I know you can automate a mute on a track, but can I automate a mute on a bus? I have 15 individual tracks outputted to a Bus. I tried enabling the Bus for automation and clicked the mute button on and off. But it didn't record or playback the automated mute.
 
I'd like to quickly mute and unmute all the tracks together. There are probably several ways to do it. I'd like something simple and straightforward.

There's no bus mute function per se. Here are two options.
 
Instant on and instant off, like a "real" mute button: Insert the Sonitus gate as a bus FX. Set threshold to 0.0 and depth to -infinity. Write-enable gate automation. Click on the Output parameter to choose "Sidechain" (audio unmuted) or "Audio" (audio muted). Just don't exceed the noise gate threshold (i.e., keep the bus input gain under control) or the muted signal will come through.
 
Pseudo-mute using level automation: Suppose you want to alternate your bus fader between -infinity and -1.6. Set the bus fader to -1.6. Right-click on it and choose Value > Set Snap-To = Current. To mute, pull the bus fader all the way down. To snap back immediately to -1.6, double-click on the fader.
 

Bus mute is not automatable today. However you could use an aux track to achieve the same as a bus and use the automated mute on the aux track to mute it.

You can also automate the bus output volume. Add nodes on the curve and take the vol to -inf at the appropriate places for a mute. You can do this instantly, which is the same as a mute.
 
gabo

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
Bus mute is not automatable today. However you could use an aux track to achieve the same as a bus and use the automated mute on the aux track to mute it.

 

Thanks, Noel and all for the options. I decided the options were too time consuming to set up and to just use my Studiomix, which I'm using anyway for automation and just making a mark where the fader is and move it down and back up real fast to create a manual mute for the Bus. Not as elegant as a automated mute, but functional.
 
Noel should I suggest this in a feature request or is it already in the cue? It seems to me this would be very useful for many users to have this ability. It's surprising it's not already available.

Why is it not available today.
How 'bout, oh tomorrow? , or next month?
 
'Twas very disappointing and perplexing when I found this to be true.

gmp
Thanks, Noel and all for the options. I decided the options were too time consuming to set up and to just use my Studiomix, which I'm using anyway for automation and just making a mark where the fader is and move it down and back up real fast to create a manual mute for the Bus. Not as elegant as a automated mute, but functional.
 
Noel should I suggest this in a feature request or is it already in the cue? It seems to me this would be very useful for many users to have this ability. It's surprising it's not already available.

Aux tracks are identical to buses if you need mute envelopes why not just use an aux track? 
I don't think its worth the complexity of having automated mute vs manual mute in buses at this point when this functionality is available in Aux tracks - i.e its not something that trivially done.

Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]

gmp
Thanks, Noel and all for the options. I decided the options were too time consuming to set up and to just use my Studiomix, which I'm using anyway for automation and just making a mark where the fader is and move it down and back up real fast to create a manual mute for the Bus. Not as elegant as a automated mute, but functional.
 
Noel should I suggest this in a feature request or is it already in the cue? It seems to me this would be very useful for many users to have this ability. It's surprising it's not already available.

Aux tracks are identical to buses if you need mute envelopes why not just use an aux track? 
I don't think its worth the complexity of having automated mute vs manual mute in buses at this point when this functionality is available in Aux tracks - i.e its not something that trivially done.

Thanks for encouraging me to take a 2nd look at this. Aux tracks was something new to me. When I 1st looked at it in the help file, I saw the patch points which seemed at first glance too time consuming to set up. I now see that you're right.  Aux tracks do solve a lot of problems, and for sure this automated mute problem.
 
 I went ahead and assigned the output of the bus to a new aux track. It looks like that's really all I need to do. Now I can easily automate the mute. In fact I didn’t even need to assign those tracks to a bus, I could have just assigned them to an Aux track. This is a great new feature in Platinum that has many uses. No wonder Cakewalk decided not to have automated mutes in busses. There's no need at all. Thanks so much

There there are lot of patch point and aux track applications descried here.
Aux tracks are like a super set of tracks and buses. 

Patch points are definitely the solution, I assumed the OP wasn't on JP or higher or that's what he would have used