John,
I have fought #1 for a long time. I still haven't found an easy way to avoid splitting the wrong track, UNDO is my friend here.

On #2, I purchased a Nanokontrol audio controller that can be programmed for mutes and solos. This makes it easy to mute and solo a specific track.

Dave T2

Dave,

Thanks for the reply.

#1: Makes me wonder why new versions of Vegas are always about "new" features instead of making what we do every day easier.

#2 That Korg controller seems interesting and reasonably priced. I assume you have programmed Vegas into it?

John

I have programmed the Korg to do transport, Mute and Solo and set levels and balance. It is a little flaky at times but programming is not too hard and once you learn it's little idiosyncracies, it can save some keystrokes. It is programmed as a Midi Controller so it does not replace a Mouse or Shuttle Control.

I have also programmed it to work with Pro Tools, but certain functions do not work correctly, such as pans. But volume works well and the transports work good.

Look on Ebay, you can usually get it under $50, I think I paid $25 for mine.

There are two versions, I have the older model, so I can speak to the compatitbility of the newer one.

Dave T2

Thanks Dave,

I see them here.

Here is a comment on the Nanokontrol2 from Amazon. I think I'll look for the original version.

I got the two because i saw some reviews online that suggested that it was more solidly built than the previous version.
John

1) The SHIFT & CTRL selection works just like Windows: click the first one, click another & SHIFT selects all in between, CTRL just selects what you click on. If you have multiple selected and want to select a range, then you CTRL click on the first in the range then SHIFT+CTRL click on the last one. Should keep all previous selected & select the range.

I normally don't split the wrong track, just in the wrong spot. "Measure twice, cut once" works in Vegas as well as with the table saw. :)

2) Soloing/muting can be a pain, mostly because (as far as I know) you need the track you want muted/soloed selected to use the shortcut key on it. For syncing up, I have always just placed a marker in the area to sync too, then move stuff there. I guess you could use the trimmer and add makers to the media in the trimmer at the sync points, then you just need to match up those media markers to your project marker, that could save time when syncing.

Yeah, that's the one.

Dave T2

Thanks Steve,

#1 I was wondering if there is maybe a way to put space between the tracks then the wrong things wouldn't be selected. It definitely doesn't always work as is should. Vegas selects things you didn't click on and deselection is just as bad.

What makes the problem even worse for me is that the Vegas behavior is much more pronounced when some of the tracks are muted and others are soloed.

#2 I do that. Time consuming, but I guess necessary.

John

John,

Not a real good review for sure. There are a bunch of youtube videos about these devices.

The older one has 4 scenes you can store. It has 9 faders (which you can use scenes to allow you to access more than 9 tracks), and although they are not up to a studio professional standard, I find them very sturdy and easy to move. Base on the way Vegas has done the midi, it is hard to get the volume to land at 0db. I usually end up a decimal off, but here again, I wouldn't use it for critical work. You can use it during WRITE mode and do mixes that are stored and editable. It took me a while to figure out how to use the Korg software to program the unit, but I found a site online that helped with that.

Again, it is good for quick muting and soloing, transport and quick changing of audio levels. I also programmed some buttons to enable the READ WRITE and LATCH functions. I think it is worth the $25 I spent.

Dave T2

Thanks again Dave.

John

There's several scripts out there that let you lock and unlock all of the events on a track. I use this alot. Once all the events on a track are locked, they can't be accidently split while you are splitting others.

(In vegas scripting) see:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=21&MessageID=593694

The one I use was created by JetDV I believe, but I can't seem to find it. It comes with icons for lock and unlock, I have them set as buttons on the main tool bar. extreemly useful.

hope this helps,
Keith

Edit.
To create the unlock script. copy it to another file and change
evnt.Locked = true;
to
evnt.Locked = false;

That sounds promising K,

So, if I want to split tracks 1 and 3 and not split 2 I can click button 2 to lock it, Place the cursor and hit S an only 1 and 3 are affected?

Sounds good.

Thanks,

John

Alternatively, here is a very good method I use for your problem with #1. The secret lies in IGNORE event grouping button. It is tedious to click the icon every time, so make a shortcut. You have to do a little keyboard mapping in order to enjoy this method. but I swear once you make this change F4 (or your selected key) will become your best friend.

I assume that you are grouping the tracks once you have them in sync, correct?

GO TO OPTIONS, CUSTOMIZE KEYBOARD, and type "ignore" under the "show commands containing" dialogue.

THEN, CHANGE THE DEFAULT SHORTCUT KEY TO "F4" (I think initially it is some big chain like CTRL + CHIFT + U) or somthing.

Once you have made a hotkey for IGNORE EVENT GROUPING you can then click on every event you want to split or move, and then Vegas will split ONLY that track or selected tracks. hit the key one more time, and you're moving the whole group again, after you performed an edit or whatever you like.

This one key saves me a lot of time when I have to edit 3 or 4 tracks of audio that are synched with 2 or 3 tracks of video.

Chap