Track Inspector controls

The controls in the Track Inspector vary depending on the current track type.

 

Table 107. Track Inspector controls  

Control	Description	Audio track	MIDI track	Instrument track	Bus	Main
Clip	Show/hide the Clip Properties Inspector.	--	--	--	--	--
Track	Show/hide the Track Properties Inspector.	--	--	--	--	--
Dock/Undock	Dock/undock the Inspector pane.	--	--	--	--	--
Docking Options	The Docking Options menu lets you dock/undock/float/collapse the Inspector pane.	--	--	--	--	--
Gain	Pre-fader input gain for fine tuning a track’s volume or input level to a bus.	x			x
Velocity offset	The change in velocity (volume) that will be applied to notes in the track on playback; ranges from –127 to +127.		x	x
Input pan	Sets the pan of the audio data sent to the bus.				x
FX Rack	The patch point for a track’s plug-ins or soft synths.	x	x	x	x
Send Enable	Activates a send module, which sends a copy of the track signal to a bus.	x		x	x
Send Level	Controls volume of audio data sent by the send module.	x		x	x
Send Pan	Adjusts the send pan setting.	x		x	x
Send Pre/Post switch	Pre (pre-fader) means that the Send signal goes to the bus prior to the track’s volume fader; post means the Send signal goes to the bus after the volume fader.	x		x	x
Send destination	Displays name of bus that the Send is sending data to.	x		x	x
Channel	The MIDI channel through which the notes will be played.		x	x
Bank	The set of patch names available for the track.		x	x
Patch	The instrument sound that will be used for playback.		x	x
Phase Invert	A switch that inverts the phase of the track.	x
Mono/Stereo	A switch that determines whether a track’s signal enters an effect or chain of effects as mono or stereo, regardless of the nature of the track.	x			x
Read Automation	Enable/disable automation playback.	x	x	x	x
Write Automation	Enable/disable automation writing.	x	x	x	x
Mute	When enabled, mutes the track.	x	x	x	x	x
Solo	When enabled, solos the track.	x	x	x	x
Arm for recording	When enabled, arms the track for audio recording.	x	x	x
Input echo	Turns input monitoring on or off.	x	x	x
Pan	The stereo distribution of the output, ranging from 100% left (hard left) to 100% right (hard right); a value of “C” indicates sound that is centered left-to-right. On stereo tracks, pan acts as balance.	x	x	x	x
Volume	The current volume level for the track, ranging from -INF (silent) to +6 dB (maximum volume). The recording and playback levels are displayed in the Playback and Record meters.	x	x	x	x	x
Meter	The recording and playback levels are displayed in the Playback and Record meters. For MIDI tracks, the meter shows MIDI activity and velocity.	x	x	x	x	x
Track icon	Track icons allow you to quickly identify a track’s contents by instrument. You can assign a new track icon, create your own track icons, and save an icon as part of a track template.	x	x	x	x	x
Track number	A sequential track number used for reference.	x	x	x	x
Track name	A name that you assign the track for easy reference. Note that if you do not assign a name to a track, the default name is the track number. This track number will change if you change the order of your tracks. You can click the Track Name control to select any available track, bus or main to display in the Track Inspector.	x	x	x	x	x
Input	The input source for the track, used in recording.	x	x
Output	The output bus through which the track is played.	x	x	x	x
Link	Main out faders can be linked using the Link button . This allows you to adjust both the left and right channel at the same time.					x
Chorus	Adds MIDI chorus effect to the track.		x	x
Reverb	Adds MIDI reverb effect to the track.		x	x
Bank Select Method	The Bank Select Method used by your sound module to switch back and forth between banks of sounds. See Assigning the Bank Select method.		x	x
Patch Browser	Opens the Patch Browser dialog dialog box, which lets you search for patches by name.		x	x
Key+	The number of half steps by which the notes in the track are transposed on playback (e.g., 12 to transpose up one octave)
Time+	An offset applied to the start time of the events in the track.		x	x
Input quantize	Input quantizing allows you to automatically quantize MIDI input during recording. See Input Quantize section.		x	x
Snap to scale	When Snap to Scale is enabled, any notes that you draw or move in the Piano Roll view stay within the selected scale. See Snap to Scale section.		x	x
Display	The Display menu lets you show/hide modules in the Track Inspector.	x	x	x	x	x
Module Options	The Module Options menu lets you configure settings for various modules.	x	x	x	x	x
Audio tab	Show audio output controls in the right side strip.			x
MIDI tab	Show advanced MIDI controls in the right side strip.			x

To specify the maximum number of visible Sends

Click the Display control at the bottom of the Track Inspector, point to Module Options > Sends and choose one of the following options:

Maximum Visible Sends: 1

Maximum Visible Sends: 2

Maximum Visible Sends: 4

Maximum Visible Sends: 8

Maximum Visible Sends: Unlimited

 

See also:

Audio track controls

Bus controls

MIDI track and Instrument track controls

Main controls

Audio track controls

Figure 197. Track Inspector controls for audio tracks.

A. Input gain B. EQ C. FX Rack D. Sends E. Mute, Solo, Arm, Input Echo, Phase Invert, Stereo Interleave, Read Automation, Write Automation F. Pan G. Volume H. Meter I. Track icon J. Input and output K. Track name and number L. Display menu

See also:

Track Inspector controls

Bus controls

Figure 198. Track Inspector controls for buses.

A. Input gain and pan B. EQ C. FX Rack D. Sends E. Mute, Solo, Waveform preview, Read Automation, Write Automation F. Pan G. Volume H. Meter I. Bus Icon J. Output K. Bus name L. Display menu

See also:

Track Inspector controls

MIDI track and Instrument track controls

 

Note: By default, the Track Inspector is shown in narrow mode, which is the width of a single channel strip. To make the Track Inspector wider and expose advanced MIDI controls, drag the vertical splitter bar to the right.

When the current track is a MIDI track, the left strip shows mix controls and the right strip shows Snap to Scale, Input Quantize and other advanced MIDI settings. Instrument tracks can show either audio or MIDI controls in the right strip, depending on whether the Audio or MIDI tab is selected.

Figure 199. Track Inspector controls for MIDI tracks and Instrument tracks.

A. Velocity trim B. FX Rack C. Channel/Bank/Patch Quantize D. Mute, Solo, Arm, Input Echo, Read Automation, Write Automation E. Pan F. Volume G. Meter H. Track icon I. Input and output J. Track name and number K. Display menu L. Chorus and Reverb M. Snap to Scale N. Input Quantize O. MIDI offset controls (Key+ and Time+) P. Open Patch Browser Q. Bank Select Method R. Audio and MIDI tabs (Instrument tracks only)

See also:

Track Inspector controls

Figure 200. Instrument tracks can show audio output or MIDI controls by selecting the Audio tab or MIDI tab.

A. Audio output B. MIDI controls

Advanced MIDI Controls section

Chorus. Adds MIDI chorus effect to the track.

Reverb. Adds MIDI reverb effect to the track.

Key+. The number of half steps by which the notes in the track are transposed on playback (e.g., 12 to transpose up one octave)

Time+. The number of Ticks that the track’s playback timing is offset from the other tracks.

Patch Browser. Opens the Patch Browser dialog dialog box, which lets you search for patches by name.

Bank Select Method. Your synthesizer uses one of four bank select methods to switch back and forth between banks of sounds. To find the method used for your instrument, check the instrument’s User’s Guide or the manufacturer’s web site. The four methods are as follows:

Normal. Use for instruments that respond to Controller 0 or Controller 32 bank select messages.

Controller 0 only. Use for instruments that only respond to Controller 0 bank select messages.

Controller 32 only. Use for instruments that only respond to Controller 32 bank select messages.

Patch 100...127. Use for instruments that let you change banks by sending patch changes between 100 and 127.

For more information about Bank Select Methods, see Assigning the Bank Select method.

Snap to Scale section

Snap to Scale On/Off. Enables/disables Snap to Scale on the selected track.

Scale. Displays current scale for Snap to Scale feature. The drop-down menu contains the following options:

<scale categories>. The pre-installed scales are organized into categories such as Diatonic, Pentatonic, Exotic, etc. Point to the desired category and select a scale from the submenu.

Custom User Scales. This submenu lists all custom scales you have created.

Scale Manager. Select Scale Manager to create new scales or edit existing scales. See To create a scale and To edit or delete a scale.

Root Note. Use this field to specify the root note of the selected scale.

Settings. Use this field to specify how you want Music Creator to handle non-scale notes in the Piano Roll view when Snap to Scale is enabled.

Next, Higher Note. Music Creator moves any non-scale note that you move to the next higher note in the selected scale.

Previous, Lower Note. Music Creator moves any non-scale note that you move to the previous, lower note in the selected scale.

Nearest Note. Music Creator moves any non-scale note that you move to the note that is closest in pitch in the selected scale.

For more information about Snap to Scale, see Snap to Scale.

Input Quantize section

Input Quantize On/Off. Enables/disables Input Quantize on the selected track.

Preset. Save or select settings that you use often in the drop-down menu. To save a new group of settings, click the Preset list and choose Quantize Settings to open the Input Quantize dialog box, then type a name in the Preset field and click the Save button. To delete a group, select it and click the Delete button. The Input Quantize dialog box contains the following settings:

Resolution. Set the note resolution in either standard note duration or tick value. The resolution determines the size note or time value that you want your MIDI data to conform to.

MIDI Event Start Times. Select this option to quantize MIDI event start times.

Note Durations. Select this option to quantize Note Event durations to the size of the Resolution value.

Only Quantize Notes. If selected, Music Creator will not modify other events, such as controllers.

Strength. This value determines how closely Music Creator moves the selected notes to the resolution value, or “grid”. See Strength.

Swing. Use this value to make groups of even eight notes (or whatever note you want to enter in the Resolution field) “swing”, instead of playing with exact eighth note rhythm. A value of 50 percent, or “50-50”, produces equal durations for both notes—no swing. A larger value makes the first note longer, and vice versa. See Swing.

Window. This value determines whether Music Creator quantizes notes that are far from the quantization points, or leaves them alone. A value of 100 percent quantizes every note. See Window.

Randomize. This value randomizes the three previous fields to introduce a more human feel to the rhythm. The value you enter is the maximum amount of difference from the entered values that the randomize feature can add.

For more information about Input Quantize, see Input quantizing.

Main controls

Figure 201. Track Inspector controls for mains.

A. Mute B. Link channels C. Volume D. Meter E. Icon F. Mains name G. Display menu

See also:

Track Inspector controls

To show/hide modules

Click the Display control at the bottom of the Track Inspector and select the modules you want to show/hide.

The following modules are available:

Input Gain. Show/hide Input Trim/Gain/Pan controls.

FX Rack. Show/hide FX Racks.

Sends/Bank/Patch. Show/hide Send controls for audio tracks and buses, or Bank/Patch/Channel controls for MIDI tracks and Instrument tracks.

MSR. Show/hide Mute, Solo, Arm for Recording, Input Echo, Phase Invert, Mono/Stereo, Read Automation, Write Automation and Waveform Preview controls.

Pan Control. Show/hide Pan controls.

Volume. Show/hide Volume controls and meters (and Link controls for mains).

Icon. Show/hide track icons.

In/Out. Show/hide Input and Output controls

Figure 202. Use the Display menu to configure modules in the Track Inspector.

 

See:

Track Inspector overview

Inspectors

Input quantizing

Track-by-track playback

Changing track settings

Routing and mixing digital audio