Effects & Mastering

Track8 uses a two-stage FX system:

1. Per-track FX (Filter, Compressor, Sends)
2. Global Master FX + Mastering (with brick-wall limiter)

🧭 Navigating the FX Screens

• → Master FX. Press again to cycle Master FX → Mastering → External Inputs (new in v1.2.1; External Inputs only with an external interface, see External Audio)
• → Track FX. Press again to cycle Track FX ↔ Track Sends (new in v1.2.1; Track Sends only with an external interface)
• The arrow keys are free in all FX screens — navigate the tape without leaving the screen (new in v1.2.1)

📋 Copy / Cut / Paste FX values (new in v1.2.1)

On every FX screen the edit keys work on the whole view’s values instead of tape audio:

• Copy all values of the view (e.g. a track’s complete FX chain)
• Cut = reset the view to default values. The old values are copied first, so Paste undoes the reset
• Paste the copied values — also onto another track (Track FX / Sends)

Works on Track FX, Track Sends, Master FX, Mastering, External Inputs and the Mixer. Automation lanes are not touched — only the base values.

🎹 MIDI Learn

Hold any FX encoder for 2 seconds to map it to a MIDI CC — see MIDI Remote Control (since v1.1.4).

🎛 Track FX

• Access via
• The edited track is clearly labeled TRACK n at the top (since v1.1.3)
• + Track Button → quick-select another track

Filter

• 4-node filter, per node choose a type with Track Button 2:
  • Low Pass / High Pass / Band Pass / Notch / Low Shelf / High Shelf / Bell (Bell since v1.2.0)
• Encoder 1 selects a node, push toggles the node on/off
• Encoder 2 adjusts the node parameter, push cycles FREQ → Q → GAIN (Gain only for Shelf/Bell types)
• Track Button 1 toggles the whole filter on/off
• Touch control (new in v1.2.1): tap a node on the graph to select it, drag to set frequency (horizontal) and gain (vertical, Shelf/Bell types)

Compressor

• Per-track dynamics with sidechain input
• Encoder 3: Attack — push to switch to sidechain source (select another track, or off)
• Encoder 4: Release, Encoder 5: Threshold, Encoder 6: Makeup gain
• Track Button 3: on/off, Track Button 6: cycle Ratio
• Gain-reduction ladder: green on top = no gain reduction, segments extend down into red as the compressor works

Sends

• Encoder 7: Delay Send, Encoder 8: Reverb Send
• Track Button 7 / Track Button 8: toggle the sends on/off
• Delay/Reverb sends are true sends — the send taps a copy of the signal, the dry track level is never attenuated (since v1.2.1)

Track Sends (new in v1.2.1)

With an external audio interface, each track gets 8 additional aux sends to hardware outputs:

• Press again while on Track FX
• Encoders 1-8 set the send level for sends 1-8
• Track Buttons 1-8 toggle each send on/off; + Track Button selects the track
• Sends are true post-fader sends, summed per bus across all tracks and routed straight to the output pairs configured under SENDS in the Audio settings — see External Audio

Important Note

• Internal processing is 32-bit float
• Red ≠ clipping (only >1.0 signal)

👉 Real clipping happens at final output

🖥 Master FX

The global Delay and Reverb (fed by the track sends) plus a master bus compressor.

Delay

• Encoder 1: Time — ms or beat-synced (push to toggle). Synced values are note lengths from 1/1 to 1/64: 1/4 is a quarter note in every time signature (fixed in v1.2.1)
• Encoder 2: Feedback / Width / Mod Rate / Mod Depth (push to cycle)
• Track Button 1: Delay on/off — off mutes the delay return; the track sends themselves are unaffected (since v1.2.1, previously the sends passed through dry)
• Track Button 2: Ping-pong on/off

Delay LFO (chorus / flanger)

(since v1.2.1)

The delay time can be modulated by an LFO — this turns the delay into a chorus or flanger:

• Mod Rate (0.1–10 Hz) — LFO speed
• Mod Depth (0–20 ms) — how far the delay time swings; 0 ms = LFO off (default)
• Width — with modulation active, Width also sets the L/R phase offset of the LFO: 0% = both channels move together (mono chorus), 100% = 180° apart (wide stereo). When Ping-pong is on, Width additionally controls the ping-pong spread as before.
• Shift + Encoder 2 = fine steps

Recipes: Chorus — Time 15–30 ms, Feedback 0–20 %, Mod Rate 0.3–1 Hz, Mod Depth 2–5 ms. Flanger — Time 10 ms, Feedback 50–80 %, Mod Rate 0.1–0.5 Hz, Mod Depth 1–3 ms. The radar’s time arc wobbles to indicate rate and depth.

Reverb

• Encoder 3: Size
• Encoder 4: Width / Damp / Pre-delay (push to cycle; a Gate page appears for the Gated algorithm)
• Track Button 3: Reverb on/off
• Track Button 4: cycle algorithm

Algorithms

• Hall
• Ambient
• Gated
• Modern

Compressor

• Encoder 5: Attack, Encoder 6: Release, Encoder 7: Threshold, Encoder 8: Makeup gain
• Track Button 5: on/off, Track Button 8: cycle Ratio

🎚 Mastering Section

Access: press while on Master FX (new in v1.2.1 — previously the → arrow)

Chain

1. Input Gain (Encoder 1)
2. High-pass filter (Encoder 2, Track Button 2)
3. Tape Drive — Drive + Thickness (Encoder 3, push to cycle; Track Button 3)
4. Low Shelf EQ — Gain + Frequency (Encoder 4, push to cycle)
5. High Shelf EQ — Gain + Frequency (Encoder 5, push to cycle)
6. HF Compressor — Threshold + Crossover (Encoder 6, push to cycle; Track Button 6)
7. Stereo Enhancer — Width + Space (Encoder 7, push to cycle; Track Button 7)
8. Output Gain (Encoder 8)
9. Brick-wall Limiter (see below)

• Track Button 1 bypasses the whole Mastering section
• Track Button 4 toggles the Low/High EQ

🧱 Master Limiter (since v1.1.1)

A realtime (zero latency), brick-wall limiter at the very end of the signal chain:

• Push Encoder 8 to cycle OUTPUT → LIMIT → L-RELEASE
• Track Button 8 toggles the limiter on/off — except on the L-RELEASE page, where it toggles AUTO release
• LIMIT: set the ceiling (-12 to 0 dBFS)
• L-RELEASE: set the release time (5-1000 ms)
• While on LIMIT/L-RELEASE the screen shows:
  • LUFS 3s — loudness of the last 3 seconds
  • TP 3s — True Peak (dBTP) of the last 3 seconds

📈 Spectrum Analyzer (new in v1.2.1)

The Mastering screen shows a realtime spectrum of the master output. It is fed post-limiter, so it always shows what actually leaves the device — even with Mastering bypassed.

Key Concept

• This is your final shaping stage
• Equivalent to a mastering chain — use the limiter as a safety ceiling and the LUFS/True Peak readout to judge your final level