User Manual

CHAPTER
149
18 Aux Tracks and Master Fader Tracks
OVERVIEW
Aux tracks and Master Fader tracks are special
kinds of audio tracks for routing and grouping
audio signals in the Digital Performer project.
Aux tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Master Fader tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
AUX TRACKS
An Aux track is a special kind of audio track that
routes an input directly to an output. Think of it as
an individual signal path within Digital
Performer’s virtual mixing environment. 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
(as well as loops).
Aux tracks are primarily intended as a routing
mechanism. Aux tracks allow you to route audio
from any source to any destination. Here are just a
few examples: you can route disk tracks to an Aux
track via a bus; you can route an input on a external
audio interface (such as a MOTU 2408mk3)
directly to an output. You can route several audio
tracks to a single effects plug-in that you have
placed on an Aux track effects insert.
Figure 18-1: Aux tracks as they appear in the Sequence Editor. They
do not have a record button, and you cannot record audio into them
(or place soundbites in them). They are meant to serve purely as a
‘virtual’ routing mechanism.
You can add as many Aux tracks as you like, and, as
mentioned earlier, you can use them in many
situations to get audio from here to there in your
system using the Aux track’s input and output
assignments. For details about bussing and aux
tracks, see Part 7 , “ Mixing” (page 795).
Using Aux tracks and Songs
If you are working with Digital Performer’s Song
window feature (placing multiple sequences inside
a song), please keep in mind that Aux tracks, once
created, always remain “active” when a song is play-
enabled, regardless of which sequence is playing
inside it. Be sure to manage your Aux tracks
accordingly.
Conserving CPU resources with aux tracks
If you would like to apply the same plug-in to two
or more audio tracks, consider assigning the
plug-in to a single Aux track insert instead. Then,
apply it to multiple audio tracks by bussing them to
the Aux track, using either their main output
assignment, a send, or both (if you’d like a a bit of
the original signal mixed in with the affected one).
Having one plug-in with multiple inputs requires
far less processing resources than applying the
plug-in on multiple tracks.
Using aux tracks for live inputs such as
synthesizers
You can use Aux tracks to feed live inputs (synths,
etc.) into your mix. However, you may need to
compensate for your system’s monitoring latency.
See “Audio monitoring latency” on page 232.
Monitoring with Aux tracks present
Here’s a problem you may encounter when
monitoring inputs: you keep hearing an input, even
though you don’t have any tracks record-enabled.
Or, you keep hearing an input, no matter which
track you record-enable.