It would be very useful to have the possibility of adding one volume&pan knob in the track controls, as we have the R/W buttons, S/M buttons, etc.
The knob would be a double rotary knob, with a ring knob for pan and central knob for volume (similar to the knob that fabfilter plugins use).
With this unique knob in each track, we could control volume and pan of each track in the project window in a very small room, without opening inspector window and without opening mixconsole in the lower zone/new window.
Here are an example of how could be the knob when the track has a height of 1 line and 2 lines:
Moving the head area of the ring or the knob would be the same than holding the Shift key, it means small variations of volume and pan.
This would allow to move fast or slow the controls with just one hand.
If the track uses combinned stereo, a double ring would appear with the blue area of combinned stereo. Clicking it and moving the cursor up/down, the combinned stereo area would increase/decrease.
I have never used other channel configurations like 5.0, clr, etc. so I don’t know how this configuration should be managed by the ring.
I’d definitely use this. Assuming it had a clear indicator ring/marker on each control to show clearly the position the knob is turned to, this means you can easily get a quick overview of the fader positions/panning of all visible tracks from the project window, very useful.
Nice idea - but useful for mono tracks only…? How would this work with the other types of panner, on stereo tracks (which I use a lot).? I guess you could have multiple panner ‘rings’…? Dunno, could get messy…
A unique ring can show the other types of panner. I can imagine the shape of square of the panner we are using now, turned to a shape of circle in the ring of the knob.
Having 2 panner rings is a good alternative in the case of combined stereo panning. More than 2 would be a mess, but 2 rings could be a good option.
Another option is to have a unque ring with a label/marker indicating special panning and when cursor is on it show a floting square with the panorama.
There should be some way of doing this directly on the audio event itself for when you want to do a simple left or right panning all of one value, just like there currently is with volume where you simply pull down the volume line on the part. Having to pan the way it is at present is so time consuming when you need to make precise measurements. You need to open an automation lane, scroll down to find the pan lane, grab the line tool, zoom in to the lane so you can make more precise measurements, then draw the line in. Alternatively grab the range tool then open the lane and pull down the pan automation of the entire audio part that way. It’s such a long process for such a simple task that is used so much in mixing its crazy, unless I’m missing something.
As discussed in depth on the two other threads, something like this is hugely needed. Your idea is good except that seeing values just by looking (not needing to start adjusting to see them) is incredibly important, and you can’t see values just by looking with this particular idea. I don’t think that knobs are the answer – I think that simple boxes with the numeric values where a fader pops up when you change them (as in Pro Tools) is the perfect solution: Computer für Audioanwendungen - WaveLab - Steinberg Forums
Agreed - seeing values is important (especially Volume); maybe a permanent display/value box at the center of the OP’s knob function picture when its at 2 lines height or more (or, it becomes visible when hovering, at 1 line height).?
Still don’t quite get how I’d adjust the L + R pan values separately (or even swapped), in the OP’s post… its not clear…
And to the OP - don’t get me wrong - I’m all for these ‘extra’ control types in the Track Header; but they do need to be convenient, or I’ll just stay with using the Channel Settings editor window, and flip between tracks inside there.
Another approach would be to have the Fader follows mouse. So you hit the key command for fader and where the mouse cursor is the fader pops up. Likewise for the pan, sends, inserts etc. All you need is the right track selected.
This is a good idea too, however in my opinion the least amount of mod keys and mouse movements is always better. The speed of adjusting volumes and pans on the fly without any mod key or separate window is a really significant speed and workflow enhancer when doing it for multiple tracks quickly consecutively, for example. Also, if inserts and sends are also available in the track header (as in Pro Tools, Reaper, others), you can easily copy/move/etc. your inserts/insert settings and auxes from one track to another on the fly without any other windows, mouse clicks, etc.
