Brief Summary
A ‘selection group’ isn’t a Pro Tools Group as such, it’s an alternative way of quickly controlling groups of tracks independently of the Mix and Edit Groups in Pro Tools.
Going Deeper
Groups in Pro Tools, whether they are Mix groups, Edit groups or both are one of the fundamental ways of controlling multiple tracks simultaneously. They differ from the Groups found in mixing consoles in that they exist independently of signal routing, with that function being fulfilled by Aux Inputs or more recently their more flexible cousin the Routing Folder.
However there are other ways of controlling multiple tracks and sometimes adding more functionality to groups adds complexity which can be avoided by using a different approach, what we’ll call a ‘selection group’.
This tutorial was created by our much missed colleague the late Kevin Becka. In it he uses a memory location which is storing an edit selection across the required tracks. This selection, when used with Link Track And Edit Selection enabled, allows the user to quickly recall custom track selections. When used with keystrokes, track header functions can be toggled, for example Shift+R to record enable. Option+Shift can be used to apply operations to the selected tracks.
But What About Regular Groups?
Pro Tools Groups are of course still important and useful. Mix groups are an essential part of managing multiple tracks when mixing in Pro Tools, and the bigger your session gets, the more you find you need them.
Novices in particular can find using groups frustrating and knowing how to switch them off, either permanently of temporarily is something you need o know straight away.
Many people use the Suspend Groups shortcut (Control+Command+G on Mac or Control+Start+G on PC) when they find they need to tweak the relative levels of the tracks in a group of tracks. Although this works it isn’t the only way. Instead why not try holding Control, or Start on a PC, to momentarily suspend the group so you can tweak relative levels without suspending or disabling any groups.
Add A Control Surface
Many aspects of Pro Tools are faster and simpler with a good control surface and Groups are no exception. Check out this demonstration of how to add and remove tracks from Groups using an Avid S1.
And if you want to know more about the hows and whys of Pro Tools groups check out this premium tutorial on 5 things to know about Mix Groups.
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Photo by Ryan Holloway