[QLab] Live audio input help

[tblunt]

Hey everyone,
I need some help. I have just taken on anew job as tech manager at a
venue that does a lot of plays and they have been using Cricket to
date. I am a long term fan and user of QLAB and I would really like to
get QLab in to work.
However at the moment the Motu 828 MKII goes straight into the amps
and all mixing for announcements and live mics are done in cricket.
what is the best way to do this eg digital mixer between Motu and amps
or use core audio and something like main stage driven by midi from
qlab to control the mixing?

I appreciate all your suggestions on the best way to progress.

Tom Blunt
________________________________________________________
WHEN REPLYING, PLEASE QUOTE ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. Thanks!
Change your preferences or unsubscribe here:
http://lists.figure53.com/listinfo.cgi/qlab-figure53.com

[Fergus Mount]

Hi Tom,

 

I would always use a mixer in cases like this. Having even a basic digital mixer like a Yamaha LS9 will give you many more options than a audio interface going directly into amps. I am perhaps a bit paranoid, but using Qlab and something to mix live inputs on the same computer scares me a bit.

 

If I were to do this, I would use Ableton Live to mix the live inputs, but there are plenty of other options. The MOTU has a DSP mixer built in that is controlled by the program CuemixFX (I am not too sure how good it is in the MkII). This will be able to mix your mic inputs to the outputs, but it is not the most intuitive bit of software to use.. I am sure there are many people on the list who will tell you about the wonderful Metric Halo interfaces, but they are a bit expensive.

 

I hope this helps a bit!

 

Cheers

 

Fergus

[Steven Devino]

On Jun 7, at Jun 7, 2010 9:32 AM, Fergus Mount wrote:

> Hi Tom,
>
> I would always use a mixer in cases like this. Having even a basic digital mixer like a Yamaha LS9 will give you many more options than a audio interface going directly into amps. I am perhaps a bit paranoid, but using Qlab and something to mix live inputs on the same computer scares me a bit.

For roughly 1/6th the price of a LS9 you could use a Metric Halo interface in place of the Motu which would give you a very high quality Firewire interface. If you add a $50 Contour Design Shuttle Express you have a desktop master volume knob which can manage all the outputs at once or be switched to control selected outputs.

Steve

[raymond soly]

Tom, you can keep a similar set up by sending your Qlab sends /outs
internally either using soundflower or the adat i/o on your motu to a
daw like Reaper (or logic) etc... there you will regain control of
levels and EQ settings.....so your mics go onto your motu and from
there are just sent to reaper or other, Qlab outs just get sent to
soundflower outs which you can then reassign to reaper inputs and back
out through your motu to the amps.......of course you can also patch
in a midi controller .......a console, as suggested would be my
prefered choice (as I like a hands on approach during
shows)........but you can basically keep doing it the way it has in
the past with cricket by sending to the daw.

hope that helps

Ray

Ray

[Sean Dougall]

FWIW, CueMix worked fine on my 828mkII when I tested it out recently. The main pro is that all the mixing is done in hardware, so there's no latency. The main con is that (as far as I've been able to find) the faders can't be automated or controlled in any way other than the mouse. So if you just need to set some levels and leave them, CueMix is probably your best bet -- but if you need to do any active mixing work, you'll be tearing your hair out.

Cheers,
Sean

On Jun 7, 2010, at 6:32 AM, Fergus Mount wrote:

> The MOTU has a DSP mixer built in that is controlled by the program CuemixFX (I am not too sure how good it is in the MkII).

________________________________________________________

[tblunt]

Thanks everyone for your help. I have just bought QLab for here and
about to start reprogramming 10 shows on it for this year.

Is there a way to utilise the main outs on a motu 828Mk3 as 2 extra
outputs to get 10 instead of 8?

Tom

[raymond soly]

yes, just use them as separate outs in cuemix or reaper, logic...
etc......that will give you 10 outs.......

R

[Sean Dougall]

Another thing to bear in mind, which can be easy to miss: If you're asking about using more than 8 output channels in QLab, you'll only see the first 8 by default in the Levels tab of the inspector. But if you scroll down a bit, there's a "Visible Channels" control, which you can use to see faders for more channels. That may not be what you were asking about, but I thought I'd mention it just in case. :)

Cheers,
Sean

On Jun 10, 2010, at 7:22 AM, raymond soly wrote:

> yes, just use them as separate outs in cuemix or reaper, logic... etc......that will give you 10 outs.......
>
> R
> On 9-Jun-10, at 9:44 PM, tblunt wrote:
>
>> Thanks everyone for your help. I have just bought QLab for here and
>> about to start reprogramming 10 shows on it for this year.
>>
>> Is there a way to utilise the main outs on a motu 828Mk3 as 2 extra
>> outputs to get 10 instead of 8?
>>
>> Tom

________________________________________________________

[*]

Not a specific Qlab issue but I'm trying to do what I normally do which is
to screen share with the computer in the booth so I can see what's
happening.

Up until this gig, Either machine has just shown up under PLACES & I could
select, screenshare, handshake & it worked.

Now (maybe a recent Apple update at fault) neither machine sees the other.

I've tried the house WIFI system that has worked. I've tried setting up a
machine to machine connection which has worked in the past & nothing.

Fortunately, this is our second venue so the workspace is pretty much done
but it's a bummer to wonder what's going on at the tech table.

I've rebooted both machines & nothing changed. Airport is on on both if
them & still nothing.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Thanks in advance,

*