M-Audio iControl: Assignment Buttons

You can use the buttons along the left side of the iControl, in the areas labeled All Tracks and Selected Track, to select different functions for the rotary encoders located along the right edge, in the channel strip area. In some cases, the channel strip area controls can change the functionality of the Select buttons.

Volume Button

Pressing the Volume button assigns the rotary encoders (in the channel strip area) to control volume for the eight active channels. The channel strip buttons—Select, Record Enable, Mute, and Solo—work as described in M-Audio iControl: Channel Strip Controls.

Pan Button

Pressing the Pan button assigns the rotary encoders to control the pan/balance of the eight active channels. The channel strip button functionality is as per their defaults.

Track Info Button

Pressing the Track Info button activates Channel Strip Channel view. In this mode, you can use the Select (Sel) buttons and rotary encoders to edit global parameters of the selected channel strip. The Record Enable, Mute, and Solo buttons retain their default functions.

  • Sel button 1 to 5: Switches the bypass status of the first five Insert slots.
  • Sel button 6 and 7: Switches the bypass status of the first and second Send slots.
  • Sel button 8: Not assigned

    In Channel Strip Channel view, each of the Select buttons is lit when the respective Insert or Send slot is enabled, and unlit when the slot is bypassed.

  • Encoder 1: If the selected channel is an audio channel strip with a Noise Gate effect, controls the Threshold parameter of the Noise Gate (if inserted in the selected channel strip).
  • Encoder 2: If the selected channel is an audio channel strip with a Compressor effect, controls the Compressor’s Ratio.

    Note: The assignments for Encoder 1 and 2 are optimized for GarageBand Real Instrument tracks, which have a default Noise Gate and Compressor effect inserted.

  • Encoder 3: Not assigned
  • Encoder 4: Not assigned
  • Encoder 5: Controls the Pan knob of the channel.
  • Encoder 6: Controls the send level for the first send of the channel.
  • Encoder 7: Controls the send level for the second send of the channel.
  • Encoder 8: Controls the Volume fader of the channel.
Generator Button

If the selected channel strip is an instrument channel strip, pressing the Generator button assigns the rotary encoders to edit the sound generation parameters of the instrument. These assignments are in groups of eight parameters. The Arrow Up and Arrow Down buttons switch to the previous or next page of eight parameters. Activation of the Generator button has no effect if the selected channel strip is not a software instrument channel strip.

Effect 1 and Effect 2 Buttons

Pressing Effect 1 assigns the rotary encoders to edit the parameters of the third Insert slot of the selected channel strip. Pressing Effect 2 assigns the rotary encoders to edit the parameters of the fourth Insert slot (if a fourth Insert slot exists). The Arrow Up and Arrow Down buttons switch to the previous or next page of parameters.

Pressing the Effect 1 or Effect 2 button while holding down the Option button switches the bypass status of Insert slots 3 and 4, respectively.

When using the Arrow buttons to switch between parameter pages—accessed through use of the Generator, Effect 1, or Effect 2 button—the parameters change in groups of eight (unless the parameters on the last page do not make a complete group of eight). For example, if a plug-in has 19 parameters and the iControl is controlling parameters 1 to 8:

  • Pressing the Arrow Up button shifts to parameters 9 to 16.

  • Pressing the Arrow Up button again shifts to parameters 12 to 19.

  • Pressing the Arrow Down button shifts back to parameters 9 to 16, not 4 to 11.

This way, you always revert to the page positions you expect to find, and are comfortable with.

EQ Button

Pressing the EQ button allows you to edit the EQ parameters of the selected channel strip. If a Channel or Linear Phase EQ exists on the selected channel strip, pressing the EQ button opens the EQ plug-in window. If no Channel or Linear Phase EQ exists on the selected channel strip, a Channel EQ is inserted automatically. The Arrow Up and Arrow Down buttons switch to the next or previous parameter page.

Each Assignment button has two modes—Mixer view and Channel view—that determine whether the rotary encoders (and in some cases, the Select buttons) edit separate channels or the same channel. For more information, see M-Audio iControl: Mixer View and Channel View.