User Manual

CHAPTER
117
13 Track Basics
OVERVIEW
Each track in Digital Performer holds an individual
stream of MIDI or audio data. Each track has its
own settings, input/output assignment, and a
separate mixer channel. Tracks can be edited
individually or together with other tracks. They
can be grouped into track folders.
Basic track types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Special track types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Track settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Creating a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Creating several tracks at once. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Creating multiple track types at once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Duplicating a track’s settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Duplicating a track’s settings and data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Renaming a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Deleting a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
BASIC TRACK TYPES
A sequence can have the following types of tracks.
MIDI tracks
A MIDI track is where MIDI data is recorded,
edited and played back. In Digital Performer, MIDI
data is stored in a MIDI track without channel
information. Instead, each track can be assigned to
play back to one or more MIDI channels. During
playback, the MIDI data in the track is transmitted
to the assigned channels. Any MIDI instrument
that is listening to (receiving on) that same channel
will respond to the MIDI data from the track.
Audio tracks
An audio track is where digital audio data is
recorded, edited, and played back. It could be a
recording of a single instrument, containing any
number of punch-ins and overdubs for the
instrument. Or it could contain a wide variety of
sounds occurring at different times, such as sound
effects. You can record any audio you want into an
audio track, including speech, vocals, sound
effects, etc.
Instrument tracks
An instrument track is a special kind of audio track
which has a virtual instrument plug-in as its first
effects insert. Virtual instrument plug-ins work
very much like synthesizers, samplers and other
hardware instruments: you send them MIDI data
and they output an audio signal. Instrument tracks
do not contain MIDI or audio data, but you can
insert and record mix automation data into an
Instrument track. For details, see chapter 17,
“Instrument Tracks” (page 145).
Aux tracks
An Aux track is a special kind of audio track that
routes an input directly to an output. You cannot
record audio into an Aux track, nor can you place
pre-recorded audio into it. But you can insert and
record mix automation data into an Aux track.
Aux tracks are primarily intended as a routing
mechanism. Aux tracks allow you to route audio
from any source to any destination. For example,
you can route several audio tracks to a single effects
plug-in that you have placed on an Aux track effects
insert.
Master Fader tracks
A Master Fader track controls the overall level of a
output or bus bundle. Like Aux tracks, master fader
tracks have no record button, and you cannot place
audio in them. Instead, the master fader track
provides an output assignment and volume control
and automation over the output or bus you assign
to it. The most common way to use a master fader
is as a sub-mix fader for an output (or a bus) to