Adding the same plugin to all tracks.

kwiz · Post by **kwiz** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 12:32 pm

Is there a shortcut for adding the same plugin to all audio tracks?
e.g. Adding eq (or other) to the first insert automatically.
Can't find it in the manual.

Thanks

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 12:56 pm

You probably know, but just in case...you can select one and option-drag to each track.

The caveat is that some that are on stereo tracks and dragged to a mono track lose their setting. So, create a mono one with the same settings and drag that one to each mono track.

Some plugs won't drag from a stereo track to a mono track.

Hope that helps!

Buzzy

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kwiz · Post by **kwiz** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 2:10 pm

Thanks Buzzy.

I know that one, I wanted to know if there was a faster way to do that.
In Protools, you can hold the option key while selecting a plugin, and that plugin will added to all the tracks. You just have to select mono, or stereo. It's a real time saver, especially if you use any type of console emulation plugin that you want to use on every track.

mhschmieder · Post by **mhschmieder** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 8:45 pm

Although I do it Buzz's way, there is a risk that you must stay alert to, which he alluded to but which can bite you in unexpected ways.

In other words, be very careful about option-dragging between mono and stereo tracks.

It's easy to audit, by looking first at the sliders below (single or double track?), but this is assuming you remember which tracks were mono before.

For a rock project, not so hard. For synth, ethnic, soundtrack, orchestral, etc., it is unlikely that any of us will remember those specifics in a way that doesn't cost us time and frustrate us if we have to one-by-one audit tracks for accidental mono-to-stereo instances later on.

There's more that can go wrong as well, but the simplest thing is just to be really alert when you do it and try to avoid option-dragging to unlike tracks.

What I generally do is option-drag all my mono tracks (to make sure I'm confident they're still all in mono), and then option-drag plug-ins for all the stereo tracks.

kwiz · Post by **kwiz** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 9:42 pm

Thanks but I'm well aware of that minor caveat. I just want to know if there's a more elegant solution.
Protools makes it pretty painless, but the majority of my work is done in DP.

stubbsonic · Post by **stubbsonic** » Sun Sep 27, 2015 10:36 pm

I tried using the Add Similar... function, (because it will let you Add Multiple Similar.... with option-key). But it only retains the i/o assigns, not the inserts.

You could use Duplicate Track, just because there is a command for it so you could do it quickly, or you could do 1, then do 2, then 4, and be done quickly.

But that's only if you are starting with blank tracks.

I don't use the clippings functions very much. Perhaps they could be of use.

buzzsmith · Post by **buzzsmith** » Mon Sep 28, 2015 5:42 am

Before I posted, I checked. Just FWIW, I did notice that an attempt to drag a Waves plugin from a mono track to a stereo track did not work. It would not insert.

But, it would be nice to have the option of applying a console plug or even Trim to every track with one command.

Buzzy

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dpg4macman · Post by **dpg4macman** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:34 pm

I recommend loading the plugin you'd like to each track (eq, compressor, etc...) then save the setup as a template. My thoughts : )

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 4:36 pm

OR... if you want to set up a chain and save that as a preset, you can then load the preset into the track and all the plugs will show up.

stubbsonic · Post by **stubbsonic** » Thu Oct 01, 2015 11:07 pm

That's the new thing I learned today!! (It's officially a little after midnight, so we'll have to let that one under the wire.) That seems like a very useful thing, indeed! Thanks, MLC.

kwiz · Post by **kwiz** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 6:26 am

Thanks for all the suggestions and fortunately, I'm aware of all of them. A template is something I use at times, depending on what I'm working on. I had a session recently and the client wanted me to use a UAD Neve channel strip across all of the tracks. The session had 40 plus tracks which took a couple of minutes to add even with the copy and paste function. I want to be able to do that same function, but easier. In ProTools, all you need to do is hold option, select the plugin, and then it appears on all the tracks. If you hit option-shift, it'll add the plugin to all the selected tracks you highlight.
I'll ask Motu if that function can be added to a future update; it's a great time saver.

MIDI Life Crisis · Post by **MIDI Life Crisis** » Fri Oct 02, 2015 8:07 am

stubbsonic wrote:That's the new thing I learned today!! (It's officially a little after midnight, so we'll have to let that one under the wire.) That seems like a very useful thing, indeed! Thanks, MLC.

No prob. I meant set up, not see up (fixed). Damn spell checker.

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