Midas Video Game Controller DOC04-XL8 Issue F Manuel D’Utilisation

This chapter provides useful background information on XL8 operation.

While this system is a complex, high-tech piece of equipment, we have made it as easy 
to use and as user-friendly as possible.

XL8 Control Centre operation is based on the concept of colours and groups rather than 
‘layering’ or ‘paging’, which is the case with most digital consoles on the market today.  
With so many channels available it is far easier to remember them by their 
user-configured individual/group colour and name rather than their channel number.

The control surface is populated with instantly recognisable controls that are logically 
distributed in major sections, so that all the controls you need to access most of the 
time are always on the control surface, while the remainder are only one action away.

During operation, we recommend that you carry out the following:

• Check what is hidden   On the XL8, unlike on an analogue control surface, some of 

the settings and parameters will be hidden from view (stored in the computer 
memory of the XL8).  To make sure there are no hidden surprises, such as a reverb 
send left from a previous mix, view unused parameters at various times during a 
mix.

• Check the Dashboard screen   It is a good idea to frequently monitor the 

Dashboard screen (default display of the master bay GUI), which provides at a 
glance an overview of the control centre’s status and operation.  It shows all the 
meters and the status condition of faders and some switches, such as solos and 
mutes.  However, some things will still remain hidden.

We recommend that you save your work regularly while carrying out the procedures 
included in this chapter.  Not only is this good practice during normal XL8 operation, but 
in this instance it may save you from losing some set-ups that could prove useful later 
on.  To do this, create a new show (see “To create a new show” on page 48), and then 
continue reading through the remainder of this section, following the instructions 
carefully.  Save your work at convenient points (see “To create a new scene using the 
current settings” on page 49 and “To save a show or create a new one from the current 
settings” on page 48).

It is important to understand the differences between saving a show and storing a 
scene.

• Storing a scene saves the current settings of the system to the show file.  Scene 

data is never updated to the show file unless you manually store a scene.  The show 
file remains unsaved in RAM after storing a scene.