® Avid Recording Studio User Guide Version 8.0.
Legal Notices This guide is copyrighted ©2010 by Avid Technology, Inc., with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid Technology, Inc. Avid, Pro Tools, Pro Tools SE, M-Audio and Fast Track are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
contents Chapter 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Recording Studio Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Hardware Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 5. Using Recording Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Launching Pro Tools SE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Recording Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Adjusting the Output Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
chapter 1 Introduction Welcome to Avid® Recording Studio. Recording Studio turns your Mac or PC into a complete music production environment, by combining a low-latency M-Audio® Fast Track® audio interface and Pro Tools® SE from Avid®. Recording Studio Features M-Audio Fast Track Audio Interface • Low latency performance Pro Tools is the industry standard platform in music production software that is used in top recording facilities around the world.
System Requirements Minimum System Requirements can be found on the Avid website at www.avid.com/support. A qualified version of Adobe® Flash® Player is required. Hardware Registration Please register your product online at www.avid.com/support. By doing so, you become eligible to receive the following: • Technical support information • Software update and upgrade notices • Hardware warranty information Pro Tools SE Guide Set Complete documentation can be accessed via the Help Menu.
chapter 2 Controls and Connectors Front Panel 1 2 3 4 3 5 6 7 1 Phantom Power Indicator (48V) This LED il- 4 Guitar Input This 1/4-inch jack lets you con- luminates when Phantom Power switched on. nect an electric guitar, bass, or other instrument. Although phantom power can be used safely with most microphones, it may damage some ribbon microphones. Always turn off phantom power and wait at least ten seconds before connecting a ribbon microphone.
Back Panel 8 9 10 8 Line Outputs These line level RCA outputs 10 48V Phantom Power Switch When this (left and right) allow you to connect Fast Track to a pair of powered studio monitors, a mixer, or stereo amplifier. The volume level for these outputs is controlled by the top-panel Output knob. switch is in the “on” position, 48V phantom power is sent to the XLR Microphone input. This is used with condenser microphones requiring external power.
Top Panel Mic Gain Guitar Gain 11 12 Output 13 11 Microphone Gain Knob This knob controls 13 Output Knob This knob controls the volume the volume for the Microphone input when setting recording levels. for the front-panel Headphone output and backpanel Line outputs. 12 Guitar Gain Knob This knob controls the vol- ume for the Guitar/Line input when setting recording levels. For more information, refer to Chapter 5, “Using Recording Studio.
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chapter 3 Installing Recording Studio This chapter shows you how to install Recording Studio on Mac OS X and Windows. 3 When the disc opens, double-click the in- staller icon to launch the installation. Installation Overview The Recording Studio installation includes the following steps: 1 Installing Pro Tools SE. 2 Installing M-Audio Fast Track driver. 3 Connecting M-Audio Fast Track. Recording Studio Installer Icon 4 Software configuration.
5 When the following screen appears, click “Continue” and follow the on-screen instructions. Windows The Pro Tools SE DVD runs a two-stage installation process. Stage 1 installs Pro Tool SE, and Stage 2 installs the Fast Track Driver. It is important to carefully read and follow all on-screen instructions. To Install Recording Studio: 1 Make sure Fast Track is not connected to your computer.
4 When the following screen appears, choose 8 Click “Finish” once the software has been in- the picture of Fast Track, and follow the onscreen instructions to install the Fast Track driver. stalled. If the Found New Hardware Wizard reappears, repeat steps 8 through 10. If the Windows Logo Testing or “trusted application dialog appears, Click “Continue Anyway” (Windows XP) or “Install” (Windows 7).
8 In the Pro Tools MP3 Export Option dialog, deselect the Use my iLok Smart Key option, then click Next. Back Panel Connect your powered monitors, stereo power amp, or mixer to the Line outputs. 9 When prompted, enter your Pro Tools MP3 Export Option serial code (authorization code). 10 Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the authorization process.
2 When the Pro Tools SE Quick Start dialog ap- pears, select the Demo Songs button. This important information covers both Mac OS X and Windows systems, and includes tips on hard drive configuration and maintenance. We strongly recommend reading these chapters to ensure the best performance from your Pro Tools SE system. Pro Tools SE Quick Start Dialog - Demo Songs 3 From the list of music styles, select the cate- gory you want (or select an item from a submenu).
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chapter 4 The Software Control Panel The Software Control Panel lets you to adjust various system settings for Mac OS X and Windows. Latency Tab (Windows) The Control Panel is divided into separate pages, each accessible by clicking on the corresponding tab. The Control Panel will not be available unless the Fast Track driver is installed, and will be blank unless the interface is connected to your computer.
Refer to the Pro Tools SE User Guide for more information about setting the buffer size and other important settings when configuring Pro Tools SE. Performance Tab (Mac OS X) Mac OS X In Mac OS X, the buffer size is adjusted within Pro Tools SE by choosing the File Menu > Preferences to open the Preferences dialog, and then choose the Audio page. This lets you choose one of the two radio buttons in the lower half of the dialog.
chapter 5 Using Recording Studio Launching Pro Tools SE The first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is working with a session. Pro Tools provides a Quick Start dialog on launch that lets you quickly and easily work with session templates, listen to demo songs and view tutorials. • Open any other session on your system. • Open and view tutorials. The Pro Tools SE tutorials can be accessed via the Help menu at any time.
Recording Audio Tracks This section shows you how to record audio tracks in Pro Tools SE. 4 Sing, or play your instrument at the loudest level you expect to reach during your recording while slowly increasing the appropriate input gain until the red clip indicator begins to illuminate. To record using an audio track: 5 While continuing to sing or play, turn the 1 If you are going to record using a microphone, knob counter-clockwise until the clip indicator no longer illuminates.
9 Switch the track to record mode by clicking its Record Enable button. 15 Click the Mute button for the track, so that you can hear your recording during playback. Do not forget to save your work. Adjusting the Output Level Track Record Enable Button and Fader in Record Mode 10 Continue singing or playing, and if the level meter for the track is in the red, lower the recording level using the appropriate Gain knob.
Direct Monitoring Sample Rate and Bit Depth When recording an audio signal, there is often a slight delay before it reaches the outputs of Pro Tools SE and Fast Track. This delay, called latency, is caused by the computer processing required to convert and record audio. Since this delay can be distracting, Fast Track provides a direct monitoring path from the inputs to the outputs, which is activated by pressing the Direct Monitor button. Fast Track can operate at two sample rates (44.
Opening a Recent Session To open a recent session: 1 Launch Pro Tools SE. 2 When the Pro Tools SE Quick Start dialog ap- pears click the Open Session button. Pro Tools SE Quick Start Dialog - Open Session 3 From the list of recent session templates, se- lect the one you want. (Or, select Open Other... to select other recent sessions.) 4 Click to open the session.
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appendix a Additional Information and Support Pro Tools SE Before Updating Your System Complete documentation for Pro Tools SE can be found in the Pro Tools SE Help menu. Please check www.avid/support for a compatible driver before installing Apple or Microsoft operating system updates.
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appendix b Compliance Information Environmental Compliance Disposal of Waste Equipment by Users in the European Union Proposition 65 Warning This product contains chemicals, including lead, known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling. Perchlorate Notice This product may contain a lithium coin battery.
EMC (Electromagnetic Compliance) Australian Compliance Avid declares that this product complies with the following standards regulating emissions and immunity: • FCC Part 15 Class A • EN55022 Class A • EN55024 • AS/NZS CISPR 22 Class A • CISPR 22 Class A Canadian Compliance FCC Compliance for United States This Class A digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003 Radio and Television Interference This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, purs
Important Safety Instructions 1) Read these instructions. 12) For products that are not rack-mountable: Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the equipment. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/equipment combination to avoid injury from tip-over. 2) Keep these instructions. 3) Heed all warnings. 4) Follow all instructions. 5) Do not use this equipment near water. 6) Clean only with dry cloth.
Avid Technical Support (USA) Product Information 5795 Martin Road Irwindale, CA 91706-6211 USA Visit the Online Support Center at www.avid.com/support For company and product information, visit us on the web at www.avid.
