Pinnacle Systems Mbox - 5.2.1 Quick Start Guide

Getting Started with Mbox

Version 6.1 for LE Systems on Windows XP and Mac OS X

Version 5.3.3 for LE Systems on Windows XP

Version 5.2.1 for LE Systems on Mac OS 9

Digidesign

2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard

Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA

tel: 650·731·6300

fax: 650·731·6399

Technical Support (USA)

tel: 650·731·6100

fax: 650·731·6384

Product Information (USA)

tel: 650·731·6102

tel: 800·333·2137

International Offices

Visit the Digidesign Web site

for contact information

Web Site

www.digidesign.com

Copyright

This guide is copyrighted ©2003 by Digidesign, a division of
Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights
reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be
duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign.

DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.

All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.

PN 932011595-00 REV A 06/03

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

We Digidesign,

2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 200

Daly City, CA 94014 USA

tel: [phone]

declare under our sole responsibility that the product

Mbox

complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules.

Current Consumption 500mA

Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply
with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15
of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and
can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try and correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or locate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and
receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different
from that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician
for help.

Any modifications to the unit, unless expressly approved by
Digidesign, could void the user's authority to operate the
equipment.

Canadian Compliance Statement:

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-

003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme
NMB-003 du Canada.

Australian Compliance

European Compliance

contents

Chapter 1. Welcome to Mbox

Mbox Features

Pro Tools LE Capabilities

System Requirements

Digidesign Registration

About the Pro Tools Guides

About www.digidesign.com

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Chapter 2. Windows Configuration

Windows System Settings

Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance

Installing Pro Tools LE and Mbox

Installing Optional Software for Pro Tools LE

Launching Pro Tools LE

Configuring Pro Tools LE

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Chapter 3. Macintosh Configuration

Apple System Settings

Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance

Installing Pro Tools LE

Installing OMS

Installing the Demo Session

Connecting Mbox to the Computer

Launching Pro Tools LE

Configuring Pro Tools LE

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Chapter 4. Connecting Your Studio

Mbox Front Panel Features

Mbox Rear Panel Features

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Contents

iii

Making Signal Connections to Mbox

Connecting a Recorder for Mixdowns

MIDI Connections

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Chapter 5. Working with Pro Tools LE

Session Basics

Transport Controls

Navigating a Session

Tracks

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Regions Lists

Importing Audio

Basic Recording

Editing

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Mixing

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Plug-Ins

Mix Automation

Final Mixdown

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Appendix A. Windows System Optimizations

Troubleshooting

Advanced Settings

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Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)

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Appendix C. Digidesign ASIO Driver

Introduction

Compatibility

Installing the ASIO Driver

Changing ASIO Driver Settings

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Appendix D. Configuring OMS (Mac OS 9 Only)

Appendix E. Digidesign Control Panel (Mac OS 9 Only)

Index

Getting Started with Mbox

iv

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chapter 1

Welcome to Mbox

Welcome to Mbox, Digidesign’s portable
Pro Tools micro-studio, designed in collabora­tion with Focusrite.

Mbox provides your USB-equipped computer
with two channels of analog and digital audio
input and output, employing professional-qual­ity mic preamps and 24-bit analog-to-digital
and digital-to-analog converters.

The Mbox package includes the following:

• Mbox desktop audio interface

• Installer CD-ROM containing Pro Tools LE
software, DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time Audio­Suite) and AudioSuite plug-ins, and electronic
PDF guides

• This

Getting Started with Mbox Guide

cludes instructions for installing and config­uring Mbox, and an introduction to
Pro Tools LE software

•USB connector cable

• Digidesign registration card

, which in-

Mbox Features

The Mbox desktop audio interface provides the
following:

•2 analog audio inputs with Focusrite micro­phone preamps and switchable 48V phantom
power

• Analog input jacks accept both XLR and 1/4­inch (TRS) connectors, and are switchable be­tween Mic, Line, and Instrument levels

•2 channels of S/PDIF digital input and output

•2 analog monitor outputs

• 24-bit A/D and D/A converters, supporting
sample rates of 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz

• Zero-latency analog record monitoring with
adjustable balance between input and play­back

• Mono switch for summing the input signal
with the monitor mix

• Analog 1/4-inch TRS insert on each input

• 1/4-inch
output with adjustable level control

• USB-powered operation

(

TRS) or 1/8-inch stereo headphone

Mbox will not function properly if connected
to a USB hub. If you need to use a hub for
other USB peripherals, use a separate USB
port; Mbox must have a dedicated port in or­der to function properly.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Mbox

1

Pro Tools LE Capabilities

Pro Tools LE software provides the following ca­pabilities with Mbox:

Pro Tools LE 6.1

• Play back up to 32 mono digital audio
tracks, and play back up to 30 tracks while
recording up to 2 tracks, depending on
your computer’s capabilities

• Sessions can include up to 128 audio tracks
(with 32 voiceable tracks maximum), 256
MIDI tracks, 128 Auxiliary Input tracks,
and 64 Master Fader tracks.

Pro Tools LE 5.3.3 (Windows Only)

• Play back up to 32 mono digital audio
tracks, and play back up to 30 tracks while
recording up to 2 tracks, depending on
your computer’s capabilities

• Sessions can include up to 32 audio tracks,
128 MIDI tracks, 64 Auxiliary Input tracks,
and 64 Master Fader tracks.

Pro Tools LE 5.2.1

• Play back up to 24 mono digital audio
tracks, and play back up to 22 tracks while
recording up to 2 tracks depending on your
computer’s capabilities. See the Digidesign
Web site for information on 32 track capa­bility with Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 (www.digide­sign.com/compato)

• Sessions can include up to 32 audio tracks,
128 MIDI tracks, 64 Auxiliary Input tracks,
and 64 Master Fader tracks.

.

All Systems

• 16-bit or 24-bit audio resolution, at sample
rates up to 48 kHz

• Nonlinear, random-access editing and mix au­tomation

• Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plug-ins
per track, depending on your computer’s ca­pabilities

• Up to 5 inserts and 5 sends per track

• Up to 16 internal mix busses

Getting Started with Mbox

2

Pro Tools LE uses your computer’s CPU to
mix and process audio tracks (host process­ing). Computers with faster clock speeds
yield higher track counts and more plug-in
processing.

System Requirements

Mbox can be used with a Digidesign-qualified
Windows or Macintosh computer running
Pro Tools LE software.

Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesign­qualified computers, operating systems, hard
drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest
compatibility information on the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).

Hard Drive Configuration and
Maintenance

It is recommended that you start with a newly
initialized audio drive. You should also periodi­cally defragment your audio drive to ensure
continued system performance.

Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks

Number of tracks and length 16-bit at

44.1 kHz

For a list of qualified hard drives and SCSI host
bus adapters, visit the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato).

Avoid Recording to System Drives

Although Pro Tools LE will let you record to
your system drive, this is generally not recom­mended. Recording and playback on system
hard drives results in lower track counts and
fewer plug-ins.

Hard Drive Storage Space

Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolu­tion at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approxi­mately 5 MB of hard disk space per minute.

The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution
require about 7.5 MB per minute. Table 2 lists
the required drive space for certain track num­bers and track lengths, to help you estimate
your hard disk usage.

16-bit at

48 kHz

24-bit at

44.1 kHz

24-bit at

48 kHz

1 mono track, 1 minute 5 MB 5.5 MB 7.5 MB 8.2 MB

1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 5 minutes

1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 60 minutes

24 mono tracks, 5 minutes 600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB

24 mono tracks, 60 minutes 7 GB 7.8 GB 10.5 GB 11.6 GB

32 mono tracks, 5 minutes 800 MB 883 MB 1.2 GB 1.3 GB

32 mono tracks, 60 minutes 9.4 GB 10.4 GB 14 GB 15.4 GB

50 MB 55 MB 75 MB 83 MB

600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB

Chapter 1: Welcome to Mbox

3

Digidesign Registration

Make sure to complete and return the registra­tion card included with your Pro Tools Mbox
system. Registered users will receive periodic
software update and upgrade notices. Refer to
the registration card for information on techni­cal support.

About the Pro Tools Guides

This

Getting Started with Mbox Guide

how to install and use Mbox to record, edit, and
mix audio and MIDI tracks in Pro Tools LE. For
additional information, see the following on­line guides:

•

Pro Tools Reference Guide

explains Pro Tools LE

software in detail.

•

DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide

explains how to use
the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included
with Pro Tools LE.

•

MIDI Control Surfaces Guide

MIDI control surfaces (such as MotorMix
from CM Labs) with Pro Tools LE.

•

Keyboard Shortcuts

lists keyboard shortcuts for

Pro Tools LE.

PDF versions of the Pro Tools guides are in­stalled automatically with Pro Tools LE, and are
accessible from the Pro Tools menu (Mac OS X)
or the Pro Tools Help menu (Windows XP and
Mac OS 9). To view or print the PDF guides, you
can install Acrobat Reader (included on the
Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM).

explains

covers the use of

Conventions Used in This Guide

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

:

Convention Action

File > Save Session Choose Save Session 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 (Windows) Click with the right mouse

button

The following symbols are used to highlight im­portant information:

.

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

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

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in
other Digidesign guides.

Printed copies of the Pro Tools LE Manual
set (including the Pro Tools Reference
Guide) can be purchased separately from
the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).

Getting Started with Mbox

4

About www.digidesign.com

The Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com)
is your best 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.

Support

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

Training and Education

Pro Tools Operator or Expert; study on your
own using 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; learn about
our Development Partners and their plug-ins,
applications, and hardware.

News and Events

Digidesign; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.
To learn more about these and other resources

available from Digidesign, visit our Web site
(www.digidesign.com).

Contact Digidesign Technical Support

Become a certified

Learn about Digidesign

Get the latest news from

Chapter 1: Welcome to Mbox

5

Getting Started with Mbox

6

chapter 2

Windows Configuration

Installation of the Mbox on a Windows com­puter includes the following steps:

1

Configuring Windows System Software set­tings. (See “Windows System Settings” on
page 7.)

2

Connecting the Mbox unit to your computer.
and installing Pro Tools LE software (See “In­stalling Pro Tools LE and Mbox” on page 10.)

3

Restarting your computer.

4

Configuring your Pro Tools system (See “Con­figuring Pro Tools LE” on page 14.)

5

Making audio connections to the Mbox. (See
Chapter 4, “Connecting Your Studio” for de­tails.)

Windows System Settings

Configure your Window system settings, as fol­lows:

Required Settings These instructions must be
followed before installing Pro Tools.

Recommended Settings These instructions
should be followed to optimize your system’s
capabilities, or to let older computers run
Pro Tools LE.

If problems occur after configuring all re­quired and suggested settings, see
Appendix A, “Windows System Optimiza­tions” for information on troubleshooting
and configuring advanced settings.

Required Settings

To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools LE, configure the following Control
Panel settings for your version of Windows XP.

When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your com­puter.

Disable Hyper-Threading

For Pentium IV computers with Hyper-Thread­ing, disable Hyper-Threading in the BIOS.

Enable DMA

Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory
Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so your com­puter can do other Pro Tools tasks.

In most cases the DMA option will already be set
correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates
DMA mode by default.

Chapter 2: Windows Configuration

7

Enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-

age.

2 In Classic view, choose Start > Control Panel >

System > Hardware.

– or –

In Category view, choose Start > Control panel >
Performance and Maintenance > System > Hard­ware.

3 Under System Tools, choose Device Manager.
4 In the Device Manager window, double-click

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click
the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard
drive.

5 Click the Advanced Settings tab.
6 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to

“DMA if available,” and click OK.
In most cases, this will already be set correctly as

Windows XP will detect and activate DMA
mode by default.

7 Repeat steps 4–6 for any additional IDE Chan-

nels.

8 Close the Computer Management window.

Disable System Standby and Power Management

When using Pro Tools, the Windows System
Standby power scheme must be set to Always
On. This helps prevent long record or playback
passes from stopping due to system resources
powering down.

To configure Windows Power Management:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, double-click the Power Op-

tions Control Panel, then click the Power
Schemes tab.

– or –

In Category view, click Performance and Main­tenance, then click Power Options, then click
the Power Scheme tab.

3 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select

Always On.

4 Click OK.

This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.

Disable ClearType Font Smoothing

Disable Virus Protection Software

Avoid running virus protection software while
using Mbox since it adversely affects system per­formance (as do all background processes). If
you are using virus protection software, you
must turn it off or remove it and restart your
computer.

Getting Started with Mbox8

When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type”
setting must be disabled.

To disable ClearType font smoothing:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic view, double-click Display.

– or –

In Category view, click Appearance and Themes,
then click Display.

3 Click the Appearance tab.
4 Click Effects.

5 Deselect “Use the following methods to

smooth edges of screen fonts.”

6 Click OK to save your settings and close the

Effects dialog.

7 Click OK.

Completing Windows System Settings

When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your com­puter.

Recommended Configuration

Pro Tools LE can also be affected by other soft­ware and hardware drivers installed on your
computer. For best possible performance, it is
recommended (but not required) that you:

•Avoid running other Windows programs at
the same time as Pro Tools LE.

•Turn off any software utilities that run in
the background, such as Windows Messen­ger, calendars, and disk maintenance pro­grams.

•Turn off any nonessential USB devices
while using Mbox

• If your video display card supports it, en­able Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s
Control Panel.

• Disable any networking cards (other than
any 1394 “FireWire” card that you might
use to connect an external drive to your
system).

For information on disabling networking
cards, see “Disabling Network Cards” on
page 59.

Hard Drive Configuration and
Maintenance

Formatting an Audio Drive

On Windows, it is recommended that you start
with newly formatted drives dedicated for au­dio. For optimum performance, audio drives
should be formatted with the FAT32 or NTFS file
system.

To format and configure an audio drive:

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-

age.

2 Under Storage, choose Disk Management.
3 In the Disk Management window, right-click

the hard drive you will use for audio and choose
Format.

4 For optimal disk performance, select 32K from

the Allocation unit size pull-down. This in­creases how efficiently audio data is written to
and read from the drive.

5 Make sure the Quick Format option is dese-

lected, then click Start, and follow the on-screen
instructions.

Pro Tools only supports Basic drive Types.

6 When formatting is complete, close the For-

mat window.

Audio Drives and Disk Cleanup

The process of recording, editing, and deleting
tracks and sessions can quickly decrease overall
drive performance. It is suggested that you regu­larly use Disk Cleanup (or an equivalent utility)
to asses the condition of drives and, if necessary,
delete temporary files and other unused data.

Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 9

To use Disk Cleanup:

1 Choose Start > Control Panels.
2 In Classic view, double-click Administrative

Tools.

– or –

In Category View, click Performance and Main­tenance, then click Administrative Tools.

3 Select Computer Management, then select

Storage.

4 Choose Disk Management.
5 Select the desired volume in the list, then

choose File > Options.
Disk Cleanup determines how performance is

being affected by drive condition, and lets you
review and delete temporary and other unneces­sary files from the selected volume. For more in­formation on using Disk Cleanup, see your Win­dows XP documentation.

Defragmenting an Audio Drive

Periodically defragment audio drives to maintain
system performance.

Avoid Recording to System Drives

Although Pro Tools will let you record to your
system drive, this is generally not recom­mended. Recording and playback on system
hard drives results in lower track counts and
fewer plug-ins. You should record to system
drives only when necessary (for example, if your
computer system has just one hard drive).

Installing Pro Tools LE and Mbox

To install Pro Tools LE on Windows:

1 Make sure you have configured all the re-

quired Windows system settings, and rebooted
your computer. See“Windows System Settings”
on page 7 for more information.

2 Start up Windows, logging in with Adminis-

trator privileges. If you do not have Administra­tor privileges or do not know how to set them
up, see your Windows User’s Guide.

3 Connect the small end of the included USB ca-

ble to the USB port on Mbox.

To defragment an audio drive:

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-

age.

2 Under Storage, choose Disk Defragmenter.
3 In the Disk Defragmenter window, choose the

drive you want to defragment

4 Click the Defragment button and follow the

on-screen instructions.

5 When defragmenting is complete, close the

Computer Management Window.

Getting Started with Mbox10

4 Connect the other end of the USB cable to any

available USB port on your computer. Wait for
the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog to ap­pear and leave it open: Do not press Next.

Mbox may not function properly if con­nected to a USB hub. If you need to use a
hub for other USB peripherals, connect the
hub to a separate USB port; Mbox must
have a dedicated port in order to function
properly.

5 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM for

Windows in your CD-ROM drive. Locate and
open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and double­click the Setup icon.

6 Click Next to begin installation.
7 Select the components you want to install and

click Next.

If you get a warning dialog about the driver
not passing Windows Logo testing, click
Continue Anyway.

8 Wait for the installer to finish installing all

software components, drivers, and PACE System
files before proceeding to the next step.

9 Click Quit when prompted to install Quick-

Time (you will install QuickTime later).

10 Restart your computer.

If the USB LED on the front panel of the
Mbox does not illuminate after installation,
try unplugging the USB cable from the
Mbox USB port, and plugging it back in. If
the USB LED still does not illuminate, shut
down the computer, disconnect Mbox and
start the computer. Once the computer has
fully restarted, reconnect Mbox.

Installing QuickTime

2 When installation is complete, click Finish to

restart your computer. See “Installing Optional
Software for Pro Tools LE” on page 12.

If your computer does not start up after in­stalling QuickTime, use Add/Remove Pro­grams to remove Pro Tools LE and Quick­Time, then repeat the installation process in
“Installing Pro Tools LE and Mbox” on
page 10.

If your computer won’t startup after install­ing QuickTime, use Add/Remove Programs
to remove Pro Tools LE and QuickTime,
then repeat the installation process in “In­stalling Pro Tools LE and Mbox” on
page 10.

Updating Mbox Firmware

Firmware version 2.0 or later is required to use
Mbox on Windows XP.

Before you update Mbox firmware,
Pro Tools LE software must be installed
and Mbox connected to your computer.

QuickTime 5 or later is required for video play­back with Pro Tools LE if you plan to include
movie files in your sessions. Installing the latest
version of QuickTime for Windows is highly rec­ommended (available from www.apple.com). Be
sure to install the “Recommended” install of
QuickTime or Pro Tools will not handle Quick­Time video correctly.

To install QuickTime:

1 Locate the QuickTime Installer on your

Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM (located in the
Additional Files folder). Follow the on-screen in­structions to complete the QuickTime installa­tion process.

To Update the firmware on Mbox:

1 Make sure Pro Tools is installed and the Mbox

is connected to the computer.

2 Double-click on MboxFirmwareUpdater.exe.

In Local Disk (C):\ Program Files\Digidesign\
Pro Tools\Pro Tools Utilities.)

3 To check the firmware version currently on

Mbox, click the Start button in the Mbox Firm­ware Update window.

4 To update the firmware version on the Mbox,

click the Start button in the Mbox Firmware Up­date window.

Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 11

5 Click Start to check the current firmware ver-

sion on Mbox and begin the firmware upgrade
process.

6 Follow the on-screen instructions:

• Disconnect Mbox from the USB port of the
computer.

• Reconnect Mbox to the USB port of the
computer. The new firmware will be up­loaded to the Mbox.

• Disconnect and reconnect Mbox.

7 Click OK.

Installing Optional Software for Pro Tools LE

Your Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM includes sev­eral software options (as available for your sys­tem).

Installing Digidesign ASIO Driver

The Digidesign ASIO (Audio Sound Input Out­put) Driver is a multichannel, multimedia
sound driver that lets third-party audio applica­tions record and play back through channels
1–2 of Mbox. The Digidesign ASIO Driver is not
required to use Pro Tools LE with Mbox.

For information on installing, using, and
removing the Digidesign ASIO Driver, see
Appendix C, “Digidesign ASIO Driver”.

Installing the Demo Session

The Pro Tools LE Installer CD includes a demo
session that you can use to verify that your sys­tem is working.

Before installing the demo session to your
audio drive, make sure the drive is config­ured as described in “Formatting an Audio
Drive” on page 9.

To install the demo session:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer CD in your

CD-ROM drive. Locate and double-click
Setup.exe, in D (CD-ROM drive):\Additional
Files\Pro Tools LE Demo Session Installer.

2 Set the install location to your audio drive and

click Install.

3 When installation is complete, click OK.

Installing MacOpener

With MacOpener you can open and transfer
Pro Tools sessions created on HFS and HFS Plus­formatted hard drives (Macintosh) to NTFS or
FAT32-formatted hard drives (Windows).

On Windows-based Pro Tools systems,
avoid recording or playing audio on hard
drives formatted for Macintosh (the HFS or
HFS Plus file system). Use the Save Session
Copy In command in Pro Tools to copy the
session material to a Windows audio drive
formatted using NTFS or FAT32.

To share Pro Tools sessions between Macintosh
and Windows system, select the “Enforce
Mac/PC Compatibility” option when creating
the session, or when saving a session copy.

While SDII files can be exported or con­verted on import, they cannot be used
within Pro Tools sessions on Windows.

Getting Started with Mbox12

To install and configure the MacOpener demo
included with Pro Tools:

1 Insert the Pro T ools Installer CD into your CD-

ROM drive.

2 Locate and double-click the MacOpener in-

staller file in the MacOpener Demo folder lo­cated at D (CD-ROM drive):\Additional
Files\MacOpener Demo Installer. Follow the on­screen instructions to install the MacOpener. Af­ter installation is complete, restart your com­puter.

3 Choose Start > Programs > MacOpener >

MacOpener Driver Preferences.

4 Verify that the MacOpener Driver is enabled.

Under Driver Settings, select “Enable Ma­cOpener Driver.”

5 Under Extension Mapping, select “Do not add

the PC extension to the Mac file name.”

6 Click OK to quit the MacOpener Driver Pref-

erences.

7 Choose Start > Programs > MacOpener >

Mac Lic.exe. When installation is complete,
close the installer.

All formatting and maintenance of
HFS/HFS+ drives should be carried out
when the drive is connected to a Macintosh.

For more information about MacOpener
and its performance limitations, see the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Removing Pro Tools LE

If you need to remove Pro Tools LE from your
computer use the Add or Remove Programs
command.

To remove Pro Tools LE:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic view, double-click the Add or Re-

move Programs icon.

– or –

In Category view, click Administrative Tools,
then click Add or Remove Programs.

3 From the Currently installed programs list, se-

lect Digidesign Pro Tools LE.

4 Click the Change/Remove button.
5 Select Remove, then click Next.
6 Click OK to remove Pro Tools LE.

Launching Pro Tools LE

When launching Pro Tools the first time, you
are prompted to enter an authorization code to
validate your software.

With new Mbox systems, the authorization
code is located on the inside cover of the Getting
Started with Mbox Guide. With software up­grades, the authorization code is located on the
inside cover of the Upgrading Guide.

To authorize Pro Tools software:

1 Double-click the Pro Tools LE shortcut on

your desktop (or the application in the Pro Tools
folder inside the Digidesign folder).

Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 13

2 Enter the authorization code in the dialog

when prompted (making sure to type it exactly
as printed, and observing any spaces and capi­talization) then click Validate.

Configuring Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools System Settings

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.

Pro Tools LE allows you to adjust the perfor­mance of your system by changing system set-
tings that affect its capacity for processing, play­back, and recording

In most cases, the default settings for your sys­tem provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.

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 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 allow for

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 MIDI tracks.

Playback Engine dialog for Mbox

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

the audio buffer size, in samples.

3 Click OK.

CPU Usage Limit

The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro­cessing tasks.

◆ 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 responses on slower computers.

◆ With Pro Tools 6.x, the maximum CPU Usage

Limit is 85 percent for single-processor comput­ers, and 99 percent for multi-processor comput­ers. (The 99 percent setting dedicates one entire
processor to Pro Tools.)

Getting Started with Mbox14

To change the CPU Usage Limit:

1 Choose Setups > 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.

Pro Tools Hardware Settings

Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select
the default sample rate and clock source for your
system, and configure the clock source for your
system.

3 Click OK.

DAE Playback Buffer Size

The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk
buffers, which affects system performance.

◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can

improve playback and recording initiation
speed. However, a lower setting can make it dif­ficult for slower hard drives to play or record
tracks reliably.

◆ Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can

allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can
also cause a time lag to occur when you are ed­iting during playback.

To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,

select a buffer size.

3 Click OK.

Default Sample Rate

The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
dialog only when no session is open.)

You can change the sample rate when creat­ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session di­alog. (Refer to

for details.)

To change the default Sample Rate:

1 Make sure that no Pro Tools is session open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.

Hardware Setup dialog for Mbox

3 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

the Pro Tools Reference Guide

4 Click OK.

Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 15

Channel 1–2 Input Source

3 Click OK.

The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you
to configure the two inputs on Mbox to receive
analog or digital signals.

To select the Channel 1–2 input format for Mbox:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 Choose the Channel 1–2 Input format by do-

ing one of the following:

• Choose Analog if you are sending a micro­phone, line, or instrument signal through
the 1/4” TRS or XLR connectors on Mbox.

– or –

• Choose S/PDIF if you are sending signal
from a digital device to the S/PDIF input on
Mbox.

Clock Source

Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select
the clock source for the system.

Internal If you are recording an analog signal di­rectly into Mbox, you will usually use the
Pro Tools Internal clock source. The clock
source automatically changes to Internal when
you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to Analog.

SPDIF If you are transferring material into
Pro Tools from an external digital device, you
will usually synchronize Pro Tools to that digital
device. The clock source automatically changes
to SPDIF when you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to
SPDIF.

Your digital input device must be connected
and powered on for Pro Tools to synchro­nize to it. If your input device is not powered
on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal.

Configuring I/O Setup

Using the I/O Setup dialog, you can label
Pro Tools LE input, output, insert, and bus sig-
nal paths. The I/O Setup dialog provides a graph­ical representation of the inputs, outputs, and
signal routing of the Mbox.

Pro Tools LE has default I/O Setup settings that
will get you started. Use the I/O Setup dialog
only if you want to rename the default I/O
paths.

T

Refer to the
choose Help > Pro Tools Reference Guide)
for more information on renaming I/O
paths.

After configuring Pro Tools LE and your
system, you should save an image of your
system using Norton Ghost. Norton Ghost
lets you save and recall known good config­urations of your system and settings, which
can help you recover if you encounter any
problems in the future.

Pro Tools Reference Guide (or

To select the clock source:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 Choose the clock source from the Clock

Source pop-up menu.

Getting Started with Mbox16

chapter 3

Macintosh Configuration

Installation of the Mbox on a Macintosh in­cludes the following steps:

Apple System Settings

1 Configuring Apple System Software settings

(See “Apple System Settings” on page 17.)

2 Installing Pro Tools LE software (See “Install-

ing Pro Tools LE” on page 19.)

3 Restarting your computer
4 Connecting the Mbox interface to your com-

puter (See “Connecting Mbox to the Computer”
on page 21.)

5 Configuring your system (See “Configuring

Pro Tools LE” on page 22.)

6 Making audio connections to Mbox (See

Chapter 4, “Connecting Your Studio” for de­tails.)

To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools LE, configure the following settings
for your version of Mac OS before you install
Pro Tools software.

System Settings for Mac OS X

The following settings ensure optimum perfor­mance and compatibility for systems running
Mac OS X.

Do not use the Mac OS X automatic Soft­ware Update feature, as it may install com­ponents that have not yet been qualified for
Pro Tools. For details on qualified versions
of Mac OS, refer to the latest compatibility
information on the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com).

To configure Mac OS X for Pro Tools LE:

1 Make sure you are logged into an administra-

tor account where you want to install
Pro Tools LE. For details on Administrator privi­leges in Mac OS X, refer to your Mac OS X doc­umentation.

2 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

Menu and click Energy Saver.

3 Click the Sleep tab and turn off the Energy

Saver feature by setting the sleep feature to
Never.

Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 17

4 Return to the System Preferences and click

Software Update.

5 Deselect “Automatically check for updates

when you have a network connection.”

6 Close the Software Update dialog box.
7 Proceed to “Installing Pro Tools on Mac OS X”

on page 19.

System Settings for Mac OS 9

The following settings ensure optimum perfor­mance and compatibility for systems running
Mac OS 9.

To configure Mac OS 9 for Pro Tools LE:

1 In the Memory Control Panel, do the follow-

ing:

• Set Virtual Memory to Off.

• Set the RAM Disk to Off.

• Set the Disk Cache to a Custom Setting of
512K.

2 In the Energy Saver Control Panel, set the “in-

active” time to Never.

3 If you are installing Pro Tools on a Macintosh

PowerBook, click the Advanced Settings tab in
the Energy Saver Control Panel, and turn off
Processor Cycling.

4 In the Appearance Control Panel, do the fol-

lowing:

• Click the Fonts tab and set the Large Sys­tem Font to Chicago. In addition, deselect
“Smooth all fonts on screen.”

• Click the Sound tab and select None from
the Sound Track pop-up menu.

5 In the Extensions Manager Control Panel,

choose the “Mac OS 9.2.2 Base” set from the Se­lected Set pop-up menu.

Extensions Manager Control Panel

6 Click Duplicate Set, name the new set

“Pro Tools,” and click OK.

7 Click Restart to restart your computer.
8 Proceed to “Installing Pro T ools on Mac OS 9”

on page 20.

Be sure to create your Pro Tools extension
set before installing Pro Tools LE. After you
install Pro Tools, a number of Digidesign
extensions will be added to the new
“Pro Tools” Extension Set. Be sure this
“Pro Tools” Extension Set is activated
whenever you use Pro Tools.

Hard Drive Configuration and
Maintenance

It is recommended that you start with a newly
initialized audio drive. You should also periodi­cally defragment your audio drive to ensure
continued system performance.

If you are using a SCSI hard drive, you can ini­tialize your drive with the utility software
named ExpressStripe (Mac OS X) or ExpressPro-
Tools (Mac OS 9) from ATTO, included on the
Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM. If you are using
an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard drive, initialize
your drive with the utility named Disk Utility
(Mac OS X) or Drive Setup (Mac OS 9), included
with your Apple System software.

Getting Started with Mbox18

Avoid Recording to System Drives

Although Pro Tools will let you record to your
system drive, this is generally not recom­mended. Recording and playback on system
hard drives results in lower track counts and
fewer plug-ins. You should record to system
drives only when necessary—for example, if
your computer system has just one hard drive.

Installing Pro Tools LE

5 When installation is complete, click Restart.

– or –

Click Continue to install any additional soft­ware or documentation, and restart your com­puter when you are finished.

If you plan to use any MIDI devices with
Pro Tools, configure your MIDI setup with
the Apple Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility.
See Appendix B, “Configuring AMS
(Mac OS X Only)” for details.

After the Apple System software settings are con­figured, you’re ready to install Pro Tools LE.

Installing Pro Tools on Mac OS X

To install Pro Tools LE on Mac OS X:

1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-

tor for the account where you want to install
Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privi­leges in Mac OS X, refer to your Apple Mac OS X
documentation.

2 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM in

your CD-ROM drive. Double-click “Install
Pro Tools LE.”

3 Enter your Administrator password and click

OK to authenticate the installation.

4 Select your Startup hard drive as the install lo-

cation and click Install.

Removing Pro Tools LE on Mac OS X

If you need to remove Pro Tools LE from your
computer, you can use the Installer CD-ROM.

To remove Pro Tools LE from your computer:

1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-

tor for the account where Pro Tools LE is in­stalled. For details on Administrator privileges
in Mac OS X, refer to your Mac OS X documen­tation.

2 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM in

your CD-ROM drive. Double-click “Install
Pro Tools LE.”

3 Enter your Administrator password and click

OK to authenticate the installation.

4 In the Installer window, choose Uninstall

from the pop-up menu, and click Uninstall.

5 Click Quit to close the Installer window.

Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 19

Installing Pro Tools on Mac OS 9

To install Pro Tools LE on Mac OS 9:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 Installer CD-

ROM in your CD-ROM drive. Double-click “In­stall Pro Tools LE 5.2.1.”

2 In the Installer window, select

“Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 for Mbox,” and make sure
the Install Location is on your startup drive.

3 If you want to use Mbox with Apple Sound

Manager-compatible applications, select the
Digidesign Control Panel option. See
Appendix E, “Digidesign Control Panel
(Mac OS 9 Only).”

4 Click Install.

Pro Tools installs the Rocket Plug-in to your
Web browser's plug-ins folder. Be sure to se­lect your Web browser's application folder
when prompted.

2 In the Installer window, choose Uninstall

from the pop-up menu, and click Uninstall.

3 Click Quit to close the Installer window.

Installing OMS

Mac OS 9 Only

To use Pro Tools LE on Mac OS 9, you must first
install and configure the Open Music System
(OMS), which is included on the Pro Tools In­staller CD-ROM.

Even if you don't intend to use MIDI in your
Pro Tools sessions, you still need to install
OMS. The Pro Tools application will not
launch without it.

To install OMS:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 Installer CD-

ROM in your CD-ROM drive.

5 When installation is complete, do one of the

following:

• Click Quit and install OMS (see “Installing
OMS” on page 20) if it is not already in­stalled on your system.

– or –

• Click Restart.

Removing Pro Tools LE on Mac OS 9

If you need to remove Pro Tools LE from your
computer, you can use the Installer CD-ROM.

To remove Pro Tools LE from your computer:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 Installer CD-

ROM in your CD-ROM drive. Double-click “In­stall Pro Tools LE 5.2.1.”

Getting Started with Mbox20

2 Open the OMS Installer folder and double-

click the OMS installer.

3 At the Install window, select the Easy Install

option, and set the Install Location to your
Startup hard drive. Click Install.

4 Follow the on-screen installation instructions.
5 When installation is complete, click Restart.

For more information on configuring OMS,
see Appendix D, “Configuring OMS
(Mac OS 9 Only).”

Installing the Demo Session

Launching Pro Tools LE

(Optional)

The Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM includes a
demo session that you can use to verify that
your system is working.

To install the demo session:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer CD in your

CD-ROM drive. Locate and double-click the
demo session installer icon.

2 Select your audio drive as the install location

and click Install.

3 When installation is complete, click Quit.

Connecting Mbox to the Computer

Before launching Pro Tools LE software, connect
Mbox to your computer.

To connect Mbox to your computer :

1 Connect the small end of the included USB ca-

ble to the USB port on Mbox.

2 With your computer on, connect the other

end of the USB cable to any available USB port
on your computer.

Mbox may not function properly if con­nected to a USB hub. If you need to use a
hub for other USB peripherals, connect the
hub to a separate USB port; Mbox must be
connected to a dedicated port on the com­puter in order to function properly.

When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you
are prompted to enter an authorization code to
validate your software.

With new Mbox systems, the authorization
code is located on the inside cover of the Getting
Started with Mbox Guide. With software up­grades, the authorization code is located on the
inside cover of the Upgrading Guide.

To authorize Pro Tools LE software:

1 Double-click the Pro Tools LE application, lo-

cated in the Pro Tools folder, inside the Digide­sign folder.

2 With Mac OS 9, if OMS was not previously

configured, you will be prompted to configure a
New Studio Setup. For specific steps, see
Appendix D, “Configuring OMS (Mac OS 9
Only).”

3 Enter the authorization code in the dialog

when prompted (making sure to type it exactly
as printed, and observing any spaces and capi­talization) then click Validate.

If the USB LED on the front panel of Mbox does
not does not illuminate after you connect it and
launch Pro Tools, try unplugging the USB cable
from the Mbox USB port, then plugging it back
in.

If the USB LED still does not illuminate, shut
down the computer, disconnect Mbox and start
the computer. Once the computer has fully re­started, re-connect Mbox, then launch
Pro Tools.

Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 21

Configuring Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools System Settings

Pro Tools LE allows you to adjust the perfor­mance of your system by changing system set-
tings that affect its capacity for processing, play­back, and recording.

In most cases, the default settings for your sys­tem provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.

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 Real-Time Au­dioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins.

◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings improve

MIDI timing and automation accuracy, but limit
the number of RTAS plug-ins and mixer config­urations you can run on your system

◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for

more audio processing and effects, and are use­ful when you are using larger mixer configura­tions or more RTAS plug-ins on your system.

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 MIDI tracks.

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.

3 Click OK.

Playback Engine dialog for Mbox (Pro Tools 6.x)

Playback Engine dialog for Mbox (Pro Tools 5.2.1)

CPU Usage Limit

The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro­cessing tasks.

◆ 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.

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

the audio buffer size, in samples.

Getting Started with Mbox22

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

◆ With Pro Tools 5.2.1, the maximum CPU Us-

age Limit is 85 percent.

◆ With Pro Tools 6.x, the maximum CPU Usage

Limit is 85 percent for single-processor comput­ers, and 99 percent for multi-processor comput­ers. (The 99 percent setting dedicates one entire
processor to Pro Tools.)

To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size in
Pro Tools 5.2.1:

1 Launch DAE. If Pro Tools is already running,

switch to the DAE application by choosing it
from the Application menu.

To change the CPU Usage Limit:

1 Choose Setups > 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.

3 Click OK.

DAE Playback Buffer Size

The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk
buffers, which affects system performance.

◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can

improve playback and recording initiation
speed. However, a lower setting can make it dif­ficult for slower hard drives to play or record
tracks reliably.

◆ Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can

allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can
also cause a time lag to occur when you are ed­iting during playback.

2 Choose File > Set Playback Buffer Size.

DAE Playback Buffer Size dialog (Pro Tools 5.2.1)

3 Select a playback buffer size.
4 Click OK.
5 Quit Pro Tools if it is running. The new buffer

setting will take effect when you launch
Pro Tools again.

Pro Tools Hardware Settings

Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select
the default sample rate, input format, and clock
source for your system.

Default Sample Rate

To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size in
Pro Tools 6.x:

1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,

select a buffer size.

3 Click OK.

The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
dialog only when no session is open.)

You can change the sample rate when creat­ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session di­alog. (See

“Starting a Session” on page 37.)

Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 23

To change the default Sample Rate in
Pro Tools 6.x:

1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.

Channel 1–2 Input Format

The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you
to configure the two inputs on Mbox to receive
either analog or digital signals.

3 Choose the sample rate by clicking the corre-

sponding Sample Rate button.

4 Click OK.

Hardware Setup dialog for Mbox (Pro Tools 6.x)

To change the default Sample Rate in
Pro Tools 5.2.1:

1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware.
3 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

4 Click OK.

To select the Channel 1–2 input format for Mbox:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup

(Pro Tools 6.x) or Setups > Hardware
(Pro Tools 5.1.1).

2 Choose the Channel 1–2 Input format by do-

ing one of the following:

• Choose Analog if you are sending a micro­phone, line, or instrument signal through
the 1/4-inch TRS or XLR connectors on
Mbox.

• Choose S/PDIF (RCA) if you are sending
signal from a digital device to the S/PDIF
input on Mbox.

Clock Source

Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select
the Clock Source for the system. (Clock Source is
called “Sync Mode” in Pro Tools 5.2.1.)

Internal If you are recording an analog signal di­rectly into Mbox, you will usually use the
Pro Tools Internal clock source. The Clock
Source automatically changes to Internal when
you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to Analog.

Hardware Setup dialog for Mbox (Pro Tools 5.2.1)

Getting Started with Mbox24

SPDIF/RCA If you are transferring material into
Pro Tools from an external digital device, you
will usually synchronize Pro Tools to that digital
device. The Clock Source automatically changes
to SPDIF/RCA when you change the Ch. 1–2 In­put to SPDIF/RCA.

To select the Clock Source:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup

(Pro Tools 6.x) or Setups > Hardware
(Pro Tools 5.2.1).

2 Select a clock source (Pro Tools 6.x) or choose

the clock source from the Sync Mode pop-up
menu (Pro Tools 5.2.1).

3 Click OK.

Your digital input device must be connected
and powered on. If your input device is not
powered on, leave the Clock Source set to In­ternal.

Configuring I/O Setup

To rename I/O paths in I/O Setup:

1 Choose Setups > I/O Setups.

Using the I/O Setup dialog, you can label
Pro Tools LE input, output, insert, and bus sig-
nal paths. The I/O Setup dialog provides a graph­ical representation of the inputs, outputs, and
signal routing of the Mbox.

Pro Tools LE has default I/O Setup settings that
will get you started. Use the I/O Setup dialog
only if you want to rename the default I/O
paths.

I/O Setup dialog for Mbox, Input page

2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to

display the corresponding connections.

3 To change the name of a path or subpath,

double-click directly on the Path Name, type a
new name for the path, and press Return.

4 Click OK.

Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
more information on renaming I/O paths.

Other Pro Tools Settings

The following settings are explained in detail in
the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

DigiBase Volume Designators If using
Pro Tools 6, use the Workspace browser to des­ignate hard drives and volumes as Record, Play
and Record, or Transfer volumes. These settings
determine the function of each volume in your
system. For more information, see the DigiBase
Guide.

Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 25

Disk Allocation Choose Setup > Disk Allocation
to assign hard drives and volumes as the storage
(recording) location for Pro Tools tracks. Tracks
record data to their assigned volume as config­ured in the Disk Allocation dialog.

Getting Started with Mbox26

chapter 4

Connecting Your Studio

This chapter explains how to connect your Mbox to a monitoring system, a digital recorder, and to
audio sources for recording.

Your studio setup will differ depending on the equipment in your studio. The following illustrations
show two possible setups.

monitor
outputs

mixer

S/PDIF
digital I/O

USB
cable

Mbox

FireWire
drive

headphones

computer

display

Figure 1. Mbox micro studio configuration running Pro Tools LE on a desktop computer

DAT or
CD recorder

instrument

Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 27

powered speakers

microphone

FireWire
drive

USB
cable

Mbox

instrument

Laptop

laptop

Figure 2. Mbox micro studio configuration running Pro Tools LE on a laptop computer

headphones

Getting Started with Mbox28

Mbox Front Panel Features

48V LED

Source Selector

CH 1

Peak

Gain

Source
Selector

CH 2

Gain

S/PDIF
LED

Mix (Ratio)

Headphone
Gain

Headphone
Output

Figure 3. Mbox front panel

LED

Peak
LED

USB
LED

Mono

The Mbox front panel has the following fea­tures:

48V LED

This LED, when lit, indicates that 48V phantom
power is active on the Mic/Line inputs. These
inputs provide phantom power for micro­phones that require it to operate. Phantom
power is activated by the switch labeled 48V on
the top of the rear panel of Mbox.

About Phantom Power

Dynamic microphones (such as a Shure SM57)
do not require phantom power to operate, but
are not harmed by it. Most condenser micro­phones (like an AKG C3000) do require phan­tom power to operate.

Although phantom power can be used
safely with most microphones, it is possible
to damage some ribbon microphones with
it. Always turn off phantom power and
wait at least ten seconds before connecting
or disconnecting a ribbon microphone.

If you are not sure about the phantom power re­quirements for your microphone, consult your
microphone’s documentation or contact the
manufacturer.

Source Selector

These switches select among three types of in­puts:

•Mic (microphone) for XLR inputs

•Line for line level signals on TRS or TS inputs

•Inst (instrument) for other 1/4=inch TRS or TS
connections

For more information, see “Analog Audio” on
page 34.

Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 29

Gain Controls

These knobs adjust the input gain levels of the
Mic/Line inputs.

To listen to just the Source input signal, turn the
Mix knob fully left to Input. To listen to
Pro Tools output only, turn the knob fully right
to Playback.

Peak LEDs

These LEDs are triggered just below analog clip­ping levels. In other words, if the Peak LEDs
flicker occasionally, the signal is approaching
clipping levels, but they do not necessarily indi­cate distortion or clipping.

USB LED

The USB LED indicates that the Mbox driver has
initiated the unit for playback. Once the USB
light is on, audio can pass in or out of the sys­tem.

S/PDIF LED

This LED indicates that channels 1 and 2 are set
to receive digital input rather than analog input.
See “The S/PDIF in and out ports are unbalanced
two-conductor phono (RCA) connectors that
utilize a full 24-bit, two-channel digital data
stream.” on page 32.

Mix (Ratio) Control

Mbox gives you the ability to monitor your an­alog input signals while recording, without the
delay incurred by A/D/A converters and host­based processing.

The output from the Mix control is routed di­rectly to the TRS line outputs, and is mirrored in
the Headphone ports and S/PDIF output ports.

This ability to blend and control the relative lev­els of Pro Tools playback and latency-free live
analog inputs can be particularly effective when
overdubbing.

Mono Switch

The Mono switch sums and centers the input
signals being monitored, but has no effect on
Pro Tools playback monitoring or on the main
outputs. This is useful when you are recording a
mono input while listening to stereo playback,
or for checking the phase relationship of stereo
inputs.

Monitoring while Overdubbing

By centering input signals, as opposed to pan­ning them hard left and right in the Headphone
outputs, you can create a more focused monitor
mix to help minimize distractions while over­dubbing.

In situations where you are monitoring stereo
microphones, stereo synthesizers, or any source
pairs with a comfortable balance, you will prob­ably not want to use the Mono switch.

This zero-latency analog monitoring is con­trolled with the Mix knob, which you can use to
blend and adjust the monitor ratio between
Mbox analog inputs and Pro Tools playback.
The Mix knob has no effect when you are using
S/PDIF digital inputs, since it controls the signal
before it reaches the A/D converters.

Getting Started with Mbox30

Checking Phase Relationships

The Mono switch can also be used for a quick
check of the phase relationship between
Channel 1 and Channel 2 inputs.

When the two input signals are out of phase,
pressing the Mono switch will result in a sudden
“hollow” sound that is the result of phase can­cellation. This quick test with the Mono switch
can help to avoid phase problems later when
mixing these tracks. Frequent checking of phase
relationships with the Mono switch can also as­sist you in finding the optimal microphone
placement.

Mbox Rear Panel Features

rear panel
Headphones
output

Line
outputs

48V

USB port

S/PDIF
digital I/O

Headphone Gain

The headphone gain control adjusts the output
level of the front and rear Headphone ports,
which output the signal that is routed to Out­puts 1–2 in Pro Tools LE, and mirrors the Line
Outputs.

Front Panel Headphone Output

Use the front panel Headphone port to connect
stereo headphones with a 1/8-inch stereo mini
connector.

The front panel 1/8-inch Headphone port is dis­abled when a 1/4-inch stereo connector is in­serted into the rear panel Headphone port.

Inserts

Source 2
(analog
input 2)

Source 1
(analog
input 1)

Figure 4. Mbox rear panel

The Mbox rear panel has the following features:

Rear Panel Headphone Output

Use this Headphone Output to connect stereo
headphones with a 1/4-inch stereo connector.

When a 1/4-inch stereo connector is inserted
into the rear panel Headphone port, the front
panel 1/8-inch Headphone port is disabled.

Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 31

48V Switch

Line Outputs

This button activates phantom power on the
Mic inputs for microphones that require it to
operate.

Be sure to check the 48V LED on the front
panel of Mbox before plugging in any mi­crophones. The 48V switch on the rear is lo­cated directly above the USB connector and
may be inadvertently activated when con­necting the USB Cable.

USB Port

This standard USB v1.1 connector is used to
connect your computer to the Mbox. One stan­dard USB cable is included with your system.

The Mbox is compatible with USB 2.0 ports.
However, the USB 2.0 bus will switch to the
slower USB v.1.1 speed to accommodate Mbox.

S/PDIF Digital I/O

The S/PDIF in and out ports are unbalanced two­conductor phono (RCA) connectors that utilize
a full 24-bit, two-channel digital data stream.

The Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format
(S/PDIF) is used in many professional and con­sumer CD recorders and DAT recorders. To
avoid RF interference, use 75-ohm coaxial cable
for S/PDIF transfers and keep the cable length to
a maximum of 10 meters.

These outputs support balanced TRS, or unbal­anced TS, 1/4-inch connections. To monitor
your mix, these outputs can be connected to a
mixing board, directly to a monitoring system
such as a stereo power amp, or another stereo
destination.

The Line Outputs 1 and 2 play the audio that is
routed to analog outputs 1 and 2 from within
Pro Tools, respectively. These analog outputs
feature 24-bit digital-to-analog converters.

Source 1 and 2

These balanced/unbalanced analog audio in­puts support a broad range of input levels, in­cluding microphone, instrument, or line-level
inputs. The ports accept XLR, TRS, or TS audio
input connectors. The input signal is adjusted
by the Gain control for each channel, in con­junction with the Source switch.

The XLR connectors only support micro­phone level inputs. If Line or Inst are cho­sen, the XLR portion of the port is ignored.
Likewise, if you choose Mic, the 1/4-inch
part of the connector is ignored.

Inserts 1 and 2

Mbox provides an insert point on each input
channel. These TRS ports send and return the
input channel’s signal directly after the pream­plifier, and before the A/D converter. This al­lows the insertion of analog processors such as
compressors or equalizers, which are typically
used as inserts on traditional analog recording
consoles. See “Using the Analog Inserts” on
page 34.

Getting Started with Mbox32

Making Signal Connections to Mbox

Mbox can be used in a variety of audio setups.
This section describes how to make basic con­nections for:

• Monitoring

• Analog and digital input for recording

• Hardware Inserts

• Mixdown

2 Adjust headphone volume with the Head-

phone gain knob.

The Mbox Headphone output can produce
very loud output levels. Prolonged exposure
can cause hearing damage. Adjust head­phone volume carefully.

Only one Headphone output can be used at
a time. When headphones are connected to
both Headphone outputs, the front panel
Headphone output is muted.

Monitoring Audio

There are two Headphone ports, giving you a
choice between the rear panel 1/4-inch TRS port
or the 1/8-inch mini port on the front panel.

Mbox Line Outputs play the audio that is routed
in Pro Tools to Analog Outputs 1–2, and can
provide left and right outputs to a two-track
deck for mixdown, or to another stereo destina­tion.

Mbox Line Outputs feature 24-bit digital-to-an­alog converters capable of maximum output of
+4 dBu/+2 dBV (balanced/unbalanced signal).
The connectors are TRS ports; unbalanced TS
connectors are also supported.

You cannot monitor Pro Tools audio
through speakers connected to your com­puter. To monitor audio, connect head­phones, powered speakers, or an external
amplifier to your Mbox.

To connect headphones:

1 Connect headphones to the Headphone port

on the Mbox. The Headphone output on the
front accepts a 1/8-inch connector, and the
Headphone output on the rear panel accepts a
stereo 1/4-inch TRS connector.

To connect to a home stereo:

■ Using 1/4-inch cables, connect the Line Out-

puts on the back panel of Mbox to the appropri­ate inputs on your stereo.

Home stereo systems often use RCA connec­tors. You can use an adaptor or a special ca­ble to convert from the TRS or TS connectors
used by Mbox to the RCA connectors on
your home stereo.

To connect monitor speakers with a power amp or
self-powered monitor speakers:

■ Using 1/4-inch cables, connect the Line Out-

puts on the back of Mbox to the appropriate in­puts on your mixer, power amp, or powered
speakers.

Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 33

Connecting Audio Sources to Mbox for Recording

Digital and analog audio sources can be con­nected directly to Mbox.

Analog Audio

Analog audio signals are output by micro­phones, synthesizers, mixers, and instruments
with magnetic pickups.

Of these sources, microphones and magnetic
pickup instruments output the quietest signals,
and generally require the most amplification.
Keyboards, preamps, and mixers output “line­level” audio, which varies with each device be­tween the –10 dBV and +4 dBu standards.

To accommodate these varying sources, Mbox
provides switchable line input types (and associ­ated impedances) with adjustable gain for each
input channel.

To connect an analog audio source:

1 Plug an XLR or TRS cable directly into

Mic/Line Input 1 or 2 on Mbox. These inputs ac­cept XLR connectors or TRS connectors.

2 Step through choices by repeatedly pressing

each channel’s Source button until the LED cor­responding to your choice lights.

To activate phantom power:

■ If your microphone requires phantom power,

first make sure the microphone is connected,
then press the Phantom Power switch (labeled
48V).

Using the Analog Inserts

The analog input channels on Mbox each fea­ture a dedicated TRS insert point. These hard­ware inserts break the analog input path before
it is converted to a digital signal and sent to
Pro Tools. This is where you can insert a com­pressor, equalizer, or other serial effect into the
analog signal path.

Because the inserts on Mbox are hardware in­serts that divert the signal path before it reaches
Pro Tools, they are not available for insertion on
tracks within a Pro Tools session.

To insert a device you will need a TRS Insert ca­ble that has a TRS connector on one end, break­ing out to two unbalanced connectors. The con­nector attached to the tip is the send, and the
connector attached to the ring is the return.

To inser t a device in the signal path:

1 You will need a cable that breaks a TRS con-

nector on one end out to two unbalanced con­nectors. The type of unbalanced connector is
determined by the inputs of the device.

2 Locate the unbalanced connectors and deter-

mine which corresponds to tip, and which to
ring.

3 Connect the unbalanced connector that cor-

responds to tip to the input port of the device.

4 Connect the unbalanced connector that cor-

responds to ring to the output port of the de­vice.

5 Insert the TRS connector into an insert port

on Mbox.

Enabling phantom power enables 48V
through

Getting Started with Mbox34

both mic inputs.

Digital Audio

Connecting an Analog Deck

Mbox provides digital inputs and outputs for
S/PDIF format digital audio.

About S/PDIF

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interchange For­mat) I/O is available on many DAT decks, com­pact disc players, and other digital devices. Each
S/PDIF connection provides two channels of
digital audio with 24-bit capability.

To connect a S/PDIF device to Mbox:

1 Use two 75-ohm coaxial cables with male RCA

connectors on both ends (purchased sepa­rately).

2 Connect the device’s S/PDIF output to Mbox’s

S/PDIF input port, and the device’s S/PDIF input
to Mbox’s S/PDIF output port.

3 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup, and make

the appropriate selections in the Clock Source
(Clock Source is called “Sync Mode” in
Pro Tools 5.2.1) and Ch 1–2 Input pop-up
menus.

Connect your recorder (cassette deck or other
analog device) to the Line Outputs on the back
of Mbox. Line Outputs 1 and 2 should be routed
to the left and right inputs, respectively, on your
recorder. These outputs are TRS ports. You may
need adapter cables if your mixdown deck has
RCA inputs.

Connecting a Digital Deck

If you have a CD recorder, DAT deck or other de­vice that accepts S/PDIF connections, connect it
to the S/PDIF In and S/PDIF Out RCA ports on
the back of Mbox.

MIDI Connections

By adding a compatible MIDI interface to your
system, you can take advantage of all the MIDI
features of Pro Tools LE, including recording
and editing MIDI tracks.

Both USB and serial MIDI interfaces work effec­tively with Pro Tools.

S/PDIF Mirroring

Pro Tools LE uses S/PDIF mirroring to automati­cally “mirror” the audio that is sent to Line Out­puts 1 and 2 on the S/PDIF RCA outputs. This is
useful, for example, if you are monitoring a mix
using your Line Outputs, and also recording the
same source to an external S/PDIF device.

Connecting a Recorder for Mixdowns

After you record and mix your sessions in
Pro Tools, you may want to mix them down to a
DAT, audio cassette, or other stereo 2-track re­cording device.

On Macintosh systems, serial MIDI interfaces re­quire a qualified modem-to-serial port adapter.
This is because PCI-based serial expanders do
not work with serial MIDI interfaces on Macin­tosh systems. For compatibility information on
these adapters, visit the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato).

• For Macintosh systems running Mac OS X,

see Appendix B, “Configuring AMS (Mac OS X
Only)” for information on configuring Audio
MIDI Setup and your MIDI devices.

• For Macintosh systems running Mac OS 9, see

Appendix D, “Configuring OMS (Mac OS 9
Only)” for information on configuring Open
Music System and your MIDI devices.

Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 35

To connect MIDI devices to your system:

1 Connect the MIDI interface to your computer

according to the MIDI interface’s documenta­tion.

2 Install any MIDI driver software required by

the MIDI interface. (Once you have installed
your MIDI interface hardware and software,
confirm that it is working properly using the
procedure given in the interface’s documenta­tion.)

3 Connect the MIDI OUT of your MIDI device

or controller to the MIDI IN of your MIDI inter­face.

4 Connect the MIDI IN of your MIDI device or

controller to the MIDI OUT of your MIDI inter­face.

Getting Started with Mbox36

chapter 5

Working with Pro Tools LE

This overview of Pro Tools LE software intro­duces its main windows and features, and also
includes a step-by-step overview of audio re­cording (see “Basic Recording” on page 47).

All features described in this chapter are ex­plained fully in the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
You can view an electronic PDF version of the
Reference Guide by choosing it from the
Pro Tools Application menu (Pro Tools 6) or the
Pro Tools Help menu (Pro Tools 5). Refer to that
guide and its index for more information on
Pro Tools LE features.

Session Basics

Pro Tools LE projects are created and saved as
sessions. Sessions store all tracks, audio, MIDI,
and other session information. Audio and fade
files are stored in folders within the session
folder.

Starting a Session

To create a new session:

1 Launch Pro Tools LE.
2 Choose File > New Session.
3 In the New Session dialog, set the sample rate,

bit depth, and other options for the new session.

New Session dialog

4 Select where you want to save your session. If

you are using external hard drives with your
Pro Tools system, make sure you select the ap­propriate drive in the New Session dialog.

Session file, Audio Files and Fade Files folders

5 Type a name for your session.
6 Click Save. The new session opens its Mix,

Edit, and Transport windows (see Figure 5 on
page 38).

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 37

Main Windows

The Mix, Edit, and Transport windows are the
main Pro Tools work areas. You can show any of
these windows by choosing them from the Win­dows menu.

Press Control+Equals (=) in Windows or
Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh to
switch between the Edit and Mix windows.

Mix Window Displays the Pro Tools mixer, with
its familiar fader strip controls for volume, pan,
solo, mute, and signal routing.

Edit Window Displays tracks in the session along
the Timeline, for editing of audio, MIDI, and au­tomation data.

Transport Provides standard transport controls
for Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and
Record. The Transport window can also show
Counter and MIDI Control displays.

Workspace (Pro Tools 6 Only) The Workspace
browser is a DigiBase feature available in
Pro Tools 6 and higher. For more information
see the DigiBase Guide.

Rulers

Pro Tools LE provides several different rulers to
select as the timebase for your session. Timebase
Rulers, displayed along the top of the Edit win­dow, include Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds, and
Samples. The current timebase determines the
format of the Main counter, and provides the
basis for the Edit window Grid.

To select a Timebase Ruler:

■ Click the name of the ruler at the top left side

of the Edit window (Bars:Beats, Minutes:Sec­onds, or Samples).

Rulers

Tracks

Figure 5. Main session windows

Getting Started with Mbox38

Edit window

Transport window

Mix window

Tracks

Setting a Tempo

Using the Click Plug-In

You can set the tempo for your session using
Tempo Events, or using the MIDI tempo con­trols in the expanded Transport window.

To inser t a tempo event:

1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.
2 At the top of the Tempo/Meter Change win-

dow, choose Tempo Change from the pop-up
menu.

Tempo/Meter Change window

3 Enter the BPM value you will use for the ses-

sion and set the Location to 1|1|000 (so the in­serted tempo event replaces the default tempo).

4 To base the BPM value on a different note

value (such as an eighth-note rather than the
default quarter-note), select a note value.

5 Click Apply to insert the new tempo event.

(Pro Tools 6.x Only)

The Click plug-in creates an audio click during
session playback that you can use as a tempo ref­erence when performing and recording. The
Click plug-in receives its tempo and meter data
from the Pro Tools application, enabling it to
follow any changes in tempo and meter in a ses­sion.

Click plug-in

Click Parameters

MIDI In LED Illuminates each time the Click
plug-in receives a click message from the
Pro Tools application, indicating the click
tempo.

Accented Controls the output level of the ac­cent beat (beat 1 of each bar) of the audio click.

Unaccented Controls the output level of the un­accented beats of the audio click.

To use the Click plug-in:

1 Choose MIDI > Click to enable the Click op-

tion (or enable the Click button in the Transport
window).

2 Create a mono Auxiliary Input and insert the

Click plug-in.

3 Select a click sound preset.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 39

4 Choose MIDI > Click Options and set the

Click and Countoff options as desired.

2 Configure the click parameters as needed for

your MIDI sound source.

The Note, Velocity, Duration, and Output
options in this dialog are for use with MIDI
instrument-based clicks and do not affect
the Click plug-in.

Click Options dialog

Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for

more

information on configuring Click op-

tions.

3 Select the desired MIDI sound source from the

Output pop-up menu and click OK.

4 During recording or playback, you can turn

the Click on or off with the Metronome button
in the MIDI Controls display of the Transport
window.

Metronome

Tempo Controls

Click and Tempo Controls in the Transport window

Saving Sessions

As you build a session by adding tracks and
changing session controls, you will want to save
your work. Pro Tools provides three ways to save
sessions.

To save a session:

■ Choose File > Save Session, Save Session As, or

Save a Session Copy In.

5 Begin playback. A click is generated according

to the tempo and meter of the current session
and the settings in the Click Options dialog.

Using an External MIDI Click

Pro Tools also provides a MIDI Click option that
lets you use an external MIDI device to play a
click. This feature can be turned on and off in
the Transport window, and is configured from
the MIDI Click Options dialog.

To configure and enable an external MIDI click:

1 Choose MIDI > Click Options.

Getting Started with Mbox40

Save Session Saves the currently open session
file, leaving it open for you to continue work­ing.

Save Session As Creates a duplicate session file
with the name you choose, and leaves the dupli­cate open for you to continue working. It does
not create a new Audio Files or Fade Files folder.
This can be useful if you want to experiment
with different arrangements in the session with­out affecting the original session.

Save Session Copy In Saves copies of the session
file and the files that you are using in the cur­rent session. This can be useful for creating a fi­nal copy of the session that does not include au­dio files or fades you are no longer using.

System Resources and Settings

You can change specific Pro Tools system set­tings to optimize system performance.

Transport Controls

The Transport window provides access to all
Pro Tools LE transport commands. Different
transport controls can be displayed or hidden in
this window.

To show the Transport window:

■ Choose Window > Show Transport Window.

Playback Engine Dialog

The Playback Engine dialog lets you adjust sys­tem buffer sizes and allocate CPU processing
power to Pro Tools.

To configure system resources:

■ Choose Setups > Playback Engine. For more

information, see Chapter 2, “Windows Configu­ration” or Chapter 3, “Macintosh Configura­tion”, as appropriate.

System Usage Window

The System Usage window displays information
on CPU load, DSP usage, and (on Macintosh sys­tems only) overall disk performance, so you can
gauge your system’s processing capacity.

Meters in the System Usage window

Return To Zero

Online

Transport window

Rewind

Stop

Play

Fast Forward

Go to End

Record

To configure the Transport window:

■ Choose Display > Transport Window Shows

and select view options.
In standard view, the Transport window pro-

vides Play, Stop, and other standard transport
controls. The Expanded Transport window pro­vides pre- and post-roll, start, end, and length
indicators for Timeline selection, as well as the
Transport Master selector.

To view system resources and usage:

■ Choose Windows > Show System Usage.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 41

The Transport window can also display the fol­lowing MIDI controls: Wait for Note, Click,
Countoff, MIDI Merge, Conductor, Meter, and
Tempo.

Click

Wait for Note

Countoff

MIDI Merge

Navigating a Session

Pro Tools LE provides many ways to navigate in
a session, including using the mouse or entering
a location into one of the counters.

To navigate to a location in the Edit window:

1 In the Operations menu, make sure Link Edit

and Timeline Selection is enabled.

Tempo Controls

Conductor

Transport window MIDI Controls

Meter

To star t and stop playback:

1 Click Play in the Transport window to begin

playback.

2 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop

playback.

Press the Spacebar on your computer key­board to start and stop playback.

Pro Tools LE starts playing from the loca­tion of the cursor, or from the beginning of
the current selection. The current setting of
the Link Edit and Timeline Selection com­mand in the Operations menu also affects
playback. See the Pro Tools Reference Guide
for more information.

2 Enable the Selector tool at the top of the Edit

window by clicking it.

Selector tool

Edit tools in Edit window

3 Click in a track or Timebase Ruler. The cursor

appears at the selected location and the
counters display the current time location.

Click in a track or on a Timebase Ruler

Clicking with the Selector in the Edit window

To navigate using the counters:

1 Click in the Main counter and enter a location

using your computer keyboard.

Getting Started with Mbox42

2 Press Return.

Navigating with the Counter

Press the * key on the numeric keypad as an
alternative to clicking in the counter.

2 In the Memory Locations window, click the

name of the memory location.

Viewing and Zooming

When viewing tracks in the Edit window, you
can adjust the height of tracks as well as zoom in
vertically and horizontally using the Track
Height selector and Zoom tools.

Memory Locations

Memory Locations provide another way to nav­igate within sessions. Memory Locations appear
as markers under the Timebase Rulers.

To define a memor y location:

1 Press Enter on the numeric keypad while

stopped or during playback (or click the Markers
icon).

In the New Memory Location window, you can
define a marker, store a selection, or store any
combination of the other available settings.
These settings include track height, group en­ables, pre- and post-roll values, and track
Show/Hide status.

2 Choose settings for the memory location and

click OK.

Zoom presets

Zoom and Track Height tools in the Edit window

Zoom buttons

Track Height Selector

Zoomer

To change track height:

■ Click the Track Height Selector, and select a

track height from the pop-up menu.

You can apply many commands, including
track height selection, to more than just a
single track. Hold down the Alt key (Win­dows) or Option key (Macintosh) while per­forming an operation to apply it to all
tracks. Hold down both the Shift and Alt
keys (Windows) or Shift and Option keys
(Macintosh) while performing an operation
to apply it to all selected tracks.

New Memory Location window

To go to a stored memor y location:

1 Choose Windows > Show Memory Locations.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 43

To Zoom in on any area of a track in the Edit
window:

1 Click to select the Zoomer.
2 Click or drag with the Zoomer to zoom in hor-

izontally for a track or Ruler.

To zoom in or out incrementally:

■ Click the appropriate Zoom button:

• Left Arrow (Horizontal Zoom Out)

• Right Arrow (Horizontal Zoom In)

•Waveform and MIDI buttons, to increase or
decrease vertical zoom of the appropriate
track type (audio or MIDI)

Pro Tools also provides five Zoom preset but­tons. You can use these to immediately return to
established zoom levels; you can define the
magnification level for each preset, on a session­by-session basis.

To use a stored Zoom preset:

■ Click the appropriate Zoom preset 1–5.

To store a new Zoom preset definition:

■ Command-click a Zoom preset number to

store the current horizontal and vertical Zoom
to that preset.

Tracks

Pro Tools LE lets you create audio and MIDI
tracks for audio and MIDI recording, submixing,
routing, automating, and editing.

Pro Tools provides four types of tracks: audio
tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, and
MIDI tracks. Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and
Master Faders can be mono or stereo.

Audio Tracks Record and play back audio to and
from hard disk, monitor audio input when
record-enabled, and edit audio regions

Auxiliary Inputs Audio mixer channels, used for
input, routing, and submixing

Master Faders Provide master channel controls
and options for any output or bus path

MIDI Tracks Record, play back, and edit MIDI
data

To create a new track:

1 Choose File > New Track.

Using Memory Locations for Zoom Control

Pro Tools Memory Locations let you store many
attributes with each marker or memory loca­tion, including Track Height and Zoom Settings.
By creating Memory Locations that are neither
Markers nor Selections, but have Track Height,
Zoom Settings, or other options enabled, you
can use Memory Locations to zoom in and out
using just the numeric keypad.

Getting Started with Mbox44

New Track dialog

2 Specify the number of tracks, track type, and

mono or stereo (for all types except MIDI).

3 Click Create.

In the Mix window, audio tracks, Auxiliary In­puts, Master Faders, and MIDI tracks appear as
vertical channel strips. Track type is indicated
by the Track Type icons just below the faders.

Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders,
and MIDI tracks can be automated.

Inserts

Sends

Input
Output
Automation mode

Pan sliders

Audio
track

Aux
Input

MIDI
track

Master
Fader

Tracks in the Mix window

In the Edit window, tracks are displayed hori­zontally along the Timeline. The area in which
audio appears for each track is the Playlist.

Timeline
Rulers View

Audio Track

Timeline Rulers and a stereo audio track in the Edit
window

Solo

Record

Enable

Volume

fader

Mute

Voice Selector

Open Output window

Clipping indicator
(lights red)

Level meter

Group enable

Volume

Track name

Track comment area

Stereo audio track in the Mix window

Audio Tracks

Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Fad­ers share many identical controls. Master Faders
provide all the same features as audio tracks and
Auxiliary Inputs, with the following exceptions:

Input Selector A Master Fader’s output assign­ment determines its input, or source (always
outputs 1-2 on Mbox).

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 45

Sends Master Faders do not provide sends. To
send an output to another destination, use an
Auxiliary Input.

For more information on Regions Lists, refer
to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

MIDI Tracks

MIDI tracks provide volume, solo, and mute, in
addition to MIDI input, output, channel, and
program (patch) controls. MIDI volume, mute,
and pan can also be automated using Pro Tools
automation features (see “Mix Automation” on
page 57 for more information).

Regions Lists

All regions that are recorded, imported, or cre­ated by editing appear in the Audio and MIDI
Regions Lists. Regions can be dragged from ei­ther list to tracks and arranged in any order. Au­dio regions can also be auditioned from the Re­gions Lists by Option-clicking the audio region
name. The Regions List pop-up menus provide
features for managing regions and files (such as
sorting, selecting, importing, or exporting files).

Drag border to resize
width of Regions Lists

Click list names
for pop-up menus

Importing Audio

Pro Tools LE lets you import existing audio files
from disk. On Macintosh systems, you can also
import tracks from an audio CD. This is very
useful if you have audio files already recorded to
disk or if you are working with CD-based sample
libraries that you want to use in a new session.

To impor t audio files or regions from disk:

■ Choose File > Import Audio to Track to import

files and regions to new audio tracks (they will
also appear as regions in the Audio Regions List).

– or –

■ Choose Import Audio from the Audio Regions

List pop-up menu to import files and regions to
the Audio Regions List only.

For more information on importing audio
into sessions, refer to the Pro Tools Refer­ence Guide.

To impor t a CD audio track (Pro Tools 6.x):

1 Insert an audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.

Click to hide Regions Lists

Audio and MIDI Regions Lists

Getting Started with Mbox46

Drag border to
resize height of
Regions Lists

2 Choose Movie > Import Audio From Other

Movie.

3 Locate and select the audio track to be im-

ported, then click Open.

4 In the Track Import Window, click OK.
5 Navigate to a destination for the imported au-

dio, and click Choose.
Pro Tools converts the CD audio track to the ses-

sion’s audio file format, bit depth, and sample
rate, and saves it on your hard drive.

The imported audio file appears in the Audio Re­gions List. From there you can drag the region to
a track in your session.

DigiBase provides additional importing op­tions for Pro Tools LE version 6.x. See the
DigiBase Guide for more information.

To impor t a CD audio track (Pro Tools 5.2.1):

1 Insert an audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2 Choose Movie > Import Audio From Other

Movie.

3 On the audio CD, locate and select the audio

track to be imported, then click Convert.

4 In the Save dialog, click Options.
5 In the Options dialog, select the sample rate,

bit resolution, and channel format (mono or
stereo) for the imported audio.

To audition a track before you import it, use the
Play and Stop buttons. Adjust playback volume
with the vertical slider. To navigate to a particu­lar location in the track, drag the horizontal
slider.

7 When you are ready to import the audio, click

OK.

8 Specify a destination on an audio drive for the

imported audio track and click Save. Pro Tools
imports the CD audio track as a QuickTime
movie and writes it to your audio drive.

9 When the Track Import window appears, click

OK.
Pro Tools converts the audio track to your ses-

sion’s sample rate and bit resolution and im­ports the selected audio tracks into the Audio
Regions List. From there you can drag the re­gions to existing tracks.

Basic Recording

Audio CD Import Options dialog

6 At the bottom of the Options dialog, set the

range of the CD track to be imported by adjust­ing the Start and End times.

This section describes how to record audio and
MIDI into Pro Tools LE.

Routing Audio to a Track

To route audio to a track:

1 Verify the connections to your instruments.

Refer to Chapter 4, “Connecting Your Studio”
for more information about connecting instru­ments to Mbox.

2 Create a new track to record on by choosing

File > New Track. Specify 1 Mono Audio Track
and click Create.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 47

3 In the Mix window, click the Input Selector on

the new track.

Routing an input to a mono track

From the pop-up menu, select the input you
want to record. For example, select Mic/Line if
your audio source is plugged into the Source 1
jack on the back of the Mbox. (This input is
listed as Mic/Line 1 on Windows, as In 1 on
Macintosh, or as the name you defined in the
I/O Setup dialog.)

Setting Mbox Input Levels

Adjust the level of the input by using the gain
knobs on the front of Mbox. For line level or in­strument sources, set the device’s output vol­ume to the highest level possible without distor­tion, then use the gain knobs on Mbox to
maximize the signal going into Pro Tools.

The key to setting proper input levels is to get a
signal as loud as possible without overloading
Mbox inputs or creating digital clipping. Signals
that get close to the top of the meter in
Pro Tools LE use more of the full bit range (the
16 or 24 bits that make up each audio sample).
The more you are able to maximize this bit
range without clipping, the better your sound
quality.

Digital clipping occurs when you feed a sig­nal to an audio device that is louder than
the circuitry can accept. Watch the meters
in Pro Tools while adjusting input levels to
prevent clipping.

Recording an Audio Track

To record an audio track:

1 Click the Record Enable button for a track, as-

sign its input, and set the input levels appropri­ately.

2 Choose Windows > Show Transport to display

the Transport window. Click Return To Zero to
start recording from the beginning of the ses­sion. You can also record according to a selec­tion or from the cursor location in the Edit
window.

3 Click Record in the Transport window to en-

able recording.

4 Click Play or press the Spacebar to record on

all record-enabled tracks.

5 Record your performance.
6 Click Stop in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar when you are finished recording.

To play back a recorded track:

1 Click the track’s Record Enable button a sec-

ond time to take it out of Record mode.

2 Click Play in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to start playback.

3 Click Stop in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to stop playback.

Recording MIDI

To configure a MIDI track for recording:

1 Choose MIDI > Input Devices and make sure

your input device is selected in the MIDI Input
Enable window.

Getting Started with Mbox48

2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI

Track, then click Create.

3 In the Mix window, click on the track’s MIDI

Device/Channel Selector and choose the desti­nation (assignment) for that MIDI track by
choosing a MIDI interface port, a channel, or a
device from the pop-up menu (choices vary de­pending on the operating system and Pro Tools
version).

MIDI Device/Channel Selector (Macintosh shown)

4 You can assign a default program change to

the track by clicking on the Program button in
the Mix window and making the necessary se­lections for program and bank select, and then
clicking Done. Default program changes are
sent when playing a track.

5 In the Mix Window, record-enable the MIDI

track.

6 Make sure MIDI > MIDI Thru is selected, then

play some notes on your MIDI controller. The
MIDI instrument assigned to the track should
sound, and the track’s meters should register
MIDI activity.

To record onto a MIDI track:

1 Verify that the MIDI track you want to record

to is record-enabled and receiving MIDI.

2 In the Transport window , click Return T o Zero

to start recording from the beginning of the ses­sion. You can also record according to a selec­tion or from the cursor location in the Edit
window.

3 Click Record in the Transport window.
4 Click Play in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to begin recording.

– or –

If using Wait for Note, the Play, Record, and
Wait for Note buttons flash. Recording begins
when the first MIDI event is received.

– or –

If using Countoff, click Play. The Record and
Play buttons flash during the Countoff, then re­cording begins.

5 Play your MIDI instrument.
6 When you have finished recording, click Stop

in the Transport window, or press the Spacebar.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
region on the track in the Edit window, as well
as in the MIDI Regions List.

To play back a recorded MIDI track:

1 Click the Record Enable button to take the

MIDI track out of Record mode.

2 In the Transport window , click Return T o Zero

to play back from the beginning of the track.
You can also play back according to a selection
or from the cursor location in the Edit window.

3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin

playback. The recorded MIDI data plays back
through the track’s assigned instrument and
channel.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 49

Monitoring MIDI Instruments Without a Mixer

To monitor your MIDI instrument’s analog out­put, you can use an Auxiliary Input. Auxiliary
Inputs function as inputs for both internally
bussed signals and external audio sources.

To configure an Auxiliar y Input for MIDI
monitoring:

1 Connect the MIDI instrument’s audio output

to the appropriate inputs on your Mbox.

2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono

or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create.

3 Click the Input selector of the Auxiliary Input

channel and choose the input to which your
MIDI instrument is connected.

4 Adjust the level of the Auxiliary Input with its

volume fader.

Audio and MIDI editing are typically used to:

• Fix or replace mistakes

• Re-arrange songs and projects

• Clean up track timing and rhythm by aligning
hits to Grid values like bars and beats

• Create final tracks using selections from mul­tiple takes (also known as comp tracks).

Edit Modes

Pro Tools LE has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot,
Slip, and Grid. The Edit mode is selected by
clicking the corresponding button in the upper
left of the Edit window.

Edit mode buttons

Editing

Pro Tools LE provides several tools for editing
audio and MIDI. In the Edit window, audio and
MIDI tracks can be edited into regions or re­peated in different locations, to create loops, re­arrange sections or entire songs, or to assemble
tracks using material from multiple takes.

Edit Modes

Edit modes and tools (Slip mode, Smart Tool enabled)

Getting Started with Mbox50

Edit Tools

You can also press F1 (Shuffle), F2 (Slip),
F3 (Spot), and F4 (Grid) to set the Edit
mode.

The Edit mode affects the movement and place­ment of audio and MIDI regions (and individual
MIDI notes), how commands like Copy and
Paste function, and also how the various edit
tools (Trimmer, Selector, Grabber, and Pencil)
work.

For detailed descriptions of Edit modes, re­fer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Edit Tools

Trimming Regions

Pro Tools LE has seven Edit tools: Zoomer, Trim­mer, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, Pencil, and
Smart Tool. Select an Edit tool by clicking it in
the Edit window. The Zoomer, Trimmer, Grab­ber, and Pencil tools have multiple modes,
which you can select from a pop-up menu when
you click the tool.

Trimmer

Zoomer

Edit tools in Edit window

Selector

Smart Tool

Grabber

Scrubber

Pencil

Press the Escape key to toggle through the
Edit tools.

For detailed descriptions of the Edit Tools,
refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Editing Regions

The Edit tools in Pro Tools LE are used to edit re­gions in the Edit window. A region is a piece of
audio or MIDI data that can also have associated
automation data. For example, a region could be
a loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a song, a sound ef­fect, a piece of dialog, or an entire sound file. In
Pro Tools, regions are created from audio or
MIDI files, and can be arranged in audio and
MIDI track playlists.

After recording an audio track, you will have an
audio region on that track. If there is some si­lence at the beginning of the region, or there is
some extra audio at the end of the region, you
can use the Trimmer tool in Slip mode to
shorten the beginning or end of the region.

Audio region on a track

To trim an audio region:

1 Select Slip mode.
2 Select the Trimmer tool.
3 Move the cursor near the beginning of the au-

dio region (notice the cursor changes to a “[”).

Trimming the beginning of a region

4 Click at the beginning of the region and drag

right to shorten the region.

5 Move the cursor near the end of the audio re-

gion (notice the cursor changes to a “]”).

Trimming the end of a region

Audio region

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 51

6 Click at the end of the region and drag left to

shorten the region.

The trimmed region

You can also extend a region using the Trimmer
tool if there is audio data beyond the current
boundaries of the region. If extending the re­gion’s beginning, drag to the left; if extending
the region’s end, drag to the right.

Arranging Regions

There are many ways to edit and arrange re­gions; the following example demonstrates how
you might create and arrange a drum loop to
compose a rhythm track.

To create and arrange a rhythm sequence:

1 Open or create a session in Pro Tools LE.

6 Drag on the waveform with the Selector to

make a one-bar selection. Note that the selec­tion snaps to the specified grid.

Making a selection in Grid mode

7 Create a new audio track (File > New Track).
8 From the Grabber pop-up menu, select the

Separation Grabber tool.

9 With the Separation Grabber tool, drag the se-

lection to the beginning of the new audio track.
A new region is created and appears at the be­ginning of the new track.

2 Specify the session meter (MIDI > Change

Meter) and tempo (MIDI > Change Tempo).

3 Select Grid mode.
4 Prepare to record using a MIDI click (see “Us-

ing the Click Plug-In” on page 39 or “Using an
External MIDI Click” on page 40).

5 Record a drum track (see “Recording an Audio

Track” on page 48) keeping in mind that you
want to use only the best bar (measure). Your re­cording should fit the grid at the specified
tempo and meter.

– or –

Import an existing audio file, such as a drum
loop from a sample library, and place it on an
audio track (see “Importing Audio” on page 46).

Getting Started with Mbox52

Dragging a selection with the Separation Grabber tool

10 With the new region still selected, choose

Edit > Repeat.

Repeat dialog

11 In the Repeat dialog, enter a number of re-

peats, and click OK.
You now have a new rhythm track with a

“looped” (repeated) phrase. You can use these
editing tools to do much more advanced and in­volved editing of regions. For example, you

could separate beats or “hits” into individual re­gions and rearrange them in Grid or Shuffle
mode as a way of coming up with new and in­teresting rhythms.

Playlists and Nondestructive Editing

Playlists let you create and retrieve multiple ver­sions of track edits. A playlist can be a complete
take, an overdub, or an arrangement of selec­tions from multiple takes. You can duplicate
playlists to save edits in their current state, then
continue making additional edits to the new
playlist knowing you can always go back to the
previous version.

Mixing

The Pro Tools mix environment provides many
familiar channel strip controls for setting vol­ume, pan, solo, and mute. Mixer and I/O con­trols can be shown in both the Mix and Edit
windows.

To view the Mix window:

■ Select Windows > Show Mix.

Press Control+Equals (=) in Windows or
Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh to
switch between the Edit and Mix windows.

To create multiple playlists for editing:

1 Start with a track on which you want to try

different edits.

2 From the Playlist Selector pop-up menu,

choose Duplicate.

Duplicating a playlist

3 Name the duplicated playlist and click OK.
4 Make your first series of edits.
5 Return to the original playlist by selecting it

from the Playlist Selector pop-up menu.

6 Repeat steps 2–5 for any further edits.

In this way, you can try out different edits of a
track, and switch back and forth between playl­ists for comparison.

Using Channel Strip Controls

Volume Increase or decrease the track level by

dragging its Volume fader up or down.
Pan Pan a track left or right in the mix by drag-

ging its Pan slider left or right.
Solo Solo a track (muting all other tracks) by

clicking its Solo button.
Mute Mute a track by clicking its Mute button.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 53

Basic Signal Routing

Signal routing is accomplished by assigning
track inputs and outputs. Audio track inputs can
be from any hardware input or bus path. Once
recorded, an audio track’s input is its audio file
on disk. Auxiliary Inputs can be any hardware
input or internal bus path. For all types of audio
tracks, outputs can be routed to any hardware
output or internal bus path.

Together, these signal routing features let you
set up virtually any mixer architecture for your
projects, including sends and returns for effects
processing and submixing.

Send and Return Submixing for Effects Processing

When you are submixing for reverb, delay, and
similar effects processing, you can use sends and
Auxiliary Inputs to achieve traditional send/re­turn bussing. You can use a real-time plug-in
(see “Plug-Ins” on page 56) as a shared resource
for all tracks included in a submix. The wet/dry
balance in the mix can be controlled using the
track faders (dry level) and Auxiliary Input fader
(wet, or effect return level).

Creating a Send

Pro Tools LE provides up to five sends per audio
track. A send can be mono or stereo, routing to
an output or one of 16 internal bus paths.

To assign a send on a track:

1 Make sure Sends View is enabled in the Mix

window (Display > Mix Window Shows > Sends
View).

2 Click the Sends button on an audio track and

choose a path from the pop-up menu.

Assigning a send to a stereo bus path

3 Set the output level of the send. You can set

the send level to zero by Option-clicking the
send fader.

You can configure the default level for new
sends to be

–∞ or at unity gain (0 dB) by en-

abling or disabling the Sends Default To
“–INF” option under the Operation Prefer­ences.

Getting Started with Mbox54

Creating a Return

Auxiliary Inputs can be created to act as return
channels for busses, as well as for inputs from
hardware sources.

Send window

Send
to bus 9–10

Real-time plug-in

Master Faders

Master Faders are used as output and bus mas­ters, and can control any mono or stereo output
or bus path in a session. You can then use the
controls on the Master Fader to control the vol­ume, solo and mute, or apply inserts to those
paths.

When you are mastering your final mix, it is rec­ommended that you use a dither plug-in on the
Master Fader controlling your main outputs (for
more information on dither, see the Pro Tools
Reference Guide).

Dither plug-in applied to final mix

Output assigned to control
main mix

Aux Input
input from bus 9–10

Audio and Auxiliary Input tracks configured for a send
and return

To create a return:

1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono

or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create.

2 Click the Input Selector of the Auxiliary Input

and set it to the bus path you assigned to the
sends on the source tracks.

3 Click the Output Selector of the Auxiliary In-

put and choose an output path.

Master Fader controlling main outputs

To create a Master Fader:

1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono

or stereo Master Fader track, then click Create.

2 In the Mix window, click the Master Fader’s

Output Selector and choose the output path
that you want to control. You can choose either
outputs or internal busses.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 55

To use a Master Fader as a master stereo volume
control for all tracks in a session:

1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 stereo

Master Fader track, then click Create.

2 Set the outputs of all audio tracks in the ses-

sion to outputs 1–2 and set the panning of each
track.

3 Set the output of the Master Fader to your

main output path (outputs 1–2).

Plug-Ins

Plug-ins provide EQ, dynamics, delays, and
many other types of effects processing. Plug-ins
function either in real time or in non-real time.
RTAS plug-ins are nondestructive effects, which
are inserted on tracks to process audio in real
time—just like an external hardware processor
(during playback). AudioSuite plug-ins, on the
other hand, are destructive effects that process
and create new audio files on disk in non-real­time. (AudioSuite plug-ins can also be used non­destructively, leaving the original, unprocessed
audio file on disk.)

Real-time plug-ins are assigned to tracks from
the Inserts view in the Mix or Edit windows.
Once assigned to a track, plug-ins appear in the
track’s Inserts view, and can be opened by click­ing the Insert button.

Plug-InInsert button

Compressor plug-in

To inser t a real-time plug-in on a track:

1 Make sure the Inserts View is shown in the

Mix or Edit window.

2 Click the Insert Selector on the track and se-

lect the plug-in that you want to use.
Pro Tools comes with a complete set of DigiRack

plug-ins, and many more are available from
Digidesign and our Development Partners.

For more information about plug-ins, see
the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide, the Digide­sign Plug-Ins Guide, and the Plug-Ins chap­ter of the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Getting Started with Mbox56

Mix Automation

Mix automation lets you record, or automate,
changes to track and send levels, mutes, pan,
and plug-in parameters. MIDI tracks provide
volume, pan, and mute automation only.

Once written, automation can be re-written or
displayed and edited graphically in the Edit win­dow.

To write automation:

1 In the Automation Enable window

(Windows > Show Automation Enable), enable
an automation type (volume, pan, mute, send
level, send pan, send mute, or any plug-in auto­mation).

2 Select an automation mode for the tracks to be

automated (Write, Touch, or Latch mode).

3 Start playback and begin writing automation

by adjusting faders and other controls during
playback. Pro Tools LE remembers all moves
performed on enabled parameters.

Enabling automation (left) and choosing a track
Automation mode (right)

Track view set to Volume

Volume breakpoint automation

Volume automation in a track in the Edit window

For more information on using automation,
see the

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Final Mixdown

The Bounce to Disk command lets you write a fi­nal mix to disk, create a new loop, print effects,
or bounce any submix. Once you have bounced
your final mix to disk, you can use another pro­gram to burn the resulting file to Compact Disc.

When you bounce a track to disk, the bounced
mix includes the following:

Audible Tracks All audible tracks are included in
the bounce. Any muted tracks do not appear in
the bounce. If you solo a track or region, only
the soloed elements appear in the bounced mix.

Automation All read-enabled automation is
played back and incorporated in the bounced
mix.

Inserts and Sends All active inserts, including
real-time plug-ins and hardware inserts, are ap­plied to the bounced mix.

Selection or Track Length If you make a selec­tion in a track, the bounced mix will be the
length of the selection. If there is no selection in
any track, the bounce will continue until it
reaches the end of the session.

Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools LE 57

To Bounce to Disk:

1 Choose File > Bounce to Disk.
2 Select any mono or stereo output or bus path

as the source for the bounce.

3 Select the File Type (such as WAV), Format

(such as mono or stereo), Resolution (such as 16­bit), and Sample Rate (such as 44.1 kHz).

•To create a mixdown that can be written to an
audio CD, be sure to select AIFF, stereo inter­leaved, 16-bit, 44.1 kHz.

4 Click Bounce.

Using Dither on Mixdown

You should use a dither plug-in when using the
Bounce To Disk command, or when mastering
to an external device. Bounce to Disk does not
automatically apply dither. To dither a bounce
file, insert an included Digidesign Dither plug­in, or another dither plug-in, on a Master Fader
assigned to the bounce source path. Master Fad­ers are often preferable to Auxiliary Inputs be­cause Master Fader inserts are post-fader (which
is better for dither applications).

For more information on using dither, refer
to the

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Getting Started with Mbox58

appendix a

Windows System Optimizations

When installing Pro Tools on Windows XP,
there are many system variables that affect per­formance. If you have followed all the Windows
configuration instructions in Chapter 2, “Win­dows Configuration” and are still experiencing
problems, try the following troubleshooting
suggestions.

Norton Ghost is highly recommended, as it
lets you save your system in a working state
and easily revert to that state should you ac­cidentally disable anything that your com­puter needs.

Troubleshooting

Blue Screen at Startup

If, after installing Pro Tools LE and QuickTime,
your computer crashes with a blue screen, use
Add/Remove Programs to uninstall Pro Tools LE
and QuickTime. Then, repeat the installation in­structions in “Installing Pro Tools LE and
Mbox” on page 10.

Advanced Settings

The following system optimizations may help
Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is
recommended that you only try these optimiza­tions if necessary, as they may disable or ad­versely affect the functionality of other pro­grams on your system.

Disabling Network Cards

If applicable, disable any networking cards
(other than a 1394 “FireWire” card that you
might use to connect an external drive to your
system).

To disable a network card:

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-

age.

2 Under System Tools, select Device Manager.
3 In the Device Manager window, double-click

Network adapters, then double-click the Net­work Adapter card you want to disable.

4 Under the General tab, choose “Do note use

this device (disable)” from the Device Usage
pop-up menu, and click OK.

5 Close the Computer Management window.

Appendix A: Windows System Optimizations 59

Processor Scheduling

To Adjust Processor Scheduling Performance:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, click System.

– or –

In Category View, click Performance and Main­tenance, then click System.

3 Click the Advanced tab.
4 Under the Performance section, click the Set-

tings button.

5 Select the Advanced tab.
6 Under the Processor scheduling section, select

the “Adjust for best performance of background
services” option.

7 Under the Memory Usage section, select the

System cache option.

8 Click OK twice. You will need to restart your

computer for the changes to take effect.

Be very careful when disabling startup items, in­cluding (but not limited to) the following:

• Portable media serial number (required for ap­plications that utilize a copy protection key)

• Plug and play

• Event log

•Cryptographic services

• DHCP Client, TCP/IP Net BIOS, and other net­working-related items (unless the computer
has no network or internet connection, in
which case these items can be disabled)

Norton Ghost is highly recommended, as it
lets you save your system in a working state
and easily revert to that state should you ac­cidentally disable anything that your com­puter needs.

To Disable System Star tup Items:

1 From the Start menu, choose Run.
2 Type “msconfig” and click OK. The System

Configuration Utility opens.

Startup Items

The fewer items in use by your computer, the
more resources are available for Pro Tools LE.
Some startup applications may be consuming
unnecessary CPU resources, and should be
turned off.

Getting Started with Mbox60

3 Under the General tab, choose Selective Star-

tup.

4 Deselect Load Startup Items and click OK.
5 Click Restart to restart the computer.
6 After restarting your computer, a System Con-

figuration message dialog is displayed. Try
Pro Tools to see if performance has increased be­fore you uncheck the don't show this message
again box. If performance has not changed, run
“msconfig” and return your computer Selective
Startup back to Normal Startup. Alternatively,
try disabling start up items and non-essential
processes individually.

appendix b

Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)

Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI in­terface as generic ports. With Mac OS X, you use
Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility to iden­tify external MIDI devices connected to your
MIDI interface and configure your MIDI studio
for use with Pro Tools.

To configure your MIDI studio in AMS:

1 Launch Audio MIDI Setup (located in Applica-

tions/Utilities).

– or –

In Pro Tools, choose Setups > Edit MIDI Studio
Setup.

2 Click the MIDI Devices tab. AMS scans your

system for connected MIDI interfaces. If your
MIDI interface is properly connected, it appears
in the window with each of its ports numbered.

3 For any MIDI devices connected to the MIDI

interface, click Add Device. A new external de­vice icon with the default MIDI keyboard image
will appear.

4 Drag the new device icon to a convenient lo-

cation within the window.

5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI inter-

face by clicking the arrow for the appropriate
output port of the device and dragging a con­nection or “cable” to the input arrow of the cor­responding port of the MIDI interface.

Audio MIDI Setup (MIDI Devices tab)

Making MIDI input and output connections

Appendix B: Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) 61

6 Click the arrow for the appropriate input port

of the device and drag a cable to the output ar­row of the corresponding port of the MIDI inter­face.

To

remove a connection, select the cable and
press Delete. To delete all connections, click
Clear Cables.

7 Repeat steps 3–6 for each MIDI device in your

MIDI setup.

2 Select a manufacturer and model for the new

device from the corresponding pop-up menus.
(If the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus
do not provide a name for your particular de­vice, you can type a name.)

To configure an external MIDI device:

1 Select the external device icon and click Show

Info (or double-click the new device icon).

External Device Icon

Naming a new MIDI device

AMS refers to one or more files with the suf­fix “.middev” in the directory Root/Li­brary/Audio/MIDI Devices for Manufac­turer and Model names. Pro Tools installs
two such files that contain information for
many commercially available MIDI devices,
“Legacy Devices.middev” and “Digidesign
Devices.middev.” If the Manufacturer or
Model names for any of your external MIDI
devices is not available in the AMS Manu­facturer and Model pop-up menus, you can
add them by editing any of the current .mid­dev files in any text editor (such as
TextEdit).

Getting Started with Mbox62

3 Click the More Properties arrow to expand the

dialog, then enable the appropriate MIDI chan­nels (1–16) for the Transmits and Receives op­tions. (These determine which channels the
device will use to send and receive MIDI.)

Enabling MIDI channels

4 Click the device image. The window expands

to show images for various MIDI devices (such
as keyboards, modules, interfaces, and mixers).
Select an icon for your device.

Selecting a device icon

To use your own custom icons, you can
place TIFF image files in /Library/
Audio/MIDI Devices/Generic/Images, and
they will appear as choices in the AMS de­vice window.

5 Click OK.

The device names you enter appear as MIDI in­put and output choices in Pro Tools.

Appendix B: Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) 63

Getting Started with Mbox64

appendix c

Digidesign ASIO Driver

Introduction

The Digidesign ASIO Driver is a multichannel,
multimedia sound driver that allows third-party
audio software that support the ASIO standard
to record and play back through Mbox hard­ware.

Check the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com) for the latest third­party drivers for Pro Tools LE hardware, as
well as current known issues.

Full-duplex recording and playback of 24- and
16-bit audio are supported at sample rates sup­ported by the hardware and ASIO client soft­ware used.

Compatibility

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

For a list of applications that support the ASIO
Driver, refer to the latest compatibility informa­tion available on the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato).

Installing the ASIO Driver

The ASIO Driver is installed by default when you
install Pro Tools.

Removing the ASIO Driver

If you need to remove the ASIO Driver from
your computer, complete the following steps.

To remove the ASIO Driver:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click the Add or Remove Programs

icon.

3 From the Currently installed programs list, se-

lect your version of Pro Tools.

4 Click the Change/Remove button.
5 Modify your installation by deselecting the

Digidesign ASIO Driver option only.

Appendix C: Digidesign ASIO Driver 65

Changing ASIO Driver Settings

Changing ASIO Driver settings is done in your
third party ASIO software. Refer to the docu­mentation that came with that software. For ex­ample, with Propellerhead Reason, click on the
ASIO Control Panel button.

ASIO Control Panel

button

Using Propellerhead Reason

ASIO Driver Control Panel

Digidesign ASIO Control Panel

The Digidesign ASIO Driver Control Panel can­not be accessed under the following circum­stances:

• When Pro Tools is running.

• When playing or recording with audio soft­ware that does not support the ASIO Driver.

• When using a third-party audio software
that has an option to keep the ASIO Driver
“open” even when you are not playing or
recording. (You must close the audio soft­ware before you can open the ASIO Driver
Control Panel.)

Buffer Size Control

When you play a file from a client audio appli­cation, the client application divides the file
into small packets or buffers, and sends each of
these to the ASIO Driver. The ASIO Driver copies
the client software’s buffers to your Digidesign
hardware’s own buffers in a double-buffering
scheme.

The Buffer Size control in this dialog allows you
to set the size of each of the two buffers the ASIO
Driver uses on Digidesign hardware. You can se­lect from the following buffer sizes:

• 128 samples

• 256 samples

• 512 samples

• 1024 samples

• 2048 samples

◆ Small buffers reduce latency in the record

monitor path. (Latency is the time delay be­tween a signal entering the audio inputs and
leaving the outputs during recording.)

◆ Larger buffers reduce audio dropouts during

playback and recording.

Getting Started with Mbox66

In some third-party audio applications, per­forming certain tasks will interrupt the ASIO
Driver and may result in clicks and pops during
audio playback or recording. Choose a medium
or large buffer (256, 512, or 1024) to avoid this
problem.

Changing the Buffer Size for the ASIO Driver
does not affect the H/W Buffer Size settings in
the Pro Tools Playback Engine dialog.

Device

The Device Type is always set to your installed
Pro Tools hardware.

Advanced Button

The Advanced button opens the Hardware Setup
dialog for your Digidesign system.

Appendix C: Digidesign ASIO Driver 67

Getting Started with Mbox68

appendix d

Configuring OMS (Mac OS 9 Only)

Pro Tools LE on Mac OS 9 requires Open Music
System (OMS), which is included on the
Pro Tools Installer CD.

OMS has the following capabilities:

• Keeps track of which MIDI devices you are us­ing, how they are connected, and which
patches they are using

• Enables MIDI hardware to communicate with
your music applications

• Provides timing services and inter-application
communication

OMS stores a description of your MIDI studio in
Studio Setup documents, which are edited with
the OMS Setup application. Once OMS is config­ured, your music applications know which MIDI
devices you are using by referencing the current
Studio Setup document.

The following sections provide basic instruc­tions for configuring OMS. For more detailed in­formation, refer to the electronic PDF version of
the OMS Guide installed with Pro Tools.

Configuring a New Studio Setup

Before configuring OMS, make sure that your
MIDI interfaces are connected to the computer,
and that all devices connected to its MIDI ports
are turned on.

To configure a New Studio Setup in OMS:

1 Launch the OMS Setup application. If OMS

has not yet been configured, you’ll be prompted
to configure a New Studio Setup. Click OK.

2 OMS prompts you to select the Modem or

Printer port to search for OMS drivers. If you are
using a USB-based MIDI Interface, leave both
ports unchecked. Click Search.

Options for OMS Driver Search

OMS searches for and displays any detected
OMS drivers and interfaces. If your interface is
not detected, click Troubleshoot. Once your in­terface is detected, you are prompted to search
for MIDI instruments connected to it.

3 Click OK to search for MIDI devices connected

to your MIDI interface. To be detected, the de­vice must be turned on with both of its MIDI
ports connected to your MIDI interface.

Appendix D: Configuring OMS (Mac OS 9 Only) 69

OMS Driver Setup

OMS searches for and displays any detected
MIDI devices. Some older instruments, as well as
some newer ones, may not be recognized by the
OMS auto-detection routines.

Undefined OMS device

Devices not recognized by OMS appear with a
red question mark and are named based on the
interface or port to which they are connected.
These devices can be defined as necessary within
the OMS Setup application (see “Defining MIDI
Devices in OMS” on page 70).

4 Click OK to save your Studio Setup document.

Defining MIDI Devices in OMS

MIDI Device Info

3 Select the Receiving Channel for the device. If

it is capable of receiving multiple channels, se­lect the option for “Is Multitimbral.”

4 If you will record MIDI data from the device

into Pro Tools, select the option for “Is Control­ler.” If the device will be a source or destination
for MIDI Time Code, Beat Clock, or MIDI Ma­chine Control, select the appropriate option.

5 Click OK.

Disabling Serial DMA in OMS

Pro Tools requires that you deselect the “Use
Apple Serial DMA Driver When Available” op­tion in OMS Setup. If you do not disable this op­tion, problems will occur with MIDI and syn­chronization functions within Pro Tools.

To define a MIDI device in OMS Setup:

1 Double-click the device’s icon in the Studio

Setup window.

2 In the MIDI Device Info dialog, select the

Manufacturer and Model for the device from the
pop-up menus. If the device is not listed, leave
the Model set to “other” and enter a name for
the device.

Getting Started with Mbox70

To disable Serial DMA in OMS:

1 Double-click the OMS Setup application.
2 Choose Edit > Preferences.
3 Deselect “Use Apple Serial DMA Driver When

Available” and click OK.

4 Quit OMS Setup.

appendix e

Digidesign Control Panel (Mac OS 9 Only)

If you are running Mac OS 9 and plan to use
your Digidesign hardware with Apple Sound
Manager-compatible applications, you will need
to install the Digidesign Control Panel.

To install the Digidesign Control Panel:

■ Run the Pro Tools LE Installer and select the

Digidesign Control Panel option. (See “Install­ing Pro Tools LE” on page 19.)

Digidesign Control Panel

To configure the Digidesign Control Panel:

1 From the Apple menu, choose Control Panels

> Digidesign.

To use your Digidesign hardware with Apple Sound
Manager:

1 From the Apple menu, choose Control

Panels > Sound.

2 Click the Output tab.
3 Select Digidesign, and close the Sound Con-

trol Panel.

4 When you plan to use Pro Tools again, change

the Output back to “Built-In” before you launch
the Pro Tools application.

Digidesign Control Panel

2 Click the Setup Hardware button in the

Digidesign Control Panel.

3 Configure the Hardware Setup dialog.

Apple Sound Control Panel

When using Digidesign hardware to moni­tor Sound Manager applications, under the
Alerts tab, turn the Alert Volume control
down.

Appendix E: Digidesign Control Panel (Mac OS 9 Only) 71

Getting Started with Mbox72

index

Numerics

32K clusters 9

A

AMS (Audio MIDI Setup) 61

configuring MIDI devices in 62

Apple Sound Manager 71
ASIO driver 12, 65
audio

analog 34
editing 50
importing 46, 47
monitoring 33
routing 47, 54

audio connections

headphones 33
home stereo 33
self-powered monitors 33

Audio Regions List 46
audio tracks 44, 45
authorization code

Windows 13

authorizing Pro Tools 21
automation 57

creating 57

Auxiliary Inputs 44, 45, 50, 54

B

Bounce to Disk command 57

C

channel strip controls

Mute 53
Pan 53
Solo 53
Volume 53

click 40
Click plug-in

Accented parameter 39
Unaccented parameter 39

Clock Source 16, 24
cluster size 9
CPU Usage Limit 22

D

DAE Playback Buffer Size 23
defragment

Windows 10

Digidesign Control Panel 71

configuring 71
installing 71

Disk Cleanup 10
DMA 7

E

Edit mode buttons 50
Edit modes 50

Grid 50
selecting 50
Shuffle 50
Slip 50
Spot 50

Index 73

Edit tools 51

Grabber 51
Pencil 51
Scrubber 51
Selector 51
Smart Tool 51
Trimmer 51
Zoomer 51

Edit window 38
editing 50
editing regions 51

F

fade files 37
FAT32 9
firmware 11

G

gain

headphones 31
input 30

Grabber tool 51
Grid mode 50

H

hard drive

and Macintosh system drive 19
and Windows system drive 10

hard drives

cluster size 9
formatting 18
maintenance 10
space requirements 3
Windows maintenance 10

Hardware Buffer Size 22
hardware installation 7

USB 10

headphones

connecting 33
gain control 31
output

front panel 31
rear panel 31

HFS 12
Hibernate 8

I

I/O Setup

Macintosh configuration 16, 25
Windows configuration 16

importing audio 46, 47
indicators

peak level 30
phantom power 29
S/PDIF input 30
USB connection 30

Input Format 24
input gain 30

setting 48

inputs

analog 32
digital 32

inserts 32

analog on Mbox 34
plug-ins 56

K

key commands 4

L

latency

see monitoring

M

MacOpener 12
Master Faders 44, 45, 55

creating 55

Mbox

features 1

front panel 29
rear panel 31

memory locations 43, 44

defining 43
recalling 43

MIDI

connections 35
editing 50
monitoring 50

MIDI click 40
MIDI controls 39, 40, 42
MIDI Regions List 46
MIDI tracks 44, 46

Getting Started with Mbox74

mix automation 57
mix control 30
Mix window 38, 53
mixing 53
monitoring 33

audio 33
MIDI 50
when overdubbing 30
zero latency 30

mono switch 30
multi-processor 22
Mute button 53

N

NTFS 9

O

OMS (Open Music System) 20

defining a MIDI device in 70
disabling Serial DMA 70
installing 20

outputs

analog 32
digital 32

P

Pan slider 53
peak indicators 30
Pencil tool 51
phantom power 32, 34

indicator 29
when to use 29

playback

starting and stopping 42

Playback Engine dialog 41
playlists 53

creating 53

plug-ins 56
power

Windows System Standby 8

Pro Tools

authorizing 21
capabilities 2
installing 20
main windows 38
software configuration 22
validating 21
Windows configuration 14

Pro Tools LE

installing, Windows 10

Q

QuickTime 11

R

ratio control 30
recording

audio 48
MIDI 49

regions 51

arranging 52
creating 51
editing 51
trimming 51

returns 55

creating 55

rulers 38

S

S/PDIF I/O 32
S/PDIF input indicator 30
S/PDIF mirroring 35
Sample Rate 15, 23
Scrubber tool 51
SCSI 18
Selector tool 51
sends 46, 54

assigning 54

sessions 37

creating 37
duplicating 40
navigating 42
saving 37, 40
saving copies of 41

Shuffle mode 50
Slip mode 50
Smart Tool 51

Index 75

Solo button 53
sources

analog 32, 34
connecting 34, 35
instrument 29
line 29
microphone 29
selecting 29

Spot mode 50
submixing 54
system requirements

MIDI 35

System settings

for Windows 7

system settings 41

Clock Source 16, 24
CPU Usage Limit 22
DAE Playback Buffer Size 23
Hardware Buffer Size 22
I/O Setup 16, 25
Input Format 24
Sample Rate 15, 23

System Usage window 41

T

tempo 39

setting 39

tempo events 39
track height

changing 43

tracks 44

audio 44, 45
Auxiliary Inputs 44, 45, 54
creating 44
Master Faders 44, 45, 55
MIDI 44, 46
playing back audio 48
playing back MIDI 49
recording audio 48
recording MIDI 49
types 44

Transport

MIDI controls 42

Transport window 38, 41
Trimmer tool 51

U

USB 10

connection indicator 30
port 21

V

validating Pro Tools 21
validating Pro Tools software

Windows configuration 13

Volume fader 53

W

Windows

required System settings 7
System Standby 8

windows 38

Edit window 38
Mix window 38, 53
Transport window 38, 41

Windows System Standby 8
Windows XP

maintenance 10

Workspace 38

Z

Zoom presets 44

recalling 44
storing 44

Zoomer tool 51
Zooming 43

Getting Started with Mbox76