The tracks in the sequencer are where you record your audio, note and automation to create your songs. A track is always associated with a device in the rack (except for the Transport track). An icon with a picture of the associated device is shown in the Track List on the left hand side in the sequencer. In the Track List, the name of the associated device is shown, as well as icons and buttons related to the specific track. Each track can incorporate various lane types (depending on track type). To the right of the Track List - on the Edit/Arrangement pane - each track has its own dedicated area for recorded events.
In the picture below, six sequencer tracks are shown. From the top down are the Transport Track (which is always present and cannot be moved or deleted), two audio tracks, two instrument tracks associated with one ID8 instrument device each, and one automation track for a Mix Channel strip.
A track in the sequencer is always associated with a device in the rack; i.e. there can never be a sequencer track without an associated rack device (except for the Transport track). Audio Track devices and Mix Channel devices in the rack also have their corresponding channel strips in the Main Mixer. Mixer Channel strips can be considered “remote controls” for their corresponding rack devices. Depending on track type, the signal chain differs somewhat. The picture below shows the signal flow in four scenarios with three different track types:
An audio track is always associated with an Audio Track device in the rack and its corresponding Audio Track channel strip in the Main Mixer. An Audio Track device can also house insert effects.
In the figure above, the audio track is associated with the Audio Track device in the rack,
which in turn is controlled from the Audio Track channel strip in the Main Mixer. The audio track
features recorded audio and mixer automation.
which in turn is controlled from the Audio Track channel strip in the Main Mixer. The audio track
features recorded audio and mixer automation.
An instrument track is always associated with an instrument device in the rack. The instrument device in the rack is, in most situations, connected to a Mix Channel device in the rack. The Mix Channel device in the rack is controlled from the corresponding channel strip in the Main Mixer. A Mix Channel device can also house insert effects.
In the figure above, the ID8 track is associated with the ID8 instrument device in the rack. The ID8 instrument
device is connected to the ID8 Mix Channel device in the rack, which in turn is controlled from the ID8
channel strip in the Main Mixer. The ID8 track features recorded MIDI notes and parameter automation.
device is connected to the ID8 Mix Channel device in the rack, which in turn is controlled from the ID8
channel strip in the Main Mixer. The ID8 track features recorded MIDI notes and parameter automation.
Note that when you create an instrument, the connected Mix Channel device doesn’t automatically get a track in the sequencer. If you want to record Mixer Channel automation, you have to first create a separate sequencer track for the Mix Channel device. See “Automation (non-instrument) track relationships”.
A pure automation track is always associated with a “non-instrument” device, i.e. a device which can’t receive MIDI Note information. Consequently, an automation track can only consist of parameter automation lanes. Examples of non-instrument devices are Mix Channel devices with their corresponding Mix Channel strips, effect devices, mixer devices and Spider Merger & Splitter devices. The picture below shows an example with an automated Mix Channel:
In the figure above, the Mix Channel automation track is associated with the Mix Channel device
in the rack, which in turn is controlled from the channel strip in the Main Mixer.
in the rack, which in turn is controlled from the channel strip in the Main Mixer.
The picture below shows an example with an automated MClass Equalizer device. Note that no mixer channel strip is involved in this situation since the automation only concerns a non-instrument device and not any Mix Channel device:
The standard way of routing MIDI from a connected MIDI master keyboard or control surface to a device in the rack is to set the Master Keyboard Input in the sequencer. When MIDI is routed to a selected track in the sequencer, the notes and controller data are automatically echoed to the associated device in the rack. However, it is also possible to set Master Keyboard Input from the rack, see “Playing devices from the rack”.
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Setting Master Keyboard Input to an instrument track is necessary if you want to play notes on an instrument device from your MIDI master keyboard (and control the instrument device parameters via MIDI).
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By locking additional MIDI keyboards to separate devices in the rack, you will be able to play and record on several sequencer tracks simultaneously, see “Locking a surface”.
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Setting Master Keyboard Input to an audio track is only necessary if you want to control the Main Mixer channel strip parameters via MIDI.
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Setting Master Keyboard Input to a “non-instrument” (parameter automation only) track is only necessary if you want to control the device’s parameters via MIDI.
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Besides the standard routing described above, it’s also possible to lock certain rack devices to specific control surfaces. See “Locking a surface” for more details.
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If you have several MIDI keyboards/control surfaces locked to individual devices in the rack, it is possible to control and record on several tracks simultaneously!
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The track gets a gray “arrow” symbol to the left, indicating that the track and associated device has Master Keyboard Input. The track and device will now respond to incoming MIDI data from a connected MIDI keyboard/control surface. By default, setting Master Keyboard Input also automatically selects the track, which is indicated by the gray color of the track in the Track List.
It’s also possible to set Master Keyboard Input and track selection independently from each other by selecting “Separated” on the “Keyboards and Control Surfaces” page in Preferences - see “Preferences – Control Surfaces”.
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Only one track at a time can have Master Keyboard Input. However, if you have locked additional MIDI keyboards to specific devices in the rack via Remote (see “Locking a surface”), you will be able to play and record these together with the track that has Master Keyboard Input.
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A track is the top level in the sequencer Track List hierarchy. A track can consist of one or several parallel lanes. A lane can contain clips, which in turn can contain audio recordings, note events, performance controller events, parameter automation events or pattern events, depending on track type.
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A clip is a “container” for various types of events (audio recordings, note, performance controller, parameter automation or pattern events).
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The Transport track is always present at the top of the Track List and cannot be moved or deleted. The Transport Track can have a maximum of two lanes: one containing time signature automation, and the other containing tempo automation. See “Automating time signature” and “Editing tempo automation” for more details.
An audio track can only have a single audio lane containing clips with mono or stereo audio recordings. However, each audio clip can contain several recordings, i.e. different "takes". You can view and comp these takes in the Comp Editor. See “Audio Editing in the Sequencer” for more details. An audio track can also have parameter automation lanes containing automation for the Audio Track Channel strip parameters in the Main Mixer.
Devices that can receive MIDI notes, such as the ID8 device, will automatically be assigned a record enabled track when created. On an instrument track you can create a number of separate note lanes that can incorporate clips containing a combination of note and performance controller events. Multiple lanes are perfect if you, for example, are recording a drum track and want to record each drum sound on a separate lane. An instrument track can also have a number of parameter automation lanes that can contain clips with instrument parameter automation events.
Tracks for devices that do not receive MIDI note data (e.g. effects and mixer devices and mixer channels in the Main Mixer) can only contain parameter automation lanes. These “non-instrument” devices are not automatically assigned a track when created. To automate parameters for non-instrument devices you need to manually create a track for these. The number of available lanes is limited by the number of parameters of each device. There can be one lane for each automatable parameter in the device.
In the picture below, a Track List with four different tracks is shown. From the top down are the Transport Track (which is always present and cannot be moved or deleted), an Audio Track associated with an Audio Track device, an Instrument Track associated with an ID8 Instrument device and an Automation Track associated with the Mix Channel device.
The Transport Track in the picture features two parameter Automation Lanes (for Time Signature and Tempo) that have been manually created for the track. The audio track features only a single audio lane. The ID8 1 track features four note lanes and has two parameter automation lanes added. The Mix Channel 1 track is associated with the Mix Channel 1 device and has three parameter automation lanes added.
Depending on track type, the elements shown in the Track List can vary. The only common element for all track types is the "Record Enable Parameter Automation" button which should be enabled when you want to record parameter automation for the associated device. This and the other track elements will be described in detail later in this chapter.
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Hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and press [T]. Alternatively, select “Create Audio Track” from the “Create” menu or from the context menu in the Track List, rack or Main Mixer.
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An audio track is created in the sequencer and the associated Audio Track device is created in the rack. The Audio Track device’s channel strip is created in the Main Mixer.
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By default, the audio track is set up in mono. You can easily change to stereo by selecting “Stereo Input” in the “Audio Input” drop-down list - see “Selecting audio input(s) and defining mono or stereo”. If you select “Stereo Input”, the Audio Track channel strip in the Main Mixer automatically switches to a stereo channel.
To create an instrument track, you need only create the instrument device. An instrument track is automatically created when you create a device which can receive MIDI notes:
Alternatively, to select an Instrument patch and automatically load the patch into the appropriate device type, hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) and press [I], or select “Create Instrument” from the “Create” menu to bring up the Patch Browser. Under Windows, you can also press [Insert] to open the Patch Browser. In the Patch Browser you can select and preview patches before loading them into the instrument.
In addition, a Mix Channel device for the instrument is automatically created in the rack and its channel strip is created in the Main Mixer. All devices are automatically connected. The Mix Channel device automatically adapts its inputs to the created instrument type - if the instrument is in mono, the Mix Channel device will be in mono, and if the instrument has stereo outputs, the Mix Channel device will be in stereo.
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Note that no automation track is created for the Mix Channel device. This has to be manually created if you want to automate any of the Mix Channel strip parameters (see “Creating a parameter automation track for a non-instrument device”).
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For non-instrument devices, such as effects devices and Mix Channel devices, you need to manually create a track if you want to record parameter automation. You can do that either by following the description below or by following either of the two last descriptions in “Creating/adding parameter automation lanes”.
The track creation procedure described below also applies if you have manually deleted a track for an instrument device or an Audio Track device and want to create a new track for the device:
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Another way of creating a parameter automation track is by holding [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) and clicking on a parameter on the device panel. Alternatively, select “Edit Automation” from the parameter context menu.
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If you press [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) when you create a non-instrument device, this will automatically create an associated automation track for the device.
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A faster way of creating a track for a Mix Channel device, or to create a new audio track (if you deleted the original one), is to go via the corresponding mixer channel strips in the Main Mixer:
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If a track should already exist for the selected channel strip, [Shift]-clicking the SEQ (Goto Sequencer Track) button will only scroll the corresponding sequencer track into view, not create any new track.
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See “About Device Groups” for information about device groups.
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By default, selecting a track will automatically set Master Keyboard Input to that track. If you’d rather select tracks independent of the Master Keyboard Input selection, select “Separated” mode in the Preferences menu (“Keyboards and Control Surfaces” page). In “Separated” mode, you can select another track without automatically changing Master Keyboard Input. To change Master Keyboard Input, click the device icon on the desired track in the Track List.
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To move a track to another position in the Track List, click on the track handle (the leftmost area of the track) and drag the track up or down.
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A red insertion line is shown, indicating where the track will be placed after releasing the mouse button. All clips on all lanes of the track will be moved along with the track.
You can use the same technique to move several selected tracks at once. Use standard [Shift]-select or use [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) to select non-adjacent tracks.
Note that the order of the tracks in the sequencer Track List is totally independent from the device order in the rack - and from the channel strip order in the Main Mixer. However, it’s possible to re-order devices and channel strips according to the track order in the Track List:
The associated devices and channel strips are now re-ordered, in the rack and Main Mixer respectively, according to the order of the selected tracks in the Track List.
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Note that the re-ordering only affects the devices and channel strips of the selected tracks - all other devices and channel strips will remain unaffected.
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The most common scenario would probably be to delete a track together with its associated device(s). However, it’s also possible to delete only the track while keeping the associated device(s) in the rack.
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To delete one or several tracks together with their associated devices in the Rack, select the tracks and then select “Delete Track(s) and Device(s)” from the Edit menu or from the track’s context menu. Alternatively, press [Delete] or [Backspace].
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If you're deleting the track for the Source Device or Mix Channel, and “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is on, you will be asked if you want to delete the whole device group. If you hold down [Ctrl](Win) or [Cmd](Mac) while deleting, the whole device group will be deleted without the alert.
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See “About Device Groups” for more information about device groups.
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The tracks will be deleted without an alert but you can always use the Undo function. See “Undo and Redo”.
If you have deleted a track for a device and want to create a new track for the device, follow the descriptions in “Creating a parameter automation track for a non-instrument device” or “Short-cut for creating a Mix Channel track or Audio track”.
As it is not possible for a specific instance of a device to have more than one track, you cannot copy or duplicate only a track. These operations will instead duplicate/copy both the track (including all clips on the track) and its associated device(s) (with all settings). The duplicated/copied devices are really just like separate devices but with the same name and settings as the original devices, although their names will have the extension “Copy” to differentiate them from the original.
To make copies of tracks and their associated devices, complete with all lanes and recorded clips, use any of the following methods:
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Note that if “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is on, the entire device group(s) associated with the track(s) will be copied/duplicated when you perform the procedures described below.
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See “About Device Groups” for more information about device groups.
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To bring up the context menu, right-click (Win) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac) on the track in the Track List. The duplicated track(s) will be inserted below the original track.
This allows you to insert the copied track(s) and device(s) by selecting “Paste” from the Edit menu or from the track’s context menu. The copied track(s) will be pasted below the currently selected track.
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Note that if “Auto-group Devices and Tracks” on the Options menu is off, duplicated/copied devices will not have auto-routed audio connections. To hear the duplicated devices, select the device and choose “Auto-route Device” on the Edit menu or context menu. Alternatively, flip the rack around and connect the audio outputs to available (or new) Mix Channel devices. You might also want to mute the original track to avoid double notes.
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To duplicate a selected audio track, with all recordings and mixer channel strip parameter settings, including any Insert FX, click the “New Alt” or New Dub” buttons on the Transport Panel - see “Duplicating audio tracks using the “Alt” function” and “Overdubbing audio using the “Dub” function”.
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If you hold down [Shift] and select Paste from the Edit menu or context menu, the copied device(s) will be auto-routed to an available mixer channel. If necessary, an additional Mix Channel will be automatically created.
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To assign a new color to a selected track, select “Track Color” from the Edit menu or from the track’s context menu and then select color from the palette.
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The track color is shown in the track background in the Track List. The associated Audio Track device or Mix Channel device in the rack and its corresponding channel strip in the Main Mixer will also be assigned the new color. The selected track color will be reflected in all new clips you record or draw on this track.
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If existing clips have the function “Use Track Color” active on the Clip context menu, these clips will also change color - otherwise they won’t. To manually change color of previously recorded clips, refer to “Coloring clips”.
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Note that naming/renaming a track also changes the name of the associated Source Device in the rack (and vice versa). Furthermore, renaming an audio track also changes the name of the associated Audio Track device in the rack as well as its corresponding channel strip in the Main Mixer. If you rename the track of a source device in a device group, its Mix Channel will get the same name. If you want a separate name for the Mix Channel, double-click in the Mix Channel name tag, in the rack or Main Mixer, type in a new name and press [Return].
See “About Device Groups” for more information about device groups.
To minimize the visible height of the track, and thus allow for a better overview of the tracks in the sequencer, it’s possible to fold tracks.
A folded track will not show the individual lanes in the Track List, and on the Edit/Arrangement Pane the clips are shown as horizontal strips. If the folded track has several lanes, all the clips on the lanes will be shown as vertically stacked strips on the Arrangement Pane. No events in the clips are shown.
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Basic clip operations (selecting, moving, copying etc.) are available also for folded tracks, although it is generally better to unfold a track if you want to edit its contents, as this gives you a better overview.
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It’s also possible to fold/unfold only the parameter automation lanes on a track by clicking the triangle on the parameter automation tab. See “Parameter automation lane elements” for more details.
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To mute a track means to silence it, so that no data is sent from the track during playback. This can be useful when you are trying out different versions of an arrangement, for bringing elements in and out of the mix during playback.
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Several tracks can have Mute active at the same time, in which case you can unmute them all by clicking the master “M” button at the top of the Track List.
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Here, the “Filmscore Pad” track is soloed (indicated by the green “S” button).
All other tracks are automatically muted (indicated by red “M” buttons).
All other tracks are automatically muted (indicated by red “M” buttons).
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Several tracks can have Solo active at the same time, in which case you can turn off Solo for all of them by clicking the master “S” button at the top of the Track List.
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