Becoming familiar with your hardware on TouchMix

Site: QSC
Course: House of Worship Audio Training
Book: Becoming familiar with your hardware on TouchMix
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Thursday, 21 November 2024, 6:45 AM

Description

Lesson Description

In this video we’ll get familiar with the hardware on the TouchMix Family of mixers; inputs and outputs (I/O), buttons and touch screen.

Video Transcript

00:15
QSC offers 3 models of TouchMix Digital Mixers;
00:19
The TouchMix 30 Pro,  the TouchMix 16 and the TouchMix 8.
00:24
No matter the size of your church and your stage setup,  there is always a TouchMix perfectly suited for your purposes.  
00:32
Let’s take a look at the hardware on each of the TouchMix Family of mixers. 
00:37
First we have our inputs. The TouchMix 30 Pro which is the flagship of the QSC mixers features 32 inputs.
00:45
24 of those are mic/line inputs. This is where you might plug in things like your instruments and spoken word microphones. 
00:54
4 of these inputs are XLR/quarter inch combos,  
00:57
meaning you can plug in an XLR or a quarter inch jack straight into these inputs.
01:04
There’s 6 balanced 1/4 inch TRS inputs. 
01:08
In House of Worship applications these would most likely be used for things like your presentation computers.
01:16
On top we have an 1/8 inch TRS jack which is perfect for playing music from any smart devices. 
01:22
This mixer also has a stereo USB input, which is perfect for mp3 playback.
01:29
The TouchMix 16 features a total 22 inputs.  
01:33
16 of those being mic/line inputs with 4 of these being XLR/quarter inch combos.  
01:40
There are 2 stereo 1/4 inch TRS inputs and a stereo USB input for mp3 playback.
01:48
The TouchMix 8 features 14 total inputs.  
01:52
8 of those being XLR mic/line inputs with 4 of those being the XLR/quarter inch combos.  
02:00
There are 2 stereo 1/4 inch TRS inputs and a stereo USB input for mp3 playback.
02:08
Let’s take a look at our outputs. The TouchMix 30 Pro features 14 XLR aux outputs.  
02:16
These might feed things like your stage monitors, a broadcast mix for live streaming  
02:20
or send signal to other spaces in your church like an entrance area, cry room or outdoor patio.
02:27
There are two 1/4 inch TRS outputs right on the mixer for in-ear-monitors.  
02:33
These are paralleled to auxes 11/12 and 13/14.
02:38
There are 2 cue outputs; one right here on the back and one right here on the top.   
02:45
This allows you to cue and listen to whichever mix or individual channel you would like.
02:50
Right here are your L/R main outputs, which will feed your main loudspeakers.
02:57
These right here are monitor outputs where you can either listen to a duplicate of the L/R mix  
03:03
or choose to cue any output mix or input channel you would like.  
03:08
In some HOW applications the monitor outputs might feed a pair of near field loudspeakers right at the mix position
03:15
so the operator doesn’t have to put headphone on to cue things.  
03:19
The TouchMix 16 features 6 XLR aux outputs, which are perfect for stage monitors.  
03:26
Here is your L/R main outputs, which would go to your house loudspeakers.  
03:32
Up here we have 2 TRS 1/4 inch outputs for stereo in-ear-monitors.  
03:38
There is a TRS 1/4 inch out for headphones and another stereo output for a monitor mix.
03:45
The TouchMix 8 features 4 XLR aux outputs, again perfect for stage monitors.
03:52
Here are your L/R main outputs, which would go to your house speakers.  
03:58
Right here we have 1 TRS 1/4 inch output for stereo in-ear-monitors.  
04:05
This is paralleled to aux 3/4.
04:09
And right here we have one cue/monitor output for headphones.
04:15
Next, let’s take a look at the physical screen and buttons.
04:19
The screen on the TouchMix 30 Pro is a multi-touch capacitive screen. It accepts up to four touch points simultaneously.  
04:28
Which is convenient if you want to do something like a cross-fade with your faders.
04:34
The TouchMix 8 and 16 use a single touch capacitive screen.  
04:38
Take advantage of multi touch capability by pairing your TouchMix 8 or 16 with an ipad.
04:46
This here is the encoder wheel that can be used to easily and accurately adjust any parameter that is selected on the screen.
04:54
We call this the “Touch-and-turn” workflow technique.
04:59
When pressed down it will give you fine control level adjustments in half dB increments.
05:05
These buttons here and up here with a U on them are user buttons.  
05:11
You can program them to perform certain custom actions.
05:16
This button here is the 0 button. When an input fader is highlighted, pushing it will return the fader to 0.
05:25
When an output fader is highlighted it will return the fader to unity.
05:32
Here is the headphones button.
05:34
Selecting this allows you to control the volume of your headphone mix.
05:40
Right here is your talkback button.
05:43
Press this one to talk to your band through the monitors on stage.
05:47
Press this Monitor button to access its control screen.  
05:51
Here you can control the monitor volume and select which mix you would like to listen to.
05:58
The Mute Groups button gives you instant access to your mute groups page to edit and create your own mute groups.
06:06
This button here is the Mute FX button. It mutes and unmutes all FX when you press it.
06:15
This Aux button brings up an overview of all your aux send levels.
06:21
This Wizard button give you access to the FX, Gain and Tuning Wizard.
06:28
You’ll find these super useful especially if you're still learning and growing in your understanding of audio engineering.
06:35
This button here labeled Mic 48v brings up an overview of which input channels have phantom power enabled.
06:44
You can easily enable phantom power from here for multiple channels at once.
06:50
This Info button is your user manual. Anything you need to know about the mixer can be found here.
06:59
This RTA button gives you instant access to your real time analyzer.  
07:04
You can easily select which mix you would like access to view the RTA.
07:12
This button that says anti-feedback gives you instant access to the Anti-Feedback Wizard.  
07:19
If you’re not quite sure how to get rid of offending feedback frequencies.  
07:23
This wizard will do it for you.
07:27
This Rec/Play button access the record set up screen.  
07:32
This makes multi tracking to a usb drive simple.
07:36
DAW capability on the TouchMix 30 Pro would be accessed by pressing this button as well.
07:43
The Menu button gives you access to various other set up functions for your mixer.
07:49
This button right here is the all-important Home button.  
07:53
It brings you back to your mix window.
07:56
If you’re ever lost in another menu press the home button to get back to your mix.
08:03
There are a few instances where the home button functions as a page back button.
08:08
In those instances, just press it one more time to return to your main mix window.
08:13
Aside from the additional functionality available on the TouchMix 30 Pro  
08:18
the buttons and screens on all the TouchMix Family of mixers are very much the same, making the transition between mixers seamless.
08:27
And there you have it.
08:29
Hardware, buttons, knobs and dials on the TouchMix family of mixers.