I just modified another sub-point to emphasize Qtractor's modular approach, which makes it more understandable why it works this way, and to give the alternative of using the output faders if you use PipeWire, while clearly stating the risks.
...
"Are you telling me I can't use the bus outputs for mixing?"
I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying they weren't designed for that purpose.
It's important to keep in mind that Qtractor was designed from the beginning as a modular, not a monolithic, DAW.
For example, if you want to use Qtractor as your main sequencer and delegate some of the mixing to an external mixer (either hardware or software), the output bus faders will regain their full mixing functionality.
In fact, if your audio engine is PipeWire, you can connect the output buses to inserts on other output buses and restore fader functionality. However, this is not recommended for reasons explained below. It currently works, but it may stop working in future versions of PipeWire or Qtractor.
I just modified another sub-point to emphasize Qtractor's modular approach, which makes it more understandable why it works this way, and to give the alternative of using the output faders if you use PipeWire, while clearly stating the risks.
...
"Are you telling me I can't use the bus outputs for mixing?"
I'm not saying you can't. I'm saying they weren't designed for that purpose.
It's important to keep in mind that Qtractor was designed from the beginning as a modular, not a monolithic, DAW.
For example, if you want to use Qtractor as your main sequencer and delegate some of the mixing to an external mixer (either hardware or software), the output bus faders will regain their full mixing functionality.
In fact, if your audio engine is PipeWire, you can connect the output buses to inserts on other output buses and restore fader functionality. However, this is not recommended for reasons explained below. It currently works, but it may stop working in future versions of PipeWire or Qtractor.