Allen & Heath Qu-SB review

Qu-SB is a portable mixer with 18 inputs (16 mic/line, two line), 14 outputs (12 XLR, two TRS) and one headphone output. 

Allen & Heath’s dSnake equipped AudioRacks can extend the connectivity further (potentially 38 ins, 24 outs) and it’s compatible with their ME Personal Mixing System. Mixer control is iPad only, and you’ll need to hook up your own wi-fi router. Nevertheless, you do get three complementary apps: Qu-Pad (the engineer’s app), Qu-You (musician’s monitoring) and Qu-Control (a levels only mixer app). 

Onboard processing includes EQ, dynamics and ducking on all inputs, and EQ and dynamics across all outputs, with a selection of full channel and individual module presets. There are four iLive inspired FX engines with 82 reverb, delay, modulation and gated verb presets. These default to the four dedicated FX busses but can also be inserted across inputs and outputs. As well as the full mixer, you get three Custom layouts, and selecting just the elements of your choice (inputs, busses and so on) is a nice touch. 

Qu-SB supports 32 channels of DAW I/O via USB 2.0, but also includes onboard multi-track recording to USB stick, supporting up to 18 tracks at 48kHz 24-bit. Further features include automatic gain adjustment for multiple mic set-ups (AMM), and MIDI DAW control (there’s a template for Mackie Control and HUI). 

All told the Qu-SB is an excellent and scalable device, with some great options and excellent iOS apps.