XT2 comes with an easy-to-use and powerful mixer. It can show all the components, sends, inputs and outputs of a project in one panel but has some more sophisticated features to streamline workflow within a given project.
Viewing Groups
The mixer is broken up into 5 different viewing groups that can be activated and deactivated at will. These include Inputs, Outputs, Sends, Groups and Comps. These groups are color-coded across the top of the mixer for easier distinction with the exception of the comps. All VSTi comps display in one color. However, internal XT2 comps - such as the sequencer, the synth/sampler and the multi-effects comps have their own color coding.
Clicking the small + icon as in the screen above will display a menu of viewing groups whose visible can be toggled with a click. The following picture shows the same mixer with only the Comps activated.
Within a viewing group, it is possible to rearrange the individual channels on the mixer. For example, in the image above it might be desirable to have the drum channels in front of the bass and sequencer channels. By click-dragging the title bar of the drums channels in front of the sequencer title bar, the mixer will be rearranged accordingly. However, it is not possible to move channels outside their viewing group. For example, in the image at the top of this page, it is not possible to move the drums channels in front of the Reverb - only moves within a group is possible.
For multi-output VSTis, the XT2 mixer will automatically create channels for all available outputs. When not using the channels, it might be desirable to hide these unused channels. Each multi-out VSTi has a small left-facing arrow on the far right of its title bar like the one seen in the diagrams above for the drum kit VSTi. Left-clicking on this arrow will cause the unused channels to collapse creating more horizontal space on the mixer. In a collapsed state, the arrow icon will now be facing right and can be left-clicked to force the unused channels to appear again.
Mixer Programs
It is possible to use the configuration of viewing groups to set up different mixer pages depending on requirements. For example, it may be desirable to remove the Inputs and Outputs and Sends to get a more focused view of the sequencer and other project components. XT2 allows you save this as a mixer page or a Program.
Selecting the small ... icon (the Program menu) at the top of the mixer will present four options: Add, Duplicate, Delete and Rename. Hopefully, these are fairly self-explanatory. Let's create a new program based on the example just given.
First click on the Add option in the Program menu. Now a new program exists, but lets name the program No Comps View. Select Rename and type the new name for the view. Now activate/deactivate the relevant mixer viewing groups using the drop-down menu discussed above until only the Comps items only are deactivated. And that's all there is to it.
Once you have created the new program you can cycle through all created views using the left/right icons at the top of the mixer, or simple select a program from the drop-down list. The image below shows three created mixer programs Main Mixer, Comps View and No Comps View. Additionally, the 8 and 9 keys (configurable by setup) will cycle through set up mixer programs.
General Channel Controls
The channels in the mixer have standard attributes and functionality. Each level control - trim, pan, fader can be controlled not only by click-drag but also by the mousewheel when hovering over the particular control. Control+Mousewheel will allow fine adjustments and Control+Shift+Mousewheel will give course adjustments.
The following describes the common attributes of the mixer channel starting from the top:
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Title - a small color-coded title bar appears at the top of each channel in the mixer. A right-click on this will give an option to rename the channel or to delete it from the mixer. Double-clicking the title bar will open the respective component's interface for further editing. The exception to this is the Audio In, Audio Out and Group components which don't have additional interfaces for viewing. Note that to delete a channel in the mixer is to delete it from the entire project. -
Trim - provides a standard trim function for the channel allowing for small adjustments in volume even above that of 0db via the mixer fader. -
fx/eq - provides the means to toggle between the send/insert effects view and the eq view in the mixer. The screenshot above shows both views. -
Send Effect Slot - is not available for Audio In, Audio Out or Send channels, but is present for all other component channels and group channels. These slots contain the send effects in the mixer and is viewable when the fx view is selected - see above. -
Insert Effect Slot - is available for all channels and contains the insert effects for that channel and is viewable when the fx view is selected - see above. -
EQ - is an included 4 band EQ for every channel in the mixer. These bands can be activated as necessary and each band can be either a Low Shelf, High Shelf, Low Pass, High Pass or Parametric EQ. -
Channel Label - is similar to the title bar and is usually names identically. The exception to this is the sequencer channel, where this label is the name of the individual audio track within the sequencer. It is also possible to double-click this label to open a component's interface for viewing or tweaking. -
Pan - controls the panning of the channel. -
dB Label - contains the decibel readout from -inf to 0db. -
Fader - controls the volume of the channel. To the left of the fader appears a toggle for both muting and soloing the channel. Channels where soloing makes no sense to not have such a toggle including Audio-In, Audio-Out, Send and Group. To the right of the fader contains the VU meter for that channel. -
Routing Destination - controls the destination of the channel on the mixer.
Group Channels
Group channels are a fairly familiar concept in mixers and XT2 has the ability to add any number of these to the mixer. Using the Add Group option from the mixer menu will add a blank group channel.
This channel will be active for any channels routed through it and is subject to the same functionality as all other channels including renaming.
An example of the use for a group channel would be to route similar instrument groups through it so that the same effects and volume settings can be applied to all the channels simultaneously. A set of channels controlling a drumkit could be tweaked individually until the volume mix is correct. After routing all drum channels through a Group, the volume of the drum kit can be raised and lowered in the overall mix without affecting the volume balance within the drumkit itself.
Routing
Routing is simple and flexible in the mixer. At the bottom of every strip is a text box that names the routing destination for that channel. A right-click on the text box will show the routing destination options as in the picture below. One or more destinations can be selected here opening up quite a few routing possibilities.
Sends and Inserts
The fact that the XT2 mixer allows for VST plug-in fx to be used as insert and send effects is not remarkable in itself. However, the way in which these effect slots have been designed allows for significant power and flexibility.
Send effects in the mixer are shown in rectangular slots just below the Trim control at the top of a given Comp or Group channel. To add a send effect, simply drag-n-drop from the browser, from an individual sequencer track mixer channel or from any other effect slot on the mixer. Once a send effect is placed in a send slot, it automatically appears in the same send slot for all other Comp and Group channels. Additionally, a new Send channel is created for the send effect.
The send slot defaults at a set size. However, the send slot will automatically resize according to the number of send effects inserted, meaning the number of sends possible is limited only by CPU.
A send effect appears in the mixer under each component channel with its name and a send amount which is a value between 0 and 100 percent. This can be edited by a vertical click-drag or by double-clicking and editing the value in a text box. Double-clicking the reference to the send in the component's channel or within its own channel will bring up the effect's interface for any manual tweaking.
Insert effects are shown in the mixer in rectangular slots just above the faders of all channels, including Inputs and Outputs and even Sends groups. Like send effects, inserts make their way into the mixer via the same drag-n-drop sources. Also, like send effects, the mixer is not confined to a certain number of inserts per channel allowing complex chains of effects of any number.
An insert effect appears in the mixer in its respective channel on the mixer and has two controls immediately accessible on the mixer panel. The first is a small icon which acts as a bypass toggle for the effect. The next is a send amount, similar to that in a send effect which can be editing similarly by a vertical click-drag or via a double-click. The full interface of the insert can be revealed for tweaking again by a simple double-click on the insert in the mixer.
It is very simple to copy an effect from one slot to another. Control-click-dragging will duplicate an effect along with its current parameter settings into the destination slot in the mixer whether it be an insert or a send. It is even possible to duplicate an effect several times in its own slot allowing for multiple compressor insert effects in a channel for example.
Just as a demonstration of the flexibility of routing with effects, imagine an audio channel in the sequencer which shows up as a channel in the mixer. This channel can have multiple inserts and sends affecting it in the mixer. The channel itself can then be routed to a group channel where there are more inserts and sends possible. Additionally, the send channels have their own inserts and can also be routed to new group channels with more inserts and sends possible. The routing through effects can be mind-bogglingly versatile.