I'm not 100% sure how it works, but it sounded like you would have to push the trim button to access trim control on the encoders. If you wanted trim 5, you would twist the 5th knob, if you needed to access trim 6, you would have to hit the trim button again to access 6-10. I think this is how it works, but again I'm not totally sure. Please correct me if I'm wrong. But if that is the case, it does seem a bit more cumbersome to access than autotrim in my opinion, but maybe not. One might just have to get used to it. I do remember initially when autotrim was released, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it compared to having a physical gain knob. It turns out I think autotrim turned into one of the quickest and easiest ways to access gain control, even over a physical knob. On the other hand there is the example of virtual faders, which were just too cumbersome and difficult to access on the fly in a multicast or reality situation. That is why I gravitated toward the FP8.All of this is just my personal experience with these things. I think autotrim was a great advance over physical faders and I'm a little sad to see it go, but hopefully it is for a new and better way.