<scripttype=text/javascript>varbaseurl="https://prokoudine.github.io/ardour-tutorial/en"</script><scripttype=text/javascriptsrc=/ardour-tutorial/js/search.js?1649613348></script></div><sectionid=homelinks><ul><li><aclass=paddinghref=/ardour-tutorial/en/><iclass="fas fa-home"></i> Home</a></li></ul></section><divclass=highlightable><ulclass=topics><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/title=Introductionclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/><b>1. </b>Introduction</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/title=Conventionsclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/>Conventions</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/title="What is digital audio?"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/>What is digital audio?</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/title="Getting started"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/><b>2. </b>Getting started</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour-on-ubuntu/title="Starting Ardour"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour-on-ubuntu/>Starting Ardour</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/title="Overview of the Interface"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/>Overview of the Interface</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/title="Editor window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/>Editor window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/title="Mixer window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/>Mixer window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/title="Recorder window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/>Recorder window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/title="Cue window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/>Cue window</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/title="Creating tracks and busses"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/>Creating tracks and busses</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/title="Importing audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/>Importing audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/title="Setting up the timeline"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/>Setting up the timeline</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/title=Recordingclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/><b>3. </b>Recording</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/title="Recording audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/>Recording audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/understanding-routing/title="Understanding routing"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/understanding-routing/>Understanding routing</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/routing-between-applications/title="Routing between applications"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/routing-between-applications/>Routing between applications</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/editing-sessions/title="Editing sessions"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/editing-sessions/><b>4. </b>Editi
parent"><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/><b>5. </b>Mixing sessions</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/the-mixer-strip/title="The mixer strip"class="dd-item active"><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/the-mixer-strip/>The mixer strip</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/mixing-levels/title="Mixing levels"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/mixing-levels/>Mixing levels</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/panning/title=Panningclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/panning/>Panning</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-plugins/title="Using plugins"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-plugins/>Using plugins</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-sends/title="Using sends"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-sends/>Using sends</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/dynamics/title=Dynamicsclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/dynamics/>Dynamics</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/equalizing/title=Equalizingclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/equalizing/>Equalizing</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-automation/title="Using automation"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/using-automation/>Using automation</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/title="Exporting sessions"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/><b>6. </b>Exporting sessions</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-region/title="Exporting regions"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-region/>Exporting regions</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-range/title="Exporting a range"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-range/>Exporting a range</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-session/title="Exporting a session"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/exporting-sessions/exporting-a-session/>Exporting a session</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/title="Saving sessions"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/><b>7. </b>Saving sessions</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-session/title="Saving a session"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-session/>Saving a session</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-snapshot/title="Saving a snapshot"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-snapshot/>Saving a snapshot</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-template/title="Saving a template"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/saving-sessions/saving-a-template/>Saving a template</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/title=Appendicesclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/><b>8. </b>Appendices</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/further-help/title="Further help"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/further-help/>Further help</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/glossary/title=Glossaryclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/glossary/>Glossary</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/links/title=Linksclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/links/>Links</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/credits/title=Creditsclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/credits/>Credits</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/license/title=Licenseclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/appendices/license/>License</a></li></ul></li></ul><sectionid=shortcuts><h3>More</h3><ul><li><aclass=pa
<spanclass=links><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/>Home</a> > <ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/>Mixing sessions</a> > The mixer strip</span></div><divclass=progress><divclass=wrapper><navid=TableOfContents><ul><li><ahref=#mixing-tools>Mixing Tools</a></li><li><ahref=#introducing-the-mixer-strip>Introducing the Mixer Strip</a></li><li><ahref=#the-mixer-strip-from-top-to-bottom>The Mixer Strip from Top to Bottom</a><ul><li><ahref=#overview>Overview</a></li><li><ahref=#regular--narrow-modes>Regular & Narrow Modes</a></li><li><ahref=#track-name-and-routing-button>Track Name and Routing Button</a></li><li><ahref=#processor-box>Processor Box</a></li><li><ahref=#panning>Panning</a></li><li><ahref=#soloing-and-muting>Soloing and Muting</a></li><li><ahref=#arm-record>Arm Record</a></li><li><ahref=#fader-fadepeak-meters>Fader, Fade/Peak Meters</a></li><li><ahref=#routing>Routing</a></li></ul></li><li><ahref=#continuing>Continuing</a></li></ul></nav></div></div></div></div><divid=head-tags></div><divid=body-inner><h1>The mixer strip</h1><p><em>Mixing</em> is the process of converting multiple tracks into a stereo or a
multi-channel mix where all the instruments can be heard clearly.</p><h2id=mixing-tools>Mixing Tools</h2><p><em>Levels</em>, <em>panning</em>, <em>equalization (EQ</em>), and <em>compression</em> are the main tools
used to achieve a good mix. In addition to these core tools, a wide range of
plugin effects can also be used to enhance the sound, such as <em>reverb</em> and
<em>delay</em>.</p><h2id=introducing-the-mixer-strip>Introducing the Mixer Strip</h2><p>The <em>mixer strip</em> is the vertical column that contains various controls related
to signal flow. Each track and bus in Ardour has its own mixer strip. The mixer
strip is also the main tool we will use in the process of mixing our Tracks. In
this chapter, we will get a general overview of the mixer strip, with each
section described. We will also provide references to chapters containing
information specific to each aspect of the mixer strip.</p><h2id=the-mixer-strip-from-top-to-bottom>The Mixer Strip from Top to Bottom</h2><p>Mixer strips can be accessed from both the <em>Editor</em> window and the <em>Mixer</em>
window (shortcut <strong>Alt+M</strong> to toggle between the two). Mixer strips in either
window (<em>Editor</em> or <em>Mixer</em>) mirror each other: any actions performed on a mixer
strip in the <em>Mixer</em> window will be reflected in the corresponding mixer strip
in the <em>Editor</em> window, and vice-versa. The editor window and <em>Mixer</em> window are
more fully explained in the <em>An Overview of the Interface</em> chapter.</p><p>In the <em>Editor Window</em>, you can see the mixer strip of the currently selected
track on the left side of the window. If you don’t see it, hit <strong>Shift+E</strong> to
display the Editor’s mixer strip.</p><h3id=overview>Overview</h3><p>Here we see the entire mixer strip, as it would appear in either the <em>Editor</em>
window or the <em>Mixer</em> window.</p><p><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Mixer_Strip_1.pngalt=strip1></p><h3id=regular--narrow-modes>Regular & Narrow Modes</h3><p>The mixer strip can be switched between the regular width and a more narrow
width to conserve space. The very top part of the mixer strip, pictured below,
switches between regular and narrow modes using the left button. The button with
an eye icon hides the mixer strip entirely (you can re-enable it later).</p><p><imgsrc=en/ardour7-narrow-wide-strip.pngalt="strip top"></p><p>You can easily spot differences between narrow and regular modes: shorter
captions on buttons, no legend for the peak meter etc.</p><h3id=track-name-and-routing-button>Track Name and Routing Button</h3><p>Continuing from top to bottom, the next section of the mixer strip contains
three narrow regions. The first of these regions shows the name of the track
(that’s the word “Audio 1” in the image below). The next region, named “1” in
the image below, is a button which allows access to the input routing. Please
see the <em>Understanding Routing</em> and <em>Recording Audio</em> chapters for more
information on input routing. The last narrow region controls phase reversing
(we won’t go into details on this topic in this tutorial).</p><p><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Mixer_Strip_2.pngalt="strip 2"></p><h3id=processor-box>Processor Box</h3><p>The large black region at the bottom of this section is the <em>processor box</em>.
This is where you can add plugins, for example. The signal flow in the mixer
strip is top-to-bottom. It starts with the input on top, the topmost plugin in
the box is the first one in the effects chain, the one in the bottom is the one
applied last.</p><p>The processor box will always contain a blue fader processor. This indicates
where in the processor chain the main channel fader is located — this is the
fader shown in the lower half of the strip. Please see <em>Using Plugins</em> and
<em>Using Sends</em> for a detailed discussion of this area.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-inline-views-and-controls.pngalt="Inline view and controls"></figure><p>There are additional views and controls possible in the processor box, as seen
on the screenshot above:</p><ol><li><p><em>Inline displays</em>. Some plugins can display a mini-overview of their
settings, e.g. an equalizer can display a preview of how various frequency bands
are affected. And some plugins are written with just this objective in mind — to
provide a quick overview of something in the mixer strip. Ardour comes with two
such plugins, an inline scope and an inline spectrogram.</p></li><li><p><em>Plugin controls</em>. It’s possible to add controls to various plugins in a
mixer strip. That way, for the settings that you tweak most often, you don’t
need to open a plugin’s window every time, you can just drag a slider left and
right with your mouse or scroll the mouse wheel when hovering a control. Press
<strong>Ctrl</strong> to make smaller increments when dragging or scrolling.</p></li></ol><p>To control both these features, use <em>Controls</em> submenu in the right-click menu
of a plugin. As inline displays are enabled by default, all you can do is
disable it (and then enable back). To enable a control for a plugin, simply click on its name in the menu.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-plugin-controls-submenu.pngalt="Controls submenu in Ardour 7"></figure><divclass="notices tip"><p>To enable multiple controls for a plugin, the most convenient way is to open the
right click menu, hover a control and press <strong>Spacebar</strong> on your keyboard, hover
the next control, press <strong>Spacebar</strong> again etc.</p></div><p>The next portion of the mixer strip includes controls for panning, record, mute,
and solo, among others.</p><h3id=panning>Panning</h3><p>Panning commonly has to do with placement of sounds anywhere between left and
right speakers to help separating instruments from one another by placing them
in different parts of a virtual room.</p><p>Depending on the amount of channels in a track, Ardour will provide a dedicated
user interface to control panning. In the screenshot below, a mono track is on
the left and a stereo track is on the right:</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-mono-vs-stereo-panning.pngalt="Mono vs. stereo panning"></figure><p>Please refer to the <em>Panning</em> chapter for more information.</p><h3id=soloing-and-muting>Soloing and Muting</h3><p>Tracks and busses can have two additional related states: soloing and being
muted.</p><p>Any track or bus on <em>mute</em> will be inaudible through the <em>Master</em> bus or the
<em>Audition</em>. The track mixer also contains a miniaturized <strong>Mute</strong> button, in
between the <strong>Record Arm</strong> button and the <strong>Solo</strong> button. Right-clicking on the
<strong>Mute</strong> button gives you advanced options for the behavior of the mute button.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-mute.pngalt="Mute button in on and off states"></figure><p>When a track or a bus is <em>soloing</em>, all the other tracks and busses are
inaudible through the <em>Master</em> bus or the <em>Audition</em>, unless you solo them. So
if you need to play just two tracks out of eight, you don’t have to mute six
other tracks, you only need to solo those two. Please note that soloing a bus
will not silence any tracks and vice-versa.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-solo.pngalt="Solo button"></figure><p>When any track or bus is on solo, the <em>solo indicator</em> in the <em>Auxiliary
Controls</em> menu will flash red. Clicking the solo indicator while it is flashing
will deactivate every solo in the session.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-soloing-flash-button.pngalt=Soloing></figure><h3id=arm-record>Arm Record</h3><p>The <em>Rec</em> button arms the track for recording, as seen in the <em>Recording Audio</em> chapter.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-arm-rec.pngalt="Arm for recording"></figure><h3id=fader-fadepeak-meters>Fader, Fade/Peak Meters</h3><p>The most prominent control present in a mixer strip is the <em>fader</em>, used to
adjust the overall gain for the corresponding track or bus. The <em>peak meter</em>
shows the <em>peak value</em> of the selected track, and is located directly to the
right of the fader. Each peak meter consists of one <em>bar graph</em> in the case of a
mono track, and two bar graphs in case of a stereo track. The small rectangular
field above the meters shows the highest peak value that has been played on that
track so far.</p><p><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Mixer_Strip_5.pngalt="strip 7"></p><p>By clicking the right-hand button at the bottom of the mixer strip (it reads
“post” in the image above), you will be able to select the <em>metering point</em>, for
example the direct “in” from the sound card, the “pre” Fader signal, or the
“post” fader signal.</p><p>As you can see in the image below, there is a smaller version of the mixer strip
in each track, called the <em>track mixer</em>, which contains a horizontal fader, a
vertical peak meter, as well as miniature buttons for arm record, mute, and
solo. They all mirror those found in the mixer strip for that track.</p><p><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Mixer_Strip_6.pngalt="strip 6"></p><p>Please refer to the chapter on <em>Mixing Levels</em> for more detailed instruction
about using the fader and peak meters.</p><h3id=routing>Routing</h3><p>Finally, we reach the bottom of the mixer strip. Here we find the <strong>Output
Routing</strong> button, marked as “Master” in the earlier screenshot, because it
connects to a bus called “Master”. This was discussed earlier in the
<em>Understanding Routing</em> chapter.</p><h2id=continuing>Continuing</h2><p>Now that we’ve had a look at the main areas of the mixer strip, we can proceed
to the <em>Mixing Levels</em> chapter to see how we can start to use it.</p><p>Next: <ahref=../mixing-levels>MIXING LEVELS</a></p><footerclass=footline></footer></div></div><divid=navigation></div></section><divstyle=left:-1000px;overflow:scroll;position:absolute;top:-1000px;border:none;box-sizing:content-box;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:200px><divstyle=border:none;box-sizing:content-box;height:200px;margin:0;padding:0;width:200px></div></div><scriptsrc=/ardour-tutorial/js/clipboard.min.js?1649613348></script>
