Tascam Digital Audio Production Environment SX-1 Reference Manual

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 91
LCD CHANNEL screen
This screen is the equivalent of the upper left corner 
of the VGA screen, where the same choices are also 
available.
On this screen you can define the type of automation 
assigned to each controller of your selected mixer 
channel. This screen also comes in handy as an over-
view of a channel’s automation state.Here the numerical keypads cursor keys are used to 
move the cursor to the various choices. Pressing the 
numerical keypads 
ENTER key is the same as press-
ing the 
SET soft key.
From the 
MAIN DISPLAY MODES section, press 
AUTO MATI ON and then the CHANNEL soft key to 
reach this screen.
ALL CHANS Use this button to assign a State to the 
same control across all mixer channels.
ALL CNTRLS Use this button to assign a State to all 
the controls on the selected channel.
SET Use this button to execute your selection.
Automation Events & History Screens
The Event List tab allows offline editing of the selected 
tracks automation data.The History tab shows the SX-1s global undo history 
and is the same as viewing this tab in other screens.
Event List Tab
From the AUTOMATION screen, click on the Event List 
tab. Here you can see any automation events for all 
controls on the selected channel or effect plug-in. 
Keyboard and control surface editing is also possible 
on selected events.
Edit Operation Click on the arrow to select the 
type of edit operation you want to perform on the 
selected events. The choices are:
Insert Library Entry Recall This operation 
allows you to store the recall of a library entry as an 
automation event. You can define which library (EQ 
or Dynamics) an individual preset is recalled from, 
and where the recall event will be inserted. You can 
also select a different transition time for each auto-
mated recall.
Event Editor This operation provides a register 
for modifying the time stamp of the automation or 
modifying the time and value of the event. It is also 
possible to modify the controls Initial Value. 
						

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92 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
NOTE
If a faders (or other continuous controllers) Initial 
Value is modified in this way, an Initial Event Ramp 
Time will not be applied. Unlike an Init Edit, controls 
that have had their Initial Value modified in this way 
can have that modification reversed by the Undo 
command.
Move Allows you to nudge, by the amount into the 
Amount field, the selected automation events.
Render Library Recalls This allows the parame-
ter changes which will be performed when a library 
entry is recalled to be split into a series of automation 
events. This can be useful when a mix started out 
containing library recalls, that later requires dynamic 
automation.
Smooth Events Use this function to smooth out 
the movements of controls and/or to create average 
values of detailed control movements. You may want 
to use this when sharp control movements are too 
audible.
SCROLL When depressed, the event list follows the 
playhead (it scrolls). When not depressed, the event 
list does not follow the playhead.
Event Display Filters Selects the type of control 
you do not want to view for the selected mixer chan-
nel or effect plug-in. For example, if the channel has 
many fader moves and you only need to see Mute 
events, uncheck Fader Level to hide those events 
from view.
History Tab
The History tab accesses the SX-1s global history list. 
It shows the same information that is displayed in the 
History tab for any screen (essentially, it is the same 
tab).From the 
AUTOMATION screen, click on the History tab.
VGA Automation Global Tab
Dynamic Automation Enables the Automation 
Engine. The default value of this control is ON, 
allowing all control settings within a project to be 
Static automation data and to be stored within a mix. If this is turned off at the beginning of a project and 
then later turned on, all controls will snap to the 
default values for a new project since their values in 
the Mix would not have been updated. 
						

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 93
All Safe Enables the automation All Safe mode, 
where no auto data is generated. See the definition 
“Safe” on page 81.
Init Edit After dynamic automation is already 
recorded, check this box to enable changing the ini-
tial value of the automation data. For example, to 
change the initial start position of a fader before the 
first automation move.
Write Enables Global Write mode.
Tr i m  Enables Global Trim mode.
Rehearse Enables Global Rehearse mode.
Revert All Click to revert the most recently moved 
controllers back to their original values. 
Keep Mix Press this button to save the current mix 
within the project and automatically assign it an 
incremented numerical designation if a mix of the 
same name already exists. This is useful for creating 
Mix Milestones for the ability to go back to an earlier 
point in the mixing process. All mixes are stamped 
with their date and time of creation for easy refer-
ence.
Fade Click to begin an auto-fade on the Master 
fader. The system must be in Global Write or Trim to 
do this. 
Write Auto-Revert Enables auto-revert during 
Write automation. Auto Revert causes any controls 
currently Writing or Trimming to exit Write/Trim 
and transition back to the setting they held prior to 
the Write or Trim operation. The amount of time 
taken for this transition is determined by the setting 
of the Write Revert Time parameter.
Write Revert Time Determines the amount of 
time it takes, after the control is released, for a Write 
move to return to its original value.
Write To End (for Write mode): Infinite—
when this box is checked, the last value of the control 
during an automation pass will be written to the end 
of the project, overwriting any data already there. 
This operates independently of the setting of Auto 
Revert.
Trim Auto-Revert Enables auto-revert during 
Trim automation. Auto Revert causes any controls 
currently Writing or Trimming to exit Write/Trim 
and transition back to the setting they held prior to 
the Write or Trim operation. The amount of time 
taken for this transition is determined by the setting 
of the Trim Revert Time parameter.
Trim Revert Time Determines the amount of time 
it takes, after the control is released, for a Trim move 
to return to the track’s original value (see the Before 
and After Trim diagrams).
Trim To End (for Trim Mode): Infinite—when 
this box is checked, the last Trim value of the control 
during an automation pass will be written to the end 
of the project. This operates independently of the set-
ting of Auto Revert.
Control Sense Timeout In the case of non 
touch-sensitive controls, revert starts when the 
CONTROL SENSE TIMEOUT has expired without move-
ment of the control. This feature allows controls to 
respond as if they were touch-sensitive even though 
they are not.
Control Sense Time Adjusts the time for the 
Control Sense Timeout.
Initial Event Ramp Time This parameter deter-
mines the transition time between a new Initial Status 
and previous Dynamic data when editing the initial 
status; very much like a time-reversed version of 
Revert Time.
Auto Fade Time Sets the duration of an Auto 
Fade from 0.5 s to 120 s in 0.1 second increments.
Library Transition Time The amount of time it 
takes for controllers to move from their current state 
to the new settings of a just recalled library preset.
Event Density Determines the events per second 
recorded during automation, and adjustable in single-
frame increments from 1 through 30. The more 
events that are used to describe a move, the smoother 
the move is. 
						

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94 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
LCD GLOBAL Screen
This screen mirrors the GLOBAL automation tab of the 
VGA 
Automation tracks screen. Most of the parameters 
found on this screen are identical to the parameters 
found in the VGA 
Global automation tab and are 
explained on the previous pages. Only those parame-
ters that are unique to this LCD screen are explained 
here.From the 
MAIN DISPLAY MODES section, press 
AUTO M AT IO N and then the GLOBAL soft key to 
reach this screen
SET TO DEFAULT  Returns all parameters in the 
LCD screen back to their default settings. 
						

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 95
Operations Examples
The following examples and explanations are 
intended to help you better understand the SX-1’s 
automation protocols. In each case of an operation, a brief explanation is given on how the SX-1’s automa-
tion engine will respond.
Writing Mix Moves
Before or after pressing PLAY, press WRITE (in the 
AU TOM AT IO N section) so that its indicator lights. 
Perform your desired mix moves.
With the console in Global Write mode, any move-
ment of a control while the transport is in play is 
written to that control by the automation system. In 
the case of the touch-sensitive faders, writing begins 
when a fader is touched. In the case of soft knobs, 
writing will begin when the control is moved. Once 
dynamic mix moves have been written to a control, 
that control is Dynamic, in order to play back the Dynamic automation. Controls that have not had mix 
moves written to them remain Static, even if those 
controls are on the same channel as a control that has 
had dynamic mix data written to it.
By default all controls are in Auto. When in Auto, 
the system does the switching between Static and 
Dynamic transparently to the user. Thus, a control set 
to Auto that has not had any dynamic mix moves 
written to is considered to be Static “under the hood” 
and a control that has dynamic mix moves is consid-
ered Dynamic “under the hood”.
Revert Time
When a control stops recording mix moves, it 
“reverts” to the setting that existed before recording 
the move. The previously existing setting could be a 
dynamic mix move or a static control position. The 
amount of time it takes to make a smooth match from 
the end of the recorded mix move to the previously 
existing setting is called the Revert Time.In the event that the transport is stopped, a Revert 
Time is applied even past the point where the play-
head has stopped, to ensure a smooth transition 
between the new mix move and the control’s previ-
ous setting. 
						

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96 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
Auto Revert Choices With AUTO REVERT Write 
(or Trim) enabled, the automation system stops writ-
ing mix moves automatically on a per control basis 
without the need to end writing manually. That is, 
controls stop writing mix moves at different times, 
depending on when they were released (faders) or 
when movement ended (soft knob controls).
In the case of touch-sensitive faders, reverting begins 
when the fader is released. In the case of soft knob 
controls, reverting begins when the 
CONTROL SENSE 
TIMEOUT
 has expired without the control being 
moved. 
CONTROL SENSE TIMEOUT allows the soft knob controls to respond as if they are touch-sensitive 
(even though they are not).
When a Revert occurs, the control smoothly matches 
back to its previous value, based on the set value of 
the Revert Time. The previous control value could be 
a control’s Static position or a control’s Dynamic mix 
moves.
Below is an example of writing a fader move over a 
previous static fader position with Auto Revert 
enabled:
8 sec
8 sec+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Static Fader Position
Mix Move
Touch Fader Release FaderRevert
Time
Fader Movement 
						

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 97
Below is an example of writing a soft knob (labeled 
POD) move over a previous static position with Auto 
Revert enabled:
Below is an example of writing a new fader move 
over a previous Dynamic fader move with Auto 
Revert enabled:
8 sec
8 sec
Control
Sense
Timeout
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Static POD Position
Mix Move
Move POD Release PODRevert
Time
POD Movement
8 sec
8 sec+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Fader Move
Mix Move
Touch Fader Release FaderRevert
Time
Fader Movement 
						

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
98 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
This is an example of writing a new soft knob 
(labeled POD) move over a previous Dynamic soft 
knob move with Auto Revert enabled:
Disabling Auto Revert  allows you to manually 
stop writing mix moves, either by stopping the trans-
port, or by pressing the 
REVERT/ AUTO FADE key. 
In this situation, all controls that are writing mix 
moves will stop writing simultaneously when 
REVERT/ AUTO FADE is pressed or play stops.When a Revert is triggered by pressing 
STOP, the 
Revert Time is still applied to the control beyond 
where the playhead stops, for a smooth match from 
the end of the new mix move to the control’s previ-
ous setting.
8 sec
8 sec
Control
Sense
Timeout
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing POD Move
Mix Move
Move POD Release PODRevert
Time
POD Movement 
						

							Part IV–Mixer Controls
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 99
Below is an example of writing a new fader move 
over a previous Static fader position with Auto 
Revert disabled:
Below is an example of writing a new fader move 
over previous Dynamic fader moves with Auto 
Revert disabled:
8 sec
8 sec+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Static Fader Position
Mix Move
Touch Fader Release Fader Press REVERT
or stop Time CodeRevert
Time
Fader
Movement
8 sec
8 sec+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Mix Move
Mix Move
Touch Fader Release Fader Press REVERT
or stop Time Code Fader
Movement
Revert
Time 
						

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100 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual
Write to End When the Infinite checkbox is 
checked (VGA), or the 
Write Revert Time is set to Inf. 
(LCD), you are essentially telling the automation 
system to maintain a control’s last setting from the 
point where the automation recording ends, all the 
way to the end of the program. This is called Write to End. In this case, any mix moves existing in the time 
between the end of automation recording and the end 
of the program will be erased.
Below is an example of a Write to End operation 
over previous Dynamic fader moves:
Writing Switch Events
Switch Events are defined as the switching of any 
“on/off” controls or library recall events. Examples 
of such controls are 
MUTE and soft keys.
Before or after pressing 
PLAY, press WRITE (in the 
AUTO MATI ON section) so that its indicator lights. 
With the SX-1 in play, press the desired key or keys 
to write the switch event at the desired locations. 
This works for switches such as mutes, EQ On/Off, 
EQ band types, Dynamics On/Off, Dynamic Makeup 
gain, Auxiliary send Pre/Post, Buss assignments, and 
Library Recall. With Write or Trim mode enabled, 
Moves can be made by using the mouse to click on items in the VGA 
Channel screens, via the soft keys of 
the LCD 
MIXER CHANNEL screen, or the front panel’s 
keys and knobs.
Switch events can be written in Write or Trim mode 
with the same results. Once a switch event has been 
written to a control, the automation system automati-
cally changes that control from Static to Dynamic, in 
order to read mix moves. Controls that have not had 
switch events written remain in Static, even if those 
controls are on the same channel as a control that has 
had other mix data written to it.
Revert Time
Because switch events do not generate continuous 
data like fader moves, there is no need to make a 
smooth match to previous data. Consequently, adjust-
ing the Revert Time has no effect on writing switch 
events.CONTROL SENSE TIME OUT & Switch 
Events 
The SX-1’s faders are touch-sensitive, so 
the automation system knows when you have 
touched or released a fader. However, keys are not 
touch-sensitive. These controls simply write a switch 
event (with Write or Trim mode enabled) whenever 
they are pressed. 
Control Sense Time Out allows these 
keys to punch out of automation writing automati-
8 sec
8 sec+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-12
+12
+6
+3
0
-3
-6
-121 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
1 sec
2 sec 3 sec
4 sec5 sec
6 sec7 sec
-9
Existing Fader Move
Mix Move
Touch Fader Release Fader Stop Time CodeFader
Movement