How to revert to original layer content when comping?

[Miss Marple]

Hi there,
I am trying my first wobbly steps in comping with Studio One 6.2 and there is an issue I could not find any hints how to solve in the internet. If I've overlooked the place to look at, please be so kind to point me in the right direction.

So, here is my issue:
Let's say there is a track with 4 layers containing different takes of the same music, and I decided to activate layer 1 to use it as a base layer for comping. As soon, as I do that, this layer 1 disappears from the layer grid and is only visible in the final (main) track.
I then start to cut and dice the track (which is the layer 1 content now) into segments / events and replace "bad" events in that track with events of layer 2, or 3, or 4. Sometimes, I might try one after the other and find, none of them is really better and I'd like to revert to the original content of layer 1. But that content is no longer available because as soon as I activated layer one and "elevated" it to the final track, it disappears from the visible layer grid. It also disappears from any menu where I can pick the different layers for this event. (I hope, I could explain my problem understandably.)
How / Where can I restore the original layer 1 content of that segment?
I am sure there must be a very simple answer, but am just not finding it. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Thanks, guys,
Petra

 

[tacman7]

Lot of ways to do things in S1.

Main thing I preach is have takes to layers on and delete what you record on the active track,, that will keep the labels correct.

When I start a vocal comp for instance, I highlight sections(phrases) all the way through, can be on the same track. Highlight copies the contents to the active track. When I loop play it section by section I double click on the phrases in the other takes, so you audition the layers then decide.

I usually wind up taking the start of one phrase and going to the rest in another take, sometime a bunch of editing to get what I want, I'm a very bad singer.

 

[tremo]

I'm not deeply familiar with all the fine points of comping in S1, but what I do is -- when I'm ready to start comping from takes, I create a new layer with nothing recorded in it. I call it "COMP". Then the highlighted sections of the takes below go to this new layer, but you still have the takes intact. Make sense?

 

[ianaeillo]

I'm not deeply familiar with all the fine points of comping in S1, but what I do is -- when I'm ready to start comping from takes, I create a new layer with nothing recorded in it. I call it "COMP". Then the highlighted sections of the takes below go to this new layer, but you still have the takes intact. Make sense?

That's the way I do it and it works great. Great suggestion.

 

[SwitchBack]

Often overlooked: you can make all layers visible. Here's a video showing how to do that and how it helps with the comping process.

 

[Miss Marple]

@tacman7 @tremo @ianaeillo, Thank you all for your valuable suggestions, that helped a lot.
I believe my mistake was to activate and thereby "promote" a complete layer to the final track in the first place. Not sure how to describe it correctly. Your suggestion, i.e. starting with an empty track and highlighting every single section, is solving my problem completely.

@SwitchBack thanks for the video referral, too.