I'm not getting a response  but I could really use some help if someone who understands Offset would be kind enough to reply.

1-How do I know I am in offset mode?  I have pushed O a few times but never saw anything to indicate on or off.  Someone mentioned plus signs but i do nto see any.
2-If the faders are moving, does that mean offset is off?
3-If I go to offset mode, does that mean the fader will jump to zero (nominal) and I will affect the overall volume by moving it up or down from zero?  And does it matter if the track is playing or not, or where in the track the Now time happens to be?

Thanks

1. Offset mode is indicated by a plus sign beside controls such as volume, pan, etc. If you don't see them you're not in offset mode.

2. If the faders are following automation offset is off.

3. Yes assuming you haven't already offset anything the fader will start at (or jump to) unity in offset mode. Any changes made in offset mode are not reflected when exiting that mode.

That's why it causes problems sometimes. A fader gets dragged down in offset mode accidentally, there's no indication that has happened in envelope (normal) mode and users then wonder why the fader is maxed out but the volume is low. it's because the volume has been "Offset" in offset mode.

No it doesn't matter if the track is playing, as soon as you touch the fader on a track in offset mode, you have offset it by xdB up or down for the whole track.

BTW offset is still helpful but it is much easier in X1 to deselect everything, set the edit filter to the envelope you wish to offset and then click + drag up or down in the top 30% of the clip.

HTH

FastBikerBoy


 

BTW offset is still helpful but it is much easier in X1 to deselect everything, set the edit filter to the envelope you wish to offset and then click + drag up or down in the top 30% of the clip.

HTH

^^^ This is my preferred way to deal with envelopes that need their entire range raised or lowered (or indeed, just a section of the envelope)

Thanks, FBB.  So if I move a fader up 2 db while in offset mode, is the envelope 2db higher only while in offset mode or always?

While useful, this sounds kind of dangerous.

Yes assuming you don't touch the track envelope in any way it will permanently be 2 dB louder than indicated by envelope mode, until you reduce offset again. 

You're right it can be dangerous. Offset still catches me out from time to time....

Karl, I've never really used Offset mode after being bitten badly a couple of times, so sorry if this sounds dumb, but can you, for instance, go into Offset mode, make a change to your envelope, then pop back out of Offset mode and back into Envelope mode, leaving your envelope at the new level?

Speaking as someone who designed a lot of software over the years, I think this should not be so easy to turn off and on.  This should be ALT+O or something more difficult to do by mistake since 1-it can be destructive 2-is not clearly understood and 3-while potentially useful, is probably not invoked nearly as frequently as other things.

Luckily, I am using a physical console so I would see the faders jump unless I were scrolled to a set of tracks with no automation.  For someone working only from the screen, this could be very subtle and deadly.

Yes any changes made directly to the envelope in offset mode are reflected in envelope mode. It's only the faders pan controls etc that don't refect any applied offsets.

I love offset. I use it all the time..
Usualy in the final stage of a mix, when I'm quite happy with how it sounds. (A mix I've done in envelope-mode, that is)

Then I jump into offset-mode just to nudge a few dB here and there, trying out different ideas (volume-wise) .. Since I've already mixed the track, only very subtle changes are made here.. and if I'm not happy with the result afterwards it's very easy to jump back to the mix I had (before entering the offset-mode) just by reseting the offset-faders.

It would be very nice if there was an easy way to see changes made in offset-mode, when in envelope-mode though, because it can (as most of you say) be a dangerous function. Especially if you're not working with it often and activates it by mistake =/

It would be great if we maybe could have two different color-schemes for envelope- and offset-mode. This would make it quite obvious that something's not as usual.. And also if we could see the offset-setting in envelope mode as well, next to the envelope-value.. Something like this (at the bottom of the fader):
-3.2 (+2)
..where the +2 in brackets is the offset-value.

Loptec, You are right.  This is a great feature but scary and without visual feedback one could really create a monster.