I'll share my experience from software use. I've been through 3 systems, SFX, Sound Cue System and
Q-Lab. Each has merits, each is kind of the same flavor, just a different language. Some of these do things better than others.
I'll say right off that in terms of the detail levels of cueing, SFX and Q-Lab are on
par with each other for each of the two platforms (PC and Mac). When I've done most of my cueing, I've done it in Sound Cue System, which I bought for myself to do a black box show a few years ago. Last summer when I was designing in Ohio, there was not a cueing system at the
theatre, and I used my own PC running SCS.
I sometimes give the edge to Sound Cue System mostly because the process of cueing is a little less numerous. SCS gives you 5 cue types to choose from: Sound, Level Change, Stop,
Midi and Playlist. The thing that I like about the Sound cues is that you program your start and stop positions either by actual time or you can click the start and stop positions on a wave diagram. The same is with looping, where it is easy to start a file at the beginning and have it perform a seamless loop. A stop cue positioned after a loop can either stop it dead, fade it out or release it from the loop at the end of the current loop and continue on with the cue.
With SFX and Q-Lab, to fade a cue from nothing requires the sound cue with volume down, and an autofollowed fade up. Sound Cue System allows you to type the fade up and down times directly into the sound cue if you desire either or both. It's this feature that I refer to when I talk about SCS cueing being less numerous.
Another feature that was added to SCS version 9 was the playlist cue. I understand that the latest SFX has added something similar, but I have not had a chance to try it first-hand. The SCS playlist cue is a great solution for pre/post show music or for those instances where you have background that needs to select from a lot of files. The playlist cue allows you to add any number of music files to be played. It also has options to use the files in the order listed or by random order, and to automatically add transitions between the files. These transitions can be crossfades, starts or stops, or anything in-between. You can select these transitions individually by song, or apply them to all the songs in the playlist. The playlist can also be set to repeat until told to stop. If anyone has tried to program pre/post show music in older SFX or Q-Lab, you know how numerous that programming can be.
My only gripes with SCS are the device assignments, particularly with the playlist cue. With the Professional Plus license, you can assign 8 stereo pairs for a total of 16 independent outs, but when you assign your audio device in the initial settings for your particular show, you assign both left and right to one device. For example, if you have an 8-output sound device, SCS does not look at the 8 outputs as independent sends. When setting up, the devices are assigned as stereo pairs, and when you program cues, if you want it routed only to one of the outputs, you have to set the pan in each cue. It's not a big gripe, granted, but it is something you have to consider as you program, especially if you're used to the mixing consoles that Q-Lab and SFX provide in their interface. As for the Playlist cue, my major gripe is that you're only able to assign two stereo pairs, instead of the full potential 8 pairs depending upon your license. Again, not insurmountable, but it can be limiting depending upon how you have your show configured.
Sound Cue System has thus far been friendly with most multiple-output sound devices. I use an M-Audio 410 with mine, and it has been rock solid. I know Q-lab has not been M-Audio friendly, but it's quite good with Motu. And I honestly haven't used SFX with anything but a built-in multi-
channel card of unknown origin, so I could not speak to its reliability with different devices.
Anyhoo, that's my contribution. Anyone else who has had experiences with Sound Cue System feel free to add to this. Given the cost for the full professional license, it's a system I personally would endorse in a PC environment, with Q-Lab being my Mac favorite.
Richard Sprecker