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Church and H.O.W. – Forums for HOW Sound and AV - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Church and HOW Forums => Church Sound => Topic started by: Stephen Swaffer on April 02, 2018, 07:27:32 PM

Title: QU vs Studio Live III
Post by: Stephen Swaffer on April 02, 2018, 07:27:32 PM
A pastor I know in TX has asked for my advice on choosing their next mixer.  Their media guy is "PC" only-no Apple products and has suggested the Studio Live.  I have experience with the QU-it has been positive, so I am biased that way-plus I may get a free trip to see the grandkids in exchange for setup help-QU would be much easier for that plus any needed "remote support".

The other mixer in this market that is obvious is the X32-but I left it out for the above reasons.

After little research, in spite of my bias, I am thinking the Studio Live makes more sense-especially using PCs/Androids.  Any experience with the Studio Live?  Build quality?  Ease of use?  I know the QU is an easy transition from analog-what about the Studio Live?  I didn't like the lack of motorized faders-but the III has them and scribble strips.

Church is traditional.  Piano/organ, maybe a couple of violins or acoustic guitars for special events.  Auditorium seats 150-200 tops, and probably will never use more than 12-16 mics/channels-wiring already installed for wired mics to be used-so that is not a factor.  Any red flags or reasons to not use the Studio Live?
Title: Re: QU vs Studio Live III
Post by: Taylor Phillips on April 02, 2018, 10:30:02 PM
A pastor I know in TX has asked for my advice on choosing their next mixer.  Their media guy is "PC" only-no Apple products and has suggested the Studio Live.  I have experience with the QU-it has been positive, so I am biased that way-plus I may get a free trip to see the grandkids in exchange for setup help-QU would be much easier for that plus any needed "remote support".

The other mixer in this market that is obvious is the X32-but I left it out for the above reasons.

After little research, in spite of my bias, I am thinking the Studio Live makes more sense-especially using PCs/Androids.  Any experience with the Studio Live?  Build quality?  Ease of use?  I know the QU is an easy transition from analog-what about the Studio Live?  I didn't like the lack of motorized faders-but the III has them and scribble strips.

Church is traditional.  Piano/organ, maybe a couple of violins or acoustic guitars for special events.  Auditorium seats 150-200 tops, and probably will never use more than 12-16 mics/channels-wiring already installed for wired mics to be used-so that is not a factor.  Any red flags or reasons to not use the Studio Live?
I haven't used the new StudioLive, but folks I know with the old ones like them pretty well and they have seemed to stand up to a lot of use - despite not looking very tough.  Looking at the new one, it appears that the Qu definitely has the edge on ease of use and being intuitive.  The SL has some more features, but I'd had a hard time getting past those multi-function knobs that you have to check not only are you on the right channel, but are you adjusting the correct function?  As far as Apple/Android, I haven't used the apps for either of manufacturer (Allen&Heath and PreSonus), but how often would they really be used?

All in all, I think if the media guy at your friend's church likes the StudioLive, and if he's the one who will be working with it every week, I think they'll probably be happy with it.
Title: Re: QU vs Studio Live III
Post by: Caleb Dueck on April 05, 2018, 06:58:53 AM
I haven't used the new StudioLive, but folks I know with the old ones like them pretty well and they have seemed to stand up to a lot of use - despite not looking very tough.  Looking at the new one, it appears that the Qu definitely has the edge on ease of use and being intuitive.  The SL has some more features, but I'd had a hard time getting past those multi-function knobs that you have to check not only are you on the right channel, but are you adjusting the correct function?  As far as Apple/Android, I haven't used the apps for either of manufacturer (Allen&Heath and PreSonus), but how often would they really be used?

All in all, I think if the media guy at your friend's church likes the StudioLive, and if he's the one who will be working with it every week, I think they'll probably be happy with it.
Why not an SQ6? 

The X32 is pretty universal in being the lowest cost, non-junk mixer out there.  The QU was good except for some critical flaws, such as no card slot and less flexible routing, and has essentially been replaced by the SQ.

The older Presonus mixers sounded pretty bad and had an awful UI, plus a local shop that owned a handful had multiple failures.  You may risk one but I won't.

For me it comes down to either the higher quality option (SQ6) or the lowest price option (X32). 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Title: Re: QU vs Studio Live III
Post by: Mike Caldwell on April 05, 2018, 11:33:19 PM
Why not an SQ6? 

  The QU was good except for some critical flaws, such as no card slot and less flexible routing, and has essentially been replaced by the SQ.



Not sure I would say the SQ is replacing the QU since the SQ series is in a different price scale league all together.
Title: Re: QU vs Studio Live III
Post by: Michael Thompson on April 06, 2018, 01:54:36 AM
A pastor I know in TX has asked for my advice on choosing their next mixer.  Their media guy is "PC" only-no Apple products and has suggested the Studio Live.  I have experience with the QU-it has been positive, so I am biased that way-plus I may get a free trip to see the grandkids in exchange for setup help-QU would be much easier for that plus any needed "remote support".

The other mixer in this market that is obvious is the X32-but I left it out for the above reasons.

After little research, in spite of my bias, I am thinking the Studio Live makes more sense-especially using PCs/Androids.  Any experience with the Studio Live?  Build quality?  Ease of use?  I know the QU is an easy transition from analog-what about the Studio Live?  I didn't like the lack of motorized faders-but the III has them and scribble strips.

Church is traditional.  Piano/organ, maybe a couple of violins or acoustic guitars for special events.  Auditorium seats 150-200 tops, and probably will never use more than 12-16 mics/channels-wiring already installed for wired mics to be used-so that is not a factor.  Any red flags or reasons to not use the Studio Live?

Personally, I'd get the SQ5 or SQ6 if there is budget.  The QU is ok, but I think the SQ is a major improvement on all fronts.  I have only used the first studiolives (16.4.2 and 24.4.2) and they have failed so many times that I won't do a gig if that is the console provided.  The newer ones may be different.

Yamaha's TF series could also be a good option for you.  It's probably easier to jump into than any of the others mentioned.  My experience with them has been positive so far.