FX

The FX page gives access to the 12 virtual RackExtra FX engines.

1. Switch between the Front Panel and Back Panel view.

Tap on the Global Tap Tempo box or touch and use the screen rotary to set the global rate for any delay FX locked to Global Tap Tempo. The current rate is shown. The Tap Tempo can be assigned to a SoftKey using the Setup / Control / SoftKeys screen.

2. FX bar – The 12 slots are shown across the top of the screen either empty or with FX devices loaded. The FX name, current Library preset and metering is shown next to each icon. Scroll left to right to view all the FX slots. Touch a device or empty slot to select.

3. Front Panel – All key FX controls are presented here. Switch to the Back Panel to access routing settings.

4. Library – Touch the onscreen Library button to access the FX Library. The Libraries are grouped by FX type. You can choose to load one of many Factory presets, or to recall a previously stored User preset from the Show or directly from your USB key. Touch to select a preset and touch Recall to load. Touch Store New to store the current FX settings as a User preset. Touch Overwrite to update an existing preset with current settings.

ⓘ See the section on RackExtra FX in this guide for more details on FX models.

5. Meters at the input and output of the currently selected FX are shown. If the FX is inserted on a channel, the In switch and Dry/Wet level controls are shown. If the FX is configured as a Mix->Return, then PAFL, Mute, and fader level are displayed for both the send and return. Each FX Return has a 4-band parametric equaliser.

Touch the PEQ switch to open the PEQ window.

Touch the Width box and use the screen rotary to set the stereo width of the FX device.

ⓘ The FX Front Panel, Library button and PEQ can also be accessed by the Processing Screen when an FX Send or Return is selected, or by the Processing Insert page when a channel with inserted FX is selected.

Back Panel – Use this view to edit the routing for the selected FX. Use the drop-down box to choose between Unassigned, Insert or Mix->Return.

Insert breaks a channel signal path at its Insert point to route it to the FX and back into the channel. Select the channel and press Apply to confirm. Some FX devices allow a Dual Mono mode to insert the FX into two separate mono channels.

Mix->Return patches the FX device as a system effect with a Send bus and a dedicated stereo FX Return channel. Select the bus you want the FX to use and press Apply to confirm. The source patch defaults to the corresponding FX Send bus if available in the current bus configuration. The output patch defaults to the dedicated stereo FX Return channel. You can reassign an FX output to a different Input channel using the Processing / Preamp screen of such channel.

RackUltra FX

The RackUltra FX screen gives access to the 8 RackUltra FX engines.*

1. FX bar – The 8 slots are shown across the top of the screen either empty or with FX devices loaded. The FX name and metering are shown next to each icon. Touch a device or empty slot to select.
2. Tap on the Global Tap Tempo box or touch and use the screen rotary to set the global rate for any delay FX locked to Global Tap Tempo. The current rate is shown. The Tap Tempo can be assigned to a SoftKey using the Setup/ Control / SoftKeys screen.
3. Tap on the Global Key box to show the Global Key menu and set the Global Key for any FX locked to Global Key. The Global Key can also be controlled by MIDI over TCP.

4. Show Routing – Configure patching, side chain source and where applicable MIDI control for the selected FX unit.

Insert breaks a channel signal path at its Insert point to route it to the FX and back into the channel. Select the channel and press Apply to confirm.

Mix->Return patches the FX device as a system effect with a stereo Send bus and a stereo Return channel. Apply to confirm. The source patch defaults to the corresponding UFX Send. The output patch defaults to the dedicated stereo UFX Return channel.

An External Side Chain Source can be selected for the FX Pre and Post Dynamics.

Touch MIDI Setup to configure the MIDI Channel and CC messages to control FX parameters. A red cross by the MIDI Channel indicated the MIDI Channel is already in use by the Avantis MIDI protocol. You can configure the base Avantis MIDI Channels in Utility / MIDI.

ⓘ Not all FX types support MIDI control.

5. Front Panel – All FX controls and parameters are presented here.

6. Library – Press the Library button to access the FX Library. The Libraries are grouped by FX type. You can choose to load one of many Factory presets, or to recall a previously stored User preset from the Show or directly from your USB key. Touch to select a preset and touch Recall to load. Touch Store New to store the current FX settings as a User preset. Touch Overwrite to update an existing preset with current settings. Recall Filters let you choose what settings and parameters to recall. Select FX Unit for the FX parameters, and/or Processing for the Pre / Post FX channel processing. Enable Recall on Select to audition the Library presets live without recalling.

ⓘ See the section on RackUltra FX in this guide for more details on FX models.

7. Meters at the input and output of the currently selected FX are shown.

If the FX is inserted on a channel, the In state and Dry/Wet levels are shown. If the FX is configured as a Mix->Return, then PAFL, Mute, and fader levels are displayed for both the send and return.

ⓘ The FX Front Panel, Library and processing can also be accessed by the Processing Screen when a UFX Send or Return is selected, or by the Processing Insert page when a channel with inserted FX is selected.

Touch a tab to access: FX send level, PAFL and Mute or Insert In button; Pre / Post PEQ with Param (numerical) or Graphical view; Pre / Post Dynamics; Stereo Width, FX return level, PAFL and Mute, and send level to active Mix (Mix->Return), or Dry/Wet controls (Insert). Touch the FX unit to return to the FX front screen.

Pre / Post Dynamics can be configured as follows:

Choose between 4 types of Dynamic Modes (Gate, Expander, Compressor or Ducker).

Set the Side Chain Source for each Dynamic processor as either Self Keyed, a patchable External Source or the FX input or output signal. For example, you might key the Post Dynamic processor from the UFX Send on a reverb to ‘duck’ the reverb return when a vocalist is singing.

ⓘ Each RackUltra FX channel can have a single External Source.

*RackUltra FX features require dPack and a RackUltra FX module fitted in the console.