M-AUDIO Pro Tools Recording Studio - Manual (Page 851)

Chapter 40: Basic Mixing 833
VCA Slave Track Control Indications
Unlike VCAs on traditional analog consoles,
VCA Master tracks in Pro Tools directly affect
their slave tracks, so that the controls on each
slave track always show their actual values:
• The output level of each slave track is indi-
cated by the position of its fader.
• The solo, mute, record enable, and TrackIn-
put status of each slave track are indicated
by the corresponding controls on the track.
This ensures that even when a VCA Master track
is not visible, the true state of its slave tracks is
accurately displayed.
VCA Slave Track Controls and Group Behavior
When a group is assigned to a VCA Master, the
VCA-modifiable controls (Volume, Mute, Solo,
Record Enable and TrackInput) on its slave
tracks, by default, do not follow any grouped be-
havior that may be set in the Attributes page of
the Groups dialog. This lets you control the out-
put levels of the group’s member tracks while re-
taining the ability to adjust individual member
track levels.
Slave tracks can be set to follow normal grouped
behavior. See “Assigning Groups to VCA Mas-
ters” on page 834.
Common Uses for VCA Master Tracks
By grouping tracks in a Mix group and assigning
that group to a VCA Master track, you can:
• Control the output levels of all the VCA
group’s member tracks without the need to
bus them to an Auxiliary Input track or to
the same output path
• Create multiple, nested VCA groups and
control the output levels of multiple sub-
mixes at the same time
• Automate a submix by automating its VCA
Master track
VCA Master Track Controls
The controls on a VCA Master track affect the
corresponding controls on the slave tracks in its
assigned Mix group. VCA Master tracks have the
following controls:
Volume
The VCA Volume fader controls the Volume
fader on audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument,
Master Fader, and other VCA Master tracks in a
VCA-controlled group. (Volume faders on MIDI
tracks are not affected.) Volume faders on slave
tracks move to show the composite level, or the
level on each track resulting from the position
of the VCA Master Volume fader.
Mute
The VCA Mute button controls the mute state of
audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, MIDI, and
other VCA Master tracks in a VCA-controlled
group. Muting a VCA-controlled group does not
change the underlying mute state of slave
tracks. (Mute buttons on slave tracks that were
previously unmuted show an implicit mute.)
Solo
The VCA Solo button controls the solo state of
audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, MIDI, and
other VCA Master tracks in a VCA-controlled
group.
• Soloing a VCA Master will implicitly mute
all tracks except its slave tracks, thereby in-
directly soloing the slave tracks.
• Soloing a VCA Master will clear any explicit
solos on its slave tracks, leaving them indi-
rectly soloed, and implicitly mute all other
tracks.
• Explicitly soloing a slave track while its
VCA Master track is soloed will override the
VCA Master solo.