VCA group : please explain..

[Aquarius]

Hi,

I've never used a "large forrmat console" so my understanding of VCA groups / faders is very little.
Could someone please chime in to explain the whole story ?
What use would it be in my sessions ?
Why is it different from groups as we knew it with PT ?
Cheers,
A

[crizdee]

Hi,

A quick explanation..

With VCA faders you can assign them to track groups and control the volume and mute of those tracks regardless of their output assignments. it will simple control the volume and mute for any tracks assigned to the group, so group your tracks together as you normally would and then assign the VCA to control that group.

Chris

[Aquarius]

Hi Chris,

I was wondering something like that : thank you !
But...Imagine you have your tracks grouped and assigned to a sub Bus aux track :
What then is the difference with the VCA ? I know VCA don't pass audio, nor use PI ?
Should I then have to control that sub Bus aux track with VCA.
Also, It's not clear what the VCA meter show ? PT manual says it's the louder signal amplitude...
Cheers,
A

[crizdee]

Hi Chris,

I was wondering something like that : thank you !
But...Imagine you have your tracks grouped and assigned to a sub Bus aux track :
What then is the difference with the VCA ? I know VCA don't pass audio, nor use PI ?
Should I then have to control that sub Bus aux track with VCA.
Also, It's not clear what the VCA meter show ? PT manual says it's the louder signal amplitude...
Cheers,
A

Hi,

If the tracks/group etc is assigned to a common bus, then there is no real advantage to using a VCA fader, unless you want to trim all tracks levels by a common amount etc and stuff like that! or you want to adjust tracks plus the sends when set to post fader. we'll all find ways to use this new feature

The new VCA faders are going to be a blessing to those who mix out of the box!? as they will be able to adjust volume/mute grouped tracks that are all assigned to different outputs and fed to an analogue or digital console etc.

Chris

[Produce_Dept]

The meter on the VCA will display the highest signal in the VCA group's level.
If all the members of the VCA groups have the same track number (ie stereo, mono, or surround) than the VCA will have meters with the same configuration.
If there are many different track configurations (more than one) it will default to a mono meter.

If my memory serves me!

[tlester]

Hi,

A quick explanation..

With VCA faders you can assign them to track groups and control the volume and mute of those tracks regardless of their output assignments. it will simple control the volume and mute for any tracks assigned to the group, so group your tracks together as you normally would and then assign the VCA to control that group.

Chris

And I'm assuming since it's digital, it'll happen without the "ugliness" of the actual VCA in the signal path!!!

-Tom

[crizdee]

And I'm assuming since it's digital, it'll happen without the "ugliness" of the actual VCA in the signal path!!!

-Tom

Hi,

Call it CCA code controlled amplifier

Chris

[Peter Duemmler]

Thr greatest advantage of VCA groups over normal subgroups to me is that they control the tracks´ level, not the group level.
Because of that the tracks´ post fader aux sends will be affected by the VCA groups level.

Peter

[Mark Wheaton]

Is there any resource we can go to to better understand this new feature?