Insert same effect on multiple tracks at once/Forcing FX Chain position in PC

Hi Beepster...

Just thinking...

Have you tried creating one PC setup and saving it, then group loading the PC setup?

...just a thought.

FWIW, I timed how long it took to ctrl-drag an effect into 24 tracks in Console view, and it was 30 seconds. I just don't see that as a big deal given how rarely I need to do something like that, but I guess others feel differently.

Added to the requested features forum. Please vote up if you'd like to see this.
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com/Copy-an-effect-to-multiple-FX-bins-at-one-time-m3268937.aspx

PilotGav

Anderton
FWIW, I timed how long it took to ctrl-drag an effect into 24 tracks in Console view, and it was 30 seconds. I just don't see that as a big deal given how rarely I need to do something like that, but I guess others feel differently.

I don't think this is the point.
 
When I'm in a creative place, I don't want my flow slowed down for 30 seconds having to do something that should take me 2. This can be done easily in Pro Tools. I don't think its asking for the moon to ask for it, and other things people have been asking for in Sonar. The DAW should get out of the way of creativity.
 
Moving multiple tracks at once is a common request where response has been "It only takes thirty seconds".
 
I'd love to see an update where these small but significant workflow issues are addressed. Just because one person doesn't care doesn't mean there aren't one hundred who do.
 
 

I'm just wondering where in the creative process one has to add 20 tracks with the same effect or move 29 tracks around at once. I can see the need to perform these various tasks but not in connection with a moment of inspiration.

Anderton
FWIW, I timed how long it took to ctrl-drag an effect into 24 tracks in Console view, and it was 30 seconds. I just don't see that as a big deal given how rarely I need to do something like that, but I guess others feel differently.

Hi, Craig. Yeah, PilotGav is right... that's not really the point. I was more checking to see if I was missing something. If it's not possible then it's not possible so I gotta figure something else out. It is a little odd (and a bit of a disappointment) seeing as how we have all sorts of other Multi Track/Quick Group type options. Just seems logical that you'd be able to do a quick group and drop something in or copy on einstance across other tracks en masse. The revamped the FX Bin a bit too so seems like something that they might have thought of adding.
 
Anyway... if you saw what I was doing you would understand why just mindlessly dragging the same thing into each track over and over again is not a simple as all that.
 
Basically it's not just 24 tracks. It's a bunch of tracks all kind of subdivided into various parts so I'm going to have do stuff like copy an instance to 4 tracks and another slightly different instance to 10 tracks and another to 6 tracks and so on. It gets a little hairy to keep track of all that and I'd be doing it over and over and over again as changes are made (because I can't just link the plugins to each other so they stay in sync). I'll just be starting with the same preset to begin with then dorking around like that.
 
Also I may not want to totally replace an instance. I might want to a/b an older preset against a newer one or indeed just replace it. So that's more fiddle faddle having to be done one by one and trying to keep track of what's what.
 
Just being able to select and insert or copy makes it a little cleaner of a workflow because I can  look at what tracks need the new instance once and just drop them. Without that I have to double check each time it's being dragged into the right track, I have engage the key bindings if needed, I have to make sure it lands in the right position, I have to fiddle with track height (if I'm doing this in Track View) or console size/modules in Console View (which is a lot of scrolling around horz and vert and scanning down to the track name because the FX Bin is quite a ways away from the track name).
 
Just trying to explain why this is something I could really use and why it's not quite as simple as just copy dragging things once and forgetting it. It's a lot fiddling around and double checking stuff which really is a bit of a time waster (and unfortunately a bit annoying).
 
I've been doing it your way for years now but I've never had a track count this high (I am already at 54 tracks and I haven't even added the drums and all the crazy synth/sampler parts).
 
Anyhoo... that's my story.
 
Cheers.
 

Beepster
 
Yeah, this one kind of gets in my way too. It would be VERY nice if I could just select a bunch of tracks and drag them into a folder all at once. Seems I have to do it one at a time. Same with just trying to reposition pairs or groups of tracks. Just doesn't happen.
 

No need to drag tracks, select them then right-click and "Move to Folder." One or a hundred it does not matter.

scook

Beepster
 
Yeah, this one kind of gets in my way too. It would be VERY nice if I could just select a bunch of tracks and drag them into a folder all at once. Seems I have to do it one at a time. Same with just trying to reposition pairs or groups of tracks. Just doesn't happen.
 

No need to drag tracks, select them then right-click and "Move to Folder"

AHA! That's great. I know I've seen that but guess never used it.
 
That's one little irk sorted. Thanks, dood. It will save some time and exactly why I post these threads.
 
Cheers!

mudgel

I'm just wondering where in the creative process one has to add 20 tracks with the same effect or move 29 tracks around at once. I can see the need to perform these various tasks but not in connection with a moment of inspiration.

I provided some extra detail in my reply to Craig if you're curious but the short version is, yeah it would make initial set up grunt work easier but during the mix (which of course is creative) if I need to tweak something on multiple tracks (like let's say I want to dial back or increase the distortion on all the rhythm guitar tracks from inside the sim) then being able to just tweak one, copy it, select all the other rhythm tracks then insert the new version all at once makes things easier.
 
Of course being able to actually LINK all those instances would be much better (so I turn down the distortion on one and they all respond) but that is a much more elaborate/pie in the sky type of feature request.
 
One thing I am going to try today is hopefully create control groups across tracks on the FX Chain modules I put the sims into. So in the "turn the distortion up/down" scenario I just need to make sure beforehand that I map out the drive/dist parameter inside the sim to one of the FX Chains knobs (which of course I have to manually create) then create a control group across the tracks so all those knobs move at once (and thus change the parameter in the actual sim inside the chain).
 
That takes a lot thinking and planning ahead of time so it will be a bit of a workout for my little Beepster pea noodle... but that is the entire purpose of this specific project. It is huge, complex and I am going to attempt about a million and one things that I've been reading about, pontificating and generally trying to understand for the past three years. This project is going to be like a self imposed exam on how well I can actually do this stuff under real conditions with a real project (not one of my weirdo half arsed test projects).
 
;-)
 
Cheers.

Beepster
 
Still would be nice to just insert them into the folder in the first place.
 

You can

Yeah I get exactly what you mean Beep and 1) I don't think it's possible and 2) it would be extremely useful.

I was someone loathe to mention it because there is so much going on in this thread already but one thing that would be really awesome for the "Insert Multiple Synths" into a folder thing would be... and look at scook's helpful graphic to see what I mean...
 
In those little boxes where it shows the Audio and MIDI track count if you could click on those and get a dialog or something or it turns into an entry box where you could add X number of Audio or MIDI tracks. It almost seems like that might have been the intent at one point but maybe coding it would have been a logistical pain in the balls (especially in the chaos of the initial X series/Skylight release).
 
But yeah... how awesome would it be just to be able to toss in some extra blank tracks by entering a number into those fields? Would take some thinkin' and doin' but it would be convenient.
 
Cheers.
 
I should get on with it. Thanks for entertaining my spazzwadiness, guys. This has been a very fruitful thread.
 
:-p