Open Forum

 View Only

  • 1.  Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 02-24-2015 14:19

    We're trying to get a new sound board for our department.  Has anyone used or does anyone have anything to say about the Allen and Heath Soundboard? Specifically  Qu-16 16 channel digital variety?

    ------------------------------
    Wendy Hall
    teacher
    La Cueva High School
    Albuquerque NM
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 02-25-2015 08:18

    Morning,

     Just to put my two cents into the discussion-I have never had any problems on an A&H. I have not worked on a Q-16 but from the quick research I did on the specs it looks to be a hardy little digital platform.  I have an Yamaha LS9 here at the school but I am in the process of switching out from that to a Yamaha M7. It is a larger platform that acts more like an "old time" analogue even though it is all digital.  The problems we have had with the LS9 is that it is too compact a platform.  You have to go through several layers or open up a lot of windows to get where you need to go. I am "old school trained" and really love the feel for a unit that looks and operates like an analogue mixer BUT has all the new digital features that are now the standard for audio engineering. My students-who are very tech savvy, also have a hard time with the LS9 in respect to the physical size. Now, there is nothing wrong with smaller platform and the Q-16 is a fine mixer but I would question how much you are going to grow the size of your program in the future. If you think that you are only going to need 16 channels at a time-stick with Q-16 (it can actually provide several layers of channels for you) but if you think you are going to grow more in the future, it will be a lot easier for your sound op to mix all the mics on one layer in comparison to multiple layers.  For instance, we just closed Into The Woods. My sound designer/op (A senior technician in my program) decided that he wanted to run the show from the house instead of the booth. The LS9 has a program where you can run the LS9 wirelessly from an I-Pad. So he stayed in the center of the house (where you should be) and ran the entire show from his I-Pad with another sound op in the booth on the mixer-just in case his connection was cut off.  We ran all of our first layer on the LS9 as the main stage mic setting, the second layer was monitors, the third layer was the orchestra and the last layer was special FX . The LS9 ran the show without a problem BUT it would have been nice to have each layer "seen" on the mixer-hence my reason for swapping out to a Yamaha M7. On that console you can get to see all the layers at the same time so you don't have to "dig down" through digital layer after layer. (layer=mix)

    So to conclude my rambling-the Q-16 is a SOLID little platform BUT if your program is going to grow in the future you might want to invest in something a little bigger now so that you can encompass your growth. Rule of thumb: It is always better to have more than you need -if you can afford it :)

     If you have any other questions about technical issue or aspects just shoot me an email.

     Break a leg!

    ------------------------------
    Tim Jackubek
    Department Chair and Technical Director of Theatre
    The Woodlands High School (Conroe ISD)
    The Woodlands TX
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 02-25-2015 11:14
    My School currently uses a Allen and Heath ILIVE-T112 and it works great, I have also worked on the ILIVE-112 and ILIVE-R72 and each have worked great.

    ------------------------------
    Joseph Henning
    Chaska MN
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 4.  RE:Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 02-26-2015 10:28
    I have an Allen & Heath iLive. My issue with this is it is hard to teach kids how to use it. The quality is great an I don't miss the snake running under the seats. The airless connection is terrific. I just wish I had some sliders and knobs for my more visual learners.

    -------------------------------------------
    Scott Hasbrouck
    Wheat Ridge CO
    -------------------------------------------



    Sent via Higher Logic Mobile



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 06-10-2015 12:13

    Digital mixers are truly a wonder - especially the ones where you can program cues like a lighting.  Setting these cue points can make handling a lot of inputs very easy.

    I share the concerms of the smaller footprint consoles where there are multiple layers to get to the channel you want to adjust.

    I love Allen and Heath products, but unless you have very dedicated sound techs the real digital consoles can be more of a headache than a help.  Because school usually have their student techs for a very short time, it means that you will have to understand ho to program it, how to accessthe menus to change the tone or an aux or effects send.

    The compromise desk is the Presonus Studio Live Mixers - 16, 24 and 32 and they can be linked together for up to 64 channels.  They have a slider on the console for each channel and a fat channel strip for all the ancillary adjustments - tone, compression, Aux sends etc - very easy to transition from an Analog desk to this one. The Presonus can also be controlled remotely with an IPAD and the PIT can have it's own control of the Auxes for their monitor mix.

    For Digital desks the Behringer is by far the best value currently on the market - don't be put offby the negative vibe about this brand.  This product is designed by Midas - one of the best console manufacturers in the world and my personal favorite BRAND

    You will find 16 channels is not enough very quickly
    ------------------------------
    Rod Reilly
    Somerset NJ
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 06-11-2015 09:05

    I want to echo what Rod said about the Berhinger X-32 board. We have just completed our 2nd full season with ours and I have trained student techs running the board. While they might not be able to use all of the functions, once programmed the board does all of the work. 

    We also have invested in "road cases" for all of our sound equipment to protect it and make it possible to move from the classroom, to the theatre, to the cafeteria, and even take a full sound system on the road to another school. This includes 20 wireless microphones, self-powered speakers, the mixing board and an iMac with Q-lab running sound effects cues. All of this equipment has been purchased over the last 5 years by the drama club from fundraisers and ticket sales.

    We have a technical director who helps me make purchase decisions (he is a trained audio engineer) and he trains the student techs on our equipment and in turn he gets a pool of students to hire to work in our theatre for the nearly 200 events we run each year through our theatre. 

    ------------------------------
    Warren Kerr
    Theatre Arts Teacher
    Auburn School District
    Auburn WA
    ------------------------------


    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Allen and Heath Sound board

    Posted 06-10-2015 13:14

    If you plan on having students use the board, I would suggest Soundcraft Expression. The 16 channel one will be more expensive (about $500 more) but will be much easier to use. 

    ------------------------------
    Ken Buswell
    Drama Teacher
    Peachtree City, GA
    http://mcintoshtheater.org/
    ------------------------------