Adding tracks to current project

Nuendo
1

I have 12 songs of complete pre-production, including audio files and fx that were done in Cubase. We will be recording live drums, guitars, bass and vocals.

Once I have setup all the tracks for the live recording with input routing, sends, grouping, track naming, etc, etc in a project I want to import this setup into all the other songs. i.e. import a template into another.

I can’t do this. I guess it would be ‘Import Session Data’ function in Pro Tools.

This means that I have to spend the next while re-doing everything on 11 other tracks… Such a huge time waster… :cry:

I can use input presets and ‘load mixer’ functions, but you have to physically re-name, set inputs for each track, etc, etc…

Unless someone has figured out a way to do it… Please help!!

2

Here is what I do:

First save the project to another name just in case you do something stupid - I save it as “Temp.npr”. I then hit Ctl-A to select everything in the project window and hit delete. Then go to the file menu and select “Back up project”. Now save to a new folder for the new song - when prompted type in the new name and make sure that you select the option that does not copy unused pool files over to the new folder. Now you have everything ready to go for a new song exactly how the previous one was set up. Should only take a very short amount of time when you get used to it.

3

Export tracks / Import track archive

Fredo

4

Thanks guys!!! :smiley:

@Fredo - this has changed my life!!

Please ask the powers that be to add two features: Choose not to import any media at all and an option to set inputs as per the imported tracks input routing or leave the current projects inputs as is. This would make it perfect!!

Thanks again,
Robin

5

Only thing you have to do is removing the audio from those tracks before you export them.
A command “remove audio” would be the same as “delete”.
;o)


and an option to set inputs as per the imported tracks input routing or leave the current projects inputs as is. This

The feature is even smarter than that.
When importing the tracks into a project with the same I/O/Buss configuration, the routing will be preserved.
Only when you import those tracks into a project with another kind of config, it defaults to “not assigned”.
You surely don’t want any project messed up because you imported some tracks from another project …


HTH
Fredo

6

:slight_smile: That’s why I would like the ‘ignore’ media option :wink: I’d just like the track info - then there’s no chance of deleting something from another project…

Was just about to load the same input preset as the track exports to check if it would assign them too. As you have indicated - they do!!! I’m in heaven!!! :smiley:

Thanks Fredo!!!

7

Fredo - I don’t understand this…

When I load the track archive into the current project it shifts all of the audio clips and puts the whole project ‘later’ and bars out of sync, etc… Nothing aligns to the grid - start points of midi and clips are in between bars now…

thanks,
R

8

Can only mean that one of both projects (the one you are importing to, or the one you have exported the track archive from) has a time or display offset.

Fredo

9

Absolutely.
This works beautifully for me all the time…

10

I can get this to work on empty basic projects, but importing into bigger projects causes the same thing. Setting up with no bar offsets, no time offsets (export project and import project)- even setting the project to the same tempo doesn’t solve it…

Here’s the thing I don’t understand: why is there any reference whatsoever to tempo, offsets, media, etc. All I want is the routing, naming, eq’s, send, etc. All of these setting are ‘hardware’ based. Why on earth Steinberg would chose to attach ‘project’ settings to ‘mixer channel’ settings amazes me…at least give us the choice.

It shouldn’t matter what tempo, audio files, offsets the original ‘export track’ project had. I just want the channel strips…

I’ve spent an hour trying to get this to work and no go. Once again a simple request/process made complicated…

11

Fredo is correct in that this happens if the project start times are different (check the project setup window). I use track archives daily without issues.

12

Track presets perhaps?


Fredo

13

Use them all the time…but no track naming…routing…track colours…(all the tedious stuff). Great for insert settings…

14

I’ve been working with ‘Import Track Archive’ quite extensively over the last few days. Here are my findings…

Importing into a simple project with a couple of midi and audio files works as it should. Everything is imported correctly including the inputs - as long as the input busses are setup correctly and the audio tracks are not separated by group tracks. If you have a group track in the middle of your original export (e.g. group 1 then two bass tracks, group 2 followed by your drum tracks) then the input busses of tracks imported will not be correct.

Importing into an already large project is another story. I imported tracks into a large project and sometimes it worked correctly, but mostly the import shifted audio clips and midi and didn’t map the correct inputs. Repeated importing into the same project yielded different results - 99% of the time incomplete and with audio and midi moved.

In a test project I exported/imported tracks with all sorts of changes - tempo, bar offset, display offset, mismatched frame rates, mismatched sample rates. It worked perfectly every time which was really pleasing and a great relief. Considering all the changes made it never once moved any audio and midi clips whatsoever. Input mapping, as long as the correct input buss template was loaded worked perfectly every time.

Importing this test setup, which worked perfectly, into the pre-production projects I’m currently working on yielded the same faulty results.

During one of the inputs I got this message that said something to the effect “cannot set master track”. This happened only once in all of the imports. What is ‘Master Track’? I can only think that it has something to do with timecode, etc…

I have checked through tempo maps, time signature tracks… Even setting the tempo track yields the same faulty results.

The pre-production was done in Cubase. I have opened theses Cpr’s from my client and converted them to Npr’s.

Is there anything else that I should be looking into?

Thanks in advance,
Robin

15

I too would like to understand better the vagaries of track archives. And indeed a proper grown up way to port channel strips, INCLUDING instrument channels, is really needed…

In the meantime, the track archive “workaround” needs further clarification.

I have also seen the cannot make master track error. It is undoubtedly due to a difference in the projects start start of the destination project, and that of the project from which the tracks were exported…

If the the progenitor project starts earlier than the destination project, nuendo will insert time. If that time is not divisible by a beat, the master track error occurs. That’s my basic understanding. I think!

If the the progenitor project starts after the destination project, similar issues occur.

I wonder, if one always archived out from a project that was at a TC that one was unlikely to hit (eg 22:00:00:00) then perhaps this would minimize the collateral damage to the timeline at least. I need to try this out back at the studio.

But please, Steinberg, we need some sensible thought on this. A similar malaise occurs when trying to duplication vst instrument rack and midi track setups, along with the outputs. If we could have a track preset that included:

A the instantiation of a vst instrument into the vst rack
B the creation of several tracks pointing at that instantiation
C the activation of audio outputs from that instantiation
D the effects, sends and routings of those outputs

In effect, a loadable template of instrument tracks and midi tracks.

So for example, supposing I have, after some creative work, arrived at:

A- an instance of VE Pro pointing at a preserved slave (or maybe a stylus RMX instance for arguments sake)
B- say 5 midi tracks pointing at specific ports and channels of that above instance
C- say 4 stereo returns from that instance activated
D- a send from each of those instrument tracks, some eq here and there, and NAMES, very important, NAMES.
E- oh and I might have the midi tracks in a folder.

Now, if I solo any one of those midi tracks, nuendo certainly has the intelligence to know which instruments tracks they are ultimately going to come from. Nuendo knows to solo the vst tracks from the instance that the midi track points to. Can that intelligence not be applied to a track preset?

In my proposal, I would select the four midi tracks, and "save aggregate preset’ or whatever we want to class it as.

Open a new or existing project. Load that aggregate preset and have nuendo create:

A - the correct instance of the vsti, with the correct set loaded in it (or in the ca of VE pro, pointing to the right slave) in an available slot in the vst rack.
B- the 5 midi tracks (in their folder track) pointing at said instance
C- the four stereo returns activated, named and coloured as saved
D- ideally any inserts, Eq and sends, together with routing all setup as saved

The last part would of course be dependant on the destination project having the routings and fx tracks extant in the project. No big deal if not though - unassigned or main mix output being the default in this case.

Please? Pretty please?

B

16

I would suggest adding better session import like PT does. That way you could choose to import tracks without audio/midi, retain inserts, sends, routing etc all from another session directly without having to go through a track export.

17

I agree with the preceding two posts…