DigiDesign DigiRack Plug-ins, DigiRack User Manual

DigiRack™ Plug-ins

Version 7.3

Copyright

© 2007 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights
reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part
without the express written consent of Digidesign.

AudioSuite, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid Xpress, Digi 002, Digi 002
Rack, Digidesign, Mbox, Mbox 2, Mbox 2 Mini, Mbox Pro,
MultiShell, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools
M-Powered, and RTAS are either trademarks or registered
trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the US and other
countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the
property of their respective owners.

Product features, specifications, system requirements, and
availability are subject to change without notice.

PN 9329-55974-00 REV A 01/07

contents

Chapter 1. Introduction

Plug-in Formats

System Requirements

Conventions Used in This Guide

About www.digidesign.com

Chapter 2. Installation and Configuration

Installing Plug-ins

Organizing Plug-ins

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Chapter 3. Working with Real-Time Plug-ins

Processing Power Requirements of TDM and RTAS Plug-ins

Delay in Signal Processing

Plug-ins as Inserts

Inserting Plug-ins on Tracks

The Plug-in Window

Clip Indicators

Using the Side-Chain Input

Tempo Sync

Automating Plug-ins

Instrument Plug-ins

RTAS Plug-ins on Auxiliary Input and Master Fader Tracks

HTDM Plug-in Conversion to RTAS

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Contents

iii

Chapter 4. Working with AudioSuite Plug-ins

The AudioSuite Menu

The AudioSuite Window

AudioSuite Processing Preferences

Using AudioSuite Plug-ins

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Chapter 5. Adjusting Plug-in Controls

Adjusting Plug-in Controls

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Chapter 6. DigiRack Real-Time TDM and RTAS Plug-ins

EQ III

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EQ II

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Click

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Dither

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POW-r Dither

D-Verb

Dynamics III

Dynamics II

Mod Delay II

Signal Generator

SignalTools

Pitch

TimeAdjuster

Trim

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DigiRack Plug-ins Guide

iv

Chapter 7. DigiRack AudioSuite Plug-ins

EQ III

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EQ II

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Dynamics III

Dynamics II

Chorus

Flanger

Multi-Tap Delay

Ping-Pong Delay

Invert

Duplicate

Delay

Normalize

Gain

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Reverse

Signal Generator

DC Offset Removal

Time Compression/ Expansion

Pitch Shift

Time Shift

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Chapter 8. Plug-in Settings

Using the Librarian

Plug-in Settings Dialog

DigiBase and Plug-in Settings Files

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Chapter 9. Using ReWire with Pro Tools

ReWire Requirements

Using ReWire

Tempo and Meter Changes

Looping Playback

Automating ReWire

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Contents

v

Appendix A. DSP Requirements for TDM Plug-ins

DSP Requirements

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Appendix B. DSP Delays Incurred by TDM Plug-ins

Index

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DigiRack Plug-ins Guide

vi

chapter 1

Introduction

Plug-ins are special-purpose software compo­nents that provide additional signal processing
functionality to Pro Tools

The DigiRack™ plug-ins included with
Pro Tools provide a comprehensive suite of dig­ital signal processing effects that include EQ, dy­namics, delay, and other essential functions.

References to Pro Tools LE™ in this guide
are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools
M-Powered™ or Pro Tools Academic™, ex­cept as noted in the Pro Tools M-Powered
and Academic Getting Started Guides.

®

.

Plug-in Formats

There are three formats of plug-ins:

• TDM plug-ins (real-time, DSP-based)

•RTAS

• AudioSuite™ plug-ins (non-real-time, file-

®

plug-ins (real-time, host-based)

based processing)

TDM Plug-ins

(Pro Tools HD Only)

TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) plug-ins
function as track inserts, are applied to audio
during playback, and process audio non-de­structively in real time. TDM plug-ins are de­signed for use with Pro Tools HD software on
Pro Tools|HD
ing power of Digidesign DSP cards.

The number and variety of TDM plug-ins that
you can use simultaneously in a session are lim­ited only by the amount of DSP available. You
can increase available DSP by installing addi­tional DSP cards (such as HD Core, HD Accel, or
HD Process cards) in your computer. This
power-on-demand aspect is a significant advan­tage of Pro Tools|HD systems.

®

systems, and rely on the process-

Chapter 1: Introduction

1

RTAS Plug-ins

RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-ins provide
features and functionality similar to their TDM
counterparts, but unlike TDM plug-ins, they rely
on and are limited by the processing power of
your computer. The more powerful your com­puter, the greater the number and variety of
RTAS plug-ins that you can use simultaneously.

Because of this dependence on the CPU or

processing

currently in a session, the greater the impact it
will have on other aspects of your system’s per­formance, such as maximum track count, num­ber of available voices, the density of edits pos­sible, and latency in automation and recording.

RTAS plug-ins can be used with Pro Tools HD,
Pro Tools LE™.

, the more RTAS plug-ins you use con-

host

System Requirements

To use DigiRack plug-ins you need any the fol­lowing:

• A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system
running Pro Tools

• A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools system
and a third-party software application that
supports the Digidesign TDM, RTAS, or
AudioSuite plug-in standards

• A qualified Avid
or Avid DNA™ system (AudioSuite only)

• A qualified Digidesign VENUE system
(TDM only)

For complete system requirements visit the
Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

Compatibility Information

®

Xpress®, Avid Xpress DV,

AudioSuite Plug-ins

AudioSuite plug-ins are used to process and
modify audio files on disk, rather than nonde­structively in real time. Depending on how you
configure a non-real-time AudioSuite plug-in, it
either creates an entirely new audio file, or alters
the original source audio file. Audio-Suite plug­ins can be used on all Pro Tools systems and
Avid software.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide

2

Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, op­erating systems, hard drives, and third-party de­vices, visit the Digidesign website
(www.digidesign.com).

Conventions Used in This Guide

All Digidesign guides use the following conven­tions to indicate menu choices and key com­mands:

:

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the

File menu

Control+N Hold down the Control

key and press the N key

Control-click Hold down the Control

key and click the mouse
button

Right-click Click with the right

mouse button

About www.digidesign.com

The Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com)
is your best online source for information to
help you get the most out of your Pro Tools sys­tem. The following are just a few of the services
and features available.

Registration

the registration form included with your system
for instructions.

Support

or Customer Service; download software up­dates and the latest online manuals; browse the
Compatibility documents for system require­ments; search the online Answerbase or join the
worldwide Pro Tools community on the Digide­sign User Conference.

Register your purchase online. See

Contact Digidesign Technical Support

The following symbols are used to highlight im­portant information:

User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.

Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in
this guide and other Digidesign guides.

Training and Education

courses available online or find out how you can
learn in a classroom setting at a certified
Pro Tools training center.

Products and Developers

products; download demo software or learn
about our Development Partners and their plug­ins, applications, and hardware.

News and Events Get the latest news from
Digidesign or sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

To learn more about these and other resources
available from Digidesign, visit our website
(www.digidesign.com).

Study on your own using

Learn about Digidesign

Chapter 1: Introduction

3

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide4

chapter 2

Installation and Configuration

Installing Plug-ins

The Digidesign DigiRack plug-ins are installed
when you install Pro Tools. For more informa­tion about installing Pro Tools, see the Getting
Started Guide that came with your system.

If installing multiple packages of plug-ins, do so
in the following order:

1 DigiRack plug-ins (installed with Pro Tools).

2 Packs and other bundles included with your

Digidesign system.

3 Any additional plug-ins. Check with the man-

ufacturer of your plug-ins for compatibility in­formation and support.

Organizing Plug-ins

You can customize how plug-in lists (plug-in
menus) are organized in the Insert selector and
Plug-in selector.

Plug-ins organized by categories

Plug-ins organized by manufacturer

Use the “Organize Plug-in Menus By” pop-up
menu in the Pro Tools Display Preferences page
to organize plug-in menus in a Flat List (with
plug-ins in alphabetical order), Category, Manu­facturer, or Category and Manufacturer.

Chapter 2: Installation and Configuration 5

“Organize Plug-in Menus By” Option

Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in al-

phabetical order.

Category Organizes plug-ins by process category
(such as EQ, Dynamics, Effects, and Delay), with
individual plug-ins listed in the category sub­menus. Plug-ins that do not have a Category de­fined will appear in the Other Category folder.
Plug-ins can appear in more than one category.

Plug-in categories include:

•EQ

• Dynamics

• Pitch Shift

• Reverb

• Delay

• Modulation

• Harmonic

• Noise Reduction

• Dither

• Sound Field

• Hardware

• Instrument

• Other

• Wrapped Plug-ins

• Effects

Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manu­facturer (such as Digidesign, Eventide, Line 6,
McDSP), with individual plug-ins listed in the
manufacturer submenus. Plug-ins that do not
have a Manufacturer defined will appear in the
“Other” manufacturer folder.

Category and Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins
in two levels of menus. The top menus display
plug-ins by process category (such as EQ, Dy­namics, and Delay), with individual plug-ins
listed in the category submenus. The bottom
menus display plug-ins by their manufacturer
(such as Digidesign, Eventide, Line 6, McDSP),
with individual plug-ins listed in the manufac­turer submenus.

To select how plug-ins are organized:

1 Open or create a session.

2 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the Dis-

play tab.

3 Click the “Organize Plug-in Menus By” pop-

up menu, and select one of the view options.

Choosing Category view for plug-in menus

4 Click Done.

The current Organize Plug-in Menus By setting
is saved with Pro Tools preferences (it is not
saved with the Pro Tools session file).

Plug-in Favorites

To find a plug-in faster, a plug-in can be desig­nated as a favorite. Favorite plug-ins are shown
at the top of the plug-in menu.

Most Digidesign Development Partner plug-ins
will be sorted as Digidesign when view by man­ufacturer is enabled.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide6

When a plug-in becomes a favorite, it is still
shown in plug-in category and/or manufacturer
sub-menus (if enabled) and its name appears in
bold.

Favorite plug-ins

Default Plug-ins

You can set a default EQ plug-in and Dynamics
plug-in, which places them at the top of the In­sert selector pop-up menu on-screen, and first in
the list of menu choices when assigning inserts
on ICON worksurfaces.

Plug-in categories

Menu display of favorite plug-ins (Category view shown)

To designate a plug-in as a favorite:

■ Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) on a plug-in Insert button, and select a
plug-in from the menu (or sub-menus, if en­abled) to designate it as a favorite.

To change the status of a plug-in favorite:

1 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) on a plug-in Insert button, a nd select a
plug-in favorite that you no longer want to des­ignate as a favorite.

2 When selecting the plug-in favorite to change,

you can select the plug-in from the list of favor­ites at the top of the plug-in menu, or in its plug­in category/manufacturer sub-menu (where the
plug-in appears in bold).

Default EQ plug-in

Default Dynamics
plug-in

Default plug-in display in Insert selector menu

To set a default plug-in:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click Mixing.

2 Under Setup, choose a plug-in from the De-

fault EQ or Default Dynamics pop-up menu.

3 Click OK to close the Preferences window.

Chapter 2: Installation and Configuration 7

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide8

chapter 3

Working with Real-Time Plug-ins

Real-time plug-ins process audio nondestruc­tively in real time. They do not alter the original
source audio, but only apply their effect during
playback.

There are two formats of real-time plug-ins:

TDM Plug-ins Rely on the processing power of
Digidesign DSP cards. TDM plug-ins run only on
Pro Tools|HD systems.

RTAS Plug-ins Rely on the processing power of
your computer. RTAS plug-ins run on
Pro Tools|HD and LE systems.

Processing Power Requirements of TDM and RTAS Plug-ins

TDM and RTAS plug-ins differ in their process­ing power requirements.

TDM Plug-ins

You can add more mixing and processing power
to your system by installing additional DSP
cards, provided you have unused PCI (or PCIe)
expansion slots in your computer or use a
Digidesign-approved Expansion Chassis.

The System Usage window (Window > System
Usage) shows how much DSP is available on
your system, and gives an approximation of
how it is currently being used.

For more information on the System Usage
window, see the

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Each real-time TDM plug-in that is inserted in a
Pro Tools session uses a portion of your system’s
total available DSP resources.

Since these DSP resources reside on the cards
that make up your particular Pro Tools hard­ware configuration, the amount of DSP avail­able depends entirely on the number and type
of DSP cards in your system.

System Usage window

See Appendix A, “DSP Requirements for
TDM Plug-ins” for relative numbers of in­stances of each DigiRack TDM plug-in that
can be powered by a single DSP chip. DSP
capacity differs with card type.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 9

DSP Sharing Between TDM Plug-ins

With Digidesign’s MultiShell™ II technology,
different types of TDM plug-ins can share the
same DSP chip at the same time. This lets you si­multaneously use a greater variety of plug-ins by
efficiently managing the DSP available on each
chip in your system.

To take advantage of this capability, plug-ins
must be MultiShell II compatible. All
DigiRack TDM plug-ins with the exception of
Pitch are MultiShell II compatible.

Some third-party plug-ins may not be Multi­Shell II compatible. To check compatibility,
contact the manufacturer.

RTAS Plug-ins

RTAS plug-ins rely on and are limited by the pro­cessing power of your computer’s CPU. The
more RTAS plug-ins you use concurrently in a
session, the greater the impact it will have on
other aspects of your system’s performance,
such as maximum track count, the density of
edits possible, and latency in automation and
recording.

Improving RTAS Plug-in Performance

You can increase the number of RTAS plug-ins
your system can use concurrently by increasing
the Hardware Buffer Size and CPU Usage Limit.

Hardware Buffer Size

The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) con­trols the size of the hardware cache used to han­dle host processing tasks such as monitoring la­tency and using Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS)
plug-ins.

◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce

monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input.

◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings provide

more audio processing and effects, and are use­ful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.

In addition to causing slower screen re­sponse and monitoring latency, higher
Hardware Buffer Size settings can affect the
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data,
and timing for Instrument or MIDI tracks.

The CPU meter in the System Usage window
(Window > System Usage) shows how much of
your computer’s processing power is currently
being used by Pro Tools, and how much is still
available.

For more information on the System Usage
window, see the

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide10

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select

the audio buffer size, in samples.

3 Click OK.

RTAS Processors

CPU Usage Limit

The RTAS Processors setting determines the
number of processors in your computer allo­cated for RTAS plug-in processing.

With computers that have multiple processors,
or that feature multi-core processing or hyper­threading, this setting lets you enable multi-pro­cessor support for RTAS processes. Used in com­bination with the CPU Usage Limit setting, the
RTAS Processors setting lets you control the way
RTAS processing and other Pro Tools tasks are
carried out by the system.

◆ A higher number of processors reserves more

CPU processing capacity for RTAS plug-in pro­cessing. This is useful for sessions with large
number of RTAS plug-ins.

◆ A lower number of processors leaves more

CPU processing capacity for automation, screen
redraws, and video playback in Pro Tools, or for
other application running at the same time as
Pro Tools.

To set the number of RTAS Processors:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the RTAS Processors pop-up menu, select

the number of available processors you want to
allocate for RTAS plug-in processing.

3 Click OK.

The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro­cessing tasks such as RTAS plug-in performance
and screen redraws.

◆ Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-

fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-inten­sive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
when you are experiencing slow system re­sponse, or when running other applications at
the same time as Pro Tools.

◆ Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate

more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more real-time plug-ins.

Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen response on slower computers.

To change the CPU Usage Limit:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, se-

lect the percentage of CPU processing you want
to allocate to Pro Tools. (On dual-processor Mac
computers, this setting controls the allocation
of a single processor.)

3 Click OK.

For more information on the Hardware
Buffer Size and CPU Usage Limit, refer to
the

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 11

RTAS Error Suppression

You should only enable RTAS error suppression
if you are experiencing frequent RTAS errors
that are interrupting your creative workflow.
When RTAS error suppression is enabled, you
can experience a degradation of audio quality.
However, this may be acceptable in order to
avoid interrupting playback and recording
when working with instrument plug-ins. Be sure
to disable RTAS error suppression when you
need to ensure the highest possible audio qual­ity, such as for the final mix or audio layback.

Enabling Ignore Errors During Play­back/Record only suppresses error reporting.
RTAS errors can result in pops and clicks in
the audio during playback and recording. To
avoid this, try increasing the CPU Usage
Limit and the HW Buffer Size, and reduce
the number of RTAS plug-ins in use in the
session.

To enable RTAS error suppression:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.

3 If available, you can also select Minimize Ad-

ditional I/O Latency.

4 Click OK.

RTAS Error Suppression Options

Ignore Errors During Playback/Record When en­abled, Pro Tools continues to play and record
even if the RTAS processing requirements ex­ceed the selected CPU Usage Limit. This can re­sult in pops and clicks in the audio during play­back and recording, but does not stop the
transport.

Minimize Additional I/O Latency When enabled,
any additional latency due to suppressing RTAS
errors during playback and record is minimized
to 128 samples. Suppressing RTAS errors re­quires at least 128 samples of additional buffer­ing on some systems. If the Minimize Addi­tional I/O Latency option is disabled, the buffer
is half the H/W Buffer Size, or at least 128 sam­ples (which ever is greater). If you are on an
older, slower computer, you may not want to
enable this option since doing so can adversely
affect performance.

Playback Engine dialog, Mbox 2 (Mac OS)

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide12

The Minimize Additional I/O Latency option is
only available if the Ignore Errors During Play­back/Record option is enabled.

This option is only available on Pro Tools sys­tems that require additional buffering for RTAS
error suppression, as follows:

• Windows XP:

• Mbox

• Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interfaces

• Mac OS X:

• Mbox

• Mbox 2

• Mbox 2 Pro

• Mbox 2 Mini

• Digi 002

• All Pro Tools M-Powered systems

• All Pro Tools Academic systems

®

2 Pro

with Pro Tools M-Powered or Pro Tools Ac­ademic

®

and Digi 002 Rack

RTAS Plug-ins on Auxiliary Inputs or Master Faders

With Pro Tools HD, RTAS plug-ins can be in­serted on Auxiliary Input and Master Fader
tracks, or after TDM plug-ins on any kind of
track.

This can affect voice usage and total latency,
and limitations on inserting or removing plug­ins during playback. For more information, see
“RTAS Plug-ins on Auxiliary Input and Master
Fader Tracks” on page 27.

Delay in Signal Processing

DSP and host-based processing in digital audio
systems incurs signal delay of varying amounts.
Such delays can vary from as short as few sam­ples to as long as several hundred samples, de­pending on the type of processing applied.

If you have recorded an instrument on multiple
tracks using multiple microphones (a drum kit
for example) and process the different tracks
with different plug-ins, the tracks may go out of
phase. You will then need to compensate for
these delays to avoid phase cancellation prob­lems.

See Appendix B, “DSP Delays Incurred by
TDM Plug-ins” for information on delays
inherent in specific DigiRack TDM plug­ins. See the
guide to calculating DSP-induced delays.

Compensating for Delay

Use the following methods, as available, to com­pensate for processing delay.

Delay Compensation

Use Delay Compensation to automatically cal­culate and compensate for processing delay. For
more information on Delay Compensation, see
the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Delay Compensation is automatically en­abled on Pro Tools LE systems and cannot
be turned off.

Pro Tools Reference Guide for a

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 13

TimeAdjuster

You can compensate for TDM or RTAS plug-in­induced delays by using the TimeAdjuster plug­in. This plug-in lets you apply a specific number
of samples of delay to the signal path of a
Pro Tools track. TimeAdjuster provides settings
files that apply the correct compensation time
in samples for delay introduced by one or more
plug-ins. See “TimeAdjuster” on page 90 for
more information about the TimeAdjuster plug­in.

dio track, Instrument track, or Auxiliary Input
on which the instrument plug-in is inserted. This
allows for latency-free monitoring of the instru­ment plug-in during recording.

Delay Compensation for instrument plug­ins works only when all MIDI and audio
connections take place inside of Pro Tools.
For example, Pro Tools does not suspend
delay compensation when you are using Re­Wire to connect software synthesizers and
samplers.

For information about TimeAdjuster in
Delay Compensation sessions, see the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Manual Delay Compensation

You can manually compensate for processing
delay by first calculating the amount of delay on
each track, and then nudging other track’s play­lists later or earlier in time. This method is useful
when Delay Compensation is unavailable, or
when you want to conserve resources.

You can also compensate for offsets in­curred by processing delays by using the
same plug-ins on all tracks.

Low-Latency Recording with Instrument Plug-ins

When an Instrument track containing an in­strument plug-in (or a MIDI track routing MIDI
data to an instrument plug-in) is record enabled,
Pro Tools automatically suspends delay com­pensation through the main outputs of the au-

MIDI and Audio Processing Plug-ins

Some plug-ins, such as Bruno and Reso, process
audio while allowing MIDI data to control pro­cessing parameters. When you record enable an
Instrument or MIDI track that is controlling an
Audio processing plug-in, the track the plug-in
is inserted on will go into low-latency mode, ef­fectively making the processed audio play early.

To keep audio time-aligned when using a MIDI
controlled plug-in on an audio track:

■ Start-Control-click (Windows) or Command-

Control-click (Mac) the Track Compensation in­dicator for the audio track to apply delay com­pensation.

To keep audio time-aligned when using a MIDI
controlled plug-in on an Auxiliary Input:

1 Start-Control-click (Windows) or Command-

Control-click (Mac) the Track Compensation in­dicator for the Auxiliary Input to bypass delay
compensation.

2 Enter the total system delay into the User Off-

set field.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide14

Plug-ins as Inserts

Real-time plug-ins are available as in-line inserts
on audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master
Faders. A maximum of 5 real-time plug-ins can
be used per track.

When more than one insert is used on a track,
they process the audio in series, each effect be­ing added to the previous one, from top to bot­tom in the Mix window.

Inserts can be used in two ways:

On Single Tracks An insert can be applied to an
individual audio track or Auxiliary Input using
the Insert selector on that track.

With in-line inserts, you control the level of ef­fect by adjusting the controls of the plug-in.

As Shared Resources An insert can be used as a
shared resource in a send-and-return arrange­ment by bussing signals from several tracks to
an Auxiliary Input, and applying the insert to
the Auxiliary Input track. With such an arrange­ment, you can control the send level for each
track and the overall level of the effect can be
controlled from the Auxiliary Input track.

Shared arrangements let you make more effi­cient use of your system’s processing power.

Pre-Fader Operation

Real-time plug-ins function as pre-fader inserts
(except on Master Fader tracks, where inserts are
post-fader), meaning that their input levels are
not affected by a track’s volume fader.

Real-time plug-ins are pre-fader, but post-disk.
This means that if you record to disk with a
plug-in inserted on the record track, you will
hear the effect of the plug-in, but the effect will
not be recorded to disk.

To record with a plug-in effect, create an Auxil­iary Input, insert the desired effect on the Aux­iliary Input track, then route the Auxiliary Input
to the audio track to which you want to record.
Alternatively, bounce the audio track with the
plug-in after recording in order to write the ef­fected audio to disk.

Mono, Multi-Mono, and Multichannel Plug-ins

Plug-ins can be used in mono, multi-mono, or
multichannel formats, depending on the type of
plug-in and whether the destination is a mono
or multichannel track.

In general, when working with stereo and
greater-than-stereo tracks, use multichannel
plug-ins. If a multichannel version of a plug-in
is not available, use a multi-mono version.

Plug-in formats

Mono Plug-ins Used on mono tracks. Some
mono plug-ins (such as Mod Delay) can gener­ate stereo or greater-than-stereo output from a
mono channel. Plug-ins that occur on a track af­ter a stereo plug-in are used in stereo as well.

Multi-Mono Plug-ins Used on stereo or greater­than-stereo multichannel tracks when a multi­channel version of the plug-in is not available.
Multi-mono plug-ins can analyze and process
each channel independently without regard to
each other. Controls for all channels are linked
by default so that you can adjust them in tan-

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 15

dem. You can unlink controls for independent
adjustment using the Master Link button. See
“Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi­Mono Plug-ins” on page 21.

Multi-mono plug-ins, such as dynamics­based or reverb plug-ins, may not function
as you expect. Use the multichannel version
of a multi-mono plug-in when available.

To insert a plug-in on a track:

■ Click the Insert selector on the track and se-

lect the plug-in that you want to use.

Multichannel Plug-ins Used on stereo and
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks. On
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks, the
controls for all channels are always linked to­gether.

Inserting Plug-ins on Tracks

To use a real-time plug-in in a Pro Tools session,
insert it on a track. Before doing so, make sure
the Inserts View is shown in the Mix or Edit win­dow.

To show inserts in the Mix window:

■ Choose View > Mix Window > Inserts.

To show inserts in the Edit window:

■ Choose View > Edit Window > Inserts.

Inserting a plug-in with Plug-ins by Category enabled

click here

Inserting a plug-in (standard view)

You can also drag and drop plug-in settings
files (.tfx) from DigiBase browsers, or Win­dows Explorer or the Mac Finder, to Inserts
to insert the corresponding plug-in with
those settings.

Removing an Insert from a Track

To remove an insert from a track:

■ Click the Insert selector and select No Insert.

Removing a plug-in

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide16

Configuring Plug-ins During
Playback

You can change, add, or remove real-time plug­ins and hardware inserts during playback. On
Pro Tools|HD systems, adding or removing
RTAS plug-ins that change voicing assignments
(for example, inserting an RTAS plug-in after a
TDM plug-in) temporarily interrupts playback,
but without stopping the transport.

Plug-in Changes During Record

Changing plug-ins during audio recording is
disallowed so that you don’t inadvertently in­terrupt audio recording. However, you can make
changes while recording MIDI only.

Moving and Duplicating Inserts

You can move or duplicate an insert by dragging
it to a different position on the same track or a
different track. Inserts that are moved or dupli­cated retain their original settings and automa­tion.

To move an insert:

■ Drag the insert to a new insert location.

To duplicate an insert:

■ Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac) the

insert to a new insert location. The duplicated
plug-in retains its original settings and automa­tion.

Making Plug-ins Inactive

You can set plug-ins as inactive in order to free
up DSP resources for other plug-ins and process­ing. When a plug-in is inactive it retains its as­signment, position, and related automation
playlists. However, it will not pass audio and
does not consume any DSP or TDM resources.

To toggle a plug-in active or inactive, do one of the
following:

■ Control-Start-click (Windows) or Command-

Control-click (Mac) the Insert button.

– or –

■ Make the track inactive.

For more information about making tracks
inactive, refer to the

Guide

.

To toggle plug-ins in the same insert position on all
tracks active or inactive:

■ Control-Start-Alt click (Windows) or Com-

mand-Control-Option click (Mac) an Insert but­ton in the position you want to toggle.

Pro Tools Reference

Moving a plug-in

Dragging an insert on top of an existing in­sert replaces it.

To toggle plug-ins in the same insert position on all
selected tracks active or inactive:

■ Control-Start-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) or

Command-Control-Option-Shift-click (Mac) an
Insert button in the position you want to toggle.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 17

The Plug-in Window

The Plug-in window appears whenever you click
a plug-in Insert button on a track. This floating
window lets you set the controls of any real­time plug-in insert in use on a track.

Insert button

Insert
selector

Convert Plug-in Selector Lets you convert the in­sert from a TDM plug-in to an RTAS plug-in of
the same type (or vice-versa). This feature can
only be used on plug-ins that are available in
both TDM and RTAS formats.

Clip LED Lights red to indicate if any meter in a
plug-in has clipped (not available on all plug­ins). The Plug-in Clip LED follows Pro Tools set­tings for clip indication (see the Pro Tools Refer-
ence Guide for more information).

Settings Menu Lets you copy, paste, save, and
import plug-in settings.

Insert button and selector on track

Next Setting

Settings
Select

Compare

Auto button

Automation Safe

Target

Effect

button

Bypass

Convert
plug-in

Settings menu

Track selector

Librarian menu

Insert Position
selector

Plug-in selector

Previous Setting

Plug-in window (mono Trim shown)

Track Selector Accesses any non-MIDI track in a
session.

Insert Position Selector Accesses any insert on
the current track.

Plug-in Selector Lets you select any real-time
plug-in installed in the Plug-ins folder (that is
created when you install Pro Tools).

Effect Bypass Button Disables the currently dis­played plug-in. This lets you compare the track
with and without the effect.

Librarian Menu Recalls settings files saved in the
plug-in’s root settings folder or in the current
session’s Settings folder. See “Using the Librar­ian” on page 115.

Next (+) and Previous (–) Setting Buttons Let
you select the next or previous plug-in setting
from the Librarian menu.

You will lose the current settings if they are
not saved before you use the Next and Pre­vious Setting buttons. Always save your set­tings to the Librarian menu.

Plug-ins Settings Select Button Accesses the
Plug-in Settings dialog, which lists the settings
files for the current plug-in. From this list, you
can select a new setting, or audition a series of
settings.

Compare Toggles between the original saved
plug-in setting and any changes you have made
to it so you can compare them.

Auto Lets you enable individual plug-in controls
for automation recording. See “Automating
Plug-ins” on page 24.

Safe When enabled, prevents existing plug-in
automation from being overwritten.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide18

Target Button When multiple Plug-in windows
are open, clicking this button selects that plug­in as the target for any computer keyboard com­mands.

Key Input Selector Lets you select audio on a
particular input or bus and route it to trigger the
plug-in. This menu only appears on plug-ins
that feature side-chain processing. Key inputs
are monophonic.

MIDI Node Display Shows MIDI node informa­tion for MIDI-enabled plug-ins. MIDI nodes are
virtual connections from Pro Tools to software
instruments and other MIDI-enabled plug-ins.
MIDI nodes are useful for routing multiple MIDI
tracks to different channels of a single virtual
MIDI device. MIDI node numbers are also dis­played in the plug-in header and in a track’s
MIDI Output selector.

MIDI Node

Midi Node display in a plug-in header (Bruno shown)

Link Enable Buttons Let you selectively link or
unlink the controls of specific channels of a
multi-mono plug-in. Each square represents a
speaker channel. The Master Link button must
be disabled to use the Link Enable buttons. See
“Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi­Mono Plug-ins” on page 21.

Channel Selector Accesses a specific channel
within a multichannel track for plug-in control
editing. This menu appears only on multi-mono
plug-ins inserted on tracks with more than one
channel. Shift-clicking this selector opens a sep­arate Plug-in window for each channel of the
multichannel track on which the plug-in is in­serted.

Phase Invert Button Inverts the phase polarity of
the input signal on some plug-ins.

Phase Invert

button

LFE Enable

Master Link Button When enabled, links the
controls on all channels of a multi-mono plug­in so that they can be adjusted in tandem.

Phase Invert

Plug-in window (multi-mono 1-Band EQ shown)

Link Enable buttons

Channel selector

Master Link button

Plug-in window (multichannel Compressor/Limiter
shown)

LFE Enable Enables plug-in processing of the
LFE (low frequency effects) channel on a multi­channel track formatted for 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 sur­round formats on some plug-ins. To disable LFE
processing, deselect this button. For more infor­mation on the LFE channel, refer to the Pro Tools
Reference Guide.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 19

Tempo Sync Enables compatible plug-ins to au­tomatically synchronize to the session tempo,
for rhythmic delay, echo, and similar effects. See
“Tempo Sync” on page 23 for more informa­tion.

Plug-in Window Controls

All plug-ins provide standard Pro Tools controls
for track and insert selection, bypass, and other
controls, in addition to plug-in-specific con­trols.

Opening Plug-in Windows

To open a Plug-in window:

■ Click the plug-in button in the Mix or Edit

window channel strip.

By default, each plug-in you open will appear in
the same location as a currently open plug-in,
replacing it in the same window location.

Opening Multiple Plug-in Windows

Pro Tools normally displays a single Plug-in
window from which you can adjust the controls
of any plug-in in a session. You can also open
additional Plug-in windows for specific plug-ins.

Once you begin working with multiple Plug-in
windows, you will need to click the Target but­ton on the plug-in whose controls you want to
adjust using keyboard commands.

To open an additional Plug-in window:

■ Shift-click the Insert button for the additional

plug-in.

To select a different plug-in on the same track:

■ Click the Insert selector and select a plug-in

from the pop-up menu (or Category sub-menu).

Selecting a plug-in from the Plug-in window

To choose a different track:

■ Click the Track selector and choose a track

from the pop-up menu.

To open Plug-in windows for each channel of a
multi-mono plug-in:

■ Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the

Channel selector in the Plug-in window of the
multi-mono plug-in.

To close all currently open Plug-in windows:

■ Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the

close box of any currently open Plug-in window.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide20

Choosing a track from the Plug-in window

To choose a different insert:

■ Click the Insert Position selector and choose

an insert from the pop-up menu.

Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono Plug-ins

When a multi-mono plug-in is used on a multi­channel track, the controls are normally linked.
Adjusting the Gain control on one channel, for
example, will adjust it for all channels.

If necessary, you can unlink plug-in controls on
specific channels of a track and edit them inde­pendently. You can also selectively link the con­trols of specific channels.

Choosing an Insert from the Plug-in window

Bypassing Plug-ins

To bypass a plug-in, do one of the following:

■ Click the Plug-in window’s Bypass button.

– or –

■ Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) the plug-in’s Insert button in the Mix or
Edit window.

When a plug-in insert is bypassed, the In­sert selector in the Mix window changes its
color to blue for easy visual reference. If
some, but not all channels of an unlinked
multi-mono plug-in are bypassed, the Insert
selector appears purple.

Some channels bypassed (purple)

Bypassed (blue)

Bypass states indicated by color

Unbypassed (gray)

Phase Invert

Link Enable buttons

Channel selector

Master Link button

Plug-in window (multi-mono 1-Band EQ shown)

To unlink controls on a multi-mono plug-in:

■ Deselect the Master Link button.

To access controls for a specific channel:

■ Select the channel from the Channel selector.

To link the controls of specific channels:

1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al-

ready deselected.

2 Click the Link Enable buttons for the chan-

nels whose controls you want to link.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 21

Clip Indicators

Using the Side-Chain Input

Many plug-ins provide meters that let you see
when the processed signal is clipping.

In addition to clipping displays that are a part of
a plug-in’s individual interface, some plug-ins
also report the clipping in the plug-in header.
The insert button in the Mix and Edit window
also turns red if a plug-in has clipped.

Clip
LED

Plug-in Clipping indicator in the plug-in header

clipped

Plug-in Clipping indication in the Mix window

To clear plug-in clipping:

■ Click the clip LED in the plug-in header

To clear a clip indicator:

■ Click the clip LED in the plug-in header

You can also clear plug-in, send, and, and track
window clip indicators simultaneously.

The side-chain input is the split-off signal used
by a plug-in's detector to trigger dynamics pro­cessing, and is generally drawn internally from
the input signal. However, some plug-ins let you
switch between internal and external side-chain
processing.

With external side-chain processing, a plug-in's
detector is triggered by an external signal (such
as a separate reference track or audio source)
known as the key input.

A typical use for external side-chain processing
is to control the dynamics of one audio signal
using the dynamics of another signal (the key
input). For example, a kick drum track could be
used to trigger gating of a bass track to tighten it
up, or a rhythm guitar track could be used to
gate a keyboard pad.

Side-Chain Filters

Some plug-ins feature key high-pass and low­pass filters. These controls let you define a spe­cific frequency range in the side-chain signal
with which to trigger the plug-in effect. A com­mon production technique is to use these con­trols to filter a drum track so that only specific
high frequency sounds (such as a hi-hat) or low
frequency ones (such as a tom or a kick) trigger
the effect.

To clear all clip indicators, do one of the following:

■ Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac)

any meter.

■ Press Alt-C (Windows) or Option-C (Mac).

■ Choose Track > Clear All Clip Indicators.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide22

Using a Key Input for External Side­Chain Processing

To use a key input for external side-chain
processing:

1 Click the plug-in’s Key Input selector and se-

lect the input or bus carrying the audio you
want to use to trigger the plug-in.

Selecting a key input

2 Click External Key to activate external side-

chain processing.

3 Press the Spacebar to begin playback. The

plug-in uses the input or bus that you chose as a
key input to trigger its effect.

4 During playback, do any of the following to

fine-tune side-chain triggering:

• To hear the audio source you have selected
to control the side-chain, enable Side­Chain Listen or Key Listen (depending on
the plug-in). When finished, disable Side­Chain Listen/Key Listen to resume normal
plug-in monitoring.

• To filter the side-chain so that only specific
frequencies trigger the plug-in, use the fil­tering controls (if available) to select the
desired frequency range.

Tempo Sync

Pro Tools provides Tempo Sync to enhance MIDI
Beat Clock support and overall tempo capabili­ties of plug-ins (such as ReWire client applica­tions) that utilize MIDI Beat Clock.

Tempo Sync provides a direct connection be­tween session tempo and plug-in parameters
that support MIDI Beat Clock. This direct con­nection lets plug-in parameters such as delay,
auto-pan, and other time-domain effects auto­matically synchronize to and follow changes in
session tempo.

Tempo Sync simplifies MIDI Beat Clock config­uration by making session tempo available to
relevant plug-in parameters directly from
within the plug-in window. For plug-ins that do
not support Tempo Sync, the original MIDI Beat
Clock window (Setup > MIDI > MIDI Beat Clock)
remains available in Pro Tools.

Compatibility and Settings

When opening older sessions that included
plug-ins that subscribe to MIDI Beat Clock,
Tempo Sync will be automatically enabled. Any
plug-ins that used automation for tempo
change should have that automation suspended
or deleted to avoid conflict with Tempo Sync.

Tempo Sync is not available in plug-ins
with which it would limit functionality. For
example, for the Access Music Virus Indigo
and IndigoV40 plug-in, use the Pro Tools
MIDI Beat Clock window (Setup > MIDI >
MIDI Beat Clock). See the Pro Tools Refer­ence Guide for more information.

5 Adjust the plug-in’s Threshold control (if

available) and other controls as needed.

Chapter 3: Working with Real-Time Plug-ins 23

To utilize Tempo Sync:

1 Insert a plug-in that supports Tempo Sync,

such as the DigiRack Mod Delay II.

2 Click the Tempo Sync icon. The tempo shown

will change to match the current session tempo.

Tempo Sync

Tempo Sync icon (Mod Delay II shown)

3 To set a rhythmic delay, click a note value

(whole, half, quarter, eighth, or sixteenth), then
do any of the following to further adjust the
rhythm:

• To enable triplet delay timing, click the 3
button so that it is lit.

• To set a dotted delay value, click to enable
the dotted icon.

• To apply some swing to the delay value, ad­just the Groove slider.

Automating Plug-ins

You can automate changes to plug-in controls.
Because Pro Tools creates a separate playlist for
each plug-in control that you automate, you can
later edit and modify each automated control
individually. This lets you to build up complex
automation in stages.

To create automation for a stereo plug-in
with separate controls for each channel,
(such as Mod Delay), record the automation
for one channel, then copy and paste it to
the other channel.

For complete instructions on Pro Tools au­tomation, refer to the

Guide.

Preference Setting to Auto Enable All Plug-in Parameters

You can configure Pro Tools to enable all param­eters for automation when you first assign a
plug-in insert.

Pro Tools Reference

To auto-enable all parameters on newly inserted
plug-ins:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the Mix-

ing tab.

2 In the Automation section, click to select the

Plug-in Controls Default to Auto-Enabled set­ting.

• When selected, all applicable controls of
newly added plug-ins are enabled for auto­mation.

• When not selected, the controls of newly
added plug-in must be manually enabled
for automation.

DigiRack Plug-ins Guide24