NIOA VS-880 TIP 290-0002:

Using Automix

How do I change effects (or turn them off)--on a specific channel--in the middle of a song? There is a time when an acoustic guitar is the only thing heard. I want to use a different effect like some chorus instead of using the reverb that's on the entire mix. I can hear the tails, and it sounds terrible! I thought about just turning off the effect during the recording, but I'm running the acoustic in stereo, and I can't turn off 2 channels fast enough by pressing the buttons and turning that dial.

This is the place Automix comes in _really_ handy! It took me a little while to figure this one out, but it works real well. You've got your tracks recorded, OK, and you're working on your mix. First, make sure you're in Automix mode, and start your playback. Then, when you get to the time in the recording where you want your effects to change, stop the VS and adjust the effects parameters as you like -- i.e., change from reverb to chorus, turn the effect down on one track, whatever. Once you've got things set up the way you like them, place a mark point at the time you've stopped playback. Rewind a bit and begin playback again. When you reach the mark point, your effects (along with any other changes you've made to your mixer settings) will change automatically, and you don't have to have super-human reflexes to make it happen!

A few things to beware of, however:

1. Before changing your effects settings, you must place a mark point at some earlier time in your recording (the top of the song is a good place), so that your effect/mixer settings will be recorded as they were originally. Otherwise, if you play your tracks through the marked time (where the "new" effects settings are recorded) and then rewind to some earlier point (e.g., the top of the song), you'll still have the "new" settings -- the "old" settings will have disappeared forever.

2. Unlike Scenes, the Automix feature cannot record every single parameter that can be changed on the VS. It's limited to certain parameters that would ordinarily be changed manually during mixdown. In your case, for example, you cannot use automix to turn the effect switch "off" for a particular track. You _can_ change the effect send level to 0, which accomplishes pretty much the same thing, but that may not be suitable in all cases. There's a list somewhere in the VS manual of just which parameters can be recorded using Automix. That's probably the best place to start.

John Parker

jparke01@sidley.com

1997/12


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