Allen & Heath QU-32 Digital Mixing Console

Allen & Heath Qu-32 Digital Mixing Console – 32 Channels With Everything Under Your Hands

When a show carries a full band, a choir or a busy corporate input list, a compact mixer runs out of faders before it runs out of channels. The Allen & Heath Qu-32 answers with surface area: 32 recallable AnalogiQ microphone preamps, 33 motorised 100mm faders and a 7-inch touchscreen in a 38-in / 28-out digital console, plus a 32×32 USB audio interface for multitrack recording. It belongs to the original 48 kHz Qu generation – a proven platform that working engineers already know, with scene recall that makes changeovers between acts a button press instead of a repatch.

Key features

• 32 local AnalogiQ microphone preamps with full scene recall
• 33 motorised 100mm faders – channel levels visible and reachable at once
• 7-inch colour touchscreen for routing, processing and setup
• 32×32 USB audio interface at 48 kHz for multitrack capture
• Four built-in FX engines drawn from Allen & Heath’s iLive library
• dSNAKE remote audio expansion for compatible stageboxes
• Per-channel EQ, dynamics and delay as standard digital-console processing
• Scene and show memory for repeatable, multi-act workflows

Why the big surface still matters

Layered compact mixers hide channels behind banking buttons, which is fine in a studio and slow in a live changeover. On the Qu-32, the input list is physically in front of you: grab the vocal, ride the acoustic guitar, mute the playback channel, all without a menu. Motorised faders make recall honest – load a scene and the surface shows you the mix, not an approximation. For venues running different engineers on different nights, that immediacy is a genuine operational advantage.

Recording and expansion built in

The 32×32 USB interface streams the full input list to a computer for multitrack recording or virtual soundcheck – record tonight’s show, play it back tomorrow and refine the mix in an empty room. dSNAKE expansion moves the sockets to the stage over a single network cable with a compatible remote stagebox, cutting multicore weight and stage clutter. Keep the three channel counts separate when planning: processing channels, physical sockets and USB streams are related but not identical numbers.

Where it earns its keep

Live venues, touring bands with a consistent input list, houses of worship, schools and hire companies are the Qu-32’s heartland – anywhere 32 local preamps and a full-size surface earn their footprint. Its outputs are line level: it feeds powered speakers or amplifiers, it does not drive passive cabinets itself.

Setup notes

Build a channel list first, patch deliberately, store a known starting scene, and check what a scene recall will change before loading it mid-show. Set gains at real performance level with headroom to spare, and confirm driver and firmware compatibility before a recording session.

For engineers who want digital recall and processing without giving up a proper, full-size control surface, the Qu-32 remains a thoroughly worked-out answer.