Powering on

CQ-12T and CQ-18T

1) Connect mains power to the inline 12V DC PSU

2) Connect the PSU to the CQ

3) Power on the CQ using the power switch

4) Turn down output levels on the CQ

5) Connect outputs to external equipment e.g. amplifiers or powered speakers

6) Power on and set input levels on any external equipment e.g. amplifiers, powered speakers, IEM transmitters

7) Turn up output levels on the CQ

CQ-20B

1) Connect mains power to the unit

2) Connect outputs to external equipment e.g. amplifiers or powered speakers

3) Power on and set input levels on any external equipment e.g. amplifiers, powered speakers, IEM transmitters

4) Turn up output levels on the CQ

Powering off

CQ-12T and CQ-18T

1) Turn down output levels on the CQ

2) Stop any recordings to USB-A or SD Card

3) Power down or disconnect any external equipment e.g. amplifiers, powered speakers, IEM transmitters

4) Touch the Shut Down button in the HOME / Home (Symbol) screen

5) Turn off the power using the power switch on the CQ

6) Turn off and disconnect the PSU (if required)

CQ-20B

1) Turn down output levels on the CQ

2) Stop any recordings to USB-A or SD Card

3) Power down or disconnect any external equipment e.g. amplifiers, powered speakers, IEM transmitters

4) Touch the Shut Down button in the HOME / Home (Symbol) screen

5) Turn off and disconnect mains power (if required)

Physical Controls (CQ-12T, CQ-18T)

Screen keys

5x Keys for navigation between the main CONFIG, PROCESSING, FADER, FX and HOME screens.

• Screens have persistence, other than for channel selection, which is followed across CONFIG, PROCESSING and FADER screens.
• Screen keys can be pressed multiple times in some screens:
  • In HOME to return to the home tab and control headphone level.
  • In PROCESSING to exit a processing view and return to bank view.

Soft Keys

3x Custom keys that can be set to control tap tempos, mutes, scene controls and recording amongst many other functions.

Touchscreen and touchscreen rotary control

7” capacitive multi-touch screen. Touch and drag on-screen to control faders. Touch a parameter on screen and use the touchscreen rotary control to adjust. The touchscreen rotary and parameter will illuminate yellow to indicate control.

Soft Rotaries / Smart Rotaries (CQ-18T)

3x Rotary controls with RGB illumination that can be set to control levels and processing parameters for a specific channel or the currently selected channel.

Smart Rotaries mode assigns parameters to the rotaries depending on the current screen. For example, in input bank view, the rotaries will control Gain, Pan and send level. With a compressor on screen, they instead control Ratio, Threshold and Gain.

Coloured dots in the controls on screen match the Smart Rotary illumination to indicate which parameters are linked.

CQ-MixPad

The CQ-MixPad app has been designed to have an almost identical interface to the touchscreen on the CQ-12T and CQ-18T.

CQ Touchscreen (Processing bank view)

CQ-MixPad (Processing bank view)

Differences

1. Main screen keys:
   Physical keys on hardware Vs Main tabs at the top of CQ-MixPad
2. Soft Keys:
   Physical keys on hardware Vs buttons on CQ-MixPad
3. Location of channel bank tabs:
   At the top of a CQ touchscreen Vs At the bottom left of CQ-MixPad
4. Keyboard text entry:
   On-screen with hardware Vs Default method for the remote device

Some additions with CQ-MixPad are:

1. Faders are available at the bottom of Processing and FX screens.
2. Other than in the Processing screen, output selection and output level fader are always available on the right-hand side.

Control and fine adjustment of faders in CQ-MixPad

Touch or click and drag to move faders up or down.

Keep the fader selected (keep finger on screen or click and hold) and move left or right away from the fader to make finer adjustments when moving up or down. The further from the fader, the finer the control.

Adjustment of processing parameters in CQ-MixPad

Touch or click and drag left and right on complete channel processing parameters to adjust.

Keep the control selected (keep finger on the screen or click and hold) and move up or down away from the parameter for finer adjustments when moving left or right. The farther from the parameter, the finer the adjustment.

Control of Quick Channel and FX parameters

These (generally larger) controls do not offer fine control and are designed to be adjusted using both left/right and up/down gestures.

CQ4You

The CQ4You app allows each musician or performer to control only the send levels to their own monitor out.

The main screen displays the overall output level on the right, with the ability to select the output being controlled above this, and a mute at the bottom.

To the left are 4 groups with control wheels, which are used to adjust the send levels for all channels assigned to it simultaneously. Meaning, for example, that all the drums in the monitor can be turned up or down at the same time.

Double tap a wheel to rename it, assign channels to it and make individual send level adjustments for all assigned channels in the group.

Workflow and main screens overview

The CQ UI has been designed for fast operation during mixing and with a logical layout for setup. Common mixing functions appear in the middle 3 screens, with the idea that the user ‘works in’ from the HOME and CONFIG screens during setup, and then switches between PROCESSING, FADER and FX screens when mixing.

The basic intended workflow is as follows:

HOME – Set/check headphone level and use Quick Start to recall a template if required. Recall a scene or data as a starting point. Return to the home screen for headphone level adjustment, or if carrying out system functions (e.g. recording or formatting media, or setting system preferences).

CONFIG – Initial configuration of the mixer before mixing. Work from left to right at the bottom of the screen on a channel-by-channel basis to set name and colour, recall channel libraries and to set gains on inputs or delays on outputs. Configure USB patching and Bluetooth connection, switch AMM on/off, set up physical and remote control (network setup for app control).

PROCESSING – Adjust processing on a channel-by-channel basis. This screen is about looking at each channel individually, including seeing SENDS from each channel to all possible output and FX destinations. Touch a channel once to select it, then touch any processing ‘block’ to make adjustments.

FADER – Adjust signal being sent to a selected output or FX (by default input levels going to Main LR). Includes control of overall level to output sockets and access to input and output mutes. In the opposite way to the PROCESSING / SENDS screen, which shows one source going to multiple destinations, the FADER screen shows multiple sources to one destination.

FX – Adjust FX parameters as required. Recall different FX models to each FX unit. Use the SENDS TO screen (for FX in shared mode) to see all channels using that FX unit. Quickly mute all FX between songs.

Quick Start

The Quick Start button (in the first HOME screen tab) opens a list of factory templates for use as the starting point for some typical mixer applications.

Recalling a Quick Start template will set all CONFIG, PROCESSING and FX screen parameters, including input and output channel linking, naming and colour along with all processing and FX units.

The Quick Start workflow is:

1. Recall a Quick Start template
2. Use the CONFIG screen to make any adjustments to the setup and set input gains (using Gain Assistant)
3. Raise levels in the FADER screen
4. Make changes to the mix using the PROCESSING, FADER and FX screens

Once the template has been adjusted to suit, it can then be stored as a Scene or into a Show for future use.

Important things to be aware of when using Quick Start:

• The current state of the CQ will be overwritten, so it’s good practice to store a Scene before recalling a Quick Start template.
• Unlike a Scene, Quick Start can change stereo linking of inputs and outputs and EQ Type. This can mean that recalling Scenes after recalling a Quick Start template results in an unexpected setup. To correct an issue due to different configurations, reset stereo linking and EQ Types to the correct state and recall the Scene again.
• Preamp Gain settings will be set to 0dB and all +48V Phantom Power will be turned off.

Templates

All Quick – All linkable channels set to mono. All mono and stereo inputs have the EasyEQ Quick Channel running (and flat) for simple, quick control of any input source type.

All Complete – All linkable channels set to mono. All mono and stereo inputs have a Complete Channel recalled with all processing blocks fully reset.

Conference - All linkable channels set to mono. First bank of inputs use Voice Quick Channels. All other mono and stereo inputs use EasyEQ Quick Channel (set flat).

ⓘ Turn the Automatic Microphone Mixer On for each voice channel being used in the CONFIG / AMM screen.

Rock* – Inputs set for Drums, Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar and Vocals, all using Quick Channels.

Pop* - Inputs set for Drums, Bass, Guitar, Keys, Synth and Vocals, all using Quick Channels.

Country* - Inputs set for Drums, Bass, Keys, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, Harmonica and Vocals, all using Quick Channels.

Jazz* – Inputs set for Drums, Bass, Piano, Guitar, Saxophone, Trumpet and Vocals, all using Quick Channels.

*These templates vary depending on CQ model being used.

Shows, Scenes and Libraries

Shows

The CQ has one ‘Show’ running on it at any time. A Show includes the current state of the mixer, the current mixer config, mixer preferences, up to 100 Scenes and up to 128 Library items.

Shows are used for different setups and applications and therefore recall more settings than a Scene, including stereo linking of channels, Output EQ Type and brightness settings for screens or LED’s.

However, Shows do not include network settings, unit name, stored Bluetooth connections, or USB/SD settings. These are set per unit, so that network settings on a venue’s mixer are not overwritten when a visiting engineer recalls a Show!

Multiple Shows can be stored and recalled using a USB storage device (e.g. a USB stick drive).

Scenes

Scenes allow instantaneous storage and recall of multiple parameters and settings at once. They store/recall the mix state of the CQ and can be used for the different scenes of a theatre production (hence the name), different songs in a set, or even different bands at a show if the setups are similar.

The CQ has 100 Scene slots available (per show). A Scene stores all preamp, channel naming, processing parameters, send levels, FX units and parameters and Soft Key and Soft Rotary assignments.

Libraries

Libraries are used throughout the CQ to store and recall parameters for channels or processing.

The button to open the library can be found in the CONFIG, INPUTS and OUTPUTS screens, the top right-hand corner of most PROCESSING screens and the FX screen.

A different library is opened depending on which screen is being viewed.

Stored in the CQ

• 1 Show
• Network settings
• Unit name
• Factory Libraries

Stored in each Show

• 100 Scenes
• 128 User Libraries
• Input/Output Stereo Linking
• USB source and sample rate
• Surface brightness preferences
• Chromatic Metering settings
• Headphone Level

Stored in each Scene

• Input Source
• Preamp/Trim settings
• Input/Output processing
• Send levels and panning
• Channel names and colours
• Channel mutes
• FX units and parameters
• Custom Layer setup
• SoftKey/SoftRotary assignments
• Footswitch settings
• AMM settings

Available Libraries

ⓘ All Libraries are displayed as a pop-up, accessed using the Library button in the screen listed in brackets here. Libraries affect the selected channel or processing being viewed.

Whole Input Channel (CONFIG / INPUTS)
Includes: Input name/colour, preamp/trim settings, Quick Channel or Complete Channel (HPF, Gate, PEQ, Compressor)

Input Channel Processing (PROCESSING / INPUTS (bank view))
Includes: Quick Channel, Complete Channel (HPF, Gate, PEQ, Compressor)

Input Channel Processing (PROCESSING / INPUT / Quick Channel)
Includes: Quick Channel or Complete Channel (HPF, Gate, PEQ, Compressor)

Whole Output Channel (CONFIG / OUTPUTS)
Includes: Output name, EQ Type, GEQ or PEQ+FBA, Compressor, Limiter

Output Channel Processing (PROCESSING / OUTPUTS (bank view))
Includes: EQ Type, GEQ or PEQ+FBA, Compressor, Limiter

Gate (PROCESSING / INPUT / Gate)
Includes: Gate settings only

GEQ (PROCESSING / OUTPUT / GEQ)
Includes: GEQ settings only

PEQ (PROCESSING / INPUT / PEQ and PROCESSING / OUTPUT / PEQ)
Includes: PEQ settings only

Feedback Assistant (PROCESSING / OUTPUT / FBA)
Includes: FBA settings and Fixed Mode filters only

Compressor (PROCESSING / INPUT / Compressor and PROCESSING / OUTPUT / Compressor)
Includes: Compressor settings only

Limiter (PROCESSING / OUTPUT / Limiter)
Includes: Limiter settings only

FX (FX)
Includes: FX model, FX parameters, FX Unit Mute Mode, Insert Mix%

Processing Copy, Paste and Reset

Copy

Open the dropdown menu from the top right-hand corner and select Copy to see the available processing to Copy.

Copying can be carried out in the bank view (as shown), but also when viewing individual processing.

Touch any of the options to copy the processing. The copied processing block or channel will be indicated with a lighter green.

Paste

Open the dropdown menu from the top right-hand corner (if not already open from copying) and select Paste to see the available places any copied processing can be pasted

Touch any of the options to paste the processing. Any processing block or channel where processing has been pasted will be indicated with a lighter blue.

Pasting can be carried out in the bank view (as shown), but also when viewing individual processing.

Reset

Open the dropdown menu from the top right-hand corner and select Reset to see the available reset options.

Touch any of these options to reset processing to default values.

Resets can be carried out in the bank view (as shown), but also when viewing individual processing.

Processing Quick Fire

Open the dropdown menu from the top right-hand corner when in a bank view and select Quick Fire to view an overlay which allows processing to be quickly switched in or out across all visible complete channels.

Quick Fire also allows channels to be muted from within the PROCESSING screen.

Convert a Quick Channel to a Complete Channel

Any Quick Channel can be converted to a Complete Channel at any time without any change to the audio.

This allows Quick Channels to be used for a fast setup, but which can then be switched to Complete Channels for control of individual parameters if desired.

Open the dropdown menu from the top right-hand corner when in a bank view with the Quick Channel selected, or when viewing the Quick Channel controls of the channel to be converted, then select Convert.

A pop-up explaining what will happen will appear and give the option to apply or cancel conversion.

Note that it is not possible for Complete Channels to be converted to Quick Channels.