3 <img src="/images/mixer-1-strip-numbered.png" alt="A mixer strip">
9 A <dfn>mixer strip</dfn> in Ardour is a vertical view of the track, from a
10 mixing point of view. This view is convenient to deal with I/O, effects,
11 panning/muting, gain, etc… It has a general "top to bottom" flow.
15 The mixer strips breaks down into:
22 <li>Polarity <em>only for audio tracks</em></li>
23 <li>Processor box</li>
25 <li>Recording options</li>
27 <li>Gain & Meter</li>
28 <li>Control master</li>
29 <li>Fader automation/mix group/metering point</li>
37 At the top of the window, is the <a href="@@the-track-and-bus-group-list">group
38 tabs</a> (here, <em>recm…</em>). This allows to group tracks together for
48 The double arrow button allows to shrink/expand the width of the strip. <kbd
49 class="mod1n"></kbd><kbd class="mod3n"></kbd><kbd class="mouse">Click</kbd> the
50 button will shrink/expand all the tracks at once
53 The color bar shows the color of the track in the editor
56 The <kbd class="menu">X</kbd> button toggles the visibility of the track OFF. To
57 turn it back ON, one can either go to the <a
58 href="@@the-tracks-and-busses-list">Tracks and Busses list</a> in the Editor
59 view and check the "V" column on the track's line or stay in the Mixer view and
60 check the <kbd class="menu">Show</kbd> column of this strip in the <a
61 href="@@strips-list">Strips list</a>.
66 <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> clicking on the color bar will bring up a context
67 menu, which is exactly the same as clicking on the Track name button.
73 Clicking the Track name button will bring up a menu:
77 <tr><th>Color…</th><td>Changes the strip/track color</td></tr>
78 <tr><th>Comments…</th><td>Shows an editor to put comments about the track,
79 see below the Comments button</td></tr>
80 <tr><th>Inputs…</th><td>Shows the Routing grid for the inputs of the track</td></tr>
81 <tr><th>Outputs…</th><td>Shows the Routing grid for the outputs of the track</td></tr>
82 <tr><th>Save As Template…</th><td>Allows to save the track without its media
83 content (I/O, effects,…) for later reuse</td></tr>
84 <tr><th>Rename…</th><td>Changes the name of the track (effective both in the
85 Mixer and the Editor)</td></tr>
86 <tr><th><kbd class="option">Active</kbd></th><td>Select the active status of the track.
87 An inactive track won't output any sound</td></tr>
88 <tr><th><kbd class="option">Strict I/O</kbd></th><td>While in <a href="@@trackbus-signal-flow">
89 patchbayStrict I/O</a> mode, a track <em>always</em> has as many output as it
90 has inputs, regardless of the effects. When disabled, a stereo effect put on
91 a mono track will result in a stereo output for the strip.</td></tr>
92 <tr><th>Pin Connections…</th><td>Shows the <kbd class="menu">Pin Configuration</kbd>
93 window, that shows (and allows to modify) all the signal flows inside the track</td></tr>
94 <tr><th>Adjust Latency…</th><td>Shows the <kbd class="menu">Track Latency</kbd>
95 dialog, that allows fine-tune the latency to the track, in samples, msec or period</td></tr>
96 <tr><th><kbd class="option">Protect Against Denormals</kbd></th><td>Uses a trick to
97 get rid of <em>denormals</em>, which are very small numbers the CPU can have
98 a hard time dealing with. To be used if the CPU consumption for plugins is
99 noticeably higher than expected</td></tr>
100 <tr><th>Duplicate…</th><td>Copies the track to a new one, optionally with
101 its playlist</td></tr>
102 <tr><th>Remove</th><td>Deletes the track and its playlist</td></tr>
108 The dropdown button shows the current input port(s), i.e. what's plugged to the
109 "in" of the track. By default, each audio track is connected to the system
110 inputs, ready for recording, as shown by the number(s). Clicking the dropdown
111 Inputs button will allow to change the inputs, through a menu:
115 <tr><th>Disconnect</th><td>Disconnects everything, i.e. the track has no input</td></tr>
116 <tr><th>In <em>n</em></th><td>Those are the system inputs, e.g. to record from the
117 soundcard. A mono track will have <em>In 1</em> and <em>In 2</em> separated,
118 while a stereo track can have <em>In 1+2</em></td></tr>
119 <tr><th><em>Track n output</em></th><td>All the outputs of compatible tracks, e.g.,
120 a mono track can only receive a mono signal, a MIDI track can only receive MIDI
121 signal, …</td></tr>
122 <tr><th>Add Audio Port</th><td>Adds an audio input to the track, i.e. a mono audio
123 track becomes a stereo one</td></tr>
124 <tr><th>Add MIDI Port</th><td>Adds a MIDI input to the track. Adding it to an audio
125 track makes it a mixed Audio/MIDI track. This can be useful e.g. to feed some
126 plugins with a MIDI signal to control the audio, like a vocoder</td></tr>
127 <tr><th>Routing Grid</th><td>Shows the <a href="@@patchbay"><kbd class="menu">Routing
128 Grid</kbd> window</a>, which allows for more complex input configuration</td></tr>
132 The <kbd class="menu">Routing Grid</kbd> can also be shown by right clicking the
133 dropdown Inputs button. It allows to make the connections through a matrix, and
134 connect things that are not listed in the menu above, or connect to multiple
135 sources at once, reduce the number of inputs, etc…
139 On audio tracks, is a Trim knob, as on traditional consoles. It set the base
140 input level for the track, avoiding any clipping. Notice that it trims both any
141 input, but (when playing back), also the level of the playlist as displayed in
142 the Editor. It makes sense as while playing, the input of the track is the
143 playlist, on which the mixer strip acts.
147 On midi tracks, it is replaced by a MIDI Input button, that allows/disallows
148 MIDI input on the track.
154 On audio tracks only, the Polarity button(s), 1 per input, allow to reverse
155 the signal, i.e. a negative value will be positive and vice-versa. This can help
156 deal with phasing issues.
159 <h2>Processor box</h2>
162 The processor box is where the effects are added. By default, one effect is
163 always present: the Fader (see below). The effects can be added
164 <em>pre</em>-fader and appear in brown, or <em>post</em>-fader, where they will
165 appear in dark green. The signal flow is represented by lines, red for the MIDI
166 and green for the audio.
170 It is also where the <a href="@@aux-sends">Sends</a> come from, whether
171 external or auxiliary.
175 To learn more about the processor box, see <a href="@@processor-box">The
182 The <dfn>Panner</dfn> visually displays how the sound will be distributed
183 between the different outputs. They'll look and behave differently if the
184 track is mono, stereo, or has multiple channels.
188 Right clicking the Panner will show a menu:
192 <tr><th><kbd class="option">Bypass</kbd></th><td>When checked, the panner is grayed,
193 and the signal is not affected by it</td></tr>
194 <tr><th>Reset</th><td>Resets the panner to its default settings, e.g. for a mono
195 signal, it is centered</td></tr>
196 <tr><th>Edit…</th><td>Shows a <kbd class="menu">Panner</kbd> dialog, which
197 allows for fine tuning of the panner</td></tr>
201 See <a href="@@panning">Panning</a> to learn more about how to control the panner,
202 and what kind of panners are available inside Ardour.
205 <h2>Recording options</h2>
208 The most noticeable button here is the Record Enable one, with a red circle.
209 When enabled, next time the Global record will be armed and playback started,
210 everything that comes from the input of the track will be recorded. Right clicking
211 a disabled record button allows to enable <kbd class="menu">Rec-Safe</kbd>,
212 thus protecting the track against accidental recording.
216 The buttons on the right, <kbd class="menu">In</kbd> and <kbd
217 class="menu">Disk</kbd>, show what the user is listening to by lighting up,
218 between the <em>In</em>put and the actual content of the playlist on
223 They also allow to override the automatic switching by pressing them to lock
224 one source or the other to be what the user is hearing.
230 These buttons allow to Mute (or silence) the track, or Solo them, shutting
231 down the gain of the other tracks (totally by default, can be set to partially
232 in the options). See <a href="@@muting-and-soloing">Muting and Soloing</a> for
237 Notice that by default, Solo overrides Mute, i.e. if a track is both Soloed and
238 Muted, it will play. That can be changed in the preferences.
242 The two led button above are related to solo:
246 <li>Solo Isolate, as the name suggests, isolates tracks or busses from the solo
247 system. When tracks or busses are soloed the isolated ones will not mute.</li>
248 <li>Solo Lock locks the solo into its current state (i.e. solo on or solo off).
249 It will not allow the solo state to be changed until the lock is released.</li>
252 <h2>Gain & Meter</h2>
255 On the right of this part is a <a href="@@metering-in-ardour">Meter</a>,
256 displaying the level of the track's output after the fader. In can be set to
257 display the signal at any point, see below <em>Metering Point</em>. Right
258 clicking this meter shows a menu allowing to switch the meter type.
262 The big Gain slider on the left allows to change the gain of the track. Its
263 default OdB value is reminded with a white horizontal line, and its precise
264 value is shown in a text field above it, that doubles as a way to type in a
269 The text field above the meter shows the "Peak", i.e. the maximum value that has
270 been reached during playback. To avoid distortion, the value should stay below OdB,
271 and if it goes above this value, the text field will turn red. Clicking on
272 this field will reset the Peak value (for a new measurement or a new part of the
277 Notice that if any gain automation has been set and the
278 automation state is set on "Play" (see below), then the Gain fader is driven by
279 the automation, and not by the user. The Gain fader will turn grey to show it is
286 If at least one <a href="@@control-masters-mixer-strips">VCA</a> exists, this
287 button will show up, allowing the user to link this track to any control master.
291 Clicking the button lists all the available control masters, and a menu option
292 to <kbd class="menu">Unassign all</kbd>. Notice that a track can be a slave
293 to as many VCAs as they are in the session, hence multiplying the number
294 of VCA buttons. The displayed number is the number of the VCA,
295 not the count of VCAs linked to the track. A track with no VCA assigned
296 will show a unique button with a "<kbd class="menu">-vca-</kbd>" label instead
300 <h2>Fader automation/mix group/metering point</h2>
302 <h3>Fader automation mode</h3>
305 This button allows to choose the mode used regarding automation:
309 <tr><th>Manual</th><td><em>(default)</em> The playback won't use the fader automation
311 <tr><th>Play</th><td>Enables playback/use of fader automation data</td></tr>
312 <tr><th>Write</th><td>While the transport is rolling, all fader changes will be
313 recorded to the fader automation lane</td></tr>
314 <tr><th>Touch</th><td>While the transport is rolling, touching the fader will initiate
315 recording all fader changes until the fader is released. When the fader is not
316 being touched, existing automation data will be played/used to control the gain
323 This button displays the mix group information as does the tab in the header
324 (see above). It is convenient though, as it allows to quickly switch the track
325 from one group to another with a drop down menu, also allowing to affect the
326 track to a non-adjacent group (which the tab won't easily allow).
329 <h3>Metering Point</h3>
332 The metering displayed in the meter is by default is 'Post', i.e. Post fader.
333 It can be changed with this button to Any point of the signal flow:
337 <tr><th>In</th><td>The input of the track</td></tr>
338 <tr><th>Pre</th><td>Pre-fader</td></tr>
339 <tr><th>Post</th><td>Post-fader</td></tr>
340 <tr><th>Out</th><td>The output of the track</td></tr>
341 <tr><th>Custom</th><td>A <em>Meter</em> processor is added to the processor box and
342 can be set anywhere (by dragging and dropping) to probe the signal flow at
349 This button is exactly the same as the <em>Input</em> button, but applies to
350 the <em>output</em> of the track.
356 This buttons open up a little text editor, that can be used to add some
357 written notes to the track, as e.g. a particular setting. The button's caption
358 is replaced by the beginning of the text, so it can be used as a "sub" name for