Compact mixing desks - what are you using?

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

As a cut down mixer maybe you are expected to add your own WiFi router if you need to use that, and save money if you don’t. This is not like the XR where you have to use an external device. 

 

Yeah - that's a fair point Dave. The CQ12T and 18T are standalone desks effectively featuring a "built in tablet".

 

I guess the lack of wifi on the 12T is a product differentiation point - the 18T is £175 more and for that you get: 6 extra inputs, wifi, an extra 2 FX and 3 additional control dials. Worth the extra (particularly if you get lucky as I managed, and pick up a B stock 18T for only £40 extra!). If everything was available on the 12T other than the extra inputs, there would maybe be a lot fewer takers for the 18T or the 12T would need to come in at a price point much closer to the 18T?

 

Fyi - in terms of the additional FX on the CQ18T, the 4 categories on offer:

1. "easy verb" - 3 vocals, string slap, percussion, drum room, string, brass, woodwind & piano

2. "echo verb" - with different flavours and delay times

3. fully fledged chorus

4. double tracker

 

I'll probably stick to easy verb for the vocals, otherwise there's definitely risk of option paralysis: the desk is actually doubling up as a multi-channel multifx!

 

Edited 10 hours ago by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

16 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

the A&H is a new device, the XR is a decade old device at this point and the wifi was not uncommon at the time, and available on all the models 12/16 and both 18s. And you don't 'have' to use an external device, I didn't for years and only once had an issue.

 

The point is there is virtually no saving for the company not having a wifi built in and whether you call it 'cut down' or not, is still considerably more expensive than the most expensive of the XR mixers.

Can i ask how you use the XR18 without a tablet or computer? Obviously you can plug in and it will work, but i cant see any way of controlling it without another device. The QT is self contained by the looks of it. 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

I guess the lack of wifi on the 12T is a product differentiation point - the 18T is £175 more and for that you get: 6 extra inputs, wifi, an extra 2 FX and 3 additional control dials. Worth the extra (particularly if you get lucky as I managed, and pick up a B stock 18T for only £40 extra!). If everything was available on the 12T other than the extra inputs, there would maybe be a lot fewer takers for the 18T or the 12T would need to come in at a price point much closer to the 18T?

 

Hardly - the differentiation is obvious. I would pick the 18 over the 12 purely because I want more than 10 jack/xlr inputs. Same as the XR series, you get a 12, but need more channels, get a 16, need multichannel get an 18.

 

57 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Can i ask how you use the XR18 without a tablet or computer? 

 

With an X-Control which is generally how I use it, but not sure I get the point? Do you mean as to why A&H decided to save money on their £666 mixer by not including a £2 wifi connection? 

[dave_bass5]

44 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

With an X-Control which is generally how I use it, but not sure I get the point? Do you mean as to why A&H decided to save money on their £666 mixer by not including a £2 wifi connection? 

Ok, so with an X control. Isnt that an extra box? How is that an extra device, but that apparently you don’t use one 😂

 

Please post the link to how much adding the wifi adds to the box. 

 

Why getting so stroppy? Its not the weekend yet 🙄

 

Edited 8 hours ago by dave_bass5

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

. Why getting so stroppy? Its not the weekend yet 🙄

i was literally going to say the same to you. I am sorry if I caused offence by saying that I thought it was a silly commercial decision to not put Wi-Fi on a expensive mixer, I didn't realise you were a shareholder or something

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Can i ask how you use the XR18 without a tablet or computer? Obviously you can plug in and it will work, but i cant see any way of controlling it without another device. The QT is self contained by the looks of it. 

 

You're either deliberately or accidentally misinterpreting @Woodinblack's reply.

 

You said

 

"As a cut down mixer maybe you are expected to add your own WiFi router if you need to use that, and save money if you don’t. This is not like the XR where you have to use an external device. "

 

so @Woodinblack (and I) naturally assumed that the external device that you were referring to was the router which you mistakenly assumed was necessary to use wifi with the XR series, possibly because so many people say that the XR wifi is unusable (it isn't). Hence his reply

 

"And you don't 'have' to use an external device, I didn't for years and only once had an issue."

 

referring to an external router, not an external controller.

 

So, to sum up

• A router is unnecessary to connect to an XR box but it's not a bad idea to use one
• Some external device is needed to control the XR box, which can be a wired control like an X-Touch or BCF2000 or a tablet connected by wifi
• Don't believe all the bollocks you read on the internet about what is and isn't necessary