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
25 (If you would like to change the mode at any point, power on the unit while
26 holding down the first two Select buttons, see the FaderPort 8 manual
27 for further details, also note that at least Firmware version 1.01 is
30 While the FaderPort provides a Mackie Control Universal (MCU) mode,
31 MCU does not support various elements available on the FP8.
32 e.g. colored buttons, and the custom mode scribble strips.
36 To connect the FP8 to Ardour, open the Preferences dialog,
37 select "Control Surfaces" and enable "PreSonus FaderPort 8".
38 Then open the "Protocol Settings" dialog for the FP8. Which
39 (among other things) allows to select the the MIDI ports
40 corresponding to the FP8.
43 Once you select the input and output port, Ardour will initialize
44 the FP8 and it will be ready to use. You only need do this
45 once: Once these ports are connected and your session has been
46 saved, the connections will be made automatically in this and other
49 <figure class="center">
50 <img alt="FaderPort8 Control Surface Settings Dialog"
51 src="/images/fp8_settings.png"/>
54 <h2>Using the FaderPort 8</h2>
56 The FaderPort's controls can be divided into five groups:
59 <li>Transport buttons</li>
60 <li>Session Navigation controls</li>
62 <li>Mix management</li>
63 <li>Channel strip</li>
67 In general the control mapping described in the FaderPort 8
68 Owner's Manual for Studio One (chapter 2) applies to Ardour as well.
69 There are however subtle differences where the DAWs differ.
73 All buttons act on release (not press), exceptions are mentioned below.
76 <h3>Transport Buttons</h3>
78 <img alt="FaderPort8 Transport Buttons"
79 src="/images/fp8_transport.png"/>
82 <li><kbd class="def">Stop</kbd>: Stops the transport. Press twice to return to
84 <li><kbd class="def">Loop</kbd>: Toggles loop playback. A loop-range needs to
85 be defined in the session for looping to be engaged.</li>
86 <li><kbd class="def">Play/Pause</kbd>: Roll/Stop the transport (note that
87 Ardour has no "pause" mode: Pause is equivalent to stop). During vari-speed
88 playback, pressing "play" resets to 100% forward speed.</li>
89 <li><kbd class="def">Rewind</kbd>: Rewind, roll backwards. Successive presses
90 or holding the button incrementally changes the speed.</li>
91 <li><kbd class="def">Fast Forward</kbd>: Roll forward. Successive presses or
92 holding the button accumulate speed.
93 Pressing (<kbd>Rewind</kbd> and <kbd>Fast Forward</kbd>) simultaneously
94 stops playback and returns the playhead to zero.</li>
95 <li><kbd class="def">Record</kbd>: Toggles the global record enable
98 <div class="clearer"></div>
100 <h3>Session Navigation</h3>
102 Session Navigation allows quick navigation and provides access to
103 session-wide controls. Each of the eight buttons alters the function
104 of the push-button encoder and the "Prev", "Next" buttons.
105 With exception of <kbd>Click</kbd> the seven modes are exclusive (radio buttons).
107 <figure class="left">
108 <img alt="FaderPort8 Navigation Buttons"
109 src="/images/fp8_navigation.png"/>
112 <li><kbd class="def">Channel</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
113 buttons select the previous/next mixer-strip. If no strip is selected,
114 <kbd>Next</kbd> selects the first, <kbd>Prev</kbd> the last mixer-strip in
115 the session. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> moves the most recently selected
116 mixer-strip into view on the FP8. The encoder scrolls the editor-canvas
118 <li><kbd class="def">Master</kbd>: The encoder controls the master-bus level.
119 If a session includes a monitor-section, the encoder controls monitor-out by
120 default. Hold the button to control the master-bus level. Press the
121 <kbd>encoder</kbd> to reset the gain to 0dB. The
122 <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons bank the visible strips on
123 the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
124 <li><kbd class="def">Zoom</kbd>: The encoder controls horizontal zoom of the
125 editor. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> to <em>zoom to fit</em> the session.
126 <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation buttons zoom selected track(s)
127 vertically (or all tracks if none are selected).</li>
128 <li><kbd class="def">Click</kbd>: Toggle the metronome on/off. While holding
129 the <kbd>Click</kbd> button, the encoder modifies the volume of the
130 metronome click (press the <kbd>encoder</kbd> while holding <kbd>Click</kbd>
131 to reset the metronome level to 0dBFS).</li>
132 <li><kbd class="def">Scroll</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
133 <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> <em>zooms
134 to fit</em> the session. The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd> navigation
135 buttons bank the visible strips on the FP8 by one track left/right.</li>
136 <li><kbd class="def">Section</kbd>: The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
137 navigation buttons nudge the selected region by the time configured in the
138 nudge-clock. If no region is selected the playhead position is nudged. The
139 encoder always nudges the playhead position.</li>
140 <li><kbd class="def">Bank</kbd>: Encoder and navigation buttons scroll through
141 mixer-strips in banks of eight. Pressing the <kbd>encoder</kbd> moves the
142 most recently selected mixer-strip into view on the FP8.</li>
143 <li><kbd class="def">Marker</kbd>: The encoder scrolls the timeline (hold
144 <kbd>Shift</kbd> for finer steps). The <kbd>Prev</kbd>/<kbd>Next</kbd>
145 navigation buttons jump to prev/next markers. Press the <kbd>encoder</kbd>
146 to drop a new marker.</li>
149 When combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the eight buttons will access custom
150 functions, which can be configured in the Preference Dialog. The buttons will
151 light up if an action has been assigned to a button.
154 The following tables shows a condensed overview of the session-navigation modes:
157 <tr><th></th><th><kbd>Prev</kbd> / <kbd>Next</kbd></th><th>Encoder knob</th><th><kbd>Encoder</kbd> Press</th></tr>
158 <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>
159 <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>
160 <tr><th>Zoom</th><td>Vertical zoom (editor track-height)</td><td>Horizontal timeline zoom (time)</td><td>Horizontal zoom to session</td></tr>
161 <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>
162 <tr><th>Section</th><td>Nudge the selected region</td><td>Nudge the playhead</td><td> - </td></tr>
163 <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>
164 <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>
165 <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>
167 <div class="clearer"></div>
169 <h3>Shift Button</h3>
170 <figure class="left">
171 <img alt="the FaderPort8 Shift Button"
172 src="/images/fp8_shift_large.png"/>
175 The two <kbd>Shift</kbd> buttons are identical, they're copied to provide
176 convenient access to the modifiers. Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd>
177 button updates the lights (and colors on RGB buttons) to indicate the modified
180 Pressing and holding the <kbd>Shift</kbd> button for one second without
181 pressing any other button enters shift-lock mode. Press <kbd>Shift</kbd> again
184 The <kbd>Shift</kbd> button engages directly on press. Activating an action
185 while the button is held will void the shift-lock mode.
187 <div class="clearer"></div>
191 The eight faders on the FP8 can be assigned to various automatable
192 controls present in the current session. The four fader-mode buttons
193 change the behavior of the mixer-strip and scribble strip displays.
194 (Note: with the 1.01 firmware these buttons always act on press.)
196 <figure class="left">
197 <img alt="FaderPort8 Fader Mode Buttons"
198 src="/images/fp8_fadermode.png"/>
201 <li><kbd class="def">Track</kbd>: In Track-mode, the motorized faders display
202 and control a mixer-strip's signal level. The Pan/Param encoder modifies the
203 azimuth of the panner (hold <kbd>Shift</kbd> to control the width, if the
204 track's panner supports it). <kbd>Mute</kbd> and <kbd>Solo</kbd> affect the
205 respective mixer-strip.</li>
206 <li><kbd class="def">Edit Plugins</kbd>: When Edit Plug-ins mode is active, the
207 motorized faders will control the parameter settings. Press the <kbd>Edit
208 Plugins</kbd> button to view all available plugin-inserts on a strip. If
209 no plugins are available, <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> will not engage and the
210 FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode. Use the <kbd>Select</kbd>
211 buttons under the scribble strip to pick a plugin to edit. The faders and
212 <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons will respectively control the parameters and toggles
213 of the selected plugin. Press the <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> button again to return
214 to the insert select view. (Once a plugin has been selected, it stays in edit
215 mode regardless of selection). If there are more than eight, the Pan/Param
216 encoder allows to scroll through available control-parameters.</li>
217 <li><kbd class="def">Sends</kbd>: In Sends mode, each of the faders is mapped
218 to the send-level of aux-sends of the selected track. If there are more than
219 eight sends on a given track, the Pan/Param encoder can scroll through them.
220 Send-mode follow the selection. If there are no sends on a given track, the
221 FP8 automatically switches back to Track-mode.</li>
222 <li><kbd class="def">Pan</kbd>: When Pan mode is active, the motorized faders
223 will display and control the panner's azimuth. The Pan/Param controls the
224 pan-width of the selected mixer-strip.</li>
227 <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Track</kbd> toggles timecode display on/off (middle
228 row of the scribble-strip).
230 <div class="clearer"></div>
232 <h3>Channel Strip</h3>
233 <figure class="left">
234 <img alt="The FaderPort8 Channel Strip"
235 src="/images/fp8_strip.png"/>
238 <li><strong>Touch-Sensitive Fader</strong>: The fader can be used to control
239 volume levels, aux send levels, panning, or plugin parameters, depending on
240 the fader-mode (see above).</li>
241 <li><kbd class="def">Mute</kbd>: Toggle the mute-control of the corresponding
242 mixer-strip. Mute engages on press, and disengages on release. Press and
243 hold the button for at least 0.5sec for momentary.</li>
244 <li><kbd class="def">Solo</kbd>: Toggle the solo or listen (AFL,PFL) control
245 of the corresponding mixer-strip. Solo engages on press, and disengages on
246 release. Press and hold the button for at least 500ms for momentary.</li>
247 <li><kbd class="def">Select</kbd>: In Track and Sends and Pan mode the Select
248 button select/de-select a given mixer-strip. Since selection is not limited
249 to a single mixer-strip, the button acts in tri-state. A mixer-strip light
252 <li><strong>Any Selected Track</strong>: The select button is lit with the
254 <li><strong>Any Not Selected Track</strong>: The select button is off
255 (dimly showing the track's color).</li>
256 <li><strong>Most Recently Selected Track</strong>: Only one track at a
257 time. The select button is blinks width the track's color.</li>
259 Operations such as <kbd>Edit Plugins</kbd> or <kbd>Sends</kbd> use the
260 most-recently-selected track. To modify the selection, the button's action
261 depends on the current selection:
263 <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected track</strong>: The track is
264 added to the selection and becomes the most-recently selected.</li>
265 <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> the most-recently-selected
266 (blinking)</strong>: Removes the track from selection (most-recent
268 <li><strong><kbd>Select</kbd> any other selected track</strong>: Make it
269 most-recently-selected track.</li>
270 <li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any selected
271 track</strong>: Deselect the track.</li>
272 <li><strong><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>Select</kbd> any unselected
273 track</strong>: Exclusively select the given track (and make it
274 most-recently selected).</li>
279 While holding the <kbd>ARM</kbd> button the Select button light changes to red
280 and the <kbd>Select</kbd> buttons controls the record-arm of the given track.
281 Mixer-strips that cannot be record-armed have a dim white light.
282 <kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd>ARM</kbd> record-arms all tracks in the session.
284 <div class="clearer"></div>
286 <h3>Mix Management</h3>
288 These buttons allows to select which mixer-strips are spilled on the FP8
291 <figure class="left">
292 <img alt="FaderPort8 Mix Management Buttons"
293 src="/images/fp8_mixmanage.png"/>
296 <li><kbd class="def">Audio</kbd>: View Audio Tracks only.</li>
297 <li><kbd class="def">VI</kbd>: Show tracks with virtual instrument
299 <li><kbd class="def">Bus</kbd>: Display only Busses.</li>
300 <li><kbd class="def">VCA</kbd>: Show VCAs.</li>
301 <li><kbd class="def">All</kbd>: Display all Tracks, Busses (incl master-bus)
305 In combination with the <kbd>Shift</kbd> modifier ten total
306 filters are available:
309 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Audio</kbd> <strong>Inputs</strong>:
310 shows all record-armed tracks (Audio and MIDI).</li>
311 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VI</kbd> <strong>MIDI</strong>: View
312 all MIDI tracks.</li>
313 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bus</kbd> <strong>Outputs</strong>:
314 Show the Master and Monitor Bus.</li>
315 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">VCA</kbd> <strong>FX</strong>: Shows
317 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">All</kbd> <strong>User</strong>:
318 Display all currently selected mixer-strips only.</li>
320 <div class="clearer"></div>
322 <h3>Automation Controls</h3>
324 The Automation Controls provide access to the currently selected mixer-strips.
325 The automation enable lights indicates the mode of the most recently selected
326 mixer-strip (blinking selection button). The action affects all selected
327 mixer-strips. The automation controls are currently only available in
328 <kbd>Track</kbd> and <kbd>Pan</kbd> fader modes where they affect the fader
329 and pan automation modes respectively.
331 <figure class="left">
332 <img alt="FaderPort8 Automation Buttons"
333 src="/images/fp8_automation.png"/>
336 <li><kbd class="def">Latch</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
337 <li><kbd class="def">Trim</kbd>: Currently not available in Ardour.</li>
338 <li><kbd class="def">Off</kbd>: Select "Manual" automation mode.</li>
339 <li><kbd class="def">Read</kbd>: Select "Play" automation mode.</li>
340 <li><kbd class="def">Write</kbd>: Select "Write" automation mode (note at the
341 end of a write pass, Ardour automatically puts the track into "Touch"
343 <li><kbd class="def">Touch</kbd> Select "Touch" automation mode.</li>
345 <div class="clearer"></div>
347 The Automation Controls also double as session state controls
348 when combined with <kbd>Shift</kbd>.
351 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Latch</kbd> <strong>Save</strong>:
352 Save the session. The button lights up red if the session is modified.</li>
353 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Trim</kbd> <strong>Redo</strong>: Redo
354 a previously undone operation. The button lights up green if redo is
356 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Off</kbd> <strong>Undo</strong>: Undo
357 the most recent operation. The button lights up green if undo is
361 With <kbd>Shift</kbd>, the bottom row allows to bind three custom user
364 <div class="clearer"></div>
366 <h3>Miscellaneous</h3>
367 <figure class="left">
368 <img alt="FaderPort8 Misc Buttons"
369 src="/images/fp8_misc.png"/>
372 <li><kbd class="def">Solo Clear</kbd>: Reset all solo controls in the
374 <li><kbd class="def">Mute Clear</kbd>: Unmute all mixer-strips in the
376 <li><kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd>: A/B bypass toggle any plugins on all
377 selected mixer-strips.</li>
378 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Bypass</kbd> <strong>Bypass
379 All</strong>: currently the same as "Bypass".</li>
382 The labels of the following buttons have no direct corresponding action in
383 Ardour and are currently mapped to convenient functions:
386 <li><kbd class="def">Macro</kbd>: Show the Editor Window.</li>
387 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Open</strong>:
388 Show the Import Audio Dialog.</li>
389 <li><kbd class="def">Link</kbd>: Switch to the Mixer Window.</li>
390 <li><kbd>Shift</kbd> + <kbd class="def">Link</kbd> <strong>Lock</strong>:
391 Lock the GUI (alike Session > Lock) to prevent accidental changes.</li>
393 <div class="clearer"></div>