4. Core Concepts

Channels

A channel represents an audio source: a mic/instrument input from the audio interface or a file track (WAV/MP3 backing track). Each channel has:

Volume — signal level (0 = silence, 1 = 0 dB, max 4 = +12 dB)
Pan — stereo positioning (-1 = full left, 0 = center, +1 = full right)
Mute — silences the channel on all buses
Solo — isolates the channel (only soloed channels produce audio)
Effects — insert chain (EQ, Compressor, Reverb)
Send per bus — independent volume, pan, and mute for each output mix

Output Buses

A bus is an independent output mix. The main bus (FOH) goes to the PA system, while each musician has their own IEM bus routed to their headphones.

Channel "Vocals" ──┬── Bus 0 (FOH)        → Output 1-2 (PA)
                   ├── Bus 1 (Singer IEM)  → Output 3-4 (Singer headphones)
                   ├── Bus 2 (Guitar IEM)  → Output 5-6 (Guitarist headphones)
                   └── Bus 3 (Drummer IEM) → Output 7-8 (Drummer headphones)

Each musician controls the send levels to their own bus, without affecting other mixes.

Signal Chain

The signal flows through each channel in this order:

Input → Volume → Pan → Effects (EQ → Compressor → Reverb) → Bus Routing

Bus routing splits the processed signal to each output bus:

Bus	Gain formula	Description
FOH (Bus 0)	channel pan × send volume × send pan	Full pan control for front-of-house
IEM (Bus 1+)	send volume × send pan	Pre-pan routing — musicians get the original stereo image

Pan types:

Channel pan (mono sources) — equal-power panning: positions the sound in the stereo field. At center, each side receives −3 dB to keep the perceived loudness constant regardless of pan position. This is standard behavior on all professional mixers (X32, dLive, Pro Tools).
Channel pan (stereo sources) — balance: attenuates one side without repositioning. At center, both sides pass through at full level (0 dB).
Send pan — balance: adjusts the left/right distribution of the signal going to a bus. At center, both sides pass through at full level (0 dB). Moving the send pan left or right attenuates the opposite side linearly.

Pre-pan routing means IEM buses receive the signal before the channel pan is applied. This way, each musician hears the original stereo image and controls their own balance independently via the send pan. Only the FOH bus is affected by the engineer's channel pan.

Songs

A song contains the complete mixer state: volumes, pans, mutes, effects, file tracks, MIDI tracks, audio configuration. You can save and load songs for different setlists or configurations.

Setlists

A setlist is an ordered list of songs. You can create multiple setlists for different events (concert, rehearsal, soundcheck) and switch between them with instant file preloading.