Focusrite Liquid MIX User Manual
USER GUIDE
Rev. 1.0
CONTENTS
Introduction - Getting Started
Hardware Controls
Software GUI controls
Liquid Mix Manager
Applying Compression and EQ within the sequencer
Selecting Compressors and EQs
Adjusting Compressor settings
Free Switch
Modifying EQ settings
Building a Hybrid (Mixed) EQ
Compressor and EQ Emulations Guide
Snapshots - saving Liquid Mix settings
Restoring settings
Troubleshooting
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: FOCUSRITE, the FF logo, LIQUID TECHNOLOGY, LIQUID MIX CONTROL, LIQUID MIX and the
LIQUID MIX logo are trademarks of Focusrite Audio Engineering Ltd. DYNAMIC CONVOLUTION is a trademark of Sintefex Ltd.
All other product names, trademarks, or trade names are the names of their respective owners, which are in no way
associated, connected nor affiliated with Focusrite or its LIQUID MIX product and which have not endorsed Focusrite’s LIQUID
MIX product. These other product names, trademarks, and trade names are used solely to identify and describe the third party
products the sonic behaviour of which was studied for the LIQUID MIX product, and to accurately describe the functionality of
the Liquid Mix product. The Liquid Mix product is an independently engineered technology which utilises the patented process
of Dynamic Convolution to actually measure examples of the sonic impact of original analogue products upon an audio stream,
so as to electronically emulate the performance of the original product studied. The result of this process is subjective and
may not be perceived by a user as producing the same effects as the original products studied.
INTRODUCTION - GETTING STARTED
Thank you for purchasing Liquid Mix. This User Guide provides detailed instructions on how to operate both
the hardware control surface and software GUI (Graphical User Interface) of Liquid Mix. Before reading this
User Guide it is assumed that you have run the Installer found on the accompanying Resources disc. This will
install the Liquid Mix Manager application, the Liquid Mix plug-in software and EQ/Compressor emulations
onto your computer.
Once done, you can connect the Liquid Mix hardware to your computer using the supplied Firewire cable and
begin applying vintage flavours to your mix. Make sure the hardware is connected before booting up the
sequencer, otherwise the plug-ins may be made inactive.
HARDWARE CONTROLS
1
21
2
3
4
5
18
0
2
9
1
7
1
7
6
16
5
1
1
9
8
0
1
11
12
4
13
1. Input Meter – displays the level of the signal before Liquid Mix processing occurs
2. Gain reduction meter – shows the amount of compression taking place
3. Snapshot save/load – allows saving and recalling of Liquid Mix settings
4. Emulation select – chooses the compressor or EQ emulation (depending on the band/section
currently selected)
5. Track select – chooses an instance of the Liquid Mix software to control
6. Go Back/Compare – returns to the previous menu page or temporarily reverts to saved settings
7. Data encoder – rotating scrolls through different values on LCD screen and the EQ bands for editing
in default mode, pr
es
s t
o sel
ect or pr
ess and hold then rotate to select empty EQ Bands
8. Shape – selects additional EQ options for the selected band, e.g. higher (x 3) frequency setting that
may be available on the original unit
9. Mid Meter – shows the level of the signal between Compression and EQ stages (after compression
without Compressor Post EQ switch active or after EQ with switch active)
10. Output Meter – displays the level of the signal after both EQ and compression
11. EQ controls – Gain, Frequency and Q
el of the signal after EQ
12. EQ Output – sets the le
v
13. Bypass – bypasses the currently active instance of Liquid Mix
14. EQ/Band On – activ
ates the whole EQ or the selected band for the currently active instance of Liquid Mix
15. Compressor On – activates the compressor for the currently active instance of Liquid Mix
16. Link – links the sidechains with stereo instances of Liquid Mix (active as default)
17. Sidechain Monitor – enables listening to the compressor sidechain
18. Compressor controls – Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Gain Makeup
19. Compressor Post EQ – reverses the order of the processor sections (places the EQ before compression)
20. Free – enables unrestricted compressor controls (all dials across full ranges)
el of the signal before compression and EQ
v
21. Input – sets the l
e
SOFTWARE GUI CONTROLS
1. Track name – the name written here will appear in the Track select List on the Liquid Mix hardware
2. Compressor – displays the currently active compressor emulation, click to choose a different one
3. Active – defines the currently selected EQ band
4. EQ – displays the currently active EQ emulation, click to choose a different one
5. Snapshot – shows the name of the current snapshot if one has been saved, click the disk symbol
to load, save or rename a snapshot
6. Clip – lights if compression and/or EQ are causing the output signal to overload
7. EQ Graph – displays the overall EQ in black and current band shape in red
8. Output meter – displays the level of the signal after compression and EQ
9. EQ Output – sets the level of the signal after EQ
10. Bypass – bypasses this instance of Liquid Mix
11. EQ On – activates/deactivates the EQ section (all bands)
12. Band On – switches activate/deactivate each of the seven EQ bands
13. EQ controls – Gain, Frequency and Q dials for each of the seven bands
14. Shape Names – display the shape of each band, click to select additional options when a blue
arrow is displayed
15. Mid Meter – shows the level of the signal between Compression and EQ stages (after compression
without Compressor Post EQ switch active or after EQ with switch active)
16. Compressor Graph – displays the compressor shape (threshold and ratio)
17. Compressor controls – Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release, Gain Makeup
18. Compressor On – activates the compressor
19. Link – links the sidechains with stereo instances of Liquid Mix (active as default)
20. Sidechain Monitor – enables listening to the compressor sidechain
21. Compressor Post EQ – reverses the order of the processor sections (places the EQ before compression)
22. Free – enables unrestricted compressor controls (all dials across full ranges)
23. Input – sets the level of the signal before compression and EQ
24. Gain Reduction Meter – shows the amount of compression taking place
25. Input Meter – displays the level of the signal before Liquid Mix processing occurs
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1
APPLYING COMPRESSION AND EQ WITHIN THE SEQUENCER
To apply compression or EQ to a track within the sequencer, an instance of the Liquid Mix software must be
activated. The software will appear in your list of VST or AU plug-ins. Open up a mono or stereo Liquid Mix to
begin applying vintage textures to your track. The software window will open on screen and (for the first
instance) will automatically become active on the Liquid Mix hardware.
It is advisable at this stage to name the instance so that you can easily locate it from the Liquid Mix
hardware. To do this, click on the Track box in the top left of the software GUI and write an appropriate name,
e.g. Vocal, Drums etc. Now, if wishing to control the Liquid Mix on a particular track from the hardware,
simply press the Track Select button below the LCD screen and then scroll to the corresponding name in the
list using the data encoder, then press the encoder to select.
At 44.1/48kHz sample rates, 32 separate mono instances of Liquid Mix can be activated on any tracks. Note
that at higher sample rates, this number decreases as listed in the Liquid Mix Specifications.
LIQUID MIX MANAGER
The Liquid Mix Manager is an application for changing the core hardware settings.
There are three Tabs at the top of the window:
• Set up – allows the main settings to be viewed/edited
• List – shows a list of all available compressor and EQ emulations
• About – provides information about the software, e.g. version number
SET UP
On the Set Up page, the sample rate that the Liquid Mix processes at can be selected. This should be set
to the same value as the sample rate of your sequencer session. Setting a different value will bring up error
messages and prevent the unit from functioning correctly. The maximum number of tracks (mono instances
of the Liquid Mix software) can also be set within this window. At higher sample rates, some options will
disappear, due to the increase in processing requirements and Firewire bandwidth (see the previous section
for more details).
Once the sample rate or any other settings have been changed, the DO IT option must be clicked for them
to take effect.
In the upper half of the window, there are options for the Manager such as ‘Start Minimized’, which makes
the software minimize automatically when started up. There is also an option for clipping at 0dBFS and one
for activating the Expansion card (if one is fitted). Check the relevant boxes to activate.
SELECTING COMPRESSORS AND EQS
Selecting Compressors and EQs can be done from the software or hardware.
SELECTING FROM THE SOFTWARE
To select a Compressor emulation from the software window, click on the Comp box in the top left of the
window and then choose an emulation from the drop down list.
Similarly, to choose an EQ, click on the EQ box on the header bar and select an emulation from the list.
If selecting an EQ when all seven bands are empty (e.g. when the software is first opened), the entire EQ
emulation can be selected from the main drop down list (without having to go to the sub menu and select
All Bands). If selecting when some bands are filled, the sub menu for each EQ must be used. In each EQ sub
menu, there are individual bands and an All Bands option. Select an individual band to insert 1 band into the
7-band EQ (into the currently selected band in the software window), and begin building a Hybrid EQ. See the
Building a Hybrid (Mixed) EQ section for more details. If a Hybrid (Mixed) EQ has been created and you want
to abandon these and simply choose one emulation, click on All Bands within the sub menu for that EQ.
SELECTING FROM THE HARDWARE
To choose a Compressor from the hardware, Comp must first be selected on the hardware LCD screen.
To do this, rotate the Data encoder until Comp is active and the compressor graph and values are displayed
on screen. At this point, the Emulation Select button can be pressed. This calls up the list of available
compressor emulations on the screen. Rotate and then press the data encoder to select a compressor
emulation. To cancel the compressor select, press the Go Back button.
To choose a complete EQ emulation (across all bands as required), rotate the data encoder to All in the EQ
Band list and then press Emulation Select. The list of available EQ emulations will then appear. Rotate and
then press the data encoder to select an EQ emulation. To cancel the EQ select, press the Go Back button.
If wanting to build a hybrid (mixed) EQ, rotate the data encoder to a band from one to seven and press the
Emulation Select button. The same EQ list will then appear, but selecting from the list this time will result
in a sub menu list appearing, which shows the individual bands within each emulation. Rotate and then press
the data encoder to select an individual band to start building your hybrid EQ. To abandon your hybrid EQ and
simply select a single emulation, select All again, press Emulation Select and choose from the list.
Selecting an empty band can be done from the hardware by pressing and holding the data encoder, then
rotating to the empty band. Without pressing the encoder, it will only select currently filled bands (those with
emulations in) when rotated.
Above the Band On switches in the software are a row of boxes labelled Shape. These signify the shape
of EQ Band above, such as HMF (High Mid Frequency), but also sometimes allow additional settings to be
applied. For example, if the EQ emulation has further options for that band such as a ‘x 3’ switch that
multiplies the frequency of the band by three, then a small blue arrow will be shown in the bottom right
corner of the box and clicking on it will offer the available options for selection. On the hardware, this can
be done by pressing the Shape button with the corresponding EQ Band active. See the Modifying EQ settings
section for more details.
Loading...