DigiDesign Pro Tools Reference Manual page 541

Creating VCA Master Tracks
To add a VCA Master track to a session:
Choose Track > New.
1
In the New Tracks dialog, do the following:
2
• Select VCA Master from the Track Type po-
up menu.
• Select the timebase (Samples or Ticks) from
the Track Timebase menu.
• Enter the number of new tracks.
• Click Create.
VCA Master Track Controls
The controls on a VCA Master track affect the
corresponding controls, listed below, on the
slave tracks in its assigned Mix group.
VCA Slave Track Controls and Group Behavior
When a group is assigned to a VCA Master, the
controls on its slave tracks, by default, do not
follow any grouped behavior that may be set in
the Attributes page of the Groups dialog. This is
standard behavior for VCA operation. However,
slave tracks can be set to follow group behavior.
See "Allowing Grouped Behavior of Slave Track
Controls" on page 530.
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 contribu-
tion 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 original mute state of slave tracks.
(Mute buttons on slave tracks that were previ-
ously unmuted show an implicit mute.)
Solo
The VCA Solo button controls the solo status 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.
Record Enable
The VCA Record Enable button toggles the
Record Enable status of only those audio, Instru-
ment, and other VCA tracks that have already
been record-enabled individually. You can then
toggle record enable on and off for those tracks
using the VCA Master Record Enable.
To temporarily force all slave tracks to toggle their
record enable status:
Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the
■
Record Enable button on the VCA Master.
Chapter 25: Basic Mixing 529