The principal of a ‘correctly’ setup and calibrated Brauer mixing ITB template, driving multiple tracks into compression by means of a VCA fader.
Not necessarily. You might only want to adjust a subset of the tracks assigned to a group. The pre-gain will adjust all tracks assigned to the group. Delivers very different sonic results.
Bottom line - VCAs are broken and not as flexible as other software. Add VCA nesting into the equation and watch the problems compound.
You don’t really need a VCA fader for that if memory serves me correctly. It’s just added convenience, that’s all. In terms of signal processing it doesn’t change anything.
Nuendo VCA nesting isn’t nearly as good as Pro Tools’ either. In PT we create track-groups (i.e. linked tracks) and those groups are then the ones being selected and controlled by VCAs. Since you can freely nest the groups it means you can freely nest your VCAs. We are quite constricted in Nuendo.
* when I write “nesting” I’m not talking purely vertically, but also “across” linked tracks with the same tracks belonging to several different “groups” (“links”).
Exactly:-)…..it’s the real convenience of having a dedicated volume control fader for multiple tracks. Just an example of VCAs being extremely useful, as well as not having to link tracks.
Exactly. Nuendo VCAs are a good advertisement for Pro Tools. Nuendo does have a lot of good features but VCA implementation isn’t one of them.
1 Like
Just chiming in, I learned to mix on a 1974 Neve 80 series console, with Martinsound Flying Faders, which was one of the very first companies to create automated fader systems. It had VCA grouping, and was copied by everyone else including DAWs later on. The VCA would allow us to either ride a new set of instructions onto a group of faders, or write an “up/down by x dB” from the computer, throughout the entire length of the song. Made mix outs much easier.
“VCA” stands for “Voltage Controlled Automation”, in which you just use a change in voltage to alter the fader’s position, either by using your finger, or a computer controller card. It was amazing to have this because for the first time, the audio itself did not get affected by the automation system directly, but instead it is a fader resistor being controlled by computer. They even had limited nesting of VCAs, and storage on 3 3/4” floppy disks! No more forcing the band to learn mix moves and be in the room when mixing. I do miss that part of mixing though.
Voltage Controlled Amplifier.
6 Likes
Thanks. Oops!
Nice history, on that @noeqplease.
1 Like
Another memory of VCA mixing on analogue desks : it wasn’t only for grouping faders, originally. Before flying faders became the norm, VCA automation was a cheaper way of automating any fader on the board. You would usually have a 
and a 
led to let you know if you were above or below the recorded VCA level to match-out of your automation pass.
And then save your mix to a 5,1/4” floppy disk and pray that it would load the next day 
First feature film I mixed was at Cinecitta in 1996, with VCA automation on a 1970s era Studer desk. I was 23 and soooooo jealous of the guys in the other mix room who were on a brand new SSL 4000 with flying faders…
You were clearly very hungry for it:-)
1 Like
Yeah I did try to ask if they could install it in the room i was mixing in 
. Ah… youth…
1 Like
This is a known and frustrating pain point for many Cubase users. While VCA faders are powerful, their implementation in Cubase relies on a specific logic that can cause “fighting” between the VCA and its linked tracks, often interpreted as a bug.
The “buggy” behaviour—usually faders jumping to unexpected levels, losing their relative balance upon reopening a project, or getting stuck—typically stems from how Cubase calculates “Static” vs. “Automated” values.
1. The “Virgin Territory” Conflict (The Technical “Why”)
The most common reason for this behaviour is that the linked tracks lack initial automation points.
- How it works: A VCA fader does not process audio; it is a remote control that adds or subtracts a value (an offset) to the linked faders.
- The Problem: If a linked audio track has no automation data on it (it is in “Virgin Territory”), Cubase relies on a “static value” for that fader. When you save and reopen a project, or sometimes when you write VCA automation, Cubase tries to recalculate the
Static Value + VCA Offset. - The Glitch: Cubase frequently miscalculates this upon reload if the individual track has no “anchor” point. It may reset the linked fader to $-\infty$ or $0dB$, destroying your mix balance because it “forgot” the starting static position relative to the VCA.
2. The Solution: The “Anchor” Node
You can prevent 90% of these issues by “locking” the linked tracks before you start using the VCA.
- The Fix: specific to the linked tracks (not the VCA track), write a single automation point at the very start of the project (Bar 1).
- Why it works: This forces Cubase to treat the track’s volume as “automation data” rather than a “floating static value.” The math changes from
Undefined Static + OffsettoDefined Data point + Offset, which is much more stable.
2 Likes
Nearly 2026. No mute on VCA. FML. Only VCA in the world like this.
(not talking about automation).
1 Like
Or Key Command: Automation/Create Initial Parameter Events.
1 Like
Hi Fredo
yes, and ‘delete automation for selected tracks’ works nice if you want to reset it and redo the initial parameter at a new value for specific tracks. (lock automation tracks we want to keep e.g pan)