Reference Guide

914 Mixing

Using control groups

SONAR lets you link faders, knobs, or buttons in the Track view, Track Inspector and Console view

into groups. Groups are collections of controls whose movements are linked together. For example:

•Two Volume faders or controls can be grouped so that when you increase or decrease the

volume of one track, the volume of the other track changes in exactly the same way.

•Four Mute buttons can be grouped so that when you click on the Mute button to mute track 1,

tracks 1 and 2 are muted and tracks 3 and 4 are un-muted.

The Console view and Track view identify controls, knobs and faders that are grouped using a

colored group indicator that is displayed on the controls in each group. The controls in group A are

displayed with a red indicator, the controls in group B with a green indicator, and so on. Controls,

faders and knobs can be grouped together.

When you group buttons together, the way they work is based on their position when you create the

group:

• Buttons that are in the same position when grouped will turn on and off together at all times.

• Buttons that are in opposite positions when grouped will always remain in opposite positions.

When you group buttons with knobs or faders, the button turns on/off when the knob or fader

reaches its halfway point.

You have several additional options. There are three general types of groups: absolute, relative, and

custom. Here’s how they work.

Absolute

The range of motion in all controls in the group is identical. When you move one control in the group,

all other controls in the group move the same amount in the same direction. The controls do not

necessarily need to start at the same level.

Relative

The range of motion for controls in the group is not the same. All controls in the group have the

same value at one point—the lowest level for send, return, and volume levels, and zero for pan

controls.

Custom

Sometimes you want to define a more complex relationship between the controls in a group. For

example:

• You want two controls to operate in reverse—when one fader drops, the other increases (cross

fade).

• You want two volume faders grouped so that they are locked together at maximum level, but drop

at different rates.

• You want two faders to be locked together with the same range of motion, but a third fader

grouped with them to have a different range of motion.