Mixer

Status: draft. Concrete reference content + structural placeholders; flesh out the prose + screenshots when ready.

Purpose

System-level controls for the VL3X — every input gain, output level, dynamics, EQ, button assignment, key-detection setting, MIDI routing, and tempo/tuning param the device exposes. The Mixer page lays them out as a drag-rearrangeable grid of panels, so what's normally scattered across the device's three mix screens and a dozen SETUP submenus is one page. Also home to Venue Profiles (snapshot a tuned setup and recall it next gig), the Metronome (Tap Tempo, live BPM, Set BPM), the Reconnect button, and the NaturalPlay panel (how the device figures out the song's key for harmony).

VL Studio difference — every system setting in one drag-rearrangeable page

On the device, finding a system setting means knowing which SETUP submenu it lives in (Input, Output, Mix, MIDI, Buttonmap, Expression, Global, etc.), navigating with the Arrow buttons, scrolling with the Control Knob, then adjusting with a Mix Knob — one parameter at a time on a small LCD. The three "Mix" screens (Main Mix, Headphone Mix, Effects Mix) require pressing Layer or Mix Knobs to enter. There's no way to see related settings side-by-side, and no built-in "snapshot the whole tuned config" feature.

VL Studio's Mixer surfaces all 24 system-parameter panels in one drag-rearrangeable masonry grid. Show the panels you use; hide the ones you don't. Drag panels into the order that suits your workflow. Venue Profiles save 130+ system params in a single named snapshot so the next time you set up at the same room you restore the whole config in one click. None of this exists on the device.

Walk-through

1. Open the Mixer page from the top nav.
2. Page header — left to right:
   • Reconnect (amber, always present) — manual MIDI recovery when something feels hung.
   • Live BPM — current device tempo, polled in the background.
   • Show All / Reset Order — toggle hidden panels and restore the default panel order.
   • Sync Device — reads every live system param off the device (~10–15 seconds, shows progress).
3. The masonry grid — every visible panel as a card. Drag a panel's title to reorder. Each panel header has three small buttons: Read (pull values from the device), Reset to Defaults (with a confirmation), and Hide (remove from the grid; bring back via Show All).
4. Default visibility — six panels are visible on a fresh install: Main Output, Headphone Mix, Input Gain, Effects Mix, Metronome, NaturalPlay. The remaining 18 are hidden by default. Click Show All in the header to reveal them, then hide the ones you don't need. Your panel choices and order persist.
5. Knob interactions are consistent across every panel:
   • Drag vertically to set; hold Shift for fine control.
   • Mouse wheel for one step.
   • Double-click to reset to centre.
   • Knobs enlarge on touchscreens so you can grab them with a finger.

The panels

VL Studio groups 24 system-parameter panels by purpose. Plus the Metronome widget (frontend-only — see Metronome) and the Venue Profiles panel.

Output mixes

Panel	Controls
Main Output	Overall main level + per-source levels for Guitar, Looper, Track (backing track), Aux, USB, Metronome — what goes to the XLR Out and Guitar Out.
Headphone Mix	Overall headphone level + Main Trim + per-source trims (Guitar, Looper) + per-source levels (Track, Aux, USB, Monitor, RoomSense, Metronome). A fully independent monitor mix for your headphones or IEMs — different from what FOH hears.

Trim vs Level

On the Headphone Mix, Trim controls offset the Main Mix value for your headphones (e.g., guitar quieter in your ears than in the room). Level controls set absolute headphone-bus levels independent of the main mix. Trims share a signal source with the main; levels are separate buses.

Inputs

Panel	Controls
Input Gain	Mic preamp gain, Guitar input gain, Monitor input gain, Aux input gain, plus the Input Select dropdown (which jack the device listens to).
Voice Processing	Mic Gain Set Mode (manual / auto-nudge), Talk Trim, Dry Delay (Lead Delay — None / Voice Sync / Auto), Center Cancel, Block.Tone.

The device's Input Type (Dynamic / Condenser / MP-75 / MP-76 / E835) and Mic Clip Protection live on its own Input SETUP tab — those control phantom power and aren't currently surfaced in VL Studio's Mixer.

Vocal dynamics & EQ

Panel	Controls
Voice EQ (3-Band Parametric)	Lead-vocal EQ stored device-globally. Low / High / Mid bands, each with Freq, Gain, BW (Q). Same lever as the Voice EQ on VocalShaper's EQ/Mix tab.
Noise Gate	Auto Gate Mode + Manual Threshold for vocal; separate Manual Threshold for guitar. Per-voice (Lead vs Harmony) gate Level / Attack / Release.
Input Compressor	Pre-FX compressor: Threshold, Ratio. A subtle stage that tightens transients before the rest of the chain.
Limiter	Independent limiter Threshold / Attack / Release for the Headphone output and for the RoomSense input. Useful for IEM protection.
De-Esser & Dynamics	DeEsser Amount; DynSmooth Amount / Auto / Threshold / Ratio (dynamic-range smoothing); AutoShape Amount / Warmth / Auto (tonal shaping).

Guitar

Panel	Controls
Guitar Global	Guitar Phase flip, Speaker Emulator master enable, Global guitar bypass.

For per-block guitar editing (Amp, Drive, Comp, Delay, Reverb, Wah, µMod, Octaver, Rhythmic), use GuitarShaper.

Effects & routing

Panel	Controls
Effects Mix	Overall Voices level (Harmony + Doubling + Choir combined), Vocal Reverb send, Guitar Reverb send, Lead Dry Mute. Useful for adjusting "how much reverb is in this room" without touching individual presets.
Looper Routing	Per-track source selection — Input A / B / C, choosing what each looper track captures.
Output Routing	Output Mixer Routing Style, Guitar Direct Out Mode (Unity Gain vs Variable Level — important for amp vs interface output), Guitar Jack Routing, USB Out Mode, USB Output Trim.
USB & Aux	USB Mode, Aux Digital Delay.

Tempo, tuning, and key detection

Panel	Controls
Metronome	Tap Tempo, live Device BPM readout, Set BPM input — see below.
Tuning & Tempo	Master Tune (reference pitch), Global Tempo toggle, Global Key/Scale toggle (per-preset vs device-global).
NaturalPlay (Key Detection)	KeyScale_Global (per-preset vs global key), Input Source dropdown, RoomSense Auto fallback.
Room EQ & Correction	RoomEQ Frequency, RoomSense Auto, Global Pitch Correction Amount (the "always-on subtle correction" — separate from HardTune), Harmony Vibrato Control, NaturalPlay Input Source (also editable here for back-compat).
Keyboard Split (NatPlay MIDI)	KB Split A/B mode, KB Split point, Pitch Bend Range, NaturalPlay Room Mixin.

Button & pedal mapping

Panel	Slots and controls
Footswitch Mapping	6 external footswitch slots (ExtFootSw_1 through _6). Each slot has a Function dropdown and a Latch toggle.
Mic Switch Mapping	4 mic-switch slots (MicSwitch_1 through _4). Each has Function + Latch.
Step Key & Hit Behaviour	The Step Key's single slot (Function + Latch), plus the device's HIT Behaviour mode (Dynamic vs Snapshot) and Active Buttonmap selection.
Expression Pedal	Pedal A and Pedal B, each with a Function dropdown, Min Position, Max Position, and Calibration. Plus the global Exp Pedal enable, ExPedal Mode, and FootSW Mode.

Each mapping family has its own set of available functions (see Button-assignment menus below for counts).

System

Panel	Controls
MIDI Configuration	MIDI Control (enable), MIDI Channel In / Out, MIDI Filter In / Out, SysEx ID, MIDI Transpose, MIDI Tempo, MIDI TX Delay.
Display & Preferences	LCD Contrast, Mix Screen Timeout, Genre Filter, Output Level Range.
Venue Profiles	Save / Switch / Rename / Delete — see Venue Profiles.

Metronome

The Metronome widget is frontend-only — it talks to the device's master tempo (Delay.Tempo) directly rather than through a system parameter group.

• Tap Tempo — tap two or more times in rhythm to set the tempo. The tapped BPM displays as you tap; the widget settles for a moment to avoid flicker during the tap sequence, then writes the result. The window resets after about 2 seconds of silence.
• Live Device BPM — what the device currently reports, polled in the background every few seconds.
• Set BPM — type a value (45–300 BPM) and click Set. Writes the master tempo directly. More reliable than Tap Tempo if the device's tap-detection algorithm rejects your tap timing.

Range is clamped to 45–300 BPM. The master tempo is shared with vocal delay, vocal rhythmic, stutter, guitar delay, and the looper's Quantize Mode. (GuitarShaper's Rhythmic tab has its own independent clock — see GuitarShaper → Tempo clocks.)

NaturalPlay (Key Detection)

The NaturalPlay panel consolidates the system-level controls for how the VL3X figures out the song's key for harmony and HardTune.

• KeyScale_Global — toggle. ON = a single global key/scale applies across all presets; OFF = each preset stores its own key/scale.
• Input Source dropdown — where the engine listens for key information. Values: Off, Autosense, Guitar, MIDI, Aux/Mon, RoomSense, Track/USB.
• RoomSense Auto — fallback. When no other source has signal, RoomSense engages automatically to listen via the device's built-in mic.

HardTune's per-preset Key Source (the override that says "this preset uses Robot mode for HardTune") lives in the VocalShaper HardTune tab, not here. The Mixer panel is for the device-global key-detection setup.

Venue Profiles

The Venue Profiles panel saves the entire tuned system configuration as a named snapshot you can recall in one click.

What gets saved — every system parameter the device exposes (130+ values) covering input gains, mix levels, EQ, dynamics, NaturalPlay, button mappings, expression pedal, USB/Aux routing, display preferences, and tuning.

What's excluded — the eight MIDI identity / routing params that belong to your session config, not the room:

• Utility.SysEx_ID
• Utility.MIDI_Channel_In / Utility.MIDI_Channel_Out
• Utility.MIDI_Filter_In / Utility.MIDI_Filter_Out
• Utility.MIDI_Control
• Utility.MIDI_TX_Delay
• Utility.MIDI_Tempo

Excluding these means restoring a venue profile never clobbers your DAW's MIDI channel assignments or breaks an existing MIDI setup.

Panel UI:

• Save — captures the current system state, prompts for a name + optional Notes.
• Switch — restore a saved profile. Takes a few seconds (writes 130+ params at a paced rate; if you tighten that pace the device drops messages despite the OS reporting success).
• Rename / Edit notes — inline.
• Delete — per profile.
• Active venue — the most recently restored profile shows at the top; the panel auto-collapses after restore.
• Timestamps — each profile tracks created_at, updated_at, last_used_at.

Reference

Page layout & default visibility

• Masonry grid — panels pack vertically without gaps, breakpoint-flexible (1 to 5 columns depending on viewport).
• Default visible (fresh install): Main Output, Headphone Mix, Input Gain, Effects Mix, Metronome, NaturalPlay.
• Hidden by default: the other 18 panels. Show them via the header's Show All toggle, then hide individually with each panel's Hide button.
• Panel order is drag-rearrangeable and persists across sessions (mixer_panel_order in app prefs).
• Reset Order button in the header appears once you've changed the order; restores defaults.

Per-panel controls

Every panel header has three small buttons:

Button	Action
Read	Pull the current value of every param in this panel directly from the device.
Reset to Defaults	Restore the bundled default values (confirmation required — destructive).
Hide	Remove the panel from the grid. Bring back via Show All.

Sync Device

The header's Sync Device button performs a full read of every visible panel's parameters — useful after editing on the device hardware or after a Venue Profile restore. Takes about 10–15 seconds; shows a progress badge with the count of params read.

Button-assignment menus

Each mapping panel has its own set of available functions. Counts and slot families:

Slot family	Number of slots	Number of available functions
Footswitch (external)	6	56
Mic Switch	4	28
Step Key	1	37
Expression Pedal A	1	38
Expression Pedal B	1	37

The Mic Switch menu includes combo macros that aren't available on other slots, and contains no guitar-effect functions. Pedal A includes a "Context Delay Send" target that Pedal B doesn't.

The Step Key menu's order matches the device manual's "Step Button Function" list — the others don't, so don't try to cross-map by position from the manual.

Reconnect button

The Reconnect button is always visible in amber, not a state indicator. Click it any time MIDI traffic seems hung — it forces a USB disconnect and reconnect. If the device goes silent for about 30 seconds, an auto-reconnect runs anyway. Use the manual Reconnect for "feels stuck" moments without waiting for the timeout.

Tempo widget details

• Range — 45 to 300 BPM (clamped on Set BPM input).
• Tap Tempo — requires at least two taps; computes the average interval. Resets after about 2 seconds of silence so a missed tap doesn't poison the calculation.
• CC — each tap sends MIDI CC 114 to the device.
• Live BPM polling — the live readout updates from the device every few seconds.
• Settle window — after a tap sequence, the widget pauses for about a second before re-reading device BPM so the tapping doesn't fight the live readout.

Where the device's three "Mix" screens map in VL Studio

Device screen	VL Studio equivalent panel
Main Mix (Mix Knobs from Home)	Main Output
Headphone Mix	Headphone Mix
Effects Mix	Effects Mix

On the device you reach these by touching a Mix Knob from the Home screen, then using the Arrow buttons to switch between the three. VL Studio shows them as three independent panels you can keep open side-by-side.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Fix
Tap Tempo button doesn't register on the device	The device's tap-detection algorithm rejects user-paced clicks with timing jitter. Use the Set BPM numeric input instead — it writes the tempo directly.
Reconnect button is always visible even though the device looks connected	That's by design — it's a manual recovery button, not a state indicator. Click it any time MIDI traffic feels hung.
Latch toggle is missing on some footswitch slots	Latch is shown for every slot in every mapping panel. If it's missing for you, you're on a stale build — update.
BPM widget value snaps back after a few seconds	A song cue with a tempo action is firing in Performer Mode and re-writing the tempo. Exit Performer Mode or clear the tempo action on the active cue.
Sliders show but don't respond to drag	Refresh the page or restart the app.
Venue restore seems to skip some parameters	The restore writes 130+ params at a paced rate. If a custom build of yours has tightened that pace, the device may drop messages despite the OS reporting success — confirm pacing hasn't been changed, then re-run Restore (idempotent).
Headphone trim controls don't seem to do anything	Trim values offset the Main Mix value for headphones — they have nothing to do unless the corresponding Main Mix level is non-zero. Raise the Main Mix level for that source first, then trim it for headphones.
I changed a setting on the device but the Mixer page shows the old value	Click Read on the affected panel, or use Sync Device in the header to pull every visible panel fresh.
Reset to Defaults wiped my tuned setup	The destructive confirmation is deliberate. Restore from a Venue Profile snapshot if you took one, or factory-reset relevant params manually. Going forward, take a Venue Profile snapshot before experimenting.
Show All revealed 18 panels and the page is overwhelming	Hide the ones you don't use — your visibility and order persist. The six default-visible panels cover the most common workflows.
My panel order resets every session	Order is saved in app prefs (mixer_panel_order). If it isn't persisting, your app prefs aren't writing — check disk permissions on the app data directory.
Sync Device button shows progress but never finishes	If a panel's param isn't responding (rare — usually a device-side issue), Sync waits and times out per param. Reconnect the device and try again.
Voice EQ doesn't change tone across presets	Voice EQ is device-global — it applies to every preset, not per-preset. That's by design. The per-preset Harmony EQ is on VocalShaper's EQ/Mix tab.

See also

• VocalShaper — per-effect-block editing for the vocal chain; Voice EQ control mirrors the Mixer's Voice EQ panel.
• GuitarShaper — per-effect-block editing for the guitar chain; shares the master tempo (except for GuitarShaper Rhythmic).
• Performer Mode — uses the master tempo set here, and the Preset Up footswitch you map here for cue advance.
• Settings — TALK preset slot, Advance Cue CC, and other prefs that interact with mapping panels here.
• Device — direct MIDI surface; HIT-gated effects' behaviour interacts with the HIT Behaviour setting in the Step Key panel.
• Quickstart — first-launch flow.