Inserts - DigiDesign Pro Tools Reference Manual

To assign a new group to a VCA Master:
While creating a new group, select Mix or
1
Mix/Edit as the Group type.
In the Group dialog, choose an available VCA
2
Master track from the VCA pop-up menu.
Assigning a new group to a VCA Master
Track Membership in Multiple VCA Groups
It is possible for a single slave track to be a mem-
ber of more than one VCA-controlled group. In
this case, the contribution of all VCA Master
Volume faders is summed on the slave track.
Mute, Solo, Record Enable, and TrackInput fol-
low the same rules for enabling or disabling
slave tracks.

Inserts

Pro Tools lets you insert up to five inserts on
each audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, or In-
strument track. Each insert can be either a soft-
ware plug-in insert or a hardware insert, or an in-
strument plug-in.
Inserts provide the following features:
• Plug-ins and hardware inserts route the signal
from the track through the effect of your
choice, and automatically return it to the
same track.
• Hardware inserts send and return the signal to
corresponding input and output channels of
an audio interface, which can be connected to
outboard effects.
• Some Instrument plug-ins (such as Virus In-
digo) accept audio from the track input (let-
ting you use them as processing plug-ins.
• Inserts on audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instru-
ment tracks are pre-fader.
• Inserts on Master Faders are post-fader.
• Inserts can be bypassed or made inactive.
• Most plug-in controls are fully automatable.
See Chapter 26, "Plug-in and Hardware In-
serts" for details about using plug-ins and
inserts.
Track Output Format and Plug-ins
Pro Tools supports mono, multi-mono, stereo,
and multichannel plug-ins (Pro Tools HD with
Surround Mixer only).
Because inserts process in series, changing the
plug-in format can alter the channel format. For
example, inserting a mono-to-stereo plug-in on
a mono Auxiliary Input changes the signal path
from that plug-in through the rest of the track.
This restricts all hardware inserts or plug-ins af-
ter the stereo plug-in to be stereo-in/stereo-out
plug-ins (or the supported multichannel for-
mat).
Plug-in Formats
Pro Tools supports mono and stereo plug-ins,
including the following three types of plug-in
paths:
• mono-in/mono-out
• mono-in/stereo-out
• stereo-in/stereo-out
Pro Tools HD sessions running with the Sur-
round mixer also support 3–8 channel multi-
mono and multichannel plug-ins.
Chapter 25: Basic Mixing 531