The Mixer window provides real time control of volume and effects.  You can launch it with the toolbar button or by typing Ctrl+8.

MIDI tracks show an output port with an “M” prefix for a MIDI port or an “S” for a software synthesizer.  They have controls for volume, pan, reverb, chorus, modulation, and expression plus a VU meter, a MIDI patch selection box, and a mute/unmute button.

Audio tracks either have a prefix of “A,” for an audio output, or “G,” for an audio subgroup, on their output ports.  They have volume and pan controls, a stereo VU meter, a mute/unmute button, four assignable auxiliary sends, and a track-specific FX insert. 

To use the knobs, click and hold the left mouse button while the mouse cursor is inside the knob and move the mouse cursor in a circular motion.  The knob’s pointer will follow your mouse cursor movements.

To use the slider controls, simply click, hold and drag the control knob using the mouse or click on the control strip above or below the knob to move the slider in small increments.  Holding the mouse button down on the control strip causes continuous movement of the control in small increments until the mouse button is released. 

If you need to see or edit the precise value of a knob or slider you can right mouse click on the knob to pop up a dialog box which displays the exact setting as a number, allowing you to manually type in a new numeric value (e.g., 80, 28, 12, etc.).

Click on the patch number box to see the Select Patch dialog where the name of the patch will be highlighted.  You can select a new patch from this dialog.

Control knobs for Reverb, Chorus, Modulation, and Expression effects have a smooth “real feel” response.  Right-click on these control knobs to type in an exact controller value.

Click on the [M] mute button above the fader to turn tracks on and off, i.e., to toggle between active and mute states.  A red button indicates the track is muted, green indicates it is playing.

The [S] solo button will change to bright yellow when the track is soloing.

Right-click on the sliders to type in an exact fader level.

The track name (from the Tracks window) is shown vertically to the left of the Volume slider.

Each track strip has its own stereo VU meter.

The LR stereo pan slider also has a smooth, even response with the option to right-click and type in an exact value.

Click in the “Out” box to assign the track to a MIDI output port.  DXi and VSTi synths are identified with an S.  For example, the default DXi synth or VSTi synth is S16.

Selected tracks are highlighted in red or yellow, as in the Tracks window.

A click in area around the track number will open the context menu with a full list of commands and settings for the particular track.  This is the same menu that opens with a right-click in the Tracks window, so it reduces the need to switch back and forth between windows.

The [FX] button opens the DirectX/VST Window where up to four real time effects can be inserted into the track.  When effects are assigned the button appears “pushed in.”

Each track has four auxiliary effects sends that can be assigned to any four of the eight available Aux busses.  Each Aux bus can have up to four chained effects. 

The rotary knobs set the send level to each Aux bus.  Right-click on a knob to enter an exact level for the send.

Click on the [M] mute button above the fader to turn tracks on and off, i.e., to toggle between active and mute states.  A red button indicates the track is muted, green indicates it is playing.

The [S] solo button will change to bright yellow when the track is soloing.

The track name displays vertically to the left of the volume slider.  The track name is entered in the Tracks window.

Right-click on the volume slider to enter an exact fader level.

Each track strip has its own stereo VU meter.

The LR stereo pan slider also has a smooth, even response with the option to right-click and type in an exact value.

Tracks can be assigned to audio subgroups using audio output ports that do not currently have a driver port assigned.  This track is assigned to subgroup 2. 

When using audio subgroups the Aux busses should also be sent to that subgroup, so auxiliary busses 5, 6, 7, and 8 would be assigned to Subgroup 2 (G2) in this example.

A click in area around the track number will open the context menu with a full list of commands and settings for the particular track.  This is the same menu that opens with a right-click in the Tracks window, so it reduces the need to switch back and forth between windows.

The two knobs in the All column serve as master reverb and chorus settings.  These controls will affect the overall level of Reverb and Chorus without changing the settings on individual tracks.

The volume slider control in the All column is the master volume control.  This setting is also displayed on the main toolbar.

The L-R panning knob in the All column will change the settings for all 256 tracks at the same time.

When a .SEQ file is saved, all of the Mixer’s current volume, pan, chorus, and reverb settings are also saved.  These settings will be restored when the file is reloaded.

These two examples show the Range Combo settings with the splitter bar set to show 16 or 24 tracks at a time, but you could use different settings depending on the size of your display or on what combination of track strips, Aux busses, and output ports you want to see.

The [Default] button located on the lower-left of the Mixer will reset all mixer parameters to the default settings.

The Tune knob lets you fine-tune your synth or MIDI sound source.  When you click on the Tune knob you’ll hear an “A” note sent out through the current part.  Adjust the knob until the module is set to the desired tuning and release the mouse button.

This button launches the Select DLL or EXE dialog that lets you select a .DLL or .EXE that was written specifically to work with RealBand.  The name of the button changes from .EXE to .DLL depending on the plug-in that is running.

All .DLLs or .EXEs that begin with the “$” character, e.g., $GS.DLL, will show up in the dialog (without the “$” character).

This run button (to the left of the [.EXE] [.DLL] button) changes to show the name of the currently running .DLL or .EXE plug-in, such as the GS Settings dialog or the RealBand built-in Tuner.  Click on this button to open the window displaying the currently running application.

Clicking on the Record Mixer Moves button starts the song playing and lets you record only mixer moves.  The controller moves are saved as MIDI events in the selected track (including audio tracks).

The Delete button in the mixer will automatically delete all mixer events (volume, reverb, pan, chorus) that are currently embedded within the song's selected tracks.

The Insert button in the mixer will automatically insert Mixer Events (volume, reverb, pan, chorus) into song’s non-blank tracks. 

Sometimes a stereo mix will have problems when it is played back in mono.  Use this checkbox to hear the mix in mono and check for problems such as flanging or canceling.

If you were to then set the output ports of tracks 2, 3, and 4 to G2 (i.e., port 2, which is now called Subgroup 2), and you were to adjust the volume of Subgroup 2 in the mixer the same way you do for output ports, this will affect the volume of all 3 tracks as a whole.

You could also add effects to the subgroup in the mixer the same way you do for output ports.  For example, you could apply an EQ to the subgroup as a whole.

On the mixer, there is an [FX] button at the top of each channel (track) strip of the mixer.  Press the [FX] button to bring up the DirectX/VST Window and you can select/edit a chain of up to four effects plug-ins you wish to insert for just that particular track.

The “Track” field of the DirectX/VST Window lets you choose a track in which to select or edit effects.  The “Edit” radio buttons let you chose which of the four effects to edit in the group of effects available in each Track.

These options are for managing the real time DirectX and VST effects plug-ins on your system.  The chapter on Digital Audio Features has complete details.

Each track's mixer channel strip also has four assignable AUX knobs that let you individually control the send levels for up to four auxiliary effects on each track. 

There are eight Aux (auxiliary) effects busses in the Mixer window.  Each allows a chain of up to four effects.

You can adjust the Send level, Return level, and output port destination (audio port or subgroup) for each bus. 

The [FX] (effects) button at the top of each Aux strip brings up the DirectX/VST Window so you can select effects or edit effects settings.  When a buss has any effects assigned to it the [FX] button appears to be “pushed in.”

Effects can also be applied to the individual audio subgroups and output ports. 

Each subgroup and audio port has an FX insert, with slots for four chained effects.

This is useful if you wish to apply special effects to a selected group of tracks, or apply them globally to the final stereo output. 

The [Reset Realtime Effects] button in the Audio preferences dialog removes any real time effects from your project so you can begin remixing from scratch.