Channel strips

The Console view can show the following channel strip types:

Audio track. Use to control tracks that contain digital audio data, which is routed to your hardware audio interface. For details, see Audio track controls.

MIDI track. Use to control tracks that contain MIDI data. MIDI tracks can control external MIDI devices or software instruments. For details, see MIDI track controls.

Instrument track. Use to control software instruments. For details, see Instrument track controls.

Bus. Use to create submixes, headphone mixes, and effects sends. SONAR supports both stereo buses and surround buses. For details, see Bus controls.

Hardware Output. Use to control the physical audio outputs of your audio interface. A hardware output channel strip contains both a left and right output and two volume controls. For details, see Hardware Output controls.

Figure 651. The controls displayed in a channel strip vary according to the channel strip type.

To show/hide a channel strip type

Click the Strips menu in the Console view and choose the desired channel strip type.

Figure 652. Console view Strips menu.

Channel strip controls

The controls displayed in a channel strip vary according to the channel strip type. Channel strip controls are grouped into various modules that can be shown or hidden. The following modules and controls are available.

 

Table 94. Console view channel strip controls  

Module	Control	Description	Audio track	MIDI track	Instrument track	Bus	Hardware out
Input / Trim	Gain	Pre-fader input gain for fine tuning a track’s volume or input level to a bus.	x			x
	Velocity offset	The change in velocity (volume) that will be applied to notes in the track on playback; ranges from –127 to +127.		x	x
	Input pan	Sets the pan of the audio data sent to the bus. Note: The Input Pan control is not visible in narrow channel strips.				x
ProChannel (Platinum and Professional only)	ProChannel	ProChannel is an extended channel strip that provides high-quality Compressor, Equalizer, and Tube saturation processing for each channel. See ProChannel (Platinum and Professional only). Note: The ProChannel EQ plot is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x		x	x
EQ Plot (Artist, Home Studio and Steam Edition only)	Equalizer graph	Adjust the curve of the per-track equalizer. For details, see Using the per-track EQ.	x		x	x
FX Rack	FX Rack	The insert location for a track’s plug-ins or soft synths.	x	x	x	x
Sends / Bank / Patch	Send Enable	Activates a send module, which sends a copy of the track signal to a bus.	x		x	x
	Send Level	Controls volume of audio data sent by the send module.	x		x	x
	Send Pan	Adjusts the send pan setting. Note: The Send Pan control is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x		x	x
	Send Pre/Post switch	Sends the signal to the bus prior to the track’s volume fader; post means the Send signal goes to the bus after the volume fader.	x		x	x
	Send destination	Displays name of bus that the Send is sending data to.	x		x	x
	Channel	Specifies the MIDI channel through which the notes will be played.		x	x
	Bank	Specifies the set of patch names available for the track.		x	x
	Patch	Specifies the instrument sound that will be used for playback.		x	x
MSR	Phase Invert	A switch that inverts the phase of the track. Note: The Phase Invert control is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x
	Mono/Stereo	A switch that determines whether a track’s signal enters an effect or chain of effects as mono or stereo, regardless of the nature of the track. Note: The Mono/Stereo control is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x			x
	Read Automation	Enable/disable automation playback. Note: The Read Automation control is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x	x	x	x
	Write Automation	Enable/disable automation writing. Note: The Write Automation control is not visible in narrow channel strips.	x	x	x	x
	Mute	Mute/unmute the channel strip.	x	x	x	x	x
	Solo	Solo/unsolo the channel strip.	x	x	x	x
	Arm for recording	Arm the channel strip for recording.	x	x	x
	Input echo	Turns input monitoring on or off (MIDI Thru for MIDI tracks)	x	x	x
Pan Control	Pan	The stereo distribution of the output, ranging from 100% left (hard left) to 100% right (hard right); a value of “C” indicates sound that is centered left-to-right. On stereo tracks, pan acts as balance. For surround panners, the signal is sent to multiple speakers at points along a circle.	x	x	x	x
Volume	Volume	The current volume level for the track, ranging from -INF (silent) to +6 dB (maximum volume). The recording and playback levels are displayed in the Playback and Record meters.	x	x	x	x	x
	Link	Hardware out faders can be linked using the Link button . This allows you to adjust both the left and right channel at the same time.					x
	Meter	The recording and playback levels are displayed in the Playback and Record meters. For MIDI tracks, the meter shows MIDI activity and velocity.	x	x	x	x	x
	Meter peak value	The peak meter value updates during playback to show the highest peak level reached.	x	x	x	x	x
Icon	Track icon	Track icons allow you to quickly identify a track’s contents by instrument. You can assign a new track icon, create your own track icons, and save an icon as part of a track template.	x	x	x	x	x
In / Out	Input	The input source for the track, used in recording.	x	x	x
	Output	The output bus through which the track is played.	x	x	x	x
---	Track number	A sequential track number used for reference.	x	x	x	x
---	Track name	A name that you assign the track for easy reference. Note that if you do not assign a name to a track, the default name is the track number. This track number will change if you change the order of your tracks. You can click the Track Name control to select any available track, bus or hardware output to display in the Track Inspector.	x	x	x	x	x
---	Track color	Apply a color tint to the channel strip. For details, see Customizing track/bus colors.	x	x	x	x
---	WAI	The colored WAI bar shows which tracks and/or buses are currently being controlled by a controller/surface. Each controller/surface uses a different color. For details, see The WAI display.	x	x	x	x

Audio track controls

Figure 653. Audio track controls in the Console view.

A. Input gain B. ProChannel (Platinum and Professional only) C. FX Rack D. Sends E. Mute, Solo, Arm, Input Echo, Phase Invert, Stereo Interleave, Read Automation, Write Automation F. Pan G. Volume H. Meter I. Track icon J. Input and output K. Track name and number L. Track color M. WAI display

MIDI track controls

Figure 654. MIDI track controls in the Console view.

A. Velocity trim B. FX Rack C. Channel/Bank/Patch D. Mute, Solo, Arm, Input Echo, Read Automation, Write Automation E. Pan F. Volume G. Meter H. Track icon I. Input and output J. Track name and number K. Track color L. WAI display

Instrument track controls

Figure 655. Instrument track controls in the Console view.

A. Velocity trim B. ProChannel (Platinum and Professional only) C. FX Rack D. Sends E. Mute, Solo, Arm, Input Echo, Read Automation, Write Automation F. Pan G. Volume H. Meter I. Track icon J. Input and output K. Track name and number L. Track color M. WAI display

Bus controls

Figure 656. Bus controls in the Console view.

A. Input gain and pan B. ProChannel (Platinum and Professional only) C. FX Rack D. Sends E. Mute, Solo, Read Automation, Write Automation F. Pan G. Volume H. Meter I. Bus Icon J. Output K. Bus name and letter L. Bus color M. WAI display

Hardware Output controls

Figure 657. Hardware Output controls in the Console view.

A. Mute B. Link channels C. Volume D. Meter E. Icon F. Hardware Output name G. WAI display

Status indicators

The Console view shows if a control is grouped with one or more other controls, armed for automation, and if automation exists for the control.

Grouped control indicator

Small color-coded squares are displayed when knobs, faders, or buttons are grouped.

Figure 658. Grouped control indicator.

For details, see To group controls.

Armed for automation indicator

A red rectangle outlines any controls that are armed for automation writing. You can write enable the entire channel strip, or individual controls.

Figure 659. Armed for automation indicator.

For details, see To arm a channel strip for automation writing.

Automation present indicator

A small automation icon appears next to any controls that have existing automation data.

Figure 660. Automation present indicator.

 

See:

Modules

Console view menu

Audio track controls

MIDI track controls

Instrument track controls

Bus controls

Hardware Output controls

Console view menu

The Console view interface

Customizing the Console view

Using the Console view

Console view