Patent ID: 7689307

Claim:
A digital audio mixer for controlling characteristics of audio signals via a plurality of channels and mixing the audio signals, the digital audio mixer comprising: a panel on which a plurality of channel strips are disposed in correspondence to the channels, each of the channel strips having controls for controlling parameters of a corresponding one of the channels; switches, each of which being mounted on each of the channel strips and used to select a corresponding one of the channels; a link group assigner that assigns one or a plurality of link groups exclusively to channels of the plurality of channels, such that one or none of the link groups is assigned to each of the plurality of channels, in response to manipulation of the switches by a user, wherein, when the user manipulates one of the switches, (1) the link group assigner creates a new link group and assigns the new link group to said one channel and said another channel provided that said one channel has not belonged to any link group, (2) the link group assigner assigns a link group, to which said one channel has belonged, to said another channel provided that said one channel has belonged to a link group and said another channel had not belonged to the link group, and (3) the link group assigner assigns no link group to said another channel provided that said one channel and said another channel had belonged to a same link group; a parameter setter, operative when the link group assigner assigns a link group same as said one channel to said another channel, that sets values of linked parameters among the parameters of said another channel to the same values of the linked parameters among the parameters of said one channel; and a parameter changer, operative when a value of a linked parameter of one channel belonging to a link group is changed to a specific value, that changes a value of the linked parameter of another channel belonging to the same link group as said one channel to the same specific value.