Charlie, thanks for your reply. But I must confess that I'm quite confused by it.

The Master channel in the mixer (as far as I can tell), cannot be used to fade in the start of a song, or fade it out. Volume automation doesn't work on it and you can't specify where to come in or out. The mute button just mutes all channels. Doesn't replace being able to specify bars, it just mutes.

As far as I can see (and I hope and wish that I'm wrong), the only thing that the Master channel on the mixer is good for is inserting plug-ins that affect the whole song.

Please correct me or clarify. Thanks!