Track Visibility nightmares! Any help moving from PT?

Cubase
#1

I wonder if anyone would be able to help me with this…

I’m hoping to switch from PT to Cubase but the one thing holding me back is this channel visibility setup. There are a few issues with it for me.

  1. Currently with Cubase if you have your visibility groups all setup, once you add a new track to the session it starts appearing in ALL visibility groups. You would need to go through and update all the groups again without this one channel. Total no deal!

  2. It is possible to link the visibility configs in the Mix Console and the Project window, but it seems to be that the Mix Console is the master and the Project is the slave in this case. Are there any work arounds to flip this around and make the project the master?

The Project Logical Editor is the greatest thing out there, I can make very detailed visibility configurations that show/hide folders with certain names or track types etc. I can get the Project Window acting 100% as I’d like it, but as soon as I try and use the Mix Console all my work is gone! The Project Logical Editor can’t even be opened while the Mix Console is active.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

#2

I dont like the way the CB visibility groups work. Some of which is explained by you quite nicely. For me, I save and use differing templates to do things as you describe. That works well for my purposes and maybe they will for you too.

Your mixconsole question is interesting. I dont know the answer to that one as I keep the mixconsole pretty much the same in all my templates. My differing templates are more toward differeing input busses and tracks and loading differing default VSTs in the project window. Changing these things in the project will not change the template (unless you want it to).

Maybe it is time to pull the trigger and check out a trial version of CB. :wink:

Regards. :sunglasses:

#3

Yes, the track visibility is good in theory but it definitely needs work!

I’ve already bought a copy of Cubase Pro 8, but once I started messing around with this stuff it brought my transition from PT to a halt. I love templates, but sadly I don’t think it will help me here.

What would also be cool is a kind of VCA Spill in the Mix Console like on those high end PT controllers. With all the major DAWs adding VCAs recently, I’m surprised no one has added something like this.

I just need something to hide/show groups of instruments that doesn’t get super messy if I spontaneously add tracks after the initial setup.

#4

There’s been quite a few posts about this, all pointing out the same shortcomings.
Unfortunately Steinberg did not feel the need to comment on any of these, so I am guessing nothing is going to change in the foreseeable future.

I gave up on this feature almost entirely, I only use the vis switches for separating track types in the three mixers, one mixer holds all midi, audio and VCAs, second mixer only shows busses and the third FX channels. Anything else created a mess.

#5

Folders in the project window will show up as such in the visibility panel in the mixer, where they and their contents can be shown/hidden at a single click. That might do what you want. You’ve also got drag-selection in the vis panel to deal with multiple channels at once. And the channel type filters somewhere near the top.

But I concur with many - the Mixer is a half-baked implementation.

#6

I just came up with a pretty decent solution. At least it seems that way now but I’ll be interested to see how it plays out.

It’s a kind of VCA Spill. Maybe someone on here has already figured this out too. I like to mix with VCAs, so all tracks are part of one VCA group.

If you make one vis config that shows just the VCAs, you have all your subgroups essentially. Then if you select one particular VCA, you can use the command ‘show channels connected to the first selected channel’ (I think that’s the command). This will ‘spill’ that particular VCA onto the faders. Then you can just recall the VCA vis config before spilling another group. With key commands and/or Slate Raven (what I am trying to setup) this will be pretty good I think!

If I am adding new tracks to a session at mix time, I am more than likely duplicating tracks which should place them into the existing VCA group (I hope), so there theoretically shouldn’t be any problems with tracks showing up in all configs. The only one I may need to update when I add new tracks is the VCA vis config.

Keen to hear people’s thoughts on this :stuck_out_tongue:

#7

I’ve got a macro set up that hides currently selected tracks and then updates the visibility configuration with a single key stroke. You have to trigger the macro in each separate configuration but if you combine it with key commands to recall each configuration then it only takes seconds to remove any unwanted tracks from all your configurations.


I really don’t understand why we have two different sets of visibility configs -one for the mixer and one for the project window. Still… Not sure what you mean exactly about master/slave? I have the mixer synced with the project window and if I show/hide tracks or recall a config in one window, those changes will be reflected in the other window.

Yes, it would be much better if PLE functions also worked in the mixer. The only way around it is to sync the mixer and project windows, trigger your PLE scripts in the project window and THEN open the mixer.

#8

I’ve got a macro set up that hides currently selected tracks and then updates the visibility configuration with a single key stroke. You have to trigger the macro in each separate configuration but if you combine it with key commands to recall each configuration then it only takes seconds to remove any unwanted tracks from all your configurations.

Yes, definitely a work around for the time being but a bit clunky and gets you out of the flow.

I really don’t understand why we have two different sets of visibility configs -one for the mixer and one for the project window. Still… Not sure what you mean exactly about master/slave? I have the mixer synced with the project window and if I show/hide tracks or recall a config in one window, those changes will be reflected in the other window.

Ah yes! You are right. I just tested this and I must have been doing something wrong. They can be synced properly. I think I was getting confused because there are the two different visibility configurations. It’s good to know this works as I would hope!!

Yes, it would be much better if PLE functions also worked in the mixer. The only way around it is to sync the mixer and project windows, trigger your PLE scripts in the project window and THEN open the mixer.

Hoping they add PLE to the mixer window, that would be excellent!

Thanks for your help!

#9

I have another case…
I’m using two monitors…
One with project window and the other one with mix console.
I’ve defined a visibility configuration for the project window that only shows certain instrument tracks under Configuration 1, 2, 3
And in the mix console window, I’ve set another configuration that will show other audio groups.

So with this method , I could be editing midi of certain virtual instruments, and in the mix console, just the groups related to certain audio stems.
My idea was to create a key command that put both on their configuration 1, 2, or 3 at the same time (I don´t wanna sync the visibility from one to the other…because they are different). But it´s not working because unless I’m in the “active window”, the key command is not considered …
If I’m in project window, and I press the key command for “configuration 1”, it’s only applied to project window (as is the active one), but not in the mix console window that is in the other monitor.

Is there a way to solve this?
thanks

#10

There is a key command to focus on project window , you could put that in a macro to run first then run your view KS. there might be one to focus on mixer also…that should solve your issue, I run 3 monitors and have my mixer on far left monitor and have views set up like you do, not connected.

This whole visibility function does not work as advertised.

This is part of the reason we have the open plea to stienberg record breaking viewed thread.

I use a macro as suggested that i have to execute every time I add a track to the project of it quickly becomes a mess.

#11

thanks! But I’m not used with cubase macros… :cry:
Could you show me how to make that macro?
thanks a lot :wink:

#12

Vis Fix.png
Hey folks,

I’ve found a solution for the visibility problem (the fact that new tracks get added to all visibility configs).

The key to the workaround is the fact that when you add a new track, it’s automatically selected in all vis configs.

Therefore you can build a macro that will remove it from the first 8 vis-configs with a single keystroke (for all 8).

See the attached image.

I tried it.

It works!

Enjoy!

#13

Has the poor track visibility been resolved in v10 ?

#14

No, it hasn’t, and it is a huge pain in the hole. Every sodding time I add a new track, boom! There it is, in every single one of my mixer configurations.

It’s unbelievable that this isn’t a preference that can be altered. If you love it, good for you, I’m not criticising anyone else’s workflow. But for me, having to go through every single mixer configuration (I have 19 in my master orchestral template) is a PITA.