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The TouchMix Series should be affordable to nearly any size church, although the feature set will likely cause even the largest churches to sit up and take notice.
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Sleek and compact, new QSC TouchMix comes with its own padded carrying case.
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On the output side (all on XLR connectors) TouchMix offers stereo mains plus auxes: six mono and two stereo on the TM-16 and four mono on the TM-8, any of which can be used for direct drive of wired IEMs. Outputs also offer limiters, 1/3-octave graphic EQ, notch filters and delay.
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TouchMix models also sport a large rotary encoder knob for parameter setting and a number of dedicated buttons for selecting key functions and user presets. Faders are controlled through a color, capacitive touch screen.
Rumors about a QSC mixer have been circulating from some time, and at this year's Winter NAMM Show taking place this week in Anaheim, California, the rumors are turning into reality. A company once known only for amplifiers, then more recently for its full line of passive and powered speakers, is now making a serious entry into the mixer market with its two eye-catching TouchMix models. And, perhaps wisely, QSC is doing it at the entry level.
First, the best of the good news. These are mixers that any church of any size can afford, yet they are packed with features that all but the tiniest and most traditional could (and should) use. A QSC spokesperson, emphasizing that these are preliminary estimates, says the eight-input TouchMix-8 should have a street tag of around $899 and the 16-input TouchMix-16 around $1,299. So these won't be budget-busters for the smallest churches, and larger churches will find them delightfully affordable for auxiliary duty or in
secondary rooms.
Before proceeding further, let's deal with the most obvious feature, or lack thereof. These mixers are sleek and slender because they have, obviously, no hardware faders. All fader moves are made on the color capacitive touchscreen, which is about seven-inch diagonal – the size of many popular tablets. This tactile-faders-or-not controversy is a practical matter which we'll (pardon the pun) touch on later.
Nevertheless, not everything is done on-screen. Unlike Mackie's totally iPad-centric DL Series, TouchMix models also sport a large rotary encoder for parameter setting and a number of dedicated buttons for selecting key functions and user presets. Dedicated hardware controls cost money, so the idea here was to use them where most advantageous and program the rest into the software. It makes sense, and compared to a same-input Mackie unit with a dedicated new iPad, it should save you money. (I love my iPad, but cheap it was not.)
These are mixers that any church of any size can afford...
Taking that sensible approach, QSC could afford to pack in the features. Here's a quick rundown. Each model has four dual ¼-inch/XLR inputs, plus four more XLRs on the smaller mixer and 12 more on the larger. Each input channel has four bands of full parametric EQ, variable high- and low-pass filters, plus compressor and gate. Each channel also has access to four stereo DSP effects engines, and channels can be assigned to any of eight DCA and eight Mute groups.
On the output side (all on XLR connectors) we have stereo mains plus auxes: six mono and two stereo on the TM-16 and four mono on the TM-8, any of which can be used for direct drive of wired IEMs. Outputs also offer limiters, 1/3-octave graphic EQ, notch filters and delay.
Read QSC's Official Announcement About the Launch of the new TouchMix Series of Compact Digital Mixers
Now, let's face it, this plethora of features can be intimidating for many – maybe even most – volunteer operators at those smaller churches that finally can afford a full-blown digital mixer. QSC seems to have thought that through, because for many of the functions you can select either Advanced Mode or Simple Mode: in the former, you can dive in and tweak everything, where the latter only basic functions are accessible. The mixers also come loaded with a library of channel presets that are pre-optimized for use with various instruments and microphone types. An Effects Wizard helps select the most appropriate DSP settings, and the library of Mixer Scenes allows users to find one closest to their situation and modify as needed from there.
And, yes, there's more. You can plug an external hard drive into the USB port and directly record all input channels and a stereo output to 32-bit broadcast WAV files. Finally, if you really want to mix using your (not cheap) iPad while seated in the congregation, you can do so using the included Wi-Fi interface. There's a QSC app for that.
I've yet to hear one of these new little mixers in action, but assuming the mic pre's are up to snuff, the audio performance should be just fine. Sampling frequency is selectable at 44.1 or 48 kHz (nobody offers 96 kHz at this level), and the maximum latency of 1.6 ms is no problem. Noise, distortion and crosstalk are way down where you expect with quality digital.
Okay, now back to the missing faders issue. Let's face it, for many of the younger iPod/Pad/Phone generation, this is, like, zero problemo. A seven-inch screen is ample space to do all you need to do, particularly with faders presented in dual banks of eight on the TM-16.
It's also workable for me, a veteran analog fader jockey, in situations where I can look down at the screen. But sometimes I need to be watching the stage. For example, when I mix the Rogue Valley Gospel Group – with seven vocalists constantly improvising and switching leads – I keep seven fingers locked on the assigned faders to finesse the balance while watching for visual cues. Hard to do on a screen.
But, alas, hardware faders cost money. You can get them on a digital board by stepping up one price category, but you won't get the motorized faders you need for full automated recall. To get motorized, you take an even steeper step up in cost with the same overall quality elsewhere. QSC chose not to go there…for now.
Of course you can get outboard USB controllers with tactile faders, though most of these were developed for recording applications, and I'm not sure which (if any) would work with these units. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these developed with live sound in mind. Perhaps QSC has one in the works. It's obvious that the TouchMix concept offers enormous value, and tactile control is about the only thing missing from the seemingly very well-thought-out package.