Mackie - T2 - User's Guide

Chapter 7: Automation

7.1 The automation pop-up menu, and the curve properties

The transport section contains two extra options for working with automation.

Automation read: When this button is active, Tracktion will play automation curves, otherwise they will be ignored. Keyboard shortcut: H.

Automation record: When this button is active, any changes made to automatable parameters whilst play-back is active will be recorded. Keyboard shortcut: Y.

Most filters, be they Tracktion native, or 3rd party VST/VSTi plug-ins, have parameters that can be altered in real-time. Tracktion can record and playback these changes, allowing you to adjust aspects of your mix such as track volumes, and send levels, at various points throughout the span of a song. In addition, you can use automation to implement expressive changes to instruments; for example, varying the cut-off frequency of a virtual instrument over time.

One unusual aspect of automation when using Tracktion is that automation curves for a given filter can be placed on any track, not just the track that hosts the filter. Typically you would display an automation curve on the track that it relates to, as it is visually more tidy to do so. If, however, you have two parameters on a track that you wish to automate, and you wanted to see them side by side, you can easily do this:

Drag the “A” icon at the top-right corner of the track that contains your target filter, and drop it onto the filter to see the available automation parameters. Select the first of the parameters for this filter that you wish to automate from the pop-up menu.
Drag the “A” icon from some other track to the target filter. It is probably best to use the tracks directly below the filter track, as this will keep things tidier on screen. Select the second parameter that you wish to automate from the pop-up menu.
Repeat the previous step for every parameter for this filter that you wish to automate.

The automation pop-up menu

The tools for working with automation curves can be accessed by clicking on the “A” icon at the top-right corner of every track. When this icon is clicked, a pop-up menu (Fig. 7.1.1) with the following options is shown:

Hide automation curves on this track: Select this option to have Tracktion hide the currently displayed automation curve.

Select the filter that contains this parameter: This option automatically gives focus to the filter to which this parameter belongs.

Automatable parameters for this track: This option displays a sub-menu containing all available automatable parameters for this track. Select the parameter you wish to view or edit from this list. Parameters that have automation curves are shown in a different colour.

Master filter parameters: This option displays a sub-menu containing all available automatable parameters for filters contained in the master filter section.

Active parameter curves: This option displays a sub-menu containing all parameters that currently have automation curves.

The curve properties

When a point on a visible automation curve is selected, the curve properties are shown in the properties-panel (Fig. 7.1.2).

Curve: This field shows the currently selected automation curve. The first value is the track name, followed by the filter name, and finally the parameter name.

Displace curve: This control allows you to adjust the level of all points on an automation curve. Dragging the arrow controls, or editing the number value by hand, causes the level of the automation curve values to be increased or decreased by the specified amount. If, for example, you wanted to raise the over-all level of an automation curve by 1 dB, you could do so by simply entering “+1” in the number box.

Scale curve: Much like the “displace curve” control, this allows you to adjust the level of all points on an automation curve. Rather than applying a fixed offset to the curve though, this control scales the curve by the factor shown. Setting this field to 0.5 on a volume curve, therefore, would halve the volume of the curve at all points.

Only displace/scale the marked region: When this option is selected, the two displace options described above only affect the curve points within the region set by the loop-start/end markers.

Simplify: This option can be used to reduce the amount of automation points contained on a curve. You can opt to process the entire curve, or just the region between the loop-start/end markers. Three levels of simplification are available:

Light: This option removes points that make little difference to the shape of the curve.
Medium: This option removes a number of points whilst still keeping the general shape of the curve intact.
Strong: Only the points most fundamental to the curve shape are retained.

Delete points from curve: This button displays a pop-up menu with options to delete sections of the selected automation curve:

Delete all points from curve: The entire active automation curve will be removed. The level of the parameter will be set to the curve value at the current play-head cursor position.
Delete points within the marked region: Any points on the active curve that are located between the loop-start/end markers will be removed.
Delete points within the marked region and close the gap: Any points on the active curve that are located between the loop-start/end markers will be removed. Points to the right of the loop-end marker will be pulled forward in time to close the gap between the markers.

Copy marked region to clipboard: Any points located between the loop-start/end markers will be copied to the clipboard. They can then be pasted onto this, or other automation curves. Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + C (CMD + C for Mac users).

Paste from clipboard: Use this option to paste copied automation curve points into the selected curve. When this button is clicked a pop-up menu with the following options is shown:

Paste curves in at cursor position: The copied automation curve will be pasted into the current curve. Existing automation points may be overwritten. Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + V (CMD + V for Mac users).
Paste curves to fit between markers: The copied automation curve will be pasted into the region between the loop-start/end markers. If the curve is longer or shorter than the loop region, then the curve’s length will be scaled to match. Existing automation points may be overwritten.

7.2 The "automation" button

The automation button can be found at the bottom left of the edit page (Fig. 7.2.1). When this button is clicked, a menu containing the following options is displayed:

Punch out: Selecting this option whilst automation recording is in progress causes the recorded changes to be simply inserted into any existing automation curve. Keyboard shortcut: U.

Punch out (to end): Selecting this option whilst automation recording is in progress causes automation points beyond the punch-out point to be cleared. Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + U (CMD + U for Mac users).

Automation options: When this option is selected, a dialogue-box (Fig 7.2.2) containing the following options appears:

Glide: This option controls the time over which recorded automation events will be cross-faded into the existing curve.
Simplify newly-recorded automation: Recorded automation curves may contain a lot of unnecessary points. When this option is activated, Tracktion attempts to determine and remove these extraneous automation points. Whilst it is probably a good idea to have this option active, if you do choose to disable it, you can later simplify an automation curve from the automation properties-panel.
Shift automation timing to compensate for plug-in delays: Some filters need to process audio ahead of the current play-head position to work correctly. This option ensures that automation curves for these filters are kept correctly in synch.

Hide all automation curves: This option removes all automation curves from view. The curves are still active, just not visible.

Show default automation curves on each track: This option displays automation curves on every track. If no automation curves exist for a track, this option shows the volume curve, otherwise it selects the first of the active curves.

Create midi controller mappings...: This option shows the editor for assigning MIDI controllers to automation parameters. Assigning MIDI controllers to filter parameters allows you to use external MIDI control devices, or the modulation wheel on your MIDI keyboard, to manipulate parameters in real-time. This can be handy for experimenting with automation ideas, producing creative automation curves, or when performing live.

The mapping editor is made up of two columns. The left-hand column shows mapped MIDI controllers, and the right-hand column shows the automation parameter currently mapped to the controller.

To create a new map, click in the controller column, in the box labelled “click here to choose controller.” You will be prompted to move the controller you wish to map. Adjust the controller and Tracktion will detect it. Once the controller is chosen, Tracktion creates a new entry in the list. Now you can click the parameter box and choose a parameter from the pop-up menu.

Your assigned controller mappings are saved with the current edit.

Note: Be sure to check the “allow MIDI controller remapping” option is not disabled for the MIDI input device. This option can be found in the properties of the input device.

7.3 Using the Mackie Control Universal with Tracktion

The Mackie Control Universal (Fig. 7.3.1, shown with the Tracktion overlay) is a powerful mixing surface that, when partnered with your Tracktion audio workstation, combines the convenience and tactile feel of a classic mixing console with all of the power and flexibility of today’s high performance computers.

The MCU offers eight motorized fader strips. These faders are automatically assigned to Tracktion’s volume and pan filters, allowing for true real-time “fader riding” on eight tracks at once. Because they are motorized, recorded changes to levels in Tracktion are immediately reflected on the MCU’s surface as an edit is played back.

To the right of the mixer strips is a master fader, also motorized, which controls the master volume level in Tracktion.

Each channel strip also offers a range of buttons and controls for working with the assigned track. A large scribble strip at the top of the MCU provides information and feedback about the current track or action. Figure 7.3.2 shows the upper part of the channel strip.

The V-Pot: At the top of each channel strip there is a rotary controller, or V-Pot. The V-Pot can be used to control various functions and parameters, depending on the current “assignment,” and can act both as a rotary control or a push switch. We will look at the assignment buttons, and the operation of the various modes in a few pages.

Each V-Pot has an illuminating collar that provides feedback relating to the current V-Pot position or state. If a V-Pot is functioning as a switch, the collar alternates between fully lit and un-lit to show the switch state. When a V-Pot is acting as a rotary controller, the collar shows a single light which indicates the current rotary position of the V-Pot.

REC: If the track has an input device attached, this button can be used to arm and un-arm the input. When the input is armed, an LED located in the REC button lights.

SIGNAL: Each channel has a green signal LED, which illuminates in time with a channel’s audio level. This allows you to view at a glance whether audio is currently present on the track. The light illuminates solidly when the channel’s signal is at 15 dBFS.

SOLO: When this button is pressed, the track will be soloed. This button is similar to clicking on the “S” part of the mute/solo control in Tracktion’s filter-section. Unlike in Tracktion, where it is necessary to use a modifier key to solo more than one track though, the MCU solo buttons work cumulatively.

When a track is soloed in Tracktion, the solo button on the MCU illuminates. In addition, a master “RUDE” solo lamp located by the MCU’s time-line display blinks to alert you to the presence of a soloed track.

Soloing tracks is extremely useful when trying to make changes to the tonality of a sound, such as via EQ, or when programming synthesiser patches, as it allows you to hear the sound in isolation.

MUTE: When this button is pressed, the track will be muted. This button behaves exactly the same as clicking on the “M” part of the mute/solo control in Tracktion’s filter-section. When a track is muted in Tracktion, the mute button on the MCU illuminates. You can use mute to temporarily silence an instrument, or group of instruments.

Holding down the SHIFT button on the MCU whilst muting a track causes the level of the volume/pan filter for the track to temporarily switch to –inf. Repeating the shifted mute resets the level back to its original state. This allows you to automate track mutes.

SELECT: When the MCU is in “plug-in mode”, the select button gives focus to the first filter on the track that the channel strip is controlling. We will discuss the plug-in mode a little later in this section.

To the right of the channel strip, there are six buttons in a section called “fader banks” (Fig. 7.3.3). The top four of these buttons are used to scroll the MCU’s channel strips through the tracks of an edit. As such, you can use the eight channel strips to mix your entire edit, regardless of how many actual tracks there are.

Assignment buttons

There are four assignment buttons: PAN, AUX, PLUG-IN, and one that is not currently supported by Tracktion, called MARKER. The marker mode will provide an easy way to navigate between the sections of your edits that have song markers, and will be added in a future version of Tracktion. The assignment buttons are shown in Figure 7.3.3.

The selected assignment mode defines the purpose of the eight V-Pots. When one of the four assignment buttons is selected, the LED to the side of the button illuminates and the scribble-strip (Fig. 7.3.6) updates to show the current functionality available to the V-Pots. In addition, the two-character LED display between the scribble-strip and the time-line indicator updates to display the selected assignment mode.

Pan mode

When the MCU is in pan mode, the V-Pots control panning for the eight current tracks. The large two-character assignment display updates to show the legend “Pn.”

The pan mode provides a layout of controls that is common to most mixers, and can be thought of as the default mode. For standard mixing purposes, this is where you are likely to do most of your work.

The current pan position for each V-Pot is shown by an LED in its collar. Pressing a V-Pot causes the pan position to be reset to centre.

The scribble strip shows the track name for each track, to make track identification easy. A level meter is also shown for each track.

The Page L and Page R buttons are not used when in pan mode.

Aux mode

When the MCU is in aux mode, the V-Pots can be used to control the send amount for the eight aux-send buses in Tracktion. The large two-character assignment display updates to show the legend “Au.”

The page left and right buttons select which one of the eight auxiliary buses is currently active. If a track does not contain an aux-send filter for the active bus, the lower lane of the scribble-strip will be empty for that track.

The current send amount is shown by an LED in the collar of each V-Pot.

The scribble strip shows the track name, along with the currently selected aux-send.

Plug-in mode

When the MCU is in plug-in mode, the V-Pots are assigned to the parameters of the currently selected filter. The large two-character assignment display updates to show the legend “PL.”

There are four cursor buttons at the lower-right corner of the MCU, which can be used to select a plug-in to control. The left and right arrow buttons allow you to navigate through the filters on the current track. The up and down arrow buttons move to the first filter in the preceding or subsequent track.

To use the cursor controls to navigate through the filter section:

Click the “edit” button to enable it (the LED to the side of it lights).
Disable the “zoom” button (it will be un-lit), located in the centre of the cursor keys.
Use the cursor keys to select a plug-in to edit. When a plug-in is selected, it is highlighted on screen with a red outline.

When a plug-in is selected, the first two V-Pots show the track name and the plug-in name. The following six V-Pots are assigned to the first six parameters of the plug-in. If the plug-in has more than six filters, the “Page L” and “Page R” buttons can be used to scroll through them.

The scribble strip shows the current parameter name, and the current level for each of the V-Pots. In addition, the V-Pot collar shows the current rotary position.

The fader bank buttons

There are six buttons in the section labelled “fader banks” (Fig. 7.3.3).

BANK left/right: These buttons allow you to scroll the MCU through the track list in your Tracktion edit. In this way you can use the MCU to mix all of your entire edit, regardless of how many tracks it contains. Pressing the bank right key causes the MCU to scroll to the next eight tracks in your edit, whereas pressing the bank left key, cause the MCU to scroll to the previous eight tracks.

CHANNEL left/right: Much like the bank l/r buttons, these buttons allow you to scroll through the tracks in your edit, but pressing these buttons only scrolls one track at a time.

FLIP: The flip button transposes the faders and V-Pots, such that the V-Pots act as volume controls, and the faders are assigned to whatever task the V-Pots were previously serving. You can use the flip option in all of the MCU’s modes, so the faders can be used to control filter parameters, or aux-send levels, for example. Flipping the controls in this manner allows you to use the touch sensitive faders for tasks other the setting levels.

EDIT: This button puts the four cursor keys into “edit” mode. Depending on the current assignment mode, the cursor keys work slightly differently when edit is selected. In all assignment modes except the plug-in assignment mode, the behaviour of the cursor controls is determined by the object that currently has focus in Tracktion.

If a clip is selected, the cursor buttons can be used to navigate through the clips in an edit. The left and right buttons move to the previous or next clips on the current track. The up and down buttons move to clips in the preceding or subsequent tracks.
If a track is selected, the up and down buttons can be used to move focus up or down within the track list. The left and right buttons are ignored.
If the plug-in assignment mode is active, or a filter is currently selected in Tracktion, the cursor controls will navigate between plug-ins in the filter section.

Note: If the “zoom” button (discussed on the next page) is also active, the “edit” mode state will be over-ridden and the cursor buttons operate in zoom mode.

Scrub, scroll, and zoom controls

The large scrub wheel at the lower right-hand corner of the MCU allows you to quickly scroll the play-head cursor through an edit.

To the left of the wheel there are four arrow buttons, and a zoom button.

When both the “edit” and “zoom” buttons are disabled, the up and down arrow buttons scroll vertically through the on-screen track list, and the left and right buttons scroll the edit horizontally.

When the zoom button is selected (the LED to the right of the button will be lit), the arrow buttons allow you to zoom in and out of your edit both horizontally and vertically.

The scrub button is not implemented in the current version of Tracktion, but support for this tool may be added in a future release.

The transport controls

All of Tracktion’s transport controls and functions are available from buttons on the right-hand side of the unit (Fig. 7.3.5). All of the buttons in this section have LEDs that show the current state of toggle buttons, and the transport controls.

REWIND: This button behaves the same as the rewind button in Tracktion’s transport section. Tapping it twice in quick succession, though, is equivalent to pressing Tracktion’s return-to-zero button.

If snap-to-grid is enabled, a short press jumps the play-head cursor to the previous snap-location. If snap-to-grid is disabled, or if the rewind button is held for a period of time, the play-head cursor will continue to scroll until the button is released.

FAST FWD: This button behaves the same as the fast-forward button in Tracktion’s transport section.

If snap-to-grid is enabled, a short press jumps the play-head cursor to the next snap-location. If snap-to-gird is disabled, or if the fast-forward button is held for a period of time, the play-head cursor will continue to scroll until the button is released.

PLAY: This button behaves the same as the play button in Tracktion’s transport section.

STOP: Click this button once to stop playback. Clicking it when play-back is stopped is equivalent to pressing Tracktion’s return-to-zero button.

RECORD: This button behaves the same as the record button in Tracktion’s transport section.

LOOP, PUNCH, CLICK, SNAP, END TO END, and SCROLL: These buttons toggle their respective modes. Clicking these buttons is equivalent to click their on-screen counterparts.

MTC CHASE: This button toggles timecode chasing. Clicking this button is equivalent to clicking the padlock icon in Tracktion’s transport section.

Note: Tracktion’s transport controls are described in detail in Chapter 3.6.

Shortcut buttons

The bank of buttons above the MCU’s transport section provide shortcuts for a host of standard editing operations within Tracktion (Fig. 7.3.6).

SHIFT: Some of the MCU’s controls have alternate operating behaviour when the MCU’s shift button is held down. Functions that offer a secondary mode of operation when the shift button is held down will be described as such throughout this section. Note, this shift button is not related in any way to the shift button on your computer keyboard.

ADD NEW MARKER: Click this to add a marker at the current play-head cursor position. Markers will be placed sequentially, starting with marker zero. Each new marker will use the first free marker number, up to marker nine.

NUDGE L/R: These buttons nudge the selected clip(s) or note(s) to previous/next snap point. This is equivalent to the CTRL + LEFT / RIGHT (CMD + LEFT / RIGHT for Mac users) keyboard shortcut.

SHOW METERS: Use this button to toggle the big meter view on and off.

SHOW RACKS: Use this button to toggle the rack editor.

SHOW FILTERS: Use this button to toggle the filter panel view on and off.

SAVE: Shortcut to save the edit.

UNDO/REDO: Shortcut for undo/redo operations.

AUTO REC: This button toggles the automation record mode on and off. Clicking this button is equivalent to clicking the red “A” button in Tracktion’s transport section.

AUTO PLAY: This button toggles the automation read mode on and off. Clicking this button is equivalent to clicking the green “A” button in Tracktion’s transport section.

CLEAR PEAKS: Use this button to clear the clip indicator on all meters.

FREEZE/UNFREEZE TRACK: Use this button to freeze or unfreeze the current track. Freezing is discussed in Chapter 8.1.

FILTERS: Press this button to toggle the enable/disable state for all of the filters, on whichever track is selected on the MCU.

MASTER FILTERS: Press this button to toggle the enable/disable state for all master filters.

MARK IN: Press this button to set the In-marker to the current play-head cursor location.

MARK OUT: Press this button to set the Out-marker to the current play-head cursor location.

CUT: Press this button to perform a standard clipboard cut operation.COPY: Press this button to perform a standard clipboard copy operation.

PASTE: Press this button to perform a standard clipboard paste operation.

DELETE: Press this button to perform a standard clipboard delete operation.

FIT ALL TRACKS: Press this button to resize all tracks such that they are all visible.

ZOOM OUT: Press this button to zoom the edit out such that the entire edit is visible.

PREV MARK: Press this button to jump the play-head cursor to the previous marker point.

NEXT MARK: Press this button to jump the play-head cursor to the next marker point.

INSERT TEMPO CHANGE: Press this button to insert a tempo change at the current cursor position.

PROJECTS: Press this button to switch to the projects page.

SETTINGS: Press this button to switch to the settings page.

EDIT: Press this button to switch to the edit page.

The time display

The MCU features a large time display that shows the location of the play-head cursor in the edit. Clicking the “SMPTE/BEATS” button, located just below the time-display (Fig. 7.3.8), toggles the MCU’s display, and Tracktion’s time-line, between SMPTE and beats/bars.

The assignment field shows the currently selected assignment mode for easy reference.

To the left of the “SMPTE/BEATS” button is a button labelled “CPU %.” When this button in depressed, the MCU shows the current CPU usage for your computer in the two-character assignment display. When the button is released, the assignment display switches back to showing the current assignment mode.

The RUDE SOLO LED, located to the right of the time-display, illuminates, quite rudely we might add, when a track is in solo mode.

7.4 Using the Mackie Control C4 with Tracktion

The Mackie Control C4 provides a powerful way to work with filters inside Tracktion. Whether used as a partner to the Mackie Control Universal, or as a stand-alone mixer/plug-in controller, the Mackie Control C4 effortlessly integrates into the Tracktion environment.

The C4 has 32 continuous rotary controllers, or V-Pots, arranged as four rows of eight, and a section of mode and utility buttons. Four “mode” controls switch the C4 between plug-in mode, mix mode, aux mode, and edit mode. The mode and utility buttons are shown in Figure 7.4.2. These modes will be described later in this section.

Manipulating the parameters of your plug-ins with the hands-on tactile feel of hardware rotary controllers, is as simple as selecting the plug-in on screen. The C4 will recognise that a plug-in has been selected, and automatically map the available parameters across the 32 V-Pots. If the plug-in has more then 32 parameters, a simple click of a button on the C4 surface allows you to page through to the extra parameters. The C4 provides a greatly more efficient and flexible way of working with plug-ins than can be achieved with just a keyboard and mouse, and in addition makes a great partner to the Mackie Control Universal.

A single row of the C4’s four available V-Pot rows is shown in Figure 7.4.1. These V-Pots can be used as both rotary controllers, and as push-buttons (simply press the knob). Each V-Pot has an illuminating collar that shows the current rotary position of the V-Pot or, alternatively, the state of a toggle button. The scribble strip above the V-Pots automatically displays the name of whichever parameter is currently assigned to the V-Pot. In many cases, the current value of the parameter will be shown too.

Using the C4 to control a filter in Tracktion

If you have not already installed your C4 device, refer to Chapter 2.8 for information on installing external controllers.

To get started:

Turn on your C4 device.
Start Tracktion, and load the edit on which you wish to work.
Press the “plug-in” button on the C4’s interface. The LED above the “plug-in” button should illuminate. The “plug-in” button selects one of the four modes that the C4 can be used in. The other three are discussed over the next few pages.

Assigning the C4 to a filter can be performed into two different ways:

If you are sitting near your computer, simply select the filter that you wish to control by clicking the filter icon on-screen.
The scribble strips on the C4 will update to show the available parameters, and the V-Pot collars will indicate their current values.

Or, you can select a filter directly from the C4’s interface by:

When the “plug-in” button is pressed, the C4’s V-Pots will be assigned to the first 32 tracks in your edit, and the track names will be shown in the scribble strip above.
Pressing a V-Pot will focus the C4 on the associated track.
If the track you wish to select is not one of the first 32, you can use the “single” buttons to scroll the C4 backwards and forwards one track at a time through your track list. In addition, the “bank” buttons can be used to scroll a complete V-Pot strip (i.e., eight tracks) at a time.
Once a track has been selected by pressing the appropriate V-Pot, the C4’s display will switch to showing that track’s filter list. Each filter will be assigned to a V-Pot, with a corresponding label shown in the scribble strip.
Pressing on a V-Pot that has an assigned filter selects that filter for editing. Tracktion responds to the filter selection as if the filter had been clicked on screen, and the C4 will update to show all available parameters for the filter.

If a filter offers more than 32 parameters, the bank and page buttons on the C4 can be used to scroll through them. The C4’s control buttons are described later in this section.

Tip: When a filter is selected in Tracktion, you can use the C4’s cursor keys to navigate through the filter section. The left and right cursor keys move you to previous or next filters on the current track. The up and down cursor keys move you to previous or next track.

Using the C4 as a mixing surface

The C4 can also be used as mixing surface for users that do not have a Mackie Control Universal.

Two of the mode buttons, MIX and AUX turn the C4 into a mixing surface that can, depending on which of these two modes is currently active, control volume/pan, or auxiliary send levels.

MIX: Selecting the mix mode provides volume and pan controls for sixteen tracks at the same time. Each track is represented as a pair of V-Pots, one for volume and one for pan. In addition, the track’s name and a level meter is shown on the scribble pad. The page controls allow you to move through your track list. This allows the C4 to serve as a mixing console for users who do not own a Mackie Control Universal.

When the mix mode is activated, the LED above the mix button is illuminated. The mix mode provides simultaneous control for up to sixteen tracks at a time.

For each track, two V-Pots are paired. The first V-Pot controls the level of the track, and the second controls the panning. The current volume and pan levels for each track can be seen by looking at the C4’s collar. The track name for each of the sixteen tracks is shown above the first V-Pot, and a level meter is shown above the second.

If a track contains more than one level/pan filter, the C4 controls the last level/pan in the chain.

Pressing a V-Pot resets the control associated with it. V-Pots assigned to volume controls will reset back to 0 dB, or unity. V-Pots assigned to pan controls will reset back to centred.

The BANK and SINGLE buttons in the PAGE section allow you to control which 16 tracks are currently in focus for the C4. The BANK buttons scroll an entire strip of four tracks at a time, whereas the SINGLE buttons scroll a track at a time. This allows you to work on all tracks in your edit regardless of how many there are.

AUX: The aux mode shows the eight auxiliary send buses along the top row of V-Pots.

When the “aux” mode is selected, the C4 displays the eight Tracktion send buses in the top-most channel strip. Pressing one of the eight V-Pots selects the corresponding aux bus. When a bus is selected, the remaining 24 V-Pots act as rotary send level controllers. You can mix 24 tracks at a time in this manner. If a track does not contain a send filter for the selected aux-bus, the V-Pot will be ignored.

If the send is a stereo send, then pressing the V-Pot switches it to pan mode.

As with the mix mode, the BANK and SINGLE buttons can be used to navigate through the tracks in your edit.

Using the C4 to control Tracktion

The “edit” mode assigns typical editing functions to each of the 32 V-Pots, allowing you to perform operations such as cut and paste from the C4. In addition, the transport options (play, cursor forwards/backwards, record, return to zero) and mode button (such as loop, punch, and click) are assigned. Each V-Pot’s function is clearly labelled on the scribble pad, and performing the function is as simple as pushing the V-Pot. This is great for users that have a C4 but not an MCU as it provides much of the MCU’s control power.

To access the “edit” mode, simply press the EDIT button. The LED above the button illuminates to show that the edit mode is active.

The four rows of V-Pots are broken into four function groups: views, modes, editing, and transport.

The “view” options

Projects: Switch to the projects page inside Tracktion.
Settings: Switch to the settings page inside Tracktion.
Edit: Switch to the edit page inside Tracktion.
Fit tracks: Fit all tracks on screen. This option is equivalent to pressing the F8 key, or selecting the “fit all tracks on screen” option from the “tracks” button (Chapter 3.3).
Fit edit: Fit entire edit on screen. This option is equivalent to pressing the F5 key, or selecting the “zoom to fit entire edit on screen” option from the time-line right-click menu (Chapter 4.1).
Big meters: This button toggles the big meter view, equivalent to selecting the “show big input level meters” option from the “options” button.
Show input: Use this button to display or hide the input section.
Show filters: Use this button to display or hide the filter section.

The “modes” options

Loop: Toggle loop mode. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when the loop mode is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
Punch: Toggle punch mode. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when the punch mode is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
Click: Toggle click-track. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when the the click-track is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
Snap: Toggle snap-to-grid. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when snapping is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
E-to-E: Toggle end to end mode. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when end-to-end mode is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
Scroll: Toggle scroll mode.
Chase: Toggle timecode chasing. The V-Pot’s collar is fully illuminated when timecode chasing is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
TC mode: Toggle the time-line display between SMPTE and and beats/bars.

The “editing” options

Cut: Perform a standard clipboard cut operation.
Copy: Perform a standard clipboard copy operation.
Paste: Perform a standard clipboard paste operation.
Delete: Perform a standard clipboard delete operation.
Mark in: Set the loop-start marker to the current play-head cursor position.
Mark out: Set the loop-end marker to the current play-head cursor position.

The “transport” options

Return to zero: Return the play-head cursor to the start of the edit.
Stop: Stop playback mode.
Play: Start playback mode.
Record: Start recording.
Rewind: Move the play-head cursor back through the edit. Press stop to stop scrolling.
Fast Forward: Move the play-head cursor forwards through the edit. Press stop to stop scrolling.
Automation Play: Toggle the automation read mode. The V-Pot’s collar fully illuminates when the automation read mode is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.
Automation Record: Toggle the automation record mode. The V-Pot’s collar fully illuminates when the automation record mode is active, and un-lit when it is disabled.

Function buttons

Split: Support for the split button has not been implemented in current versions of Tracktion, but may be added in a later update.
Lock: This button keeps the C4 focused on the current filter even if you select another filter within Tracktion. This allows you to keep the C4 armed for working with a specific plug-in, whilst performing other operations with the mouse and keyboard.
Bypass: This button toggles the enabled/disabled state of the selected filter. This is useful for quickly comparing the original and effected version of a sound. For example, if you want to hear what effect an EQ is having on a track, temporarily disabling the EQ filter provides a baseline reference to contrast against.

Actions buttons

Back: The back button takes you up one level in the C4’s interface hierarchy. If you have a filter selected, for instance, the back button would move you back to seeing the list of filters on the current track.
Solo: The solo button switches the current track to solo mode. This button only has any effect if you are in plug-in mode and have a plug-in selected. Soloing tracks is extremely useful when programming sounds, or making changes to EQ, as it allows you to hear the sound in isolation.

Presets buttons

The increment and decrement preset buttons allow you to move up and down through the pre-sets in the “programs” list for the selected filter. This allows you to quickly page through effects or synth plug-in presets, making it easy to find one that is suitable for your edit.

Page buttons

BANK left/right: The bank buttons page the C4 though the available tracks, or filter parameters in blocks of eight at a time, effectively scrolling the options up or down a line.
SINGLE left/right: The single buttons scroll the C4 though the available tracks, or filter parameters one at a time.

The cursor buttons

The cursor buttons are used to navigate the cursor up, down, left, or right in the LCD display or onscreen.