Creative's E-MU 1820 Goes Home Studio Pro

A Digital Editing Desk And Much More!, Continued

The tracks of the console are far from being identical. You note immediately that the two inputs on the front of the AudioDock are managed independently, while the other inputs are arranged in pairs to constitute a stereo input. This feature sets the 1820 apart from a standard sound sampling console. In practice, this is unfortunate if you require a physical editing table as soon as you move to more advanced functions. Then, there are disadvantages in that the formula chosen may be limited if no physical editing facility is present. Even if they prove to be very real in certain cases, it should be noted that the tracks corresponding to physical inputs and those linked to logical inputs are identifiable by the color of the labeling - blue for a physical input, white for a logical input. All the tracks offer the same options, whether physical or logical, mono or stereo. The only difference is in the pan controls: these are obviously different depending on whether you are controlling one or two channels.

From top to bottom, each track indicates the type of input and has a section of inserts into which you can drag the effects of your choice. You can also insert various other elements, such as a VU meter, gain control, a calibration and testing source, physical feeder or jumper cables or ASIO. The next section consists of the pan controls, which include a potentiometer for the mono tracks and two for the stereo tracks. This enables you to position the sources in the stereo space. Auxiliary feeders are monitored for level by a linear potentiometer that has mute and solo commands. Finally, you can label each track to remind you what it is used for!