Old 06-13-2021, 08:39 AM   #1
Sparkl
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Hey guys!

I have a specific question - I searched the web for it quite a bit but couldn't find the answer to it.

So in my projects I obviously use a lot of foldering the tracks as a way to create submixes efficiently.

The issue I'm having is that in large projects, it becomes quite difficult to efficiently track all the submixes.

How I like to do it is the following:

Let's say we have a project with the drum tracks, some guitar lines, let's say a brass section and vocals.

I will tend to immediately create submixes (folders) for each instrument, so:

- drums go to "drums" folder
- guitars will all go to a guitar folder
- brass to brass folder
- vocals to vocal folder

If I need to create submixes for certain tracks separately, I would do so within the folder (I know, the pan law could be an issue, but I tend to address this later in the mixing process if I actually even need to).

Now the way I would like to set up my workflow is the following:

1. Have the main folders I created stand on the left side of the mixer (so I can quickly solo specific instruments without needing to swipe through the mixer)

2. AUX FX (routed reverbs/delays and whatnot)

3. Actual instruments

Now this way, I could have a nice option of quickly soloing a whole group and have a nice overview of AUX FX channels as well, without the need to swipe the mixer constantly and getting lost as a consequence.

Problem is, I have no idea whether Reaper even allows for a folder submix to be "detached" from the children tracks to be put in such order as I have described.

The only way I can do it now is to put folders the way I described but I will inevitably drag all the children tracks on the mixer with me and this clogs up my mixer.

Any ideas? I would very much appreciate any answer

Have fun guys, happy mixing!

P.S.:

Oh and by the way, if there were such a thing as "automatically soloing all the tracks that are present in a specific folder when you solo just that folder, it would be awesome - this way I could find all the children tracks way easier.
I love the ProTools mixer design so I use a Pro Tools theme for Reaper because it looks the most inspiring for my workflow, but then ProTools design doesn't show folder stacks the way default theme does.
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Old 06-13-2021, 11:04 AM   #2
Sparkl
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Ha, found my answer! Just had to right click the mixer and click "group folders to left". Very cool!

I still have this little issue left with soloing a folder and auto-soloing or somehow visually emphasizing the children track in the mixer, for easier tracking.

I'd be grateful for any information about this.
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Old 06-13-2021, 11:25 AM   #3
Fergler
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You could gang the solo's together in track grouping. Select the entire folder hierarchy and group solo as both master and slave. However, now in order to solo one of the parts individually you will need to shift+click it in the track panel / mixer instead of normal click.
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Old 06-13-2021, 12:31 PM   #4
Dr Bob
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What have done with complex sets of folders is to create a new track (e.g. "Percussion") and route the drums folder parent output there (remembering to uncheck the drums parent's send to master!). Same for all the other folders, and then put this set of new tracks to the left.

That way I have a set of faders for all the main "entities" in the mix, and then it's easy to solo or mute things, and also a visual set of faders which represent the structure of the mix "entities".

I might e.g. have a faders for percussion, bass, guitars, vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, special fx/motifs, etc. Sort of like having a set of faders for "macro mixing", but with the ability to drill down into the individual elements in the specific folders if need be, e.g. ride volume etc.

Any tracks which are not in folders, I still create a new track and send for them as well (a bit redundant I know), but I then "know" all my "master set" of faders to control the mix at the "higher level" are all set up the same way. So, if I needed to add say a double/multi tracked vocal, I could put this new track(s) next to the original vocal track, get a folder around them, and then route this folder parent to the same fader on the left (already receiving from the vox track, but remember to delete this route!) as part of the "macro mix set".

HTH and makes some sense.

Just my way of approaching things.

dB
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Old 06-14-2021, 06:11 AM   #5
Robkress
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SP,

My work flow is similar that I use a lot of nested foldering. So, for instance, my drum folder is a collection of many folders (kick, snare, toms, overhead, room, etc...). And within each of these subfolders, are many tracks.

The way I keep my sanity with big track counts in the mixer and the track control panel is by zooming in and out with hot keys. Indeed, parents can be grouped together at the left or parents can be routed to surrogate tracks grouped together but there is "management" there that I don't prefer.

So I built myself a hot key to collapse and expand all folders. So in one key stroke, I can take an entire mixer and collapse it to just parent folders. I like this because it instantly puts my mixer back to a known and tidy state. Then, I pick the folder I want to work in and expand it. Do some work, then collapse all folders again.

It is a lot of zooming in and out but with the hot key, it's very effective (in my opinion). I build two custom actions for this (one for mixer one for track control). The mixer hot key collapses and expands while the track control hot key only collapses. If you're interested to try them out, I can post when I am back in my studio.

Cheers

Rob
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