Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

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Scorer
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Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

Hi,

is there a way to permanently play enable AUX tracks, meaning that the AUX tracks cannot be play disabled when solo-play-enabling other tracks ?

I'm currently working only with MIDI tracks and AUX tracks, and every time I solo play enable a specific MIDI track, the AUX tracks get play disabled - so I get no sound.

I have to play enable the AUX folder group every time.

Is there a way to "protect" the AUX tracks from being play disabled or maybe a better workflow/approach to this ?

Thanks !
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bayswater
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by bayswater »

Have a look at "Solo Exemption" on page 115 of the DP 9.1 manual. It is one of the settings on the left side panel of the Tracks Window.
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
Scorer
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

Hi,

solo exempt (at least here on my DP 9.12) does not prevent an AUX track from being play disabled. It does help with the general track enable/disable functionality, but the play enable option can then still mute a track.

Since I currently only have MIDI tracks (with audio data), which do not have the general track disable option, the only way to solo a MIDI track is to use the play enable option - and when I option+click a MIDI track it will then only play enable that MIDI track, which is good for the MIDI tracks, but also then play disable the AUX tracks although they are still track enabled.

I then have to manually play enable the AUX group every time. Am I missing something ?
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bayswater
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by bayswater »

Scorer wrote:Hi,

solo exempt (at least here on my DP 9.12) does not prevent an AUX track from being play disabled. It does help with the general track enable/disable functionality, but the play enable option can then still mute a track.

Since I currently only have MIDI tracks (with audio data), which do not have the general track disable option, the only way to solo a MIDI track is to use the play enable option - and when I option+click a MIDI track it will then only play enable that MIDI track, which is good for the MIDI tracks, but also then play disable the AUX tracks although they are still track enabled.

I then have to manually play enable the AUX group every time. Am I missing something ?
Maybe you're not missing something, but I am. What is a "MIDI track with audio data". What are you actually using the Aux track for? If I set up an audio track, and a MIDI track playing a VI, and route the output of the VI to an Aux track, set solo exempt on for the Aux and VI tracks, and off for the MIDI and Audio tracks, I can solo the MIDI track, or the Audio track and get exactly what you'd expect. No need to do anything with the play enable buttons (which do not do the same thing as the solo or mute buttons).

Your setup must be different?
2018 Mini i7 32G 10.14.6, DP 11.3, Mixbus 9, Logic 10.5, Scarlett 18i8
Scorer
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

Hi bayswater,

thank you and you are correct, using the AUX only (once they've been routed to from the MIDI source) is one way of working and that's what I will opt to using from now on.

I just encounter many times, that when working on MIDI CC data which I spread out for each CC on it's own MIDI track, which ends up being quite a few MIDI tracks in folders and sub-folders that - when I want to solo a MIDI instrument - to opt+click on the parent folder of the MIDI track (play enable only these tracks), rather than scrolling all the way down in my large template and finding the corresponding AUX track, is much faster (and I can do this from the Track or Seq window). But that approach play disables the AUX tracks, hence my question.

If what I'm asking for is not possible, then I will start muting (--> track enabling/disabling) the AUX tracks to solo MIDI instruments.

Thanks !!!
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bayswater
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by bayswater »

I assumed earlier you are using DP 9. If so, you can use lanes for CC data rather than a separate MIDI track for each. Even if you don't have DP 9, it's quite unusual to use a separate track per CC. You can still select CC layers in the MIDI tracks in earlier version in the Sequence editor, and see multiple CCs and select them individually in the Graphic (MIDI) editor.

About soloing a MIDI instrument, why not use the solo button in the mixer? What are you doing that the solo button doesn't do? I still don't get that. The AUX tracks are not really set up for what you want to do, if I understand it correctly. They come well after everything in the signal path you want to control.

There is also the Solo Mode button in the transport and it's corresponding shortcut. This allows you to set up patterns of solo status per track, including partial solo, and turn it on and off. Solo Mode can be difficult to understand at first.
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

I'm using latest DP 9.12 and I gotta look into lanes, if it is something different than what I understand it to be (other than just separating out the MIDI data)...

Can I disable individual CC lanes so that at playback the MIDI instrument only responds to the currently enabled CC lanes ?

That is the reason I use separate MIDI tracks...

Thanks !!!
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bayswater
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by bayswater »

Scorer wrote:I'm using latest DP 9.12 and I gotta look into lanes, if it is something different than what I understand it to be (other than just separating out the MIDI data)...

Can I disable individual CC lanes so that at playback the MIDI instrument only responds to the currently enabled CC lanes ?

That is the reason I use separate MIDI tracks...

Thanks !!!
No, you can't disable the lanes individually. That would be a good feature to have, as long as you have control over the last value of a controller sent to the MIDI instrument.

To preview a change to a controller, like zeroing it out, I click at zero and drag the mouse over the existing controller data, then hit CMD-Z to restore the original.

But again, even if you are using different MIDI tracks, you should be able to mute and unmute these and not have to deal with enabling or disabling tracks.
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

My original question was in regards to working in the Track window.

I can mute MIDI tracks, which (AFAIK when working in the Track window) is the play enable button. But when you deal with a lot of MIDI tracks in folders and subfolders and you only want to play one folder group and mute all others you can simply opt+click the play enable button for that folder and all other tracks get play disabled.

This is great and fast, but unfortunately also play disables all AUX tracks.

An alternative approach is to use the AUX tracks for muting (but on a large template you'd have to scroll all the way down to the AUX tracks) or switch to the Mixer (an extra click).

My goal is to work as fast and efficient as possible, with as less clicks or scrolling. Being rather new to DP, I'm sure there's plenty of things I don't realize yet. :?

I've now popped out the Mixer and have it permanently open on the 2nd screen, so I have immediate access to the AUX tracks, no matter where I am in the template in the Track overview window (on the 1st screen).

Thanks ! ;-)
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bayswater
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by bayswater »

Tracks window has a button for Play and another for Enable. They do different things. The Enable button controls the audio engine resources for the track. If turned off, there is no CPU allocated to the track, and nothing from it is processed. If play is turned off, the resources and processing are still there, although the sound is muted, making it possible to get a smooth "on-off" transition.

There have been a few requests to be able to put all the buttons on all the windows (enable, mute, solo, etc.) but for whatever reason, each window has its own fixed selection.
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

yeah, and the track enable/disable feature does not exist for MIDI tracks, so the only thing one can work with here is Play enable
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by frankf »

What bays wrote about track enable for MIDI tracks-it's not applicable. Use Play Enable instead. You should check out the Track Inspector in the SE & MIDI windows. Solo Exempt and (for Audio Tracks) Track Enable items are listed. In the SE each track has a Track Settings Menu where both are listed as well. In the mixer these commands are available from the MIDI or Audio Track Popup at the bottom of the channel strip. A custom group can play enable or Solo Exempt all tracks in the group. Did you know that items in many of DP lists like the above mentioned Track Settings Menu in the SE can be selected by pressing the first letter or two of the item? This makes it quick and easy to use a macro program like Keyboard Maestro to enable or solo Exempt a track or tracks.
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Scorer
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Re: Permanently Play Enable AUX Tracks

Post by Scorer »

frankf wrote:Did you know that items in many of DP lists like the above mentioned Track Settings Menu in the SE can be selected by pressing the first letter or two of the item? This makes it quick and easy to use a macro program like Keyboard Maestro to enable or solo Exempt a track or tracks.
I did not know that. Thank you for mentioning that.

I gotta see whether the manual or the Commands list shows me examples.

I have another question, slightly off topic (to my own topic ;-)))), is it possible when working in the MIDI editor on a MIDI track to automatically have that track been shown in the Events list ?

I've not gotten this to work. The only way I can get a track to populate in the event list is to either select it from the flyout menu (I have many MIDI tracks, impossible to scroll and find a specific track) or to cmd+opt+double click a track in the Tracks overview window. But, since I'm already in the MIDI editor, I don't want to switch back to Track window just to get the track populated in the Event list, to then switch back to the MIDI editor to see the changes I make to CC data in the Event list. :shake:

It would only make sense for the Event list to follow what is selected in the track selector. I cannot get this to work and I'm using the Event list a lot for editing CC data with surgical precision.

Any pointers ?

Thanks !!!
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