Fairlight Console Channel Control

‌Fairlight Console Channel Control‌

The secret to managing high track counts for large projects is the Fairlight Console Channel Control because it provides instant knob-per-function access to channel parameters along with real-time high resolution visual feedback on-screen. The Fairlight Console Channel Control module ﬁts directly below the LCD monitor so that you can always see the graphical representation of each parameter as it is modiﬁed with the adjacent channel controls. There are four types of channel controls organized in three areas of the panel.

On the far left and right sides of the panel, you’ll ﬁnd dual-function Channel Display buttons that determine the current channel control mode and which parameters are displayed on the LCD monitor.

The middle of the panel contains 12 groups of multi functional Channel Control buttons and knobs that align with the 12 faders on the Channel Fader panel. The knobs are used to adjust parameter values, while the control buttons act as toggles, On/Off, or In/Out switches for active parameters.

The fourth type of controls are the In-Line Channel Extension Buttons, which are arranged in groups of six below each of the 12 channel control groups. Here you’ll ﬁnd dedicated channel-speciﬁc buttons for functions available in the Fairlight page Mixer and Timeline track headers.

Channel Control buttons and knobs for each corresponding fader channel

Channel Display buttons

In-Line Channel Display buttons

In-Line Channel Extension buttons

The primary display controls for the channel control components are the dual-function channel display buttons located on the left and right sides of the Channel Control panel. These bi-colored LED buttons determine the channel mode and current parameters displayed on-screen. There are a total of 16 display buttons split evenly into groups of eight buttons on each side of the panel. On the left side of the panel, you’ll ﬁnd eight channel display buttons used to select the channel control mode

as well as display plugins and automaton parameters; while the display buttons on the right side of the panel are used to show the in-line channel parameters found in the Fairlight page Mixer, such as Pan, EQ, and Dynamics. The top and bottom display buttons are identical on both sides of the panel to provide easy access to the CTL (control) and ALT (alternate) functions for selecting secondary display features, resetting parameters to default values, and showing alternate controls in the LCD.

The default color for all display buttons is yellow, except for the Control button, which is always blue. When the Control button is pressed, inactive display buttons with secondary functions turn blue or purple. Active display buttons remain in their active state color until another display button is selected. For example, if a secondary function is selected, that display button remains purple as long as it is active, while the other display buttons return to yellow when the Control button is released.

Channel Display buttons

Left side of panel, Channel display buttons from top to bottom:

CTL: This display button is the same as the Control modifier key on the computer keyboard and can be used to switch to the secondary functions for the dual-function display buttons below. The handy blue color makes it easy to locate and use as needed, to switch inactive display buttons to their secondary functions. Additionally, holding the Control button

while touching one of the knobs or faders will reset any of the touch-sensitive controls to their default values. For example, holding the Control button while touching a fader or Aux send knob resets the value to 0 dB and is the Fairlight Console Control equivalent to double-clicking the mouse on a fader or knob in the Fairlight page GUI.

There are a total of three conveniently located Control buttons on a Channel Control bay; two on the Channel Control panel, and one on the Channel Fader panel.

MSTR/U1: This button is used to set the channel controls to Master mode which displays all the system bus controls for the Main output bus on the LCD monitor, while all the adjacent channel control buttons and knobs are dedicated to controlling the busing parameters as displayed. The secondary U1 function is not implemented in this version of the software.

PLUG/U2: Use this button to show active plugins on the LCD monitor and allocate controls for the plugin parameters to the corresponding channel controls. The Plug function as well as the secondary U2 function are not implemented in this version of the software.

CHAN/U3: To change the channel controls display mode to Channel mode, use this button. Once in Channel mode the channel control buttons and knobs control the parameters for a single channel. Use Control + CHAN to get to the channel’s Aux Sends.

If multiple channels are selected, you’ll see parameters for the last track selected or called. In this version of the software, the secondary U3 function is not implemented.

ENAB/COPY: To quickly enable parameters for automation, you can hold this button and touch any channel control button, knob, or fader. The alternative function, COPY, is used to copy parameters between channels by simply touching the control knob or fader where you’d like to copy the speciﬁc parameter values. At the time of this writing, these functions are not yet implemented.

CURVE: When you want to display a parameter’s automation curves on the active track in the Timeline, hold this button and touch any channel control or the fader, mute, or pan pot on the Channel Fader panel.

SPLL: SPLL is not used in this version of the software.

ALT: To access additional display button options or alternate parameter controls on any channel control, use this modifier button.

Right side of panel, In-Line Channel display buttons from top to bottom:

In-Line Channel Display buttons

CTL: Use this button to select the secondary functions for the dual-function display buttons below. Also, holding the Control button while touching one of the knobs or faders will reset any of the touch-sensitive controls to their default values. This is one of three identical Control buttons on the channel control components set, and it works the same as pressing the Control modifier key on a computer keyboard.

PAN/PATH: This button displays all the in-line surround panning controls including Left/ Right, Front/Back, Down/Up, and Spread. Press the ALT display button to see the alternate Rotate, Tilt, Divergence, and LFE controls. Hold the Control button and press the PAN/ PATH button to display the Path setting controls, including Record level, Trim, Insert, and Direct Out. Press ALT while the PATH controls are active to see the alternate Path controls: Mic Gain, Group, and the Direct Output Pre/Post fader switch. These Path settings are the same as the controls in the Path Settings window available via the Track Input drop-down menu on the Fairlight page Mixer.

EQ/FILT: To control the In-Line channel parametric Equalizer (EQ), use this button without a modifier to display four frequency bands, including High Frequencies (HF), High-Middle Frequencies (HMF),Low-Middle Frequencies (LMF), and Low Frequencies (LF). Press

the ALT button for Gain control of each of the four bands. Use the Control key for the secondary button function to display and modify the two channel ﬁlters for High-pass, Low-pass, High-shelf or Low-shelf ﬁltering. While in EQ/FILT In-Line display mode, the Channel Control touch-sensitive knobs are used to sweep Frequencies or Gain, and the Channel Control buttons toggle between Bell, Notch, High Pass Filter (HPF), Low Pass Filter (LPF), High Shelf (Hi-Sh), and Low Shelf (Lo-Sh) ﬁltering curves. The functionality of EQ/ FILT works the same as using the Channel EQ window available on the Fairlight page Mixer.

AUX/AUX: This button displays in-line controls for Aux sends 1 to 16 in sequential groups of 4 Aux buses at a time. You can toggle between Aux 1-4 and 5-8 by pressing the Aux key again. Hold Control while this button is active to display controls for Aux sends 9 to 16.

Pressing the Aux key while holding Control will toggle between Aux 9-12 or 13-16. Press the ALT button for the alternate Pre/Post fader controls for the Aux send.