Using Mix Scenes

Mix Scenes are managed from the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module.

To show/hide the Mix Recall module, right-click the Control Bar and select Modules > Mix Recall.

Figure 404. The Mix Recall module.

A. Save Scene B. Save As New Scene C. Recall Previous Scene D. Mix Recall menu

The Mix Recall module contains the following controls:

Mix Recall menu. The Mix Recall menu lets you create, load, save, rename and delete Mix Scenes. The name of the current Mix Scene is shown in the menu. The menu contains the following commands:

List of Mix Scenes. List of saved Mix Scenes. Select a Mix Scene to load its mix. If the project contains more than 10 Mix Scenes, the list is shown in a Recall Scene submenu.

Recall Previous Scene. Load the previous Mix Scene. This allows you to quickly compare two different mixes by toggling between the two most recent Mix Scenes. The name of the previous Mix Scene is shown in parenthesis.

Reset Mix. Reset all mix parameters to their default values and clear any automation envelopes. This command only applies to the settings that are selected in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box (see To configure Mix Recall settings and Mix Recall Settings dialog).

Save Scene. Save the current mix to the selected Mix Scene. If no Mix Scene is selected, a new Mix Scene (and .cwm file) is created.

Save As New Scene. Save the current mix to a new Mix Scene.

Rename Scene. Rename the selected Mix Scene. Note: this command only creates a friendly name for the current project; it does not rename the actual .cwm (Cakewalk Mix Scene) file that is stored on your computer’s hard disk since the Mix Scene might also be used by other projects.

Delete Scene. Delete the selected Mix Scene. Note: this command only removes the project’s reference to the Mix Scene, it does not delete the underlying .cwm file from your computer’s hard disk since the Mix Scene might still be used by other projects.

Delete All Scenes. Delete all listed Mix Scenes for the project. Note: this command only removes the project’s reference to the Mix Scenes, it does not delete the underlying .cwm files from your computer’s hard disk since the Mix Scenes might also be used by other projects.

Mix Recall Settings. Open the Mix Recall Settings dialog box, which lets you specify the type of data that is applied when you load a Mix Scene or use the Recall Previous Scene and Reset Mix commands. You can choose to restore all the mix data (default) or just a subset of the data. You can also specify if the operation should apply to all tracks and buses, or only to selected tracks or buses. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

Save Scene . Save the current mix to the selected Mix Scene. If no Mix Scene is selected, a new Mix Scene (and .cwm file) is created.

Save As New Scene . Save the current mix to a new Mix Scene.

Recall Previous Scene . Load the previous Mix Scene. This allows you to quickly compare two different mixes. Right click the Recall Previous Scene button to open the Mix Recall Settings dialog box.

To create a new Mix Scene

1.	To create a new Mix Scene based on the project’s current mix state, do one of the following:

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Save As New Scene button .

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Save As New Scene.

2.	Type a descriptive name for the Mix Scene, or accept the default name.

 

Note: A saved project file stores references to all Mix Scenes used by that project, as shown in the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module. The physical Mix Scene files are stored externally in the \MixScenes folder, alongside the project audio folder. The file naming convention is <project name>.Mix n.cwm. Because Mix Scenes that are used by a project are always listed in the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, you do not need to manually manage any external files. Bundle files (.cwb files) additionally embed all the physical Mix Scene files (.cwm) within the bundle. This allows you to easily load a bundle file along with its embedded Mix Scenes on a different computer.

To save a Mix Scene

To save the project’s current mix state to the current Mix Scene, do one of the following:

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Save Scene button .

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Save Scene.

Tip: You can auto-save the current Mix Scene when you load another Mix Scene. To do so, enable the Auto-save when switching scenes option in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

To recall a Mix Scene

 

Warning: Recalling a Mix Scene clears the Undo History (see Undo, redo, and the undo history), and is not undoable.

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then select the desired Mix Scene.

 

Note 1: When loading a Mix Scene, the imported settings are determined by the settings in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

 

Note 2: Mix Recall uses internal track IDs to map mix parameters. Mix Scenes only apply to “same” tracks and buses in the project. That is, to tracks and buses that existed when you last saved the Mix Scene. If you delete tracks or create new tracks, then load an old Mix Scene, the Mix Scene will not automatically map the affected tracks. Any new tracks or buses are ignored. In this case you must resave the Mix Scene or create a new Mix Scene in order to include the new tracks/buses.

To recall the previous Mix Scene

Do one of the following:

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Recall Previous Scene button .

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Recall Previous Scene.

 

Note 1: When loading a Mix Scene, the imported settings are determined by the settings in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

 

Note 2: If you switch Mix Scenes during playback, a small glitch may occur if the Mix Scenes use plug-ins. This is normal and happens because the plug-ins have to be loaded/unloaded. To make Mix Recall process faster, you can turn off FX recall in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

To combine/merge mixes from multiple Mix Scenes

You might have multiple Mix Scenes and you want to combine the best parts from each Mix Scene. For example, you might want to use the drum mix from one Mix Scene, and the vocal mix from a different Mix Scene. Mix Recall makes this very easy.

1.	Do one of the following:

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Mix Recall Settings.

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, right click the Recall Previous Scene button .

2.	In the Mix Recall Settings dialog box, click the Advanced button to show advanced settings, then select the following options:

Apply to: Track/bus selection

Track controls

Track automation

Track FX

Note: Also select any other mix settings you want to recall.

3.	Click OK to close the Mix Recall Settings dialog box.

4.	Select the track(s) that contain the mix you want to replace by a specific Mix Scene. For example, select all the drum tracks.

5.	In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then select the desired Mix Scene. For example, the Mix Scene that contains the desired drum mix.

6.	Select the next track(s) that you want to import a Mix Scene to. For example, select all the vocal tracks.

7.	In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then select the desired Mix Scene. For example, the Mix Scene that contains the desired vocal mix.

8.	Repeat steps 6-7 for any tracks you want to update.

You have now combined mixes from different Mix Scenes, while all unselected tracks remain unchanged.

To rename a Mix Scene

1.	Load the Mix Scene you want to rename.

2.	In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Rename Scene.

3.	Type a descriptive name for the Mix Scene.

Note: Mix Scenes are saved in the \MixScenes folder, alongside the project audio folder. Renaming a Mix Scene only changes the friendly name for the current project, it does not rename the actual .cwm file that is stored on your computer’s hard disk. This is intentional because other projects might reference the same Mix Scene.

To configure Mix Recall settings

The Mix Recall Settings dialog box lets you specify the type of data that is applied when you load a Mix Scene or use the Recall Previous Scene and Reset Mix commands.

1.	Do one of the following:

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Mix Recall Settings.

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, right-click the Recall Previous Scene button .

2.	In the Mix Recall Settings dialog box, select any of the following options:

Controls. Recall track and bus parameters, such as volume and pan. This option toggles the individual Track controls and Bus controls options that are available when you click the Advanced button.

Automation. Recall track and bus automation envelopes. This option toggles the individual Track automation and Bus automation options that are available when you click the Advanced button.

FX. Recall track and bus effects plug-ins, including ProChannel and synths that are referenced by tracks. This option toggles the individual Track FX and Bus FX options that are available when you click the Advanced button.

Defaults. Reset the Mix Recall Settings dialog box to its default settings.

Ask this every time. Select this check box if you want to be presented with the Mix Recall Settings dialog box every time you load a Mix Scene.

Click the Advanced button to show/hide the following options:

Track controls. Track controls include the following parameters:

Gain

Pan

Manual mute

Automated mute

Solo

Volume trim

Input gain

Input pan

Send gain

Send pan

Send enable

Send pre/post

Track automation. All automation envelopes that live in tracks, including track parameters and plug-in parameters.

Caution: If you insert or delete time/measures in a project, you might experience unexpected results if you load an old Mix Scene that contains automation envelopes. The automation envelopes will no longer be aligned properly with the project’s timeline. You might need to manually move the affected portion of the envelopes by a corresponding amount.

Track FX. All plug-ins that live in tracks, including ProChannel and synths that are referenced by tracks.

Bus controls. Bus controls include the same settings as tracks, but for buses.

Bus automation. All automation envelopes that live in buses, including bus parameters and plug-in parameters.

Bus FX. All plug-ins that live in buses, including ProChannel.

Synth Rack. Recall soft synth persist data. When selected, all referenced synths in the Mix Scene will be restored to their saved state when a mix scene is loaded. When unselected, if a loaded Mix Scene references a synth in the rack, patches or samples will not be reloaded into memory and the existing synth state will be retained.

Hardware Outputs. Hardware output settings include the following parameters:

Hardware output left gain

Hardware output right gain

Hardware output left mute

Hardware output right mute

Offset values. Apply any Offset Mode values. For details, see Envelope mode and Offset mode.

Auto-save when switching scenes. Before loading a different Mix Scene, automatically save the current mix to the current Mix Scene.

Outputs. Recall track and bus output routings.

Apply to. Apply the operation to the entire project, or only to selected tracks or buses.

Entire project. Apply the operation to the entire project.

Track/bus selection. Apply the operation only to selected tracks or buses.

To delete a single Mix Scene

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Delete Scene.

Note: Mix Scenes are saved in the \MixScenes folder, alongside the project audio folder. When you delete a Mix Scene via the Mix Recall module, you are only removing the project’s reference to the Mix Scene, but the underlying .cwm file that is stored on your computer’s hard disk is not deleted. This is intentional because other projects might reference the same Mix Scene.

To delete all Mix Scenes

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Delete All Scenes.

Note: Mix Scenes are saved in the \MixScenes folder, alongside the project audio folder. When you delete a Mix Scene via the Mix Recall module, you are only removing the project’s reference to the Mix Scene, but the underlying .cwm file that is stored on your computer’s hard disk is not deleted. This is intentional because other projects might reference the same Mix Scene.

To reset all mix parameters to their default settings

In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Reset Mix.

All mix parameters are reset to their default values, and any automation envelopes are deleted.

 

Note: When resetting the mix, the affected parameters are determined by the settings in the Mix Recall Settings dialog box. For details, see To configure Mix Recall settings.

To only recall selected tracks or buses

If you only want specific tracks or buses to be affected when you load a Mix Scene, do the following:

1.	In the Control Bar’s Mix Recall module, click the Mix Recall drop-down menu, then click Mix Recall Settings.

2.	In the Mix Recall Settings dialog box, click the Advanced button to show advanced settings, and make sure Apply to: Track/bus selection is selected.

3.	Select the desired track(s) or bus(es) before you load a Mix Scene.

Only the selected tracks/buses will have their mix settings replaced when you load a Mix Scene.

To export multiple mixes

If your project contains multiple Mix Scenes, you can export all mixes simultaneously.

1.	To export the entire project, go to Edit > Select > All, or press CTRL+A.

2.	Go to File > Export > Audio to open the Export Audio dialog box.

3.	In the Files of type list, select the desired file format.

4.	Enter a file name in the File name box.

5.	In the Source Category list, select Mix Recall.

6.	In the Source Scenes list, select the Mix Scenes you want to export.

7.	Click Export.

The selected Mix Scenes are exported to separate files. The exported files use the following naming convention: <project name>-<Mix Scene name>.<file type extension>.

For example: MyProject-MixScene1.wav, MyProject-MixScene2.wav, etc.

 

See:

Mix Recall

Mix Recall Settings dialog

Mix Recall module

Control Bar overview

Mixing

Preparing audio for distribution