Using ProChannel

To enable/disable a module

In the expanded ProChannel, click the module’s enable/disable button .

Note: The more ProChannel modules you enable, the more CPU resources are required from your computer.

To insert a module

Do one of the following:

Click the Add Module button in the Inspector and choose a module on the pop-up menu.

Right-click a module header or blank space in ProChannel and select Insert Module on the pop-up menu.

Figure 466. Click the Add Module button to insert a new module.

 

Note: You can insert multiple instances of external ProChannel modules. However, you can not insert multiple instances of the internal ProChannel modules, including QuadCurve Equalizer, Tube Saturation, PC76 U-Type compressor, and PC4K S-Type bus compressor.

To remove a module

Right-click the module header and select Remove Module on the pop-up menu.

To replace a module

Right-click a module header or blank space in ProChannel and select Replace Module on the pop-up menu.

To reorder a module

The signal flows from top to bottom. Click a module’s gripper and drag the module up/down to the desired position.

Figure 467. Drag a module’s gripper up/down to reorder the signal chain.

To select a module

Click a module to make it the active module. The active module is shaded slightly. You can use ACT to control parameters in the active module, and all context menu commands operate on the active module when right-clicking an empty space in ProChannel.

To specify the default ProChannel configuration

1.	Insert and arrange the ProChannel modules in the desired order.

2.	Do one of the following:

To specify the default configuration for tracks. Right-click any empty space in a track’s ProChannel and select Set Modules as Default for Tracks on the pop-up menu.

To specify the default configuration for buses. Right-click any empty space in a bus’ ProChannel and select Set Modules as Default for Buses on the pop-up menu.

To route ProChannel pre-FX Rack or post-FX Rack

By default, the ProChannel signal is routed prior to the channel’s FX Rack (pre). To route ProChannel after the FX Rack (post), right-click any empty space in ProChannel and select Post-FX Rack on the pop-up menu.

To interact with the QuadCurve Equalizer graph

The QuadCurve Equalizer graph is divided into four sections, which correspond to the Low, Low-Mid, Mid-High and High bands. When you move the mouse pointer over the graph, the current band is highlighted.

Note: The High Pass filter and Low Pass filter can not be edited from the graph.

To adjust a band’s gain, drag up/down.

To adjust a band’s frequency, drag left/right.

To adjust a band’s Q, hold down the ALT key and drag up/down.

To adjust parameters with finer precision, hold down the SHIFT key while dragging.

To enable/disable a band, click the band’s region in the graph.

To change the plot resolution globally, right-click any QuadCurve Equalizer graph in the Console view and choose the desired resolution on the pop-up menu. The resolutions are as follows:

Auto (graph scales dynamically)

6 dB

12 dB

18 dB

Figure 468. QuadCurve Equalizer graph.

A. Low band B. Low-Mid band C. Mid-High band D. High band

To copy/paste settings between ProChannel modules

You can copy settings from any ProChannel module and paste the settings to any other instance of the same module.

There are two ways to copy/paste settings between identical modules:

Drag and drop:

1.	In the Console view, show the ProChannel for both the track/bus you want to copy from, and the track/bus you want to paste into.

2.	Hold down the CTRL key, and drag from the source module’s header bar (i.e., the module title) to the target module. The source and target ProChannel modules must be identical.

 

Note: If the target module has not been enabled/initialized yet, it will automatically become enabled after pasting. However, if the target modules has been manually disabled, then it will remain disabled after pasting.

Copy/Paste menu commands:

1.	Click the source module’s category type icon to open its preset menu, then select Copy Settings.

2.	Click the target module’s category type icon to open its preset menu, then select Paste Settings.

Figure 469. Module preset controls.

A. Category type icon (click to open preset menu) B. Header bar (drag from here) 

To copy EQ settings

Cakewalk lets you easily copy EQ settings from one track/bus (source) to another track/bus (target) when using the integrated per-channel EQ in the Console View or Track Inspector.

To do so, hold down the CTRL, click the source EQ plot and drag to the target EQ plot, then release the mouse button and CTRL key.

The EQ settings are copied from the source track/bus to the target track/bus. The target EQ will automatically be enabled if it was not already enabled.

This command is undoable, so you can quickly and easily revert to a track/bus’ previous EQ settings.

A. Hold down the CTRL key and left-click in the source EQ plot B. While still holding down the CTRL key and left mouse button, drag the mouse cursor to the target EQ plot and release the mouse button C. The source EQ plot is copied to the target EQ plot

To sidechain the ProChannel compressor

1.	Add the PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor module.

2.	Under Side Chain, click the On/Off toggle.

Figure 470. Add the PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor module in order to use sidechaining.

 

See also:

Sidechaining

To use presets

Do one of the following:

To load an existing preset, click the Load Preset button and navigate to the desired preset file.

To save a new preset or overwrite the current preset, click the Save Preset button , type a name, then click Save.

Note: To see the Load Preset and Save Preset buttons in the Inspector and collapsed Console view strips, hover the mouse over the Preset control.

Figure 471. Use presets to save and recall favorite settings.

A. Current preset B. Load Preset C. Save Preset

In addition to saving presets of the entire ProChannel chain (all modules), you can also save and load presets of individual modules. The per module preset controls are located on the left side of each module header bar.

Figure 472. Module preset controls.

A. Category type icon (click to open preset menu) B. Previous preset C. Next preset 

To select a module preset

Click the module’s category type icon to open the preset menu, then select the desired preset.

The category type icon tooltip shows the name of the selected preset.

The preset menu stores a MRU list of the 8 most recently used preset to make it faster to select frequently used preset.

To save a module preset

1.	Adjust the ProChannel module controls to the desired settings.

2.	Click the module’s category type icon to open the preset menu, then select Save Preset.

3.	Type a name in the Save Preset dialog box, then click OK.

To select the next preset

To select the next preset, do one of the following:

Click the Next Preset button .

Hold down the CTRL key and click the module’s category type icon.

To select the previous preset

To select the previous preset, do one of the following:

Click the Previous Preset button .

Hold down CTRL+SHIFT and click the module’s category type icon.

To delete a module preset

1.	Click the module’s category type icon to open the preset menu, then select the preset you want to delete.

2.	Click the module’s category type icon to open the preset menu again, then select Delete Preset.

 

Note: ProChannel module presets are stored in the Windows Registry under \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Cakewalk Music Software\ActiveMovie\Presets. You can export this registry branch in order to backup your presets. You can also rename and delete presets directly if you are comfortable with editing registry entries. Always back up the registry before making any changes manually.

To lock ProChannel in the Inspector pane

By default, the Track Inspector dynamically updates to show the current track. However, you can choose to always show a specific instance of ProChannel regardless of which track is current.

1.	Click the track or bus you want to show in the Track Inspector.

2.	Click the ProCh button at the top of the Inspector.

ProChannel is displayed in the Inspector pane.

3.	Click the Track Name control at the bottom of the Inspector and select Lock the current track or bus from the drop-down menu.

To unlock the track or bus, select Lock the current track or bus from the menu again.

Keyboard navigation

When ProChannel has focus, you can use the following keys to navigate around ProChannel:

Table 76. ProChannel keyboard shortcuts  

Key	Action
PAGE UP	Scroll up
PAGE DOWN	Scroll down
HOME	Go to top
END	Go to bottom

 

See:

ProChannel modules and controls

PC76 U-Type Channel Compressor module

PC4K S-Type Bus Compressor module

QuadCurve Equalizer module

Tube Saturation module

PC2A T-Type Leveling Amplifier

Softube Saturation Knob

Console Emulator module

FX Chain module

Tape Emulator module

REmatrix Solo convolution reverb

GRIT (saturation) module

MAX (volume maximizer) module

SPACE (reverb/ambience) module

 

See also:

Track Inspector overview

Console view

Mixing