Tracks, Routing, and Track Controls

Miao projects start from a GarageBand-like default template:

• Audio 1: audio track.
• MIDI 1: MIDI track for built-in instruments and custom samples.
• Reverb Bus: bus track.
• Master: final output.

Track Types

Track Type	Can Hold Audio Regions	Can Hold MIDI Regions	Can Record	Can Have Track Effects	Main Use
Audio	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Imported clips and live audio.
MIDI	No	Yes	Yes, for MIDI notes	Yes	Per-track instruments and custom samples.
Bus	No	No	No	No in the current UI	Shared routing and group processing path.
Master	No	No	No	Master Effects only	Final output.

Track Header Controls

Each track header can show:

• M: mute.
• S: solo.
• Record-dot icon: record arm.
• Ear icon: input monitoring.
• A compact volume fader.
• A pan balance knob.

Master has no solo button because soloing the final output is not meaningful. Master mute silences the full final output. Master volume is the final output fader, and Master pan is final output balance. Record arm is disabled for bus and master tracks. Input monitoring is only available for audio tracks.

Right-click a track header or lane to find mute, solo, record, monitor, add-track, MIDI-region, and delete actions.

Add Tracks

Use any of these:

• Top-left timeline add buttons: audio waveform, keyboard, and route icons.
• Command palette: Add audio track, Add MIDI track, Add bus track.
• Right-click a track or empty timeline and choose add actions.

Select and Rename Tracks

Click a track header to select it. The Track inspector updates to the selected track.

Rename a track from Track > Mix in the inspector. Remote collaborators may temporarily lock track renaming while they are editing the same track.

Volume and Pan

Track volume ranges from -60 dB to +12 dB. Pan ranges from full left to full right and displays C when centered.

On the Master track, volume is the final output fader and pan is final output balance. Both affect realtime playback and exported mixdowns after Master Effects. Stem exports stay source-track based and do not include Master output controls.

Adjust volume and pan directly in the track header. Select the track when you want the right inspector to show routing, sends, Track Effects, instrument settings, or Master Effects.

Routing

Tracks can output to:

• Master.
• A bus track.
• None.

Bus tracks output to the master. The master outputs to the browser audio output.

Routing, solo, and mute decisions for source tracks and buses stay separate from Master output controls. The Master track-head mute/volume/pan is applied at the end of realtime playback and mixdown export.

Choose None when a track should not be heard directly. This is useful for silent sidechain key tracks: the key can still feed a Compressor sidechain while its normal output is not mixed.

Sends

Audio and MIDI tracks can send signal to bus tracks. A selected track can have up to 4 sends. Sends are useful for shared effects or parallel processing, such as sending multiple tracks to a reverb bus.

If no send target is available, the Add Send control is disabled.

Track Effects

Audio and MIDI tracks support Track Effects in the Track inspector. Track Effects process that track before routing/sends reach the output.

Track Effects run as a serial insert chain in the order shown. Duplicate effects are allowed and process as separate inserts. Bypassing an insert keeps its settings and position; removing it deletes that processor from the chain.

Available Track Effects:

• Meter
• Utility
• Parametric EQ
• EQ
• Gate
• Transient
• Compressor
• Multiband Dynamics
• De-esser
• Dynamic EQ
• Saturation
• Amp / Cab
• Pedal
• Clipper
• Bitcrusher
• Shifter
• Resonator
• Vocoder
• Chorus
• Flanger
• Phaser
• Tremolo
• Auto-pan
• Auto-filter
• Delay
• Reverb
• Room
• Pitch
• Limiter

Each Track Effect has a compact module UI, enable/delete controls, preset chips, preview buttons, sliders, select controls, and switches for binary controls. Meter is analyzer-only and shows track peak without changing audio, while the Master Meter adds peak/RMS/correlation readouts, momentary/short-term/integrated LUFS-style loudness, and a log-frequency spectrum. Utility covers gain, stereo width, balance, mono, phase invert, and left/right swap. Parametric EQ adds four switchable bands with Bell, Low shelf, High shelf, and Notch modes for surgical tone shaping; the Master Parametric EQ visualizer overlays the live spectrum so you can match EQ moves to audible energy. Compressor can use another audio or MIDI track as a sidechain key input for ducking; the key source can be routed to None when you want it to trigger compression silently. Multiband Dynamics splits the signal into low, mid, and high bands with independent thresholds and ratios for glue, bass control, and bright taming. De-esser dynamically turns down harsh high-band content. Dynamic EQ targets one frequency band with Q, threshold, ratio, gain-reduction range, attack/release, and mix controls for taming resonances or vocal harshness without static EQ cuts. Amp / Cab adds guitar- and bass-friendly drive, tone stack controls, Open/Combo/Stack cabinet voicing, mix, and output trim. Pedal adds Overdrive, Distortion, and Fuzz modes with tone, bias, output, and wet/dry control for stompbox-style color before heavier amp shaping. Shifter adds frequency shifting and ring modulation with stereo spread, drive, and mix controls for metallic layers, phasing, tremolo-like modulation, and sound design. Resonator adds tuned harmonic, chord, or metallic modal rings for making drums, noise, and loops follow a tonal center. Vocoder uses the track signal as the modulator and an internal synth, noise, or hybrid carrier for robotic voice, drum, and texture effects with bands, formant, tone, release, mix, and output controls. Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Tremolo, Auto-pan, and Auto-filter can run free-rate or lock to project-tempo divisions. Delay can run in free seconds or follow the project tempo with musical divisions such as 1/8, 1/4, dotted 1/4, 1/2, or 1 bar. Reverb offers Room, Hall, and Plate styles with pre-delay, decay, damping, and width controls. Limiter can act as a maximizer with input drive, ceiling, soft knee, and release. Use presets for quick starting points, then adjust controls for the exact sound.

Full-mix export includes routing, bus returns, Track Effects, Master Effects, automation, and Master output controls. Stem export is per non-master source track and does not include final Master Effects or Master track-head mute/volume/balance.

Solo and Mute Behavior

Solo takes priority over regular playback routing. If one or more audio/MIDI tracks are soloed, non-soloed source tracks are silenced. If one or more bus tracks are soloed, only the soloed bus returns are heard unless a source track is also soloed; soloed source tracks keep their required bus path audible. Mute silences the muted source or bus track. Master solo is not available; Master mute silences the full final output.