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21.7.14 COMPRESSOR/LIMITER
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.
21.7.15 CHAN 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.
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
21.7.13, 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. 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.
To enable/disable or reset the Comp/Limiter, hold SHIFT and press the EQ (Knob Set) button, then press
CHAN, to turn Channel mode off; the display should show the Threshold level). Press the SEL Y button beside
a fader to select an input, and press SEL button below the OLED to toggle EQ for this input; or press ON (just
beneath) to reset the Compressor/Limiter.
21.7.16 FLIP MODE
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.