons
- Turning control needs to pop-up the value on the screen
- Processing button always goes to home view (multiple input view) It should toggle to a channel view if pressed multiple times
- If I press HPF section of the channel overview it should send me to the EQ portion so I can see the HPF
- I don't like HPF being white/grey [most devices use that as off/unselected] HPF should be purple and LF EQ should be green
- view button to see processing is desperately needed (I saw a suggestion to add a setting to change the 'In' button to 'view' for that processing block)
- I just realized the matricies (really all the outputs) have a source select and can be 'mixed' into what the aux/matrix/group/main has. The problem is the outputs are not "phase coherent" with the inputs, perhaps with eachother, but the pink noise is definitely different when combining the [main output > matrix + ch output > matrix]
- I'd like a 'mode' where anytime I do anything the screen goes to that processing view for that channel/encoder/button. The screen seems to always end up in a state that isn't usable and I have to go hunting for the processing view I 'want' I'd rather the screen just follow what I'm doing. But I can see when that wouldn't be helpful, so... make it a toggle (perhaps when programing/during practice but not during show, so you can make internal changes and mix at the same time.
- Scribble strips should have been larger, and we want control of the colors. [though i couldn't care less about the 'symbols' for instruments and such, no one looks at that...just the name.]
- the view button should just toggle between modes (name, input, input type) not the weird press and double press and hold stuff.
- channel names should be longer
- reset the L/R balance somehow would be nice?
- EQ width control knob can't send EQ to shelf. Must use the universal control knob. Rather annoying, you'll only make the mistake once so it makes that entire width knob on the LF & HF filters fairly pointless as you'll always be using the universal encoder.
- HPF & LPF!!
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REALLY REALLY REALLY want the trim to be an ACTUAL DIGITAL trim not another preamp gain control digital boards really should just come with this see below posts
- never used any sort of tube stage. Really curious as to how that sounds/works.
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Overall a good board. Lots of little things to nit pick at. Other products we're comparing to are fully mature, not quite fair.
over the next year or two we shall see substantial development for SQ ecosystem. They're getting the basics out of the way, connectivity; core features. Updates will come, though I still think QU needs one last update (beyond 2.93...) before they abandon it... :/
I agree with Jeff, this is what QU should have been. and there should be a ~6.5k board that combines GLD & SQ for an in-between QU/Dlive C series... meh whatever?