Volume Automation Bug when using VCAs

[tobiaswagner]

Hey Everyone,

I have come across a behaviour that can in my eyes only be a bug. I have been scowering the internet for whether this is a known issue to no avail. Here’s the behavior:

1. You are working in a session and have assigned all or some tracks to a VCA. That VCA has been lowered in the process of mixing to, say -9db.
2. You decide to add another track to the VCA that was previously not part of it. The volume of the newly added track is not adjusted by -9db, it stays at the level where it was before it was added (and that is fine, after all, the VCA is not a bus channel). However…
3. You now write volume automation on that track. As soon as you create a first node or ride the fader in write mode, the fader of that track suddenly drops by 9db. Again, this only happens when you write volume automation, not when the fader is adjusted but not automated.

I’m using trim automation to bring back the volume as a workaround. I have not tested what happens when the actual VCA fader has volume rides itself.

Has anyone else come across this issue? Does Steinberg know about it?

Best,
Tobias

[mlib]

@tobiaswagner

Has anyone else come across this issue?

Yes.

@tobiaswagner

Does Steinberg know about it?

Most likely. There are other well documented issues with VCAs that’s been around for a very long time. Hopefully they will come around to fixing these issues at some point. (Or better yet, rewrite VCAs to function more like they do on large format consoles.) Until then I personally stay away from VCAs in Cubase.

[tobiaswagner]

ah, at least there is comfort in hearing I’m not experiencing this alone…
So strange that such an important feature for mixing has such a blatant bug. It’s not an edge case by any stretch of the imagination. It’s basic functionality of VCAs.

I have resorted to automating volume using output knobs of plugins to avoid the issue. That way I still have the benefit of using VCAs.

[mlib]

You might want to glance through this thread if you’re not already familiar with this bug:

Reproducible VCA Automation Bug Cubase 12.0.52

Hi there, When using a VCA track to control audio tracks, the audio tracks keep “forgetting” their relative position vs the VCA track upon reopening the project the next time. Steps to reproduce: Create a new project with several audio tracks Add a VCA track and connect it to the audio tracks Leave all audio tracks at the same volume as the VCA track (0dB) for testing purposes Write some volume automation ONLY on the VCA track Move the project cursor to a position where the VCA automation is…

There should be a workaround in there as well. I think there are older threads describing the same issue but this is pretty comprehensive.

[Johnny_Moneto]

I cannot reproduce the issue with the description that you provide.

[tobiaswagner]

Hi mlib,
Yes, I saw that thread, and even though it is related in that the VCA is messing with levels in unintended ways, it’s different in that it seems to be a session recall issue. Either way, VCAs seem to be a troubled feature in Cubase in more than one way. It’s a bit concerning to see that this bug that impacts a very basic mixing tool goes back years and still remains unfixed after two major version updates.

[tobiaswagner]

Once I finish this current project I may to a screen recording to illustrate it!

[Johnny_Moneto]

That might help. Try to capture as many details as possible instead of rushing through the screens.

Before you do that but after you finish your current project you can also go to Edit → Profile Manager and create a NEW profile and activate it. You might need to restart Cubase afterwards. Have a look if that fixes the issue already. If not simply change back to your current profile.

[tobiaswagner]

Hi Johnny,
Thank you - I’ll definitely try that (after the project :).
Best,
Tobias