Patent ID: 7929717

Claim:
An audio mixing apparatus, having an operation panel, which inputs audio signals, mixes the audio signals after application of various types of signal processing to the audio signals, and outputs the mixed audio signals, the audio mixing apparatus comprising: a plurality of channels provided at input side and output side of the mixing apparatus, the channels at the input side of the audio mixing apparatus being used for applying the various types of the signal processing to the audio signals input to the audio mixing apparatus, the plurality of the channels being grouped into a multiple of groups such that each group contains n channels where n is an integer of 2 or greater; a current memory that stores a plurality of parameters for each of the channels for defining the signal processing applied by each channel; a multiple of channel strip sections disposed on the operation panel in correspondence to the multiple of the groups of the channels at the input side, each channel strip section including n channel strips in correspondence to the n channels of the corresponding group, each channel strip including controls being operable by a user to change values of the parameters for the corresponding channel; a display section provided on the operation panel; an assignment channel strip section being disposed in front of the display section on the operation panel, and including n assignment channel strips each having controls including a knob and a fader; a group selection operation section including a multiple of group selection controls, which correspond to the multiple of the groups of n channels at the input side and also correspond to the multiple of the channel strip sections and which are arranged at positions within the group selection operation section; said positions being associated with positions of the channel strip sections of the corresponding groups disposed on the operation panel; a group selection section that, when one of the group selection controls in the group selection operation section is operated by the user, selects a group of n channels at the input side corresponding to the operated group selection control, then assigns the n channels of the selected group to the n assignment channel strips in the assignment channel strip section, and displays on the display section a group screen that presents values of the parameters only for the n channels of the selected group assigned to the assignment channel strip section; and a parameter control section that, when the controls of the channel strips of each channel strip section are operated by the user, changes the values of the parameters for the n channels of the channel strip section stored in the current memory, and when the controls of the assignment channel strips are operated by the user, changes the values of the parameters, for the channels assigned to the assignment channel strips, stored in the current memory.