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‌The Fairlight Timeline and Mixer showing the same track selection, A1, A3, and A5, with A3 as the active track.‌‌

Channel extension buttons on the optional HDMI monitor showing illuminated Select Buttons for tracks A1 and A5.

Fairlight Desktop Console

Now that you are familiar with the general layout, types of controls, modes, and other options in the Fairlight Desktop Console, you are ready to take a more detailed look at the different areas of operation and how everything works together. One primary concept to keep in mind is that the Fairlight Desktop Console is designed specifically to control the DaVinci Resolve Fairlight page. Therefore, the better you understand the Fairlight page, the more proficient you’ll be with your console.

Please refer to previous Fairlight chapters for detailed information on the software interface, tools, functions, and audio workflows. Meanwhile, this section will give an overview of the entire Fairlight Desktop Console and focus in-depth on unique features and functions that go beyond the standard keyboard and mouse options in the Fairlight page.

Control Buttons

The twelve control buttons in the upper-left corner of the Desktop Console offer fast access to all of the mixing parameters available in the Fairlight Mixer, without the need to grab your mouse. Each control button maps a different set of mixing parameters to the upper section of the channel strips. These parameter control sets are identical to the parameter controls in the corresponding UI windows

accessible in the Fairlight Mixer. Additionally, if you are using an HDMI monitor with your Desktop Console, the active control set parameters on the monitor screen are highlighted in blue text.

The control sets include the LCD screens, knobs, and SEL buttons and work collectively for Focus mode operations. The control area defaults to the standard operational strip mode whenever there are no control buttons active.

Control buttons that assign control sets to the adjacent Select buttons, knobs, and LCDs

NOTE: In each of the following control set examples, track A3 DIA - Kate is the active track. You can easily identify the active track because the track-based Focus mode control sets always display the active track’s name, number, and color in the first channel strip’s LCD.

NOTE: In each of the following control set examples, track A3 DIA - Kate is the active track. You can easily identify the active track because the track-based Focus mode control sets always display the active track’s name, number, and color in the first channel strip’s LCD.

NOTE: In each of the following control set examples, track A3 DIA - Kate is the active track. You can easily identify the active track because the track-based Focus mode control sets always display the active track’s name, number, and color in the first channel strip’s LCD.

Default mode where SEL is Select button, knob controls Pan, and LCD shows channel info for each of the 12 channel strips.

Control Buttons from left to right, starting with the top row, include:

MSTR: The Master control button dedicates the adjacent LCDs, knobs, and SEL buttons to the Master buses. The default Master control set gives you direct channel control for up to 11 master buses. The knob controls the corresponding Master bus level, while the SEL button allows the bus to be muted.

Master control set mapping shows MAIN 1, MAIN 2, SUB 1, SUB 2, AUX 1, and AUX 2

CHNL: The Channel control set assigns up to 11 of the most commonly used channel controls to the knobs and also to the SEL buttons, if populated or active, primarily used as In/Out or On/Off switches.

Knob controls update in realtime as they are adjusted. SEL switches illuminate when enabled and the label on the corresponding user interface switch in the LCD turns red. The Channel controls from left to right are; Active Track DIA - Kate A3, Path Trim, High Pass Filter Frequency, Low EQ Gain, Low Mid Gain, High Mid Gain, High Gain, Low Pass Filt Frequency, Compressor Threshold, Lmiter Threshold, Pan Left/Right and Front/Back. These controls are also available in the associated Focus mode control sets.

Page 1 of the Channel control set mapping

PAN: The Pan control set maps all of the pan parameters available in the Pan window to the control area knobs with graphical feedback in the LCD. Pan controls are applied to the selected track. Pan controls assigned to each knob from left to right are: Pan, Left/Right, Front/Back, Rotate, Spread, Diverge, and Boom. Pan, Divergence, and Boom have On/Off switches assigned to the adjacent SEL switches.

Pan control set mapping includes all parameters in the Fairlight Pan window.

Pan window available in the Fairlight page Mixer

Pan control set visual feedback in optional HDMI monitor

PLUG: The Plugin control sets differ from plugin to plugin. However, for each plugin slot there are up to two pages (12+12) of user-mappable parameters on the encoder knobs as well as On/Off on SEL1, plus up to 11 user-mappable switch functions. In this example, the Fairlight FX Echo plugin automatically maps parameters to the first nine knobs and first two switches: Echo On/Off, Filter LowCut and Stereo Switch, Feedback High Ratio, Left Channel Delay Time, Right Channel Delay Time, Feedback Delay, Output Dry/Wet, and Level.

Hold Plug and press User 1 to User 6 to choose a different plugin slot for focus. This also opens the corresponding Plugin window in the Fairlight page interface.

Echo control set mapping

Echo Plugin window that mirrors the Plugin control set on the

Fairlight Desktop Console

EQ: The EQ control set includes two pages of controls. Press the EQ button to load the Page 1 control set, mapped left to right across the encoders and SEL switches. Master Gain trim appears at knob position 2, and knobs 3-12 control Bands 2-5, alternating gain and frequency. The SEL switch at position 1 switches the EQ on/off, and the remaining SEL switches toggle either the Frequency band ON/OFF or the shape per band.

Hold CTL and press EQ to switch to Page 2.

This EQ control set focuses on the High Pass and Low Pass filters on Bands 1 and 6, and the corresponding SEL switches toggle the filters ON/OFF or shape. Press EQ again to return to Page 1 and repeat as needed to toggle between Page 1 and Page 2. The EQ control set mirrors all of the parameter controls available in the Fairlight EQ window.

EQ control set Page 1 with controls for Bands 2-5

EQ control set Page 2 with controls for the filters on Bands 1 and 6

Fairlight EQ controls available via the Fairlight Mixer

EQ control set visual feedback in optional HDMI monitor

EXP: The EXP control set includes all of the Expander and Gate parameter controls available in the Fairlight Dynamics window. The first channel strip shows which track is in focus, or active, while the SEL button toggles between Expander/Gate controls. The subsequent six channel strips include knob control for the Expander/Gate parameter in

the order they appear on the Dynamics window. From left to right in Channel Strips 2-7 the controls are: Threshold, Range, Ratio, Attack, Hold, and Release.

Fairlight Expander/Gate control set

Fairlight Expander/Gate parameters in the Dynamics windows

COMP: The Compressor control set includes all of the Compressor parameters as available in the Dynamics window. As with all of the other control sets, the Channel 1 position is where you’ll find the On/Off switch assigned to the SEL button. These subsequent controls from left to right include: Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Hold, and Release on the 2-5 knobs, and a Send/Listen SEL toggle for SideChain compression in the channel 6 position.

Fairlight Dynamics window, Compressor controls

Fairlight Compressor controls available via the Fairlight Mixer

LIM: Like the other dynamics control sets, the Limiter control set includes all Limiter parameter controls assigned to the encoder knobs in the order they appear in the Dynamics window. The Limiter controls include: On/Off, Threshold, Attack, Hold, and Release.

Fairlight Dynamics window, Limiter controls

Fairlight Limiter controls

available via the Fairlight Mixer

Fairlight Dynamics Window, which includes Expander, Gate, Compressor, and Limiter.

Compressor control set visual feedback in optional HDMI monitor. All Focus mode dynamics parameters grouped together in

one section of the HDMI data screen. The active dynamics controls are highlighted in blue.

INP: This is the Input button and mirrors the Path Settings controls available on the Input section of the Fairlight Mixer. These controls appear in the same order as the do in the Fairlight page: SOURCE, PATH Mic/Inst, Rec Level, Trim, and Direct Output. The INP control set maps Mic Gain to the Channel 3 knob, or hold ALT to use the same Knob for Rec Level adjustments.

Input control set mapping

Path Settings available in the Input section of the Fairlight Mixer

Input control set with Path visual feedback in optional HDMI monitor

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