Jump to content

Create Hybrid mixers via folders!


camillo jr

Recommended Posts

Here's a way to create hybrid mixers that have any combination of objects in them that you want, and have each mixer accessible at the click of a mouse. Want a mixer with just your drums tracks, busses and main output? No problem.

 

In your mixer screenset, create an arrange window above or below the track mixer and put a bunch of empty folders in there. Double click the folder regions to go inside them and add or subtract any tracks you want so you can have audio tracks in one folder, instruments in another, auxes and busses in a third and so on. ( Just make sure that there's no folders inside these folders otherwise it can get confusing.)

 

Label each folder with an appropriately descriptive term. And you can size the arrange window down so that all you see is your folders, leaving lots of room for the mixer.

 

Yellow-link the mixer window and turn Global OFF and everything else on. Now click on any of the folder regions in the arrange window and your track mixer is instantly reconfigured.

 

I also like to have a couple of extra folder tracks with no folders on them, that way I can option-drag one of the folders down and go into it and add/rearrange things for a slightly different mixer view. And in your Arrange screenset, just hide all the empty folders to keep the view clean.

 

One thing about this way of working is that your little folders won't follow any changes to reflect what is happening in the arrange. But It's so easy to go into a folder region and add or delete what ever you like. Or unselect Global in the TM to work the regular way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Respectfully, Camillo I would never choose to work this way. Why clutter up your Arrange page with empty folder tracks?

 

I use 2 monitors. swhich is sometthing I strongly advise my Logic students at UCLA to invest in as soon as they can afford it, so if I lock a screenset i can see a different Track Mixers configs on each. A second locked screenset gives me 2 more views.

 

Does anyone really need more than that?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a bit of fine tuning on the mixer settup:

 

I decided to put all the folders in their own folder, which I've labeled "UBER" for convenience, and then deleted all the empty folder tracks so they don't show up in the arrange when I unhide them. All I would see is the uber folder. In the mixer setup just mentioned however, I keep that folder open so I can still see all my mixer folders in the little arrange page under my mixer.

 

The other thing I've done is to place a second arrange page directly under the first one. This is a straight arrange page that I created after clicking on the background of the first little arrange. I can call it up with exposé if I want to use the mixer in global mode. One thing to be aware of, the mixer will now work with autozoomed tracks if you first select any track from the second little arrange before using the mixer.

 

Another nice thing about this setup is that the track that you select in the mixer window, in global mode, will always show up in the little arrange window and - a bonus for some - the arrange won't move around to the beginning of the first region of a track when you select that track. It stays put where ever the SPL is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to reply "wots an environment"? 8)

 

Fact is, I go cross-eyed whenever I crack the manual about the environment. I've managed to avoid it for the most part except when absolutely necessary. Other than audio recording, I work completely ITB and I've abandoned my little pile of external midi instruments, so my environment is pretty simple with almost no modifications except a cable switcher, a monitor object and my own selection of audio objects.

 

But this is something I want to get into, if for no other reason than to be able to import some cool environments like the monitor switcher and your mini mixer for multis. I've tried these and I got nothing workable and much confusion so I'm obviously missing some basic environment chops here.

 

Like I said, the manual makes me go cross eyed on this subject - and I'm a person who's quite willing to RTFM! Any suggestions/links for tutorials on this subject?

 

Thanks,

 

Camillo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks for this tip... It took a while for me to get it but I have it working now.

 

I did wonder if there was any way to get my ProjectMix (and I guess this applies to anyone using Logic/Mackie Control as well) to display the same parameters as the Track Mixer when clicking on the different folders?

 

(At the moment I'm having to double-click folders to get the contents to show on the PM and then clicking back up a level to get back to the next folder. This is slightly more long-winded than I would like)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Ashermusic, I have two monitors and/but I use the ´"hybrid" mixer method A LOT.

Why? I have Yamaha 01x (= Logic Control) and when I am done with all my recording and editing job and I am ready to mix, I work this way: most of the times I already have 99% tracks packed in different folders, so I have a DRUMS Folder, GUITARS Folder, SYNTHS Folder, VOCALS Folder etc etc.... Also I am using BUSes as Sub Masters for tracks or outputs from AU Instruments. I have first eight BUSes always Labeled as a LeadVOCal, VOCALS,DRUMS, PERCUS, GTRS1, GTRS2, SYNTH, BASS... So first eight BUSes in my Logic Mixer are main SubMaster BUSES (or so - called STEMS...) and all my tracks from Arrange go out through one of theese BUSes. All "other" BUSes or AUXes such as effect returns are outputed (if I did not print them first as tracks too) directly to 01x which acts as a final summing box.

I am stacked with "eights" because my 01x can display eight Tracks/AU Instruments/AUXes/BUSes/Outputs .... etc. And my 01x is reason I am using the "Hybrid mixers" method. When I mix I rarely look at my two monitors. If I need to tweak plugins, EQ etc, I (try first) do it using 01x display and knobs, pots and faders. As someone wise (Bob Ludwig?) said, looking at the monitor too much when mixing means that we are paying too much attention on visual info, instead using our ears as much as we can.

My 01x is great. But can display only eight tracks in a time as I wrote. I can "scroll" or move between tracks ofcourse. I open a Folder (Arrange window) and create a "hybrid mixer" as described above and save this as a screenset. I have 8 buttons on my 01x which are assigned to screensets 1-8. Folders in my Arrange are always pretty corresponding with first eight SubMaster BUSes: (as I wrote I have usually Vocals Folder, Drums Folder etc...). As 01x can show Track/BUS/AUX AU Instr. names but only shows a 6-characters name, it is much easier to search (using 01x display) for desired track (AU Instr. etc) when I assign a screenset to every Folder (=opened Arrange with Mixer showing all from this Folder). Than I know that screenset no.1 shows all tracks (AU Instruments etc...) which contain Drums, no.2 Guitars , no.3 Vocals etc.... This is much more comfortable for me when I need to find a certain track or AU Instrument (etc) than using "regular mixers" (in whatever global or non-global mode) showing all Tracks or all AU Instruments (etc) because I usually work with projects containing more than 50 tracks , few AU Instruments and bunch of AUXes and BUSes which are acting as effect sends and/or returns.

Also I always can press one of 01x buttons which will take me to regular BUS mixer, AUX mixer , Track mixer, AU Instrument mixer any time.... (sorry, I don´t know the correct terminology as I am always confusing the "Global" and "non-Global" mode but I guess you know guys what I mean by "BUS mixer"- it means the Mixer that displays BUSes... :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 11 months later...
Would anyone mind posting some screenshots of how to do this correctly? It's something I would definitelly love to try out. Right now I have a huge session with a ton of audio tracks - what I'd like to do is to be able to create folders for custom mix windows so that one folder might be the intro / another for guitars, etc... Maybe I'm making this harder for myself than it really is... :shock:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You are, kind of... short story - Region>Folder>Pack Folder.

 

Thing to realize is that is that folders can have regions in them, but they can also have blank tracks. The mixer that points to that folder is going to have channel strips for whichever tracks you have in the folder.

 

One way to do this is to drop blank regions on whichever tracks you want to appear in your specialty mixer, select the blank regions and Pack folder. Inside the folder, delete those blank regions and back out of the folder. Now if you want to call up that mixer, select the new folder and do a create mixer command. (Windows>Track Mixer)

 

For every different mixer you want to invent , drop blank regions on other tracks, select them and Pack Folder.

 

If you put all those folders on one horizontal arrange with a mixer window above it and yellow link the mixer window, your custom mixers will pop up like magic in the mixer window every time you select a new folder. This whole deal will only work if the Global button is off in the mixer.

 

BTW, you can have duplicates of tracks in different mixers.

 

One extra thing I've done is to put all these folders into another Uber folder, which I call "UBER", oddly enough. That way, I only have one folder track to hide in the main arrange page. I also use my UBER folder to store my Grooves folder. This is all kept in my mixer screenset.

 

What could be simpler? :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...