Soundcraft VI4 switching VCAs between pre and post.

[StrykeBack]

So one of the churches I play in the band at just installed one of these. I haven't done live sound in a year or 2 nor have I used this digital console but its beautiful and sounds great but the sound guys have a problem. We had a great in ear monitor mix going and the sound guy started mixing front of house and screwed up the monitor mix which shouldn't have happened.

No one can seem to find a way to switch the vcas between post and pre fader and I haven't had time to spend the day with the console since anytime I'm there I'm busy performing.

Has anyone used it and know the quick fix?

[Remoteness]

VCAs on a digital desk?
I believe you are referring to DCAs.

[jude]

VCA/DCA's will have no effect on pre fade sends.(at least on all the consoles ive ever used)

if you make sure all aux sends feeding the foldback are set to prefade you shouldnt have a problem

[fifthcircle]

A VCA as a general thing is never switched pre or post... The VCA (or DCA as it is termed in Yamaha's Digital consoles- either way it is the same thing in an analog or digital implementation) is essentially like grabbing handfulls of faders and moving them. By that nature, it cannot be either pre or post- rather that would be your aux sends. A VCA should not affect a prefade send, only a post fade one (remember, you're just grabbing faders to raise or lower them).

--Ben

[fifthcircle]

I just went and looked at my software for the VI6 (close, but not the same board) and it looks like all of the auxes on the board default to post-fade. I don't know the command offhand to make a global prefade, but it looks like your monitor feeds need to be set to prefade to avoid your issues.

--Ben

[StrykeBack]

Thank you guys so much for the help. Like I said its been a year or 2 since I've been on a board for running house mains or even monitors and I thought it was weird when the sound guys were fighting about having to reset the monitor mixes which were good to go so they could do a quick house mix 20 minutes before we are supposed to be playing...

The guy that was arguing about the issue of pre/post fader mixes has had tons of experience with these consoles and front of house mixing but what I'm thinking has been going on is that the guy that setup the monitor mixes isn't as familiar with proper mixing techniques and didn't set everything to unity before adjusting the preamp gains and that is what the big argument was around but I'l be sure to send a few of them over to this thread to have a looksee.

[Remoteness]

Well, that's a completely different story and it makes a lot more sense to me now.
The preamp gains must be addressed before you fiddle with the MON and FOH mixes.

In any event, that had to be done first any way you look at it.

[StrykeBack]

yes I know I left that important part out but I just found out about that as well. Still the main guy that supposedly knows what he's doing was making such a big deal about how all the mon sends are post fader and he doesn't know how to switch them so I was looking for that as well. haha
but thanks guys

[bishopthomas]

Sounds like a case of not being familiar with your gear before utilizing it. Also, most digital consoles let you split the channels in some way, letting you run FOH off one set of faders and monitors off another. You may have to share preamps, but pre/post, EQ, dynamics, and effects can all be independent.

[fifthcircle]

I don't know where the global switch is on the VI 6, but on that console, the individual switch is on the channel and the way it comes up on the Vistonics screen views. You can switch the button so it is either on/off or pre/post.

--Ben

[mixedupsteve]

How do I change the Aux pre/post mode on all channels? There is an easy way to do this (or any other function change that needs to be done on a lot of channels) and it's called the GANG mode.

First press the GANG button (next to SOLO CLR on the master fader panel) and it lights up in blue.
Next, either press input 1 and input 32 solo button simultaneously, which will select all channels in between into the gang (making a gang of all 32chs on the layer you can see), or if you want all 64chs in the gang, PRESS AND HOLD the Gang button AFTER YOU HAVE ALREADY SWITCHED IT ON, and this will gang all 64.

You can add or subtract channels from the gang by pressing their Solo/Sel buttons.

Then you simply use the PRE mode button (below Copy/Paste buttons) to change the Vistonics Aux On/Off buttons into Pre/post mode, and then press one of these Aux On/off buttons on ANY of the ganged channels, and the Pre/post mode will change to the same mode on all channels for that particular bus.

When finished, switch Gang mode off, and also don't forget to switch the global PRE mode button off again!

Hint: It is also advisable after using a Gang to CLEAR the gang contents before switching Gang mode OFF - this is done by pressing and holding the Solo/Sel button of any of the member channels whilst still in Gang mode. Try to get into the habit of doing this as a routine before you switch Gang off, as otherwise it's easy to leave channels selected to a Gang on a layer you can't see which could remain selected the next time you use Gang.

[StrykeBack]

Hey guys we had another service tonight and I sat and read through most of the manual and talked with the guy running the board tonight so most of what you guys had to say they were well aware of but it was just training all the guys that use it to run it "correctly" the same way....

Anyways one thing that they want to do and I scanned that manual over and over and what should make it work...doesn't.

For the Aux buss, there should be a way to switch pre fader, post fader, and POST PROCESSING. Its in the flow chart on multiple schematics throughout the book. The main reason is they are trying to get everyone on an in-ears system and the drummer and bass player can't stand when they process the drums with dynamics such as the gate or limiter. So they don't use it in the house because it would end up in their in-ears. Which is ridiculous.

I found an INSERT POINT switch in the yellow section where pan control is set. And the book even says thats for eq / dynamics but it actually only changes another insert that you put into the chain such as a delay or a lexicon and not the "onboard" dynamics of a gate or compressor.

I'm wondering if the "post processing" mode only works in the instances where you are using the matrix section, which they are not currently using and just using aux busses.


Also another quick question their engineers wanted me to drop on here. Anybody that has used this console, have you tried clocking it to an external clock and heard any noticeable difference?

[Big_Bang]

I just wanted to bump this thread ´cos I worked with this board last weekend. Hadn't gone live in a LONG time, and rarely on a digital board (live). I think I ony did an odd Roland that was... ... ok at best.

But this one... nice nice nice! The layout is just great and super intuitive. Luckily I didn't have do the matrix setup, that looked pretty freaky to me due to the internal digital patchbay vs venue P.A., but hey, not really my responsability either.

Great sounding! The gates are very good indeed, as are the dynamics too, loved them! I guess verbs and delays must be too as they are signed by lexicon, but the venue was so damn lively sounding I couldn't appreciate them properly...

Anyways, sorry to bump for an off topic... but for the VI4