Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools - 5.0.1 Reference Guide

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

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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

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Chapter 4. Pro Tools Windows

The Mix Window The Edit Window The Transport Window Keyboard Focus

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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

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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

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Pro Tools Reference Guide

Chapter 7. File Management and Compatibility

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

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Part III Recording

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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

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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

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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

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Chapter 11. Advanced Recording

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

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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

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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

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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

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Contents

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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

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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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

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