Members heath_eld Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 Hey. Long time no post. I'm considering making the switch to digital. Gradually finding the technology getting cheaper and better and ipad mixing irresistible. I've pretty much narrowed it down to these two. The presonus is about A$500 less but that won't be a deciding factor. Anything else I should consider? Not real keen on the x32 or it's siblings. I guess my first question is, is there a difference in sound? I regularly mix on a 16.4.2(non ai) and although I like the feature set I can't say I ever get excited about the sounds I get? Second question? What's the difficulty level in connecting to an ipad to mix FOH? Third is there any big difference between them? I'm not super excited about moving faders. I'm more talking quality of EQ, preamp, effects? I guess for me a big priority is that the board I get lasts a while. I don't do enough gigs to be replacing it every couple of years. Would either of these be better reputed for lifespan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 Leaving for a business trip so not much time to respond - I had a 16.4.2 for 4 yrs for about 200 shows. I've had the Qu for several months now and like it better. - multi-track recording straight to high speed USB- moving faders- ALL XLR aux sends- better software, but can only mix from ONE device as of now.- better build quality, IMO. the labels aren't on a plastic sheet like on the Presonus, but rather printed directly to the steel- I'm sure there are things I like better about the Presonus too, but can't think of them right now. Also, I don't know what the AI has that mine didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dbMontana Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 Heath: I just sold my less-than two-year-old Presonus 16.0.2 and now have drunk the X32 koolaid. The Presonus was a great board for my needs at the time and I mixed almost exclusively from iPad when it was not in our "studio". It worked great -- never a hickup. However, after doing the same now with motorized faders on the X32 I personally would never choose to go back. Yea there's the "fader locate" option on the SL boards that allows one to manually re-sync the fader positions after modifying things on the iPad but it is slow and inconvenient and for heavens sake don't ever forget and touch a fader before re-locating! A friend has a QU-16 and I may well have gone that route except it was not expandable past 16 channels. I really liked the QU user interface however. Now another friend has one of the new SL AI boards and it is a bit of a step up from the old non-AI models (especially if you go the full monty and use AI speakers as well like he does) but still falls short of the QU/X32 IMHO. I seriously doubt that "I" could hear any substantial difference in overall sound quality between either of the boards you mention -- in the effects yes my X32 has much better sounding effects than my SL -- but not in the overall sound. Others may well be more discerning. ps. I sure wish the X32 could record multi-track to a USB stick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted September 29, 2014 Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 RM32AI $2000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heath_eld Posted September 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 The RM series does look interesting - however I think I'd prefer a board with physical control interface. Absurd - did you say the QU can only connect to one device (eg I can't have the drummer using his iphone to mix his in ears?) One huge argument for the presonus that I see is that it has physical masters on the aux channels... Had a "oh sh-t" moment with foldback feedback on a ls9 a few weeks ago and that ten seconds of jumping through layers felt like an eternity!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heath_eld Posted September 29, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 29, 2014 PA. Why does this site not allow me to enter line breaks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted September 30, 2014 Members Share Posted September 30, 2014 Mobile. No line breaks for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted October 1, 2014 Members Share Posted October 1, 2014 I agree that the lack of motorized faders, and the lack of recallable head amps would really be a tough loss of features to handle. The iPad app for the Presonus is more mature; however, I don't think that A&H will stand still in this department. If having more than one remote mixing surface is important to you, and only these two mixers are being considered, then the Presonus is your only option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted October 1, 2014 Members Share Posted October 1, 2014 The RM series does look interesting - however I think I'd prefer a board with physical control interface. Absurd - did you say the QU can only connect to one device (eg I can't have the drummer using his iphone to mix his in ears?) One huge argument for the presonus that I see is that it has physical masters on the aux channels... Had a "oh sh-t" moment with foldback feedback on a ls9 a few weeks ago and that ten seconds of jumping through layers felt like an eternity!! Yes there is only 1 device permitted to connect to the mixer. In fact, you can't do anything else with your network connection at all. for instance, I wanted to use my iphone "remote" app to run pre-recorded music on my laptop. The network wouldn't let the 2 talk as it allowed no other network traffic, only a connection of the ipad to connect to the mixer. As for the layer thing, the Presonus interface is more simple in that department, but the Qu is about as easy as layers get. There are really only 2. The push of one button gives you access to all aux masters and I'd argue that you could push that button and slam all the faders down faster than you could turn knobs on each aux on a StudioLive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted October 1, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted October 1, 2014 I'd argue that a 1:1 connection is not a network! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heath_eld Posted October 1, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 1, 2014 I've pretty much pulled the trigger on the QU. Is the multiple devices something that will be improved in future? Or is it a fixed feature? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted October 2, 2014 Members Share Posted October 2, 2014 My guess is that they will have to have this feature since all the mixers in this price range have the feature at this time. I wouldn't put a bet on the date though If you are used to analog, the Qu-24 will be a gentle move into the digital mixing experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heath_eld Posted October 11, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 11, 2014 Thanks all. I'm undertaking the slow process of familiarising myself with the mixer, but I'm pretty happy; bummed by a couple of secondary things: As discussed the fact that you can only connect one ipad etc. The fact that it only provides DAW connectivity on Mac. Neither of these represent my main intended use, but they do disappoint me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted October 11, 2014 Members Share Posted October 11, 2014 Pretty nice verbs though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted October 13, 2014 Members Share Posted October 13, 2014 I learned on Saturday not to turn off the mixer while recording. I forgot to stop and save first and lost all 3 sets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 13, 2014 Members Share Posted October 13, 2014 Aw man that sucks. I've looked over half way into a set and realized I wasn't recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OneEng Posted October 14, 2014 Members Share Posted October 14, 2014 I learned on Saturday not to turn off the mixer while recording. I forgot to stop and save first and lost all 3 sets Uggg. I suppose it only makes sense though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members heath_eld Posted October 15, 2014 Author Members Share Posted October 15, 2014 I learned on Saturday not to turn off the mixer while recording. I forgot to stop and save first and lost all 3 sets Are you just recording direct to QU drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members abzurd Posted October 15, 2014 Members Share Posted October 15, 2014 Are you just recording direct to QU drive? Yep. Direct to a thumb drive plugged into the mixer. It's entirely my fault. I just need to put a post it note on my monitor or set list that reminds me to tend to the recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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