3 Since version 5.8-290, Ardour supports for the
4 <a href="https://www.presonus.com/products/FaderPort-8" rel="external">Presonus FaderPort™ 8</a>.
8 The FaderPort™ 8 is a production control surface with 8 touch-sensitive, motorized faders,
9 monochromatic digital scribble strips and more than 60 buttons with fixed labels.
12 <h2>Connecting the FaderPort 8</h2>
14 The FaderPort 8 (FP8) comes with a USB socket on the back. Connect a
15 suitable USB cable from there to a USB port on your computer.
17 The FP8 will be automatically recognized by your operating
18 system, and will appear in any of the lists of possible MIDI ports
19 in both Ardour and other similar software.
23 Ardour uses the FaderPort 8 in what PreSonus calls "Studio One" or "native"
24 mode. To use the FaderPort8 with Ardour's FP8 Control Surface, make sure that
25 the device is in "Studio One" mode. (If you would like to change the mode at
26 any point, power on the unit while holding down the two leftmost Select
27 buttons, see the FaderPort 8 manual for further details. Also note that at
28 least firmware version 1.01 is required. NB. "factory default" resets the
29 firmware, see the PreSonus FaderPort8 Owner's manual chapter 9.4.)
31 While the FaderPort provides a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mode, which
32 works with Ardour's Mackie Control Surface, MCU does not support various
33 elements available on the FP8 (e.g. colored buttons, and the custom mode
38 To connect the FP8 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog,
39 select "Control Surfaces" and enable "PreSonus FaderPort 8".
40 Then open the "Protocol Settings" dialog for the FP8. Which
41 (among other things) allows to select the the MIDI ports
42 corresponding to the FP8.
45 Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
46 the FP8 and it will be ready to use. You only need do this
47 once: Once these ports are connected and your session has been
48 saved, the connections will be made automatically in this and other
51 <figure class="center">
52 <img alt="FaderPort8 Control Surface Settings Dialog"
53 src="/images/fp8_settings.png"/>
56 <h2>Using the FaderPort 8</h2>
58 The FaderPort's controls can be divided into five groups:
61 <li>Transport buttons</li>
62 <li>Session Navigation controls</li>
64 <li>Mix management</li>
65 <li>Channel strip</li>
69 In general the control mapping described in the FaderPort 8
70 Owner's Manual for Studio One (chapter 2) applies to Ardour as well.
71 There are however subtle differences where the DAWs differ.
75 All buttons act on release (not press), exceptions are mentioned below.
78 <h3>Transport Buttons</h3>
80 <img alt="FaderPort8 Transport Buttons"
81 src="/images/fp8_transport.png"/>
84 <li><kbd class="def">Stop</kbd>: Stops the transport. Press twice to return to
86 <li><kbd class="def">Loop</kbd>: Toggles loop playback. A loop-range needs to
87 be defined in the session for looping to be engaged.</li>
88 <li><kbd class="def">Play/Pause</kbd>: Roll/Stop the transport (note that
89 Ardour has no "pause" mode: Pause is equivalent to stop). During vari-speed
90 playback, pressing "play" resets to 100% forward speed.</li>
91 <li><kbd class="def">Rewind</kbd>: Rewind, roll backwards. Successive presses
92 or holding the button incrementally changes the speed.</li>
93 <li><kbd class="def">Fast Forward</kbd>: Roll forward. Successive presses or
94 holding the button accumulate speed.
95 Pressing (<kbd>Rewind</kbd> and <kbd>Fast Forward</kbd>) simultaneously
96 stops playback and returns the playhead to zero.</li>
97 <li><kbd class="def">Record</kbd>: Toggles the global record enable
100 <div class="clearer"></div>
102 <h3>Session Navigation</h3>
104 Session Navigation allows quick navigation and provides access to
105 session-wide controls. Each of the eight buttons alters the function
106 of the push-button encoder and the <kbd>Prev</kbd>, <kbd>Next</kbd> buttons.
107 With exception of <kbd>Click</kbd> the seven modes are exclusive (radio buttons).
109 <figure class="left">
110 <img alt="FaderPort8 Navigation Buttons"
111 src="/images/fp8_navigation.png"/>
114 <li><kbd class="def">Channel</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
115 buttons select the previous/next mixer-strip. If no strip is selected,
116 <kbd>Next</kbd> selects the first, <kbd>Prev</kbd> the last mixer-strip in
117 the session. Pressing the encoder knob moves the most recently selected
118 mixer-strip into view on the FP8. The encoder scrolls the editor-canvas
120 <li><kbd class="def">Master</kbd>: The encoder controls the master-bus level.
121 If a session includes a monitor-section, the encoder controls monitor-out by
122 default. Hold the button to control the master-bus level. Press the
123 encoder knob to reset the gain to 0dB. The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
124 navigation buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track
126 <li><kbd class="def">Zoom</kbd>: The encoder controls horizontal zoom of the
127 editor. Press the encoder to <em>zoom to fit</em> the session.
128 <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons zoom selected track(s)
129 vertically (or all tracks if none are selected).</li>
130 <li><kbd class="def">Click</kbd>: Toggle the metronome on/off. While holding
131 the <kbd>Click</kbd> button, the encoder modifies the volume of the
132 metronome click (press the encoder while holding <kbd>Click</kbd> to reset
133 the metronome level to 0dBFS).</li>
134 <li><kbd class="def">Scroll</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
135 <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). Pressing the encoder <em>zooms to
136 fit</em> the session. The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd> navigation
137 buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
138 <li><kbd class="def">Section</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
139 navigation buttons nudge the selected region by the time configured in the
140 nudge-clock. If no region is selected the playhead position is nudged. The
141 encoder always nudges the playhead position.</li>
142 <li><kbd class="def">Bank</kbd>: Encoder and navigation buttons scroll through
143 mixer-strips in banks of eight. Pressing the encoder moves the most recently
144 selected mixer-strip into view on the FP8.</li>
145 <li><kbd class="def">Marker</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
146 <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). The <kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd>
147 navigation buttons jump to prev/next markers. Press the encoder to drop a
151 When combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the eight buttons will access custom
152 functions, which can be configured in the Preference Dialog. The buttons will
153 light up if an action has been assigned to a button.
156 The following tables shows a condensed overview of the session-navigation modes:
159 <tr><th></th><th><kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd></th><th>Encoder knob</th><th>Encoder Press</th></tr>
160 <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>
161 <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>
162 <tr><th>Zoom</th><td>Vertical zoom (editor track-height)</td><td>Horizontal timeline zoom (time)</td><td>Horizontal zoom to session</td></tr>
163 <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>
164 <tr><th>Section</th><td>Nudge the selected region</td><td>Nudge the playhead</td><td> - </td></tr>
165 <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>
166 <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>
167 <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>
169 <div class="clearer"></div>
171 <h3>Shift Button</h3>
172 <figure class="left">
173 <img alt="the FaderPort8 Shift Button"
174 src="/images/fp8_shift_large.png"/>
177 The two <kbd>Shift</kbd> buttons are identical, they're copied to provide
178 convenient access to the modifiers. Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd>
179 button updates the lights (and colors on RGB buttons) to indicate the modified
182 Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd> button for one second without
183 pressing any other button enters shift-lock mode. Press <kbd>Shift</kbd> again
186 The <kbd>Shift</kbd> button engages directly on press. Activating an action
187 while the button is held will void the shift-lock mode.
189 <div class="clearer"></div>
193 The eight faders on the FP8 can be assigned to various automatable
194 controls present in the current session. The four fader-mode buttons
195 change the behavior of the mixer-strip and scribble strip displays.
196 (Note: with the 1.01 firmware these buttons always act on press.)
198 <figure class="left">
199 <img alt="FaderPort8 Fader Mode Buttons"
200 src="/images/fp8_fadermode.png"/>
203 <li><kbd class="def">Track</kbd>: In Track-mode, the motorized faders display
204 and control a mixer-strip's signal level. The Pan/Param encoder modifies the
205 azimuth of the panner (hold <kbd>Shift</kbd> to control the width, if the
206 track's panner supports it). <kbd>Mute</kbd> and <kbd>Solo</kbd> affect the
207 respective mixer-strip.</li>
208 <li><kbd class="def">Edit Plugins</kbd>: When Edit Plug-ins mode is active, the
209 motorized faders will control the parameter settings. Press the <kbd>Edit
210 Plugins</kbd> button to view all available plugin-inserts on a strip. If
211 no plugins are available, <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> will not engage and the
212 FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode. Use the <kbd>Select</kbd>
213 buttons under the scribble strip to pick a plugin to edit. The faders and
214 <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons will respectively control the parameters and toggles
215 of the selected plugin. Press the <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> button again to return
216 to the insert select view. (Once a plugin has been selected, it stays in edit
217 mode regardless of selection). If there are more than eight, the Pan/Param
218 encoder allows to scroll through available control-parameters.</li>
219 <li><kbd class="def">Sends</kbd>: In Sends mode, each of the faders is mapped
220 to the send-level of aux-sends of the selected track. If there are more than
221 eight sends on a given track, the Pan/Param encoder can scroll through them.
222 Send-mode follow the selection. If there are no sends on a given track, the
223 FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode.</li>
224 <li><kbd class="def">Pan</kbd>: When Pan mode is active, the motorized faders
225 will display and control the panner's azimuth. The Pan/Param controls the
226 pan-width of the selected mixer-strip.</li>
229 <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Track</kbd> toggles timecode display on/off (middle
230 row of the scribble-strip).
232 <div class="clearer"></div>
234 <h3>Channel Strip</h3>
235 <figure class="left">
236 <img alt="The FaderPort8 Channel Strip"
237 src="/images/fp8_strip.png"/>
240 <li><strong>Touch-Sensitive Fader</strong>: The fader can be used to control
241 volume levels, aux send levels, panning, or plugin parameters, depending on
242 the fader-mode (see above).</li>
243 <li><strong>Pan/Param</strong>: The encoder controls panning in Track and Pan
244 mode. In Plugin and Send fader-modes, the encoder banks parameters. See
245 Fader modes above for details.</li>
246 <li><kbd class="def">Mute</kbd>: Toggle the mute-control of the corresponding
247 mixer-strip. Mute engages on press, and disengages on release. Press and
248 hold the button for at least 0.5sec for momentary.</li>
249 <li><kbd class="def">Solo</kbd>: Toggle the solo or listen (AFL,PFL) control
250 of the corresponding mixer-strip. Solo engages on press, and disengages on
251 release. Press and hold the button for at least 500ms for momentary.</li>
252 <li><kbd class="def">Select</kbd>: In Track and Sends and Pan mode the Select
253 button select/de-select a given mixer-strip.
255 Since selection is not limited to a single mixer-strip, the button acts in
256 tri-state. A mixer-strip light indicates selection:
258 <li><strong>Any Selected Track</strong>: The select button is lit with the
260 <li><strong>Any Not Selected Track</strong>: The select button is off
261 (dimly showing the track's color).</li>
262 <li><strong>Most Recently Selected Track</strong>: Only one track at a
263 time. The select button is blinks width the track's color.</li>
265 Operations such as <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> or <kbd>Sends</kbd> use the
266 most-recently-selected (focused) track. To modify the selection, the
267 button's action depends on the current selection:
269 <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd></strong>: The track is exclusively selected
270 and also becomes the most-recently selected.</li>
271 <li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any selected
272 track</strong>: Deselect the track.</li>
273 <li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected
274 track</strong>: Adds the given track to the selection and make it
275 most-recently selected).</li>
280 While holding the <kbd>ARM</kbd> button the <kbd>Select</kbd> button lights
281 change to red and the <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons controls the record-arm of
282 the given track. Mixer-strips that cannot be record-armed have a dim white
286 <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>ARM</kbd> record-arms all tracks in the session.
288 <div class="clearer"></div>
290 <h3>Mix Management</h3>
292 These buttons allows to select which mixer-strips are spilled on the FP8
295 <figure class="left">
296 <img alt="FaderPort8 Mix Management Buttons"
297 src="/images/fp8_mixmanage.png"/>
300 <li><kbd class="def">Audio</kbd>: View Audio Tracks only.</li>
301 <li><kbd class="def">VI</kbd>: Show tracks with virtual instrument
303 <li><kbd class="def">Bus</kbd>: Display only Busses.</li>
304 <li><kbd class="def">VCA</kbd>: Show VCAs.</li>
305 <li><kbd class="def">All</kbd>: Display all Tracks, Busses (incl master-bus)
309 In combination with the <kbd>Shift</kbd> modifier ten total
310 filters are available:
313 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Audio</kbd> <strong>Inputs</strong>:
314 shows all record-armed tracks (Audio and MIDI).</li>
315 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VI</kbd> <strong>MIDI</strong>: View
316 all MIDI tracks.</li>
317 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bus</kbd> <strong>Outputs</strong>:
318 Show the Master and Monitor Bus.</li>
319 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VCA</kbd> <strong>FX</strong>: Shows
321 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">All</kbd> <strong>User</strong>:
322 Display all currently selected mixer-strips only.</li>
324 <div class="clearer"></div>
326 <h3>Automation Controls</h3>
328 The Automation Controls provide access to the currently selected mixer-strips.
329 The automation enable lights indicates the mode of the most recently selected
330 mixer-strip (blinking selection button). The action affects all selected
331 mixer-strips. The automation controls are currently only available in
332 <kbd>Track</kbd> and <kbd>Pan</kbd> fader modes where they affect the fader
333 and pan automation modes respectively.
335 <figure class="left">
336 <img alt="FaderPort8 Automation Buttons"
337 src="/images/fp8_automation.png"/>
340 <li><kbd class="def">Latch</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
341 <li><kbd class="def">Trim</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
342 <li><kbd class="def">Off</kbd>: Select "Manual" automation mode.</li>
343 <li><kbd class="def">Read</kbd>: Select "Play" automation mode.</li>
344 <li><kbd class="def">Write</kbd>: Select "Write" automation mode (note at the
345 end of a write pass, Ardour automatically puts the track into "Touch"
347 <li><kbd class="def">Touch</kbd> Select "Touch" automation mode.</li>
349 <div class="clearer"></div>
351 The Automation Controls also double as session state controls
352 when combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>.
355 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Latch</kbd> <strong>Save</strong>:
356 Save the session. The button lights up red if the session is modified.</li>
357 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Trim</kbd> <strong>Redo</strong>: Redo
358 a previously undone operation. The button lights up green if redo is
360 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Off</kbd> <strong>Undo</strong>: Undo
361 the most recent operation. The button lights up green if undo is
365 With <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the bottom row allows to bind three custom user
368 <div class="clearer"></div>
370 <h3>Miscellaneous</h3>
371 <figure class="left">
372 <img alt="FaderPort8 Misc Buttons"
373 src="/images/fp8_misc.png"/>
376 <li><kbd class="def">Solo Clear</kbd>: Reset all solo controls in the
378 <li><kbd class="def">Mute Clear</kbd>: Unmute all mixer-strips in the
380 <li><kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd>: A/B bypass toggle any plugins on all
381 selected mixer-strips.</li>
382 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd> <strong>Bypass
383 All</strong>: currently the same as "Bypass".</li>
386 The labels of the following buttons have no direct corresponding action in
387 Ardour and are currently mapped to convenient functions:
390 <li><kbd class="def">Macro</kbd>: Show the Editor Window.</li>
391 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Macro</kbd> <strong>Open</strong>:
392 Show the Import Audio Dialog.</li>
393 <li><kbd class="def">Link</kbd>: Switch to the Mixer Window.</li>
394 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Lock</strong>:
395 Lock the GUI (alike Session > Lock) to prevent accidental changes.</li>
397 <div class="clearer"></div>