I am excited about C6’s new feature set, particularly the Group Edit option. However, Group Edit does not appear to work when I comp grouped tracks converted to Parts (using “Events to Part”).
Perhaps I’m doing something wrong?
I’ve got ten takes of a simple electric bass performance ready to comp - using just two tracks (DI and mic’ed amp). I put both of these tracks into a folder called BASS, and then click the folder’s Group Edit button. So far, so good. I can comp at will in Cubase’s main window, and anything I do to the DI track is mirrored on the Mic’ed Amp track (or vice versa). Nice.
But I don’t like comping in Cubase’s main window - too much possibility for accidentally clicking on unrelated tracks; inadvertently muting something, etc. Plus in big projects, the track window gets quite cluttered with extraneous track information (yet paradoxically its cramped and has less screen space than the Part Editor).
I do a lot of editing for clients, and time is money to me (and them). The Part Editor is perfect for the speed my clients and I require. So as I’ve always done, I convert the two bass tracks using “Events to Part”. I open the Part Editor for the Bass folder. Nice. But now my comp choices no longer get mirrored from the DI track to the Mic’ed Amp track (and vice versa) while I work. After just a few comp edits, the Group Edit integrity of my tracks falls apart. Needless to say, this doesn’t cut it with clients in the room!
If I carefully re-sync/undo my edits by hand and dissolve the parts, when I go back to Cubase’s main window everything works again. Why? Is this a bug?
I feel I simply must be doing something wrong. Some setting perhaps? I’ll be relieved if that’s it. Otherwise, this seems like an extremely confusing design inconsistency (and a big programming oversight at that - especially for a major DAW release touting group editing as a leading new feature).
Crotchety, thanks so much for the reply. I appreciate it! I’m sure your info will be helpful to some of the others reading this thread.
However, your comments don’t really address what I’m pointing out. I understand how to use Cubase 6’s new comping workflow. I get it, and I like some of the changes (and I’m luke-warm on others). I am also able to use the new comping workflow “as advertised” in both the Part Editor and Cubase’s main window. It works fine within the Part Editor - try it, you’ll see…
Rather, the problem I’ve discovered is:
When Group Edit is enabled on a folder (containing multiple tracks), I cannot successfully “group comp” using that folder’s Part Editor. That is, I can’t comp one track and have the changes mirrored across all the folder’s tracks.
I have used Cubase since the Notator days in the '80s (on the Atari 1040ST), and have used Steinberg products professionally for more than a decade. For years, the Cubase (and Nuendo) Part Editor has allowed easy single-window comping/editing of multiple folder tracks. Historically it has been, and hopefully will continue to be, the program’s go-to tool for comping activities. Simply put - the problem now is that Group Edit comping does not work within the Part Editor. In my considered opinion, this is an obvious oversight (or bug) and should be fixed.
Unless I’ve missed something, of course… I’d love to hear from others here to confirm my experiences. Or point me to a little settings window I can click to make everything right and rosy again.
