Hey Guy, Thank you so much for answering my questions. And no problem about confusing me with someone else, I get it all the time. People often mistake me for Brad Pitt.
Your answers inspired a few more if you dont mind.
3. Not sure I quite follow (probably a terminology issue between different DAWs) - it will follow any channel be it midi, audio, group etc if that's what you're asking.
For #3, I worded it poorly. I was really asking if the artist mix banks with Group tracks and FX tracks if you select them in the mixer or only in the arrange page? This brings up another question, which selection takes priority, mixer or arrange? Or do they have to be linked via the Cubase preference for the mixer to follow arrange page selections, etc.
7. Pretty indispensable for mixing. To me its all about faders with meaningful labels so you know exactly where you are at all times, nothing else matters very much. It's so quick in Pro Tools to throw 2 or 3 tracks together you want to balance and they're right there. For midi CCs its a little more of a luxury, but still a very useful one. If you're programmed a CC part across 16 bars, say, but just want to redo a bit in the middle, it is great to be able to drop in purely by touching the fader. Having a dumb fader that can't pick up the current automation data is a PITA.
When you say “It's so quick in Pro Tools to throw 2 or 3 tracks together you want to balance and they're right there.” What exactly do you mean? How are you “throwing” tracks? In your DAW or on the artist mix itself? For example, lets say I wanted to automate vocals (audio track 1), lead guitar (audio track 19), and drums (drum bus 10) so the vocals fade out on a long note and the lead guitar and drums fade up to take over the mix. Can I somehow tell the artist mix that I want to automate these three tracks (even though they are not next to each other in the project) or do I have to move them from their nicely organized places in my arrangement so they are next to each other at the top of the arrange page?
Also your midi CC example brought up a question. I’m not too familiar with Cubase yet, but in Logic there was a way to move midi CC data from being midi region data to track automation data, and vice versa. So if you recorded a midi part and also recorded midi CC with it, by default it would only be editable in the key editor as midi CC. But like you said previously, the artist mix can only automate CC’s in the arrange page and not the key editor. I’m assuming Cubase has a way of dealing with this? Or do you have to only use the artist mix to record CC data and you cannot switch, like if you recorded mod wheel with your keyboard for example and now want to redo part of that midi CC. Hope that makes sense.
Thanks again for sharing your experience with the artist mix! REALLY helpful!!