Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools - 5.0.1 Reference Guide

Download

Pro Tools

Reference Guide

Version 5.0.1 for Macintosh and Windows

Digidesign Inc.

3401-A Hillview Avenue

Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA

tel: 650·842·7900

fax: 650·842·7999

Technical Support (USA)

650·842·6699 650·856·4275

Product Information (USA)

650·842·6602 800·333·2137

Fax on Demand (USA)

1-888-USE-DIGI (873-3444)

World Wide Web

www.digidesign.com

Digidesign FTP Site

ftp.digidesign.com

This User’s Guide is copyrighted ©1999 by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this manual 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 932708002-00 REV A 05/00

contents

Part I Introduction

Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools

The Pro Tools Guides Compatibility Information Digidesign Registration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2. Pro Tools System Configurations

TDM-equipped systems TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems Pro Tools LE Systems Pro Tools LE System Capabilities

Chapter 3. Pro Tools Concepts

Hard Disk Recording The Digidesign Audio Engine Elements of a Session MIDI Concepts Virtual Tracks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Chapter 4. Pro Tools Windows

The Mix Window The Edit Window The Transport Window Keyboard Focus

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Contents

iii

Part II Pro Tools Sessions

Chapter 5. Creating Sessions

Starting Up Your System Configuring Your System Changing the Pro Tools Playback Engine Changing DAE Playback Buffer Size Creating a New Session Opening a Session Saving a Session Creating Custom Session Templates Closing a Session Quitting a Session Sharing Sessions between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 6. Working with Tracks

Creating Tracks Hiding Tracks Assigning Track Inputs Assigning Track Outputs Virtual Tracks, Voices, and Track Priority Automatic Assignment of Ascending Voices Assigning Voices and Track Priority Setting MIDI Channels Adjusting Track Volume and Pan Soloing and Muting Tracks Adjusting Track Width Color Coding Tracks Grouping Tracks Using the Groups List Enabling Grouping Creating a Group

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

. . . . . . . . . . . . 50

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 7. File Management and Compatibility

Locating Audio Files WAV File Compatibility Naming Files, Playlists and Regions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Part III Recording

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 8. Record Setup

Input Connections and Audio Levels Record Enabling Tracks Monitoring Modes Monitoring Latency Low Latency Monitoring Track Names Recording to Multiple Hard Drives Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording Record Modes Recording with the Click

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 9. Basic Audio Recording

Recording a Single Audio Track Stereo and Multiple-Track Recording Recording Additional Takes Punch Recording Audio Loop Recording Audio Auditioning Record Takes Setting Punch/Loop Points

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Contents

Chapter 10. MIDI Recording

MIDI Controller Devices Enabling Input Devices MIDI Thru MIDI Input Filter Input Quantize Wait for Note MIDI Merge/Replace Recording a MIDI Track Punch Recording MIDI Loop Recording MIDI Recording System Exclusive Data

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 11. Advanced Recording

Using QuickPunch Recording from a Digital Source Half-Speed Recording and Playback

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 12. Importing/Exporting Audio and MIDI

Importing Audio Importing Audio into a Session (Macintosh) Importing Audio into a Session (Windows) Recalculating Waveform Overviews Loading Audio Files with Drag & Drop Transferring Audio from CD Conversion Quality Exporting Audio Importing MIDI Files Exporting MIDI Files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Pro Tools Reference Guide

Part IV Editing

Chapter 13. Editing Basics

Pro Tools Editing Track Material Displaying Region Names and Times Audio Regions and Waveforms MIDI Regions and MIDI Data Playlists The Audio and MIDI Regions Lists Edit Modes Zooming Rulers Time Scale Tick-Based Timing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Chapter 14. Playing/Selecting Track Material

Playing Tracks Scrolling Options The Scrubber Separate Edit and Timeline Selections Selecting Track Material Playing Selections Timeline Selections Playing Edit and Timeline Selections with the Playhead

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Contents

vii

Chapter 15. Working with Regions and Selections

Creating New Regions Healing a Separation Placing Regions in Tracks The Trimmer Tool Moving Regions Nudging Shift Command Quantizing Regions Locking Regions Muting/Unmuting Regions Edit Commands Duplicate Command Repeat Command Merge Paste Command Consolidate Selection Command Managing Regions Compacting an Audio File

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Chapter 16. MIDI Editing

Inserting MIDI Notes with the Pencil Tool Manually Editing MIDI Notes

Continuous Controller Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Program Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

System Exclusive Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

MIDI Operations Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Select Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Note/Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

MIDI Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Pro Tools Reference Guide

viii

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

Chapter 17. Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Tempo Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Default Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Memory Locations and Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Chapter 18. Advanced Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Using Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Stripping Silence From Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

The Time Trimmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

Compress/Expand Edit To Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Repeat Paste To Fill Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Replacing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Waveform Repair with the Pencil Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Part V Mixing

Chapter 19. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Creating Inserts and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Auxiliary Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Master Faders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Contents ix

Chapter 20. Advanced Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Hardware I/O Inserts and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Creating a Submix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Using an Auxiliary Input to Mix an External Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Creating a Master Send Level Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

Printing Effects to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Recording a Submix to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

TDM Mixer Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Chapter 21. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Enabling or Suspending Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Deleting Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

Drawing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Editing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Writing Automation to the Start, End or All of a Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

Trimming Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

Setting the Automation Buffer Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Chapter 22. Mixdown and Mastering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Bouncing Tracks to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Bounce Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

Output Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Using Dither on an Output Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

Creating a Submix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Final Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Pro Tools Reference Guidex

Part VI Synchronization

Chapter 23. Synchronization Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Your Sync Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Aspects of Sync . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

Syncing Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

SMPTE Frame Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

Working with Film-Originated Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Chapter 24. Time Code Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

Pro Tools Sync Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

The Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Preparing to Work with SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Putting Pro Tools Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Generating Time Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Syncing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on the Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Syncing a Sequencer to Pro Tools in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Syncing Pro Tools to an OMS-Compatible Sequencer using MMC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Spotting Regions to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Identifying a Sync Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Troubleshooting Sync. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Contents xi

Chapter 25. Working with QuickTime Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

About QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

QuickTime Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Movie Playback Quality Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Importing a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Setting the Movie Start Time: Movie Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Spotting Audio to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Importing QuickTime Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

Bouncing to a new Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376

Appendix A. DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Delay Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Compensating for Delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380

Typical Delay Scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Appendix B. TDM Mixing and DSP Usage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Pro Tools TDM Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

DSP Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

DSP Usage with TDM Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

DSP Usage with TDM Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

DSP Usage and I/O Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

Appendix C. Keyboard Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Global Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Commands Key Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Numeric Keypad Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Appendix D. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Backing up your work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Common Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Using DigiTest As a Diagnostic Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Performance Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396

Before You Call Digidesign Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Pro Tools Reference Guidexii

Part I

Introduction

chapter 1

Welcome to Pro Tools

Welcome to Pro Tools®. Pro Tools integrates powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI sequencing features, giving you everything you need to record, arrange, edit, mix, and master professional-quality audio.

The Pro Tools Guides

Your Pro Tools System includes the following guides:

Pro Tools Installation Guides Instructions

for installing Pro Tools software and hardware, and connecting your studio.

Pro Tools Reference Guide Instructions for

creating sessions, recording, editing, and mixing with Pro Tools.

DigiRack™ Plug-Ins Guide Instructions for

using the DigiRack Plug-Ins for both realtime and file-based audio processing in Pro Tools.

Pro Tools MIDI Controllers Guide Instruc-

tions for operating Pro Tools with various MIDI control surfaces.

Quick Reference Cards (TDM Systems only)

Separate cards for Macintosh and Windows that list the many keyboard shortcuts not shown in the Pro Tools menus.

✽ Online PDF versions of the Quick Reference

cards are included for Pro Tools LE systems.

Conventions Used in These Guides

The Pro Tools 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

Option-click Hold down the Option

key and click the mouse button

Right-click (Windows) Click with the right

mouse button

N key

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3

The following symbols are used to highlight important information:

Compatibility Information

✽ User Tips are helpful hints for getting the

most from your Pro Tools system.

▲ Important Notices include information that

could affect your Pro Tools session data or the performance of your Pro Tools system.

☞ Cross References point to related sections

in the Pro Tools Guides.

Choose and Select

The words “choose” and “select” are often interchangeable in conversational english. In this guide, however, there is a distinction between the two terms.

Select When the guide instructs you to se-

lect something, it stays selected. This is the

case with dialog box options and menu items that enable or disable an option.

Choose When the guide instructs you to

choose something, a one-time action is performed. This is the case with most menu commands; they perform their chosen action only once.

Digidesign can only assure compatibility and provide support for devices it has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesign-qualiﬁed computers, SCSI accelerator cards, hard drives, diskette drives, and serial port adapters, refer to the latest compatibility information on the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com).

Digidesign Registration

Make sure to complete and return the registration card included with Product Name. Registered users are entitled to one year of free technical support, and will receive periodic software updates and upgrade notices.

Pro Tools Reference Guide4

chapter 2

Pro Tools System Conﬁgurations

TDM-equipped systems

Pro Tools TDM-equipped systems are available in the following conﬁgurations:

Pro Tools 24 MIXplus

A core system includes:

• MIX Core card

• MIX Farm card

• Pro Tools software

• Digidesign Audio Interface (sold separately)

Pro Tools 24 MIX

A core system includes:

• a MIX Core card

• Pro Tools software

• Digidesign Audio Interface (sold separately)

Pro Tools 24

Pro Tools III PCI (Macintosh only)

A core system includes:

• a Disk I/O Audio Card

• a DSP Farm Card

• Pro Tools software

• Digidesign Audio Interface (sold separately)

Supported Audio Interfaces

You can use the following Audio Interfaces with Pro Tools TDM systems:

◆ The 888/24 I/O and 882/20 I/O (as well

as 888 I/O and 882 I/O) Audio Interfaces work with Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus, Pro Tools 24, or Pro Tools III PCI systems.

◆ The 1622 I/O Audio Interface works with

Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus and Pro Tools 24 systems only.

◆ The ADAT Bridge I/O Interface works

with Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus, Pro Tools 24, or Pro Tools III PCI systems.

A core system includes:

• d24 Audio card

• DSP Farm card

• Pro Tools software

• Digidesign Audio Interface (sold separately)

▲ Pro Tools system performance depends on

factors such as computer processor speed, amount of system memory, and hard drive performance. Contact your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s Web site for the latest system requirements and compatibility information.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Conﬁgurations 5

TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits

The following table lists the audio playback, recording, and voice limits of each type of Pro Tools TDM system. The term virtual voice refers to the maximum number of audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems can open sessions with up to 128 audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s virtual voice limit will be automatically set to Voice Off.

All TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems provide a total of 32 internal mix busses. TDM systems also provide 5 Inserts and 5 Sends per track, up to the DSP capacity of your system.

Table 1. Pro Tools TDM System Audio Playback, Recording and Virtual Voice Limits

Voices

Core System Type

Pro Tools 24 MIX/MIXplus 32 or 64 32 or 64 86

Pro Tools 24 32 32 43

Pro Tools III (PCI) 16 16 53

(Tracks of Simultaneous Playback)

Tracks of Simultaneous Recording

Virtual Voices

Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems

The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various Audio Interfaces for TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems. In expanded TDM systems, Audio Interfaces can be combined for up to 72 audio inputs and outputs.

Table 2. Pro Tools Audio Interface Channel Capabilities

Interface Type

888/24 I/O 8 in/8 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

882/20 I/O 8 in/8 out 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit

Number of I/O Channels

A/D Conversion

D/A Conversion

Digital I/O

888 I/O 8 in/8 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit

882 I/O 8 in/8 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit

1622 I/O 16 in/2 out 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit

ADAT Bridge I/O 16 in/16 out 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit

Pro Tools Reference Guide6

Pro Tools LE Systems

Pro Tools LE-based systems are available in the following configurations.

Pro Tools with Audiomedia III

An Audiomedia III system includes:

• Audiomedia III card

• Pro Tools LE software

Digi 001

A Digi 001 system includes:

• Digi 001 PCI card

• Digi 001 I/O box

• Pro Tools LE software

▲ The total track count and processing capac-

ity of Pro Tools LE-based systems depend on the processing power of your computer. Contact your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s Web site for the latest system requirements and compatibility information.

Pro Tools LE System Capabilities

The following table lists the playback, recording, and input/output capabilities of each Pro Tools LE-based system. All Pro Tools LE systems are limited to 24 audio tracks. If you open a Pro Tools session containing more than 24 audio tracks on an LE-based system, only the first 24 audio tracks will open; if you save the session using Pro Tools LE, any audio tracks beyond the first 24 will be lost.

All Pro Tools LE systems provide a total of 16 internal mix busses. Pro Tools LE also provides up to 5 Inserts and 5 Sends per track, depending on your computer’s processing capacity.

Table 3. Pro Tools LE System Audio Playback, Recording, and Channel Capabilities

System Type

Tracks of Simultaneous Playback

Number of Recording/Playback Channels

A/D Conversion

D/A Conversion

Digital I/O

Digi 001 24 up to 18 in/18 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

Audiomedia III 24 up to 4 in/4 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit

For details on transferring session material between Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools TDM systems, see “Sharing Sessions between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems” on page 50.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Conﬁgurations 7

Pro Tools Reference Guide8

chapter 3

Pro Tools Concepts

This chapter is an overview of some essential concepts related to digital audio, MIDI, and digital signal processing as they apply to Pro Tools.

Hard Disk Recording

Tape-based recording is a linear medium— you need to rewind or fast forward a tape to hear a particular spot in a recording. To rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you need to re-record it.

Hard disk recording is a non-linear (or random access) medium—you can go immediately to any spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast forward.

Non-linear systems have several advantages. You can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording by making the hard disk read parts of the recording in a different order. In addition, this re-arrangement is non-destructive, meaning that the original recorded material is not altered.

The Digidesign Audio Engine

When you start Pro Tools, an application called DAE automatically launches in the background. DAE, or the Digidesign Audio Engine, is Digidesign’s real-time operating system for digital recording systems. When you install Pro Tools, DAE is automatically installed on your system.

In the same way that a computer’s operating system provides the foundation for programs that run on the computer, DAE provides much of the hard disk recording, digital signal processing, mix automation, and MIDI functionality required by Pro Tools and other products from Digidesign and its Development Partners.

Pro Tools is a non-linear recording system that allows you to rearrange and mix recorded material non-destructively.

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 9

Elements of a Session

When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create a session. Some basic elements of sessions are explained in this section.

Region

Session File

Pro Tools session ﬁle icon

A session ﬁle is the document that Pro Tools creates when you start a new project. The session file contains maps of all elements associated with a project, including audio files, MIDI data, and all your edit and mix information. You can make changes to a session and save those changes in a new session file. This allows you to create multiple versions of a project or back up your editing and mixing work.

Audio File

Audio region

A region is a piece of audio, MIDI, or automation data. An audio region could be 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 tracks.

Playlist

Playlist selector pop-up menu

A playlist is a group of regions arranged on an Audio or MIDI track. You can place multiple edit playlists on a single track. This allows you to assemble different versions of a track and choose among them with a popup menu on the track.

Audio ﬁle icon

When you record audio into a Pro Tools session, audio files are created and stored in a folder named “Audio Files.” Audio files can appear in a session as regions, in a track or in the Audio Regions List.

Pro Tools Reference Guide10

On Audio tracks, a playlist tells the hard disk which audio files to read in what order. By using several copies of an audio region in a playlist, you can repeat a section of a recording without using any additional disk space.

Track

Audio track in the Edit Window

A track is where audio or MIDI regions are strung together in a playlist. A playlist can be made up of a single region or many separate regions. It can be made up of similar elements, such as regions from several different takes of a solo, or dissimilar elements, such as several sound effects.

Voice

(TDM Systems Only)

Channel

Computer 1

78563412785634125/6

ANALOG OUTPUT ANALOG INPUT AES/EBU OUTPUT AES/EBU INPUT

7/8

Rear view of 888/24 I/O Interface

The term channel is used to describe several related components of a Pro Tools system. The first refers to a physical input or output of your Pro Tools system. For example, an 888/24 I/O Audio Interface provides 8 channels of analog input and output to a TDM-equipped system, and a Digi 001 system provides up to 18 channels of input and output to a Pro Tools LE system.

Computer 2

1/2

5/6

1/2

3/4

7/8

3/4

8 CH Mode 2 x 4 CH Mode

S/PDIFINS/PDIF

SLAVE CLOCKINSLAVE CLOCK

OUT

Choosing a voice for an Audio track

On TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems, voice refers to the number of digital audio events that Pro Tools can play back simultaneously. For example, a Pro Tools 24 core system is a 32-voice system and can therefore playback 32 different audio events at one time.

On TDM systems, you can have more tracks in a session than your system has voices; they just cannot all play back at the same time. These tracks are referred to as virtual tracks.

Channel strip from the Mix window

The second use of the term channel refers to a mixer strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. The term channel strip refers to the mixer strip of any Audio track, MIDI track, Auxiliary Input track or Master Fader track in a session.

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 11

Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar controls, but those controls have slightly different effects. For example, Audio and Auxiliary Input channel strip faders control the Pro Tools mixer, while MIDI channel strip faders send MIDI volume data (MIDI controller 7).

The term channel also describes an aspect of MIDI operation. See “MIDI Concepts” on page 12.

MIDI Concepts

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a communication protocol for musical instruments. This industry standard enables connections between a variety of devices from different manufacturers. Examples of MIDI-compatible equipment include synthesizers, sound modules, drum machines, patch bays, effects processors, MIDI interfaces, and sequencers.

Playback Engine

All Pro Tools systems allow you choose the Playback Engine for a session at any time.

Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools TDM system

The Playback Engine allows you to reconfigure Pro Tools to use different Digidesign hardware.

For details on choosing a Playback Engine, see “Configuring Your System” on page 39.

MIDI devices are equipped with 5-pin DIN connectors, labeled as either IN, OUT, or THRU.

MIDI Connectors

The MIDI OUT port transmits messages; the MIDI IN port receives messages; and, MIDI THRU echoes whatever is received from the IN port. MIDI devices are connected with MIDI cables that are available at most music stores.

echoed from IN

MIDI signal ﬂow

▲ Not all devices will have all three MIDI ports

(IN, OUT and THRU).

Pro Tools Reference Guide12

A single MIDI cable can transmit a separate set of messages for each of 16 channels. These 16 channels correspond to separate MIDI devices or to multiple channels within a single device (if the device is multi- timbral). Each channel represents a discreet instrument sound; for instance, bass on channel 1, piano on channel 2 and drums on channel 10. Similar to a multitrack tape recorder, a MIDI sequencer can record complex arrangements—even using a single multi-timbral keyboard.

separate channels. This makes it possible for a single MIDI sound source to play back entire arrangements.

MIDI Channel Up to 16 channels of MIDI

performance data can be transmitted on a single MIDI cable. The channel number separates the different messages so your sound sources can receive the right ones.

Program Change Event A MIDI command

that tells a sound source which sound patch to use. The MIDI protocol lets you choose from a range of 128 patches.

MIDI Terms

The following are some basic MIDI terms:

MIDI Interface Hardware that allows com-

puters to connect to and communicate with MIDI devices.

MIDI Device Any keyboard, sound module,

effects device or other equipment that can send or receive MIDI information.

MIDI Controller Any MIDI device that trans-

mits MIDI performance data. These include keyboards, MIDI guitar controllers, MIDI wind instruments, and others. Controllers transmit MIDI from their MIDI OUT ports.

MIDI Control Surface Any device, such as

the Mackie HUI, that uses a MIDI connection to send control messages to a software program, but is not generally used to record MIDI information.

MIDI Sound Source Any MIDI instrument

that plays back in your arrangements. Sound sources receive MIDI from their MIDI IN ports.

Multi-timbral The capability of playing sev-

eral different instrument sounds (such as piano, bass, and drums) simultaneously on

Bank Select Message A MIDI command

that specifies the bank of patches from which to choose. Many devices have more than 128 patches and Bank Select messages provide a means of accessing them.

Local Control A controller setting found on

most MIDI keyboards that allows them to play their own sound source. Disabling “local control” ensures that a device’s internal sound source is only played by external MIDI messages.

When using Pro Tools, “local control” should usually be disabled. When “local control” is off, your keyboard still transmits data to its MIDI OUT port.

Continuous Controller Events MIDI instruc-

tions that allow real-time changes to notes that are currently sounding. These include pitch bend, modulation, volume, pan, and many others.

System Exclusive Data MIDI data com-

monly used for sending and retrieving patch parameter information for storage purposes.

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 13

Common Misconceptions about MIDI

MIDI is not audio. The messages that travel down a MIDI cable are only numbers that translate to specific instructions. For instance, when you strike a key on your MIDI keyboard it sends a message to its MIDI OUT port telling another device (if connected and set to the same MIDI channel) to play that particular note.

Signal paths for MIDI instruments

However, to actually hear that second device (sound source) you’ll need to connect its audio outputs to a sound system. Your MIDI instruments have two signal paths, one for audio and another for MIDI.

MIDI does not allow you to use your devices beyond their capabilities. Particular instruments have their own sound generation, polyphony, and multi-timbral limitations.

Pro Tools TDM systems are not limited by the number of physical inputs and outputs. Pro Tools TDM systems provide up to 128 virtual audio tracks that can be recorded upon and cued up for playback, but cannot all be played back simultaneously.

Virtual tracks provide significant advantages: on Pro Tools TDM systems, you can have many more tracks than voices in a session. You can then choose which of these tracks you want to play, up to the total number of available voices. You never need to erase tracks to make room for other tracks—provided that you have enough space available on your hard disk to store all of them. In addition, virtual tracks allow you to create separate tracks for each audio component of your mix, each with its own volume, pan, EQ, effects sends, and automation.

Pro Tools voices are dynamically allocated. When a hole opens up in one track, its voice becomes temporarily available and another track can pop through and begin to play. If the first track reaches a point where audio occurs again, the voice reverts to the original track. You can determine the order in which your tracks use available voices. See “Assigning Voices and Track Priority” on page 56.

Virtual Tracks

(TDM Systems Only)

Tape decks record only physical tracks: they are limited by the number of tracks on the deck and on the tape itself. For example, a 16-track recorder can record and play back a maximum of 16 tracks at a time.

Pro Tools Reference Guide14

Virtual tracks use the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) capacity of your system. (See “DSP Allocation” on page 383 for more information.) Another powerful Pro Tools feature, multiple edit playlists, allows you to create comps and alternate arrangements of material, but does not use additional DSP capacity. For details about multiple edit playlists, see “Playlists” on page 141.

chapter 4

Pro Tools Windows

Pro Tools provides two complementary ways of viewing a project: the Mix window and the Edit window. Pro Tools also allows you to control many functions from the Transport window. The main elements of these windows are explained in the following sections.

The Mix Window

In the Mix window, tracks appear as mixer modules, with controls for inserts, sends, input/output assignments, volume, panning (in Stereo Mix mode), record-enable, automation mode, and solo/mute. The following section explains each of these track controls.

To display the Pro Tools input/output controls, inserts, sends, and comments, select Display > Mix Window Shows > All.

✽ To toggle between the Mix and Edit win-

dows, press Command + = (Macintosh) or Control + = (Windows).

The Show/Hide Tracks List

Show/Hide Tracks List

This scrolling window lists all tracks in the current session. It allows you to show or hide a track by selecting or deselecting its name in its list. You can also use this list to reorder tracks on screen by dragging a track name to a new position within the list. The pop-up menu at the top of this list provides commands that allow you to show or hide all tracks, or only tracks currently selected on screen.

About Groups and Show/Hide Tracks

Even if a track is hidden, if it is a member of an enabled group, all Mix window operations performed on other members of the group will also affect the hidden track—with the exception of audio or MIDI record-enabling. If you solo, mute, or automation

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 15

write-enable a grouped track, any group members that are hidden will be soloed, muted, or automation write-enabled as well. The only exception to this rule is record enabling of Audio or MIDI tracks. These functions are not applied to hidden tracks in the Mix window.

name. The pop-up menu at the top of this list provides commands to create, delete or suspend groups. You can link groups in the Mix Groups and Edit Groups lists. For more information on grouping, see “Grouping Tracks” on page 62.

In the Edit window, however, editing operations performed on members of an enabled group will not affect hidden tracks that are also members of the enabled group.

On TDM systems, even if a track is hidden from view, its position relative to other tracks still affects its virtual track playback priority (see “Virtual Tracks, Voices, and Track Priority” on page 54 for details).

The Mix Groups List

Mix Groups List

An Audio Track/Channel Strip

Inserts

Sends

Input/Output

Automation Mode

Record Enable/Solo/Mute/Voice

Pan Slider

Group ID

Volume Fader

Level Meter

The Mix Groups list shows all groups in the session. It allows you to activate a group by selecting its name in the list. A group is only enabled (meaning that its members are linked for mixing purposes), when its name is highlighted in this list.

You can also use this list to select grouped tracks on-screen by clicking to the left of the dotted vertical line next to a group

Pro Tools Reference Guide16

Track Name

Audio Channel Strip

Each Audio track has its own set of controls for volume, pan, record-enable, automation mode, solo, mute, and on TDM systems, voice assignment.

Stereo Send

Real-Time Plug-In

Show/Hide

Tracks List

Send Pan

Send

Volume

Send

Level Meter

Automation

Mode

Selector

Channel Pan

Group ID Indicator

Channel

Volume

Mix Groups

List

Track Name

Track

Comments

View

Inserts View

Sends View

I/O View

Record Enable, Solo, Mute buttons

Track Level Meter

Audio Channel Strip

Figure 1. Pro Tools Mix Window

AutoMatch Indicator

Auxiliary Input Channel Strip

Master Fader Channel Strip

MIDI Channel Strip

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 17

A MIDI Track/Channel Strip

MIDI Channel

Automation Mode

Record Enable/Solo/Mute/Patch

MIDI Pan

MIDI Volume

MIDI Velocity Meter

Track Name

MIDI Channel Strip

Each MIDI track has its own set of controls for volume, pan, record enable, automation mode, solo, mute, MIDI patch assignment, and MIDI channel assignment. MIDI tracks can be added to a session with the New Track command. Tracks can be added to a session with the New Track command. You can display tracks in Narrow or Normal width by selecting Display > Narrow Mix Window.

Mix Window Track Controls

Record Enable button

Automation Mode Selector Voice Selector

Mute button

Solo button

Mix window track controls in channel strip

Record Enable Button

The Record Enable button puts the track into record-ready mode. Once a track is record-enabled, click the Record and Play buttons in the Transport window to start audio or MIDI recording.

When the Latch Record Enable Buttons option is selected, you can record enable more than one track at the same time by clicking the record enable button on each track. If the Latch Record Enable Buttons option is deselected, Shift-click to record enable multiple tracks.

Record Safe Mode

Pro Tools provides a record safe mode which allows you to disable recording capability on any track in a session. This prevents you from inadvertently record-enabling a track and then recording over valuable material. To toggle Record Safe mode, Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-Click (Windows) the Record button on the track.

Solo Button

The Solo button mutes all other tracks so a track can be auditioned alone.

Pro Tools Reference Guide18

When the Latch Solo Buttons option is selected, you can solo more than one track at the same time simply by clicking the solo button on each of the desired tracks. If the Latch Solo Buttons option is deselected, Shift-click to solo multiple tracks.

Solo Safe Mode

Pro Tools also allows you to solo safe a track. This prevents the track from being muted even if you solo other tracks. This feature is useful for tracks such as Auxiliary Inputs that are being used as effects returns, allowing the effects track to remain in a mix even when other tracks are soloed. It is also useful to solo-safe MIDI tracks so that their playback is not affected when you solo audio tracks. To toggle Solo Safe mode, Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-Click (Windows) the Solo button on the track.

Mute Button

The Mute button silences a track. More than one track can be muted at one time. On TDM systems, if the Mute Frees Voice option is selected, muting a track will allocate its voice to the next highest priority virtual track allocated to that voice in your session.

Automation Mode Selector

The Automation Mode selector allows you to choose a track’s automation mode. Once a track is automation write-enabled, starting playback will start writing automation (depending on the mode you have chosen). Any automation moves that you make on the track can then be played back exactly as you performed them.

Voice Selector

(TDM Systems Only)

Audio Track Voice Selector

On TDM systems, the Voice Selector is used to assign a voice to an audio track for playback. Boldface type in this pop-up menu indicates that the voice is currently in use by one or more tracks.

More than one track can be assigned to the same voice, but only one of the tracks can be played back at the same time. Track priority is determined by a track’s position in the Mix or Edit window. If multiple tracks are assigned to the same voice, the one farthest to the left in the Mix window (or topmost in the Edit window) will be heard.

If there is an empty spot in a track that shares a voice with another track, audio on the track with the next-highest priority assigned to the same voice will “pop through” during that time. You can also disable playback of any muted track and free its spot for the next virtual track assigned to that voice by selecting the Mute Frees Voice option. For more information on voices and track priority, see “Assigning Voices and Track Priority” on page 56.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 19

Input/Output View

Input Selector

Output Selector

Level/Peak/Delay Indicator

Pan Indicator

Output Selector

(Audio Tracks, Aux Inputs, Master Faders)

Inputs/Outputs view in channel strip

The I/O (Inputs/Output) view shows Input and Output Selectors on Audio tracks, and the Channel Selector on MIDI tracks. Both types of tracks show volume and pan values in this view. To show the I/O View, select Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit Window Shows) > I/O View.

Input Selector

(Audio and Auxiliary Input Tracks)

‘

Audio Track Input Selector

The Input Selector allows you to route any audio input or any of the Pro Tools internal busses to an Audio track or an Auxiliary Input track.

Audio Track Output Selector

The Output Selector allows you to route a track to any audio output or any of the Pro Tools internal busses. In Stereo Mix Outputs mode, the pop-up menu allows you to route the track to a pair of outputs or busses. In Direct Outputs mode, the popup menu allows you to route the track to a single output.

In Stereo Mix Outputs mode, to send output to the odd-numbered channel, pan left; to send output to the even-numbered channel, pan right.

MIDI Device/Channel Selector

The MIDI Device/Channel Selector allows you to route the MIDI track to a device and channel.

Pro Tools Reference Guide20

Default Program Button

Pan Indicator

The Pan Indicator displays the current pan setting of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full left) to 100> (full right). Panning controls are only available if you are using Pro Tools in Stereo Mix mode.

Default Program button in channel strip

The Default Program button opens the Program Change window, where you can specify a default program for the track. The track’s default program is transmitted each time the track plays.

Level/Peak/Channel Delay Indicator

The Level Indicator on an Audio track has three modes: Level Indicator, Peak Indicator, and Channel Delay Indicator. Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-Click (Windows) this button to toggle between these modes.

Level Indicator Shows the current vol-

ume/input level of a track as set by the track level fader.

Peak Indicator Functions as a headroom in-

dicator based on the last peak playback level. To reset the peak counter, click the indicator. Values range from +6 dB (highest level signal), to ∞ (no signal).

Channel Delay Indicator Shows the delay, in

samples, incurred by any TDM Plug-Ins on that channel.

Pan Slider

The Pan slider controls the balance of a track between the assigned output pair. It only appears if you are using Pro Tools in Stereo Mix Outputs mode. The outputs used as the stereo pair for the track’s image are set with the Output Selector. The Pan slider on a MIDI track is only effective if you are controlling a sound module that supports MIDI panning.

Track Level Fader

The track level fader controls the volume of a track when it is in playback, and the monitor level of the track when it is in record.

The level fader on a MIDI track is only effective if you are controlling a sound module that supports MIDI volume.

Track Level Meter

On Audio tracks, level meters indicate the level of the signal being recorded or played back from the hard drive. Green indicates nominal levels; Yellow indicates pre-clipping (–6 dB below full scale); and Red indicates clipping. When a track is record-enabled, these meters indicate record levels.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 21

You can globally set level meters to indicate pre-or post-fader levels by choosing Operations > Pre-Fader Metering. When set to pre-fader, the level meters show levels independent of fader position. With postfader metering, the level meters respond to fader position.

If clipping occurs, the topmost LED will stay lit (red). In addition, Pro Tools meters provide a peak hold feature with three options:

To choose a peak hold setting, choose Setups > Preferences and click Display, and select one of the Peak Hold options: 3 Second Peak Hold, Infinite Peak Hold, or No Peak Hold.

Insert Controls

Click to assign an insert

Click to open the Inserts/Sends editor

Inserts view in channel strip

Pro Tools provides up to five pre-fader inserts per Audio track or Auxiliary Input. The inserts can be either hardware inserts or software Plug-Ins included with your system. To assign an insert, click the Inserts button on the inserts section of a track.

You can clear a meter’s clipping or peak hold indicator by clicking anywhere on the meter. To clear all meters, Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-Click (Windows) on any meter.

On MIDI tracks, the level meter shows the MIDI velocity of the most recent MIDI event.

Track Name

When new tracks are created with the New Track command, they are given a default name which can be changed at any time by double-clicking the track name or choosing File > Rename Selected Tracks.

Send Controls

Click to assign a send

Click to open the Inserts/Sends editor

Sends view in channel strip

Pro Tools provides up to 5 mono or stereo sends per Audio track or Auxiliary Input, for sending signals to external signal processors or any of the Pro Tools internal busses. Sends can be either pre- or post-fader. To assign a send to a track, click the Sends button on the sends section of the track.

Pro Tools Reference Guide22

Send level, pan and mute controls can be adjusted from the Inserts and Sends Editor, or directly from the sends area of a track by showing individual send controls.

When you display the controls for an individual Send, you also have the option of displaying Send level meters.

Send Level

Send Level Meter

Sends view showing individual send controls

Send Pan

Pre/Post button

Send Mute

Edit Window Track Controls

Record Enable button

Track Name

Playlist Selector

Automation Mode Selector

Mute button

Voice Selector

Track Height Selector

Track Display Format Selector

Solo button

Track Comments View

The Comments View shows any comments entered in the Track Name/Comments dialog. You can also type directly in the Comments area for each track when it is displayed. To display the Comments View, select Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit Window Shows) > Comments.

The Edit Window

The Edit window provides a time-line display of audio and MIDI for editing and arranging tracks. As in the Mix window, each track has controls for record enable, solo, mute and automation mode.

To display the Pro Tools input/output controls, inserts, sends, and comments, select Display > Edit Window Shows > All.

Edit window track controls (medium track height)

Record Enable Button

See “Record Enable Button” on page 18.

Solo Button

See “Solo Button” on page 18.

Mute Button

See “Mute Button” on page 19.

Automation Mode Selector

See “Automation Mode Selector” on page 19.

Voice Selector

(TDM Systems Only)

See “Voice Selector” on page 19.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 23

Link Selection,

Commands Focus

Buttons

Rulers

Zoom Buttons

Edit Mode Buttons

Editing Tools

Event Edit Area

Grid/Nudge Selector

Location Indicators

Audio Regions List

Audio Track

Show/Hide

Tracks List

MIDI Track

Edit Groups

List

MIDI Velocity View

Audio Waveform View

Volume Automation View

MIDI Regions List

Selected Region

MIDI Notes View

Figure 2. Pro Tools Edit Window

Pro Tools Reference Guide24

Playlist Selector

Track Display Format Selector

Tracks have edit playlists and automation playlists. You can create any number of edit

playlists for a track, and assign them by clicking the Playlist Selector in the track and choosing from the pop-up menu. Each track has a single set of automation playlists, according to the type of track and any Send or Plug-In assignments. You choose the automation playlist to display with the Track Display Format Selector.

Track Height Selector

Tracks can be viewed in the Edit window at any of six heights: Mini, Small, Medium, Large, Jumbo, and Extreme. The appearance of track controls varies with track height. You can adjust track height by clicking either the Track Height Selector or in the area just to the right of the track controls.

Track Display Format Selector

The Display Format for each track determines which data is displayed and edited in the track’s playlist area.

Audio tracks can be set to Blocks, Waveform,

Volume, Pan, Mute, Send Level, Send Mute, Send Pan, or any Plug-In parameters that

have been automated. Except when editing automation data, audio tracks are usually set to Waveform view.

Auxiliary input tracks can be set to Volume, Pan, Mute, or any Plug-In parameter that has been automated. Master Fader tracks can be set to Volume, or any Plug-In param- eter that has been automated.

MIDI tracks can be set to Blocks, Regions,

Notes, Volume, Pan, Mute, Velocity, Pitch Bend, After Touch, Program, Sys Ex, and any

continuous controller type. Except when editing controller data, program changes, or sysex events, MIDI tracks are usually set to Notes or Regions.

Track Name

See “Track Name” on page 22.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 25

Edit Modes, Commands Key Focus, and Linked Selections

✽ You can also press F4 to set the Edit mode

to Grid.

Edit Mode

Commands Key Focus

Edit mode buttons in Edit window

Linked Selections

Shufﬂe Sets the Edit mode to Shuffle, which

restricts the placement of regions so that they snap to each other and are placed end to end.

✽ You can also press F1 to set the Edit mode

to Shufﬂe.

Spot

Sets the Edit mode to Spot, which causes the Spot dialog to open when moving or trimming regions and notes. The Spot dialog lets you enter a precise start, end, or length (in any time format) for the event.

✽ You can also press F2 to set the Edit mode

to Spot.

Slip

Sets the Edit mode to Slip, which allows regions and notes to be moved and trimmed freely. Regions can placed so that there is space between them, or so that they overlap.

✽ You can also press F3 to set the Edit mode

to Slip.

Grid

Sets the Edit mode to Grid, which constrains edits and selections to the current Grid value.

Commands Key Focus

(TDM Systems only) Enables the Commands Key Focus, which provides a wide range of shortcuts from the alpha keyboard for editing and playing.

✽ You can also press Command+Option+1

(Macintosh) or Control+Alt+1 to enable the Commands Key Focus.

Linked Selections

Links the Edit and Timeline selections, allowing you to set play and record ranges by selecting in a track’s playlist. When unlinked, you can make Edit selections without disturbing the Timeline selection.

✽ You can also press Shift+slash to enable

and disable Linked Selections.

Zoom Buttons

Vertical Zoom

In/Out (MIDI)

Vertical Zoom

In/Out (Audio)

Horizontal Zoom Out

Zoom Preset Buttons

Zoom buttons in Edit window

Horizontal Zoom In/Out Zooms in and out

horizontally for all tracks. Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Horizontal Zoom buttons to return to the previous zoom level.

Horizontal

Zoom In

Pro Tools Reference Guide26

✽ While pressing Command (Macintosh) or

Control (Windows), you can also use the bracket keys to zoom in and out horizontally.

Edit Tools

Trimmer

Selector

Grabber

Scrubber

Vertical Zoom In/Out (Audio)

Zooms in and out vertically for audio tracks. Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Vertical Zoom buttons to return to the previous zoom level.

✽ While pressing Command+Option (Mac-

intosh) or Control+Alt (Windows), you can also use the bracket keys to zoom in and out vertically for all audio tracks.

Vertical Zoom In/Out (MIDI)

Zooms in and out vertically for MIDI tracks. Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) either of the Vertical Zoom buttons to return to the previous zoom level.

✽ While pressing Command+Shift (Mac-

intosh) or Control+Shift (Windows), you can also use the bracket keys to zoom in and out vertically for all MIDI tracks.

Zoom Presets

Recalls horizontal zoom values for audio and MIDI tracks. Commandclick (Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows) a Zoom Preset button to store the current horizontal zoom values.

✽ While pressing Control (Macintosh) or the

Start key (Windows), you can also recall a Zoom Preset by typing its number on the alpha keyboard.

✽ On TDM systems, when the Commands Key

Focus is enabled, you can also recall a Zoom Preset by typing its number on the alpha keyboard.

Zoomer

Edit tools in Edit window

Smart Tool

Pencil

Zoomer Click or drag with the Zoomer tool

to zoom in horizontally for a track or Ruler. Press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while dragging to zoom horizontally and vertically.

To go back to the previous zoom level, Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) with the Zoomer.

To zoom a selection, Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (WIndows) the Zoomer tool. To fill the Edit window with all regions, double-click the Zoomer tool.

✽ You can also press F5 to select the Zoomer

tool.

Standard Trimmer

To resize regions or MIDI notes, drag or click near their start/end points with the Trimmer tool. To reverse the direction of the Trim cursor, which determines whether the start or end point is edited, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows).

The Trimmer can also be used to scale the values for note velocities, controller events, and automation breakpoints.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 27

For TDM systems, choose from the Trimmer pop-up these other Trimmer tools:

Choose from the Grabber pop-up these other Grabber tools:

Trimmer pop-up menu

• Scrub Trimmer, scrubs audio material to ﬁnd the trim point before performing the trim.

• TCE Trimmer, expands or compresses audio material to ﬁt within a time range.

✽ You can also press F6 to select and toggle

through the three Trimmer tools: Standard, Scrub, and TCE.

Selector

Drag with the Selector in a track’s playlist for an Edit selection, or in a Timebase Ruler for a Timeline selection.

To adjust the length of a selection, Shiftclick or Shift-drag with the Selector. To extend an Edit selection to other tracks, Shiftclick with the Selector in the desired tracks.

To temporarily switch the Selector to the Scrubber, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows).

✽ You can also press F7 to select the Selector

tool.

Grabber pop-up menu

• Separation Grabber, separates selections into new regions.

• Object Grabber (TDM systems only), allows selection of discontiguous regions, which can even be on different tracks.

✽ You can also press F8 to select and toggle

through the three Grabber tools: Time, Separation, and Object.

Scrubber

Drag with the Scrubber to scrub up to two audio tracks—right for forward, left for reverse. The resolution for the Scrubber is determined by the zoom level, and the distance and speed dragged determine the speed and length for the scrubbed audio.

For ﬁner resolutions without zooming, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while scrubbing.

✽ You can also press F9 to select the Scrub-

ber tool.

Time Grabber

Use the Grabber to select or move regions, MIDI events, and Conductor events. The Grabber can also be used to edit and insert automation breakpoints.

Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) with the Grabber to delete tempo and meter events, Markers, and automation breakpoints.

Pro Tools Reference Guide28

Pencil

Use the Pencil tool to insert MIDI notes, edit velocities for a range of MIDI notes, draw automation and controller events, and repair audio waveforms (when zoomed down to the sample level).

Press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) and the Pencil changes to an Eraser, which can be used to delete notes, program changes, and sysex events.

Choose from the Pencil pop-up any of the five shapes, which can be used to affect a range of note velocities, controller events, or automation breakpoints.

Pencil pop-up menu

Using the Smart Tool

With the Smart Tool you can instantly access the Selector, Grabber, and Trimmer, and you can also perform fades and crossfades. The position of the cursor in relation to a region or note, or within an automation playlist, determines how the Smart Tool functions.

Smart Tool in Edit window

To select the Smart Tool, click its icon in the upper left of the Edit window, or press F6+F7 (or F7+F8).

✽ You can also press F10 to select and toggle

through the ﬁve Pencil shapes: Freehand, Line, Triangle, Square, and Random.

Smart Tool

The Smart Tool lets you use the Selector, Grabber, and Trimmer, as well as create fades, without switching tools. Depending on where the cursor is placed in relation to a region or note, the Smart Tool automatically switches to the appropriate tool. For details, see “Using the Smart Tool” on page 29.

To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the Scrubber, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows).

✽ You can also press F6+F7 (or F7+F8) to se-

lect the Smart tool.

The Smart Tool in Waveform View

Fade-In

Trim

Start

Smart Tool in Waveform view

Selector

Grabber

The following capabilities are available with the Smart Tool when working with Audio tracks in Waveform or Blocks view, or MIDI tracks in Regions view:

◆ For the Selector, position the cursor over

the middle of the region, in the upper half.

◆ For the Grabber, position the cursor over

the middle of a region, in the lower half.

◆ For the Trimmer, position the cursor near

the region’s start or end point.

Fade-Out

Trim End

Crossfade

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 29

◆ For a fade-in or fade-out, position the

cursor near an audio region’s start or end point, near the top. Drag into the region to set the fade length. The fade is created automatically with the settings last used in the Fades dialog.

◆ For a crossfade, position the cursor be-

tween two adjacent audio regions, near the bottom. Drag left or right to set the crossfade length. The fade is created automatically with the settings last used in the Fades dialog.

To get the Marquee so you can select a group of notes, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows).

◆ For the Trimmer, position the cursor near

the note’s start or end point.

✽ To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the

Pencil, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows), for the Eraser, press Control+Option (Macintosh) or Start+Alt (Windows).

✽ To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the

Scrubber, press Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows).

The Smart Tool in Notes View

Selector

Trim

End

Trim

Start

Smart tool in Notes view

The following capabilities are available with the Smart Tool when working with MIDI tracks in Notes view:

◆ For the Selector, position the cursor so it

doesn’t cover any notes.

To get the Selector while positioning the cursor over notes, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows).

◆ For the Grabber, position the cursor over

the note, near its middle.

Grabber

The Smart Tool in Automation and Controller Views

The following capabilities are available with the Smart Tool when working in automation and controller views:

◆ For the Selector, move the cursor so it is

positioned anywhere in the bottom 75% of the playlist.

◆ For the Grabber, press Command (Mac-

intosh) or Control (Windows) to insert or edit breakpoints. Continue pressing Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) after you begin editing for ﬁne control, otherwise release for coarse control.

Press Command+Shift (Macintosh) or Control+Shift (Windows) to vertically constrain movement.

◆ For the Trimmer, position the cursor in

the top 25% of the playlist to trim breakpoints. Press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) after you begin trimming for ﬁne control.

Pro Tools Reference Guide30

Event Edit Area

Selection

Indicators

Attributes

Note

Location Indicators, Grid/Nudge Values, Current Cursor Display

Pitch Attack Velocity Release Velocity

Event Edit Area showing MIDI track information

Start Displays the start point for a selected

region or note, or for an Edit selection. To move the start point, enter a new value in this field.

End Displays the end point for a selected re-

gion or note, or for an Edit selection. To move the end point, enter a new value in this field.

Length Displays the length for a selected re-

gion or note, or for an Edit selection. To change the length of the region, note, or Edit selection, enter a new value in this field.

Pitch Displays the pitch (including octave

number) for a selected note. To change the pitch, enter a new value in this field, or select the field and play a note on your MIDI controller.

Attack Displays the attack velocity for a se-

lected note. To change the velocity, enter a new value in this field, or select the field and play a note on your MIDI controller.

Release Displays the release velocity for a

selected note. To change the velocity, enter a new value in this field, or select the field and play a note on your MIDI controller.

✽ Press slash (/) to automatically select the

Start ﬁeld, and to navigate from one ﬁeld to the next. Press Enter to accept a value.

Location Indicators

Edit window display showing MIDI track information

Grid/Nudge Values

Cursor Value

Cursor Location

Location Indicators Displays the current

play position in the Main and Sub Time Scales. To move the Timeline insertion point to a different location, click in either field, type in the new location and press Enter.

To change the time format for the Main or Sub Time Scale, choose from the pop-up menu to the right of the fields.

✽ To highlight the Main Location Indicator,

press Equal (=) on the numeric keypad. Press period (.) to navigate the different time ﬁelds in an indicator, press Enter to go to the new location.

Grid Value

Defines the Grid boundaries used in Grid mode, and when quantizing regions. The Grid value, selected from the pop-up menu to the right of this field, can be based on the Main Time Scale or any of the other time formats.

Nudge Value Defines the time value, which

can be based on the Main Time Scale or any other time format, used when nudging. Se-

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 31

lect the Nudge value from the pop-up menu to the right of this field, or type in any value you want.

In addition to nudging regions and notes, you can also nudge start/end points for regions and notes, start/end points for selections, and region contents.

Cursor Location Provides feedback on the

current cursor location. This location is displayed in the time format for the Main Time Scale.

Cursor Value Provides feedback on the cur-

rent cursor value. The type of value displayed depends on the Track’s Display Format: for instance, note number for Notes view, velocity value for Velocity view, and dB value for Volume view.

The Edit Groups List

You can also use this list to select grouped tracks on-screen by clicking to the left of the dotted vertical line next to a group name. The pop-up menu at the top of this list provides commands to create, delete or suspend groups. You can link groups in the Edit Groups and Mix Groups lists. For more information on grouping, see “Grouping Tracks” on page 62.

Audio Regions List and Pop-up Menu

All audio regions that are recorded, imported, or created by editing appear in the Audio Regions List. Regions can be dragged from the list to tracks and arranged in any order.

Edit Groups List

The Edit Groups list shows all groups in the session. It allows you to activate or deactivate a group by selecting or deselecting its name in the list. A group is only enabled (meaning that its members are linked for editing purposes), when its name is highlighted in this list.

Pro Tools Reference Guide32

Using the Audio Regions List pop-up menu (at the top of this list) you can sort this list by a variety of attributes. You can also select, rename and clear regions from the session, as well as import and export audio from this menu.

MIDI Regions List and Pop-up Menu

All MIDI regions that are recorded, imported, or created by editing appear in the MIDI Regions List. Regions can be dragged from the list to tracks and arranged in any order.

Online Puts Pro Tools online so that play-

back and recording is triggered by an external SMPTE source.

Return to Zero Locates to the beginning of

the session.

✽ You can also press Return (Macintosh) or

Enter on the alpha keyboard (Windows) to locate to the beginning of the session.

Rewind

Rewinds from the current play location. You can also click repeatedly to rewind incrementally (by an amount based on the Main Time Scale).

Using the MIDI Regions List pop-up menu (at the top of this list), you can sort this list by a variety of attributes. You can also rename and clear regions from the session, as well as import MIDI from this menu.

The Transport Window

The Transport window can be set to show basic transport controls, counters, and MIDI controls. The counters in the Transport window mirror the Location Indicators at the top of the Edit window.

Return to Zero

Rewind

Online

Pre-Roll

Post-Roll

Transport Master

Transport window showing basic transport controls

Fast Forward

Play

Stop

Start, End, and Length

for Timeline Selection

Go to End

Record

✽ With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-

port, you can also rewind by pressing 1.

Stop

Stops playback or recording.

You can also stop the Transport with the following shortcuts:

• Press the Spacebar.

• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to

Transport, press 0.

Play Starts playback or (if the Record but-

ton was clicked first) recording from the Timeline insertion point.

With the Transport stopped, Control-click (Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) Play to toggle Loop Playback mode. When enabled, a loop symbol appears in the Play button.

You can also initiate playback with the following shortcuts:

• Press the Spacebar.

• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to

Transport, press 0.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 33

✽ To play or record at half-speed, Command-

click (Macintosh) or Control-click (Windows) the Play button.

Fast Forward

Fast forwards from the Timeline insertion point. You can also click repeatedly to fast forward incrementally (by an amount based on the Main Time Scale).

✽ With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-

port, you can also fast forward by pressing 2.

Go to End

✽ You can also press Option+Return (Mac-

intosh) or Control+Enter on the alpha keyboard (Windows) to locate to the end of the session.

Record

Locates to the end of the session.

Arms Pro Tools for recording (the button flashes). Clicking Play then initiates recording.

With the Transport stopped, Control-click (Macintosh) or Right-click (Windows) Record to cycle through the four record modes. The Record button changes to indicate the currently selected mode: blank for Nondestructive, “D” for Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop Record, and “Q” for QuickPunch.

You can also begin recording with the following shortcuts:

• Press F12.

• Press Command+Spacebar (Macintosh)

or Control+Spacebar (Windows).

• With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to

Transport, press 3.

Pre-Roll Specifies the amount that plays be-

fore the beginning of a play or record range. Pre-roll is particularly useful in punch recording since it provides you with time to “catch the beat” before reaching the punch-in point. To set the pre-roll amount, enter a new value in this field, or drag the Pre-Roll flag in the Main Timebase Ruler.

To enable pre-roll, click the Pre-Roll button to the left of the pre-roll field so it becomes highlighted.

Post-Roll Specifies the amount that plays

after the end of a play or record range. Postroll is useful in punch recording since playback continues after the punch-out point so you can check for a smooth transition to previously recorded material. To set the post-roll amount, enter a new value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll flag in the Main Timebase Ruler.

To enable post-roll, click the Post-Roll button to the left of the post-roll field so it becomes highlighted.

Start Specifies the beginning of the play or

record range. You can set the start point by entering a location in this field, by dragging the corresponding Playback Marker in the Main Timebase Ruler, or by selecting

End Specifies the end of the play or record

range. You can set the end point by entering a location in this field, or by dragging the corresponding Playback Marker in the Main Timebase Ruler.

Length Specifies the length for the play or

record range. You can set the length by entering a location in this field, or by selecting a range in any Timebase Ruler.

Pro Tools Reference Guide34

Transport Master

Specifies the “master” for transport functions. Click this button and choose from the pop-up menu to select the Transport Master, which can be set to Pro Tools, Machine, ADAT, or MMC.

MIDI Controls

Wait for Note

Countoff

Click

MIDI Merge

Tempo

Countoff

When selected, Pro Tools counts off a specified number of measures (indicated in the button) before playback or recording begins.

Double-click the Countoff button, to open the Click/Countoff Options dialog.

✽ With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-

port, you can also press 8 to enable the Countoff.

MIDI Merge

When selected (Merge mode), recorded MIDI data is merged with exiting track material. When deselected (Replace mode), recorded MIDI data replaces existing track material.

Meter

Conductor

Transport window showing MIDI controls

Wait for Note When selected, recording

does not begin until a MIDI even is received. This ensures that you begin recording when you’re ready to play, and that the ﬁrst note, or other MIDI data, is recorded precisely at the beginning of the record range.

✽ You can also press F11 to turn on Wait for

Note, unless the Operation Preference for “Disable F11 for Wait for Note” is selected.

Click

When selected, a metronome sounds during playback and recording (as specified by the settings in the Click/Countoff Options dialog).

Double-click the Click button to open the Click/Count Options dialog.

✽ With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Trans-

port, you can also press 7 to enable the Click.

✽ You can also press Option+A (Macintosh) or

Alt+A (Windows) to enable MIDI Merge, or with the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Transport, press 9.

Conductor

When selected, Pro Tools uses the tempo map defined in the Tempo Ruler. When deselected, Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo mode and ignores the Tempo Track.

In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM value in the tempo field, or tap in the tempo by clicking the Tap button.

Meter Displays the session’s current meter

based on the play location. Double-click the Meter button to open the Change Meter window.

Tempo Display’s the session’s current

tempo based on the play location. In Manual Tempo mode, you can enter a BPM value into this field. In addition, when the tempo field is selected, you can tap in a tempo from a MIDI controller.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 35

Keyboard Focus

The Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines how the alpha keys function. Depending on which Keyboard Focus is enabled, you can use the keys on your alpha keyboard to select regions in the Audio or MIDI Regions List, enable or disable groups, or perform an edit or play command (TDM systems only).

Audio Regions List

Key focus

Commands

Key focus

Groups List

Key focus

MIDI Regions List

Key focus

Keyboard Focus buttons

Commands Key Focus (TDM Systems only)

When selected, provides a wide range of shortcuts from the alpha keyboard for editing and playing.

With the Commands Key focus disabled, you can still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing Control (Macintosh) or the Start key (Windows) along with the key.

Audio Regions List Key Focus When se-

lected, audio regions can be located and selected in the Audio Regions List by typing the first few letters of the region’s name.

MIDI Regions List Key Focus When se-

lected, MIDI regions can be located and selected in the MIDI Regions List by typing the first few letters of the region’s name.

Groups List Key Focus When selected, Edit

and Mix Groups can be enabled or disabled by typing the Group ID letter.

☞ Refer to the Quick Reference Card that

came with your Pro Tools package (TDM systems only) for a complete list of keyboard shortcuts. This card is also available in PDF format in the Release Notes and Documentation folder.

To set the Keyboard Focus:

■ Click the a-z button for the focus you

want to enable.

– or –

While pressing Command+Option (Macintosh) or Control+Alt (Windows), press 1 (Commands), 2 (Audio Regions List), 3 (MIDI Regions List), or 4 (Groups List).

You can only enable one Keyboard Focus at a time. Enabling a Keyboard Focus will disable the one previously selected.

Pro Tools Reference Guide36

Part II

Pro Tools Sessions

chapter 5

Creating Sessions

This chapter covers some of the basics of starting a project in Pro Tools, including how to set up and save a Pro Tools session.

Starting Up Your System

In order for the components of your Pro Tools system to communicate properly with each other, you need to start them up in a specific order.

Start your Pro Tools System in this order:

1 Turn on your external hard drives. Wait

approximately ten seconds for them to come up to speed.

2 If you plan to work with MIDI equip-

ment, turn on your MIDI interface and other MIDI devices.

3 Turn on your Pro Tools Audio Interfaces.

Wait at least ten seconds for them to initialize.

4 Turn on your computer.

Shut down your Pro Tools System in this order:

1 Turn off your Audio Interfaces. 2 Turn off your computer. 3 If you’re using MIDI equipment, turn off

your MIDI interface and controllers.

4 Turn off your external hard drives.

▲ If you launch Pro Tools without turning on

your Audio Interface, it will prompt you to turn it on. Allow about ten seconds for your Audio Interface to complete its power-up cycle before clicking OK.

Conﬁguring Your System

When you first use Pro Tools, or when you change the input/output scheme for your system, you need to choose Pro Tools Hardware settings.

Pro Tools TDM Systems

To change the Hardware Setup:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware. 2 From the Card pop-up, select the Digide-

sign card type.

3 From the Interface port pop-up, choose

the port to which your Audio Interface is connected (port A or port B).

Choose port A if only one Audio Interface is connected to the card. If two Audio Interfaces are connected to your card, follow the steps below for each port/interface.

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 39

✽ The Interface port pop-up does not appear

for Pro Tools III systems.

4 From the Sample Rate pop-up, select a

sample rate.

5 From the Sync Mode pop-up, select the

appropriate sync mode on the currently selected interface (Internal or Digital). In most cases you will use Internal. Digital is used primarily for inputting data from DAT or other digital sources.

6 From the Ch 1–2 Input pop-up, select the

input format of Channels 1–2 of the currently selected interface.

7 Click Other Options for additional con-

ﬁguration options speciﬁc to the Audio Interface. These include:

◆ Setting the input format (analog or digi-

tal) of each pair of input channels on a 888/24 I/O

◆ Conﬁguring the level sensitivity and

peak hold settings for the output level meters on the front panel of the 888/24 I/O

◆ Enabling DAC Muting (mutes the

888/24 I/O digital-to-analog convertors when its output level falls below a certain threshold, to reduce noise)

◆ Setting the input and output levels on an

882/20 I/O or a 1622 I/O

◆ Selecting S/PDIF compatibility with Tas-

cam DA30 DAT recorders

8 Conﬁgure the Other Options parameters

and click Done.

9 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup di-

alog.

Pro Tools LE Systems

To change the Hardware Setup:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware. 2 From the Sample Rate pop-up, select a

sample rate.

3 From the Sync Mode pop-up, select the

appropriate sync mode on the currently selected interface. In most cases you will use Internal. S/PDIF (RCA) is used primarily for inputting material from a DAT or other digital sources. Optical (on Digi 001 systems only) is used primarily for inputting material from an ADAT.

4 Select a Hardware Buffer Size. 5 Click Other Options for additional con-

ﬁguration options speciﬁc to your system. These include:

◆ Setting the input gain for a Digi 001 or

Audiomedia III

◆ Boosting the output gain for an

Audiomedia III

◆ Enabling the Mic/Line High-Pass Filter

for a Digi 001

◆ Selecting S/PDIF compatibility with Tas-

cam DA30 DAT recorders

6 Conﬁgure the Other Options parameters

and click Done.

7 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup di-

alog.

Pro Tools Reference Guide40

Changing the Pro Tools Playback Engine

Pro Tools allows you to select different Playback Engines depending on your system conﬁguration. The Playback Engine determines which Pro Tools card is used to for Pro Tools recording and playback features. Supported Digidesign cards include the Pro Tools MIX card, d24 card, Disk I/O card, Digi 001, or Audiomedia III card.

On TDM systems, the Playback Engine is also used to change the Audio Interface assignments for each card.

Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools 24 system

7 Click Other Options to conﬁgure addi-

tional options for the Audio Interface.

A Pro Tools session created on one Pro Tools system configuration can be opened and used on a different Pro Tools system configuration. When you change the Playback Engine while a session is open, the session will be saved, closed and reopened to enable your new Playback Engine choice.

If you change your Playback from a TDMbased engine (MIX 64 Voice, MIX 32 Voice, d24, or Disk I/O) to a Pro Tools LE -based engine (Digi 001 or Audiomedia III) you will lose any tracks, busses, or I/O Assignments that exceed the limits of the Pro Tools LE system. Any TDM Plug-Ins that do not have Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) equivalents will also be lost.

Changing DAE Playback Buffer Size

To change an Audio Interface assignment:

1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine. 2 Select from the available Playback En-

gines.

3 Choose the card you want to conﬁgure

from the Card pop-up menu.

4 If available, choose the port to which

your Audio Interface is connected from the Interface port pop-up.

5 Choose the Audio Interface connected to

the currently displayed card or port.

6 Set the Sample Rate, Sync Mode, and

Channel 1–2 format for the Audio Interface.

The DAE Playback Buffer size determines the amount of memory allocated within DAE to manage disk buffers, which affects system performance.

Though DAE automatically selects the optimal Playback Buffer for your system, you may want to adjust this parameter to modify your system’s performance:

◆ Allocating a larger buffer can sometimes

allow for a higher density of edits. This can be useful if you experience system performance problems in sessions with a large number of edits in rapid succession.

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 41

◆ Allocating a smaller buffer can some-

times improve playback/recording initiation speed. This can be useful if you are experiencing a time lag when you initiate playback/recording.

You should also note the following:

◆ Choosing a smaller buffer can make it

difﬁcult for slower hard disks to play or record tracks reliably.

◆ Choosing larger buffer 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.

DAE Playback Buffer Size dialog

Windows NT

In Windows NT, you can change the DAE Buffer size from the Pro Tools application.

To change the DAE Buffer Size:

■ Choose Setups > DAE Buffer Size and ad-

just the Buffer Size. Restart your computer for this change to take effect.

Creating a New Session

The first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is creating a new session. When you do this, Pro Tools automatically creates a new folder named after your session. Within this folder is the session file and two other folders, an Audio Files folder, and a Fade Files folder.

The Audio Files folder contains all audio recorded during the session. The Fade Files folder contains any crossfaded audio data generated by the session.

Macintosh

To change DAE’s Playback Buffer size:

1 If you are running Pro Tools, quit

Pro Tools.

2 Locate and open DAE by double-clicking

it. (It is inside the DAE folder within your System Folder.)

3 From the DAE File menu, choose Set

Playback Buffer Size.

4 Adjust the buffer size and Click OK. 5 Quit DAE. The next time you open

Pro Tools, it will use the playback buffer size you have selected.

Pro Tools Reference Guide42

Typical session folder

When you record a new audio track, the track is saved as a new audio file and automatically placed in the Audio Files folder. You can also import other audio files into the session, and work with them as well.

To create a new session:

1 Choose File > New Session.

New Session dialog

2 Choose the drive where you want to save

the session. On Pro Tools III systems, sessions can only be created on drives that are connected to your Pro Tools Disk I/O SCSI chain. All other systems allow you to create your sessions on any SCSI drive attached your computer.

3 On Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24

systems, choose the ﬁle type (on Windows computers) and bit depth of your session by doing one of the following:

◆ On Macintosh, select the bit depth

(24-bit or 16-bit) and click OK.

◆ In Windows, choose a ﬁle type from the

Save as Type pop-up menu.

Pro Tools 5 Session (PC) (.pt5)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 5.0 format, and stores audio as WAV files, which are readable by Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on the Windows platform. You set the bit depth for Pro Tools 5.0 sessions by selecting 16-bit or 24-bit in the area under the Save as Type pop-up menu.

Pro Tools 4 24-bit Session (PC) (.p24)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 4 format, and stores audio as 24-bit WAV files, which are readable by Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on the Windows platform.

Pro Tools 4 16-bit Session (PC) (.pt4)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 4 format, and stores audio as 16-bit WAV files, which are readable by Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on the Windows platform.

Pro Tools 5 Session (Mac) (*.*)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 5.0 format, and stores audio as SoundDesigner II files, which are readable by Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on both Macintosh and Window platforms. You set the bit depth for Pro Tools 5.0 sessions by selecting 16-bit or 24-bit in the area under the Save as Type pop-up menu.

Selecting a File Type in Windows

Pro Tools 4 24-bit session (Mac) (*.*)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 4 format, and stores audio as 24-bit SoundDesigner II files, which are readable by Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on both Macintosh and Window platforms.

Pro Tools 4 16-bit session (Mac) (*.*)

Stores session file in Pro Tools 4 format, and stores audio as 16-bit SoundDesigner II files, which are readable by Pro Tools III,

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 43

Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX systems on both Macintosh and Window platforms.

4 Enter a name for the session and click OK

(Macintosh) or Save (Windows).

Choosing a Bit Depth

(Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24 only)

When choosing a bit depth for your session, consider the disk space and DSP mixing power your selection will require. 24bit sessions occupy about 50% more disk space and power fewer mixer channels per DSP chip. It is not possible to combine different bit depths within a single session.

Adding Tracks

To create new tracks:

1 Choose File > New Track. 2 In the New Track dialog, choose the type

of track to create from the pop-up menu.

3 Enter the number of new tracks you want

to create, and click Create. Pro Tools automatically names new tracks.

To rename a track:

1 In the Edit or Mix window, double-click

the Track Name.

2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog,

type a new track name.

3 Type comments for the track in the Com-

ments text box. Click Previous or Next to rename another track.

Track Name/Comments dialog

✽ To switch tracks in the Track Name/Com-

ments dialog, you can also press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use the Up/Down Arrows.

4 When you are ﬁnished, click OK.

Displaying track controls

To conserve space on-screen, Pro Tools allows you to show or hide the controls for input/outputs, inserts, sends, and comments on your tracks, in either the Mix or Edit window.

Creating a new track

✽ To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the

New Track dialog, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys.

Pro Tools Reference Guide44

Displaying Inserts or Sends

To display track controls:

■ Choose Display > Mix Window Shows, or

Edit Window Shows, and select the controls you want to display from the submenu.

Comments View This view shows the com-

ments you enter when creating the track, or type directly into the comment area.

I/O View Shows the standard input and

output controls for tracks.

Inserts View Shows the Inserts on a track.

Audio, Auxiliary Input and Master Fader tracks can have up to five unity-gain, prefader, in-line Inserts. (Master Fader channels are post-fader only.)

Sends View Audio and Auxiliary Input

tracks can have up to five sends that allow you to send that track’s signal to an external signal processor or any internal busses. Sends can be wither mono or stereo and can be either pre- or post-fade. You can choose to show all the send assignments for your tracks, or you can show the level, mute, pre/post and (in the case of stereo sends) pan controls for individual sends.

Opening a Session

When you open a session, Pro Tools looks in the same directory for its associated audio and fade files.

To open an existing session:

1 Choose File > Open Session.

Open Session dialog

2 Locate the session you want to open and

click Open.

Recent Folders and Files

(Windows NT Only)

To show the controls for individual sends:

■ Choose Display > Sends View Shows and

choose the send you wish to display from the submenu. To show all send assignments for your tracks, choose Assignments.

Displaying controls for a send

See Chapter 19: Basic Mixing for more information on Inserts and Sends.

Open Session dialog (Windows)

In Windows, the Open Session Dialog has two menus that allow you to navigate directly to recent directories (by choosing a location from the Folders menu) or directly open recent session files (by choosing a filename from the Files menu).

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 45

Saving a Session

Save regularly while working on your session to ensure that your work is preserved on your hard disk.

Speeding up Saves by Reducing the Disk Cache Size

(Macintosh Only)

To speed up session saves and disk bounces, it is recommended that you reduce the Cache Size (in the Memory Control panel) for your Macintosh to 512k.

Saving the Session File

The Save Session command saves the changes you have made to your session and writes them over the previously saved version of the file. The Save Session command cannot be undone.

To save a session:

■ Choose File > Save Session.

If you have made changes to a session since you last saved it, you can discard the changes and revert to its previously saved state.

To revert to the last saved version of a session:

■ Choose File > Revert to Saved.

Saving the Session File with a New Filename

The Pro Tools Save Session As command is useful for saving a copy of the current session under a different name, or in a different hard disk location. Because the Save Session As command closes the current session and lets you keep working on the renamed copy, it is particularly useful if you are experimenting and want to save successive stages of the session.

By working this way, you can quickly retrace your steps should you want to go back to an earlier version of your session. By using the Save Session As command you are saving a new version of the session ﬁle only—not duplicate versions of the audio or Fade files.

To save a session under another name:

1 Choose File > Save Session As. 2 Choose the destination and type a new

name for your session. On Pro Tools III systems, sessions and their associated audio ﬁles must be saved to a drive connected to the Disk I/O.

3 Click Save to save the session.

The renamed session document is saved in the session folder along with the original session. Any new audio files that you record in your renamed session will be placed into the same Audio Files folder that was created for your original session.

To keep audio files for different sessions in separate folders, choose File > New to create a new session.

Pro Tools Reference Guide46

To copy the track layout, signal routing and Plug-In choices in your session, you can create a Session Template of your original session. For details, see “Creating Custom Session Templates” on page 48.

tings Folder, indicating that these files will need to be moved to the root level Plug-In settings folder on the destination system before you can use them. The references to these settings files in the session are not redirected to point to the copied files.

Saving the Session File and its Associated Files

The Pro Tools Save Session Copy In command is used to save a copy of the currently selected session document under a different name, in a different hard disk location, in a different session file format, or at a different bit-depth (such as saving a 16-bit version of a 24-bit session).

Unlike the Save Session As command, Save Session Copy In does not close the original session, so subsequent edits are made to the original session. The saved session serves as a backup copy, and gives you the option of reverting to the earlier version of the session.

This command also gives you several options for copying a session along with its associated files.

Copy Audio Files & Session Plug-In Settings Folder

When this option is selected, all audio files and the session’s Plug-In Settings Folder are copied to the new location. The references to these Plug-In settings in the session are redirected to point to the copied files.

Copy Root Plug-In Settings Folder

Copy Movie/Video Files

When this option is selected, a session movie files are copied to the new location, and the references in the session to the movies are redirected to point to the copied movie files.

Format

Macintosh Provides the option of saving

the current session in 24-bit or 16-bit format, as well as in Pro Tools 4.3 format for Pro Tools 3.2 format for compatibility with older systems. By saving down to Pro Tools

4.3 format, you will lose any MIDI data, marker information, and other data unique to the Pro Tools 5. 0 session format.

By saving down to Pro Tools 3.2 format, you will lose any Plug-In automation, as well as mix and edit groups, and other data (such as memory location attributes) unique to the Pro Tools 5.0 or Pro Tools 4.3 session format.

Windows NT Provides the option of saving

the current session in Pro Tools 5.0 format for Macintosh or Windows, Pro Tools 4 24bit (.p24) or Pro Tools 4 16-bit format (.pt4) for Windows, and Pro Tools 4 24-bit or Pro Tools 4 16-bit format for Macintosh.

When this option is selected, the contents of the root-level Plug-In Settings Folder are copied into a folder named Place in Root Set-

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 47

To save a session in a different location or in a different format:

1 Choose File > Save Session Copy In.

Save Session Copy In dialog (Macintosh)

2 Choose a destination and type a name

for the new session ﬁle.

3 Choose the format for the session copy

by selecting it from the Format pop-up.

4 Select the bit depth for the session copy. 5 To copy the session along with all of its

associated ﬁles, select from the available options.

6 Click Save to save the session in the new

location.

Creating Macintosh Templates

You can create a session template on the Macintosh by saving a session file as a Sta- tionery pad document. Once a session is saved as stationery, it acts as a template that you can open and then resave as a normal session.

To create a custom session template:

1 Create a session and arrange the Mix,

Edit, and Transport windows as you like. You can choose which windows are open and where they appear on the screen. You can also deﬁne the parameters within these windows, such as signal routings, inserts and sends conﬁgurations, track views, ruler settings, and Preference settings.

2 Choose File > Save Session. 3 Name the session and click Save. 4 Close the session. 5 Locate the session ﬁle that you just saved. 6 Click once on the ﬁle to select it. 7 Choose File > Get Info. A ﬁle information

window appears.

Creating Custom Session Templates

You can create custom session documents that are pre-configured to the track setups, mixer setups, window arrangements, and zoom level memory locations that you use most frequently. Doing this will save you the trouble of having to create your studio setup from scratch every time you start a new session.

Pro Tools Reference Guide48

Saving a session as a Stationery pad (Macintosh)

8 Click the Stationery Pad check box to

save the ﬁle as a template, then close the information window.

To use this template, double-click it or open it with the Open Session command if you are already running Pro Tools. You can create several custom templates for studio setups that you frequently use.

When you open a session saved as a Stationery pad, Pro Tools gives you the option of editing the template or starting a new session using the template settings. If you choose New Session, Pro Tools will create a new folder containing a copy of your session template and Audio and Fades folders.

Creating Windows Templates

7 Click the General tab and select the Read

Only option.

In Windows, you can create a session template by making a session file a Read Only document.

To create a custom session template in Windows:

1 Create a session and arrange the Mix,

2 Choose File > Save Session. 3 Name the session and click Save. 4 Close the session. 5 Locate the session ﬁle that you just saved. 6 Right-click the ﬁle and choose Properties.

Making a session a Read Only ﬁle (Windows)

8 Click OK.

To use this template, double-click it or open it with the Open Session command. When you first save the session, Pro Tools will ask you to give the session a new name. Your original session template will remain unchanged.

To modify the session template, you will need to reopen its Properties and deselect the Read Only option, make your modifications, then change it back to a Read Only file.

Chapter 5: Creating Sessions 49

Closing a Session

Because Pro Tools allows you to work on just one session at a time, you must close the current session if you want to work on another. The Close Session command closes your current Pro Tools session but leaves the Pro Tools application open. You can save your work using the Save Session or Save Session As command before closing the current session.

To close a session:

■ Choose File > Close Session.

If you transfer a session from a TDMequipped Pro Tools system to a Pro Tools LE-based system, any tracks, busses, or I/O Assignments that exceed the limits of the Pro Tools LE system will be lost. Any TDM Plug-Ins that do not have Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) equivalents will also be lost.

Differences between TDM and LE systems

Feature TDM Systems LE Systems

Number of Tracks

Number of mix busses

up to 128 limited to 24

32 busses 16 busses

Quitting a Session

Although Pro Tools will warn you before allowing you to quit without saving changes, you should generally save your work before quitting.

To Quit a Session:

■ Choose File > Quit (Macintosh) or File >

Exit (Windows).

Sharing Sessions between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems

Pro Tools makes it easy to share sessions between Pro Tools LE and TDM-equipped systems. There are some important differences between the two types of systems that can affect how session material is transferred.

Inserts per Track

Sends per Track

up to 5 inserts up to 5 inserts

up to 5 sends up to 5 sends

Pro Tools Reference Guide50

chapter 6

Working with Tracks

This chapter covers basic track management tasks such as creating and deleting tracks, assigning voices and output channels, and grouping tracks.

Creating Tracks

You can add tracks to your session at any time by using the New Track command. New tracks appear in both the Edit and Mix windows.

Adding New Tracks

You can choose where to insert new tracks by selecting an existing track’s name.

Before you create new tracks:

◆ For new tracks to appear next to a spe-

ciﬁc track in a session, select that track by clicking its name. The new tracks are added immediately after the selected track.

◆ For new tracks to appear as the last tracks

in a session, make sure that no track names are selected on-screen.

To create a new audio or MIDI track:

1 Choose File > New Track. 2 Choose the type of track to create from

the pop-up menu.

3 Enter the number of new tracks and click

Create.

Creating a new track

4 To name a track, double-click the Track

Name button at the bottom of the Mix window. Enter a name and any comments for the track, and click OK.

The track name will be given to any audio files that you record on the track.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 51

5 Choose which controls appear on the

track by choosing Display > Mix Window Shows or Display > Edit Window Shows and selecting the controls from the submenu.

Displaying track controls

To rename existing tracks in your session:

1 Select the track to rename by clicking the

track name (Shift-click to select multiple tracks).

2 Choose File > Rename Selected Tracks. 3 Type a new name and click OK for each

track you are renaming.

Hiding Tracks

The Show/Hide Tracks List (at the left of both the Mix and Edit windows) shows all tracks in the session. It allows you to show or hide a track by selecting or deselecting its name. Even though a track is hidden, the material on the track will still play as part of the session.

To show a track, click to highlight its name. To hide a track, deselect its name.

The Show/Hide Tracks List

Deleting Tracks

When you delete tracks, your audio or MIDI region data will remain in the Regions List, but your arrangement of the regions on the deleted track (the track’s playlist) will be lost. The Delete Selected Tracks command cannot be undone.

To delete a track:

1 Click the name of the desired track to se-

lect it. If you wish to select multiple tracks, hold down the Shift key and click additional track names to select them as well.

2 Choose File > Delete Selected Tracks. 3 Click OK to remove the selected tracks

from the session.

Pro Tools Reference Guide52

The pop-up menu at the top of Show/Hide Tracks List provides commands that allow you to show or hide all tracks, or only tracks currently selected on screen.

When a track that is a member of an active group is hidden from view, editing operations performed on other members of the group in the Edit window will not affect the hidden track. In the Mix window however, all operations other than record-enable will affect a hidden track that is a member of an active group.

▲ On TDM systems, even if a track is hidden

from view, its position relative to other tracks still affects virtual track playback priority.

To hide a track:

■ Click the highlighted name of a track in

the Show/Hide Tracks List.

To show a track that is currently hidden:

■ Click the unhighlighted name of a track

in the Show/Hide Tracks List.

To show all tracks:

1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of

the Show/Hide Tracks List.

2 From the pop-up menu, choose Show All

Tracks.

To hide all tracks:

1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of

the Show/Hide Tracks List.

2 From the pop-up menu, choose Hide All

Tracks.

✽ To reorder tracks on screen, drag the track

names to new positions within the Show/Hide Tracks List.

Assigning Track Inputs

Your Pro Tools system has a certain number of hardware inputs, in the form of the physical inputs on your Pro Tools Audio Interface, your Digi 001, or your Audiomedia III card. Pro Tools also provides internal mix busses that can be the source of track inputs.

With Pro Tools 24 MIX, Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools III systems, if you have multiple Audio Interfaces, their default I/O Labels appear in order as input #1/1-8, input #2/1-8, and so on.

To assign a track input:

1 If I/O controls are not currently visible

on your tracks, choose Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit Windows Shows) > I/O View.

2 Click the input selector button on the

track, and choose an available input source from the pop-up menu.

Input selector

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 53

Assigning Track Outputs

Your Pro Tools system has a certain number of hardware outputs, in the form of the physical outputs on your Pro Tools Audio Interface, your Digi 001, or your Audiomedia III card. Pro Tools also provides internal mix busses that can be the destination of track outputs.

To assign a track to an output:

1 If I/O controls are not currently visible

on your tracks, choose Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit Windows Shows) > I/O View.

2 Click the output selector button on the

track and choose an available output destination from the pop-up menu.

Virtual Tracks, Voices, and Track Priority

Output selector (Stereo Mix Outputs mode)

Pro Tools has two different operating modes, Direct Outputs mode and Stereo Mix Outputs mode. These modes allow you to configure Pro Tools to match your particular studio setup.

Direct Outputs mode In this mode, each

track output is routed to a single Audio Interface output. Track panning controls are not available in Direct Outputs mode. With Pro Tools 24 MIX, Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools III systems, if you have multiple Audio Interfaces, their default I/O Labels appear in order as output #1/1-8, output #2/1-8, and so on.

Stereo Mix Outputs mode In this mode,

track outputs are routed to a pair of Audio Interface outputs or bus pairs, such as output #1 1-2, output #1 3-4, and so on. Each track contains controls for panning between the two selected output pairs.

(TDM Systems Only)

Voices and Virtual Tracks

Pro Tools 24 MIX core system hardware provides up to 64 simultaneous voices of audio playback. Pro Tools 24 core systems provide up to 32 voices of audio playback. A Pro Tools III system provides 16 voices.

While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed number of voices, Pro Tools software provides for up to 128 virtual tracks—tracks which can be recorded upon and cued up for playback but cannot all be played back simultaneously.

In such an environment where there are potentially more tracks than can play back at one time, Pro Tools assigns priorities for tracks that compete for the available voices. Pro Tools provides two ways of assigning playback priority to audio tracks:

Pro Tools Reference Guide54

Voice Selector

voice selector, a pop-up menu appears offering a choice of voice numbers, which refer to voice assignments.

Audio Track Voice selector

On-screen track placement The left-most

track in the Mix window (or the topmost track in the Edit window) has priority over other tracks with the same voice assignment.

It is possible to assign more than one track to the same voice, but only one of the tracks—the one with highest priority—will play.

Choosing Options > Mute Frees Voice and muting a track disables playback of that track, and surrenders control of its voice to the next highest priority track with the same voice assignment.

Pro Tools features dynamic voice allocation, so that when a hole opens up in a higherpriority track, its voice is temporarily available, and the track with the next highest priority “pops through” and begins to play. When the original track returns, the track that had popped through relinquishes the voice to the higher priority track.

When you click a track’s

The following example demonstrates the concept of dynamic voice allocation:

The “Lead Guitar” region will pop through

In the above illustration, the two visible tracks are assigned to the same voice. There is an open area in the top track where no region appears. At this point, the voice is free since it is not being used, and the next highest priority track on that voice (the bottom track) will pop through the open area and play. In order for a lower priority region to pop through, it must be placed so that its beginning occurs after a higher priority track’s region has ended.

Automatic Assignment of Ascending Voices

(TDM Systems Only)

You can automatically assign all tracks or all selected tracks to successive voices. For example, you may want to select eight audio tracks and reassign them to voices 9–16.

To assign all audio tracks to successive voices:

■ While pressing Command+Option (Mac-

intosh) or Control+Alt (Windows), click on the Voice Selector for any track and choose the starting voice number.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 55

The track with the highest priority is assigned to the chosen voice, with all other tracks assigned to successive voices.

To assign all selected audio tracks to successive voices:

1 Select the desired audio tracks by Shift-

clicking their names.

2 While pressing Command+Shift (Mac-

intosh) or Control+Shift (Windows), click on the Voice Selector for any of the selected tracks and choose the starting voice number.

Changing a Track’s Playback Priority

When more than one track is assigned to the same voice, the track that occurs earliest (left-most in the Mix window or topmost in the Edit window) has priority over others assigned to that voice. Moving another track of the same voice to a higher position will then give that track priority.

You can drag a track to a new position in either the Mix or Edit windows to change its playback priority.

Of the tracks that are selected, the one with the highest priority is assigned to the specified voice, with all other selected tracks assigned to successive voices.

Assigning Voices and Track Priority

You can use track priority settings, voice assignment, and output assignments to get the most out your system configuration.

To assign an audio track to a voice:

1 Click the track’s voice selector.

Assigning a voice

2 Select a voice from the pop-up menu.

Voices listed in boldface type are already in use by other tracks in the session.

To increase a track’s priority in the Edit window:

■ Click the track’s Track Name button and

drag it above another track assigned to the same voice.

– or –

■ In the Show/Hide Tracks List, drag the

track to a higher position in the list of tracks. Tracks nearer the top of this list have higher priority.

To increase a track’s priority in the Mix window:

■ Click the track’s Track Name button and

drag it to the left of another track assigned to the same voice.

– or –

■ In the Show/Hide Tracks List, drag the

track to a higher position in the list of tracks. Tracks nearer the top of this list have higher priority.

By experimenting with track priority, voice assignment, and arranging regions so that they are positioned to “pop through” holes

Pro Tools Reference Guide56

in higher priority tracks, you will find many useful ways to apply virtual tracks and dynamic voice allocation.

Voice Management In Expanded Systems

(Macintosh Pro Tools III systems only)

• If you have a multiple Disk I/O system

and you assign a track to a voice which does not correspond to the hard drive that the track’s regions belong to.

• If you have a multiple Disk I/O system

and you’ve moved a drive which was originally connected to a different Disk I/O.

Voice Numbering

In expanded Pro Tools III systems, the first 16 voices of your system are numbered A-1 through A-16. The next Disk I/O’s voices would be numbered B-1 through B-16, and so on.

Managing Voices in Expanded Systems

In expanded Pro Tools III systems each Disk I/O card requires that a separate SCSI hard drive be attached to it, with specific audio files residing on specific drives. An audio file or region that resides on one Disk I/O’s hard drive cannot be moved to a track routed to a different Disk I/O drive. If you try to do this, Pro Tools will alert you and allow you to automatically copy the sound file to the destination voice’s drive.

The following scenarios will cause voice assignment conflicts which you will have to resolve by either reassigning voices, copying sound files, or managing “Ghost regions”:

• If you attempt to put regions from Disk I/O “A” voice track onto a Disk I/O “B” voice track.

• If you attempt to drag a region that resides on Disk I/O “A” from the Audio Regions List onto a track which is assigned to a Disk I/O “B” voice track.

Pro Tools will copy the entire sound file (not just the single region) to the appropriate Audio Files folder on the destination drive.

The audio file will be copied to whatever drive is specified in the Disk Allocation dialog box for that track. Before you begin copying files, be sure the destination drive has sufficient space. If the destination drive doesn’t have enough space, the copy procedure will be cancelled and any material that hasn’t been fully copied will be discarded.

Disk Allocation dialog

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 57

Ghost Regions

If you decide not to copy the file, Pro Tools will display what are called Ghost regions. Ghost regions occur in cases where Disk I/O SCSI chain/voice combinations make them invalid for playback. A Ghost region appears “grayed out” (much like a muted region does) and signifies that the audio is not present on the drive to which the voice refers, and is not available for audio playback as currently assigned.

If you have Ghost regions in a session, each time you open the session it will ask you if you wish to copy the Ghost regions onto the appropriate drive so that you will be able to use the regions as voiced.

Ghost regions can still be selected with the Grabber tool and moved or deleted, or auditioned from the Regions List. They will not play as currently assigned. They can become regular “active” regions again if you place them on a track/voice that is valid for the Disk I/O associated with the region.

If you open a session which has a region/voice/hard drive assignment conflict, a warning dialog will appear, alerting you of this condition and offering several solutions. The options in the dialog are as follows:

Look for Duplicated Files If this option is

enabled, before it begins copying files to the necessary drive, Pro Tools will check if the needed “parent” audio files or regions have already been copied to the drive. This helps prevent unnecessary duplication of audio data.

Look for Compatible Voices If this option is

enabled, Pro Tools will try to resolve the problem by assigning conflicting voices from the “swapped” drive to available valid voices.

Copy Files to New Drives. If this option is

enabled, Pro Tools will copy the files to the necessary drive (if there is enough space). If the Look for Duplicated Files option is also enabled, Pro Tools will check if the needed “parent” audio files or regions already reside on the drive before it begins copying. If the Look for Duplicated Files option is not enabled, Pro Tools will copy the required files without checking first.

Alternatives to Copying an Entire Audio File

If you wish to move a region without copying the entire sound file, you can place the region on a track which is routed to a drive where the audio actually resides. Alternatively, you can use the Duplicate Plug-In in the AudioSuite menu, or you can bounce the region to disk, thereby creating a new audio file that consists of just the region. Refer to the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide to learn how to use the Duplicate Plug-In. For information on bouncing, refer to the Mixing chapter in the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Pro Tools Reference Guide58

Setting MIDI Channels

MIDI tracks can be assigned to one or more MIDI channels with the Device/Channel selector. When assigned to multiple channels, all material in the track is sent to all assigned channels.

MIDI Tracks in Pro Tools can not contain multiple channels of MIDI data.

To assign all regions on a MIDI track to a speciﬁc MIDI channel:

1 Click on the track’s MIDI Device/Chan-

nel Selector and assign a device and channel from the pop-up menu. Channels already assigned to another track appear bold in this menu.

Adjusting Track Volume and Pan

In the Mix window, each track has its own Volume fader and Pan slider for adjusting the track’s playback volume and stereo placement. (Panning controls for audio tracks are only available if your session is set to Stereo Mix Outputs mode.) On audio tracks, the volume selector controls the output level of the track on your system’s Audio Interface or system output jacks.

On MIDI tracks, it controls MIDI volume (controller 7) on MIDI instruments that support this feature. If a track has regions with MIDI volume controller data (created in the original sequence), its volume will be controlled by that data.

MIDI Device/Channel selector

To assign multiple destinations to a single MIDI track, Shift-click the MIDI Device/Channel Selector and select additional channels from any device.

For details on recording and importing MIDI data, see Chapter 10: MIDI Recording.

Track Level fader

To adjust the volume of a track:

■ Drag the slider to the desired level. It has

a range of ∞ (no output) to +6dB of gain.

The Pan Slider

To adjust the pan value of a track:

■ Drag the slider to the desired level. It has

a range of <100 (full left) to 100> (full right).

Panning a track full right or full left sends it to a single output channel.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 59

Soloing and Muting Tracks

The Solo and Mute buttons can be engaged at any time during playback.

The Solo and Mute buttons affect MIDI as well as audio tracks. It is possible to have more than one track soloed or muted at the same time in a session.

Grouping affects mute and solo behavior as well. Normally, muting or soloing a track that is a member of an active mix group will mute or solo all other tracks that are a member of that active mix group as well. However, by changing the Mute and Solo settings in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog, you can disable this behavior.

To disable group muting of tracks:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click

Automation.

2 Deselect the Mutes Follow Mix Groups

option, and click OK.

With this option deselected, muting a track that is a member of an active group does not affect other members of the group.

To disable group soloing of tracks:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click

Automation.

2 Deselect the Solos Follow Mix Groups op-

tion, and click OK.

Mute Frees Voice and Mute Lag Time

If you select Operations > Mute Frees Voice, a muted track’s voice will be allocated to the next highest priority track assigned to the same voice. With this option enabled, there may be a delay (ranging in length from one to several seconds depending on the processing power of your system) between the time you mute or unmute a track and when you hear the effect on playback.

To avoid this delay, make sure that the Mute Frees Voice option is disabled. Another factor than can cause delays is your DAE Playback Buffer Size setting. Playback Buffer Size is set from DAE’s File menu (Macintosh), or by choosing Setups > DAE Buffer Size (Windows). The larger the playback buffer you choose, the longer the potential lag time between the time you click the Mute button and the onset of muting.

Solo Button

The solo button mutes other tracks so that the chosen track can be auditioned alone. Normally solos are “latched,” that is, pressing subsequent solo buttons adds them to the soloed mix of tracks. Pro Tools allows you to “unlatch” solos, so that pressing a solo will mute all tracks except the track you have just soloed.

With this option deselected, soloing a track that is a member of an active group does not affect other members of the group.

Pro Tools Reference Guide60

To solo a track:

1 Click the Solo button on the track. The

button is highlighted and all other tracks are muted.

2 Click the Solo button again to turn off

the solo function.

To unlatch solo buttons:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Operation.

2 Deselect the Latch Solo Buttons option

and click Done. With this option disabled, pressing a Solo button mutes all tracks except the track you have just soloed.

Mute Button

The mute button silences a chosen track. More than one track can be muted at one time. If Operations > Mute Frees Voice is enabled, muting a track will allocate its voice to the next highest priority virtual track in your session.

To mute a track:

■ Click the Mute button on the track. The

track will appear grayed-out and be muted.

To unmute a track:

■ Click the Mute button again.

Solo Safe Mode

To solo safe a track:

■ Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-

click (Windows) the Solo button on the desired track. This prevents the track from being muted even if you solo other tracks.

To return a solo safe track to normal:

■ Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-

click (Windows) the Solo button on the track again.

For information on the relationship between muting and voice assignments, see “Virtual Tracks, Voices, and Track Priority” on page 54.

Adjusting Track Width

The Pro Tools Narrow Mix Window command allows you to view all tracks/channels in the Mix window at a reduced width to conserve screen space in a large session.

To reduce the width of tracks in the Mix window:

■ Select Display > Narrow Mix Window.

To display tracks at normal width:

■ Deselect Display > Narrow Mix Window.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 61

Color Coding Tracks

Grouping Tracks

The Pro Tools Color Code options in the Preferences dialog allow you to quickly identify tracks which are assigned to the same voice or group. Color coding of voices is particularly useful in sessions where you wish to make efficient use of virtual tracks. Since tracks assigned to the same voice share the same color, you can easily identify and arrange regions so that they do not overlap or conflict with other regions on tracks assigned to the same voice.

To color code tracks by voice assignment:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Display.

2 Select “Color Code Voices and MIDI

Channels in Edit Window,” and click Done. This color codes tracks according to voice assignment, giving each voice a different color.

To color code tracks by group:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Display.

2 Select “Color Code Groups in Edit Win-

dow,” and click Done. This color codes tracks according to their group assignment. To be color coded, the track must be part of an active group.

To turn off color coding:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Display.

2 Select No Color Code in Edit Window,

and click Done.

Pro Tools provides a relative grouping function for linking channels and their controls. Groups can be applied to either the Mix or Edit window, or both.

Groups are useful for editing several tracks in exactly the same way, or for mixing several tracks (such as a pair of stereo tracks or a submix) while keeping them at the same relative volume level.

Pro Tools provides the following grouping features:

• Up to 26 different groups

• Nested groups (subgroups within groups)

• Grouped faders/controllers preserve their levels relative to each other

Grouping can affect the following track parameters:

• Volume levels

• Solos

• Mutes

• Automation modes

• Track display format

• Track height

• Editing functions

Grouping does not affect these parameters:

• Record enables

• Panning

• Send levels, panning and mutes

• Voice assignment

• Output assignment

• Creating Plug-In instances

Pro Tools Reference Guide62

Using the Groups List

The Pro Tools grouping functions are located at the left side of your screen in the Groups List. This scrolling window contains the names of all the groups in your session, as well as a pop-up menu for accessing grouping commands. From this menu, you can select and enable groups.

By default, every session has a group named All, which includes every track and channel in the session. The All group cannot be edited or deleted.

Group pop-up menu

Click to

select

group

members

on-screen

Click to hide Groups List

The Groups List

Click to select a group by typing its letter

Click to activate a group

To the left of each name in the Groups List is a letter denoting its Group ID (“a” through “z”), and to the left of that, a symbol indicating whether that group is selected in the currently active window (either the Edit or Mix window). These symbols indicate the following:

The hollow circle symbol indicates that only some members of the group are currently selected.

The circle with a dot symbol indicates that all members of the group are currently selected, plus additional members outside the group.

The Groups Pop-up Menu

The Groups pop-up menu contains commands that allow you to create, delete and suspend groups. These commands are as follows:

The Group pop-up menu

New Group This command allows you to

create a new group. You must first select two or more tracks/channel strips on screen to do this.

Display This command allows you to toggle

the Groups List display to either Mix Groups or Edit Groups. If all of your groups apply to both Editing and Mixing, the Groups List will be the same for both.

Suspend All Groups This command allows

you to temporarily toggle all active groups off.

The filled-in circle symbol indicates that all members of the group are currently selected.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 63

Delete Selected Groups

This command allows you to permanently remove a group from the Groups List. You must first select a Group Name in the Groups List to do this.

Moving a fader of a group member will cause all other group members to move relative to it. If a fader belongs to multiple groups, and the groups conflict when faders are moved, the fader will follow the topmost or “parent” group that it belongs to.

Enabling Grouping

Editing operations are not applied to members of a group that are hidden with the Show/Hide Tracks List. Mix operations (with the exception of Record-enable) are applied to hidden tracks.

Pro Tools allows you to create separate groups for editing and mixing. You set this option when you use the New Group command. Groups that apply to both editing and mixing can be decoupled.

Displaying a track’s group membership

To enable a group:

■ In the Groups List, click the name of the

group you want to enable. The group name is highlighted to indicate that it is enabled.

To disable a group:

■ In the Groups List, click the name of the

group you want to disable. The group name is unhighlighted to indicate that it is not enabled.

Keyboard Selection of Groups

If the Groups List Key focus is enabled, you can type a Group ID letter and Pro Tools will automatically enable that group.

To enable and use the Groups List Key focus:

1 Click the a-z button in upper right of the

Groups List.

Groups List Key focus enabled

2 Type Group ID letter (a-z) of the region to

automatically enable it.

To enable additional groups, click their names in the Groups List. It is not necessary to Shift-click to enable or disable multiple groups.

Pro Tools Reference Guide64

Creating a Group

Changing the Members of a Group

To create a group:

1 Hold down the Shift key and select the

tracks you wish to include in the group.

Selecting tracks to be grouped

2 Choose File > Group Selected Tracks. 3 Enter a name for the group and choose a

Group ID (“a” - “z”).

The New Group dialog

4 Choose the type of group to create: Edit

Group, Mix Group, or Edit and Mix Group.

5 Click OK to add the new group to the

Groups List.

You can add or remove members from a group at any time.

To change the members of a group:

1 Hold down the Shift key and select the

tracks to include in the group.

2 Choose New Group from the Group pop-

up menu.

3 In the dialog that appears, select the

Group ID that you want to update.

4 Click OK. The new group deﬁnition over-

writes the original deﬁnition.

Renaming a Group

You can rename a group at any time.

To rename a group:

1 In the Groups List, double-click to the

left of the group’s name (in the area with the circular symbols).

2 In the dialog that appears, enter a new

name for the group. (If you wish to change the group’s type, you can also do so here.)

3 Click OK. The group is renamed in the

Groups List.

Deleting a Group

You can delete a group at any time.

To delete a group:

1 In the Groups List, select the name of the

group (or groups) you wish to delete.

2 Click the Group pop-up menu and

choose Delete Selected Groups. You cannot undo this action.

Chapter 6: Working with Tracks 65

Linking Mix and Edit Groupings

The “Link Mix and Edit Group Enables” option links group enabling between the Mix and Edit windows.

Pro Tools allows you to create groups that are both Mix and Edit groups. but in some cases you may prefer not to link enabling of Mix and Edit groups. For example, when you are using the Mix window for mixing, you may prefer to work with large, nested groups. However, in the Edit window, you may want to perform editing tasks within a smaller group. You could disable the Link Mix and Edit Group Enables preference. This would allow you to work with different groups in the two windows.

To unlink mix and edit groups:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Operation.

2 Deselect the “Link Mix and Edit Group

Enables” option and click Done.

Pro Tools Reference Guide66

chapter 7

File Management and Compatibility

The various Pro Tools systems require that you keep certain files on specific hard drives in order for these systems to function properly. Observe the following file management rules:

Macintosh

◆ On all Macintosh Pro Tools Systems, the

Pro Tools software should reside on your Start-up drive (the drive that contains your System folder and other System-related ﬁles).

◆ On Pro Tools 24 MIX and Pro Tools 24

systems, data ﬁles (such as session ﬁles, audio ﬁles and fade ﬁles) can be located on any compatible drive connected to the internal SCSI bus or the external SCSI bus of your computer, or to a SCSI accelerator card in your computer.

◆ On Pro Tools III systems, data ﬁles (such

as session ﬁles, audio ﬁles and fade ﬁles) must be located on a compatible drive which is connected to your Disk I/O SCSI chain.

◆ On Pro Tools LE systems, data ﬁles can be

located on any compatible hard drive connected to your computer’s internal or external SCSI bus.

Windows NT

◆ On all Windows NT Pro Tools Systems,

the Pro Tools software should reside on your system boot drive (the drive that contains your System ﬁles).

◆ On all Windows NT Pro Tools Systems,

data ﬁles should be located on a compatible SCSI drive connected to the SCSI bus of your computer, or to a SCSI accelerator card in your computer.

Locating Audio Files

(Windows NT Systems Only)

When you open a session, if Pro Tools is unable to locate audio ﬁles contained in the session, it will post a Find File dialog.

Pro Tools for Windows NT tags each audio file in a session with a unique identifier that allows it to distinguish a particular file even if its name or location have changed.

Chapter 7: File Management and Compatibility 67

In cases where the unique identifier is not present (for example, with files imported from a Macintosh session), Pro Tools can identify an audio file using other file attributes, such as sample rate, bit depth, file length, and creation or modification date. Pro Tools will search for files with similar attributes, and list potential matches in the Candidate Files list.

To locate an audio ﬁle:

1 In most cases, you can ﬁnd ﬁles created

or modiﬁed by Pro Tools for Windows NT by clicking Look in Current Folder or Look on All Mounted Volumes. To search in all subfolders of the current folder, select Include Subfolders.

2 If Pro Tools is unable to ﬁnd the target

ﬁle, use the Folder or Files menus or the Navigation Toolbar in the upper left of the Find File dialog to look in directories on your audio drives. You can limit the search to ﬁles of a certain type by selecting from the Files of Type menu. Potential matches will appear in the Candidate Files list on the right.

3 Select a candidate ﬁle to view its at-

tributes in the File Info area. To audition a selected audio ﬁle, click Play and adjust the Play Position slider to choose the playback location in the ﬁle.

4 If you determine that a ﬁle in the Candi-

date Files list is not the target ﬁle, click Skip. To eliminate all ﬁles in the list, click Skip All.

5 Click Down to move to the next ﬁle in

the list.

6 When you have located the target ﬁle,

click Open.

Find File dialog

WAV File Compatibility

Convert all imported WAV ﬁles to AES31/BroadcastWave

Pro Tools always creates AES31/Broadcast compliant WAV files when the file originates in Pro Tools. This option, accessed by choosing Setups > Preferences > Compatibility, applies to all imported WAV files, making them compliant with the AES31/EBU Broadcast standard.

AES31/BroadcastWave is a variant of the standard audio WAV file type. The AES31 format contains additional information beyond the raw PCM audio data such as SMPTE time stamps.

Pro Tools Reference Guide68

This variant complies with the new standards set down by the EBU (European Broadcasters Union), and the AES (Audio Engineering Society). Choose this option to ensure compatibility with other workstations that recognize this new standard file type.

Compatibility Preference Setting

Naming Files, Playlists and Regions

To ensure portability of your Pro Tools sessions between Windows and Macintosh platforms, you will want to name your session ﬁles, bounced audio ﬁles, regions and playlists carefully.

“ (quotation marks)

< (less-than symbol)

> (greater-than symbol)

| (vertical line or pipe)

Filenames with non-ASCII characters, such as those created on the Macintosh by typing combinations with the Option or Control keys (for example, letters with diacritical marks, like é, ü, or ç), are also illegal in Windows.

If you open a Macintosh session which contains playlists or regions with these characters, any illegal characters will be changed to “_” (underscore) when you perform an operation that uses that filename (such as exporting a region or AudioSuite processing).

The “:” (colon) is also an illegal character on the Macintosh, since it is used as a separator in Mac OS pathnames.

While it is probably best to avoid using any special characters or punctuation marks in your filenames, the ones that can cause problems are listed below.

Avoid using the following characters since they cannot be used in Windows ﬁlenames:

/ (slash)

\ (backslash)

: (colon)

* (asterisk)

? (question mark)

Chapter 7: File Management and Compatibility 69

Pro Tools Reference Guide70

Part III

Recording

chapter 8

Record Setup

Before you start recording, make sure your your Pro Tools system is connected and conﬁgured properly. For details on connecting Pro Tools to your studio, refer to the Pro Tools Hardware Installation Guide that came with your system.

While some of the information in this chapter is relevant to recording MIDI, there are more specific setup details for MIDI recording in Chapter 10: MIDI Recording.

Input Connections and Audio Levels

Most Digidesign audio interfaces operate as line-level devices and offer no pre-amplification. You must therefore adjust the level of an input signal to line level before it reaches Pro Tools. Low-level sources like microphones and electric guitars need to be pre-amplified. You can do this with a quality mixing board or dedicated preamp.

✽ The Digi 001 is an exception to this rule. Its

I/O Box has two inputs with preamps, to which you can connect low-level signals, and six additional inputs with “input gain.”

Volume and pan controls for tracks in Pro Tools only affect monitoring levels— not the recording input gain. The LED indicators on audio interfaces indicate both full-code (highest level before clipping) and true clipping of Pro Tools output signals. The on-screen meters in the Pro Tools application indicate only true clipping.

Digital Clipping

Clipping occurs when you feed a signal to a recorder or mixer that is louder or “hotter” than the device allows. On many analog tape decks, a little clipping adds a perceived warmth to the sound due to tape compression. In digital recording, however, clipping causes digital distortion, which is undesirable and should always be avoided.

Set Input Levels High But Don’t Clip

When you feed a signal into any audio recording system, including Pro Tools, you need to adjust the input level to optimize the dynamic range. Adjust the input signal to register as high as possible on your input meter without triggering the clipping indicator. If the input level is too low, you will not take full advantage of the dynamic

Chapter 8: Record Setup 73

range of your Pro Tools system. If the input level is too high, however, it will be clipped.

Calibration Mode

You can use the Calibration Mode in Pro Tools to adjust the input and output levels for your audio interface so they match those of your mixing console and other audio devices in your studio.

For more information on Calibration Mode, see the TDM Hardware Installation Guide.

To record enable all audio tracks:

■ Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click

(Windows) the Record button on any audio track.

Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click (Windows) again to take all audio tracks out of record-enabled mode.

To record enable all selected audio tracks:

■ Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or Shift-

Alt-click (Windows) the Record button on any audio track.

Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or Shift-Altclick (Windows) again to take all selected audio tracks out of record-enabled mode.

Record Enabling Tracks

To record to a track you must ﬁrst recordenable it. While you can have multiple audio tracks record-enabled (for simultaneously recording more than one track), there can only be one MIDI track recordenabled at a time. The record-enabled MIDI track can, however, be switched on the ﬂy while recording.

Record-enabled audio track

To record enable an audio or MIDI track:

■ From either the Edit or Mix window,

click the track’s Record button.

Click again to take the track out of recordenabled mode.

✽ Multiple tracks are selected by Shift-clicking

their track names.

✽ While record enabling does not affect audio

tracks that are grouped, you

can select all

tracks in a group by clicking directly to the left of the group’s name in the Groups List. Then you can Shift-Option-click (Macintosh) or ShiftAlt-click (Windows) to record enable all selected tracks.

To record enable a different MIDI track on the ﬂy:

■ While pressing Option (Macintosh) or

Alt (Windows), press the Up/Down arrows to record-enable the previous or next MIDI track.

– or –

Click the Record button of the MIDI track you want to record enable. The previous record track is taken out of record-enabled mode.

Pro Tools Reference Guide74

Latch Record Mode

When the option for Latch Record Enable Buttons is selected (in the Operations Preferences), you can record enable (latch) additional audio tracks by clicking their Record buttons. Previously record-enabled tracks remain record-enabled.

When Latch Record Enable Buttons is deselected, record-enabling a subsequent audio track takes the previously record-enabled track out of record-enabled mode.

✽ When the option for Latch Record Enable

Buttons is deselected, you can still Shift-click the Record buttons on multiple audio tracks to record enable them.

Record Safe Mode

When tracks are in Record Safe mode, it is not possible to record enable them, and therefore not possible to record to them. Use Record Safe mode to protect important track recordings.

To put an audio or MIDI track in Record Safe mode:

■ Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-

click (Windows) the track’s Record button.

Command-click (Macintosh) or Controlclick (Windows) again to take the track out of Record Safe mode.

To put all tracks in Record Safe mode:

■ Command-Option-click (Macintosh) or

Control-Alt-click (Windows) the Record button on any track.

Command-Option-click (Macintosh) or Control-Alt-click (Windows) again to take all tracks out of Record Safe mode.

To put all currently selected tracks into Record Safe mode:

■ Command-Option-Shift-click (Mac-

intosh) or Control-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) the Record button on any of the selected tracks to toggle them in and out of Record Safe mode.

Monitoring Modes

Pro Tools offers two modes of input monitoring, Auto Input Monitoring or Input Only Monitoring (chosen from the Operations menu), which determine how input signals are monitored while recording audio.

Auto Input Monitoring

In this mode, when session playback is stopped, Pro Tools monitors audio input. When playback is started for a punch-in, Pro Tools monitors existing track material up until the punch point. While punched in, the input signal is monitored. On punch-out, monitoring switches back to the existing track material. This is similar to the auto-switching logic found on digital and analog multitrack tape machines.

▲ When using Auto Input Monitoring, the

switch back to monitoring track material on punch-out is not instantaneous. To get instantaneous monitor switching on punch-out, use QuickPunch (see “Using QuickPunch” on page 113).

Chapter 8: Record Setup 75

Input Only Monitoring

In this mode, when a track is record-enabled, Pro Tools monitors audio input only, regardless of any punch in/out selection.

Monitor Levels for Record and Playback

Pro Tools allows you to set two different fader levels for each audio track: one for when the track is record-enabled, and one for when it is not record-enabled. This lets you adjust levels for playback and configure a different set of levels for monitoring while recording.

Pro Tools remembers these two states for fader levels automatically. If you adjust a fader when a track is record-enabled and then take the track out of record-enabled mode, the fader updates accordingly.

When audio tracks are record-enabled, their volume faders in the Mix window turn red, indicating that the record monitor level is active.

Monitoring Latency

(Pro Tools LE Only)

Because Pro Tools LE uses the host processor in your computer for audio processing, playback, and recording, there is a small amount of audio delay, or latency, in the system. This latency amount is related to the Hardware Buffer Size—the larger the buffer size, the larger the latency.

While there may be times when you want a larger Buffer Size, for the sake of higher track counts with more Plug-Ins, you’ll generally want a smaller Buffer Size when recording audio that is monitored through your Digi 001 or Audiomedia III.

If you are monitoring the audio material you’re recording with an external mixer, you will not hear any latency.

To set the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setups > Hardware. 2 Choose the number of samples from the

Hardware Buffer Size pop-up.

Hardware Buffer Size

3 Click OK.

▲ Computers with slower CPUs may not be

able to use the 128 Buffer Size without encountering performance errors.

Pro Tools Reference Guide76

▲ If have a SampleCell II Plus card, a buffer

size of 128 should not be used when running the SampleCell Editor at the same time as Pro Tools LE. Use a larger buffer setting to avoid performance errors.

The following table lists the amount of monitoring latency (in ms) you can expect from the four Buffer Sizes.

Sample rate (kHz)

44.1

How Hardware Buffer settings affect latency

Buffer

Size

(samples)

128 2.9 recording drums and

256 5.8 recording vocals and

512 11.6 mixing with 24

1024 23.2 ﬁnal mixdown or

128 2.7 recording drums and

256 5.3 recording vocals and

512 10.7 mixing with 24

1024 21.3 ﬁnal mixdown or

Latency Amount

(ms)

Use for:

other timing-critical instruments

instruments with slower attacks (bass, guitar, etc.)

tracks

many plug-ins

other timing-critical instruments

instruments with slower attacks (bass, guitar, etc.)

tracks

many plug-ins

Low Latency Monitoring

(Pro Tools LE Only)

You can reduce the amount of monitoring latency for Pro Tools LE systems by reducing the Hardware Buffer Size. However, even at the smallest Buffer Size, there is still some latency. In addition, reducing the Buffer Size limits the number of simultaneous audio tracks you can record without encountering performance errors.

Digi 001 and Audiomedia III systems can use the Low Latency Monitoring option to record with an extremely small amount of monitoring latency, to as many tracks as each system supports.

To use Low Latency Monitoring:

1 Record enable the desired audio tracks

(or Auxiliary Inputs) by clicking their Record buttons. Only tracks with inputs set to an audio interface (not a bus) use Low Latency Monitoring.

2 From the Output Selector, assign each

track to either Output 1 or Output 2. Only tracks assigned to these outputs use Low Latency Monitoring.

3 Select Operations > Low Latency Moni-

toring.

When Low Latency Monitoring is enabled, any plug-ins and sends assigned to recordenabled tracks (routed to Outputs 1–2) are automatically bypassed, and must remain bypassed. Also, these tracks will not register on meters for Master Faders.

Chapter 8: Record Setup 77

Low Latency Monitoring and Bounce To Disk

With Low Latency Monitoring Enabled, only audio tracks are included with the Bounce To Disk command—Auxiliary Input tracks are ignored.

✽ To switch tracks in the Track Name/Com-

ments dialog, you can also press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use the Up/Down Arrows.

4 When you are ﬁnished, click OK.

To record Auxiliary Inputs with Low Latency Monitoring enabled, you must record the material in real time.

Track Names

When creating new audio and MIDI tracks, Pro Tools names them as either “Audio” or “MIDI” and numbers them consecutively. For instance, when you create 2 new audio tracks, their default names are “Audio 1” and “Audio 2.” You can rename tracks and also log comments for each track.

To rename a track:

1 In the Edit or Mix window, double-click

the Track Name.

2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog,

type a new track name.

Default Names for Audio Files and Regions

When recording to an audio track, the resulting ﬁle and region names are based on the name of the track. For instance, after recording for the ﬁrst time on a track called “Electric Gtr,” an audio ﬁle is written to your hard drive with the name “Electric Gtr-01.” In addition, a region appears in the Audio Regions List with the name “Electric Gtr-01-00.”

Subsequent record takes on the same track are named identically but with the first set of digits (indicating the take number) incremented. The second set of digits is only used for region naming and indicate a region auto-created from an edit.

☞ The QuickPunch record mode uses a slightly

different method for numbering regions. For details, see “Region and Take Numbering with QuickPunch” on page 116.

Track Name/Comments dialog

3 If desired, type comments for the track in

the Comments text box. Click Previous or Next to rename another displayed track.

Pro Tools Reference Guide78

When recording MIDI tracks, a similar naming scheme is used, though with only one set of digits. For instance, after recording to a track called “Synth 1,” a region is created called “Synth 1-01.” Subsequent regions for that track, generating either from additional record takes or region edits, are numbered sequentially.

Recording to Multiple Hard Drives

To increase system performance, Pro Tools lets you record each track to different hard drive.

Since Pro Tools III systems use a Disk I/O card for SCSI connections, it may not be necessary to allocate tracks to multiple drives. However, using Round Robin Allocation can minimize the performance burden on a single drive.

To record to multiple hard drives:

1 Choose Setups > Disk Allocation. 2 In the Disk Allocation dialog, assign a

hard drive for each track by clicking in the Record Drive column.

3 To automatically distribute any newly

created tracks among the drives connected to your system, select “Use Round Robin Allocation for New Tracks.”

If you are using Round Robin Allocation and want audio to be recorded to your system’s startup drive, select Include System Volume (see “Recording to the System Volume” on page 80 for details).

4 When you are ﬁnished, Click OK.

When recording, each track is routed to the selected drive. If Round Robin Allocation is enabled, new tracks are automatically allocated to subsequent hard drives. A folder with the session name is created on each hard drive, containing folders for “Audio Files” and “Fade Files.”

To save Disk Allocation settings for use with future sessions, save the session as a template. For details, see “Creating Custom Session Templates” on page 48.

Disk Allocation dialog

To assign all tracks to the same hard drive, press Option (Macintosh) or Alt (Windows) while selecting a drive name.

Disk Allocation and Cross-Platform Sessions

Pro Tools for Windows supports recording and playback of audio from multiple hard drives, but to ensure cross-platform operation, it also requires that Macintosh Pro Tools sessions and their associated audio files be on Macintosh-formatted (HFS) drives.

Similarly, Windows sessions and their associated audio files must reside on Windowsformatted (FAT16) drives. If you want to share sessions between Windows and Macintosh platforms, consider these restrictions when allocating tracks to drives.

Chapter 8: Record Setup 79

Reallocating Tracks

When opening a session where some of the previously assigned hard drives are no longer available (or don’t match the current session platform), Pro Tools automatically reassigns tracks to the volume where the session file is stored. In such cases, Pro Tools gives you the option of reallocating tracks to other drives.

When this preference is set to Use All Available Space, the drive’s entire available space is allocated. This can slow down the recording process for hard drives that use certain file systems, including HFS+ and NTFS.

In such cases, you can reduce the time it takes to begin recording by allocating only a portion of your hard drive.

Recording to the System Volume

Though Pro Tools will let you record to your system hard drive, this is generally not recommended. Performance for audio recording and playback on system drives is worse than on non-system hard drives.

You should record to system drives only when absolutely necessary—if your computer system has just the one hard drive, or if your other hard drives are completely out of space.

Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording

The Operation Preference for Open Ended Record Allocation determines how much of your available hard drive space is allocated for recording.

To allocate a portion of your hard drive for recording:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click

Operation.

2 Under the Open Ended Record Alloca-

tion option, select Limit To and enter a number of minutes to be allocated.

Open Ended Record Allocation, Operation Preference

The number of minutes specified is allocated for each record-enabled track. You may find it necessary to experiment with this number to achieve the desired performance for recording.

3 When you are ﬁnished, click Done.

Pro Tools Reference Guide80

Record Modes

For recording audio, Pro Tools has four record modes:

• Normal Nondestructive Record

• Destructive Record

• Loop Record

• QuickPunch

ing start and end points in the Transport window. If there is no selection, recording begins from the current cursor location and continues until the Transport’s Stop button is clicked.

▲ To set a record range by selecting within a

track’s playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections must be linked.

To enable Destructive Record, Loop Record, or QuickPunch, select them from the Operations menu. If none of these record modes are selected, Pro Tools is in normal Nondestructive Record mode.

The record mode can also be switched by Control-clicking (Macintosh) or Rightclicking (Windows) the Record button in the Transport window. This cycles through the four modes with the Record button changing to indicate the currently selected mode: blank for Nondestructive, “D” for Destructive, a loop symbol for Loop Record, and “Q” for QuickPunch.

Destructive Record mode enabled

Nondestructive Record Mode

In normal Nondestructive Record mode, Pro Tools records audio non-destructively, which means that if you record over a track’s existing regions, the audio is not erased from your hard drive. Both the new and old audio remain on your hard drive, available as regions from the Audio Regions List.

In Nondestructive Record mode, the record range is defined by selecting a range in the Ruler or in a track’s playlist, or by specify-

The pre/post-roll settings allow material to be heard up to and after the start and end points, which is useful when punch recording (see “Punch Recording Audio” on page 92 for details).

Destructive Record Mode

In Destructive Record mode, recording over existing regions replaces the original audio permanently, which allows you to preserve hard drive space. However, if you have sufﬁcient drive space, it is usually best to use Pro Tools in Nondestructive Record mode, to avoid losing any previously recorded material.

☞ When working in normal Nondestructive

Record mode, you can preserve disk space by removing unwanted record takes (see “Removing Unwanted Regions” on page 198) and compacting audio ﬁles (see “Compacting an Audio File” on page 199).

When defining the record range and setting pre- and post-roll, Destructive Record mode works the same as Nondestructive mode.

Unlike the other record modes, it is not possible to cancel record takes when using Destructive Record mode (see “Canceling a Record Take” on page 88).

Chapter 8: Record Setup 81

Loop Record Mode

Loop Record mode allows you to record take after take (non-destructively) while the same section of audio repeats. This is a convenient technique for quickly recording multiple takes of a part without losing spontaneity.

The time range that is looped and recorded—which must be at least one second in length—is defined by selecting a range in the Ruler or in a track’s playlist, or by specifying start and end points in the Transport window. The pre-roll setting, if enabled, is used during the first record pass, but on each successive loop the pre/postroll times are ignored.

▲ To set a record range by selecting within a

track’s playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections must be linked.

When using Loop Record mode, each successive take appears as a region in the Audio Regions List and each is numbered sequentially. The various takes, which are identical in length and start time, are easily auditioned and placed in the track at the correct location with the Takes List pop-up menu (see “Auditioning Record Takes” on page 94).

QuickPunch

QuickPunch gives you the ability to instantaneously punch in (initiate recording) and punch out (stop recording) on record-enabled audio tracks during playback by clicking the Transport’s Record button. Recording with QuickPunch is nondestructive.

When using QuickPunch, Pro Tools begins recording a new file when playback begins, automatically generating regions in that file at each punch in/out point. Up to 100 of these “running punches” can be performed in a single pass.

Though you can punch record in the other record modes by manually specifying the record range, only QuickPunch provides instantaneous monitor switching on punch-out.

The Record Modes and MIDI

In addition to the four record modes, there is also a MIDI Merge button in the Transport window that determines how MIDI is recorded. When enabled (Merge mode), recording over existing MIDI regions results in the new data being merged with the old. When the MIDI Merge button is disabled (Replace mode), the new material replaces the old.

MIDI Merge button

MIDI Merge enabled

MIDI recording works the same whether using Nondestructive or Destructive Record mode. In addition, QuickPunch does not need to be enabled to punch on the ﬂy with MIDI—this capability is available in Nondestructive and Destructive Record modes.

Unlike audio, MIDI can be loop recorded when Operations > Loop Playback is enabled. In this mode, the state of the MIDI Merge toggle determines whether existing material is replaced or merged.

Pro Tools Reference Guide82

In almost all instances, recording MIDI is destructive (though you can undo a MIDI record pass), either overwriting or adding to region material. One exception to this rule is when Loop Record mode is enabled; in this mode, existing track regions are replaced with new regions when new material is recorded. The old regions remain intact and available from the MIDI Regions List, and from the Takes List pop-up. In Loop Record mode, MIDI Merge has no effect, so its button is dimmed.

To enable the click in the Transport:

1 To view the MIDI controls in the Trans-

port window, select Display > Transport Window Shows > MIDI Controls.

Transport Window with MIDI Controls

2 In the Transport window, click the Click

button so it becomes highlighted.

Click button

Recording with the Click

If you intend to work with MIDI tracks in your session, or if the audio you’re working with is bar- and beat-oriented, you may record your tracks while listening to the click. This ensures that recorded material, both MIDI and audio, will align with the session’s bar and beat boundaries.

When your track material lines up with the beats, you can take advantage of some useful editing functions in Pro Tools, such as quantizing MIDI and audio regions, quantizing individual MIDI notes, and copying and pasting measures and song sections in Grid mode.

☞ Material that is recorded without listening to

the click can still be aligned to bar and beat boundaries in Pro Tools with the Identify Beat command. For details, see “Identify Beat Command” on page 230.

Click enabled

3 To use a countoff when recording or play-

ing, click the Countoff button in the Transport window so it too becomes highlighted.

Countoff button

Countoff enabled

Hearing the countoff before recording is helpful in getting the feel for the tempo before you begin playing. The Countoff button in the Transport window displays the number of bars to be counted off.

▲ The countoff is ignored when Pro Tools is

Online and syncing to SMPTE time code.

Chapter 8: Record Setup 83

To conﬁgure the click options:

1 Choose MIDI > Click Options.

– or –

Double-click the Click or Countoff button in the Transport window.

2 In the Click/Countoff Options dialog,

choose from the Output pop-up the port number (device) and channel that will play the click.

Click/Countoff Options dialog

3 For the accented and unaccented notes,

specify the note, velocity, and duration.

When listening to the click in your Pro Tools sessions, the accented note sounds on the first beat of each measure and the unaccented note sounds on the remaining beats. Make sure the sound assigned to these notes has a sharp, percussive attack.

4 Select whether the click is heard “During

play and record” or “Only during record.”

5 If using a countoff, specify the number of

Bars to be counted off. To hear the countoff only when recording, select that option.

6 Click OK.

Setting the Default Meter

When opening a new session in Pro Tools, the meter defaults to 4/4. If you intend to record with the click and are working with a different meter, make sure to set the default meter accordingly.

If a session’s meter does not match the music you’re recording, the accented clicks will not line up with what you’re playing, and, as a result, the recorded material may not align with the bars and beats in the Edit window.

Meter events, which can occur anywhere within a Pro Tools session, are stored in the Meter Track and appear in the Meter Ruler. Inserting and editing for meter events is discussed in “Meter Events” on page 233.

To set the default meter for a session:

1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.

– or –

Double-click the Meter button in the Transport window.

Meter button

Pro Tools Reference Guide84

2 Enter the Meter you will use for the ses-

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

Tempo/Meter Change window

3 Choose a note value for the number of

clicks to sound in each measure.

4 Click Apply to insert the new meter

event.

Setting the Default Tempo

When opening a new session in Pro Tools, the tempo defaults to 120 BPM. If you intend to record with the click and are working with a different tempo, make sure to set the default tempo accordingly. If you know the tempo you will use for the session, you can insert a tempo event at the beginning of the Tempo Track.

Tempo events, which can occur anywhere within a Pro Tools session, are stored in the Tempo Track and appear in the Tempo Ruler. Inserting and editing for tempo events is discussed in greater detail in “Tempo Events” on page 227.

To insert a default tempo event:

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

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

Tempo/Meter Change window

3 Enter the BPM value you will use for the

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

4 To base the BPM value on something

other than the default quarter-note, select the desired note value.

5 Click Apply to insert the new tempo

event.

See “Default Tempo” on page 230 for more information on the default tempo.

Using Manual Tempo Mode

In Manual Tempo mode, Pro Tools ignores the tempo events in the Tempo Track and instead plays back at the tempo displayed in the Transport window. The manual tempo can be set with the Tempo slider, or, if you’re not sure of the actual tempo, by tapping in the tempo.

Chapter 8: Record Setup 85

▲ While you can adjust the Manual Tempo dur-

ing playback, doing so will momentarily interrupt playback.

To set the manual tempo with the Tempo slider:

1 To view the MIDI controls in the Trans-

port window, select Display > Transport Window Shows > MIDI Controls.

2 In the Transport window, click the Con-

ductor button so it becomes unhighlighted.

To set the manual tempo with the Tap button:

1 To view the MIDI controls in the Trans-

port window, select Display > Transport Window Shows > MIDI Controls.

2 In the Transport window, click the Con-

ductor button so it becomes unhighlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in the Tempo Track are ignored.

3 Click the Tap button repeatedly at the de-

sired tempo.

Conductor button

Manual Tempo mode enabled

Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo mode. In this mode, any tempo events in the Tempo Track are ignored.

3 To enter a new tempo, drag the horizon-

tal Tempo slider in the Transport window.

Tempo slider

For finer resolution with the Tempo slider, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) while dragging.

4 To base the BPM value on something

other than the default quarter-note, make the change in the Beat Value pop-up menu (just to the left of the Tap button).

5 To exit Manual Tempo mode and enable

the Tempo Track, click the Conductor button in the Transport window so it becomes highlighted.

Tap button

– or –

Click in the Tempo field so it becomes highlighted and tap in the tempo by playing a note on your MIDI keyboard controller.

To compute the new tempo, Pro Tools requires at least four taps (each of which is displayed in the Tap area when received). The computed BPM value appears in the Transport’s Tempo field.

Tempo Taps as reﬂected in Transport

To lock in the new tempo, take Pro Tools out of Manual Tempo mode by clicking the Conductor button, then insert a tempo event (with the new tempo) at the beginning of the Tempo Track.

Pro Tools Reference Guide86

chapter 9

Basic Audio Recording

Recording a Single Audio Track

When recording from a mono source, record to a single audio track in Pro Tools.

To conﬁgure a new audio track for recording:

1 Connect a mono sound source to the ap-

propriate input of your audio hardware.

2 From the Session Setup window, select

the sample rate for your session.

If using inputs 1 or 2 of an audio interface, make sure to specify the format (analog or digital) in the pop-up menu for Ch 1–2.

3 Choose File > New Track and specify 1

Audio Track, then click Create.

4 Rename the new track as desired. Track

names are used to auto-name recorded audio ﬁles and regions. For more information, see “Track Names” on page 78.

5 In the Mix Window, click the audio

track’s Record button to record enable the track.

Volume faders for record-enabled audio tracks turn red to indicate they are functioning as record monitor levels.

6 In the Mix window, click on the track’s

Input Selector and assign a hardware input.

New Track dialog

✽ To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the

New Track dialog, press Command (Macintosh) or Control (Windows) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys.

Input Selector

7 Adjust the output level of your sound

source (instrument, mixer, or preamp). Monitor the track’s meter levels in Pro Tools to ensure that you get the highest possible signal without clipping.

8 In the Mix window, adjust the track’s vol-

ume and pan faders as desired. These settings are for monitoring purposes only and do not affect the recorded material.

Chapter 9: Basic Audio Recording 87

To record to the new audio track:

1 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive

Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect Destructive Record, Loop Record, and QuickPunch.

2 If desired, enable the click and countoff

in the Transport window. Also, make sure to specify the session’s default meter and tempo. For details, see “Recording with the Click” on page 83.

3 In the Transport window, click Return to

Zero so the start/end times are cleared. This ensures that you’ll start recording from the beginning of the track.

4 Click Record in the Transport window.

The Record button ﬂashes.

3 Click Play in the Transport window to be-

gin playback. Adjust the track’s volume and pan faders as necessary.

Record Shortcuts

You can also begin recording with the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Press F12

• Press Command+Spacebar

• Press 3 on the Numeric Keypad (when the Numeric Keypad Mode is set to Transport)

✽ To initiate recording at half-speed, press

Command+Shift+Spacebar (Macintosh) or Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows). For details, see “Half-Speed Recording and Playback” on page 118.

Record button

5 When you are ready to begin recording,

click Play. If using a countoff, Pro Tools counts off the speciﬁed number of measures and then begins recording.

6 When you have ﬁnished recording, click

Stop in the Transport window.

The newly recorded audio is written to disk and appears as an audio region in the track’s playlist. The new audio region also appears in the Audio Regions List.

To play back the new audio track:

1 Click the Record button for the audio

track to take it out of record-enabled mode. The track’s volume fader now functions as a playback level control.

2 In the Transport window, click Return to

Zero.

Pro Tools Reference Guide88

Canceling a Record Take

While recording it is possible to discard the current record take. This removes the audio (recorded up to that point) from your hard drive and deletes the region from the track’s playlist. This capability is not available in Destructive Record mode.

To cancel a record take while recording:

■ Press Command+period (Macintosh) or

Control+period (Windows) before the Transport is stopped.

If using Loop Record mode, all takes from each record pass are discarded.

☞ Unlike audio recording, MIDI recordings can

be undone after stopping the Transport. For details, see “Undo and MIDI Recording” on page 107.

Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools - 5.0.1 Reference Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Introduction

Conventions Used in These Guides

Compatibility Information

Choose and Select

Digidesign Registration

TDM-equipped systems

Supported Audio Interfaces

TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits

Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems

Hard Disk Recording

The Digidesign Audio Engine

Elements of a Session

Region

Session File

Audio File

Playlist

Track

Voice

Channel

MIDI Concepts

Playback Engine

MIDI Terms

Common Misconceptions about MIDI

Virtual Tracks

The Mix Window

The Show/Hide Tracks List

About Groups and Show/Hide Tracks

The Mix Groups List

An Audio Track/Channel Strip

A MIDI Track/Channel Strip

Mix Window Track Controls

Record Enable button

Solo button

Mute Button

Automation Mode Selector

Voice Selector

Input/Output View

Input Selector

Output Selector

MIDI Device/Channel Selector

Default Program Button

Pan Indicator

Level/Peak/Channel Delay Indicator

Pan Slider

Track Level Fader

Track Level Meter

Insert Controls

Track Name

Send Controls

Edit Window Track Controls

Record Enable button

Automation Mode Selector

Mute button

Voice Selector

Solo button

Track Comments View

The Edit Window

Playlist Selector

Track Display Format Selector

Track Height Selector

Track Name

Edit Modes, Commands Key Focus, and Linked Selections

Zoom Buttons

Edit Tools

Using the Smart Tool

The Smart Tool in Waveform View

The Smart Tool in Notes View

The Smart Tool in Automation and Controller Views

Event Edit Area

Location Indicators, Grid/Nudge Values, Current Cursor Display

The Edit Groups List

Audio Regions List and Pop-up Menu

MIDI Regions List and Pop-up Menu

The Transport Window

MIDI Controls

Keyboard Focus