SOLO'n a track hears other tracks

Control room was introduced in C4…

Gosh well it is a while since I actually touched a physical desk but I remember it being an easy task to hear reverb only

Yeah, surely, because it´s usually PFLs, not Solos especially on live desks. A PFL doesn´t mute the other tracks, while a “Solo” mostly does, because they use different monitoring busses (PFL usually the phones, Solo usually the main mix bus) That´s why it´s usually a bad idea to use a “real” Solo on a live desk…

This counter-intuitive behaviour has been bugging me for ages. I’m glad to hear the explanation and it now makes sense at least but I’m with those who would like to see Solo behave as you would expect.

How about if clicking Solo automatically suspends automation on all other tracks before the Solo engages? That way, you’d still get to hear the automation on the track you’re listening to. There is already a bypass automation function so perhaps this might not be too difficult to implement.

Just a suggestion, probably unworkable but just in case in can be improved on…

Well, though I understand what you want to say, it depends on who has the “correct” expectations. I personally do expect a “Solo” to behave at least similar as the Cubase Solo does (depending on the desk and manufacturer, there are even different Solo modes available). Therefore the first thing when I get to a live console with “solos” on it, is to make sure, it´s not in “solo” mode, but PFL, because of the above mentioned reasons.

Well, it is already implemented to work, by using the control room and listen function. (For full Cubase users though, that´s true). The thing is just if someone is willing to use it, or refuses to use it, because it is not the (in his opinion “correct”) way.
Just my 2 cents though…

Okay, some clarification needed here. What I would expect is that when I solo a track, that’s all I hear. That is surely a no-brainer. I’ve had a look at the control room and, while it may well do what I want, it’s a bit of a sledgehammer to crack what shouldn’t (imo) be a nut in the first place.

Hey Crotchety - maybe it would help to think of it like this: “There’s no ‘Solo’ function in Cubase, bummer; and there’s also a red button with the letter “S” on it for some random reason that has the following function: etc., etc.”.

Sometimes it’s the disappointment and shattered expectations that hurt the most!

Signed,

Dr. Steinberg :smiley:

:smiley: Too true, too true, but don’t go giving anyone excuses. You know what we humans are like… :wink:

There are different “solo modes” on real desks, but that is “beside the point” really. We are working in a a DAW and I think it seems reasonable (through a preference so you don’t have to use the CONTROL ROOM) that we could have a solo button that puts all other tracks into a “muted state”.
ie: as if each channel had a “second mute” button…
This way all the automation could keep on going everywhere… including the “solo” channel.

That is what I was suggesting a way to achieve. Regardless of how good the idea was, that’s what this thread was about originally. Just wanted to make that clear. Now, back to the OP…

Quick question for the group here. How does pro tools handle the situation?
I for one am tired of this problem. It is just silly at this point that there is no solution.
I know from talking to reps from Steinberg that they are aware of this problem and the mute automation problem
as well. I was told years ago that it was a priority to fix both issues. I love Nuendo and Cubase but these two bugs
I am so tired of that I think I am going to move to pro tools and deal with whatever horrible bugs they have just because
I am pretty sure they at least have functional mute automation and proper solo functionality. I would like to know if
anyone has experience with pro tools regarding these issues?

They HAVE to deal with this.

So… What’s going to happen with these issues in Cubase 7 and Nuendo 6 ?

Use the PFL / AFL functionality.