Allen & Heath SQ and the Automator

What is the Allen & Heath SQ?

The Allen & Heath SQ is a series of digital mixing consoles used for live sound and broadcast audio. The Cuez Automator can control an SQ console directly — opening and closing faders, setting levels, fading to input or scene presets, adjusting volume, muting individual channels or mute groups, and recalling scenes.

Find more information about the Allen & Heath SQ series on their website.

Adding an Allen & Heath SQ 'device' to the Automator

In the top right corner of the Automator, we see 'Devices' — this can be either in red or green depending on the status of the configured devices. Click it and select 'Add device'.

Next, select 'Allen & Heath SQ' from the 'Device type' dropdown list, then give it a name.

Basic device configuration

Enter the Host name — the IP address of the SQ console on your local network. The Network port defaults to 51325, matching the console's standard control port, and shouldn't need to be changed unless your setup requires it.

Once the settings have been entered correctly, the device should show as 'Online' (green) instead of 'Offline' (red).

Configuring actions

The next step is to configure each Item and Block configuration with the (set of) functions you want to perform on the Allen & Heath SQ when triggering the Item or Block — more on that in this article.

💡 This integration includes 83 functions across every channel type — Input, Group, FX Return, FX Send, Aux, Matrix, LR, DCA, and Mute Groups. The functions below are the most commonly used; open the function picker in the Automator trigger configuration menu for the complete list.

Input functions

Set Input level — Sets an input channel's fader to a specific level. Configured with Channel and Level.

Open Input fader — Opens (unmutes/raises) an input channel's fader. Configured with Channel.

Close Input fader — Closes an input channel's fader. Configured with Channel.

Mute Input — Mutes a specific input channel. Configured with Channel.

Unmute Input — Unmutes a specific input channel. Configured with Channel.

Fade to Input — Fades an input channel to a target level over a defined duration.

Configured with Mix, Channel, Level, Duration (ms), and Curve.

Fade to Input preset — Fades an input channel to a saved preset level.

Store Input preset — Saves the current input channel state as a preset.

Input volume up — Nudges an input channel's volume up from its current live level.

Input volume down — Nudges an input channel's volume down from its current live level.

Group functions

Set Group level — Sets a group fader to a specific level.

Open Group fader — Opens a group's fader.

Close Group fader — Closes a group's fader.

Mute Group — Mutes a channel via its mute group. Configured with Channel.

Store Group preset — Saves a group's current state as a named preset. Configured with Mix, Channel, and Preset name.

FX Return functions

Close FX Return fader — Closes an FX Return channel's fader. Configured with Mix and Channel.

Mute FX Return — Mutes an FX Return channel. Configured with Channel.

Store FX Return preset — Saves an FX Return channel's current state as a named preset. Configured with Mix, Channel, and Preset name.

FX Send functions

Set FX Send level — Sets an FX Send channel's level. Configured with Channel and Level.

Mute FX Send — Mutes an FX Send channel. Configured with Channel.

Store FX Send preset — Saves an FX Send channel's current state as a named preset. Configured with Channel and Preset name.

Aux functions

Open Aux fader — Opens an Aux channel's fader. Configured with Channel.

Unmute Aux — Unmutes an Aux channel. Configured with Channel.

Store Aux preset — Saves an Aux channel's current state as a named preset. Configured with Channel and Preset name.

Matrix functions

Open Matrix fader — Opens a Matrix channel's fader. Configured with Channel.

Matrix volume down — Nudges a Matrix channel's volume down. Configured with Channel.

Fade to Matrix — Fades a Matrix channel to a target level over a defined duration. Configured with Channel, Level, Duration (ms), and Curve.

LR functions

Mute LR — Mutes the console's main LR (stereo) bus. No channel parameter — LR is a single fixed bus, not a numbered channel.

Store LR preset — Saves the LR bus's current state as a named preset. Configured with Preset name only.

DCA functions

Unmute DCA — Unmutes a DCA group. Configured with Channel.

Set DCA level — Sets a DCA group's level. Configured with Channel and Level.

DCA volume up — Nudges a DCA group's volume up. Configured with Channel (additional parameters not yet confirmed).

Scene functions

Recall Scene — Recalls a saved scene on the console.

Troubleshooting

If the Allen & Heath SQ device shows 'Offline' in the Automator:

Confirm the SQ console is powered on and reachable on the same network as the machine running the Cuez Automator.
Double-check the Host name and Network port match what's configured on the console side — the default port is 51325, but this can be changed on either end.
If a firewall or network security tool is active on either machine, make sure port 51325 isn't being blocked.