Is it possible to delete unused parts in a comp without affecting all underlying take lanes? Let’s say I want to have silence in a given section but all my take lanes contain audio.
You can “flatten” your comp to one file. I’d personally do that after duplicating, just for safety, but whether you choose to or not, that process will do what you’re asking, if I’m reading you right.
Chewy
On the actual Audio Track (not the Lanes below it) if you Mute the Audio Event it will be silent and not play any of the other Audio on the Lanes. You might also want to explore Track Versions which makes it easy to try things like deleting stuff risk free.