Once you have chosen what you want to adjust, drag the slider to adjust the level. You can hold Ctrl or Shift to select multiple tracks and move the sliders together as a group.

Function

Description

Volume

This dedicated volume slider controls how loud a track is in the mix. A value of 0 dB means that the track

 

plays with no boost or cut from the software. Dragging the fader to the left cuts the volume; dragging to the

 

right boosts the volume.

 

 

Pan

This dedicated pan slider controls the position of a track in the stereo field. Dragging the slider to the left

 

places the track in the left speaker more than the right, while dragging the slider to the right places the track

 

in the right speaker.

 

Because true stereo panning is used, you can introduce clipping when panning a track to the left or right.

 

Unlike a left/right balance control—which simply decreases the volume of one channel—the default

 

panning mode actually adds the audio from one channel to the other. When panning a track, adjust the

 

track volume accordingly.

 

You can choose among five panning types to determine how a track is panned. For more information, see

 

Choosing stereo pan types on page 113.

 

 

FX

With the multipurpose slider, you can control the level of the track sent to each of the assignable effect

 

chains that you have created. Dragging the fader to the left cuts the volume; dragging to the right boosts

 

the volume.

 

 

Bus

With the multipurpose slider, you can control the level of the track sent to each of the additional busses that

 

you have created for your project. Dragging the fader to the left cuts the volume; dragging the fader to the

 

right boosts the volume.

 

 

Note: When adjusting the mix of your tracks, remember to look at the meters on the Mixing Console. Because you are adding the volumes of all the tracks together, it is easy to clip the audio output. Make sure that the meters never display the red clip indicator during playback.

Muting or unmuting tracks

Each track has a Mute button (). Clicking this button renders the corresponding track inaudible during playback and shades it to indicate that it is muted. Toggle-muting a track is an effective way of determining whether a track contributes to the overall sound of a project.

Note: Muting a track mutes its main output and post-fader sends only unless the Track prefader sends listen to mute check box on the Audio tab of the Preferences dialog is selected. For more information, see Using the Audio tab on page 255.

1.Deselect the Automation Settings button () to toggle trim mode.

2.Click the Mute button (or press Z). Repeat this step on additional tracks to add them to the mute group, if desired.

Tip: Press Ctrl and click the Mute button to mute only the selected track (and restore any other muted tracks). If the selected track is already muted, press Ctrl and click the Mute button to restore all tracks.

Adjusting mute automation

When you select the Automation Settings button (), the Mute button is displayed as a , and you can use the control to edit volume automation.

42 CHAPTER 2