18 Nov 2020
The StudioLive AI mixers have an evolved Fader Locate mode functionality, affectionately referred to as "Soft Takeover". Now, when in Fader Locate mode, once any single physical fader moves to match the digital location, as soon as it matches, that physical fader becomes active, while the rest remain inactive while in Locate mode.
From Section 5.3.5 Fader Locate, pg. 71 in the StudioLive AI Hardware Manual:
Power User Tip: While in Fader Locate mode, the faders on your StudioLive
will not be active until their current position matches their stored fader
position. Once the stored position has been recalled on each fader, it will
resume level control.
On the original StudioLive mixers, when you were in Locate mode, the Fat Channel LED meters would show you where to move your physical faders in order to match the digital position, and if you moved past that position, they would indicate how far you must move back until they are set correctly. The drawback of the original Fader Locate mode though was that you had to set ALL faders to their digital locations before exiting Fader Locate Mode, because when you exited Locate mode on the classic StudioLives, whatever the position of the physical fader was, that is where the digital value would be set to.
The Soft Takeover function of the AI consoles now means that in Locate Mode, as you move the physical fader and it reaches the correct position for the digital location, once you hit that point, that individual fader becomes active and it is now live and mixing audio. This allows you to actually mix from Fader Locate mode, locating faders as needed. The other big benefit is that you can also go in and out of Locate mode now without having to locate all your faders in one go. You can locate several faders, leave Locate mode to make an adjustment to something else, but still return to Locate mode as needed, and any faders you have not located yet will still indicate where they need to go (as long as you didn't move them when not in Locate mode of course).