QSC TouchMix Review - One Year Later - UPDATE
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2024
- In this video we take another look at the QSC TouchMix mixers after a year of using them since my last review videos. 2018-01-12
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QSC Recording Video Tutorial - • QSC TouchMix Training:...
QSC TouchMix-8 Compact Digital Mixer with Bag -amzn.to/2FuxgcH
QSC TouchMix-16 Compact Digital Mixer with Bag- amzn.to/2CZ5rr6
Gator Cases GMIX-QSCTM16-WP Waterproof Injection Molded Case for QSC TouchMix 16 - amzn.to/2DoLZoM
I record every gig on mine. SSD works great. Never a failure
Can a segate external dive 1tb work for multi track recording
I know this video was made in 2018, BUT I would like to give an update on my TM 8 and 16. I bought my TM 8 in 2014. It has been a trooper. I have run bands with it, DJ’d/karaoked, recorded with it, used as a set up for my home entertainment system, a sub mixer for my drums, etc. No problems. My 16 (bought a little later), has been through Hell, and seen lots of use too. I can’t remember when I bought it, but I recently had problems with it and had some capacitors changed, and 4 mic inputs replaced. It cost me $100 for the parts and bench time. It took 3-4 days to get it back while QSC advised 2-3 months turnaround (boo for them). I think for as long as I have owned both, they have been amazing and $100 to have it fixed and actually sound really good now, is nothing considering it’s almost 10 years old too. Here’s some helpful hints for anyone that has TM8 or 16, or buys one: Run it at 48K (it was a definite help to my system sound wise. You’ll hear the difference too. Hopefully the newer replacement versions will be in 96K). If you have vocalists that are going to sing through the mixer, go to the settings and select the female vocalist setting for your mics (no matter who’s singing). This eq setting and Beta 87’s sound amazing together. Your vocalist will be impressed. Trust me!! Use the option to monitor the feedback and frequency issues religiously (singers who put their mics at their waist and sing are such a PIA), and get to know the compressor, delay, and pitch shift options (especially for karaoke haha). The settings that were created by QSC are a good starting point for all instruments (except maybe the Zydeco band I did sound for a couple of times haha). Also, buy some RJ45 to XLR boxes and use CAT5E, and make all the Berhinger 18 and 32 guys envious when your rig sounds better then theirs haha (and you can run up to 250 feet CAT5 for stage and snake runs too). Sometimes I do run my TM’s into my Blacklion 2X2, use some plug ins and record stereo mixes (and yes I still record to Thumb drives too). I run it back out from the BL 2X2 with minimal issues. There’s no lag. I probably could have hooked up a router for better internet control too over the years, but I mix from IPhone and never really had any issues with the app. Now for the not so good. These things get hot (especially outside, in the summer, in the south). I have bought $80 laptop fans to help dissipate the heat (I am pretty sure that’s why my 16 went down too. I had left my fan at another gig and didn’t have a back up). I think others have had capacitor issues too caused by heating issues. My advice is to buy the biggest laptop fan you can get and use it with your TouchMix. I still despise the power supplies and how it plugs into the mixer. Unfortunately, the 8 and 16 don’t have some of the luxuries of the TM30, but mine have seen 41 states now, 100’s of gigs (my TM8 maybe close to 1,000 now), and have been just kick ass mixers. I don’t think we’re going to get anymore updates either from QSC, but for a product that’s 10 years old now, I could see using it for another 10 years and it still be relevant (especially if QSC could retrofit a new DAC to get them up to 96K). One last thing to add to my novel here. If they were stolen, or just completely quit, would I buy them again? No, but not because they’re not great mixers, but because they are missing some things that other mixers offer that QSC hasn’t caught up with yet. And to replace them both would be about $5-600 more then the TM30, and about $1200 away from the Allen and Heath SQ5. So, I would replace them with SQ5 (and I plan to anyway sometime this summer). BUT I will say that the TM8 is the best mixer still, for 1K and under. Thanks and sorry for the novel.
Between the SQ5 and the Yamaha dm3 which one would you recommend?
Cheers
The recording capability has been flawless for me. I just use a 4GB flash drive to record a whole gig-three separate takes, one for each set. I then import the raw tracks to my DAW and edit as needed. However, I am using the TouchMix 16 for a duo, and only record about a half dozen tracks at once. For the person who questioned if the TouchMix records individual tracks or just the stereo outputs, there’s your answer. You can also record the effects on separate tracks, but I prefer to use my DAW plugin effects.
As for the TouchMix as a gigging mixer, I find a lot of lag in the responsiveness of the touch screen (especially for the first minute or two after bootup), some very slightly noticeable latency, and would love to see electronically controlled input gain controls instead of analog pots. I’m being picky however because in general the TouchMix is a great little mixer for the price, and is almost perfect for my needs.
May I ask if you have to manually sort and align the tracks from your Touchmix hard disk recording, like I've seen people say so far?
I'm interested in such a portable little mixer, but the lack of any digital interface worries me. But workflow is important....
The QSC TouchMix videos are very well done, and informative. I realized that I needed one of these mixers. I purchased a TM-8 for processing my drumset. It operated for almost a year, but then developed several issues. When powering my TM-8 the headphones had no sound, the four aux outs displayed full red on their outputs. One of the mixer channels was also full red, and so were the two main outs. I had NO efx, comp or eq. Powering the TM-8 off and back on would result in fixing the problem, but not every time. I shipped the mixer back to QSC and the tech said he replaced the SD card. Now it’s STILL doing the same thing! Latest from QSC tech said he’s going to replace the board. Sucks for me. I wonder what the failure rate is on these products.
Thanks for sharing your experience Bill, I’m sorry to hear you are having issues. It is surprising to hear for these though, they certainly don’t have a reputation of being flakey or falling apart after a year. I personally know three companies who each own a number of each model and send them out daily on smaller jobs for the past 5+ years without issue. Those are all treated very well & have the upgraded hard case for transport, but I doubt you are throwing yours around between gigs for fun. Was the repair under warranty still with QSC? I’d be interested to hear how it all works out & if they track down the issue this time. Thanks again, stay in touch.
@@DcSoundOp Bottom line is we don't know the failure rate... and to me... If a tech "could not duplicate" the problem, on a $1000 unit, why did he just replace a SD card, and not the entire board. I use this TM-8 every day and on live gigs... Hearing them use vague language on a primary piece of my gear is NOT very satisfying. I sent accurate descriptions and screen shots. I say they should have replaced it.
Completely understanding your frustration, I can also understand where the technician is coming from. It is extremely common for issues like this to hide or refuse to show up when you take them in for repair. At that point, there isn't much they can do & I'd be the technician was frustrated too. Dropping in a new OS on the SD card is a smart and cheap next step to see if it sorts the problem. If the issue still isn't presenting itself to the tech, there isn't much more they can do at that point. It's not a bad diagnostic process though (in my opinion at least). Now that you are reporting the issue remains, it sounds like they are opting to swap the entire main board instead of wasting more of your time going back and forth. Again, completely understanding your frustration with the process, but it sounds like they are handling it well and under warranty which is good to hear.
@@DcSoundOp Yes... he said the board would be replaced which is what I was told in the beginning, prior to shiping it off! I won't say I'm frustrated... just a little dissapointed in the QSC brand. I was going to buy another as back up... that''s what I do with most of my gear, but at this point I may rely on the Yamaha MG12XU and not spend another Grand on the TM8. I am spoiled with the sound I'm getting with this QSC.
Good to know, Thanks.... I just bought this and the 3.0 Firmware just came out as well...
I have had my Touchmix for 2 years now and I am still learning all the aspects of it. I found a nice piece of packing foam cut to the right size and height if stuffed under the power connector tend to keep it from power cycling. I used to use duct tape but it just looks hideous.
That power connector is a struggle for sure. Not sure what QSC was thinking on that one, super out of character for them.
love the channel! keep up the good work!
Question: I am a Bose Tonematch user. It has a gate specifically for kick drum what works so very well. Does the QSC have a gate for that? The reason that QSC's gate may not be all the Bose gate is, is that the Tonematch is designed to work with L1 speakers that are behind the kick drum itself on stage, so it has to be very strong. Any help appreciated.
To fix the loose connector I used a safety pin to bend the contacts inside the cable back towards the center. It worked perfectly, but of course it would be optimal if QSC upgraded the cable.
Hi Robert. Just wondering....Is that a tricky thing to do?? Is there a chance of breaking the cable entirely?? I wonder are QSC making any moves to improve the connector...seems logical!
Hello guys, anytime I record live with a 64G flash drive, there's always a glitch somewhere in the song.
A lil part cuts off and jumps to another part of the song.
I tried 3 different flash, same result?
Hi Femi, are you using an approved drive from this list - www.qsc.com/resources/software-and-firmware/touchmix/qualified-hard-drives/ - also see the note about using 'thumb drives' or usb stick drives as they will work for some things and not others on the TM platform. Have you contacted QSC yet for tech support?
nice
Can I record multi-track direct to my Daw via this mixer and as well transfer recorded job via this mixer to my daw without playback(copy paste audio multi-track folder)
I'd be curious to hear how on-console recording has burned you in the past.. also would be nice to hear how you like to do your redundant recordings for various types of work... like do you multitrack with some external interface (like sending mixer channels out over Dante or something) and then cover yourself with a 2 track? Or a full physical input split into a multitrack recorder? Hey, there's a video idea anyway.
Most of the issues I’ve had with on board Recording were when the LS-9 first got popular, lots of recordings stopping randomly, corrupt files and things like that. I honestly haven’t tried it in a few years.
For redundancy in Recording, a lot of my work is for video / broadcast and typically requires recording redundant stereo feeds but can go all the way up to that plus additional feeds, and ISO’s of different mics, groups etc.
Isolated splits to redundant record decks is typical - sometimes these are cf card recorders from tascam all the way up to Dante splits to something like a pix260 or a MacBook etc. - I see a lot of hyper decks as well, same thing, anything from analog iso splits to multiple decks or just a send to video, which they embed and split themselves over SDI.
It all depends on the budget really and how much redundancy is being built into each show or taping.
So if you arm and record all 8 tracks to an external drive, what do you get on the drive? This is what confuses me, do you get 8 discreet tracks or just the one stereo mix? I ordered a TM8 but cancelled it because of this confusion..
yes, you get 8 tracks. You need to put it in multitrack mode.
Hey bro, you said that you don't own the mixer but would buy one for your arsenal?...Also what are experience on running the internal DSP on multiple channel simultaneously?
Hey Anthony, if I had a need to own one personally, I’d absolutely buy one. I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking about using DSP, can you tell me more about what you’re looking to do? Thanks for watching!
DcSoundOp Thanks for replying...In regards to the second question, I'm really interested in the mixer, I wanted to how it performs when the compressor, gate and equalizer are running on multiple inputs. Does the sound quality change or the mixer handles the loads effectively.
I'd like to know this also. Correct me if I am wrong, but I only saw limiter, not compressor as well. Maybe I misread. I'd like to be able to secure a few vocal channels and a few other devices, but if only a limiter, i'm not sure that will give me the right feel.
Anthony, each input channel has it's own dedicated EQ, Gate and compressor and the console works the same whether you are using these dynamic effects on one or all channels. It also works equally as well when you have these effects engaged on all input channels and the output channels.
Rick, the mixer has a compressor on each input channel, and the option to select either a compressor or Limiter on each output channel.
Just got a Touchmix-16 to mic my double bass drum kit. Is there a feature on the touchmix to flip the phase or invert the polarity.
😁
Touchmix 8/16 is a bit of a prison, with no digital interface other than recording to an SSD.
Your options to get your tracks into a daw amount to connecting your SSD to the computer and then sorting and aligning individual tracks manually - according to what Touchmix users said - which I find preposterous - especially given how cheap it is to integrate a USB chip.
QSC told me to buy a Touchmix 30, which does have a USB interface, but if I have to haul something big, I'd rather just carry my SQ-5 with zero touchscreen lag and exceptionally good motorfaders.
I'd like the touchmix for their portability, but it seems to have a broken workflow for recording and further editing/processing in a DAW - as far as I could find out from the interwebs...
QSC Customer support have so far not answered my question in that regard.
QSC provides a free DAW utility program or Mac & Windows to make moving files back and forth easier - www.qsc.com/resources/software-and-firmware/touchmix/touchmix-daw-utility/ - they also offer a really in depth series of training on the TouchMix mixers and recording with them specifically so you don't have to guess about processes or rely on second hand info from other users who also may not be fully up to speed - training.qsc.com/mod/book/view.php?id=238
@@DcSoundOp Much thanks for your answer! I visited your links and will check out that software!
This makes it much more likely to be able to use your smaller Touchmix consoles without spending a lot of time on manual alignments and such.
Copying files is no hurdle at all, but un-aligned tracks are indeed a big hurdle in loss of valuable time.
Further, QSC's specifications were talking about 32 Bit resolution, but did not mention that it was 32 Bit Float. I saw that for the first time, when I just looked at QSC's transfer software page you linked!
That's even better. I am now very close to being sold on it ;-) nice! and thanks for the help!
I wish it had sound interface
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Hello guys, anytime I record live with a 64G flash drive, there's always a glitch somewhere in the song.
A lil part cuts off and jumps to another part of the song.
I tried 3 different flash, same result?
Hi Femi, are you using an approved drive from this list - www.qsc.com/resources/software-and-firmware/touchmix/qualified-hard-drives/ - also see the note about using 'thumb drives' or usb stick drives as they will work for some things and not others on the TM platform. Have you contacted QSC yet for tech support?
@@DcSoundOp thank you🙏
Anytime, hope my response was helpful. Stay in touch.