manual/include/using-the-presonus-faderport8.html

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<p>
Since version 5.8-290, Ardour supports for the
<a href="https://www.presonus.com/products/FaderPort-8" rel="external">Presonus FaderPort&trade; 8</a>.
</p>
<p>
The FaderPort&trade; 8 is a production control surface with 8 touch-sensitive, motorized faders,
monochromatic digital scribble strips and more than 60 buttons with fixed labels.
</p>
<h2>Connecting the FaderPort 8</h2>
<p>
The FaderPort 8 (FP8) comes with a USB socket on the back. Connect a
suitable USB cable from there to a USB port on your computer.
The FP8 will be automatically recognized by your operating
system, and will appear in any of the lists of possible MIDI ports
in both Ardour and other similar software.
</p>
<p class="warning">
Ardour uses the FaderPort 8 in what PreSonus calls "Studio One" or "native"
mode. To use the FaderPort8 with Ardour's FP8 Control Surface, make sure that
the device is in "Studio One" mode. (If you would like to change the mode at
any point, power on the unit while holding down the two leftmost Select
buttons, see the FaderPort 8 manual for further details. Also note that at
least firmware version 1.01 is required. NB. "factory default" resets the
firmware, see the PreSonus FaderPort8 Owner's manual chapter 9.4.)
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<br/>
While the FaderPort provides a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mode, which
works with Ardour's Mackie Control Surface, MCU does not support various
elements available on the FP8 (e.g. colored buttons, and the custom mode
scribble strips).
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</p>
<p>
To connect the FP8 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog,
select "Control Surfaces" and enable "PreSonus FaderPort 8".
Then open the "Protocol Settings" dialog for the FP8. Which
(among other things) allows to select the the MIDI ports
corresponding to the FP8.
</p>
<p>
Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
the FP8 and it will be ready to use. You only need do this
once: Once these ports are connected and your session has been
saved, the connections will be made automatically in this and other
future sessions.
<p>
<figure class="center">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Control Surface Settings Dialog"
src="/images/fp8_settings.png"/>
</figure>
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<h2>Using the FaderPort 8</h2>
<p>
The FaderPort's controls can be divided into five groups:
</p>
<ul class="inside">
<li>Transport buttons</li>
<li>Session Navigation controls</li>
<li>Fader modes</li>
<li>Mix management</li>
<li>Channel strip</li>
</ul>
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<p class="well">
In general the control mapping described in the FaderPort 8
Owner's Manual for Studio One (chapter 2) applies to Ardour as well.
There are however subtle differences where the DAWs differ.
</p>
<p class="note">
All buttons act on release (not press), exceptions are mentioned below.
</p>
<h3>Transport Buttons</h3>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Transport Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_transport.png"/>
</figure>
<ol class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Stop</kbd>: Stops the transport. Press twice to return to
session start.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Loop</kbd>: Toggles loop playback. A loop-range needs to
be defined in the session for looping to be engaged.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Play/Pause</kbd>: Roll/Stop the transport (note that
Ardour has no "pause" mode: Pause is equivalent to stop). During vari-speed
playback, pressing "play" resets to 100% forward speed.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Rewind</kbd>: Rewind, roll backwards. Successive presses
or holding the button incrementally changes the speed.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Fast Forward</kbd>: Roll forward. Successive presses or
holding the button accumulate speed.
Pressing (<kbd>Rewind</kbd> and <kbd>Fast Forward</kbd>) simultaneously
stops playback and returns the playhead to zero.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Record</kbd>: Toggles the global record enable
setting.</li>
</ol>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Session Navigation</h3>
<p>
Session Navigation allows quick navigation and provides access to
session-wide controls. Each of the eight buttons alters the function
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of the push-button encoder and the <kbd>Prev</kbd>, <kbd>Next</kbd> buttons.
With exception of <kbd>Click</kbd> the seven modes are exclusive (radio buttons).
</p>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Navigation Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_navigation.png"/>
</figure>
<ol class="inside">
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<li><kbd class="def">Channel</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
buttons select the previous/next mixer-strip. If no strip is selected,
<kbd>Next</kbd> selects the first, <kbd>Prev</kbd> the last mixer-strip in
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the session. Pressing the encoder knob moves the most recently selected
mixer-strip into view on the FP8. The encoder scrolls the editor-canvas
up/down.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Master</kbd>: The encoder controls the master-bus level.
If a session includes a monitor-section, the encoder controls monitor-out by
default. Hold the button to control the master-bus level. Press the
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encoder knob to reset the gain to 0dB. The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
navigation buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track
left/right.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Zoom</kbd>: The encoder controls horizontal zoom of the
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editor. Press the encoder to <em>zoom to fit</em> the session.
<kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons zoom selected track(s)
vertically (or all tracks if none are selected).</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Click</kbd>: Toggle the metronome on/off. While holding
the <kbd>Click</kbd> button, the encoder modifies the volume of the
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metronome click (press the encoder while holding <kbd>Click</kbd> to reset
the metronome level to 0dBFS).</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Scroll</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). Pressing the encoder <em>zooms to
fit</em> the session. The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd> navigation
buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
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<li><kbd class="def">Section</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
navigation buttons nudge the selected region by the time configured in the
nudge-clock. If no region is selected the playhead position is nudged. The
encoder always nudges the playhead position.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Bank</kbd>: Encoder and navigation buttons scroll through
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mixer-strips in banks of eight. Pressing the encoder moves the most recently
selected mixer-strip into view on the FP8.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Marker</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
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<kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
navigation buttons jump to prev/next markers. Press the encoder to drop a
new marker.</li>
</ol>
<p>
When combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the eight buttons will access custom
functions, which can be configured in the Preference Dialog. The buttons will
light up if an action has been assigned to a button.
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</p>
<p>
The following tables shows a condensed overview of the session-navigation modes:
</p>
<table>
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<tr><th></th><th><kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd></th><th>Encoder knob</th><th>Encoder Press</th></tr>
<tr><th>Channel</th><td>Select prev/next mixer-strip</td><td>Scroll Editor up/down</td><td>Bank to show selected strip on FP8</td></tr>
<tr><th>Master</th><td>Bank visible strips on FP8 by 1</td><td>Adjust master/monitor level</td><td>Reset master/monitor to 0dB</td></tr>
<tr><th>Zoom</th><td>Vertical zoom (editor track-height)</td><td>Horizontal timeline zoom (time)</td><td>Horizontal zoom to session</td></tr>
<tr><th>Scroll</th><td>Bank visible strips on FP8 by 1</td><td>Scroll the timeline (move playhead)</td><td>Horizontal zoom to session</td></tr>
<tr><th>Section</th><td>Nudge the selected region</td><td>Nudge the playhead</td><td> - </td></tr>
<tr><th>Bank</th><td>Bank visible strips on FP8 by 8</td><td>Bank visible strips on FP8 by 1</td><td>Bank to show selected strip on FP8</td></tr>
<tr><th>Marker</th><td>Move to prev/next marker</td><td>Scroll the timeline (move playhead)</td><td>Drop a new marker</td></tr>
<tr><th>Press and hold <kbd>Click</kbd></th><td> (mode dependent) </td><td>Adjust metronome Level </td><td>Reset metronome level to 0dBFS</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Shift Button</h3>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="the FaderPort8 Shift Button"
src="/images/fp8_shift_large.png"/>
</figure>
<p>
The two <kbd>Shift</kbd> buttons are identical, they're copied to provide
convenient access to the modifiers. Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd>
button updates the lights (and colors on RGB buttons) to indicate the modified
control.
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<br/>
Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd> button for one second without
pressing any other button enters shift-lock mode. Press <kbd>Shift</kbd> again
to reset.
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The <kbd>Shift</kbd> button engages directly on press. Activating an action
while the button is held will void the shift-lock mode.
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</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Fader Modes</h3>
<p>
The eight faders on the FP8 can be assigned to various automatable
controls present in the current session. The four fader-mode buttons
change the behavior of the mixer-strip and scribble strip displays.
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(Note: with the 1.01 firmware these buttons always act on press.)
</p>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Fader Mode Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_fadermode.png"/>
</figure>
<ol class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Track</kbd>: In Track-mode, the motorized faders display
and control a mixer-strip's signal level. The Pan/Param encoder modifies the
azimuth of the panner (hold <kbd>Shift</kbd> to control the width, if the
track's panner supports it). <kbd>Mute</kbd> and <kbd>Solo</kbd> affect the
respective mixer-strip.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Edit Plugins</kbd>: When Edit Plug-ins mode is active, the
motorized faders will control the parameter settings. Press the <kbd>Edit
Plugins</kbd> button to view all available plugin-inserts on a strip. If
no plugins are available, <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> will not engage and the
FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode. Use the <kbd>Select</kbd>
buttons under the scribble strip to pick a plugin to edit. The faders and
<kbd>Select</kbd> buttons will respectively control the parameters and toggles
of the selected plugin. Press the <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> button again to return
to the insert select view. (Once a plugin has been selected, it stays in edit
mode regardless of selection). If there are more than eight, the Pan/Param
encoder allows to scroll through available control-parameters.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Sends</kbd>: In Sends mode, each of the faders is mapped
to the send-level of aux-sends of the selected track. If there are more than
eight sends on a given track, the Pan/Param encoder can scroll through them.
Send-mode follow the selection. If there are no sends on a given track, the
FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Pan</kbd>: When Pan mode is active, the motorized faders
will display and control the panner's azimuth. The Pan/Param controls the
pan-width of the selected mixer-strip.</li>
</ol>
<p>
<kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Track</kbd> toggles timecode display on/off (middle
row of the scribble-strip).
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</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Channel Strip</h3>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="The FaderPort8 Channel Strip"
src="/images/fp8_strip.png"/>
</figure>
<ul class="inside">
<li><strong>Touch-Sensitive Fader</strong>: The fader can be used to control
volume levels, aux send levels, panning, or plugin parameters, depending on
the fader-mode (see above).</li>
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<li><strong>Pan/Param</strong>: The encoder controls panning in Track and Pan
mode. In Plugin and Send fader-modes, the encoder banks parameters. See
Fader modes above for details.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Mute</kbd>: Toggle the mute-control of the corresponding
mixer-strip. Mute engages on press, and disengages on release. Press and
hold the button for at least 0.5sec for momentary.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Solo</kbd>: Toggle the solo or listen (AFL,PFL) control
of the corresponding mixer-strip. Solo engages on press, and disengages on
release. Press and hold the button for at least 500ms for momentary.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Select</kbd>: In Track and Sends and Pan mode the Select
button select/de-select a given mixer-strip.
<br/>
Since selection is not limited to a single mixer-strip, the button acts in
tri-state. A mixer-strip light indicates selection:
<ul class="inside">
<li><strong>Any Selected Track</strong>: The select button is lit with the
track's color.</li>
<li><strong>Any Not Selected Track</strong>: The select button is off
(dimly showing the track's color).</li>
<li><strong>Most Recently Selected Track</strong>: Only one track at a
time. The select button is blinks width the track's color.</li>
</ul>
Operations such as <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> or <kbd>Sends</kbd> use the
most-recently-selected (focused) track. To modify the selection, the
button's action depends on the current selection:
<ol class="inside">
<li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd></strong>: The track is exclusively selected
and also becomes the most-recently selected.</li>
<li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any selected
track</strong>: Deselect the track.</li>
<li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected
track</strong>: Adds the given track to the selection and make it
most-recently selected).</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
While holding the <kbd>ARM</kbd> button the <kbd>Select</kbd> button lights
change to red and the <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons controls the record-arm of
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the given track. Mixer-strips that cannot be record-armed have a dim white
light.
</p>
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<p>
<kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>ARM</kbd> record-arms all tracks in the session.
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</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Mix Management</h3>
<p>
These buttons allows to select which mixer-strips are spilled on the FP8
channel-strips.
</p>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Mix Management Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_mixmanage.png"/>
</figure>
<ol class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Audio</kbd>: View Audio Tracks only.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">VI</kbd>: Show tracks with virtual instrument
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plugins.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Bus</kbd>: Display only Busses.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">VCA</kbd>: Show VCAs.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">All</kbd>: Display all Tracks, Busses (incl master-bus)
and VCAs.</li>
</ol>
<p>
In combination with the <kbd>Shift</kbd> modifier ten total
filters are available:
</p>
<ul class="inside">
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Audio</kbd> <strong>Inputs</strong>:
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shows all record-armed tracks (Audio and MIDI).</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VI</kbd> <strong>MIDI</strong>: View
all MIDI tracks.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bus</kbd> <strong>Outputs</strong>:
Show the Master and Monitor Bus.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VCA</kbd> <strong>FX</strong>: Shows
Aux-Busess.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">All</kbd> <strong>User</strong>:
Display all currently selected mixer-strips only.</li>
</ul>
<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Automation Controls</h3>
<p>
The Automation Controls provide access to the currently selected mixer-strips.
The automation enable lights indicates the mode of the most recently selected
mixer-strip (blinking selection button). The action affects all selected
mixer-strips. The automation controls are currently only available in
<kbd>Track</kbd> and <kbd>Pan</kbd> fader modes where they affect the fader
and pan automation modes respectively.
</p>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Automation Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_automation.png"/>
</figure>
<ol class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Latch</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Trim</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Off</kbd>: Select "Manual" automation mode.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Read</kbd>: Select "Play" automation mode.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Write</kbd>: Select "Write" automation mode (note at the
end of a write pass, Ardour automatically puts the track into "Touch"
mode.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Touch</kbd> Select "Touch" automation mode.</li>
</ol>
<div class="clearer"></div>
<p>
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The Automation Controls also double as session state controls
when combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>.
</p>
<ol class="inside">
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Latch</kbd> <strong>Save</strong>:
Save the session. The button lights up red if the session is modified.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Trim</kbd> <strong>Redo</strong>: Redo
a previously undone operation. The button lights up green if redo is
possible.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Off</kbd> <strong>Undo</strong>: Undo
the most recent operation. The button lights up green if undo is
possible.</li>
</ol>
<p>
With <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the bottom row allows to bind three custom user
actions.
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</p>
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<div class="clearer"></div>
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<h3>Miscellaneous</h3>
<figure class="left">
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<img alt="FaderPort8 Misc Buttons"
src="/images/fp8_misc.png"/>
</figure>
<ul class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Solo Clear</kbd>: Reset all solo controls in the
session.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Mute Clear</kbd>: Unmute all mixer-strips in the
session.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd>: A/B bypass toggle any plugins on all
selected mixer-strips.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd> <strong>Bypass
All</strong>: currently the same as "Bypass".</li>
</ul>
<p>
The labels of the following buttons have no direct corresponding action in
Ardour and are currently mapped to convenient functions:
</p>
<ul class="inside">
<li><kbd class="def">Macro</kbd>: Show the Editor Window.</li>
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<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Macro</kbd> <strong>Open</strong>:
Show the Import Audio Dialog.</li>
<li><kbd class="def">Link</kbd>: Switch to the Mixer Window.</li>
<li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Lock</strong>:
Lock the GUI (alike Session &gt; Lock) to prevent accidental changes.</li>
</ul>
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<div class="clearer"></div>