FP8 manual update:

[ardour-manual] / include / using-the-presonus-faderport8.html

<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="well">
  Ardour uses the FaderPort 8 in what PreSonus calls "Studio One" or
  "native" mode.
  (If you would like to change the mode at any point, power on the unit while
  holding down the first two Select buttons, see the FaderPort 8 manual
  for further details, also note that at least Firmware version 1.01 is
  required.)
  <br/>
  While the FaderPort provides a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mode,
  MCU does not support various elements available on the FP8.
  e.g. colored buttons, and the custom mode scribble strips.
</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">
  <img alt="FaderPort8 Control Surface Settings Dialog"
       src="/images/fp8_settings.png"/>
</figure>

<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>

<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">
  <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>

<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
  of the push-button encoder and the "Prev", "Next" buttons.
  With exception of "Click" the seven modes are exclusive (radio buttons).
</p>
<figure class="left">
  <img alt="FaderPort8 Navigation Buttons"
       src="/images/fp8_navigation.png"/>
</figure>
<!-- This could be a table: | MODE | prev/next | encoder action | encoder-press action | !-->
<!-- Except a table does not flow nicely around the figure !-->
<ol class="inside">
  <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
  the session. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> 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
    <kbd>encoder</kbd> 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
    editor. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> 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
    metronome click (press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> 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
    <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> <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>
  <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
    mixer-strips in banks of eight. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> 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
    <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
    navigation buttons jump to prev/next markers. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd>
    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.
</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<h3>Shift Button</h3>
<figure class="left">
  <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.
  <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.

  The <kbd>Shift</kbd> button engages directly on press. Activating an action
  while the button is held will void the shift-lock mode.
</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<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.
  (Note: with the 1.01 firmware these buttons always act on press.)
</p>
<figure class="left">
  <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).
</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<h3>Channel Strip</h3>
<figure class="left">
  <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>
  <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. 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 track. To modify the selection, the button's action
    depends on the current selection:
    <ol class="inside">
      <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected track</strong>: The track is
        added to the selection and becomes the most-recently selected.</li>
      <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> the most-recently-selected
          (blinking)</strong>: Removes the track from selection (most-recent
          falls back).</li>
      <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any other selected track</strong>: Make it
        most-recently-selected track.</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>: Exclusively select the given track (and make it
          most-recently selected).</li>
    </ol>
  </li>
</ul>
<p>
  While holding the <kbd>ARM</kbd> button the Select button light changes to red
  and the <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons controls the record-arm of the given track.
  Mixer-strips that cannot be record-armed have a dim white light.
  <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>ARM</kbd> record-arms all tracks in the session.
</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<h3>Mix Management</h3>
<p>
  These buttons allows to select which mixer-strips are spilled on the FP8
  channel-strips.
</p>
<figure class="left">
  <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
  <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>:
    shows all record-armed tracks (Audio and MIDI).</li> plugins.</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>
</ol>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<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">
  <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>
  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.
</p>
<div class="clearer"></div>

<h3>Miscellaneous</h3>
<figure class="left">
  <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>
  <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</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>
<div class="clearer"></div>