Multitrack Editor overview

In the Multitrack Editor, you can mix together multiple audio tracks to create layered soundtracks and elaborate musical compositions. You can record and mix unlimited tracks, and each track can contain as many clips as you need—the only limits are hard disk space and processing power. When you’re happy with a mix, you can export a mixdown file for use on CD, the web, and more.

The Multitrack Editor is an extremely flexible, real‑time editing environment, so you can change settings during playback and immediately hear the results. While listening to a session, for example, you can adjust track volume to properly blend tracks together. Any changes you make are impermanent, or nondestructive. If a mix doesn’t sound good next week, or even next year, you can simply remix the original source files, freely applying and removing effects to create different sonic textures.

Adobe Audition saves information about source files and mix settings in session (.sesx) files. Session files are relatively small because they contain only pathnames to source files and references to mix parameters (such as volume, pan, and effect settings). To more easily manage session files, save them in a unique folder with the source files they reference. If you later need to move the session to another computer, you can simply move the unique session folder.

In the Multitrack Editor, the Editor panel provides several elements that help you mix and edit sessions. In the track controls on the left, you adjust track‑specific settings, such as volume and pan. In the timeline on the right, you edit the clips and automation envelopes in each track.

The Mixer (Window > Mixer) provides an alternative view of a session, revealing many more tracks and controls simultaneously, without showing clips. The Mixer is ideal for mixing large sessions with many tracks.