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. 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, press toselect or press 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
12. EQ Output – sets the level of the signal after EQ
13. Bypass – bypasses the currently active instance of Liquid Mix
14. EQ/Band On – activates 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)
21. Input – sets the level of the signal before compression and EQ
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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
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