The Channel Menu

The Channel menu contains:

•Channel List (Ctrl+B)

•Open Channel…

•Save Channel As…

•Group (Ctrl+G)

•Ungroup

•Channel Link… (Ctrl+L)

•Unlink (Ctrl+U)

•Faders to Unity (Ctrl+])

•Faders to Off (Ctrl+[)

•Adjust Channel Delay…

•Reset Channel Delay…

•Reset Selected Channels...

•Reset Channel Layout...

•Select Fader Bank (Alt+A)

•Select All Faders (Alt+Shift+A)

•Channel Notes (Ctrl+Shift+T)

Let’s take a quick look at each menu item.

Channel List (Ctrl+B)

•Allows for quick and easy setting of global channel parameters.

•Change the channel name.

•Easily set groups.

•Set playback status to Run, Punch-Run, or Disabled.

•Solo isolate channels.

•Quickly set channel links.

•Set individual channel delays of up to 255 samples (see “Adjust Channel Delay” on page 59).

•Turn digital filter on or off (to eliminate analog channel noise).

Playback—Allows automation playback enable and bypass for the individual channels. This feature is used in addition to the global automation bypass, but works on a per-channel basis. There are three modes within Playback: Run, Punch-Run and Disabled.

Run: This is the default mode, and if dynamic automation is present on the channel, automation moves play back when time code is received and the global automation bypass is disabled.

Disabled: This mode simply disables automation playback on the individual channel, regardless of the global Bypass status. “Disabled” is a safe area that you can use to prevent automation playback from chasing and overwriting your latest edits before you get a chance to commit the settings. The “Disabled” feature is also handy for setting up parameters within the context of a mix, relative to whether other individual channels or sections are automation bypassed.

Punch-Run:Once you’ve automated a channel, you might want to preset a punch-in level to drop or boost the parameter of interest (especially a fader). In Absolute mode (Auto Touch off), the parameter cannot be altered if it is chasing automation, as you can see when you grab a fader knob during automation playback and it “fights” you. For this purpose, we created the Punch-Run mode. Place the channel in Punch-Run, which releases the playback chase mechanism until the channel has been placed in any automation Write mode. When Punch-Run is engaged, you can roll back the tape, freely adjust the parameter level and, when the punch-in point arrives to set the new level, press the WRITE button on the channel and the parameter level will be written to the track. At punch-out, two things will occur: the parameter level jumps to any preexisting level on the track, and the channel parameters now chase on subsequent playback.

You cycle through the modes by clicking on the Playback column in the specific channel’s row. From the console, hold down an individual channel strip’s SELECT button for 2 seconds, and then press the SELECT button under the Playback mode to toggle between the Disabled, Punch-Run, and Run states.

D8B Manual • Chapter 3 • page 56