Is The Allen & Heath SQ-7 Good For Churches?
There’s been so many consoles release in the last several years. Brands like Allen & Heath, DiGiCo, and PreSonus haven’t failed to innovate. One question that I get pretty frequently is “what console is best for my church”. This usually has a follow up question that goes something like “Is the Allen & Heath SQ-7 Good for Churches”?. The short answer is yes. Absolutely. In typical fashion though, there are some pros and cons relative to your specific church worth considering.
a Reason That You SHOULDN’T Use the SQ-7 For Church
Limited USB Functionality
As mentioned in previous posts, the USB functionality is an ever-growing requirement. Mostly for multi-tracking into your DAW for live streaming, but also great for loading in show files. This is especially handy if you have a back up USB drive with a show file on it, in case of emergency. The USB functions of this console have two major pitfalls. The first of these pitfalls is that you can only carry 32 of the 48 channels available via USB. I’m not sure if this is an issue caused by using USB in general or if it’s something that Allen & Heath did to increase the sale of Dante cards. The second of the pitfalls is a lot less important, more of a strong preference. This pitfall would be that there, at the time of this article, is no offline-editor for the SQ-7. This may have changed since the last time I installed one however. As much as I HATE Behringer, the offline editor for their systems is pretty great.
They Take A LONG Time to Ship
This applies to everyone. There’s a massive chip shortage since the pandemic and it’s caused delays for many companies. Allen & Heath, as well as Shure are some of the heaviest affected by this. Hopefully this is temporary, seeing that it’s at no-fault to the company.
Only Has 48 Channels
Ok, so this is actually a major improvement from the X-32 and M-32 from Behringer and Midas. However, depending on your churches needs, this could be a deal-breaker. I’d say that it’s safe to say that most churches wouldn’t actually find this to be a con. If you want to stay in the Allen & Heath line of consoles, I would consider the Allen & Heath Avantis if your in need of a higher I/O count.
the Reasons That You should Use the SQ-7 For Church
The Preamps Are Incredible
The preamps on this console are insane. I remember the first time that I mixed on one of these and it was absolutely mind-blowing that a board that was under $8,000 USD could sound this good. I’ve mixed on so many different consoles and the local preamps, as well as the matched digital snake preamps are some of the best bang for the buck. If you can’t make this board sound good, it’s the user or an issue somewhere else in the room.
32 Local Inputs, 16 Local Outputs
More and more consoles are starting to have as few local I/O options as possible. This is mostly due to cost and the form-factor that their trying to achieve for a board of this size to have 32x16 locally is just a huge bonus in my opinion. Obviously, using a digital snake is BEYOND recommended, but having the option to go local in a pinch is a big feature. Especially if you’re in a situation where the board is going to have to leave the booth and be used somewhere else. No need to destroy your routing in that situation.
Plenty of Room For Control
Allen & Heath thought of everything when designing the SQ-7. On top of the previously mentioned local preamps, the board has a ton of buttons that you can customize to your liking. Things like your tap-tempo for delay, the shortcut keys on the SQ-7 are absolutely wonderful. The SQ-7 also has more faders available than the SQ-5 and SQ-6, which is one of my favorite features of this console. The “scribble strip” for lack of a non-Behringer term, is SO MUCH better than Behringer and Midas. Mapping your channel strips and faders has never been so easy.
It’s User-Friendly
The first time I installed one of these consoles felt like I had been mixing on one of them for years. The touch-screen makes everything so much easier. The routing is lightyears ahead of the Behringer X-32 and the Midas M-32. The main reason I mention this is that you don’t have to route in “sets of eight” like the Music Tribe gear. This means you can route a single channel to a stage box without having to change routing everywhere else, causing a ton of confusion.
Dante Works Around The USB Functionality Issue
The primary complain I have about the board, as mentioned before is the USB recording only being able to handle 32 channels. There’s 48 inputs available on this board. Getting the optional Dante card will enable you to route the console to your broadcast computer without loosing channels. Dante to the rescue, as usual.
Ultimately, It’s Up To You
As usual, the pros and cons of this board really depend on what your church needs. If you think that you’ll be under 48 channels for several years, I’d say this is the console for you. If you’re running a house-mix or tie-line for broadcast, this board could potentially be for you. Weigh it out and see if the SQ-7 from Allen & Heath is right for you.
