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soundscape mixer
DSP-Powered Mixing Software
for PC based Audio Workstations
Reference Guide
Version 4.3
English Version
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Soundscape Mixpander Table 0f Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 5 How to use the manuals ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Reading conventions ..........................................................................................................................
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Soundscape Mixpander Placing mixer elements in the mixer column ................................................................................................... 49 Signal routing in the mixer column ................................................................................................................... 49 Using the internal buses ...................................................................................................................................... 50 Stan
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Soundscape Mixpander Control/Edit toggle [E] ............................................................................................................................................. 87 Take Snapshot ............................................................................................................................................................ 87 8. Settings Menu ............................................................................................................
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Soundscape Mixpander 1. Introduction How to use the manuals The SSL Soundscape product range has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use. If you are familiar with the Windows environment, installing PCI cards and the basics of recording and playing back digital audio, you could probably just set the system up and feel comfortable running a session within an hour. However, the SSL Soundscape Mixer offers a wealth of powerful and helpful features that you will only di
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Soundscape Mixpander configuration is different, because you are using a different version of Windows, because you are using different Windows settings, or because the look of the SSL Soundscape Mixer can vary (e.g., the Toolbar can be moved around the main window). The screenshots themselves were not always made using the SSL Soundscape Mixer’s default settings. Disclaimer These manuals have been written with great care and attention to detail, and we have attempted to cover
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Soundscape Mixpander 2. Mixer The SSL Soundscape Mixer runs on the Motorola DSP chips of the SSL Soundscape Mixpander card. The Mixer structure and routing are user definable and offer unrivalled flexibility for the use of real-time plug-in effects, EQs and processors. VST and VSTi plug-ins running on the host CPU can also be inserted directly in the SSL Soundscape Mixer environment. It is easy to create and save Mixers, and the entire configuration with all current parameter set
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Soundscape Mixpander You can load different mixers to experiment with by clicking “Open” under the File menu. A standard Windows dialog box will appear allowing you to select a mixer. The default path for mixer files is: C:\Soundscape\Mix\sslMixer. NOTE: Mixers created in older versions of the software are generally compatible with newer versions. Mixer concepts The key to understanding the Mixer is simple: you can have virtually any type of configuration you
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Soundscape Mixpander output to a sequencer track, and then mute the real-time effect to save processing power for other purposes. NOTE: Pressing the BP button (bypass) for an element does not reduce the DSP power consumption, as the element is still instantly available. Only muting the element with the Mute tool will reduce the DSP power used. Each mixer element consumes a certain percentage of DSP resources and the total percentage of DSP processing (P) and memo
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Soundscape Mixpander DSP resources and Mixer Auto Routing Assigning a mixer column to a DSP NOTE: This section assumes that Mixer Edit mode is selected (press [E] to switch between Mixer Edit mode and Mixer Control mode) and that the I/O and DSP Assign tool has been selected for the left mouse button by clicking on its icon: Clicking in an empty area of a mixer column running on an SSL Soundscape Mixpander DSP with the I/O and DSP Assign tool calls up a list of the availab
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Soundscape Mixpander Mixer Auto Routing Mixer auto routing can be enabled or disabled by respectively ticking or unticking the “Auto Route Mixer” item under menu: Settings. If it is enabled, the SSL Soundscape Mixpander’s DSP resources will be allocated automatically when the mixer configuration is edited. This may override prior DSP resources assignments that have been made manually. For instance, a mixer column that has been assigned to DSP 4 may be reassigned to DSP 5. If M
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Soundscape Mixpander Basic mixer column structure This diagram shows signal Input routing through a stereo input The stereo signal can reach the input via a Soundscape mixer column that uses an hardware input pair (XLogic output element with fader. The Alpha-Link MADI, ADAT, signal can be fed via any of the AES/EBU or Analogue input external inputs, it can be pair), or via a stereo pair of streams (from a Windows internally sent from another application) or buses (from
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Soundscape Mixpander Viewing the Mixer The SSL Soundscape Mixer can be displayed in either of two modes: full column size or small column size. Both options are available under the View menu, by clicking the corresponding View button in the Toolbar or by pressing the [X] or [Q] key on the computer keyboard. There is also an option to have the SSL Soundscape Mixer window “Always on top” under the View menu. At 1024X768 display resolution, in full column size mode up to 11 mixer
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Soundscape Mixpander NOTE: Once a Mixer has been loaded, it remains active even if the window is closed. The Mixer contains 128 mixer column slots, each of which can contain one mixer column, and a horizontal scrollbar is provided for navigation across the Mixer window. A vertical scrollbar appears when necessary, i.e., whenever one or more mixer columns cannot be entirely viewed in the SSL Soundscape Mixer window. This is necessary because while the window can be resized, there
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Soundscape Mixpander an EQ in after the send. If you need one auxiliary send in a mixer column and eight in another column, just create them as required, and so on! Mixer controls overview Mixer columns can have the following standard controls and buttons: − In all cases: an input element and an output element with mute buttons, and a name field. − On most plug-in elements (not track inserts, peakmeters or sends): a bypass button. − On send elements: a mute button (and a
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Soundscape Mixpander Output pan and balance controls Output pan and balance sliders can be clicked and dragged with the mouse. It is also possible to change the value in the box, to the right of the slider: − Right-clicking or left-clicking in the box respectively increases or decreases the value in steps of 1. − Right-clicking or left-clicking in the box and holding the mouse button down respectively increases or decreases the value continuously. The other mouse button ca
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Soundscape Mixpander Faders Whenever several output faders are assigned to the same fader and mute group, clicking and dragging any single one of them with the right mouse button will cause all the faders in the group to move together. The grouped faders keep their original position relative to each other while they are moving, until one or more of them reaches minimum or maximum level and cannot move any further. Even after a fader has thus stopp
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Soundscape Mixpander Right-clicking an inactive solo button solos the corresponding output and all the outputs that have the same fader and mute group assignment. It also silences all the outputs that have both a different fader and mute group assignment and the same solo group assignment as any one of the soloed outputs. Any previously soloed output which has a different fader and mute group assignment and the same solo group assignment is dropped out of solo mode and silenced, unl
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Soundscape Mixpander Creating/Editing a Mixer To create a Mixer, select “New” under the File menu. If a Mixer is already open, you will be given the option to save it. Then a blank Mixer will appear. Clicking on the Mix Control/Edit toggle selects either “Mixer Control" mode or “Mixer Edit” mode, and the Mix Control/Edit toggle itself and the mouse pointer change according to the current mode, as shown: Mixer Control Mixer Edit mode: Mix mode: Mix Control/Edit
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Soundscape Mixpander NOTE: When the mouse pointer is placed on a tool icon, a tooltip is shown near the mouse pointer and a description of that tool’s function is displayed in the Status Bar at the bottom of the SSL Soundscape Mixer window: The Toolbar itself can moved to the top, bottom, right side or left side of the SSL Soundscape Mixer window. It can also be undocked and used as a separate window which can itself be moved or resized in the normal way. In order to undoc
