Soundcraft UI12/16 help

ChrisQuinn91

ChrisQuinn91

May 17, 2018
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Liverpool, United Kingdom
#1
Hello,

I picked up a Soundcraft UI12 the other day and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I will be testing it out later with the band at rehearsals so could do with some info in advance.

There is a master volume knob on the mixer itself. There isn't a marking for unity gain or anything like that on it. Where do you set it yourselves?

Thanks
Chris
 
#3
didgeribass said:
I set the knobs (left & right) it at about 70% / 2pm and forget about it. Always wanted to ask someone the same question though.
Click to expand...

Thanks didgeribass, I will give that a go. Ended up cancelling rehearsal last night so didn't get chance to test it. It's strange that there is no instructions for this. I bet a lot of people have damaged their speakers or ended up with squealing feedback at gigs
 
#6
I've set mine up with a NetGear router and disabled the internal wifi and hotspot - I read too many issues with the internal router. The internal router seems to not like crowded RF environments. I really like the mixer interface though. One of my bands runs the XR-18, and I think the Ui16 is a much better interface. It would be perfect if it had 4-6 more input channels though!
 
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#8
All the ui series, unity is at about 1 o'clock.
IMPORTANT- update the firmware right away. The biggest part of the update is better wifi connectivity. Also for better wifi, route all the cables away from the antenna. If you have persistent wifi problems, google 'wifi mapping' and learn to find clean wifi signals.
Good luck, great units. I have 3 24's, and a 16.
I use ui's everyday in a critical application, so I know them pretty well. Feel free to mssg me if you have questions.
 
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#10
Never had any wifi issues so far (used the ui12 in a small theater with about 50 people in the audience, small outdoor stage on a street festival and a couple of other locations). I have replaced the supplied antenna with a bigger one though :)

To be honest, I never had a back-up plan for loss of wifi connectivity...
 
#11
One issue I ran into was using Aux3&4 for separate (mono-) monitor mixes. If I set the Aux3&4 to be mono/independent in the settings menu, I can create a monitor mix for aux4 on my ipad, but there is no sound coming out of the HF jack of the ui12. So, effectively I have only three monitor signals, not four - Aux 1&2 via the XLR outs, and Aux 3 via the HF out. I tried plugging in different cables in all possible configurations (even plugging halfway in, like you would with insert jacks on your mixer channel for direct recording), but no results.

I contacted the retailer with whom I purchased the unit (Thomann) and they even sent me a new ui12 (they couldn't explain what was wrong either), but the new unit has the same issue: either Aux3&4 is set as a stereo-signal (present in both HF1 & HF2), or Aux3 is a mono-signal (present in HF1), and no sound for Aux4.

I'd love to know if anyone managed to run Aux3 and 4 as separate/independent monitor mixes on the ui12.
 
#13
didgeribass said:
Never had any wifi issues so far (used the ui12 in a small theater with about 50 people in the audience, small outdoor stage on a street festival and a couple of other locations). I have replaced the supplied antenna with a bigger one though :)

To be honest, I never had a back-up plan for loss of wifi connectivity...
Click to expand...
You will probably find the biggest problems indoors in a place with multiple wifi signals present. The real killer is people. A packed dance floor between you and the stage box can block wifi very effectively. The longest my wifi has dropped was a few seconds, but it happens. If you don't reconnect within seconds, move around, preferably towards 'line of sight'.
 
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#14
For ANY of these small format/rack digital consoles with built-in wifi - I HIGHLY recommend spending an extra $50-100 and ALWAYS USE an EXTERNAL DUAL-BAND ROUTER with them.
You'll have far fewer issues using the routers 5G and staying off the built in 2.4G on the mixer.

I'm basing this on running Behringer, Soundcraft, QSC and A&H consoles when I run SR for festival bands, and so on. No matter the console in use or provide we bring our own external dual-band router, pre-configured with WPA2 security and 5G band.
YMMV

PS: I also do that with my own X32R in my current band. FOH control and 6-piece mixing their own IEM's. NEVER had a dropout!
Keep in mind that MOST of the built-in Wifi consoles have LIMITED connection capabilities.
 
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#15
s0c9 said:
I'm basing this on running Behringer, soundcraft, QSC and A&H consoles when I run SR for festival bands, and so on. No matter the console in use or provide we bring our own external dual-band router, pre-configured with WPA2 security and 5G band.
YMMV
Click to expand...

This is awesome advice on the pre-configured external router. I had my 16 wi-fi block at an outdoor gig once. Band had to take a break for me to get it working again. I put an external router on (Asus R7000) and haven't had an issue since then. We've moved on to a QSC but the 16 still has backup and recording duties.

I keep my 16 at 1 o'clock. Anything above 3 seems to introduce unnecessary noise.
 
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#16
I've been using my Ui16 for close to two years paired with QSC K12s and KSubs. I've always cranked the knobs all the way up. Haven't noticed any noise and haven't clipped my speakers. I did disable the on-board wifi - 2.4 Ghz is pretty much useless between guitar wireless and everything else going on in your typical venue.

As far as settings go, I use the presets pretty liberally and then adjust to taste. I do at times miss having a control surface but I can do a good job between my tablet for roaming and a laptop for on-stage use.
 
#17
Heads up! The only thing I've been missing with my Soundcrafts (4 of them) is that the headphone out is on the stagebox. I miss soloing things to phones. Solution- During soundchecks I have my in-ear monitors fed from the headphone out. I tend to just leave one in, or put one in as needed. Doesn't even chew up batteries, cause I only turn on the receiver when I need it. Trying to find a funky sounding cable, or a rattly drum is easier with solo than muting one channel at a time.
 
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#18
hey Paula, what about Audio line over CAT5 to the FOH position? There are several vendors in that space. I haven’t taken the plunge yet but will before the. Next outdoor season. Partly for FOH to Side Stage comms. Dedicated channel, powered mon and switched mic at each end. As these often support 4 channels you could use a headphone amp on a pair.

We do this with our SI Expression rig as the mixer is in FOH. And the stage box is really just a stage box, MSB-32i.
 
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#20
s0c9 said:
For ANY of these small format/rack digital consoles with built-in wifi - I HIGHLY recommend spending an extra $50-100 and ALWAYS USE an EXTERNAL DUAL-BAND ROUTER with them.
You'll have far fewer issues using the routers 5G and staying off the built in 2.4G on the mixer.
Click to expand...

I now have a Ui16. I was imagining I'd run over cable, but I have so many abandoned routers from ISPs, assuming I can find the right power supplies, that I'd be absolutely sorted for an external dual-band router provided I can reset it to default so I can get to the settings page again :).

However, after getting the Ui16 I realise I could have got something like another second-hand Tascam US-2000 (16 inputs and the ability to spin in tracks from the host machine, cost £75) and one of the latest Raspberry Pis and could just connect to that. QPCPlus for lighting I can run with a USB to DMX dongle and a remote browser, and I could SSH in from a laptop at the mixing station and then bootstrap Reaper remotely which would open up more effects than on the Ui16. Much more complex, though, especially if something went wrong. I might try it some day.
 
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