How to Create Track Stacks in Logic Pro

If you want to learn how to use Track Stacks in Logic Pro, it comes down to two types: a Folder Stack that visually groups tracks, and a Summing Stack that also routes them into a shared bus so you can process and control them as one. Both clean up a busy session and make mixing faster.

This guide assumes you have a Logic Pro project open with several tracks you would like to group — for example backing vocals, a drum kit, or a layered synth.

Folder Stack vs Summing Stack

The difference is what happens to the audio:

• Folder Stack: purely organisational. It collapses tracks under one header so you can hide or show them, but each track still routes to its own destination.
• Summing Stack: creates a sub-mix. The grouped tracks feed an aux/bus channel, so one fader, one set of plug-ins and one mute/solo control the whole group.

Use a Folder Stack for tidiness and a Summing Stack when you want to process a group together — a drum bus compressor, for example.

How to create a Track Stack

1. Select the tracks you want to combine (click the first, Shift-click the last).
2. Right-click the selection and choose Create Track Stack (or use the menu/shortcut).
3. Pick Folder Stack or Summing Stack in the dialog.
4. Logic groups them under a main track with a disclosure triangle to collapse or expand.

Rename the main track header (for example “Drums” or “BVs”) so the arrangement reads clearly at a glance.

Mixing with a Summing Stack

The main track of a Summing Stack is an aux channel carrying the combined signal. Drop plug-ins here to process the whole group at once — glue compression on a drum bus, a shared reverb send on backing vocals, or a single EQ across layered synths. Individual sub-tracks keep their own faders for balance within the group. This is the same idea as a sub-mix or bus in any DAW; our guide to sends and returns in a DAW explains the routing concepts, and EQ and compression fundamentals covers what to put on the bus.

Practical uses for Track Stacks

• Drum bus: sum a kit (from Logic’s Drummer or live drums) for shared compression.
• Backing-vocal group: control a dozen harmony layers with one fader and one reverb.
• Multi-output instruments: a Summing Stack is created automatically when you add a multi-output software instrument, keeping each output on its own sub-track.
• Big-session tidiness: collapse Folder Stacks to navigate a 60-track project without scrolling forever.

A practical workflow is to stack as you build: the moment you have three or four related tracks, group them. By the time the arrangement is full, the timeline reads as a handful of named groups rather than a wall of tracks, and mixing decisions happen at the group level first, then inside each group.

Editing and ungrouping

You can flatten a Track Stack to remove the grouping, or drag tracks in and out of an existing stack. Automation and freezing still work on the sub-tracks. To save CPU on a heavy stack, freeze the individual tracks inside it — see how to freeze tracks in a DAW. For wider organisation tips that apply here, read how to organise a DAW project, and find more Logic tutorials in the mixing and mastering hub.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between a Folder Stack and a Summing Stack?

A Folder Stack only groups tracks visually — audio routing is unchanged. A Summing Stack routes the grouped tracks into a shared bus, so you can process and control them together with one fader and one set of plug-ins.

Can I add effects to a whole Track Stack?

Yes, if it is a Summing Stack. Add plug-ins to the main (aux) track and they process the entire group. A Folder Stack has no shared signal path, so it cannot host group effects.

How do I ungroup a Track Stack?

Select the main track, right-click and choose to flatten or ungroup the stack. The sub-tracks return to the arrangement as normal tracks.