User Manual

CHAPTER
779
68 V-Racks
OVERVIEW
V-Racks™ (virtual racks) are similar to sequences,
except that they have no time domain and they do
not hold track data or automation. The only types
of tracks that you can add to them are Instrument
tracks, aux tracks and master faders. As such, they
are intended to be used as “effects” racks, a
centralized location for effects processing and
virtual instruments.
V-Racks can be created and managed in the
Chunks window. See chapter 67, “Chunks
Window” (page 769).
V-Rack basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779
Creating a V-Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
V-Rack quick reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
Working with a V-Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780
V-RACK BASICS
V-Racks™ (virtual racks) are similar to regular
sequences, but they are streamlined as follows:
■ They have no time domain.
■ They do not hold track data or automation.
■ The only types of tracks that you can add are:
Instrument tracks, aux tracks and master faders.
■ They do not have a Tracks Window, Sequence
Editor or any other type of edit window. The only
window that can be opened to modify them is the
Mixing Board.
■ They cannot be placed in a song.
V-Racks have several significant characteristics
that makes them very useful:
■ They are always active, regardless of what
sequence or song is play-enabled.
■ Their track inputs and outputs are always
available to all other sequences in the project.
■ They provide all of the real-time processing
capabilities of a regular sequence, including the
ability to host virtual instruments.
A virtual effects and instrument rack
When you add up all of the above characteristics,
essentially what you have is a virtual effects and
instrument rack — hence the name V-Rack.
V-Racks are ideal in situations where you are using
multiple sequences in a project, as the following
examples illustrate.
Virtual instruments
A very common situation is as follows: you have a
project with multiple sequences that are all playing
the same virtual instrument. For example, you
might be working on a TV commercial with several
sequences in the project: a :15 second version, a :30
second version and a :60 second version. But they
are all playing essentially the same sounds loaded
into MachFive. To work most efficiently, you can
create one instance of MachFive in a V-Rack, and
then access MachFive from any of the other
sequences, just as if it were instantiated in each
sequence individually. By instantiating it only once
in the V-Rack, you save memory and computer
processing resources. Samples and patches will not
need to reload when switching among sequences.
Mastering
Another very common situation is this: you have
multiple sequences that you want to master using
the same mastering effects chain. To ensure
consistency and to maximize efficiency, you can
add a master fader track to a V-Rack, apply the
desired effects processing and then run the master
output of each individual sequence into the master