Allen & Heath has released V1.4 firmware for its SQ series, delivering a raft of features and new dynamic processing options ported from the company’s flagship dLive digital mixing system.
V1.4 unveils a trio of audio tools, comprising multiband compressors, dynamic EQ and de-esser, all straight from the FX rack of dLive. These optional add-ons allow SQ users to have up to eight instances that can be inserted on any input channel, group or mix.
V1.4 also introduces the offline mode for SQ’s MixPad app, which is now also being released for PC and Mac (previously iOS and Android only). Offline mode enables engineers to create entire show files without the need for an SQ, manage shows and scenes offline, and send and receive entire shows over a wired or wireless network.
Users can further streamline their workflow using SQ’s new input ganging, which features eight separate gangs with drag ‘n’ drop set-up to link processing, routing and faders across multiple input channels and can also be switched per-scene.
SQ’s overhauled recall filters provide further control over the mix and have been extended to include per-scene filtering, ideal for theatre engineers or those needing to use complex scene-to-scene recalls. For installations and studio engineers, high resolution MIDI control to and from the mixer has been implemented, enabling absolute and relative adjustments of essential parameters remotely, as well as the ability to send automation from a DAW, or send and receive scene changes, all via network or USB.
Additional highlights include a mono option for the matrices, store and recall of individual scenes and libraries to a USB device, socket control directly from the I/O screen, and new softKey / soft rotary options.
“What’s great about this release is that it delivers a whole bunch of user-requested features which really enhance the SQ mixing experience,” comments Keith Johnson, Allen & Heath’s SQ product manager. “In particular, MixPad’s offline mode is something that users have been asking for, so to be able to have this and make it available on PC/Mac too is a real winner.”
