Finally, the perfect mixer? [Allen & Heath QuPac]

Looking for a Qu-Pac also, as the number on inputs paired with the relatively small footprint really stands out.

But my biggest question regarding the Qu-Pac is still not answered:
How is the latency when routing audio through an external effect chain?

For delay or reverb there should be no problems with latency, but what is with an external compressor? I often use sidechaining to clear bass frequencies and often use parallel compression for percussion.

With all this extra DA - AD converting for external fx routing, I canā€™t really think of a phase coherent signal in the return path.

Anyone ever used an external compressor with the Qu series?

from the PDF manual:
Latency is measured at 1.2ms from XLR in to XLR out. So A/D - D/A = 1.2ms

Itā€™s not good for parallel compression/processing where phasing is undesirable.
You will get phasing, and to compensate you would have to manually track delay all other tracks by that amount. Iā€™ve experimented with this, and the track delay resolution isnā€™t fine enough to fully remove the phasing.
I believe the actual latency measurement to be something like 1.23ms.

Your best bet would be to do parallel compression inside the Qu-Pac itself, using its own DSP compressor + ducker which is a pseudo side-chain. Good luck!

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Thanks, this helps a lot! :slight_smile:

So, I can use parallel compression via inside routing of the Qu-Pac?

The sidechaining issue maybe solved, using the external compressor as an insert before going into the Qu-Pac, as I typically only use one bass synth.

bass synth -> ext. compressor -> Qu-Pac
kick-> sidechain input of ext. compressor

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Quoted for truth :wink:

Yes, you can use parallel compression inside the Qu-Pacā€™s DSP.

As far as side-chaining via the Ducker goes on the Qu-Pac, it is different than traditional side-chain.
The ā€œduckerā€ is only available on input channels, and not mixes or matrixes, sadly.
You could still use the ducker but its use would be pre-compressor and react differently than traditional side-chain compression would. In the end, it is possible to approximate the effect but not replicate it.

Best of luck!

Ok so I am finally considering getting a Qu-Pac as I need more inputs/outputs. I have a few nooby questions regarding the mixer. Perhaps you guys can help - I havent had time to download and read the manual yet as a newborn has kept me up most nights :joy::heart_eyes::pray:

My current setup utilises all my Apollo UAD Ins as follows:

OT outs --> In 1/2 --> Master Out
MD outs --> In 3/4 --> Master Out
OB-6 outs --> In 5/6 --> Master Out
H9 FX outs --> In 7/8 --> Master Out

Apollo Out 1/2 --> H9 inputs 7/8.

This is so that I can route any of the instruments to the H9 (ie Out 1/2 instead of Master Out) so that it is processed, sent back to the Apollo and then to the Master Outs.

There is no stereo fx send/receive bus and im also expecting delivery of my Make Noise Shared System which will require a further 2 inputs.

My questions are:

  1. Does it make any difference if you plug in your stereo outputs of any of your instruments into the Stereo inputs of the QuPac vs utilising 2 Mono channels? Presumably you can link any two mono channels together no?

  2. Are there dedicated Buses for FX to simplify my process? I currently have to manually route my synths to the H9 but cannot send more than one out at a time which is a complete let down. Does the QuPac offer the ability to send a summed output to an FX bus with outboard before Master?

  3. If so how many dedicated send/receive channels are there? For example I want to have an H9 on one bus and a Strymon on another and have the flexibility to send any combination of instruments into them at any given time.

  4. Are there enough inputs/outputs so I can have instrument outs going into the mixer but then also able to reroute them through seperate outs into the OT (for when I want to sample). Rather than unplug wires and physically have to plug them into the OT inputs.

Sorry if these sound trivial but I want something that doesnt require me to keep patching.

Thank you so much in advance! :pray::pray::pray:

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  1. yes, you may link but you kinda lose the ability to pan, itā€™s more of a spread pan.

  2. yes, you burn inputs for ext effects. Routing audio is easy peazy.

  3. 12 outs (3 stereo outs) and 22 inputs. youā€™ll be able to do what you want without issue.

  4. yes, so youā€™ll probably use groups to route mixes back to the OT, or the other mix outputs.

itā€™s a great lilā€™ box and really brings everything together.

Congrats on the kiddos! Iā€™ve a boy who is about to turn 4 and a girl who just turned 1.

Never a dull moment :sunglasses:

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When linking 2 mono channels for stereo be sure to pan hard opposite, then you can get proper stereo panning by setting the pan on the connected instrument as required. I assumed at first that when linking channels it panned hard automatically, but it does not, until you pan one of the channels then it sets the other opposite automatically - so check your settings as it caught me out at first and was getting a similar result to what you are describing.

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yah, thisā€¦but ya, you have to set the stereo pan via the instrument, not the mixer.

also, once linked, anything that happens on one channel happens on the other, so you donā€™t need to have a custom layer accessing both channels, just one.

i hadnā€™t used any of the software out there to control the qu-pac with an tablet/smart phone, but started playing around with them this weekend.

i have an ipad that my work gave me that i used first, and yes, software works well etc, but i gave this guy a go on my android phone.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.davidgiga1993.mixingstation.ah_qupro&hl=en

and it worked beautifully, and! itā€™s all customizable, so you can create your own faders/knobs/buttons etc. highly recommend it, especially for live use.

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wow awesome guysā€¦ will download and read the manual tooā€¦ these mix outputs are annoying as everything i have is 1/4 inch TS and TRSā€¦ !

Hi thanks for the info on this mixer!

So you could set it up to route any incoming audio through the OT (and benefit from the Qupacā€™s eq and comp etc)
That sounds great for studio and live use !

Is the fact that you dont have actual faders a draw back for volumes?

I gather you can record to a usb drive, can you play back from the drive too?

(edit) Actually how do you guys edit your recorded tracks, do you all use a separate DAW?
I would like to replace my Korg D3200 , but multitrack recorders sont look anywhere near as good as this

Thanks for this very timely review!

I am about to move house and was beginning to look for an option to downsize my Midas Venice F24 (which I love). I will not have my own music room any longer, so this Qu Pac might fit the bill, tucked away in the corner of a room.

I see that it isnā€™t actually an audio interface though - do you interface with a computer, and if so, what do you use?

Cheers.

Actually, I notice that there are ASIO drivers for windows, so this could work for my sitation!

Now, Behringer x32 vs Qu-Pacā€¦ back to the google machineā€¦

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Most people will edit in a DAW but if you have an OT you can use that instead.

So, I couldnā€™t resist and ordered a Qu-Pac. Nice sounding ultra-compact mixer with a ton of routing options.

I already had a question regarding parallel compression two months ago. If I understood correctly, I need to use a group as drum bus, that is compressed by the groups compressor and feed it back to the L-R mix.

But if I fade the compressed signal from group back into the L-R mix, the sound starts to phase.

The phasing is so strong, that I canā€™t get any usefull effect from the parallel compression.

Any ideas?
Anyone, who has experience with parallel compression on the Qu-Pac?

If Iā€™m understanding correct, it sounds like you are sending the signals twice, so for eg, kick to the LR but also sending the dry signal of the kick via the group?!

If so, Iā€™d try taking the signals that are grouped out of the LR path (not mute) so they still send to the group but donā€™t send direct to LR.

Hope thatā€™s some help.

Twice somehow, but the signal in the group is heavily compressed. This compressed signal is mixed back to L-R by a small amount. This is called parallel compression.

But this gives me phasing issues.

Looks like this is a known problem of the Qu-series.
See 2nd post: http://community.allen-heath.com/forums/topic/2009-10-21-115503

If I use one group for my dry drum bus and a second group for the compressed drum bus, the phasing is gone. But it takes two groups instead of oneā€¦

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Iā€™m with youā€¦ seems like that post revealed your answer for now at least : / I havenā€™t tried this on QU myself, but if I find another way around Iā€™ll postā€¦

Another workaround might be to use the internal compressor of the Rytm via main outputs together with the direct outputs. Set the compressor of the Rytm to fully wet, so the main outs give the compressed signal only. Feed everything into the Qu-Pac and mix the compressed main outs by a small amount into the drum bus.

Not tried it yet.

I use it as my audio interface - it has 32/32 USB connectivity so works brilliantly for tracking into the DAW.

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