Submasters are a row of faders, each of which you assign a scene or a group of fixtures to, then bring its brightness up smoothly with a dedicated handle. This is the heart of a “live” mix: raise the “Moving heads” group fader and the heads add brightness on top of everything else; lower it and they’re gone. The light is the sum of all the raised faders (that’s what pile-on means: faders add brightness, they don’t subtract it).
How to assign a fader:
- Press the ⋮ button in the fader’s corner (or right-click the fader). The assignment menu opens.
- Choose what the fader will control:
| Menu section | What it assigns | Fader color |
|---|---|---|
| Assign a scene | Any of your scenes | Blue |
| Assign a group | A system group (PAR cans, Moving heads, Lasers, Strobes, Fog machines…) | Green |
| My groups | Your custom groups and subgroups | Purple |
| Assign strobe submaster | Strobe for all compatible fixtures or a selected group | Amber |
| Clear | Remove the assignment | Grey |
- Raise the fader — the assigned scene/group fades in by brightness.
Flash (⚡) — an instant burst. Below each fader there’s a lightning button: hold it and the fader instantly jumps to maximum; release it and it returns to its previous level. Perfect for accents on the beat of the music. The first faders can also be “flashed” from the keyboard with keys 1–8 (see 07.25).
A scene fader brings in not only brightness, but color and position too. Next to the heading there’s a “scene color: release / sticky” switch — it decides what to do with the color and position when you drop the fader to zero:
| Mode | Color/position behavior |
|---|---|
| release | Active while the fader is raised; drop it to 0 and whatever is underneath returns |
| sticky | Remain even after the fader is lowered, until another source or Reset overrides them (just like on big consoles — LTP mode) |
In both modes the brightness is always controlled by the fader itself.
Strobe on a dedicated submaster
Open ⋮ / right-click, choose Assign strobe submaster, then all compatible fixtures, a system group or a custom group. A root custom group includes its subgroups. The label shows compatible and excluded fixture counts; hover over the count to see why fixtures were excluded. A deleted group never becomes “All fixtures”.
The fader selects a position within the profile’s strobe range, not a frequency in hertz. Colour and brightness stay unchanged: strobe alone will not light up a dark fixture. Fixtures without a supported strobe channel are skipped. Fixtures using the new FX profile are currently excluded when live strobe control is unavailable for them; the assignment shows the reason.
Zero releases only this strobe submaster. A scene, chase or another fader may still supply strobe. When several strobe submasters affect one fixture, the last activated one wins; changing an already active fader’s level does not change its priority. Releasing the upper layer reveals the one beneath.
Flash temporarily sets strobe to 100%; releasing it restores the continuous level. Mouse, keyboard and different MIDI inputs release their own holds independently. Losing focus or hiding the window releases Flash. The continuous level remains when you switch to another section; disconnecting a MIDI input releases its holds and its continuous level if that input was the last to control it.
Changing the target group, its members, a profile or DMX addresses releases active strobe. Return to zero means lower the physical fader to zero or press Zero, then raise it again. After switching banks or loading a project, strobe starts at zero: the assignment is saved, not the running effect.
In Blind mode, new positive input and Flash are ignored and do not activate automatically on exit; zero and release still work. Freeze leaves manual strobe available. Operator lock prevents reassignment but allows fader use and Flash release.
Hazer output and fan
Open Hazer controls… in the submaster menu. Select a fixture, Output or Fan, and its profile channel. Enter the zero DMX value and a working range or fixed steps. Profile bands can be copied with the buttons; check the values against the fixture chart and confirm them. Saving does not trigger a test burst.
An assigned channel stays under this control: scenes, Smoke and raw values cannot override it. Zero output stops emission. A fan zero may mean minimum speed if the chart says so. The display indicates a relative control position or step name, not measured physical output. Flash is unavailable for these assignments.
Bank changes, project loading and a general reset stop output and return the fan to its configured zero/minimum. Blind rejects positive changes but accepts zero; Freeze leaves the manual fader available. Disconnecting the controlling MIDI input requires a fresh zero before raising the level.
Clearing a fader slot does not return the channel to scenes. All bindings remain in this dialog: Use this submaster restores access; Return to scenes removes the binding from all banks after setting zero. A recorded scene may then activate the fixture again. Profile/address changes and fixture deletion are rejected while a channel is assigned. This version supports independent channels of legacy smoke profiles; new FX profiles and output requiring additional enable channels are not supported yet. Heater commands and spark machines are separate functions.
Spark machine: level, heat and hold-to-fire
Open ⋮ / right-click on a submaster and select Spark machine…. In Spark machine control, select the fixture with the correct profile and DMX mode. Use that mode’s table to configure the functions:
- Select the output channel, its exact output off value, and a working height/level range or labelled steps. One working step is sufficient for a simple on/off machine.
- Select the heat channel and exact, separate heat-on and heat-off command values. These values are sent directly; the fader does not pass through intermediate service commands.
- If the mode has a separate output enable channel, select it and its enable/disable command values. The channel must be described in the selected profile; the name “Safety” alone does not determine its function.
- Check all channels and values against the manual, confirm them and click Assign. Any edit clears confirmation. Setup does not produce a test output.
Raising the fader does not fire sparks. It selects the level or height. Switch on the heat command, then hold Fire — hold. Use a mouse or touch on screen; from the keyboard, hold Space or Enter while that button has focus. Releasing stops output. Losing focus, hiding the window or leaving Live releases holds. Ordinary Flash and the 1–8 Flash shortcuts do not fire the spark machine.
For MIDI, select Spark machine N: Fire (hold). Use a Note or CC button that actually sends both press and release. The first press and release verify the button without output; the next press operates it. Program Change and latching buttons are unsuitable. In this release, the heat command is switched on screen.
The heat label shows the command sent, not measured temperature or the machine’s physical state. Some machines with automatic heating may ignore the heat-off command. Stop sets the level to zero, releases firing and switches off the heat command. While a heat command is on, a global indicator remains accessible outside Live, with a button to switch heat off and stop all assigned spark machines. Operator lock does not block these stop controls.
Changing banks, resetting or loading a project switches heat and output off; active commands are not restored from the file. Blind and Blackout stop output, and a new Fire press is required afterwards.
Assigned channels remain owned by this control even at zero and after clearing the fader slot. To return them to scenes, press Stop, check zero and use Return to scenes in the setup dialog. The assignment is removed from every bank; a saved scene can then activate the machine again.
Channels in existing profiles without an FX profile are supported. A separate external enable address that is not described by the patched fixture’s channels is not supported yet. Check command values against the manual and your machine’s behaviour; this description does not certify a physical fixture test.