Deleting Aux tracks in Main window deletes them in Mixer too

[Markoman]

I've always used "Create new tracks for selected channel strips" so I could move the created tracks around and organize my mixer. Once my mixer was how I wanted it, I'd delete the created aux tracks in the main window and they would still be in the mixer.

It's still working on most projects (perhaps all).

 

However I'm trying to create a template for new projects. When I delete the auxs in the main window it also deletes them in the mixer.

Is there something I'm overlooking?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

M

 

I'm using 10.2.1 and Yosemite.

[Eric Cardenas]

Make sure that the aux channels are not orphaned.

If the aux doesn't have something routed to it it will get deleted from the mixer as well.

[Arnaud]

Instead of deleting the track in the main window, hide it. Maker sure that in the mixer window, view menu, "follow hide" is unchecked. This way after having moved it you don't see a track that you don't use in the main window, but you keep seeing the aux channel (at it right place) in the mixer.

[Eric Cardenas]

That's a great workflow.

The thing where I feel this falls appart is when you want to hide other tracks so that they are not visible in the mixer.

I viable solution can be to use a dump track stack to hide the other stuff.

[Arnaud]

Eric,

 

Precisely, I use a lot of hidden tracks in my workflow because that's very convenient, some for the reason above, some (muted on top of being hidden) as repository for regions I'd like to keep easily available but not currently use in my arrangement, etc.

 

One issue could be that some tracks are hidden for very different purposes and sit at different locations in the main windows track list, causing potential confusion when unhiding everythin.

 

In some cases (e.g. repository), (hidden) track stacks of (hidden and muted) tracks works great for keeping things in order. It cannot regarding aux channels if you originally created tracks so as to move the channel strip at a different location in the mixer (moving these hidden tracks to a track stack would obviously mess up your mixer setup). That's indeed a limitation, but, even if not perfect, there's no real issue with living with these hidden tracks spread across in between other (visible) tracks (i.e. where you want to see them appearing in the mixer) and, if you fear you'd risk "mixing them up" (no pun intended) with other tracks that are hidden for other purposes (when unhiding everything for instance), there are still a couple of ways to differentiate them:

* Differentiate between muted / unmuted

* If you need to differentiate between muted, use the power on / power off button as well

* Use specific colors for the regions sitting on these hidden tracks, at least for audio or midi hidden tracks (I never tested this but I even wonder whether it's possible to move dummy empty regions to some hidden aux tracks to help differentiate them).

* Finally, in case of aux tracks, as you had pointed yourself above, you can delete them after having made sure they're not orphaned (so hiding is only their for orphaned ones that you'd still like to see in the mixer for potential later use).

 

Possibly it's because that's my own workflow, but I never got confused when unhiding everything.

 

 

Now, your point re: not being able to hide tracks in the mixer if you follow this workflow is very valid, and in that case I use a track stack which I move to the very bottom of my track list in the main window, color in a very specific (e.g. darkest) hue, and hide, It will still appear in the mixer, but on the far right, and there the track color helps differentiate it so that you focus on everything else.

 

Cheers,

Arnaud

[Markoman]

Thank you Eric and Arnaud. Hey Eric, it's so weird. I un-orphaned the auxs and they still disappear in the mixer when I delete in the main window. I tested it on previously completed projects and behave like you said and some don't. ARGH!

 

Another question for both you guys. In your workflow, do you create auxs for reverbs, delays, etc... on the fly as you need them? I'm trying to set up a template that has various FX I use a lot, such as a nice vocal reverb, then various other reverbs (small, medium, large), along with various delays. so that when I open my template it's ready to go. I'm thinking this may be overkill. Perhaps it's a leftover workflow habit from the old days working with analog and digital consoles.

[Arnaud]

Markoman:

 

I have only a only very few (not more than 3 or 4) Auxes preset on my standard template, but I most often create those I need on-the-fly, in the course of a project. It's actually quicker for me that way (vs recollecting every time which aux I should use for what, and having to trade off between "stacks" members and general auxes (see what I mean below), where I would loose time double-checking whether a general aux is already used by another track before moving it to a track stack. Besides, preset auxes mean a preset mindset (and sound), which is not-so-good for creativity.

 

Nowadays that we have so much plenty of raw power available, for FX auxes I very rarely use the same plugin as an aux return for several tracks. If this effect will be track specific, I prefer to have the aux return be part of the track stack where I locate everything relating to that track, rather than stand as a all-purpose FX aux return outside the stack. Auxes that are not part of track stacks (either as members or as summing auxes), are mostly limited to "submix" auxes (e.g. Vocals submix, guitars submix, etc), which I very helpful to create stems (solo them, hit bounce and you're done). They do not receive their signal via sends, but via routing the ouput of various tracks to them. The only preset auxes on my template are these submix ones (and even for those I create more as project goes).

 

Cheers,

Arnaud