SQ: simultaneous USB-B and SQ-Drive recording, Main LR and backup

Simultaneous recording: versions, ports and signal paths

Check the firmware and available functions before planning simultaneous recording. Documentation written before V1.6 does not by itself establish how later versions behave.

Identify the USBMTK folder and the patch for the two mono LR tracks. Verify the actual socket assignments on the installed model and firmware before recording.

Draw the shared dependencies: two recordings are not necessarily two independent backups.

Record the actual USB patch and transport state on the mixer. Use the installed firmware's labels and a short recording to confirm each source; a port name alone does not identify what reaches the file.

Firmware determines whether both ports can record at once

The SQ V1.6.0 release notes (Additional Features) introduce simultaneous USB-A and USB-B operation at 48 and 96 kHz. The official V1.6 overview (USB / Redundant Recording) describes recording to a computer and USB storage. Support for the function does not prove that your mixer and session have been tested.

Be aware of a documentation conflict: Understanding SQ USB (Non-supported routing combinations) still contains a line excluding SQ-Drive use alongside USB-B. Section 6.5 of the PDF also retains mode-selection wording. For simultaneous recording from V1.6, follow the release notes and reference guide (§13, p.110), which explicitly document it. Do not use the older selector instructions as the procedure for V1.6.

Record the exact model and firmware, driver, operating system, computer application and version. If the interface differs from the reference, retain screenshots for support. If an update is needed, save the show and schedule a rehearsal before the event.

Main LR alongside individual tracks: reserve sockets and find the right session

In Connections and Patching, Patching / Tie Lines, Tie Lines route input sockets to outputs without channel processing; Direct Outs can include processing. Enable Patch in I/O to edit the matrix. For the example below, choose Tie Lines, select the identified Local or SLink source on the left and USB as the destination across the top. Then, in I/O > Outputs > Mix Outs, assign Main LR L and Main LR R to two unused USB sockets. Check the labels on the installed interface.

The table proposes a patch for rehearsal; it does not describe a completed installation. Do not overwrite an existing patch to match its numbers. Preserve the preamp gain and original map, and choose available sockets for each recording.

The reference guide (§13, p.110) specifies up to 32 SQ-Drive tracks at 48 kHz or 16 at 96 kHz; USB-B remains 32×32. Both LR tracks count toward that limit. If the DAW also receives USB 17–32 at 96 kHz, those sources are outside the SQ-Drive recording in this example.

Use one Multitrack recording for the sources and LR. Section 13.2 (p.114) places its 24-bit mono WAV files in AHSQ/USBMTK/SQ-MT***. LR becomes two tracks in that session; this does not create an SQ-ST file in USBREC. Preserve those originals. If you make a stereo mix for delivery, check left/right, start and duration on copies using the identified application.

Two different mixes require separate sockets, not just a different connector

SQ-Drive and USB-B (Stereo Recording / Connecting to a Computer) explains that Stereo recording uses USB 1&2 and Windows WDM uses those same channels. Both destinations share the patch and sample rate. Moving a cable to another port does not create a different mix on the same socket.

If you need one mix for the recording and another for the live feed, map both within the USB patch and check which sockets the receiving application can select. If it can only access USB 1&2, do not assume it will receive a mix patched to 3&4.

The official reference documents 32×32 access through ASIO with a compatible Windows application; Mac uses Core Audio. Select a supported combination and rehearse it. For mix preparation, see hybrid panel audio and return feeds.

During SQ-Drive playback, all USB inputs receive that playback. Stop returns the source to USB-B; Pause does not, as documented in §13. If the DAW is sending tracks but they do not reach SQ, check that transport state first, then review the virtual soundcheck patch.

What the recordings share and which failure you need to cover

The diagram separates the recording destinations and identifies the shared path. Use it to mark the components both recordings depend on and the failure you need to cover.

Name the failure you are concerned about and trace its effect on both files. A recording on another drive may help with a failure of one storage device, but both can capture the same wrong source. If both depend on SQ, both depend on it delivering audio. Covering a different failure requires evaluating a path that does not share that dependency.

Identify the equipment before evaluating that alternative. Agree on what must keep running, the source each recorder receives and who checks each take with the person responsible for event recording.

Rehearse both recordings and document the limits of the backup

Use a copy of the show and empty or backed-up test media. For every source, record the input socket, USB output, computer track and expected SQ-Drive file. Include distinguishable L and R signals. For multitrack sessions, also check sources beyond the SQ-Drive channel limit.

Arm and start each recording separately. Record their actual start times; do not assume sample alignment just because both use the same mixer. During a rehearsal of the planned duration, note warnings and comparison points. In a separate practice interval, you can stop computer recording normally while SQ-Drive continues. Confirm the result by listening to the file.

The manufacturer warns that formatting or loading a show can interrupt USB and that a sample-rate change may require applications to restart: SQ-Drive and USB-B, introduction. Keep those operations outside the recording. At the end, wait for writing to finish before removing the drive, as instructed in §13.2.

Reopen each file in a new session and check the source, channels, start, end and shared reference points. Record the interval covered by each destination, any observed offset and the failures the design does not cover. An active meter or two filenames cannot replace this check.

Complete the SQ simultaneous recording worksheet. Its results fields are blank.

For the next steps, see SQ-Drive recording errors and file checks, event recording handoff and conference continuity planning. Prepare the patch and rehearsal with the audio systems team.