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Figure 374 illustrates the control surface layout.
1. Soft Key navigation buttons 2. OLED Display 3. Power button 4. Fader Navigation buttons | 5. SHIFT keys 6. Knob Set selectors 7. Fader strips |
Of course, Artist Mix can be used with a variety of systems and software applications apart from TriCaster. You may already be familiar with its use for certain other purposes. The Artist Mix User Guide provides details regarding each control. In this manual, we’ll focus on the controls as they apply to TriCaster only.
At any one time, Artist Mix can display controls for as many as eight of TriCaster’s audio inputs, internal sources, and outputs. To access the
other audio controls, use the navigation buttons located at right on the control surface, just beneath the POWER button (Figure 375).
Two NUDGE buttons in this group move the entire control group currently displayed one slot left or right from the current position.
Thus, from the default Input 1-8 view, pressing NUDGE updates the controls and display to govern TriCaster’s Audio Inputs 2-7 along with Net 1. (Push NUDGE to restore Input 1 to the left-most slot.)
Below the two NUDGE buttons are two similar buttons labeled BANK. Pushing either of these buttons normally replaces the entire set of controls with their eight nearest neighbors. So, for example, if you are currently viewing/controlling Inputs 1-8, pushing the BANK button swaps out those controls and replaces them with the next set of eight sources to the right, starting with NET 1 at left and continuing to AUX in the eighth slot.
A number of buttons on the Artist Mix control surface have two labels. For example, theBANK button (Figure 376) has a secondary END label above.
The upper label denotes alternative functions for the button that are invoked when you hold down one of the two Shift buttons on the surface at the same time.
Note that the BANK buttons each have alternate functions when pressed with Shift, specifically HOME and END. These combinations jump past all other configured control groups to display the first and last entries respectively.
As you would expect, adjusting the position of a given fader modifies the volume level of the corresponding control in TriCaster’s Audio Mixer.
FIGURE 377
For example, pushing the control surface fader labeled Audio1 A raises the volume for the source labeled Audio 1 A in TriCaster’s Audio Mixer.
A set of Knob Set selectors (Figure 378) runs vertically down the left side of Artist mix (left of the first fader). Essentially, these are mode buttons that select which audio attributes are governed by the eight ‘knob sets’ – that being one OLED display group and the knob immediately beneath it, along with the two buttons to the left of the knob (SEL and ON) in that set (see Figure 379).
Note: The FLIP/CHAN button in this group is a special case, and can be selected even when another mode is active. Generally speaking, you will very likely find it best to leave this button off except for certain operations – notably for EQ and Mic Trim adjustments. We’ll discuss these exceptions in context as we go along.
The default Knob Set mode is PAN. For the most common production operations, this is the mode you will choose. In fact, at the simplest level, once you have configured the Artist Mix channels to take any SDI sources into account, you could likely be forgiven for never using another Knob Set mode.
Generally speaking, the alternative Knob Set modes provide access to deeper audio configuration options and settings. We’ll provide the details of their use in context as we go along.
Several controls are nested above each fader, along with the matching OLED display group for that audio input or source. Looking at Figure 379 you’ll notice that in the default operating mode (PAN; See the previous section) the Audio 1A track’s display shows a VU meter at left, and a PAN graph below the input label. Rotate the knob below the PAN graph display to adjust PAN for the channel this
source is on.
MULTI-CHANNEL PAN CONTROL
For a four channel source, such as an input set to SDI Embedded, TriCaster’s level knobs each control two channels. An Artist Mix knob set can likewise be configured to control “Audio1 AB” and “Audio 1 CD” (for example) to control the two channel pairs for a single SDI source (see Section 22.7.17 for details).
In such cases, the PAN control knob adjusts the first channel by default (A, in this example) for the assigned pair.
To adjust PAN settings for the other channel in the same pair, press the SEL button (just below the OLED in the same Knob Set group). This lights the button, and re-assigns the PAN control on the surface to the associated channel. Press the SEL button again to restore control over the first channel (the SEL button light will go out.
FIGURE 379
FIGURE 380
GAIN A AND B (MIC TRIM)
To adjust MIC GAIN for a channel, press the CHAN button. Then push the button labeled SEL located to the left of the fader for the channel you want to control. The highlight behind the source label in the OLED display updates to show the newly selected source. In CHAN mode, an additional control (labeled GAIN A or B) appears at right of the channel’s PAN control on the surface.
These GAIN controls correspond to mic trim controls found in TriCaster’s input Audio Configuration panels (Audio Mixer tab). Press CHAN again to restore normal, single channel control, when done making adjustments.
Hint: Although the GAIN control is shown for other source types, it really only has any effect on inputs configured as Mic types in TriCaster’s audio input source selector.
Push the small ON button to the left of the knob to toggle the Talk (Talk Over) feature for Mic sources.
Two larger buttons labeled SOLO and ON (Mute) are positioned below the knob; that is, above each of the eight faders (Figure 381). These two buttons are outside the Knob Set group, and thus independent of the mode established by the of Knob Set selectors.
That’s just a wordy way of explaining how it is that a SOLO button
always toggles the Solo feature for its respective source; and likewise the ON (Mute) buttons always mute or un-mute them – even when you might be in a different mode.
Hint: As with most convenient rules, there is one exception to the above. If the SOLO and ON buttons are unresponsive, check to see if the SHIFT LOCK button (i.e., the left SHIFT button on the control surface) is lit; if it is, turn it off.
At the time of writing, multi-selection of Solo is not supported on the Artist Mix surface (though it can be performed in the TriCaster user interface).
Two other small buttons sit just to the left of each fader strip. These are labeled AUTO/REC N and ASSIGN/SEL Y. The latter is not normally relevant in (the default) PAN mode, but we are interested in the first
– AUTO/REC N. This button (with the earlier caveat about SHIFT LOCK in mind) toggles the Follow feature on and off for the designated TriCaster audio source.
Having covered the basic control functions and settings, let’s advance FIGURE 382
to consider the tools available in different Knob Set modes.
TriCaster provides independent 7-band equalization along with Compressor/Limiter features for each source. And Artist Mix lets you access the controls without ever touching the TriCaster user interface.
FIGURE 383
To display EQ controls, it will probably come as no surprise by this point that you need to push the EQ button in the Knob Set control group.
The OLED display will now appear as seen in Figure 384. Normally, all 7 bands for a single input are shown in this manner. In this mode, the knobs below the graph in each group control the setting for a single EQ band, shown above.
Note that the label for one input is highlighted in the OLED display. (For example, Figure 385 shows a highlight behind the Line 1 label; Line 2 is not highlighted.)
This highlight identifies the currently selected source. Any adjustments made in this state affect the EQ settings for the selected source only. In this fashion, you can easily adjust all settings for one source. To select a particular source (such as Input 1 or 2) for adjustment, press the button labeled SEL to the left of the fader in the control surface slot with the corresponding label above.
The highlight in the OLED display updates to show the newly selected source.
To enable, disable or reset the EQ, press the EQ (Knob Set) button to enter EQ control mode, and press CHAN, to turn Channel mode off; the display should show the 60Hz level. Select an input (press the SEL Y button beside a fader), and press the SEL button just below the OLED to enable/disable EQ for this input; or press ON (just beneath) to reset the EQ for this input.
FIGURE 386
To access TriCaster’s Compressor/Limiter controls for the currently selected source, simply hold down a Shift key on the control surface and press the EQ button again (the label for the ‘shifted’ state of this button is DYN).
Again, the labels above the little graphs in each control surface slot update to show Compressor/Limiter settings – Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, and also Mic Gain. And naturally, the knobs beneath are delegated to control the corresponding attribute for the currently selected source.
Hint: Mic Trim (not the same thing as Mic Gain) is only shown for sources set to a Mic mode.
CHAN is short for “Channel”. By default, this button is unlit, and Artist Mix operates in ‘standard’ mode. Standard mode (CHAN off) is the default
operating mode for the PAN Knob Set mode that you will use for most ‘non-configuration’ Audio Mixer activity. It imposes one-to- one relationship between control groups and individual audio
sources – each group governs one source exclusively.
FIGURE 387
Pushing the CHAN button changes this relationship. In channel mode, all knobs and faders are assigned to a single TriCaster audio source (or ‘channel’, from the Artist Mix viewpoint). The SEL switch, introduced in 22.7.13, determines which source has ‘focus’, and the various adjustable settings for that source are expanded across the entire control surface, with one Artist Mix ‘slot’ assigned to each.
We’ve seen how this works in EQ mode, where it expands the different equalizer bands for a single (selected) audio source across multiple knobs. In fact CHAN mode is so appropriate in this case that it is automatically activated whenever you press the EQ Knob Set selector. (In CHAN mode, a ‘grid’ background is displayed in the OLED - see Figure 388. And as we saw before, the label for the selected source is highlighted in the same manner).
Hint: It is possible to switch to standard operating mode manually using Artist Mix to control EQ settings. Just press the CHAN button to toggle that mode off. In this state, the knobs in all eight control groups are assigned to a single parameter – so, for example, you could view (and adjust) the 60Hz EQ setting for all sources in the current Artist Mix bank at once if you need to quickly damp that low rumble your microphones are picking up when the air conditioning kicks in.
You will probably find that standard mode works best for most operations apart from EQ, however.
FIGURE 388
The shifted state of the CHAN button is labeled FLIP. Like the former, FLIP also affects the mapping of the Artist Mix controls. In this case, the roles of the fader and the rotary knob are swapped. For example – in the default PAN Knob Set mode, the faders normally controls source levels, while the rotary knob adjusts Balance or Pan. When FLIP is active, it’s the other way around.
While not particularly useful for most operations, FLIP comes into its own in EQ mode, allowing you to use the much larger faders to provide convenient control over the rather similar sliders in TriCaster’s equalizer (don’t forget to turn flip off when you switch back to normal PAN mode, though).
The INPUT/INSERTS button serves several important purposes. It can be used to reassign the label for a slider input to a different TriCaster audio control by name, or to insert (or remove) a new (initially unassigned) control column on the surface.
Controls for unused inputs or outputs can be removed from the surface, or if you wish, you can re-order controls using the Remove and Insert features. To insert a new control strip on the surface, proceed as follows
1. Make sure FLIP and CHAN are both turned off, and then press the INSERTS button in the Knob Set group.
2. Rotate the knob for Input one clockwise, cycling through optional settings until the label above the knob says Insert.
At this point, the small SEL button just left of the rotary knob begins to flash, to indicate that if you wish to confirm your selection you must press it (otherwise, press MIX/PAN to cancel the operation and revert to the original selection).
3. Press the SEL button to execute the insertion.
FIGURE 390
FIGURE 389
This action inserts a new, unassigned control, pushing the original Artist Mix control group to the right to make room for the addition.
4. Slowly rotate the same knob again – this time, you could choose an option (such as Master 1 option), and then press SEL once more to lock the input to TriCaster’s Input 1a (left) input channel. Instead, just select Remove this time and press SEL to confirm.
Hint: Normally, if you insert a source that already appears elsewhere in the layout, the inserted control group is kept and the original is removed.
By default, Artist Mix presents control groups for each TriCaster audio source in their natural order from left to right. It can be very desirable however, to lock one
or more sources in a fixed position, thus keeping it in view on the control surface at all times despite any use of the navigation buttons.
For example, you may well wish to consider locking the Master audio controls to the seventh and eighth slots, so that these important faders will always be available. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Navigate (using NUDGE or BANK buttons if necessary) to position Master in the furthest right control slot on Artist Mix.
2. (With FLIP and CHAN both off), press the INSERTS Knob Set button.
3. Press the small ON button located to the left of the Master 1 knob (Figure 390).
4. Press the PAN button in the Knob Set selector group (to exit INSERT mode).
A small padlock icon appears in the OLED, indicating that Master is now locked in its current place on the control surface. If you use the navigation buttons to move left or right, Master stays right where you want it.
Hint: When locking multiple channels on the AVID Artist Mix, always lock the rightmost of the channels to be locked first.
Unlocking a previously locked source restores it to its normal position.
Note: Locking sources has one slightly annoying side effect. You will see a clone of locked sources elsewhere in the Artist Mix layout. This does not pose a real issue, since the duplicate is fully synced with the locked one, and will operate as expected if you do use it.
Artist Mix implementation provides full access to TriCaster’s Audio Mixer preset system. Keep in mind that these can be a very convenient way to store and recall different source layouts for Artist Mix, too. You can choose a preset or create a new one using either the user interface or Artist mix. To select a preset, proceed as follows:
Press Shift + INSERTS (INPUT) to display the list of existing mixer presets left to right across the slots in the OLED display.
Press the SEL button below the PLED label of the reset you want to select.
Hint: Rotate the knob below a preset on the OLED display to access copy and paste (preset) functions.