® Pro Tools Reference Guide Version 10.
Legal Notices This guide is copyrighted ©2012 by Avid Technology, Inc., (hereafter “Avid”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid.
Contents Part I Introduction to Pro Tools Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Pro Tools Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Conventions Used in Pro Tools Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 System Requirements and Compatibility Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 4. Using Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Accessing the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Help Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Using the Contents and Index Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 7. I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Pro Tools Signal Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 I/O Setup Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 I/O Setup Signal Path Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 10. Configuring MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 MIDI Studio Setup (Mac) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 MIDI Studio Setup (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Part III Sessions & Tracks Chapter 11. Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 13. Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Track Channel Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Track Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 16. DigiBase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 DigiBase Data Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Performance and Transfer Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 17. Importing and Exporting Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Importing and Exporting Data to and from a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 Audio Conversion on Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 Importing Files with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part IV Playback and Recording Chapter 19. Playing Back Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414 Setting the Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 Scrolling Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Half-Speed Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 Chapter 22. MIDI Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Recording from MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Enabling Input Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part V Editing Chapter 24. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518 Audio Clips and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 MIDI Clips and MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 26. Making Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565 Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566 Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 29. Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 Working with Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632 Playlists View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part VI MIDI Chapter 31. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 Setting the Grid Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677 Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 33. Score Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 Opening the Score Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 Default Note Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part VII Arranging Chapter 35. Time, Tempo, Meter, Key, and Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 Timebase Rulers and Conductor Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 Main Time Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766 The Sub Counter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 37. Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819 Placing Clips in Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819 Working with Multiple Items from the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820 Placing Clips at the Edit Insertion Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part VIII Processing Chapter 39. AudioSuite Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859 AudioSuite Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859 AudioSuite Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860 AudioSuite Window Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quantizing Elastic Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915 Quantizing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 916 Quantizing Mixed Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 917 Restore Performance Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Signal Routing for Monitoring and Submixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 964 Delay Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971 Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 979 Using an Ethernet Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deleting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1044 Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045 Drawing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1046 Editing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 47. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109 Multichannel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109 Multichannel Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1112 Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capturing Timecode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159 Auto-Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1160 Using the Trim Tools in Spot Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1160 Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Video Import Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1201 Extracting Audio from QuickTime and Windows Media Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1202 Video Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1203 General Video Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Part I: Introduction to Pro Tools
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools Welcome to Pro Tools®, brought to you by Avid® Technology. Pro Tools integrates powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI sequencing features, giving you everything you need to record, arrange, compose, edit, mix, and master professional quality audio and MIDI for music, video, film, and multimedia. Launching Pro Tools Help Pro Tools Help provides quick access to workflows and reference information while Pro Tools is open.
Accessing Pro Tools Guides in the Documentation Folder D-Control Guide Supports D-Control™ worksurface for Avid ICON systems. PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of many Pro Tools guides are installed with Pro Tools. They are accessible from the Pro Tools Documentation folder. Pro Tools EUCON Guide Provides information about setting up Pro Tools for use with EuControl software and a EUCON™-compatible controller.
HD Native Install Guide Provides hardware installation instructions for HD Native PCIe hardware. HD Native Thunderbolt Guide Provides hardware installation instructions for HD Native Thunderbolt hardware. HD OMNI Guide Provides a hardware overview, as well as detailed information for installing and configuring an HD OMNI audio interface for standalone use and for use with HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native hardware. HD User Guide Provides hardware installation in- structions for Pro Tools|HD hardware.
Pro Tools Intro To Pro Tools Provides several introductory tutorials for using Pro Tools. Pro Tools Installation Guide Provides detailed in- formation for installing and authorizing Pro Tools software, as well as information for optimizing your operating system for Pro Tools. Pro Tools Reference Guide Explains Pro Tools systems and software in detail. Video Satellite Guide Provides detailed information for authorizing and using the Video Satellite software option.
Conventions Used in Pro Tools Documentation System Requirements and Compatibility Information Pro Tools documentation uses the following conventions to indicate menu choices, keyboard commands, and mouse commands: Avid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested and approved.
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Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts Before you begin to use Pro Tools, you may find it helpful to review Pro Tools concepts. These concepts are the foundation of Pro Tools operation and functionality. Hard Disk Audio Recording Hard disk recording is a nonlinear (or random access) medium—you can go immediately to any spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast forward.
DAE DAE, the Pro Tools audio engine, is a real-time operating system for digital audio recording, playback, and processing. 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 the foundation for much of the hard disk recording, digital signal processing, and mix automation required by Pro Tools and other products from Avid and its Development Partners.
Core Audio Apple’s Core Audio provides audio stream connectivity between software applications and audio hardware on Mac OS X. Pro Tools software can use audio interfaces with supported Core Audio drivers for playback and recording with up to 32 channels of I/O. MIDI signal flow ASIO Steinberg’s Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) provides audio stream connectivity between software applications and audio hardware on Windows.
MIDI Controller Any MIDI device that transmits MIDI performance data. These include MIDI keyboards, MIDI guitar controllers, MIDI wind controllers, and others. Controllers transmit MIDI from their MIDI OUT ports. MIDI Control Surface Any device (such as Command|8), which uses a MIDI connection to send control messages to a software program, but is not generally used to record MIDI information.
synthesizer or sampler), another external MIDI instrument, or an instrument plug-in within Pro Tools. In order to play and hear a MIDI recording, you must have a MIDI instrument. Audio from an external MIDI instrument can be sent to an external mixer or monitored through your Pro Tools audio interface (using either an Instrument track or Auxiliary track). If you are using an external MIDI instrument, it must be connected to MIDI ports that are recognized by your computer.
Surround Sound Pro Tools Sessions Surround sound simply means having one or more speakers with discrete audio signals (channels) placed behind the listener in addition to the typical stereo pair. When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create a session. It can be helpful to understand the basic elements of a session. There are multiple types of surround formats in use (from three-channel LCR to 7.1, which has eight channels). The most common surround format is 5.
Tracks Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, video, and automation data are recorded and edited. Pro Tools tracks also provide audio channels for routing internal busses, and physical inputs and outputs for audio and MIDI. Pro Tools provides multiple types of tracks: audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master, MIDI, Instrument, video, and click.
Typically, each audio channel for each track in your Pro Tools session uses a single voice. So, for a mono audio track, a single voice is used; for a stereo audio track, two voices are used. When using Punch Recording, two voices are needed for every single audio channel (one for playback and one for recording on punch in and out). In some situations, with Avid HDX and Pro Tools|HD systems, more than one voice may be necessary for a single channel (such as when using host processing on a DSP or TDM bus).
Clip Playlist A clip is a segment of audio, MIDI, or video data. A clip could be a drum loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a song, a recording take, a sound effect, some dialog, or an entire sound file. Clips are especially useful for arranging audio and MIDI. A clip can also have associated automation data. In Pro Tools, clips are created from audio files or MIDI data, and can be arranged in audio and MIDI track playlists. Clips can also be grouped (a “clip of clips”) and looped (repeated).
Each audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, Master Fader, and VCA track also has a single set of automation playlists. Automation playlists can include volume, pan, mute, and each automation-enabled control for the insert and send assignments on that track. MIDI controller data on Instrument and MIDI tracks is always included as part of the track playlist. Channel The term channel is used to describe several related components of a Pro Tools system.
Signal Routing Signal Routing Options Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and signal routing controls for audio and MIDI. These controls are located in the Mix window. Some of these controls can also be accessed from the Edit window. A common audio signal routing task is to submix multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an Auxiliary Input) for shared processing and level control. The following example shows two audio tracks submixed to a stereo Auxiliary Input.
Plug-In and Hardware Inserts Plug-in processing occurs completely within the Pro Tools system. Hardware inserts use audio interface inputs and outputs for traditional insert routing to and from external effects and other devices. MIDI and VCA Master tracks do not have inserts. Instrument Plug-Ins Instrument plug-ins are different from processing plug-ins in that they generate audio rather than process the audio signal from a track’s audio input or from hard disk.
Tick-Based Audio and MIDI Tick-based audio is fixed to a Bars|Beat location, and moves relative to the sample Timeline when tempo and meter changes occur. However, MIDI events and tick-based audio respond differently to tempo changes with respect to duration. MIDI note events change length when tempo or meter is adjusted, while audio clips do not (unless Elastic Audio is enabled).
within the session. See “Active and Inactive Items” on page 22. All Pro Tools systems provide flexible voice options for audio tracks, to help maximize use of available voices in your system. For more information on voice management and options, see “Voice Borrowing” on page 248. Active and Inactive Items Pro Tools lets you make certain items (such as tracks and inserts) inactive, in order to free up DSP resources and mixer connections.
Display of Inactive Items Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode When items are inactive, their names appear in italics, and their background becomes dark gray. When a track is inactive, the entire channel strip is grayed out. Active and Inactive modes are powerful options for session transfer and system resource management. Pro Tools provides automatic and manual Inactive mode switching. You can manually make items inactive (or active) to selectively manage system resources while editing and mixing.
DigiBase AAF, MXF, and OMF DigiBase is a database management tool for Pro Tools. DigiBase expands upon basic Pro Tools search and import capabilities by providing powerful tools to manage your data both inside and outside of your sessions, on any hard drive connected to the system. Pro Tools lets you exchange audio, video, and sequences with other AAF-, MXF-, and OMF-compatible applications (such as Avid editors).
Metadata Metadata is used to describe the following: • Information embedded in a media file. This may include scene, take, sample rate, bit depth, external clip names, the name of the videotape from which the media file was captured, and even timecode values. • Information embedded in Pro Tools sessions or other sequences, including what files are used, where they appear in a timeline, and automation.
MXF Pro Tools and Avid Terminology MXF is a media file format. There are MXF video files and MXF audio files, but there are no MXF sequences. An AAF sequence may refer to or include MXF media files, but OMF sequences cannot refer to or include MXF files. Pro Tools and Avid use different terms to describe the same items. For example, a Pro Tools session is equivalent to an Avid sequence. The following table lists common Pro Tools elements and their Avid equivalents.
Embedded Media and Linked Media There are two types of AAF and OMF files: ones with embedded media, and ones with linked media. Embedded Media Exporting to AAF or OMF with embedded media results in one large AAF or OMF file containing both the metadata and all associated media files. When working with OMF embedded media or creating AAF embedded audio, Pro Tools limits file size to 2 GB.
Linked Media Exporting AAF or OMF with linked media results in a single metadata file (.AAF or .OMF) and all associated media stored as separate files. The main benefit to this approach is that fewer copies of media files may need to be made, so the export and import process can be much faster. Using this approach, it is less likely that you will encounter any file size limitations since the data is broken up into many smaller files.
Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts For increased operational speed and ease of use, there are many Pro Tools® keyboard and Right-click shortcuts. A full list of Pro Tools shortcuts is available in online Help and in a PDF guide. To access the full list of Pro Tools shortcuts in online Help: 1 Choose Help > Pro Tools Help. 2 Click Pro Tools Shortcuts on the Contents page (in the left pane of Help).
List and Parameter Selection There are three types of Keyboard Focus: Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the following items: Commands Keyboard Focus When selected in • Selection of tracks in Track List • Enabling of groups in Group List • Automation Enable window parameters • Setting Memory Location parameters Command Windows Mac Toggle item and set all others to same new state Alt-click item Option-click item Toggle item and set all others to opposite state Control-click item Commandcli
To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the following: To enable Toolbar focus for the MIDI Editor pane, do one of the following: Click the a–z button for the focus you want to enable. Click the Toolbar right above the MIDI Editor pane. While pressing Command+Option (Mac) or Control+Alt (Windows), press one of the following keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Clip List), or 3 (Group List). Press Command+Option+5 (Mac) or Control+Alt+5 (Windows).
Shuttle Lock Modes Transport Mode There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and Transport). Both modes let you use the numeric keypad to shuttle forward or backwards at specific speeds. This mode lets you set a number of record and play functions, and also operate the Transport from the numeric keypad. • 5 is normal speed. • 6–9 provide increasingly greater fastforward speeds. • 1–4 provide progressively greater rewind speeds (4 is the slowest, 1 is the fastest).
Shuttle Mode (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, different from that of the two Shuttle Lock modes. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, playback of the current Edit selection is triggered by pressing and holding the keys on the numeric keypad— playback stops once the keys are released. Various playback speeds are available in both forward and reverse. In this mode, pre- and post-roll are ignored.
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Chapter 4: Using Help Pro Tools Help provides quick access to workflows and reference information. Built-in search capabilities and an index are included to better support your Help needs. The Help system is HTML-based and runs on most common web browsers. When running in Pro Tools, it automatically uses the in-application Web browser. You can also run Help from outside Pro Tools, using another browser (such as Safari or Explorer).
Help Display The Help system includes the following display elements: Topics Help topics open in the right pane of the Help viewer. Navigation Tools Contents, Index, and Search tabs open in the left pane of the Help viewer. Hierarchy Links Use these links to verify the location of the currently displayed topic within its chapter and to jump to relevant higher-level topics, including the Main Topic. When you move to a new topic, the contents expands to the level of that topic and highlights the topic.
Using the Search Tab The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the Help system for one or more words and then lists the topics that include those words. The list of results is ranked, placing the topics that the Search feature considers most likely to be relevant at the top of the list. When you search for text, the text string automatically highlights by default. You can turn these highlights off.
Search Guidelines Printing Help Topics Use the following rules for formulating search queries: You can print Help topics if you need to refer to them during a complicated procedure or to use for reference later. • Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type your search in uppercase or lowercase characters. • You can search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9).
Part II: System Configuration
Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems There are four types of Pro Tools systems: Pro Tools Express Pro Tools These systems include Pro Tools Express software with Mbox family audio interfaces (third generation). These systems include Pro Tools software with Avid 003™ or Digi 002® family audio interfaces, Eleven® Rack, Mbox® or Mbox 2 family audio interfaces, or M-Audio hardware.
• Up to 128 Auxiliary Input tracks • Up to 64 Master Fader tracks • Up to 512 MIDI tracks • Up to 64 Instrument tracks Supported Hardware Configurations with Pro Tools Software Pro Tools software supports the following hardware configurations: • A single QuickTime video track • 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz • Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,383 samples at 48 kHz) • Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix automation • Audio processing
Eleven Rack Core Audio Pro Tools software with Eleven Rack hardware provides up to 8 channels of audio input and up to 6 channels of audio output at sample rates up to 88.2 or 96 kHz. An Eleven Rack system includes: Pro Tools software with Core Audio-compatible hardware provides up to 32 channels of audio input and output at sample rates up to 192 kHz depending on your audio interface.
Processing Capacity The total processing capacity of a Pro Tools system depends on the processing power of your computer. Contact your dealer or visit www.avid.com for the latest system requirements and compatibility information. Pro Tools Capabilities with Different Hardware Configurations Pro Tools supports up to 32 channels of audio input and output, but the available input and output capabilities with Pro Tools varies depending on your audio interface.
Audio Recording and Playback Capabilities The number of simultaneous tracks of audio recording or playback depends on your system configuration. A Pro Tools HD system with a single HDX card provides recording and playback of 24-bit or 16-bit audio files with the following voiced track counts: • Up to 256 tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz • Up to 128 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz • Up to 64 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz Each additional HDX card increases the possible track count by the same amount.
Pro Tools|HD systems are available in the following configurations: Pro Tools|HD 1 Pro Tools|HD PCI cards require a PCI to PCIe expansion chassis. For more information, see the Expanded Systems Guide. Includes: Expanded Pro Tools|HD Systems • Accel Core (for PCIe) card or HD Core™ (for PCI) card You can expand your Pro Tools|HD system by adding Pro Tools|HD cards to your computer, either directly in the computer or using an expansion chassis.
For detailed information about installing HD Native PCIe hardware, see the HD Native Installation Guide. For information about installing HD Native Thunderbolt hardware, see the HD Native Thunderbolt Guide.
Maximum I/O Configuration with HDX Maximum I/O Configuration with HD Native HDX supports up to a maximum combination of 12 total of the following audio interfaces: HD Native supports up to a maximum combination of up to 4 total of the following audio interfaces: • HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is supported in a single system) • HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is supported in a single HD Native system) • HD I/O (up to 12 HD I/O interfaces can be used simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards) • HD I/O
Playback, Recording, and Voice Limits with Pro Tools HD The table below lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits with Pro Tools HD software with HDX, Pro Tools|HD, HD Native, Core Audio, and ASIO hardware (including Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit). Playback and recording voices refers to the number of unique simultaneous playback and record tracks on your system.
Pro Tools HD audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration Core System Type Maximum I/O Sample Rate (kHz) Playback and Recording Voices (Mono Tracks of Simultaneous Playback and Recording) Pro Tools|HD 1 32 channels 44.1/48 96 768 88.2/96 48 768 176.4/192 24 768 44.1/48 192 768 88.2/96 96 768 176.4/192 36 768 44.1/48 256 768 88.2/96 128 768 176.4/192 64 768 44.1/48 256 768 88.2/96 128 768 176.
Avid HD Audio Interface Features The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various Avid HD audio interfaces for Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems. Each HDX card in your system supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O. Each Pro Tools|HD card supports a maximum of 32 channels of I/O. HD Native hardware supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O.
HD OMNI Audio Interface HD OMNI is a professional digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems. HD OMNI provides a compact preamp, monitoring, and I/O solution for music production and recording, and post production studios. HD OMNI Features HD OMNI provides up to 8 discrete channels of Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED meters for input or output (selectable).
Synchronization Digital I/O • Loop Sync input and output for connecting additional Pro Tools|HD interfaces and peripherals • Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit digital I/O, using AES/EBU, TDIF DB-25, or Optical at sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192 kHz with a Digital HD I/O card • External Clock input and output for synchronizing HD OMNI with external Word Clock devices For more information, see the HD OMNI Guide.
HD MADI Digital Audio Interface 192 I/O Audio Interface HD MADI is a 64-channel, digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems. HD MADI supports the Multichannel Audio Digital Interface (MADI) format and sample rates of up to 192 kHz. HD MADI provides simplified connectivity between your Avid HD system and MADI-compatible audio equipment. 192 I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems.
192 Digital I/O Audio Interface 96 I/O Audio Interface 192 Digital I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems, and supports sample rates of up to 192 kHz. 96 I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems. 96 I/O features high quality 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters, and supports sample rates of up to 96 kHz.
96i I/O Audio Interface 96i I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface designed for use with Avid HD systems. 96i I/O features high quality 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A) converters, and supports sample rates of up to 96 kHz. 96i I/O Features • Supports sample rates up to 96 kHz • 16 discrete channels of input, and 2 channels of output, with 4-segment LED meters on each channel.
Additional Pro Tools HD Hardware Options Pro Tools HD also supports the following Avid HD hardware options. • Synchronization peripherals (Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD and HD Native systems only): • SYNC HD • SYNC I/O Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD and HD Native Systems with MachineControl The MachineControl™ software option for Pro Tools HD is supported with Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems.
Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and Pro Tools|HD Native Systems with Video Satellite LE The Video Satellite LE option for Pro Tools is supported with Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems. Video Satellite LE is a paid software option for Pro Tools HD, which uses a separate computer running Pro Tools software for synchronized QuickTime HD video playback. For more information, see the Video Satellite LE Guide.
• TCE Edit to Timeline Selection command • Preferences • Selection of alternate field recorder audio channels in the Pro Tools Timeline • Back/Forward Amount • Expanding alternate field recorder channels to new tracks • Auto Clip Fade In/Out Length • Advanced automation features: • AutoJoin with Latch mode • Touch/Latch mode • Shuttle • Use Absolute Pan Linking • Suppress Automation “Write To” Warning • Allow Latch Prime in Stop • Trim mode • Coalesce when Removing Slaves from VCA Group • Composit
Pro Tools Express Software Pro Tools Express software provides the following capabilities, depending on your hardware configuration: • Up to a total of 16 voiced mono or stereo audio tracks per session • Up to 8 Auxiliary Input tracks • Up to 8 Master Fader tracks • Up to 16 MIDI tracks • Up to 8 Instrument tracks • A single QuickTime video track • 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio resolution, at sample rates up to 96 kHz (depending on your audio interface) Pro Tools Features Not Supported wit
• Advanced Automation features: To manually check for updates: • Punch 1 Launch Pro Tools. • Capture 2 Choose Help > Check For Updates. 3 Do one of the following: • Write on Stop • Write to All • Back and play • Glide Automation • If no updates are available, click OK. • If updates are available, do one of the following: • Copy to Send • Click Details to launch your web browser and see what updates are available for download.
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Chapter 6: System Setup You can review and update the setup of your system to ensure it is configured for your needs. Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools system communicate properly with each other, you need to start them in a particular order. Start up your Pro Tools system in this order: 1 Make sure all your equipment (including your computer) is off. 2 Lower the volume of all output devices in your system.
4 Do one of the following depending on your Pro Tools system: • For Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems, turn off your Pro Tools audio interfaces. • For Pro Tools systems that use hardware requiring external power (such as 003), turn off the hardware. 5 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn off the chassis. 6 Turn off any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or synchronization peripherals. 7 Turn off any worksurfaces (such as D-Command) or control surfaces (such as Command|8).
Changing the Current Engine setting can be useful if you have multiple audio interfaces connected to your computer with different routing configurations in your studio, or if you want to prepare a session for use with a specific interface on a different system (for example, you might want to prepare a session created on your Pro Tools|HD system for use with the built-in audio on your Mac laptop). To select which audio engine for Pro Tools uses: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
On Avid HDX and Pro Tools|HD systems, changing engines requires that you quit and relaunch Pro Tools for the new setting to take effect. When changing engines on any Pro Tools system, you may need to reset the default I/O settings to match the selected audio interface.
To change the Hardware Buffer Size: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. 2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select the audio buffer size, in samples. 3 Click OK. Host Processors The Host Processors setting in the Playback Engine determines the number of processors in your computer allocated for Native (AAX and RTAS) plug-in processing and other host processing tasks.
CPU Usage Limit To change the CPU Usage Limit: The CPU Usage Limit setting in the Playback Engine controls the percentage of CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the Host Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks are carried out by the system. 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. 2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, select the percentage of CPU processing you want to allocate to Pro Tools. 3 Click OK.
If the Ignore Errors During Playback/Record option is enabled, you can experience badly distorted audio as a result of too many CPU intensive Native (AAX or RTAS) plug-ins active in the session (such as Eleven Free or various virtual instrument plug-ins). This is because Pro Tools is suppressing playback errors that would normally be seen if Error Suppression were disabled. If you encounter this problem, remove or make inactive any unnecessary Native plug-ins.
To change the Number of Voices and DSP to allocate for voicing: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. 2 Select the number of voices and DSPs to allocate for voicing by selecting a value from the Number of Voices pop-up menu as follows: • Select minimum voice numbers if you are using high-bandwidth PCI or PCIe cards (such as video capture cards) along with your Avid HDX or Pro Tools|HD cards.
Delay Compensation Engine Depending on your Pro Tools system, the Delay Compensation Engine setting in the Playback Engine determines how much DSP or host-based processing resources are dedicated to Pro Tools Delay Compensation, which manages DSP and hostbased delays in the Pro Tools mixer. Within a session, you can enable or disable Delay Compensation (Options > Delay Compensation). When Delay Compensation is disabled, it uses no DSP or host-processing resources.
System Memory Allocation (Pro Tools|HD Systems Only) When you start your computer, Pro Tools automatically reserves a portion of system memory for the Playback Buffer. This reserved memory is unavailable to other applications, even if Pro Tools is not running. You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the minimum amount of required memory, so that more system memory is available to other applications. To minimize system memory allocation: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
Plug-In Streaming Buffer Size (Structure Plug-In Only) This setting appears in the Playback Engine only if the Structure sampler instrument plug-in is installed on your system (this applies to Structure LE and Structure Free as well). The Plug-In Streaming Buffer Size determines the amount of memory DAE allocates for streaming playback from disk with the Structure plug-in.
Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings Pro Tools lets you configure the signal routing, digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock source, and other hardware-based settings depending on your system configuration. These system settings are available in the Hardware Setup (Setup > Hardware).
Launch Setup App To configure Pro Tools Aggregate I/O settings: (Pro Tools with Mbox Family or Third-Party Audio Interfaces Only) 1 Choose Setup > Hardware. 2 In the Peripherals list, select Pro Tools Aggregate I/O, or whichever Built-in input or output option is selected as the Current Engine in the Playback Engine.
Configuring Default Sample Rate Setting in Hardware Setup The Sample Rate setting in the Hardware Setup dialog determines the default sample rate when you create a new session. This setting is available only when there is no session open. Otherwise, the current session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be changed. With Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native hardware, you can change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware Setup, or in the Playback Engine.
Configuring Digital Format and Hardware Routing The Hardware Setup includes additional settings for configuring the digital format and hardware routing for your system’s audio interfaces. For an outline of the configuration of an Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, or HD Native system with one or more Avid HD interfaces, see “Configuring Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native Hardware Settings” on page 77.
4 Select the Identify option, located in the lower left corner of the Hardware Setup. This illuminates all the LEDs on the front panel of the selected audio interface. 5 Make a note of which interface in your studio setup corresponds to the identified interface. 6 Repeat the above steps for each additional audio interface in your setup.
7 For S/PDIF compatibility with Tascam DA-30 DAT recorders, select the Tascam option under S/PDIF Format. 8 From the Input and Output channel pop-up menus, select the physical ports (such as Analog 1–2 or Optical 1–2), that will be routed to the corresponding Pro Tools input and output channels (such as Ch 1–2, Ch 3–4), listed on the left side of the Main page. Inputs and outputs of similar format are differentiated in the input and output channel pop-up menus.
4 Click the Main tab and configure the options. HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Mixer page HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Main page 8 5 Click the Analog In tab and configure the options. When you are finished, click OK. Configuring HD I/O Controls For detailed information about configuring HD I/O, see the HD I/O Guide. To configure controls for HD I/O: HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Analog In page 6 1 Choose Setup > Hardware. 2 From the Peripherals list, select the HD I/O audio interface.
Configuring HD MADI Controls For detailed information about configuring HD MADI, see the HD MADI Guide. To configure controls for HD MADI: 1 Choose Setup > Hardware. 2 From the Peripherals list, select either HD MADI Port 1 or HD MADI Port 2 and configure the options. HD I/O Hardware Setup, Analog In page 5 If you have two HD I/O AD cards, click the Analog In 9–16 tab and configure the options.
Configuring 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O Controls 2 To configure controls for a 192 I/O: 1 With the 192 I/O selected in the Peripherals list, click the Analog In tab for the following options: Click the Analog Out tab. Each of the analog channels in the 192 I/O has two Output Trims, labeled A and B, respectively. You can select Output Trim A or B on a channel-by-channel basis. • You can set your operating level on a channelby-channel basis by selecting Reference Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV.
Configuring 96 I/O Controls Configuring 96i I/O Controls To configure controls for a 96 I/O: To configure controls for a 96i I/O: 1 With the 96 I/O selected in the Peripherals list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up. 1 With the 96i I/O selected in the Peripherals list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up.
To select analog or digital input for channels 1-2: 1 Choose Setup > Hardware, and select 96i I/O in the Peripherals list to display the 96i I/O window. This lets you send the same signal (such as a stereo pair, a stem mix, or a multichannel mix) to multiple destinations (such as multiple mastering devices). 2 Click to set Ch 1–2 Input to Analog or S/PDIF, as appropriate.
System Usage Meters in the System Usage window indicate how much of your system’s processing power is being used when processing audio, and when writing and playing back automation. Activity Meters Cache Meters (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Pro Tools HD provides two meters in the System Usage window for monitoring the Disk Cache: Disk Cache and Timeline Cached. These meters are only present if a fixed Cache Size is selected in the Playback Engine dialog.
RAM. For example, if the selected Cache Size in the Playback Engine is 256 MB and the amount of audio on the Timeline is 1 GB, the Timeline Cached meter reads 25%.
To enable (or disable) DSP Caching: 1 Open the System Usage window (Windows > System Usage). 2 Click the DSP Cache pop-up menu and select (or deselect) Use DSP Cache. System Usage window, DSP Cache pop-up menu To purge the DSP cache: 1 Open the System Usage window (Windows > System Usage). 2 Click the DSP Cache pop-up menu and select (or deselect) Purge Cache. This refreshes the System Usage display.
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Chapter 7: I/O Setup The I/O Setup provides tools to label, format, and assign Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus audio signal paths both for individual sessions as well as for your specific Pro Tools system. I/O Setup also provides controls for PRE (Mic Preamp) signal paths, and Delay Compensation settings for hardware inserts.
The I/O Setup displays a graphical representation (cross-point matrix) of the signal routing for physical input and output paths for each connected audio interface. Like a virtual patchbay, I/O Setup controls let you route physical inputs and outputs on the audio interface to Pro Tools input and output channels.
Path configurations in Pro Tools are saved as I/O settings. I/O Settings are saved with both the session and with the system. You can choose whether or not the IO settings saved with the session overwrite the IO settings saved with the system (see “Sessions Overwrite Current I/O Setup When Opened” on page 100). Unavailable items (including hardware, paths, or required resources) remain in the session as inactive items (see “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 112).
I/O Setup Pages The I/O Setup provides tabs to open pages for configuring specific I/O Settings. Opening an I/O Setup Page To open an I/O Setup page: Click the corresponding tab at the top of the I/O Setup. Hold the Command key (Mac) or the Control key (Windows) and use the Left or Right Arrow keys to cycle through the different pages of the I/O Setup.
Output Page Bus Page The Output page of the I/O Setup lets you create and assign Pro Tools Output channels to send audio to the physical outputs of your audio hardware. The Bus page of the I/O Setup lets you create and edit internal mix busses and output busses. The Bus page also lets you map output busses to output paths (as configured in the Output page of the I/O Setup). Configure output signal path names and formats on the Output page. Output channels can have overlapping output paths.
Insert Page Mic Preamps Page The Insert page of the I/O Setup lets you create and edit hardware insert signal paths for the Pro Tools mixer. Hardware inserts can route audio through an external device connected to parallel inputs and outputs of a Pro Tools audio interface. This lets you process audio on a track with a hardware insert in real time. On the Mic Preamps page of the I/O Setup, signal paths for one or more PRE multi-purpose microphone preamplifiers can be mapped to audio interfaces.
I/O Setup Signal Path Controls Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup provides the following controls in its graphical section for configuring signal routing paths. Path Name column Path Format selector Path Format Selector Shows and selects the type/format (such as Mono, Stereo, Quad, or 5.1) of each defined path (greater-than-stereo multichannel formats are supported with Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit only).
Export Settings Button Lets you save I/O settings as a file that can be imported into other sessions or used on other Pro Tools systems. Export Settings exports the settings for all pages of the I/O Setup. Default Button Resets a path type to its default path configuration, depending on the physical hardware I/O you are using and how your hardware is configured. I/O Setup Options Pro Tools systems have several additional I/O Setup options depending on which page of the I/O Setup you are viewing.
Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass When enabled, this option provides automatic compensation for any analog or digital output delay with Avid HD audio interfaces. Enable this option when you are synchronized to an external clock source. When recording from a digital source, both the Compensation for Input Delays After Record Pass and the Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass options must be enabled.
Default Output Bus You can specify the default output bus path assignment for new tracks, in each available format. To select the AFL/PFL Path output: Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used. The Default Output Bus selector is available in the Output and Bus pages of the I/O Setup. The Default Output Bus can be set for internal mix bus paths, as well as for output bus paths.
AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path) (Systems without a D-Control or D-Command Control Surface) If you are not using a D-Control or D-Command worksurface, your regular Pro Tools output path can be muted when you send a signal to the AFL/PFL Path. The muted path is set with the AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path) selector. The AFL/PFL Mutes selector is available in the Output and Bus pages of the I/O Setup. See “Solo Modes” on page 251 for more information on selecting and using AFL or PFL Solo modes.
5.1 Path Order (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) The 5.1 Path Order pop-up menu lets you specify the default track layout for all new 5.1 format paths you create. When the Sessions Overwrite Current I/O Setup When Opened option is enabled (default), Pro Tools recalls these settings from the session rather than the system. Choose this option when exchanging sessions with systems running Pro Tools 8.0.x and lower (see “Session Interchange” on page 120). The 5.
3 4 For Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems, double-click the label above an interface and enter a name. 7 If you are using one or more PRE peripherals, click the Mic Preamps tab and configure it accordingly (see the PRE Guide). With systems using Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, or HD Native hardware, the I/O Setup bases default Input and Output path names on the custom name given to the interface. 8 Click the Bus tab. 9 Create internal mix bus paths and sub-paths.
Configuring Hardware in I/O Setup (Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native Systems Only) With Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native systems, you can define which physical ports on your audio interface are routed to available input and output channels in the I/O Setup. Any changes made here are also reflected in the Hardware Setup, and vice-versa (see “Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings” on page 74). HD MADI, and Pro Tools systems such as the Mbox Pro and the 003 are “hard-wired” and cannot be changed.
To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to multiple audio interface output ports: 1 Choose Setup > I/O. 2 Click the Output tab. 3 Click the Output selector for an interface channel pair, just below an audio interface icon. 4 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port pair (such as Analog 1–2) to route to the corresponding Pro Tools channel pair (such as A 1–2) in the Path Name column on the left.
Signal Path Routing for Audio Input The following example shows the signal path from the physical analog input of an HD OMNI audio interface, through the Pro Tools audio input path, to the Input of an audio track in the Pro Tools mixer: 1 3 2 Input signal path from an HD OMNI to the Pro Tools mixer as mapped in I/O Setup (1) Physical Input For Avid HD interfaces, such as (2) Input Path Main input paths and sub-paths are the HD OMNI, the physical inputs that are available to Pro Tools are set on the M
Signal Path Routing for Audio Output The following example shows the signal path from the output of an audio track through an output bus mapped to an output path that is routed to a physical output on an HD I/O audio interface: 1 2 4 3 Output signal path from an audio track to a physical output as mapped in I/O Setup (1) Track Output Audio is played back from disk (3) Output Path On the Output page of the I/O and routed from the Track Output to Output Bus “B 1–2.
For Pro Tools systems such as the Mbox Pro and the 003, physical outputs are fixed. For third-party and built-in hardware, click the Launch Setup App button in the Hardware Setup for available configuration options. Creating New Paths To remove the last path from the New Path dialog Command+Minus (–) (Mac) or Control+Minus (–) (Windows). 6 Enable (or disable) the New Paths options Add the Default Channel Assignments and AutoCreate Sub-paths. 7 Click Create.
New Paths Dialog The New Paths dialog lets you create new paths on the Input, Output, Bus, and Insert pages of the I/O Setup. Add/Remove Row Number of new paths Path Format Path Name Add Default Channel Assignments Option Enable Add Default Channel Assignments option if you want Pro Tools to automatically assign input, output, and insert paths to physical inputs and outputs in the Grid (from the first available channel to the maximum number of channels available).
Default Sub-Paths Main Path 5 Sub-Paths Sub-Path Name LCRS 1 Stereo (LR), 4 Mono (one for each channel) Stereo: .LR Mono: .L, .C, .R, .S Quad 1 Stereo (LR), 4 Mono (one for each channel) Stereo: .LR Mono: .L, .R, .Ls, .Rs 5.0 – 6.0 – 7.0 1 Stereo (LR), 5–7 Mono (one for each channel) Stereo: .LR Mono: .L, .C, .R, .Ls, .Rs, and so on 5.1 – 6.1 – 7.
The following table lists the available attributes for each path type: Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the Default button to set all pages of I/O Setup to the default settings.
Recommended Output Path Naming Schemes Generally, you will want to use standard naming schemes for output paths in your Pro Tools sessions. This facilitates smoother session exchange between different Pro Tools systems. Renaming Interfaces Audio interfaces can be renamed in the IO Setup. When you rename Avid HD audio interfaces, default path names are based on the custom name given to the interface.
Selecting Paths Individual and multiple paths can be selected in the I/O Setup Path Name column. Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered higher or lower in the Path Name column to change their menu order in track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors. Paths can also be deleted. Sub-paths follow their main paths when they are moved in the I/O Setup. To select a main path or sub-path: Click the path name.
Deleting Paths Path definitions can be deleted from the current session to reflect changes to your hardware setup, or to clean up track selector menus by removing unwanted or unnecessary path definitions. After deleting a path, any tracks or send assignments to that path are reset to No Output. To globally activate or deactivate a path: 1 Choose Setup > I/O. 2 Select a path type using the tabs at the top of the window. 3 Set the Active/Inactive control for the path.
Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O Assigning Paths with the Surround Mixer (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Paths are assigned to specific inputs, outputs, and inserts in the Grid. Paths can be assigned to physical I/O in the Grid, and can be reassigned at any time. When assigning multichannel paths, the left channel (L) is assigned first to the clicked Grid box, and remaining channels fill immediately to the right according to the default path order.
Sub-Paths Follow Main Paths When a main path is reassigned, its sub-paths (if any) are reassigned automatically to maintain consistent routing. For example, reassigning a stereo path to different hardware outputs results in any of its sub-paths moving with it. Valid Paths and Requirements Valid (complete) output path While configuring the I/O Setup, certain rules apply for path definition and channel assignment. All paths must be valid before the I/O Setup configuration can be applied.
Output Busses Output busses are mapped (routed) to output paths, as configured on the Output page of the I/O Setup. Output paths are then assigned to the system’s physical audio outputs in the I/O Setups Grid (see “Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O” on page 113). When you create a new output path on the Output page of the I/O Setup, a new output bus of the same width is automatically created and mapped to that output path.
All mapped output busses of the same format (such as stereo) are all assigned to the same output path. For example, you can assign all stereo output busses to output path A 1–2. Mapping Mono Busses to Surround Paths To map all output busses of the same format to one output path: You can map a mono bus to any channel of a surround output path, for example, route a dialogue track to the center channel of 5.1 output path.
To assign the same channel to all mono busses mapped to a multichannel output path: Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the mono bus indicator and select the channel from the pop-up menu. Resetting Busses You can reset the number of available internal mix busses in your session to match your system’s full capabilities by reverting to the default bus configuration.
Sorting Bus Paths Factory I/O Settings The Bus page provide controls to sort busses by name (ascending or descending), format (ascending or descending), or by mapped to output status (ascending only). Pro Tools provides factory I/O settings for stereo and surround mixing, and are automatically installed with Pro Tools. These settings provide new sessions with generic path and sub-paths for either mixing format.
I/O Settings Files I/O settings files (.pio files) provide default path configurations for new sessions. I/O settings can be imported and exported for use with sessions shared between systems. I/O settings files are also available in the I/O Settings pop-up menu in the Quick Start and New Session dialogs.
If the import results in overlapping paths, the new paths will appear in the I/O Setup as Inactive. See “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 112. After importing I/O Settings, you can then reassign path routing definitions in the I/O Setup by remapping, renaming, and deleting paths. See “Pro Tools Signal Paths” on page 90. Exporting I/O Settings When you export I/O settings, all pages of the I/O Setup are exported.
Pro Tools Versions and Session Interchange When exchanging a session between systems with different versions of Pro Tools software (such as your Pro Tools 10.0 system and a colleague’s Pro Tools 7.x system), you can use the following to maintain paths and signal routing. Opening Older Sessions in Pro Tools 8.1 and Higher When opening sessions created in Pro Tools 8.0.x and lower in Pro Tools 8.1 or higher, output paths from the legacy session are re-created as output buses.
Show Last Saved Setup and Show Current Setup When a session is opened that contains path definitions for unavailable I/O interfaces, the I/O Setup lists those paths in italics. Clicking the Show Last Saved Setup button displays the audio interfaces used in the original session. This temporary display lets you check the last saved I/O configuration for reference while configuring the I/O settings for your system.
Chapter 8: Preferences The settings in the Pro Tools Preferences define how Pro Tools features work. The Preferences dialog has several tabbed pages in which you can specify your preferred settings. To change Pro Tools preferences: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences. 2 Click the tab for the page that has preferences you want to change. 3 Change preferences. 4 Click OK to save your changes and close the Preferences dialog.
Global and Local Preferences Pro Tools preferences are either global (systemwide) or local (for the current session only). Global (System-Wide) Preferences Global preferences are applied to all sessions. These preferences become the default preferences for any existing sessions that you subsequently open or any new sessions that are created. Local (Current Session) Preferences Local pref- erences are applied to the current session (if one is open).
Display Preferences Edit Window Default Length This preference sets a default length for the Edit window in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit only). This is useful if you want to assemble a session of a particular length or leave extra room to expand the Edit window’s work area in your session. The maximum length is 24 hours.
Language Options (Windows Only) Clip Indication Options You must have Administrator privileges for the Pro Tools application Properties to change these options. These options determine how long the clip indicators on plug-in, send, and track meters stay lit after a clip is detected. Language Sets the language to use in the Pro Tools application, independently of what language version of Windows is used.
Color Coding Always Display Marker Colors Lets you choose to view Marker colors in the Markers ruler, regardless of the settings you choose for Default Clip Color Coding. MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity When enabled, MIDI notes display varying shades of the assigned track color in MIDI notes view in the Edit window and in MIDI Editor windows. Notes with high velocities are darker and notes with lower velocities are lighter.
Operation Preferences Latch Forward/Rewind When selected, fast forward and rewind latch and continue until you press Stop, Play, Return To Zero, or Go To End on the Transport. When disabled, the Fast Forward and Rewind only last as long as you hold the mouse after clicking either button on the Transport (or hold the corresponding switch on a Control Surface).
Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Sets the default length of Back, Back and Play, Forward and Forward and Play. The timebase of the Back/Forward Amount settings follows the Main Time Scale by default, or you can deselect the Follow Main Time Scale option and select another timebase format: Bars|Beats, Min:Sec, Timecode, Feet+Frames, or Samples. Numeric Keypad Mode Numeric Keypad mode determines how the numeric keypad functions.
Video Section Record Section High Quality QuickTime Image (DV25 Only) Latch Record Enable Buttons When selected, When enabled, Pro Tools decompresses both fields of each interlaced frame of QuickTime video. When not enabled, Pro Tools only decompresses one field of each frame for “half-res” QuickTime playback. multiple audio tracks can be record-enabled. When not selected, multiple audio tracks cannot be record-enabled.
Transport RecordLock (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) This option lets the Transport Record (the Mute Record-Armed Tracks While Stopped (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) This setting determines Record button in the Transport controls) be configured to either emulate a digital dubber, or to maintain legacy behavior for the Transport master Record. monitor status of record-armed tracks.
Online Options Record Online at Timecode (or ADAT) Lock When selected, online recording begins as soon as Pro Tools receives and locks to incoming timecode. Record Online at Insertion/Selection When selected, online recording begins at the edit cursor location. Recording continues until Pro Tools stops receiving timecode. If you make a selection, Pro Tools records online for the length of the selection.
Editing Preferences Tracks Section New Tracks Default To Tick Timebase When selected, all new tracks default to ticks. When deselected, audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and VCA (Pro Tools HD only) tracks default to samples. Memory Locations Section Auto-Name Memory Locations When Playing When selected, Pro Tools gives new Memory Locations default names based on their time location in the session. The time units currently chosen in the View menu determine the units for the names.
Default Fade Settings Fade In Selects the default envelope shape for fade-ins when using the Smart Tool. Fade Out Selects the default envelope shape for fade-outs when using the Smart Tool. Crossfade Selects the default envelope shape for crossfades when using the Smart Tool. To apply a Fade In, Fade Out, or Crossfade to an Edit selection using the Default Fade settings, and without opening the Fades dialog, press Control+Start+F (Windows) or Command+Control+F (Mac).
Mixing Preferences Use Absolute Pan Linking (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) This option affects behavior of grouped pan controls. • When selected, grouped pan controls do not maintain relative offsets when any of the grouped pan controls is adjusted. All grouped pan controls snap to the absolute value of the adjusted control. • When not selected, grouped pan controls maintain relative offsets when any of the linked controls is adjusted.
Controllers Section Automation Section Edit Window Follows Bank Selection If you are Smooth and Thin Data After Pass When se- using a supported control surface with Pro Tools, this option scrolls the Edit window to display the selected bank of tracks when you switch banks on the control surface, ensuring that the current bank is viewable on-screen. lected, Pro Tools automatically smooths and then applies the specified amount of thinning to the automation data created in an automation pass.
Allow Latch Prime in Stop (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) When selected and any tracks are in Latch Include Sends in Trim Mode (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) This option determines the Trim status of mode, any automation-enabled controls on those tracks can be set to new values while the transport is stopped by touching or moving controls, to prepare for the next automation pass. Send faders when a track is put in Trim mode.
After Write Pass, Switch To Options These options select the Automation mode that Pro Tools tracks automatically switches to after an automation pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. Select one of the following options: Processing Preferences Touch Switches to Touch mode after an automation pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. Latch Switches to Latch mode after an automation pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode. No Change Stays in Write mode after an automa- tion pass in Write (or Write Trim) mode.
Import Section Convert Imported “WAV” Files To AES31/BroadcastWave When selected, this option applies to all newly imported WAV files, making them compliant with the AES31/EBU Broadcast standard. Automatically Copy Files on Import When se- lected, all audio files that are imported by dragging and dropping are copied to the current session’s Audio Files folder, regardless of whether the files need to be converted to the current session’s file type, bit depth or sample rate.
Sample Rate Conversion Quality The Sample Rate Conversion Quality pop-up menu lets you select the default sample rate conversion quality for importing audio files by drag and drop from any DigiBase browser, or Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. The higher the quality of sample rate conversion you select, the longer Pro Tools will take to process the audio file.
DSP Management Section (Avid HDX and Pro Tools|HD Systems Only) MIDI Preferences These preferences determine DSP management behavior for converting DSP plug-ins to Native and also for the HEAT software option. Open Unresourced DSP Plug-Ins as Native When this option is enabled, any DSP (AAX or TDM) plug-ins that exceed the available DSP processing are converted to Native (AAX or RTAS) format plug-ins wherever possible.
Default Thru Instrument This option lets you set the default MIDI Thru instrument. You can select a predefined device from your available MIDI instruments, or select First Selected MIDI Track to use the assigned MIDI output of the first selected MIDI or Instrument track. When multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks are selected, the instrument in the selected track that is closest to the top of the Edit window (or closest to the left edge of the Mix window) is used.
Synchronization Preferences Machine Cues Intelligently (Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native Systems Only) When selected, if you navigate to a cue point that is more than 10 seconds from the current location, Pro Tools will command a connected transport to fast wind to the new location at full speed to within 10 seconds of the cue point. Cueing will then slow to normal speed until the point is reached. This can significantly speed up tape cueing with certain video transports.
Delay Before Locking to Longitudinal Timecode (Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native Systems Only) Sets the amount of time (in frames) for Pro Tools to lock to incoming LTC. Use this option when locking Pro Tools to a stable timecode source (such as a non-linear tape machine or LTC generator) and not a linear tape machine.
Solo Independent of Linked State Causes a Pro Tools system to send the solo status of its tracks to other satellite systems even when it is unlinked. This allows control of solo status across systems even when transport control is not enabled. DAE Errors Stop All Linked Systems Causes a DAE error on any linked Pro Tools system to stop the transport on all linked systems. When this option is not selected, linked systems will not stop if a DAE error occurs on one system.
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Chapter 9: Peripherals The settings in the Peripherals dialog define how Pro Tools works with various audio, synchronization and controller devices, as well as with VENUE systems. To configure settings for Pro Tools peripherals: 1 Choose Setup > Peripherals. 2 Click the tab for the type of peripheral you want to configure. 3 Change the settings. 4 Click OK to save your changes and close the Peripherals dialog.
Synchronization Device (Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, and HD Native Systems Only) The Synchronization Device settings let you configure a synchronization peripheral, such as the SYNC HD or SYNC I/O. LTC Output Level This setting adjusts the analog audio level of the LTC output, from –24 dBu to +9 dBu. VITC Read Lines When this option is selected, any connected synchronization peripheral is enabled for use with Pro Tools.
Reset Bi-Phase This button lets you set the Bi-Phase/Tach start frame from Pro Tools. Click the button to update the Timecode Display on the synchronization peripheral to match the session timecode value. Enable Dub Window When this option is selected, you can insert a timecode window into a video signal with the following Window dub appearance settings: Machine Control The Machine Control page lets you configure Pro Tools for use with MIDI Machine Control or 9-Pin Machine Control.
MMC ID The MMC ID setting lets you specify the MMC ID number for which MMC information will be sent. MMC commands contain an ID number to identify which machine should respond to the MMC command. There are 128 MMC ID numbers, from 0–127. The default of ID #127 is a special setting that transmits to all 128 MMC IDs. With a setting of 127, Pro Tools will transmit MMC commands to all MMC IDs. Preroll The Preroll setting lets you specify a pre-roll time in frames for your MMC slave device.
Preroll Chase LTC The Preroll setting lets you specify a variable amount of machine preroll to account for the time it may take the machine to achieve servo lock. Shorter preroll values are usually better for nonlinear machines. Longer preroll values are usually better for older tape transports. The Machine preroll value is added to any preroll specified in the Transport window. When Chase LTC is enabled, Pro Tools still responds to track arming and record commands.
Type The Type setting lets you select the MIDI controller connected to your computer. Choose from any of the following types of MIDI controllers: • Command|8 Ethernet Controllers The Ethernet Controllers page lets you configure up to seven different Ethernet controllers for Pro Tools. • HUI • MotorMix • Surround Panner • M-Audio Keyboard Receive From The Receive From setting lets you select the MIDI In port to which your MIDI controller is connected.
Name Type Click the Name button to enter a name for the selected Ethernet controller. The Type setting lets you select none or PRE. Select the PRE option to declare any connected PRE. Enable EUCON (Extended User Control) When selected, Pro Tools is enabled for control by one or more EUCON-compatible controllers. EUCON is an innovative high-speed Ethernet protocol developed by Avid to allow hardware control surface to directly communicate with a software application.
Satellites The Satellites page lets you configure Pro Tools for use with Satellite Link, Video Satellite, and Video Satellite LE software options.
VENUE The VENUE page lets you configure Pro Tools for use with a VENUE system over Ethernet using VENUE Link. Pro Tools VENUE Link lets you import VENUE Settings into Pro Tools, create Pro Tools markers from VENUE Snapshots, and locate to Pro Tools markers from VENUE Snapshots. Interface For systems that have more than one Ethernet network connection, the Interface setting lets you select which connection to use for VENUE Link communication.
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Chapter 10: Configuring MIDI If you are using external MIDI devices with Pro Tools (such as controllers or sound modules), you can customize your MIDI studio setup to display the names of your MIDI devices in Pro Tools. 2 If the MIDI Studio window is not showing, choose Window > MIDI Studio. MIDI Studio Setup (Mac) Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI interface as generic ports.
5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI interface by clicking the arrow for the appropriate output port of the device and dragging a connection or “cable” to the input arrow of the corresponding port of the MIDI interface. 2 Select a manufacturer and model for the new device from the corresponding pop-up menus. (If the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus do not provide a name for your particular device, you can type a name.
3 Click the More Information arrow to expand the dialog, then enable the appropriate MIDI channels (1–16) for the Transmits and Receives options. (These determine which channels the device will use to send and receive MIDI.) 4 Click the device image. The window expands to show images for various MIDI devices (such as keyboards, modules, interfaces, and mixers). Select an icon for your device.
MIDI Studio Setup (Windows) MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) lets you configure the MIDI controllers and sound modules that are connected to your system, and control the routing of MIDI data between your MIDI equipment and Pro Tools. MSS automatically finds MIDI interfaces, and lets you specify a custom name for each of the MIDI ports within the MIDI Studio Setup document. MIDI Studio Setup Window The MIDI Studio Setup window is organized into three sections. Interface controls are at the top of the window.
Instrument List 7 The Instrument list contains all the currently defined instruments. Selecting an instrument in the list displays that instrument’s properties in the Properties section of the window. Instrument Name Properties Section The Properties section lets you edit information for new instruments, or instrument currently selected in the Instrument list.
Output Port The Output Port pop-up menu displays a list of available MIDI interface output ports. The port set and displayed here is the port through which MIDI data is sent from your MIDI interface to the MIDI device specified in the Instrument Name field. If you set the output port to None, the defined instrument will not appear as a choice in a MIDI Output Selector. Send Channels The Send Channels grid sets the send channels for the MIDI device specified in the Instrument Name field.
Part III: Sessions & Tracks
Chapter 11: Sessions The first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is creating a new session. Sessions are represented by session files that can be saved, copied and made into templates. Quick Start Session Dialog Pro Tools provides a Quick Start dialog on launch that lets you quickly and easily create a new session or open an existing one. You can choose to show or hide the Quick Start dialog on launch in the Pro Tools Operation Preferences.
3 Select the session template you want to use from the list (on the right).
Opening a Recent Session Sound Designer II (SD II) files are not supported with versions of Pro Tools higher than 8.0.3. When opening a session created with a lower version of Pro Tools that uses the SD II file format, you are prompted to convert all SD II files to WAV. The Open Recent Session option is not available the first time you launch Pro Tools (or if you have cleared the Recent Sessions list by choosing File > Open Recent > Clear). To open a recent session: 1 Select Open Recent Session.
Creating a New Session Sound Designer II (SD II) files can be imported and exported, but are not supported as the session Audio File Type with versions of Pro Tools higher than 8.0.3. The New Session dialog lets you create a new session from a template or create a new blank session (with no tracks or media). Creating a New Session from a Template 6 Select the Bit Depth (16 bit, 24 bit, or 32 bit float). 7 To create interleaved multichannel audio files in the session, select Interleaved.
6 Select the Sample Rate. 7 Select the I/O Settings to use for the session. Several pre-configured I/O Settings are included with your system, or you can select a custom I/O Setting. For more information, see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.” 8 Click OK. 9 In the Save dialog, name the session, navigate to the location where you want to save the new session and click Save. occur during bit-depth conversion for file playback and real-time plug-in insert processing).
172.4 kHz and 192 kHz Each of these sample rates are four times the standard sample rates for CD audio and DVD audio respectively. Audio files recorded at higher sample rates take up more drive space, but provide higher resolution for time-based plug-in processing (which can help avoid aliasing). The 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sample rate options are only available if you are running Pro Tools with audio hardware that supports these sample rates.
Session Files and Folders When you create a new session, Pro Tools automatically creates a new folder named for your session. Within this folder is the session file, a WaveCache.wfm file, and several subfolders (including, but not limited to, an Audio Files folder and a Clip Group folder). When you record a new audio track, the track is saved as a new audio file to the Audio Files folder. You can also import other audio files into the session, and work with them as well.
Pro Tools also maintains a distinct WaveCache file inside the Databases folder, which retains waveform data for all files used on the system. Deleting or trashing a WaveCache file does not harm the session or your system. However, the session will take longer to open because it has to recalculate waveform data for any associated audio files and store that data in a new WaveCache file.
Opening a Session that Contains Unavailable Files DigiBase notifies you if files are found but reside on Transfer volumes, or if any required files cannot be found. For more information, see “Locating Audio Files” on page 395. Opening a Session from a Transfer Volume When opening a session from a Transfer volume (such as a CD or DVD), DigiBase prompts you to save the session on a Performance volume, and copy and convert any referenced media files.
Opening a Session that was Saved with +6 dB Fader Gain All Pro Tools 7.x and higher sessions have a +12 dB fader gain level. However, when saving a Pro Tools 7.x or higher session to a lower version of Pro Tools that supports +6 dB and +12 dB fader gain, the new session can be saved with either a +6 dB or a +12 dB maximum fader gain. When saving a +12 dB session as a +6 dB session, Pro Tools alerts you that any automation settings over +6 dB will be lowered to +6 dB.
Saving a Session You should save regularly while working on your session to ensure that your work is preserved on your hard drive. Saving the Session File The Save command saves the changes you have made to your session and writes them over the previously saved version of the session file. The Save command cannot be undone. To save a session: Choose File > Save.
Saving a Copy of a Session To save a copy of the current session with or without its audio files and fade files, use the Save Copy In command. In addition, you can specify the session file format, audio file format, bit depth, and sample rate for the session copy. For information on sharing sessions between different platforms, Pro Tools systems, or Pro Tools software versions, see Chapter 18, “File and Session Management and Compatibility.
When you save a copy of the session to a lower bit depth, Dither (and Noise Shaping) are applied. See the following table: Dither and Noise Shaping with Save Copy In Save Copy In Options When saving a copy of a session, the Save Copy In command provides options.
Session Parameters Sample Rate When saving a copy of a session with the Save Copy In command, the following Session Parame- You can save the session at various sample rates depending on your system hardware. See “Supported Hardware Configurations with Pro Tools Software” on page 42. ters are available: Audio File Type You can save the session to reference BWF (.WAV) or AIFF audio files. Using Mixed File Types A session can use mixed audio file types.
To choose the language encoding when saving a copy of a session: 1 Choose File > Save Copy In. 2 Select the Limit Character Set option. 3 Choose the language you want to use from the Limit Character Set pop-up menu.
Root Plug-In Settings Folder When this option is selected, the contents of the root-level Plug-In Settings Folder are copied into a folder named Place in Root Settings 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.
If you selected the Install Template In System option, your session template will be available in the Pro Tools Session Quick Start dialog. If you selected the Select Location For Template option, you are prompted by the Save As Template dialog to save the file to another location on your system. When you are ready to use a template as the basis for a new session, see “Creating a New Session from a Template” on page 168.
To open a Pro Tools Session Template and save it as a new session: 1 2 Choose File > New. In the New Session From dialog, select the Create Session from Template option. Closing a Session Pro Tools only lets you work on just one session at a time. The Close Session command closes your current Pro Tools session but leaves the Pro Tools application running.
Chapter 12: Pro Tools Main Windows Pro Tools provides two complementary ways of viewing tracks in a session: Mix Window Shows tracks as channel strips, like a mixing board (see “Mix Window” on page 184). Edit Window Shows tracks and track material against the Timeline (see “Edit Window” on page 186). To toggle between the Mix and Edit windows, press Control+Equals (=) (Windows), or press Command+Equals (=) (Mac).
Pro Tools provides several other types of windows: Mix Window Transport Window Lets you control the transport In the Mix window, tracks appear as channel strips just like a mixing console, with controls for: and transport-related functions (see “Transport Window” on page 191). • Inserts Plug-In Windows Let you control plug-in parame- • Sends ters, such as Frequency and Q for an EQ (see “The Plug-In Window” on page 995).
Channel strips (page 215) Instrument View (page 945) Track List (page 236) Inserts View (page 946) Sends View (page 946) Track Path selectors (page 240 and page 248) Group ID indicator (page 262) Automation Mode selector (page 1022) Input Monitoring / Record Enable (page 452 and page 446) Pan knob (page 222) Solo/Mute (page 251) Volume fader (page 222) Voice selector (page 246) Level meter (page 223) AutoMatch indicator (page 1031) Track Name (page 226) Mix Group List (page 259) Track Comment
Edit Window The Edit window provides a Timeline display of audio, video, MIDI notes, as well as other MIDI data and mixer automation for recording, editing, and arranging on tracks. As in the Mix window, each track has controls for record enable, solo, mute, and automation mode.
To display the Edit window: Choose Window > Edit. To display all Edit window view options: Edit Tools Edit tools are used for editing audio, MIDI, and automation data in Pro Tools. For more information, see “Edit Tools” on page 539. Select View > Edit Window > All. Edit window view options can be selected individually. See “Views in the Mix and Edit Windows” on page 944. Edit Window Toolbar At the top of the Edit window is the Edit Window Toolbar and menu.
Edit Selection Indicators Display the Start, End, and Length of the current Edit selection. MIDI Selection Indicators and Controls Display the current MIDI Edit selection (MIDI note number, and Note On and Note Off velocities) and provide controls for MIDI editing. Timeline Data Online Status Indicator Is green when all files in use in track playlists are available for playback. If files are offline, being processed, or otherwise unavailable for playback, this indicator is red.
Zoom Controls When selected, the Zoom controls Expanded Transport When selected, the are displayed in the Edit window toolbar. Expanded Transport controls are displayed in the Edit window toolbar if Transport is also selected. Transport When selected, the Transport controls are displayed in the Edit window toolbar. Track List When selected, the Track List is shown on the left of the Edit window. Clip List When selected, the Clip List is shown on the right of the Edit window.
Edit Window Zoom Buttons The Edit window also provides Zoom buttons in the lower right and upper right corners of the tracks pane. Vertical and Horizontal Zoom In and Out Buttons In addition to the Zoom controls in the Toolbar, Pro Tools provides horizontal and vertical zoom buttons in the lower-right corner of the Edit window. Audio and MIDI Zoom In and Out Buttons Pro Tools also provides Audio and MIDI Zoom In and Out buttons in the upper-right corner of the Edit window.
Edit Window Default Length Pro Tools lets you set a default length for the Edit window in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames. This is useful if you want to assemble a session of a particular length or leave extra room to expand the Edit window’s work area in your session. The maximum length is 12 hours and 25 minutes at 48 kHz, and proportionally less at higher sample rates. For best scrollbar sensitivity, set the length to slightly longer (a minute or more) than the total session or song length.
Rewind and Fast Forward Increments Right-clicking the Play button lets you select the playback mode from a pop-up menu: Main Time Scale Format Increment Amount • Half-Speed Min:Sec 1 second • Prime for Playback Timecode 1 frame Bars|Beats 1 bar Feet+Frames 1 foot Sample 1 second • Loop • Dynamic Transport 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).
You can also cycle through the Pro Tools record modes with the Transport stopped, by Start-clicking (Windows) or Control-clicking (Mac) the Record button. you can check for a smooth transition to previously recorded material. To set the post-roll amount, type a new value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll flag in the Main Timebase ruler.
To view the MIDI controls in the Transport, do one of the following: Select View > Transport > MIDI Controls. Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) the Expand/Collapse “+” button in the Transport window to display the MIDI controls. The Pro Tools metronome is configured in the Click/Countoff Options dialog. Double-click the Metronome Click button to open the Click/Countoff Options dialog. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport, press 7 to enable the Metronome Click.
MIDI Editor Windows Score Editor Window MIDI Editor windows let you view and edit MIDI notes and controller data. You can open multiple MIDI Editor windows to work on different parts of your MIDI arrangements separately. MIDI Editor windows show Instrument and MIDI track data superimposed in Notes view, or on separate tracks in Notation view, and lets you view and edit MIDI controller data (such as velocity, pitch bend, and mod wheel) in controller lanes under the Notes pane.
Eleven Rack Control Window DigiBase Browsers (Eleven Rack Only) DigiBase databases are accessed through DigiBase browsers. Browsers provide an intuitive user interface to DigiBase databases with many convenient features for various file management tasks (such as search and sort functions). The Eleven Rack Control window is a special window in Pro Tools that lets you control Eleven Rack entirely from your computer.
The main elements of a DigiBase browser (see the figure below) include the following: Title Bar Shows the browser type (Workspace, Volume, Project, or Catalog), and the name of its associated volume, session or catalog. Toolbar Provides the Browser menu, Search icon, View Presets (numbered 1–5), and browser navigation tools. Column Headers Display the type of metadata dis- Items List Displays the contents of a volume, folder, session, or Catalog database.
Workspace Browser Project Browser The Workspace browser provides access to all your mounted volumes, as well as the folders and files they contain. The Project browser provides powerful search and management tools for the files referenced in your current session, regardless of where they are stored. Using the Project browser, you can: Using the Workspace browser, you can: • Access all mounted volumes. • Access all Catalogs. • Search across multiple volumes and Catalogs simultaneously.
Task Window The Task window is a utility for viewing and managing all of the background tasks that you initiate with Pro Tools. Use the Task window to monitor, pause, or cancel background tasks such as file copies, searches, indexing, and fade creation. For detailed information about the Task window, see “Task Window” on page 330. To launch the Pro Tools in-application Web browser for online commerce: 1 Ensure that you have an internet connection.
Go Backward Clicking the Go Backward button navigates back to the previously viewed page. Avid Marketplace gates forward to the next page. The Marketplace menu in Pro Tools lets you access your Avid Account, the Avid online store (to shop for plug-ins, upgrades, or Avid support). Go Home Clicking the Home button navigates to To log in to your online Avid account: Go Forward Clicking the Go Forward button navi- the starting page for the currently selected Location.
Pro Tools Online In addition to the local resources that are installed with Pro Tools, the Help menu provides access to the Pro Tools Online browser. If you are not connected to the Internet, Pro Tools will open the local English Help files that are installed with Pro Tools. You can also access Pro Tools Help online using Safari or Explorer. This can be useful if Pro Tools is not running, or if you want to change the version or language of Help you are using. For more information, visit (http://apps.avid.
Managing Windows Window Configurations Pro Tools provides a powerful means of managing the configuration of windows in your session, as well as the internal configurations of the Edit, Mix, MIDI Editor, Score Editor, and Transport windows. Use the Window Configuration List to create (or delete) and manage stored Window Configurations. Pro Tools lets you store up to 99 Window Configurations. Window Configurations are saved with the session. Create a session template with your favorite Window Configurations.
6 Type any comments for the new Window Configuration. 7 Click OK to store the new Window Configuration, or Cancel. The new Window Configuration is added to the Window Configuration List. To create a new Window Configuration at a specific numbered slot: On the numeric keypad, type Period (.), a number (1–99), and then Plus (+) to add a new Window Configuration at that number slot.
Updating Window Configurations After you recall a stored Window Configuration, you can make changes to the window layout and window settings, and then update the stored Window Configuration with your changes. You can do this manually, or you can have Pro Tools automatically update the active configuration. To manually update a Window Configuration, do one of the following: Choose Window > Configurations > Update Active Configuration.
Importing Window Configurations You can import Window Configurations from another session using Import Session Data. Hiding All Floating Windows The Hide All Floating Windows command hides or shows all floating windows. This is useful for quickly clearing the screen of all floating windows so that you can work in the Edit or Mix windows. To import Window Configurations: 1 Choose File > Import > Session Data. To hide or show all floating windows: 2 Select the Window Configurations option.
How Window Configurations Work A Window Configuration can store the location and size of all open windows, including: • Edit window • Task Manager window • Transport window • Big Counter window • Automation window • Mix window • Memory Locations window • Targeted MIDI Editor window • Machine Track Arming window • Score Editor window • Video Universe window • Workspace browser • Video window • Project browser • Color Palette window • DigiBase browsers • Undo History window • Session Setup windo
Window Configuration List The Window Configuration List lets you recall and manage stored Window Configurations, as well as create new Window Configurations. Window Configuration Properties Window Configurations can be stored and recalled with the layout of windows in your Pro Tools session, as well as with the settings for the Edit, Mix, and Transport windows.
uration (such as whether or not the Clip List is shown in the Edit window). This option is only available when the Window Layout option is enabled.
To show or hide Window Configurations in the Window Configuration List, do one of the following: Click the View Filter icon to show or hide Window Configurations that include that property (Window Layout, Edit Window Settings, Mix Window Settings, Score Editor Window Settings, MIDI Editor Window Settings, or Transport Window Settings). Select or deselect the View Filter item in the Window Configuration List pop-up menu.
Active Window Configuration The active Window Configuration is indicated by a diamond to the left of the Window Configuration Number in the Window Configuration List and in the Configurations submenu (Window > Configuration). If Auto-Update Active Configuration is enabled, the number of the active configuration is also displayed in the Window menu. Only Window Configurations that include Window Layout can be made active. Event Provides commands for editing audio and MIDI events.
Track, Clip, and Group List Menus Track Name and Clip Name Right-Click Menus The Track, Clip, and Group Lists provide pop-up menus for managing and working with the contents of each list, as follows: Track and clip names provide Right-click menus for managing and working with tracks or clips, as follows: Track List Menu Provides commands to show and hide tracks in the Mix, Edit, MIDI Editor, and Score Editor windows. The Track List pop-up menu also lets you sort the contents of the Track List.
Tool Tips Pro Tools provides Tool Tips in all main windows. Holding the cursor for a few seconds over an abbreviated name, or unlabeled icon or tool, displays either the function or details of the item (depending on the Tool Tips preferences settings). To configure Tool Tips for Pro Tools: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences, and click the Display tab. 2 In the Basics section, enable the Tool Tips options you want displayed.
Chapter 13: Tracks Pro Tools provides different types of tracks for working with audio, MIDI and video in Pro Tools sessions. Track Types In a Pro Tools session, you can have several different types of tracks. These can include audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit only), MIDI, Instrument, and video tracks.
MIDI Tracks MIDI tracks record, store, and playback MIDI data. You cannot select a track format when you create a MIDI track, because audio does not pass through it. Instrument Tracks Instrument tracks are a special type of track that provide both MIDI and audio capabilities in a single channel strip. Instrument tracks simplify using software and hardware instruments to record and monitor MIDI instruments.
Track Channel Strips (Mix Window) Audio Track Channel Strips Each audio track has its own set of channel strip controls, including volume, pan, record enable, input monitoring (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit only), automation mode, solo, mute, and voice assignment. Track Color Coding Auxiliary Input Track Channel Strips Each Auxiliary Input track has its own set of channel strip controls, including volume, pan, automation mode, solo, and mute.
Master Fader Track Channel Strips Each Master Fader track has its own set of channel strip controls, including volume and automation mode. Inserts (A-E shown) VCA Master Track Channel Strips (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Each VCA Master track has its own set of channel strip controls, including volume, record enable, input monitoring, automation mode, solo, and mute. For more information, see “VCA Master Tracks” on page 939.
MIDI Track Channel Strips Each MIDI track has its own set of channel strip controls, including MIDI volume, pan, record enable, automation mode, solo, mute, patch assignment, and channel assignment.
Auxiliary Input Track Controls Track Controls and Indicators Each Auxiliary Input track has its own set of track controls, including Track Name, Solo, Mute, Track View, Track Height, Timebase, and Automation mode.
VCA Master Track Controls (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Each VCA Master track has its own set of track controls, including Track Name, Playlist, Record Enable, Input Monitoring, Solo, Mute, Track View, Track Height, Timebase, and Automation mode. Track Height selector MIDI Track Controls Each MIDI track has its own set of track controls, including Track Name, Playlist, Record Enable, Solo, Mute, Track View, Track Height, Patch, Timebase, and Automation mode.
Instrument Track Controls Each Instrument track has its own set of track controls, including Track Name, Playlist, Record Enable, Solo, Mute, Track View, Track Height, Patch, Timebase, and Automation mode.
Instruments View Instruments view provides MIDI controls for Instrument tracks: MIDI Input selector, MIDI Output selector, MIDI Volume, MIDI Pan, and MIDI Mute. To show the I/O View in the Edit window: Channel strips in the Mix window always display Input and Output selectors as well as volume and pan values, so there is no I/O view display option for the Mix window. For more information, see “Assigning MIDI Input and Output for Instrument Tracks” on page 250.
Pan Indicator Volume Fader The Pan indicator displays the current pan setting of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full left) to 100> (full right). Pan controls are only available for stereo tracks or for mono tracks routed to a stereo output. The Volume fader controls the playback level of a track when it is playing back, and the monitor level of the track when it is recording. You can link the record and monitor levels by enabling the Link Record and Play Faders option in the Operation preferences.
Track Level Meter On audio tracks, level meters indicate the level of the signal being recorded or played back from the hard drive. On Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and Instrument tracks, level meters indicate the level of the signal being played through the channel output. Green indicates nominal levels; Yellow indicates pre-clipping (–6 dB below full scale); and Red indicates clipping. When an audio track is record-enabled, these meters indicate record levels.
Wide Meters View Wide Meters view expands the width of the level meters for tracks in both the Mix and Edit windows, to make the track level meters easier to read. Wide Meters view are also available Narrow Mix view. To toggle Wide Meters View on or off: Command-Option-Control-click (Mac) or Control-Alt-Start-click (Windows) any track level meter in the Mix or Edit window. Creating Tracks You can create mono and stereo tracks on all Pro Tools systems.
To create new tracks: 1 To auto-scroll the Track Timebase pop-up menu, press Command+Option (Mac) or Control+Alt (Windows) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys. Do one of the following to open the New Tracks dialog: • Choose Track > New. • Right-click any Track Name in the Mix or Edit windows, or Track List, and choose New. 5 If you are creating various multiple new tracks, you can move to the next or previous row’s Number of New Tracks field by pressing Tab or Shift+Tab.
Default Track Names When creating new audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master, MIDI, and Instrument tracks, Pro Tools names them as “Audio,” “Aux,” “Master,” “VCA,” “MIDI, or “Inst” accordingly and numbers them consecutively. For example, when you create the first two audio tracks in a new session, their default names are “Audio 1” and “Audio 2.” You can rename tracks and also log comments for each track.
To navigate directly to any track number: 1 Choose Track > Scroll to Track. Press Command+Option+F (Mac) or Control+Alt+F (Windows) to open the Scroll to Track dialog. 2 In the Scroll To Track dialog, enter the Track Position Number. unselected track selected track Selected and unselected tracks To select a range of tracks: Scroll To Track dialog 3 1 Click the name of an unhighlighted track in its track channel strip. 2 Shift-click an additional button. Click OK.
Selecting Tracks when Making Edit Selections Pro Tools lets you link Track selection with Edit selections. When Track and Edit selections are linked, you can make a selection within a track or across multiple tracks for editing and each associated track is selected (track names automatically highlight).
Duplicating Tracks 3 The Duplicate Track command lets you duplicate one or more tracks, including their audio or MIDI data, playlists, automation, and other attributes. • Enter how many copies you want to create in the Number of Duplicates filed. To duplicate one or more tracks: • To copy the currently active (visible) Edit playlist from the source track, select Active Playlist. 1 Select the tracks you want to duplicate. \ For information, see “Selecting Tracks” on page 227.
Duplicating VCA Slave Tracks (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Duplicating a VCA slave track without duplicating its group assignments will coalesce any automation on the duplicate track. The coalesced duplicate plays back exactly as if it were in the VCA group. For more information, see “VCA Master Tracks” on page 939. ous controller type. MIDI tracks are commonly set to Notes or Clips, each of which displays notes in a “piano roll” format.
Playlists Track View Clips View (Audio Tracks Only) (MIDI Only) With the Track View set to Playlists, alternate playlists for audio tracks are revealed in Playlist lanes under the Main Playlist on the track. This view is useful for track compositing, letting you select the best parts from a track’s alternate playlists and copy them to the main playlist. With the Track View set to Clips, you can edit and arrange MIDI clips on MIDI and Instrument tracks.
For details on inserting and editing controller data for MIDI tracks, see “Continuous Controller Events” on page 694. You can also edit automation and controller data in lanes below the track’s main playlist view. For details on editing automation data for audio tracks, see Chapter 44, “Automation.
Changing Track Views For audio, Auxiliary Input, MIDI, and Instrument tracks, you can change to the next or previous Track View, or toggle between pre-defined common views. Toggling Common Track Views The most common editing view for audio tracks are Waveform and Volume view. The most common editing views for MIDI and Instrument tracks are Notes and Clips view. Pro Tools provides an easy way to toggle these views.
Master Views for Tracks Audio, MIDI, and Instrument tracks have Track Views that act as “master.” When a track is displayed in its Master view, any edits performed apply to all data in the track. For instance, when an audio track is set to Waveform, copying and pasting affects not just the waveform information, but all of the automation data as well.
Continuously Variable Track Height In the Edit window, you can continuously resize the Track Height of any given track by dragging the lower boundary of the Track Controls column. Track Controls and Track Height The Track Height affects how the various track controls appear in the Edit window. For instance, when a track’s height is set to Small, most of the buttons are reduced in size.
Track List The Track 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 in the Mix, Edit, MIDI Editor, and Score Editor windows. Even though a track is hidden, the material on the track will still play as part of the session. Inactive tracks appear in italics in the Track List. The Track List can also be used to create new tracks when importing media from DigiBase. See “Importing Files with Drag and Drop” on page 339.
To hide a track, do one of the following: Click the Track Show/Hide icon in the Track List. In the Track List (or on the track channel strip), Right-click the track name and select Hide (or Hide and Make Inactive if the track is active and you also want to make it inactive). Sort Tracks By options 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.
To hide all tracks: Click the Track List menu and choose Hide All Tracks. You can also hide all tracks by Option-clicking (Mac) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the Show/Hide icon of any track that is shown. To reorder tracks on-screen, drag the track names to new positions within the Track List or in the Mix or Edit window. To show a range of tracks: 1 Select a range of hidden tracks in the Track List. 2 Click the Show/Hide icon of hidden track at the top of the Track List.
Track Numbering and Hidden Tracks In the Mix and Edit windows, Track Position Numbers can either include hidden tracks in their numbering sequence, or ignore them • When Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden Tracks is not selected in the Display Preferences page, numbers are only assigned to tracks that are shown. In this case, active tracks are then numbered sequentially. Hidden tracks are unnumbered.
Open in MIDI Event List (MIDI and Instrument Tracks Only) Opens the track in the MIDI Event List. Notation Display Track Settings (MIDI and Instrument Tracks Only) Opens the Notation Display Track Settings window for the track. Music notation can only be viewed in the Score Editor or in MIDI Editor windows set to Notation view. Expand Channels to New Tracks Expands multichannel audio files imported from a field recorder to new tracks, such that every channel resides on its own mono audio track.
To automatically assign all track inputs (of the same type and channel width) to unique ascending Input paths (cascading): Command-Option-click (Mac) or Control-Altclick (Windows) the Input Path selector of the left-most Input Path selector and select the first Input Path (mono or stereo, depending on whether your tracks are mono or stereo). All visible tracks of the same channel width (mono or stereo) are auto-assigned to unique Input Path assignments in ascending order.
To remove an output assignment: Select No Output from the Output Path selector. Playlists become dimmed for tracks with no output assignment. Assigning an audio track, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, or Instrument track to “No Output” will cause its automation data for pan and plug-in controls to be lost. When creating a new internal mix bus, the new bus will be named after what you typed for the new track.
Assign Existing Track from a Track Output Pro Tools lets you assign the Output of a track to the Input of an existing track using an available internal mix bus. Note that the destination track must be set to either an internal mix bus or to No Input in order to be available for assignment. Renaming Track Inputs and Outputs from the Edit or Mix Window I/O path names can be renamed in the Edit or Mix windows, or in the I/O Setup.
You can make track inputs and outputs inactive (or active) directly from the Edit or Mix windows. Inactive I/O Paths are grayed out. You can also make a path globally inactive (or active) in the I/O Setup dialog. See “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 112. To make a track’s Input or Output Path inactive (or active), do one of the following: In the Edit or Mix window, Right-click the Input selector or Output selector for a track, and choose Make Inactive (or Make Active) from the pop-up menu.
Track Priority Changing a Track’s Playback Priority While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed number of voices, Pro Tools software allows for additional audio tracks beyond that fixed number of voices. While all of these tracks can be recorded to or imported, arranged, and cued for playback, not all of them can be played back simultaneously. Tracks with higher positions (leftmost in the Mix window or topmost in the Edit window) have priority over tracks in lower positions in a session.
Setting Voice Assignment A track’s voice assignment can be turned off or set to be dynamically allocated, and with Pro Tools|HD systems, can also be explicitly assigned to a specific voice number. To set the voice assignment for a track: Click the Voice selector and set the track to Dyn, Off, or select a voice number (Pro Tools|HD systems only).
Voice Assignment with Complete Production Toolkit Complete Production Toolkit lets you play or record up to 256 voices simultaneously at 44.1 or 48 kHz and up to 128 voices at 88.2 or 96 kHz. Each channel of an audio track uses a single voice. For example, you can have up to 256 mono audio tracks or up to 128 stereo audio tracks at 44.1 or 48 kHz. Maximum track counts are only supported with multiple hard drives and faster Avid-qualified systems.
To assign all selected audio tracks to successive voices: 1 The following example demonstrates the concept of voice borrowing: Select the audio tracks by Command-clicking (Mac) or Control-clicking (Windows) their names. To select multiple tracks, Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) additional Track Names. To select a range of tracks, Shift-click additional Track Names.
Assigning MIDI Track Input Assigning MIDI Track Output Pro Tools lets you assign specific MIDI ports and channels to a MIDI track input. The default selection of All receives all incoming MIDI data from all ports on all channels. Use the MIDI Input selector to specify a MIDI port and channel for input. Pro Tools lets you assign specific MIDI ports and channels to a MIDI track output. The default selection of none sends MIDI data to no port on any channel.
To assign multiple destinations to a single MIDI track: Control-click (Mac) or Right-click (Mac or Windows) the MIDI Output selector and select additional channels from any device. For information on recording and importing MIDI data, see Chapter 22, “MIDI Recording.” Assigning MIDI Input and Output for Instrument Tracks Instrument tracks have a specific view for MIDI controls, including MIDI Input and Output selectors.
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. Instrument tracks have separate sets of Solo and Mute buttons for MIDI and audio monitoring. Track grouping also affects mute and solo behavior.
PFL (Pre Fader Listen) (Pro Tools HD with Avid HDX, Pro Tools|HD, or HD Native Hardware only) The Solo button routes the track’s pre- fader/pre-pan signal to the AFL/PFL Path output. The AFL/PFL Path is configured in the Output page of the I/O Setup dialog (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 98). With PFL, the fader level and pan are ignored, and the level you hear is dependent on the signal’s recorded level.
When AFL or PFL is selected as a Solo mode and a track is soloed, the main output path will mute and the AFL/PFL signal will appear at the AFL/PFL Path for monitoring.
Mute Button MIDI Mute The Mute button silences a chosen track. More than one track can be muted at one time. If Options > Mute Frees Assigned Voice (Pro Tools HD only) is enabled, muting a track will allocate its voice to the next highest priority voiceable track (assigned to the same voice). The Mute button on a MIDI track mutes MIDI data, not audio. Muting MIDI results in no MIDI data being passed to the MIDI output.
To make one or more tracks inactive or active, do one of the following: tive/Active. Default colors are automatically assigned to tracks, but you can override those colors by choosing from a color palette of 96 possible colors. For more information, see “Color Palette” on page 256. Right-click the Track Name in the Track List, or Mix or Edit windows and choose Make Inactive/Active.
Default Track Color Coding The Default Track Color Coding options determine how colors are assigned to the display of tracks. None Turns off default color assignment for tracks. Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each track in the Mix or Edit window according to its voice assignment or MIDI channel assignment. Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each track in the Mix or Edit window according to its voice assignment or MIDI device assignment.
To apply a color from the Color Palette: 1 Choose Window > Color Palette. 2 Do one of the following: • In the Apply to Selected pop-up menu, select the destination for color coding: Tracks, Marker, Group, Clips in Tracks, or Clips in Clip List. • Select a track, marker, group, track clip, or Clip List clip in the appropriate Pro Tools window. The Apply to Selected menu will display the type of item you have selected.
Applying Track Color Coding to Channel Strips The Color Palette lets you apply the Track color coding to channel strips in the Mix and Edit windows. To apply track color coding to channel strips: 1 Enable the Apply to Channel Strip button. 2 If necessary, adjust the Saturation slider to get the color saturation you want. 3 If necessary, adjust the Brightness slider.
Chapter 14: Grouping Tracks Pro Tools provides a relative grouping function for linking tracks and their controls. Edit Groups Grouping Tracks • Track View 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 104 different groups are available, arranged in 4 banks of 26 Group IDs.
In Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit, when the Main Pan attribute is enabled for groups, grouped behavior applies to the Link, Front inverse, Rear inverse and Front/Rear inverse controls in stereo and multichannel panner windows.
Mix Groups and VCA Masters Group List menu (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) An existing Mix Group can be assigned to a VCA Master, or a new Mix Group can be assigned to a VCA Master while it is being created. Only one group can be assigned to a VCA Master at a time. A VCA Master cannot control a group that includes itself.
Group Symbols To the left of each Group ID (“a” through “z”) is a symbol indicating whether that group is selected in the current window (either the Mix or Edit window). There are three types of Group symbols, as shown in the following figure: Delete Active Groups Deletes only currently ac- tive groups.
Show All Tracks Shows all tracks in the session. Group Dialog in Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit In Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit, the Group dialog has three pages: Tracks Lets you add and remove tracks from the current group. Attributes Lets you select which parameters are Group Name pop-up menu linked for the current Mix or Mix/Edit Group.
Group Dialog in Pro Tools 2 In Pro Tools, the Group dialog has a single page. • Choose Track > Group. Do one of the following: • Choose New Group from the Group List menu. 3 Type a name for the group. 4 Select the type of group to create: Edit, Mix, or Mix/Edit. Selecting a Group Type 5 Choose a Group ID from the ID pop-up menu. Four banks of 26 are available: a–z, 2a–z, 3a–z, 4a–z. (If you do not choose a Group ID, Pro Tools automatically assigns the next available ID to a new group.
6 Click Tracks in the Group dialog, and do any of the following: • To add the tracks that are currently selected in the session to the group, click the Add button at the bottom of the Group dialog. • To add tracks to the group, select the track names in the Available track list, and click Add or press A on the computer keyboard. 7 If the group is a Mix Group or a Mix/Edit Group, do the following: • Set the Attributes for the Group (see “Setting Group Attributes” on page 268).
6 Do any of the following: • To add the tracks that are currently selected in the session to the group, click the Add button at the bottom of the Group dialog. • To add tracks to the group, select the track names in the Available track list, and click Add or press A on the computer keyboard. • To remove tracks from the group, select the track names in the Currently In Group list, and click Remove or press R on the computer keyboard.
To modify the settings for the “All” group in Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit: 1 Right-click the “All” group name in the Group List and choose Modify from the pop-up menu. 2 In the Group dialog, select Edit, Mix, or Mix/Edit to change the settings for the “All” group. If you select Edit only or Mix only, the “All” group will apply only to that Group type.
Deleting Groups 2 One or all groups can be deleted at a time. Change any of the following for the current group: • Group name Deleting a group cannot be undone. To delete a single group, do one of the following: In the Mix window, click the Group ID indicator on a track and choose Delete from the popup menu. Right-click the Group name in the Group List and choose Delete from the pop-up menu. To delete all currently active groups Choose Delete Active Groups from the Group List menu.
Selecting Attributes in the Global Page To select attributes for an individual group: 1 To select attributes in the Global page: 1 While creating or modifying a group, click Globals in the Group dialog. While creating or modifying a Mix Group or a Mix/Edit Group, do one of the following: • Click Attributes in the Group dialog, and select the attributes you want to link. • Enable Follow Globals to follow the base set of attributes.
Selecting Group Attributes The following attributes can be selected for Global settings and for individual groups. Track controls: • Main Volume • Main Mute • Main Pan • Main LFE Level • Record Enable • Input Monitoring To select or deselect attributes for a single control across all Sends, all Inserts, or for the four track controls (down a column), Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) any attribute in that column.
To recall a Group preset: Click the corresponding Preset button (1–6) in the Groups dialog. (Follow Globals must be deselected to recall a setting in the Attributes page.) Keyboard Selection of Groups The Group List Keyboard Focus lets you type a Group ID letter to automatically toggle that group’s enable status. In the Mix window, the Group List Keyboard Focus is always enabled. In the Edit window, you need to enable the Group List Keyboard Focus to use it.
Temporarily Isolating Control of an Item from Group Operation Grouped Control Offsets You can temporarily isolate control of a group item from group operation by Right-clicking on the item. When the following controls are grouped with offsets and moved to their extremes, relative offsets are preserved when the controls are moved back from their extremes: You can also temporarily suspend group behavior for a track by Control-clicking (Mac) or Start-clicking (Windows) a group function.
Chapter 15: The Clip List The Edit Window displays all audio clips, MIDI clips, and clip groups in a single, comprehensive Clip List. Drag to resize width of Clip List Because clip information can become lengthy, the Clip List can be scrolled or resized as necessary. Use the Clip List as a bin for storing your favorite audio loops and MIDI clips. Save the session as a template and the clips are available for future sessions (see “Session Templates” on page 180).
Displaying Clips in the Clip List The Clip List can show all clip types (audio, MIDI, video, Groups, Auto-Created), or only certain clip types. This is useful for isolating the type of clips you want to work with while editing and arranging. For example, when arranging clip groups, you may want the Clip List to show only clip groups. To show or hide certain types of clips in the Clip List: Click the Clip List menu (at the top of the Clip List) and choose Show.
Sort By Options The Sort By options let you sort clips to help keep track of large numbers of clips. Audio clips can be sorted by: • Clip Type • Name Clips with file information shown in the Clip List Pro Tools displays only the clip name in the Clip List by default. When editing, the Clip List can become cluttered with auto-created clips. You can hide auto-created clips by choosing Show in the Clip List menu, and deselecting AutoCreated.
Finding Clips Use the Find command to display all clips in a list whose names contain a particular word or phrase. Clips of any type whose name match the word or phrase you searched are displayed in the Clip List. The search string is displayed at the top of the Clip List in brackets. To find and display clips in the Clip List: 1 Text entered into the Find dialog is saved in a Find History, letting you quickly repeat previous searches with a minimum of retyping.
To compile a Find History without performing each search: 1 Click the Clip List menu, and choose Find. 2 Type the name, or any portion of the name, for the clips you want to find. 3 Click and hold the double arrow to the right of the text field in the Find dialog and choose Insert Entry from the pop-up menu. Selecting Clips in the Clip List In the Clip List, you can select clips so they can be dragged to tracks, processed with AudioSuite plug-ins, or exported.
To select or deselect a range of clips with the Marquee: 1 To enable and use the Clip List Keyboard Focus: 1 Move the cursor to the left of the clip name until the Marquee icon with a small “+” symbol appears: Click the Keyboard Focus button in the upper right of the Clip List. • To select clips, the Marquee should be to the left of an unhighlighted clip name. • To deselect clips, the Marquee should be to the left of a highlighted clip name.
an AudioSuite plug-in. Whole-file audio clips reference an entire audio file that resides on your hard drive. Whole-file audio clips are displayed in bold in the Clip List Offline Selects clips whose parent files cannot be located, or are not available, when opening a session or importing a track. Offline clips appear in the Clip List as italicized and dimmed; they appear in playlists as light blue clips with italicized names.
Stereo and Multichannel Clips in the Clip List Rules for Stereo and Multichannel Clips Stereo and multichannel clips, whether imported or recorded into Pro Tools, are displayed as single items in the Clip List. For example, two mono source clips named “Main Piano.L” and “Main Piano.R” are listed as “Main Piano (Stereo).” An expand/collapse triangle indicates stereo and multichannel clips. For stereo and multichannel audio clips to be shown as collective clips, the component clips must be the same length.
You can also rename a clip in a track using the Rename command in the Clip List menu or the Rightclick menu. To rename one or more clips from the Clip List: Auto-Naming Options You can specify the auto-naming options for a clip when new clips are created from it in the course of editing. 1 If you will be renaming an auto-created clip, select Show > Auto-Created from the Clip List menu. Auto-naming of clips does not affect the names of parent audio files.
Managing Clips in the Clip List In the course of editing a session, the Clip List can quickly fill up with many clips—with ones you have created intentionally and also with those that are automatically created by cutting, pasting, and separating other clips, or importing Clip Group files (or REX files as clip groups). Pro Tools lets you hide or remove clips in your session so you do not have to scroll through a long Clip List.
2 After all unused clips are selected, choose Clear from the Clip List menu. The Clear Selected dialog opens. Clip Name Right-Click Commands When you Right-click a clip name in the Clip List, a pop-up menu provides access to the following commands: Clear Removes selected clips from the session. Rename Renames selected clips.
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Chapter 16: DigiBase DigiBase combines an intuitive, browser-style interface with an integrated databasing engine, optimized for Pro Tools data and media management. DigiBase browsers provide extensive databasing tools for searching, sorting, auditioning, and importing of audio, MIDI, video, plug-in settings (.txf), and session files. Multiple browsers can be displayed and arranged, with custom display settings provided to optimize your work environment.
DigiBase Browsers DigiBase databases are accessed through DigiBase browsers. DigiBase browsers provide an intuitive user interface to DigiBase databases with many convenient features for various file management tasks (such as search and sort functions). Workspace Browser The Workspace browser provides access to all your mounted volumes, as well as the folders and files they contain. Using the Workspace browser, you can: • Access all mounted volumes.
Project Browser The Project browser provides powerful search and management tools for the files referenced in your current session, regardless of where they are stored. Using the Project browser, you can: • Show all the media files associated with the current session, including any missing files. • View, manage, audition, and spot individual items. For detailed information about the Project browser, see “Project Browser” on page 324.
Transfer Volumes Are volumes that are not sup- ported for media playback in Pro Tools (such as shared network volumes or CD-ROMs), or storage volumes (hard drives) that have been designated in the Workspace browser as Transfer (T) volumes. Transfer volumes cannot be used to record or play back media in a Pro Tools session. Designated Transfer (T) volumes can be useful for transferring session and media files between different Pro Tools systems.
DigiBase Browser Windows and Tools DigiBase browsers display all files in their database, including Pro Tools and non-Pro Tools files. Unknown file types can be shown, as well as aliases, and desktop folders.
Columns Identifies the type of metadata displayed To open a Catalog browser: in the items list (such as file name and format) for volumes, folders, and files in the Items List. 1 • Columns can be resized by dragging the column border, or rearranged by dragging the Column headers. • Columns can be dragged to either of two available panes, the Fixed or Scrolling panes. Open the Workspace browser (Window > Workspace).
Moving DigiBase Browsers to the Foreground or Background To bring all open DigiBase browsers to the foreground: Working wIth Items in DigiBase Browsers Opening Sessions Choose Window > Browsers > Bring to Front. To bring all DigiBase browsers to the foreground, press Option+J (Mac) or Alt+J (Windows). To open a Pro Tools session listed in a DigiBase browser: To send all DigiBase browsers to the background: Choose Window > Browsers > Send to Back.
Creating and Opening DigiBase Browser Folders DigiBase browsers let you create and manipulate folders (file system sub-directories). All folders have Expand/Collapse icons to show their contents. Dragging items onto a folder icon is the same as dragging into an open DigiBase browser. To create a new folder in a Volume browser or Catalog: 1 Choose New Folder from the Browser menu. 2 Type a name for the folder, and click OK. (Click Cancel to cancel the new folder.
If a volume or folder has not been indexed, it is indexed automatically the first time it is opened in a DigiBase browser. Volumes or folders containing a lot of media files can take a long time to index. For this reason, you may want to manually index specific volumes or files prior to starting a project to help expedite workflow. Manual Indexing Manual indexing fills in all missing data, and updates changed data for selected folders and all of their sub-folders.
DigiBase Browser Menu All DigiBase browsers provide a Browser menu in the upper right corner of their toolbar. DigiBase Browser menus provides commands specific to each type of browser, as described below. Calculate Elastic Analysis Calculates Elastic Au- dio analysis data for all selected audio files. Analyzed files are indicated by a check mark to the left of the file name.
Copy and Relink Copies items currently selected in the Project browser to a chosen location, and relinks the session to the copies instead of the originals. Use this to easily move files from a Transfer to a Performance volume. This command is also available in Catalogs to copy items and relink the current Catalog to the copies. Duplicate Selected Creates a duplicate of the se- lected items in the same location. Lock Selected Locks all selected items. Any files already locked remain so.
Additional DigiBase Commands in Catalogs In Catalogs, the following additional commands are available to manage Comments in selected items. For more information on Comments, see “Comments Fields” on page 301. Moving Columns Between Panes Columns in DigiBase browsers can be placed in either pane. Move columns you frequently need to see into the left-hand pane. Columns that you use less often can be moved to the right-hand pane. To move columns between panes: Drag the column header to a different pane.
Showing and Hiding Columns View Presets You can show or hide individual columns in DigiBase browsers to fit your workflow. The default column display includes the items you would use in most sessions. Pro Tools lets you save up to five preset views for each type of DigiBase browser, and the Relink window. Presets can be recalled by clicking a View Preset button. View Presets are specific to each type of DigiBase browsers.
Sorting Columns Status The Status column is the first column on the Columns can be sorted in ascending or descending order, and multiple sorts can be applied (up to four levels). left, and it displays the status of each item, as follows. Status Icons and Display Icon Text Status none Black Online none Blue italics Offline T Blue italics Transfer Blue Elastic Audio Analysis Calculated To sort by columns: Click the column title header.
Free Displays the unused space on volumes. This field cannot be edited. Waveform Displays a graphical overview of an audio file. See “Waveforms” on page 307 for more information. Duration Displays the duration of a file in absolute time (minutes and seconds), regardless of the timecode format. For clip groups, MIDI, tick-based Elastic Audio files, REX, and ACID files, Duration displays Bars and Beats. This field cannot be edited. File Comment Displays any embedded comments associated with the file.
TC Rate This column displays the frame rate of the item if the item is an AAF sequence or an OMF sequence or file: 24, 25, 29.97, 30, drop or non-drop. For sequences, the frame rate at the start of the sequence is displayed. Channel Names Displays the channel name and number data embedded in multichannel audio files. You can edit the Channel name for mono BWF files only. When editing the channel name, anything entered in parentheses is discarded. However, the channel number will always be preserved.
Comments Fields Comments about individual files can be stored in the database, and embedded with the file’s metadata wrapper. There are two types of comments fields: File Comments and Database Comments. Selecting Items To select a single item in a DigiBase browser: File Comments You can also type the first letter, or the first few letters, of the item you want to select in a DigiBase browser.
Moving, Copying, Duplicating, and Deleting Items Moving, copying, duplicating, and deleting items in DigiBase browsers follow the same rules and behavior as in the operating system. For example, moving a file to another volume copies the file, and Pro Tools warns you if an items is about to be overwritten or replaced. Dragging an item from a Catalog to a Volume browser always makes a new copy of the item. Deleting Items and Folders You can select and delete files and folders in all browsers.
Deleting Catalog Items When you delete a folder or item from a Catalog, Pro Tools lets you choose whether to delete only the alias from the Catalog, or also delete the original files from the disk. To delete an item from a Catalog. 1 Open a Catalog and select one or more items. 2 Do one of the following: • Press Delete. • Choose Delete Selected from the Browser menu. 3 When prompted, do one of the following: • To remove the aliases for the selected items from the Catalog, click Aliases.
Starting a Search To search the current DigiBase browser: 1 Click the Search icon to display the Search pane. Search icon To stop a search: During a search, click the Stop button. This stops the search routine, and the Stop button changes back to Search. Whatever results have already been found continue to be displayed, and all entries in search fields are retained.
Search Modifiers OR Searches Certain fields have small pop-up menus containing modifiers, which limit the search criteria entered in the field. The Plus (+) and Minus (–) buttons add and delete OR rows to find results that match the criteria either in the top row or the additional rows. Modifiers include: To add and use OR rows in a search: • Equal to (=) 1 Click the (+) button to add an OR row identical to the upper row, but with no entries in the search fields.
Search Modes About the Search Process DigiBase provides two different text searching environments: Searches are conducted in two passes, each indicated by Search Status displayed in the Search pane (and the Task window). Quick Search Mode Applies wildcards before and after each text string. For example, a Quick search for Dog finds Dogs, dog_bark, and howling_dogs. Advanced Search Mode Does not automatically apply any wildcards.
Waveforms The Waveform column displays waveforms for audio files. Waveform display depends on the following: • Waveforms are displayed if they have already been calculated and stored, either with the file metadata or in the global Waveform cache. • When a file is imported into a session, a waveform is automatically calculated for it. Waveform displays in a DigiBase browser • Waveforms are gray if they have not been stored with the file metadata or in the global Waveform cache.
Analyzed files are indicated by a check mark to the left of the file name. File Timebase and Elastic Audio Analysis Icons Analyzed files in which a regular tempo was detected are updated as tick-based, display their duration in Bars|Beats, and display their native tempo in the Tempo column. DigiBase browsers provide three icons to indicate whether a file has Elastic Audio analysis and the file’s timebase. Analyzed files in which no tempo was detected remain sample-based.
Previewing Audio in DigiBase Audio files can be previewed in DigiBase browsers. Previewing follows the master Audition path as selected in the Output pane of the I/O Setup (see “Audition Paths” on page 97). The base level for previewing is determined by the Master Fader (or Auxiliary Input) level assigned to the Audition path. You can also adjust the Preview Volume in the DigiBase browser. To preview an audio file in a DigiBase browser: 1 Select an audio file in a browser Items List.
Preview Controls and Indicators Every DigiBase browser provides the following preview controls in the Toolbar: Preview, Volume, Meters, Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo, and Elastic Audio Plug-In. To change the volume for previewing in DigiBase browsers: 1 Click the Volume field to display the Volume fader. 2 Adjust the Volume fader (from –INF to +12 dB).
When the Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo button is enabled, Pro Tools analyzes any un-analyzed files on preview or import. Tick-based audio files conform to the session tempo during preview and on import. Sample-based files, those where no tempo has been detected, always preview and import at their original speed and duration. When the Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo button is disabled, any tick-based audio files with Elastic Audio analysis, and REX and ACID files preview at their native tempo.
To stop loop audition: Do one of the following: • Click the Browser Preview button again. • If Spacebar Toggles File Preview is selected in the Browser menu, press the Spacebar again. • Press Command+P (Mac) or Control+P (Windows). • Press the Esc key. Auto-Preview Conforming Preview to the Session Tempo Pro Tools lets you preview Elastic Audio analyzed files at the session tempo. The selected default Elastic Audio plug-in is used for previewing Elastic Audio analyzed audio files at the session tempo.
Deselect the Spacebar Toggles File Preview option in the Browser menu to start and stop session playback with the Spacebar without previewing in the DigiBase browser. Use Command+P (Mac) or Control+P (Windows) to start and stop preview in the frontmost DigiBase browser during session playback. Linking and Relinking Files A Pro Tools session is made up of references, or links, to audio files and other session media.
Choosing When to Relink Pro Tools lets you relink files while opening a session or after a session is already open, as follows: Relinking when opening a session ensures that the session opens with all media playable. Automatic and manual relinking can be performed. See “Opening a Session with Missing Files” on page 315. Relinking later (after a session is already open) is the fastest way to open the session, but all missing items remain offline and unplayable.
To copy items to a new location and Relink to the copies: 1 Do one of the following: • Choose Window > Project. • Open the appropriate Catalog. 2 3 4 5 Select the items you want to copy and relink. You can select any media files (online, offline, and Transfer files). Choose Copy and Relink Selected from the Browser menu. If the default location for the copies (the session’s Audio Files folder) is not appropriate, specify a different location and click Choose.
Automatically Find and Relink Automatically Find and Relink is the simplest method to relink sessions to required media, but it provides no way to compare files or verify links. This option cannot be undone. The Automatically Find and Relink option does the following: • Searches all Performance volumes for all missing items with matching Name, ID, Format, and Length. • Links missing items to the first matches found.
Relink Window The Relink window provides tools for all relinking tasks. Menu and toolbar Areas to Search Files to Relink Candidates Main elements in the Relink window Menu and Toolbar Includes the Relink menu, View Presets, and relinking buttons. Status is displayed at the far right. Areas to Search Selects volumes on which to search for missing items. Files to Relink Lists missing files. Candidates Lists files that match the “relinking criteria” for a particular missing file.
Opening the Relink Window 2 When opening a session with missing files, use the Manually Find and Relink option to open the Relink window. The Relink window can also be accessed after a session is open. To access the Relink window from an open session: 1 Choose Window > Project. 2 Choose Relink Offline from the Browser menu. Selecting Areas to Search Selecting volumes and folders in the Areas to Search pane lets you focus the search for missing files.
Pro Tools searches the selected volumes and displays all files that match File Name or Unique ID in the Candidates list. Link icons indicate if a Candidate is already linked. OMF video clips can only be relinked to a session if they have matching Unique IDs. QuickTime video clips can only be relinked to a session by file name and file format (QuickTime). To control matching and linking criteria when relinking an individual missing file, use the Find Links button.
6 7 To view a candidate for a missing file, select to highlight the missing file. That file’s candidate appears in the Candidates pane, where you can view its information and waveform. If you are not satisfied with the candidate for a particular missing file, you can click Find All Candidates for the selected file (see “Relinking Individual Missing Files” on page 318). Committing Links There is no Undo for relinking.
Workspace Browser The Workspace browser is your starting point for managing media. The Workspace browser is always available while Pro Tools is running, even if no session is open.
Opening the Workspace Browser To open the Workspace browser: 1 Launch Pro Tools. 2 Choose Window > Workspace. To change a volume designator: 1 Open the Workspace browser. 2 Click and select the appropriate Audio or Video designator for the volume. Press Option+; (Mac) or Alt+; (Windows) to open the Workspace browser. Audio and Video Volume Designators The Workspace includes columns for Audio and Video Volume designators.
Catalogs in the Workspace Browser Search pane The Workspace browser provides special tools for creating and accessing Catalogs. Once Catalogs have been created, they appear in the Workspace browser in the Catalogs folder. Areas to search To show all Catalogs: 1 Open the Workspace browser. 2 Click the Expand/Collapse icon next to the Catalogs folder.
Project Browser The Project browser displays and manages all the files related to the current session, regardless of what volume they reside on. Browser menu and toolbar Folders and files Project browser The Project browser is similar to the Clip List in that it contains all files associated with a session, with the added data, searching, and sorting capabilities of DigiBase browsers.
Each of the folder types in the Project browser has an Expand/Collapse icon. Clicking the icon shows or hides all of the files in the sub-group. The folders displayed in the Project browser are sessionspecific groupings of files, not physical folders on disk. Locating Parent Files of Clips The Project browser can be set to automatically highlight the parent file of any clip selected in the Pro Tools Clip List. To highlight the parent file of a selected clip: 1 2 Select a clip in the Clip List.
Catalogs While Volume browsers are designed to be an accurate representation of the file structure on a given volume, Catalogs are similar to having a Favorites folder, and serve as a way to collect and organize frequently used items regardless of where they are stored. A Catalog is analogous to a folder full of aliases or shortcuts. Placing a file in a Catalog does not create a copy of the file, and does not change where the file is stored.
Clip Names in Catalogs Clip names are the names that appear in the Timeline and Clip List when a file is imported into a session. For most files, the clip name is the same as the file name. For OMF Files, the clip name is the name that appears in the Avid bin. Clip names can only be edited in a Catalog. Editing the clip name does not affect the actual file; however, if you add the same file to a new Catalog, it retains its original clip name.
Renaming a Catalog Catalogs can be renamed at any time. To rename a Catalog: 1 Click the Catalog item in the Workspace browser until its name highlights. 2 Type a new name for the Catalog. Modifying Catalogs To add items to a Catalog, do one of the following: Open the Catalog and drop new items from another DigiBase browser. Click the main Catalogs icon in the Workspace, to expand your view of all existing Catalogs, then drop items onto any Catalog.
Deleting Catalogs To delete a Catalog: 1 Select one or more Catalogs in the Workspace browser. 2 Press the Delete key, or choose Delete Selected from the Browser menu. A warning dialog appears. 3 In the warning dialog, do one of the following: • Click Cancel to cancel the delete operation. • Click Delete Files to delete aliases and associated files from disk. • Click Delete Aliases to delete only the aliases and not the associated files. This operation cannot be undone.
Task Window For maximum performance and flexibility with file management tasks, Pro Tools provides the Task window. File management with Pro Tools involves nearly constant creating, copying, converting, processing, searching, and indexing files. These tasks occur in the background, letting you continue recording, editing, and mixing without delay. The Task window lets you monitor, pause and cancel ongoing tasks including file copying, fade regeneration, and indexing.
Task Window Views As tasks complete, they disappear from the queue. The Task window provides a maximized and minimized view. Any task that fails to complete successfully is moved to the Paused Tasks pane (see below). The Status column displays a description of the failure. To toggle between maximized and minimized views: Click the View Toggle icon in the top of the Task window.
To cancel a task: 1 Highlight any task in either pane of the Task window. 2 Press Delete to remove it from the Task window. To cancel all tasks: 1 Select any single task in either pane. 2 Press Command+A (Mac) Control+A (Windows) to select all the tasks in that pane. 3 Press Delete. This command cannot be undone. About Cancelling Tasks Some tasks involve one or more sub-tasks. Deleting a task cannot undo sub-tasks already completed.
Stored Tasks Any task that imports files into a session is stored with a session when it is closed, and resumes when the session is re-opened. For example, if you Import Session Data with Copy From Source Media selected, then Save and Close the session before the copy completes, the copy tasks resume when the session is reopened. Grouped Tasks Some tasks consist of many smaller tasks. For instance, Copy and Relink may require hundreds of individual files to be copied.
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Chapter 17: Importing and Exporting Session Data Pro Tools lets you import and export a variety of data into and out of a session, including audio and MIDI files, clip groups, video files, track playlists, I/O configurations, and signal routing configurations. You can import individual audio and MIDI files into a session, or import entire audio or MIDI tracks, along with all of their attributes, from another session.
Exporting Pro Tools lets you export audio, video, MIDI, clip groups, and session data by: • Using the Send Via DigiDelivery command • Using the Export to Sibelius or Send to Sibelius command (MIDI only) • Using the File menu Export commands: • Selected Tracks as New AAF/OMF • Selected Tracks as New Session • MIDI Audio Conversion on Import Depending on the properties of the audio files you are importing, you can add, copy, or convert the files: When files are added to a Pro Tools session, they remain at t
Files That Can Be Added to a Session Without Conversion Any audio file of a supported file format (WAV and AIFF) and bit depth (16, 24, and 32-bit float) can be added to sessions without conversion. Audio files with sample rates that do not match the session sample rate can be added to the session without conversion, but will playback at a different pitch and speed from files that match the session sample rate.
Sample Rate Conversion Quality Bit Depth Conversion and Dither The Sample Rate Conversion Quality setting determines the quality of sample rate conversion used when converting and importing audio into a session. It can also applied when exporting files at different sample rate and when bouncing to disk. There are five possible settings, ranging from Low (fastest, but lowest quality) to Tweak Head (highest quality, but slowest).
Importing Interleaved Files When using the Import Audio command, interleaved stereo files are automatically imported to stereo tracks. With Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit, greater-thanstereo multichannel audio files are automatically imported to tracks with the corresponding multichannel audio file format. If the Interleaved option is enabled for the session, or is enabled on import, interleaved files are imported to the session and remain interleaved files.
Workspace Volumes Catalogs Drop media or session files to existing tracks, or to the Track List to add as new tracks Drop files in the Clip List to import Importing from browsers by drag and drop Importing does not always convert or copy audio files. See “Audio Conversion on Import” on page 336. Importing using drag and drop does not necessarily bring the Edit window to the foreground.
To import and spot files into a track: 1 Enable Spot mode. 2 Select the files you want to import in a DigiBase browser, or Windows Explorer, or Mac Finder. 3 Drag the files onto an existing, compatible track. The Spot dialog appears. 4 Enter the appropriate timecode location (where you want to spot the imported file). 5 Click OK.
Importing Elastic Audio from DigiBase to the Clip List With the Audio Files Conform to Session Tempo option enabled, dragging and dropping tick-based audio from DigiBase browsers to the Clip List (or to the Track List), creates two separate clips in the Clip List. The first is a sample-based whole file clip and the second is a tick-based copy of the same clip.
In the import list, audio files are distinguished from clips by their icons. Audio File icon Audio Clip icon File and Clip icons in the Import Audio dialog 4 Do any of the following: • To place a file or clip in the Import list, select the file and click Add or Convert. • To import all files and clips in the current directory, click Add All or Convert All. • To remove a file or clip from the Import list, select it and click Remove. • To remove all files and clips, click Remove All.
8 In the Audio Import Options dialog, select where the imported files will go in the session: Importing Audio from Audio CDs Pro Tools lets you import tracks from audio CDs using the same methods that you use to import audio files, as follows: • Drag CD audio from the CD folder. • Drag files from DigiBase Browser. • Use the Import Audio command. Audio Import Options dialog Before importing CD audio, make sure your hard drive has enough space for the converted audio files.
Elastic Audio clips. For REX files only, Pro Tools uses any slice data to create Event markers with 100% confidence. ACID files are analyzed for Elastic Audio events just like WAV files, and so events are detected with varying degrees of confidence. For information on Elastic Audio, see Chapter 40, “Elastic Audio.” REX files can also be imported as tick-based clip groups. For information on clip groups, see “Clip Groups” on page 847).
Automatic Fades for Imported REX Files If the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option is enabled in the Processing Preferences page, Pro Tools can automatically apply real-time crossfades to the clips or “slices” in imported REX format files. To apply real-time crossfades to REX files: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Processing tab. 2 Enable the Import REX Files as Clip Groups option. 3 Enable the Automatically Create Fades option. 4 In the Preferences dialog, click the Editing tab.
Import Options and Preferences Pro Tools provides several options and preferences that affect audio import. Configure Pro Tools to match your most common workflows. For example, if you frequently work by importing REX files for loop-based composition, you can configure Pro Tools to always import REX files to conform to tempo and create new tick-based Elastic Audio tracks.
Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to Session Tempo The Drag and Drop From Desktop Conforms to Session Tempo options determine whether or not REX, ACID, and all other audio file formats dragged and dropped from Windows Explorer or Mac Finder are imported as tick-based Elastic Audio and conformed to the session tempo.
The Elastic Properties window inherits the Default Input Gain preference. To apply further clip-based Input Gain for Elastic Audio processing, select the clip and adjust the Input Gain setting in the Elastic Properties window (see “Elastic Properties Window” on page 896). Enable Elastic Audio on New Tracks When selected, new tracks are created with Elastic Audio enabled. The selected default Elastic Audio plugin is used.
Exporting a Clip as a New Audio File You can export clips as audio files with the Export Clips as Files command. Use this command if you intend to use a clip in other sessions (or other audio applications) without using its parent source file. This command also provides a way to convert clips to a different audio format, sample rate, or bit depth. To export clips as new audio files: 1 In the Clip List, select the clips you want to export.
4 5 6 If you are exporting to an 8-bit file, enable the Use Squeezer option. This optimizes the dynamics of the exported audio by preprocessing it using compression, limiting, and gating before conversion to 8-bit resolution (for more information, see “Use Squeezer” on page 1088). To export clips as a stereo or multichannel interleaved file: To share with SoundCloud, select the Share with SoundCloud option (see “Share with SoundCloud” on page 1089).
Importing MIDI Files Importing MIDI Files Using Pro Tools Menu Commands You can import Standard MIDI Files (SMF) into your Pro Tools sessions. Pro Tools provides commands to import MIDI files. Pro Tools provides several ways to import MIDI files into an open session. To import Standard MIDI Files into a session using the Pro Tools File menu: • “Importing MIDI Files Using Pro Tools Menu Commands” on page 352. 1 Choose File > Import > MIDI and select the file you want to import.
Selection Aligns the beginning of the file to the edit cursor or to the beginning of a selection in the Timeline. 6 Spot Displays the Spot dialog, which lets you spot Importing MIDI Files with Drag and Drop the file to a precise location based on any of the Time Scales. 4 Select any of the following Import options: Import Tempo Map From MIDI File When selected, overwrites any existing tempo and meter map with tempo and meter information read from the MIDI file.
Exporting MIDI Files To export a session’s MIDI tracks for use in another MIDI application, or for playback with an external (hardware) MIDI sequencer, you can export Pro Tools MIDI and Instrument tracks as a Standard MIDI File. MIDI can be exported from Pro Tools as a merged, single, multichannel track (Type 0), or as multiple tracks (Type 1). If your Pro Tools session uses key signatures and meters, they are exported with the MIDI file.
When exporting MIDI files from Pro Tools, device assignments for tracks are not retained (though channel assignments are). If you export MIDI or Instrument tracks from Pro Tools and later re-import them, you will need to reassign the tracks to devices in your studio. Alt-Right-click (Windows) or Option-Rightclick (Mac) to export all tracks to a single MIDI file.
Importing Session Data 4 You can import entire tracks from other Pro Tools sessions into the current Pro Tools session using the Import Session Data command or drag and drop. To select multiple tracks, Alt-click (Windows) or Opt-click (Mac) on any track pop-up menu and select Import As New Track. With Pro Tools, you can import tracks and you can select specific session data (such as automation and routing) to import.
13 To import Markers and Memory Locations from the source session, select the Import Marker/Memory Locations option. 14 To import Window Configurations, select the Import Window Configurations option. 15 With Pro Tools HD, select the Import Mic Pre Settings option to import any Mic Pre settings from the source session. 16 Click OK when you are finished. 17 If you chose to copy or consolidate media, choose a location to place the media files.
Copying During Import If no conversion is necessary, and the files reside on a suitable Performance volume, Pro Tools references the original version of the media. You can also choose to copy media while importing by using key commands, or enabling the Automatically Copy Files on Import preference. Copies are created in the session’s Audio Files Folder.
Text Encoding Pro Tools allows entry and display of any language characters supported in Unicode anywhere in the Pro Tools application. This lets you use multiple languages in session names, and in path names, file names and clip names. However, Pro Tools 7.3.x and lower does not support Unicode. When importing data from sessions or OMF sequences created or saved with older versions of Pro Tools, you may need to identify the language encoding used in the imported elements.
Video Media Options Timecode Mapping Options In the Import Session Data dialog, you can either choose to leave video media files in their original locations or copy them to a new location. This is useful if you are importing tracks from a source such as CDs or DVDs or shared storage, and you want to place video files on a different drive. In the Import Session Data dialog, you can specify where the imported tracks are placed in the current session. Times are indicated in timecode.
Track Offset Options Source Tracks In the Import Session Data dialog, you can specify a track offset in addition to any offset incurred with the Timecode Mapping Options. Any imported audio is offset in the current session’s Timeline by the specified amount. You can enter values in Minutes:Seconds, Bars|Beats, Samples, Timecode, or Feet/Frames. This area of the Import Session Data dialog lists the tracks in the source session that can be imported, each with a corresponding pop-up menu.
Matching Tracks In the Import Session Data dialog, you can make sure track names match when you are importing playlists from source tracks with the same name as destination tracks in the current session (such as a new cut of a scene). Click Matching Tracks to automatically match the track names. Tracks must have the same name, track type, and channel format to be automatically matched. Selecting Track Data to Import You can select All, None, or any combination of the listed track data to import.
Main Output Assignments Imports the source Side-Chain Assignments When the source track’s track’s channel output assignments, including any multiple output assignments. The channel output assignments in the destination track are replaced. plug-in assignments are imported, this option imports any side-chain assignments associated with the plug-ins. If no plug-in assignments are imported, this option has no effect. Send Output Assignments Imports the source track’s send output assignments.
Import Options Main Playlist Options The following Import Options are available in the Import Session Data dialog: In the Import Session Data dialog, you can select from the following options to control how the main playlist from each source track is imported to the destination track in the current session. Import Tempo/Meter Map Imports the meter and tempo maps, as they appear in the Tempo and Meter Conductor rulers, from the source session.
Importing AAF and OMF Sequences Pro Tools lets you open AAF and OMF sequences as new Pro Tools sessions, or you can import AAF and OMF sequences into existing Pro Tools sessions. Pro Tools can import AAF and OMF sequences exported from other Pro Tools sessions, from Avid Media Composer, or from third-party applications (such as Final Cut Pro, Logic Audio, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Nuendo). When importing AAF sequences generated from an Avid video editing application, Pro Tools can import mono, stereo, and 5.
Importing an AAF or OMF Sequence as a Pro Tools Session The easiest way of using Pro Tools to edit a sequence exported from an Avid application (such as Media Composer) is to open it as a new session. Pro Tools cannot play video files embedded within an AAF or OMF sequence. To open and import an AAF or OMF sequence in Pro Tools: 1 Launch Pro Tools. 2 Choose File > Open Session. 3 In the Open Session dialog, navigate to the AAF or OMF sequence you want to import. 4 Click Open.
This session will match the audio file type, sample rate, and bit depth of the audio in the OMF or AAF you selected. Pro Tools does not import video embedded in a sequence. If a Video Satellite system is available, Pro Tools can import the video metadata from a sequence to a satellite track. In this case, the video itself is played back from the Video Satellite machine, in tandem with Pro Tools playback. For more information, see the Video Satellite Guide.
8 Set the Track Offset Options (see “Track Offset Options” on page 371). 9 Set the Sample Rate Convert Options (see “Sample Rate Conversion Options” on page 372). 10 11 Change other settings and options as necessary (for more information about the Import Session Data dialog, see “Import Session Data Dialog” on page 358). Click OK. If there are any errors or clip name truncations, a dialog will appear asking you if you want a detailed report of the changes.
Importing AAF/OMF Sequences Containing Media Mixdowns Pro Tools with an Avid video peripheral lets you import AAF and OMF sequences exported from Avid editing applications by selecting File > Import > Session Data or by dragging them from the desktop or a DigiBase browser to Pro Tools. For more information, see “Importing Session Data” on page 356. If the sequence contains a video mixdown, the video mixdown and its corresponding metadata are displayed in two separate video tracks on the Timeline.
To convert OMFI audio files during import: Choose Force to Target Format mode, rather than Copy from Source Media mode, when setting import options. For more information, see “Force to Target Session Format” on page 370. To convert an OMFI audio file that exists in the current session: 1 Select the audio to be converted. 2 Apply the Consolidate command to convert the selected audio (Edit > Consolidate Clip). 3 Edit and process your newly converted files as normal.
Timecode Mapping Options When importing AAF or OMF tracks into Pro Tools, you can specify where the imported tracks are placed in the current session. Times are indicated in timecode. Timecode Mapping Options Adjust Session Start Time to Match Source Start Time This option changes the start time of the current session to match the start time of the AAF or OMF sequence being imported. When this option is enabled, the Map Start Timecode to hh:mm:ss:ff option (and its timecode entry box) are disabled.
Sample Rate Conversion Options When importing AAF or OMF tracks into Pro Tools, these settings let you convert the sample rate of the session’s audio files. For example, you can convert from 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz, or from 44.1 kHz to 48 kHz. Avid HDX, HD Native, and Pro Tools|HD systems support sample rates higher than 48 kHz (88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz). These settings also enable you to convert to compensate for the 0.1% speed change (pull up or pull down) between 24 fps film and 29.
Conversion Quality Pop-Up Menu Import Volume Automation This pop-up menu lets you select settings corresponding to Pro Tools sample rate conversion settings. The Tweak Head (Slowest) option provides the best results. The Import Volume Automation setting lets you import volume breakpoint automation, or ignore it entirely. Media Composer and other Avid products provide volume automation, for continuous volume change throughout a sequence.
To import all Markers: Click the Markers to Import menu and select All. To import no Markers: Click the Markers to Import menu and select None. Importing RTAS Plug-In Settings from AAF Avid Media Composer 5 and higher lets you process audio tracks with RTAS plug-ins. Pro Tools lets you import RTAS plug-in data from audio tracks in Media Composer-generated AAF sequences. Plug-in type, order, and control settings are preserved.
Main Playlist Options When importing AAF or OMF tracks into Pro Tools, you can choose how the main playlist from each source track is imported to the destination track in the current session. See “Main Playlist Options” on page 364.
Translation Notes Format Example 2 Translation Notes are presented in the following format: V1<01:00:48:25–01:00:49:26>no rendering for effect: omfi:effect: VideoRepeat;substituting silence/video black. Track Name “clip name (if available)”;message Translation Notes and Categories The Translation Notes File is separated into different categories. The following are sample messages in each category, with explanations of what has happened and solutions if necessary.
This Translation Note is primarily informational, informing you that Pro Tools was not able to translate the AAF or OMF sequence exactly, and has had to make an adjustment so Pro Tools can understand it. This error occurs because applications don’t always calculate the number of samples in a frame in the same way. In some cases, there may be one too few samples of media to support a given clip from the Pro Tools standpoint. In this situation, there can potentially be an audio “pop.
4 If desired, select Enforce Avid Compatibility. 11 In the Publishing Options dialog, type the Pro Tools Comment and Sequence Name. Enforce Avid Compatibility limits the sample rate options to 44.1 or 48 kHz, and enables exporting of clip gain data. Dither without noise shaping will be applied to files being exported from 24-bit to 16-bit. Be sure to select the correct Target Project Timecode Format option for the project as set for the project in your target application (such as Avid Media Composer).
Exporting Multichannel Audio Tracks When exporting AAF, stereo, 5.1, and 7.1 tracks can be exported as multichannel tracks, or as splitmono tracks. When exporting to OMF, multichannel tracks are always exported as multiple mono files. Video tracks cannot be exported to AAF or OMF from Pro Tools. Exporting Clip Gain When exporting to AAF with the Enforce Avid Compatibility option on, Pro Tools generates Media Composer-style clip gain data, based on the clip gain data on each track.
To export selected audio tracks from Pro Tools as an AAF sequence referring to MXF audio files: 1 In Pro Tools, select the tracks you want to export. 2 Choose File > Export > Selected Tracks as OMF/AAF. 3 Under OMF/AAF Options, select AAF from the Export As pop-up menu. An OMF sequence cannot reference MXF media files. When using the Export Selected Tracks as OMF/AAF dialog, choose AAF in the Export As pop-up menu to enable MXF in the Audio Format menu.
Exporting MXF Audio Files Using Bounce to Disk You can use the Bounce to Disk command to create pre-mixed MXF audio files of the current Pro Tools session. This does not export all of the individual files on the Timeline, but it does guarantee that the mix you hear in another application will be identical to the mix you hear in Pro Tools, including all panning, effects and automation.
Exporting a Clip as a New MXF File 3 You can export clips as MXF audio files with the Export Selected As Files command. Use this command if you intend to use a clip in other sessions or other audio applications without using its parent source file. This command also provides a way to convert clips to a different sample rate or bit depth. Enforce Avid Compatibility creates frameaccurate edits, wraps the files as OMFI (unless you choose MXF), and limits the sample rate options to 44.1 or 48 kHz.
Enforce Avid Compatibility If the Enforce Avid Compatibility option is enabled, all AAF and OMF files and sequences will meet the specific requirements of Avid Video workstations. Sample rates are limited to 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Exported clips will be padded to the nearest frame boundaries (Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries). This padding ensures that the placement of a file in the Timeline will be the same on sample-accurate as well as frame-accurate systems.
ple, if the clip starts at 1:15 and 500 samples, the subclip would start at 1:15; and if the clip ends at 4:00 and 500 samples, the subclip would end at 4:01. Because quantizing edits to frame boundaries extends the clips, extra audio may be heard. To prevent this extra audio from playing, special oneframe sound files are rendered to duplicate the original boundaries of the clip.
Source Audio Sample Rate This setting allows you to specify the sample rate of the material you are working with in Pro Tools, independent of the session’s sample rate settings. Destination Audio Sample Rate This setting allows you to specify the sample rate for audio files after the AAF or OMF translation. If this setting differs from the Source Audio Sample Rate setting, audio is sample-rate converted digitally to the Destination Audio Sample Rate.
Consolidate From Source Media Copies only the part of the files that are actually used by the session. For example, you may only be using a ten second clip of a ten-minute audio file in your session. Consolidating this audio saves a great deal of disk space by copying only the audio you use, and discarding the rest. Consolidate Source Audio Media is the only usable option for a Pro Tools to AAF or OMF translation when Quantize Edits to Frame Boundaries is selected.
Time stamps can be stored in three different places within a media file: • In a clip definition • In the file format metadata (for example, .WAV file wrappers) • In the AAF or OMF wrapper Exporting a Clip If you are exporting a clip, the time stamp will be the start point of the clip, relative to the point where the file originally started to record. For example, if you record a file from 1:00 to 1:30, then trim it to start at 1:15, the time stamp for the exported clip would be 1:15.
To export selected tracks as a new session: 1 Select the tracks you want to export as a new session. 2 Choose File > Export > Selected Tracks As New Session. The Save Session Copy dialog opens. (You can also open the Save Session Copy dialog by choosing File > Save Copy In.) A copy of the session that contains only the selected tracks from the source session is saved to the specified location. For information on the Save Session Copy dialog settings and options, see “Save Copy In Options” on page 177.
6 When you have set your options, click OK. 7 Select a location and type a filename for the exported text file. In Windows, Pro Tools adds the correct 3-letter filename extension, while on the Mac, the file extension “.txt” is added. Export Session Information as Text Options Exported Session Text Files Session Information The session text file starts with basic information about the session.
Include Plug-In List File Format Select this option to export a list of the plug-ins used in the session. On Mac, you can to export to TextEdit, UTF-8, MS Excel, MS Word, Write Now, Word Perfect, and AppleWorks text formats. On Windows, you can export to either TextEdit or UTF-8. Include Track EDLs (Playlists) You can export track EDLs (playlists). Track EDLs can be used to spot-check clip placement and edits, or in a conforming program for post applications.
Clip group files do not store the following: • Audio Clip List Imports the clip group into the Clip List, where it will be where it will be available to place into tracks.
Importing Clip Groups with Drag and Drop You can drag and drop clip groups from a DigiBase browser or from Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder to the Timeline, a track, the Track List, or the Clip List. Exporting Clip Groups To export a clip group: 1 Select one or more clip groups in the Clip List. 2 From the Clip List menu, choose Export Clip Groups. The Export Clip Groups dialog opens.
Exporting Clip Groups to Another Hard Drive Generally, if you are exporting clip groups to another hard drive, you should copy any referenced audio files. This way you can move clip groups not only from one session to another, but from one system to another. To export a clip group to a different hard drive and include its audio files: 1 Export one or more clip groups to the new drive. 2 Create a new session on the new drive. 3 Choose Setup > Preferences.
To send a session from Pro Tools using DigiDelivery: 1 Choose File > Send via DigiDelivery. 2 Do one of the following: • If the DigiDelivery client is not installed on your system, Pro Tools will launch your Web browser, and connect to the DigiDelivery site where you can download the current DigiDelivery client. • If the DigiDelivery client is installed on your system, the Send to DigiDelivery dialog will open. 3 In the Send to DigiDelivery dialog, select which files to include.
Chapter 18: File and Session Management and Compatibility When working with Pro Tools, you will encounter several different kinds of computer files. Pro Tools systems require that you keep certain files in specific hard drive locations in order to function properly: • Pro Tools software files (such as the application and plug-ins files) should be located on your Startup drive (the drive that contains your operating system and other system-related files).
When you open a session, if Pro Tools determines that audio files are not located on a Performance volume, or if it is unable to locate audio files contained in the session, you can locate or copy the files in order to play back the session. This process is called relinking. For more information on storage volume classifications, see “Performance and Transfer Volumes” on page 287. Transfer Files For more information on relinking Transfer files, see “Linking and Relinking Files” on page 313.
For more information on missing files, see “Linking and Relinking Files” on page 313. Renamed Audio Files and the Renamed Audio Files Folder Renamed audio files are located in the auto-created Renamed Audio Files folder in the Pro Tools session folder. Files can be renamed when you open a session that references audio file names with incompatible characters.
WAV File Compatibility Convert Imported WAV files to AES31/BroadcastWave Pro Tools always creates AES31/Broadcast compliant BWF (.wav) files when the file originates in Pro Tools. Non-BWF .wav files can be added to BWF (WAV) format Pro Tools sessions without conversion. This option ensures that all WAV files are imported, and if necessary, converted to BWF (WAV), compliant with the AES31/EBU Broadcast standard. AES31/Broadcast Wave is a variant of the standard audio WAV file type.
Sharing Sessions Created on Different Computer Platforms Working with Mac-Based HFS+ Drives on Windows Computers You can use the MacDrive Utility from Mediafour to mount HFS+ drives on an NTFS system for use with Pro Tools. Moving Mac-Based Sessions on HFS+ Drives to Windows Systems (To Windows-Based NTFS Drives Only) There are specific steps for transferring files from Mac-based HFS+ drives to Windows-based NTFS drives.
Recording and Playback from HFS+ Drives on Windows Windows supports recording and playback of sessions directly from Mac-formatted (HFS+) drives using the MacDrive software application. In older versions of Pro Tools, Macformatted HFS+ drives could only be used as Transfer volumes when connected to Windows systems using MacDrive. When using MacDrive for recording and playback on a Windows system, the session file and all audio files must be stored on Mac-formatted (HFS+) drives.
Incompatible ASCII Characters Saving Cross-Platform Sessions Clip names, track names, file names, and plug-in settings cannot use ASCII characters that are incompatible with either system. To save an existing session to Pro Tools 6.9.x or lower and maintain Mac and Windows compatibility: When importing files into a session, incompatible characters are converted to underscores (“_”) and the renamed files are placed in the Renamed Files folder.
Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Systems Pro Tools makes it easy to share sessions between Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools. There are some important differences between systems that can affect how session material is transferred. The following table also includes Pro Tools systems with the Complete Production Toolkit. For details on transferring sessions between Windows and Mac systems, see “Sharing Sessions Created on Different Computer Platforms” on page 399.
Opening Pro Tools HD Sessions in Pro Tools A Pro Tools HD session can be opened with Pro Tools, but certain session components open differently or not at all. Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit provides seamless session interchange with Pro Tools HD. For a complete list of features supported by Complete Production Toolkit, see “Complete Production Toolkit” on page 58 Groups • Mix Groups keep only Main Volume information. • Mix/Edit Groups keep only Main Volume and Automation Mode information.
Saving Pro Tools 10.x Sessions to Pro Tools 7 –> 9 Format Opening Pro Tools 9.0 Sessions with Pro Tools 8.1 and 8.5 To save a Pro Tools 10.x session so it is compatible with Pro Tools version 7.x through 9.x, use the File > Save Copy In command to choose the Pro Tools 7 –> 9 Session format. A Pro Tools 9.0 session can be opened with Pro Tools 8.1 and 8.5, but certain session components open differently or not at all. When saving a Pro Tools 10.
Opening Pro Tools 9.0 Sessions with Pro Tools 7.4.x A Pro Tools 9.0 session can be opened with Pro Tools 7.4.x, but certain session components open differently or not at all. When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with Pro Tools 7.4.x, you are warned that you are opening a session created with a newer version of Pro Tools and that not all session components will be available. When opening a Pro Tools 9.0 session with Pro Tools 7.4.x, the following occurs: • All that occurs when opening a Pro Tools 9.
Opening Pro Tools 7.2 or Higher Sessions with Pro Tools 7.1 or 7.0 A Pro Tools 7.2–9.x session without video tracks or VCA Masters can be opened with Pro Tools 7.1 or 7.0, but certain session components open differently or not at all. When opening a Pro Tools 7.4–9.x session with Pro Tools 7.2, 7.1, or 7.0, you are not warned that not all session components will be available. Groups • All groups beyond the first 26 (Bank 1, Groups a–z) are dropped. • Mix Groups keep only Main Volume information.
Opening Sessions Created with Pro Tools HD 7.2–9.x with Pro Tools LE 8.0 A session created with Pro Tools HD 7.2–9.x session that does not contain video tracks or VCA Masters can be opened with Pro Tools LE 8.0, but certain session components open differently or not at all. Session created with Pro Tools HD 7.2 or higher that contain video tracks or VCA Master tracks can only be opened with Pro Tools LE 7.0cs3 and higher. When opening a session created with Pro Tools HD 7.x–9.x in Pro Tools LE 8.
Saving Pro Tools 10.x Sessions to Pro Tools 5.1 -> 6.9 Format • Fader Gain levels and automation breakpoints higher than +6 dB are changed to +6 dB. Pro Tools 7.x and higher sessions cannot be opened with Pro Tools versions 6.9.x through 5.1. • Long names are shortened to 31 characters. To save a Pro Tools 10.x session so it is compatible with Pro Tools version 6.9.x through 5.1, use the File > Save Copy In command to choose the Pro Tools 5.1 -> 6.9 Session format. Pro Tools 8.
Language Compatibility • The Limit Character Set option must be enabled and you must select a single language and character set. Saving Pro Tools 10.x Sessions to Pro Tools 5.0 Format Pro Tools 5.1 and higher sessions cannot be opened with Pro Tools version 5.0. To save a Pro Tools 10.x session so it is compatible with Pro Tools version 5.0, use the File > Save Copy In command to choose the Pro Tools 5.0 Session format. When saving a Pro Tools 10.x session to Pro Tools 5.
Pro Tools Application Language (Windows Only) You can choose the language you want to use in the Pro Tools application, independently of what language version of Windows you are using. To select the language for Pro Tools: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and select the Display tab. 2 Choose the language you want to use in Pro Tools from the Language pop-up menu.
Part IV: Playback and Recording
Chapter 19: Playing Back Track Material After importing or recording audio or MIDI to tracks, you will want to play back the material when editing and mixing. To stop playback, do one of the following: Starting and Stopping Playback • With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport or Shuttle, press 0 on the numeric keypad. To start playback, do one of the following: • If you have a worksurface or MIDI control surface connected and configured, press the Stop switch. • Click Play in the Transport.
Example: Playing Back MIDI 4 To have playback start from the beginning of the session, click Return to Zero in the Transport. 5 Start playback. 6 The MIDI plays the selected MIDI device, and the audio from the MIDI device is monitored through the selected Output Path on the Auxiliary Input or Instrument track. Adjust the MIDI, Auxiliary Input, or Instrument track’s volume and pan faders as necessary. 7 When you are finished, stop playback.
Counters and Indicators that Display the Playback Location Main and Sub Counters and Edit Selection Indicators At the top of the Edit window, the playback location is displayed in the Main and Sub counters, and the Edit Selection Start indicator. If no selection is made, the playback location is also displayed in the Edit Selection End indicator. To display the Sub Counter in the Transport window: 1 Select View > Transport > Counters. 2 Select View > Transport > Expanded.
Edit Cursor The edit cursor is a flashing line that appears when you click with the Selector tool in a track’s playlist. The flashing edit cursor indicates the start point for any editing tasks performed. If you make a selection and perform an edit, the selection is the target of the edit. Locating the Playback Cursor when It Is Off-Screen Use the Playback Cursor locator to locate the playback cursor when it is off-screen.
To begin playing from a specific point within a track: 1 Make sure that Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection is enabled. 2 With the Selector tool, click in the track where you want playback to begin. Setting Playback Location with the Main Counter or Edit Selection Start Indicator To set the playback location using a Main Counter (or the Edit Selection Start indicator): 1 Do one of the following: 3 Start playback. • Click in one of the counters. 4 Stop playback.
Timecode Moves back or forward in one-second steps (while adjusting for current SMPTE format). Feet+Frames Moves back or forward in one-foot steps. Samples Moves back or forward in one-second steps. To configure the Back/Forward Amount: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Operation tab.
To move the playback location forward by the Back/Forward Amount and then begin playback: Press Command+Option (Mac) or Control+Alt (Windows), and click Fast Forward in the Transport window. Repeating Back/Forward Commands All the Back/Forward commands can be repeated in order to increase the amount of the total Back or Forward move. To repeat Back/Forward moves: 1 Hold Command (Mac) or Control (Windows).
Scrolling Options You can configure how contents of the Edit window scroll during playback and recording. To configure Scrolling options: Choose Options > Scrolling and select one of the following options: None The Edit window does not scroll during or Page Scrolling During Playback You can set Pro Tools to scroll the track display while playing, and also have the edit cursor appear wherever playback stops.
Continuous Scrolling During Playback uses host processing power, so use this option with hostbased Pro Tools systems only when absolutely necessary. Center Playhead Scrolling and Dynamic Transport mode cannot be used at the same time. Selecting Center Playhead Scrolling disables Dynamic Transport mode (if it is enabled). Likewise, enabling Dynamic Transport mode when Center Playhead Scrolling is selected automatically changes the Scrolling option to No Scrolling.
4 Click Play in the Transport window, or press the Spacebar. plays start (for post-roll amount) plays end (for pre-roll amount) plays pre-roll + start plays end + post-roll All tracks play for the range of the selection, including pre-roll and post-roll if enabled. To play an Edit selection with Link Timeline and Edit Selection disabled: Choose Edit > Selection > Play Edit. To play a Timeline selection with Link Timeline and Edit Selection disabled: Choose Edit > Selection > Play Timeline.
Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the Playhead (Pro Tools HD Only) When the Scrolling option is set to Center Playhead, selections in the Timeline do not determine when playback begins. The Playhead itself denotes where playback begins when clicking Play in the Transport. Timeline and Edit selections, however, can still be played when the Playhead is enabled. To play an Edit selection with the Playhead enabled: 1 Deselect Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selections.
Half-Speed Playback Mode Loop Playback Mode Use Half-Speed Playback mode to learn or transcribe difficult passages in recorded tracks. When Loop Playback mode is enabled, the selected track range repeats on playback. If there is no selection, playback occurs normally from the current Cursor location. To play at half-speed: 1 Do one of the following: A selection must be at least 500 ms in length for it to loop on playback. • Shift-click the Play button in the Transport.
When enabled, a loop symbol appears in the Play button in the Transport window. To enable or disable Dynamic Transport mode, do one of the following: Select or deselect Options > Dynamic Transport. Right-click the Play button in the Transport window and select Dynamic Transport from the pop-up menu. Press Command+Control+P (Mac) or Control+Start+P (Windows) to toggle Dynamic Transport mode on or off. Loop Playback enabled 4 Click Play in the Transport window.
To reposition the Play Start Marker, do one of the following: To move the Timeline selection: With any Edit tool selected, click in the Play Start Marker strip in the Main Timebase ruler. With any Edit tool selected, drag the Play Start Marker to a new location. Click Fast Forward or Rewind in the Transport to relocate the Play Start Marker forward or backward by the standard Fast Forward and Rewind increment amount.
Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows Playback When enabled, the Play Start Marker moves to the point in the Timeline when playback stops. When disabled, the Play Start Marker does not follow playback. When not in Dynamic Transport mode, the Timeline Insertion follows playback. To have the Timeline Insertion and the Play Start Marker follow playback: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences. 2 Click the Operation tab. 3 Select Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows Playback.
Using Separate Play and Stop Keys Keyboard Shortcuts for Relocating the Play Start Marker When enabled, the Use Separate Play and Stop Keys option lets you start playback with the Enter key and stop playback with the 0 key on the numeric keypad. This is useful for quickly starting and stopping playback when auditioning loop transitions. In Dynamic Transport mode, you can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly relocate the Play Start Marker either during playback or when the Transport is stopped.
Recording in Dynamic Transport Mode Recording in Dynamic Transport mode lets you start playback independently of the Timeline selection. Use the Play Start marker as a manual preroll before the Timeline selection. Recording punches in and out based on the Timeline selection. Transmitting Beat Clock To transmit MIDI Beat Clock: 1 Choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Beat Clock. 2 In the MIDI Beat Clock dialog, select the Enable MIDI Beat Clock option. 3 Select the devices you want to receive MIDI Beat Clock.
Sending MIDI Beat Clock Over IAC (Mac Only) You can synchronize other MIDI applications that use the Apple Inter-Application Communication (IAC) driver to Pro Tools by transmitting MIDI Beat Clock on the IAC bus. To transmit MIDI Beat Clock on the IAC bus: 1 Choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Studio. 2 In the MIDI Devices window of Audio MIDI Setup, double-click the IAC Driver icon.
10 With the Selector tool, place the edit cursor on the beat grid prior to a prominent transient in the waveform that is “on the beat.” 11 Enable Tab to Transients and Shift+Tab to the transient. The duration of this selection is the approximate amount of latency for your external MIDI device. Measuring the offset for MIDI Beat Clock in samples 12 Switch the Main Time Scale to Samples. The length of the selected clip in samples is the MIDI Beat Clock latency for that device.
432 Pro Tools Reference Guide
Chapter 20: Record Setup Before you start recording in Pro Tools, you need to set up your Pro Tools system, a session, and one or more tracks for recording. You will also need to configure how Pro Tools monitors the input you intend to record. While some of the information here is relevant to preparing to record MIDI, there are more specific setup details for MIDI recording in Chapter 22, “MIDI Recording.” For information on recording audio, see Chapter 21, “Audio Recording.
Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Recording Before you start recording, make sure your Pro Tools system hardware is connected and configured properly. For details on connecting Pro Tools to your studio and configuring your Hardware in the Hardware Setup dialog, see the User Guide that came with your system. For information on how to route signal paths in Pro Tools, see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.
To display a track’s peak level: Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) a track’s Volume indicator to step through the different indicator modes (Volume, Peak, and Channel Delay) until the indicator displays peak (pk) level. Calibration Mode (Pro Tools HD Only) Connecting a Sound Source Depending on your Pro Tools audio interfaces, you can connect different types of sound sources (such as musical instruments, mics, and mixer outputs). See the User Guide for your Pro Tools system.
Creating a Click Track Enabling the Click Pro Tools lets you create a Click track using the Click plug-in. You can also create a click track using the TL Metro plug-in (included with Pro Tools) or using a MIDI instrument. Click tracks must be enabled to be heard during playback or recording. For more information on the Click or the TL Metro plug-in, see the Audio Plug-Ins Guide.
2 In the Transport, click the Metronome button so it is highlighted. Click Options Pro Tools provides options and controls for driving a click. The following steps are for configuring and enabling a click using the Click plug-in or MIDI. To configure click options: 1 Metronome button, enabled 3 To hear the click count off when recording or playing, click the Count Off button in the Transport so it is highlighted.
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. 4 Select whether the click is heard During Play and Record, or Only During Record, or Only During Countoff. 5 If using a countoff, specify the number of Bars to be counted off. To hear the countoff only when recording, select that option.
Setting the Session Tempo Using Manual Tempo Mode When opening a new session in Pro Tools, the tempo defaults to 120 BPM. If you intend to record with a click at a tempo other than 120 BPM, make sure to set the tempo accordingly. In Manual Tempo mode, Pro Tools ignores tempo events in the Tempo track and instead plays back a Manual Tempo. This tempo can be set with the Tempo slider, or if you are not sure of the actual tempo, by tapping in the tempo.
To exit Manual Tempo mode and enable the Tempo track: Click the Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor) button in the Transport window so it becomes highlighted. To set the Manual Tempo by tapping: 1 2 3 Ensure that the MIDI controls are shown in the Transport window (select View > Transport > MIDI Controls). In the Transport window, click the Tempo Ruler Enable (Conductor) button so it becomes unhighlighted. Pro Tools switches to Manual Tempo mode.
Destructive Record Mode Destructive Record mode enabled When recording, you can preserve disk space by removing unwanted record takes (see “Clearing Unwanted Clips” on page 282) and compacting audio files (see “Compacting an Audio File” on page 607). Normal (Nondestructive) Record Mode In Normal, Nondestructive Record mode, Pro Tools records audio nondestructively, which means that if you record over a track’s existing clips, the audio is not erased from your hard drive.
To set a record range by selecting within a track’s playlist, enable the Link Timeline and Edit Selection option. See “Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections” on page 565. When using Loop Record mode, each successive take appears as a clip in the Clip List and each is numbered sequentially.
Record Modes and MIDI In addition to the various 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 clips 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, enabled MIDI recording works the same whether using Nondestructive or Destructive Record mode.
To rename a track: 1 Do one of the following: • In the Mix or Edit window, double-click the Track Name button for the track you want to rename. • In the Track List in the Mix, Edit, MIDI Editor, or Score Editor window, Right-click the track name for the track you want to rename. 2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog, type a new track name. 3 Click OK. Names for Stereo Audio Tracks When recording to stereo audio tracks, audio file and clip names for the left and right channels are appended with a “.
Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track • In the Edit window, with I/O view enabled, select the corresponding hardware input for your source from the track’s Input Path selector. Before recording to a track, you must specify the input and output signal path for the material you are recording. You will do this by assigning a hardware input (recording source) and an output bus (for monitoring recording) on the track.
• In the Edit window, with I/O view enabled, select the corresponding output bus for monitoring (such as “Monitor” or “A 1–2”) from the track’s Output Path selector. To record enable an audio, MIDI, or Instrument track: From either the Mix or Edit window, click the track’s Record Enable button to toggle record enable on or off for the track.
To record enable multiple MIDI and Instrument tracks: From either the Mix or Edit window, Shift-click each MIDI or Instrument track’s Record Enable button to toggle record enable on or off for each track.
Record Safe Mode Pro Tools provides a Record Safe mode on a per track basis that prevents tracks from being recordenabled by accident. Use Record Safe mode to protect important audio or MIDI data on a track from being recorded over. To put an audio, MIDI, or Instrument track in Record Safe mode: Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the track’s Record Enable button. The Record Enable button is grayed out.
Recording with Multiple Hard Drives Allocating Audio Drives in Your System (Optional) To allocate the audio drives in your system: By default, Pro Tools records audio files to the Audio Files folder inside the session folder. If you have multiple hard drives for recording, you can use the Disk Allocation window to specify other hard drive locations to record audio files on a track-by-track basis. 1 Choose Setup > Disk Allocation.
A folder with the session name is created on each hard drive, containing subfolders for audio and fade files. If you want to exclude individual, valid, mounted volumes from Round Robin Allocation passes, open the Workspace browser and make the volume safe, by designating it as P (Playback only) or T (Transfer). For more information, see “Audio and Video Volume Designators” on page 322. • To assign a track to a different hard drive, click the track and select a drive name.
Reallocating Tracks Recording to the System Volume When opening a session where some of the previously assigned hard drives are no longer available (or do not match the current session platform), Pro Tools automatically reassigns tracks to the volume where the session file is stored. In such cases, use Disk Allocation if you need to reallocate tracks to other drives. Although Pro Tools lets you record to your system volume, this is generally not recommended.
Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode Pro Tools offers two modes of input monitoring: Auto Input and Input Only. These monitoring modes determine how input signals are monitored during playback, recording, or while the transport is stopped. Input Only Monitoring In Input Only mode, when a track is record-enabled, Pro Tools monitors audio input only, regardless of any punch-in/out selection or state.
Selecting Record Monitor Modes with TrackInput Monitoring (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) TrackInput monitoring lets you toggle individual audio tracks between Auto Input and Input Only monitoring modes at any time, during playback, recording, while stopped, and even when a track is not record-enabled.
Disable “Input” When Disarming Track When the Disable “Input” When Disarming Track (in “Stop”) option is enabled in the Operation Preferences, TrackInput monitoring is disabled whenever a track is taken out of record enable. This is useful for certain workflows, such as when you are recording on a series of tracks, one at a time. Disabling this option allows TrackInput buttons to remain enabled when deselecting the track Record Enable button.
In addition, reducing the buffer size limits the number of simultaneous audio tracks you can record without encountering performance errors. Zero Latency Monitoring While there may be times when you want a larger buffer size, such as when you have higher track counts with more plug-ins, you will generally want the smallest possible buffer size when latency is present during recording and monitoring.
To use Low Latency Monitoring: 1 Do one of the following: • For HD Native systems, assign each track to the selected Low Latency Monitoring Path as set in the I/O Setup Output page (see “Low Latency Monitoring” on page 99). Only tracks assigned to these outputs use Low Latency Monitoring. • For all other systems, assign each track output to either Output 1 or Output 2 (mono), or both (stereo). Only tracks assigned to these outputs use Low Latency Monitoring.
Chapter 21: Audio Recording In Pro Tools, you record audio to audio tracks. Audio tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel as appropriate for the recording source. When recording a mono source, record to a single, mono audio track in Pro Tools. A single, mono audio file is written to disk, and the file appears as a clip both in the track’s playlist and in the Clip List. When recording a stereo audio source, record to a single, stereo audio track in Pro Tools.
5 Do one of the following: • In the Mix window, adjust the track’s volume and pan faders. These settings are for monitoring purposes only and do not affect the recorded material. • In the Output window for the track, adjust the track’s Volume fader and Pan sliders. These settings are for monitoring purposes only and do not affect the recorded material. (See “Output Windows for Tracks and Sends” on page 959.
Undo or Cancel Audio Recording Canceling a Record Take Once you have recorded an audio track and the transport is stopped, you can undo the 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 clip from the track’s playlist and the Clip List. When using Loop Record mode, all takes from each record pass are discarded. Canceling recording when in Destructive Record mode is prohibited.
Recording Shortcuts To enable Prime for Record mode and start recording: In addition to clicking the Record button in the Transport or Edit window to arm Pro Tools recording, you can arm and start recording with the following keyboard shortcuts: 1 Click Record in the Transport. The Record button flashes. 2 Do one of the following: • Press F12 to start recording immediately. On Mac systems, to use F12 for recording, the Mac “Dashboard” feature must be disabled or remapped.
To set the record range in a track’s playlist: To set the record range in a Timebase ruler: 1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. 1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. 2 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection. 2 Select the record range in any Timebase ruler. 3 Do one of the following: • With the Selector tool, select the record range in a track’s playlist.
To set the record range by dragging the Timeline Selection Markers: 1 If you want the Timeline Selection Markers to snap to the current Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid 2 Drag the first Timeline Selection Marker (down arrow) to the start point of the range. You can enter locations in the start and end fields to set the record or play range. The Timeline Selection Markers in the Main Timebase ruler are updated accordingly.
Memory Locations You can store Edit selections as Memory Locations, which can also include current pre- and postroll values. For more information on Memory Locations, see Chapter 36, “Memory Locations.” To save an Edit selection with a Memory Location: 1 Ensure that Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection is selected. 2 Set the record range by making an Edit or Timeline selection, or by entering start and end times in the Transport window.
3 Do one of the following: • In the Memory Locations window, click the name or number of the Memory Location. • Recall the Memory Location by typing Period (.), the Memory Location number, and Period (.) again on the numeric keypad. (See “Numeric Keypad Modes” on page 31). The start and end times and pre- and post-roll settings stored with the Memory Location are recalled. Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in the Transport Window Pre- and post-roll can be enabled and set in the Transport window.
Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in a Playlist Enabling Pre/Post-Roll from the Options Menu You can use the Selector tool to enable and disable pre- and post-roll by clicking in a track’s playlist. Pre- and post-roll (as a pair) can be enabled and disabled from the Options menu. To set and enable the pre- and post-roll by clicking in a playlist: To enable both pre/post-roll from the Options menu: 1 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection.
Audio Punch Recording Over a Specified Range Pre-roll flag Punch In Post-roll flag Punch Out You can set Pro Tools to automatically punch record over a specific range in an audio track (for example, to replace a portion of a recorded track). The range’s start (punch in) and end (punch out) points must be specified before recording. To manually punch in and out on record-enabled audio tracks during playback, see Chapter 23, “Punch Recording Modes.
5 To hear any existing track material up to the start point, or after the end point, enable and set pre- and post-roll times (see “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 464). Recording additional takes in Destructive Record mode overwrites previous take. To keep the audio from previous takes, record the new takes in Normal (Nondestructive) Record mode. 6 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools for recording. 7 Click Play to start recording.
To destructively record over a previous take: 1 Do one of the following: Appending New Material to the End of a Track • Select Options > Destructive Record. When in Destructive Record mode. You can also append new material to the end of a track. • Right-click the Record button in the Transport and select Destructive. To append new material to the end of a track: 1 A “D” appears in the Record button.
To record to a new playlist for a track: 1 From the track’s Playlist selector, choose New. Loop Recording Audio Pro Tools provides a loop recording feature that lets you record take after take while the same section of audio repeats over and over. This is a convenient technique for quickly recording multiple takes of a part without losing spontaneity. Playlist selector 2 Type a name for the new playlist. 3 Click OK. When a new playlist is created, its name replaces the track name.
To loop record an audio track: 1 Do one of the following: • Select Options > Loop Record. When Loop Record mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears in the Record button. • Right-click the Record button in the Transport and select Loop. Loop Recording enabled 2 Record enable the audio track by clicking its Record Enable button. 3 Select Options > Link Timeline and Edit Selection. 4 With the Selector tool, select the loop range on the track.
Alternate Takes When punch recording or loop recording, Pro Tools creates matching alternate takes (clips). Pro Tools lets you exchange clips in the main playlist on tracks with matching alternate clips from other playlists associated with the same track, from other tracks, or from the Clip List. Matching alternate clips are clips that meet certain criteria, for example, clips that have the same User Time Stamp match (see “Matching Alternate Clips” on page 640).
2 With the Selector tool, select the take range for each track you want to replace. 3 Do one of the following: • Right-click the Edit selection and select a different matching alternate take from the Matches submenu. • Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) the Edit selection and select a different take from the Alternates pop-up menu. Alternate Takes pop-up menu The selected matching alternate clip (take) replaces the clip in the main playlist and snaps precisely to the correct location.
Alternates Match Options The following Alternates Match options can be selected in any combination: Track ID Any clips recorded to the same track are considered matching. Use this option for selecting alternate takes from loop or punch recording. Track Name Any clips that share the same root name with the track or playlist are considered matching. For example, the Matches for a track named “Gtr.L” would show the clips “Gtr.L_01” and “Gtr.L_02-01,” but not “Guitar.L_01.
Expanding Alternate Takes to New Tracks Expanding alternate takes to new tracks readily facilitates auditioning, editing, and mixing alternate takes, each on separate tracks. To expand alternate takes to new tracks: 1 Identify the clip on the main playlist with matching alternate clips (takes). 2 Do one of the following: • Right-click the clip and choose Matches > Expand Alternates To New Tracks.
stalled in HD I/O or 192 I/O. For example, the AES/EBU inputs and outputs that come standard in the 192 I/O enclosure are identified as AES/EBU [Encl]. The additional digital ports on the HD I/O, 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O are TDIF, AES/EBU, and ADAT. Pro Tools can only receive digital audio from one of these ports at a time. However, inputs on both the HD I/O and 192 I/O enclosure I/O and Digital card can be used simultaneously.
7 Assign the Output Path selector for the track to the appropriate output for monitoring (such as A 1–2). 8 In the Options menu, ensure that the following options are deselected: Destructive Record, Loop Record, QuickPunch, TrackPunch, and DestructivePunch. 9 To have recording start from the beginning of the session, click Return to Zero in the Transport. 10 Record enable the new audio track. 11 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools for recording. 12 Click Play to start recording.
Chapter 22: MIDI Recording Although recording MIDI in Pro Tools is similar to recording audio, there are some important differences: Unlike audio, MIDI recording is almost always destructive. See “Record Modes and MIDI” on page 443 for details. Unlike audio tracks, MIDI and Instrument tracks can be record-enabled during playback or recording.
In addition, the following options affect how MIDI data is recorded in Pro Tools: The MIDI Input Filter can filter out MIDI messages that you may not want to record, such as Polyphonic Aftertouch or System Exclusive data. For more information, see “MIDI Input Filter” on page 480. To enable input devices: 1 Choose Setup > MIDI > Input Devices. 2 Select the MIDI devices you want to record. Also, select any device to be used as a control surface.
MIDI Thru To monitor MIDI tracks while recording, enable MIDI Thru. When enabled, Pro Tools routes MIDI from your controllers to the device and channels assigned to the currently record-enabled MIDI track. The MIDI preference for Global MIDI Playback Offset and individual MIDI track offsets do not affect MIDI routed with MIDI Thru.
MIDI Input Filter Input Quantize Use the MIDI Input Filter to prevent certain types of MIDI messages from being recorded. The MIDI Input Filter can be set to record All messages, Only the specified messages, or All Except the specified messages. When Input Quantize is enabled in the Input Quantize Event Operations dialog (Event > Event Operations > Input Quantize), all recorded MIDI notes are quantized automatically. Quantizing MIDI on input is useful for achieving rhythmically precise MIDI recordings.
To enable Wait for Note: 1 To view the MIDI controls in the Transport window, select View > Transport > MIDI Controls. Transport window with MIDI Controls 2 In the Transport window, click the Wait for Note button so it becomes highlighted. MIDI Merge/Replace The MIDI Merge button, located in the Transport window, determines how MIDI is recorded when overdubbing or punching in. When MIDI Merge is on (Merge mode), recorded MIDI is merged with existing track material.
Configuring MIDI or Instrument Tracks for Recording To configure one or more MIDI or Instrument tracks for recording: 1 Create a new MIDI or Instrument track, or use an existing MIDI or Instrument track. 2 For Instrument tracks, select View > Mix Window > Instruments or View > Edit Window > Instruments. 3 From the track’s MIDI Input selector, select the device and channel to be recorded. (For Instrument tracks, the MIDI Input selector is available in Instruments view.
7 If recording to multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks, repeat the preceding steps for each track, then continue to the next step. Recording MIDI and Instrument Tracks 8 To use a click, enable and configure the click, and set a default tempo and meter for the session (see “Recording with a Click” on page 435). In Pro Tools, you can record to one or more MIDI and Instrument tracks. Recording simultaneously to multiple tracks lets you: 9 Enable either Wait for Note or Countoff in the Transport window.
To record enable additional MIDI and Instrument tracks, Shift-click their Record Enable buttons. 3 Ensure that Normal Record mode is selected (see “Record Modes” on page 440). 4 Click Record in the Transport to arm Pro Tools for recording (Record Ready mode). The Track Record Enabled indicator lights red. Record button in Record Ready mode 5 Do one of the following: • Click Play to start recording. If using Countoff, Pro Tools counts off the specified number of measures and then begins recording.
Playing Back Recorded MIDI Canceling a Record Take To play back recorded MIDI and Instrument tracks: It is also possible to discard the current record take before the Transport is stopped. 1 To start from the beginning of the session, click Return to Zero in the Transport. 2 Click Play in the Transport to begin playback. To cancel a take while recording: The recorded MIDI data plays back through each track’s assigned Output device (port) and channel.
6 To hear existing track material up to the start point, or after the end point, enable and set preand post-roll times (see “Setting Pre- and PostRoll” on page 464). To punch record with MIDI: 1 Configure a MIDI or Instrument track for recording (see “Configuring MIDI or Instrument Tracks for Recording” on page 482). 7 Record enable the track containing the previous take. 2 Ensure that Normal Record mode is selected (see “Record Modes” on page 440).
MIDI Clips and Punch Recording Depending on the record range, new clips may be created after punch recording. For example, if MIDI Merge mode is disabled, recording overwrites any existing MIDI data within the record range. Since the start and end times for recording are located within both of the existing clips, newly recorded notes are written into both of the existing clips, and into a new clip created to fill the space between them.
Make sure that MIDI Merge is enabled in the Transport window, otherwise (in Replace mode) each subsequent take destructively replaces the previous take. You can record enable a different MIDI or Instrument track while loop recording. While pressing Command (Mac) or Control (Windows), use the Up/Down Arrows to record enable the previous or next MIDI or Instrument track.
Loop Recording Multiple Takes When recording MIDI in Loop Record mode, new clips are created each time new material is received during a record pass. This differs somewhat from loop recording audio, where Pro Tools creates a single audio file that comprises all takes, which appear as individual clips in the Clip List. You can use MIDI loop recording to record successive takes without stopping the record process, thereby capturing your creative spontaneity.
To select the various record takes: 1 2 Ensure that the Matching Criteria window is correctly configured (see “Matching Criteria Window” on page 472). Do one of the following: • Right-click the clip with the Selector or Grabber tools, and select a take from the Matches submenu in the pop-up menu. MIDI Step Input Step Input lets you use a MIDI keyboard (or any other MIDI controller that sends MIDI note data) to enter notes individually, one step at a time.
8 When you are ready to begin recording, click Record in the Transport window. The Record, Play, and Wait for Note buttons flash, indicating that Pro Tools is waiting for MIDI data. 9 Initiate the Sysex transfer from the MIDI device, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pro Tools automatically begins recording as soon as it starts to receive Sysex data. 10 When the Sysex transfer is complete, click Stop in the Transport.
Recording Audio from a MIDI Instrument Typically, you will monitor the audio from MIDI instruments (both hardware and plug-ins) using Instrument and Auxiliary Input tracks. During the final mixdown, audio from Instrument and Auxiliary Input tracks can be included when using Bounce to Disk, or on a bussed recording path if recording to a new track. 8 Record enable the audio track. 9 Do one of the following: • To record from the beginning of the session, click Return To Zero in the Transport.
Recording Audio from an External MIDI Instrument You can record audio from an external MIDI instrument in one of two ways: • By bussing audio from the output of the Instrument (or Auxiliary Input) track used to monitor the MIDI instrument to an audio track for recording. • By setting the audio track’s Audio Input Path selector to the same Audio Input Path as the Instrument (or Auxiliary Input) track used for monitoring the external MIDI instrument.
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Chapter 23: Punch Recording Modes Punch recording is used in many areas of audio production for film, video, and music. Introduction to Punch Recording Modes Once basic track material has been recorded, it is often necessary to replace some, but not all, of the audio that makes up each track. Punch recording lets you manually punch one or more audio tracks in and out of recording without stopping the Transport.
Guidelines for Punch Recording This topic lists the basic settings and guidelines for Pro Tools punch recording, including the following: Similarly, installing the Complete Production Toolkit option expands your system’s voice capabilities; this can increase the number of available voices, which then increases the number of tracks which can be punched. For details on voice capabilities, see “Pro Tools Capabilities with Different Hardware Configurations” on page 44.
To make more voices available for punch recording: Identify tracks that are not record-enabled, and do not need to be heard while recording, and do any of the following: • Set voice assignments for tracks to Off. • Make tracks inactive. • Group all Native (AAX and RTAS) plug-ins before DSP (AAX and TDM) plug-ins. Voices that are in use by other tracks, but not record-enabled, may be “stolen” during punch recording as necessary.
To apply Delay Compensation to a track where Delay Compensation was suspended, do one of the following: Right-click the Track Compensation indicator on the track and select Auto Low Latency Off. Command-Control-click (Mac) or ControlStart-click (Windows) the Track Compensation indicator on the track.
Crossfades while Punch Recording Pro Tools places crossfades at each in and out point, for smooth transitions between punch clips. You can specify the crossfade length for QuickPunch and TrackPunch modes (DestructivePunch uses a fixed crossfade length which cannot be changed). After punch recording is completed, all crossfades can be edited in the same manner as standard crossfades (see Chapter 28, “Fades and Crossfades”).
Transport RecordLock This setting lets the Transport Record be configured to either emulate a digital dubber, or to maintain legacy behavior for the Transport master Record. When not enabled, the Transport Record disarms when Pro Tools is manually stopped or stops due to a loss of timecode. This replicates legacy Pro Tools recording behavior. When enabled, the Transport Record remains armed when playback or recording stops.
QuickPunch Audio Recording QuickPunch is available on all systems and lets you instantaneously punch in and out all recordenabled audio tracks during playback by clicking the Record button in the Transport. Many Pro Tools systems also let you use a footswitch to punch in and out. See the guide that came with your Pro Tools audio interface, control surface, or ICON worksurface (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit only).
QuickPunch with an Edit Selection If you make an Edit selection and use QuickPunch, the following rules apply: • If the Transport is not online, recording begins and stops whenever you click the Record button in the Transport—regardless of the selection’s start or end point. • If the Transport is online, punch-in/out behavior is controlled by the Online Options setting on the Operation Preferences page.
Transport Display of TrackPunch Status TrackPunch enabled Record Enable Status indicator Input Status indicator TrackPunch Enabling Tracks Before each pass, you must TrackPunch enable all tracks that you intend to punch (you can TrackPunch enable tracks without record enabling them).
Track Record Status Display Monitoring and Levels Each track’s Record Enable button indicates its TrackPunch and record enable status as follows: To complete the setup for TrackPunch: 1 • When a track is TrackPunch-enabled but not record-enabled, its Record Enable button lights solid blue. Configure monitoring for record-enabled tracks by selecting a mode from the Track menu, or using the TrackInput button, as appropriate.
4 Click Play in the Transport to begin playback. 5 During playback, punch in and out on individual TrackPunch-enabled tracks by clicking their respective Record Enable buttons. 6 While continuing local or remote playback, do any of the following: Punching In on Multiple Tracks Simultaneously To punch in on multiple tracks simultaneously: 1 Enable TrackPunch mode. 2 Click the Record Enable button on each track you want to punch in, so that the track is both TrackPunch- and Record-enabled.
Start Recording on All Tracks You can choose to begin a punch pass in record, to punch out and back in as needed. To punch in on all tracks: 506 1 Enable TrackPunch mode (see “Transport Display of TrackPunch Status” on page 503). 2 Click the Record Enable button on each track you want to punch in, so that the track is both TrackPunch- and Record-enabled. The track’s Record Enable button flashes blue and red. 3 Click Record in the Transport to enter the TrackPunch Record Ready mode.
DestructivePunch Setup Transport Display of DestructivePunch Status (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) When DestructivePunch mode is enabled: Before using DestructivePunch in a record pass you must configure Pro Tools, session, and track settings. Configuring Pro Tools for DestructivePunch The letters “DP” appear in the Record button in the Transport. If at least one track is DestructivePunch-enabled, the Record button in the Transport lights solid blue.
Preparing Tracks for DestructivePunch Recording To set DestructivePunch File Length: 1 In order for a track to be enabled for DestructivePunch recording, the track must contain a contiguous audio file that meets the following requirements: Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Operation tab. 2 Type a value for DestructivePunch File Length. 3 Click OK. • The file must start at the beginning (sample 0) of the session.
DestructivePunch Enabling Tracks without Record Enabling Them To simultaneously DestructivePunch enable and record enable an audio track: This method lets you use the Prepare DPE Tracks command to consolidate files for DestructivePunch recording. To DestructivePunch-enable an audio track: Control-click (Mac) or Start-click (Windows) the track’s Record Enable button to toggle the button to solid blue.
Monitoring and Levels 3 Click Record in the Transport to enter Record Ready mode. The Record Enable button flashes blue and red. 4 Click Play in the Transport to begin playback. 5 During playback, punch in and out on individual DestructivePunch-enabled tracks by clicking their Record Enable buttons. 6 Stop playback.
Starting Recording Immediately on Multiple Tracks To punch in on multiple tracks: 1 Enable DestructivePunch mode (“Enabling DestructivePunch Mode” on page 507). 2 Click the Record Enable button on each track you want to punch in, so that the track is both DestructivePunch-enabled and Record-enabled. Each track’s Record Enable button flashes blue and red. 3 Click Record in the Transport to enter Record Ready mode. The Record button flashes blue and red. 4 Click Play in the Transport to begin playback.
Film Dubbing and Mixing 5 Film dubbing and mixing features of TrackPunch and DestructivePunch let you do the following: • Select Options > TrackPunch to enable TrackPunch mode for non-destructive punch recording. • Arm and punch Pro Tools audio tracks remotely from a master synchronizer such as SoundMaster through P2 commands at any time, without having to stop playback and while maintaining timecode lock. (Requires the MachineControl option.
Loading Dailies Using RecordLock Dailies and similar types of transfers are comprised of multiple takes or scenes, each recorded while locked to unique time-of-day timecode. In between each take, timecode does not continue but stops completely. Because of this, the timecode on dailies and similar source material is said to be “discontinuous” (also known as broken timecode). By default, Pro Tools drops out of recording when it goes offline due to broken timecode.
Tracking and Overdubbing Music Modern multitrack recording requires the flexibility to “capture the moment” by allowing on-the-fly record enabling and punch recording, as provided by TrackPunch. Features of TrackPunch for all tracking, overdubbing, and punching situations include the following: • Record enable tracks while the transport is moving. • Punch tracks in and out using on-screen Record Enable buttons, remotely from a synchronizer, from a control surface, or using a foot switch.
Part V: Editing
Chapter 24: Editing Basics Use the Edit window in Pro Tools to edit and arrange audio, video, and MIDI. Track material can be edited nondestructively and in real time during playback. The Edit window also lets you graphically edit other data, as follows: Editing Clips and Selections See Chapter 27, “Editing Clips and Selections.” Also, see Chapter 37, “Arranging Clips.” Editing Fades and Crossfades See Chapter 28, “Fades and Crossfades.” Editing Elastic Audio See Chapter 40, “Elastic Audio.
• Process audio with an AudioSuite plug-in Clip Types • Automation editing There are different types of audio and MIDI clips, based on how they are created: There are a few things that cannot be changed while Pro Tools plays, as noted in relevant topics. Track Material Each time you record or import audio, video, and MIDI, Pro Tools creates clips for the new track data, which not only indicate where the material begins and ends, but also provides visual feedback on its general character and content.
Multichannel Clips These clips, which are dis- played as a single clip in the Clip List, reference multiple clips and audio files for stereo and surround tracks. Multichannel clips can be expanded (by clicking the triangle next to their name) to see the individual channels, which can be dragged independently to tracks. Audio Clips and Waveforms When the Track View for audio tracks is set to Waveform, Pro Tools draws a waveform diagram of the audio.
Calculating Waveform Overviews Waveforms can be calculated using Peak or Power overviews. To set how the Waveform view is calculated: Choose View > Waveforms and select Peak or Power Peak When selected, the waveform display is calculated based on the sample-by-sample peak level. Peak view is traditionally how Pro Tools calculates the waveform overview and can be used for normal or rectified views. Peak view clearly displays any clipping in the waveform.
Rectified Waveforms Outlined Waveforms Rectified waveforms are displayed so that their positive and negative waveform excursions (the portions that fall above and below the center line) are summed together and viewed as a single positive-value signal. This view lets you see more waveform detail in normal or reduced track height views. It can be particularly useful when editing volume automation data, since it depicts waveform levels as starting at the bottom of the track.
Guidelines for Editing Waveforms With the Selector tool in the Edit window, you can select portions of audio waveforms and divide them into segments called clips, so that you can rearrange and manipulate them in tracks. Avoiding Clicks and Pops If an edited clip begins or ends at a point of high amplitude, you may hear a click when Pro Tools plays from one clip to another.
Nondestructive Audio Editing When editing an audio track’s playlist in Pro Tools, you are not actually cutting and moving pieces of sound as you would if you were cutting and splicing analog tape. Instead, Pro Tools creates a map of the audio file on your hard disk, which describes the order in which to play various portions of the audio.
There are a few things to consider when selecting, copying and cutting, and trimming MIDI clips: When cutting or clearing a clip or clip group selection that includes a note’s start point, the entire note is removed. This is even the case when only a portion of the note (that includes its start point) is selected. When cutting or clearing a clip or clip group selection that includes a note’s end point (but not its start point), the note remains and overlaps the edge of the clip.
MIDI Mute Automation Unlike continuous controller events, which represent nuances that are part of a MIDI performance, Mute in Pro Tools is an automation playlist that actually mutes the MIDI engine. Mute automation does not correspond to actual MIDI events and is therefore not exported when saving as a Standard MIDI File. Notes View for MIDI and Instrument Tracks When a MIDI or Instrument track’s Track View is set to Notes, MIDI notes are displayed in a “piano roll” format.
Using the Edit tools, notes can be inserted, deleted, transposed, trimmed, and moved. For more information, see “Manually Editing MIDI Notes” on page 682. Nondestructive MIDI Editing While editing audio clips is usually nondestructive, this is generally not the case for MIDI clips. For instance, if a MIDI clip resides in just one track at a single location, editing for that clip is destructive. This means that altering the pitch, duration, or placement of notes in Notes view permanently alters the clip.
Displaying Clip Names, Clip Times, and Other Data Clip names and times can sometimes get in the way of editing audio waveforms and MIDI data. In these instances, you may want to disable their display. In other instances, such as arranging or spotting Foley, displaying clip names and times is extremely useful. To enable or disable the display of clip data on all channels: Select or deselect View > Clip > Display on All Channels.
Clip Gain Info Shows the Clip Gain Fader icon at the beginning of the clip, in the lower left corner. If the clip uses static clip gain, the static Clip Gain value (–144 dB to +36.0 dB) for a clip is displayed to the right of the Clip Gain Fader icon. For a clip that has dynamic clip gain (using breakpoint gain settings), the Clip Gain value is not shown. For more information, see “Clip Gain Info View” on page 599. To redo the last undone operation, do one of the following: Choose Edit > Redo.
To redo operations in the Undo History window: Click the operation (italics) in the list to redo. The operation you choose, as well as all the operations in the queue before it, are redone. To toggle display of creation times in the Undo History window: Click the Options pop-up menu and choose Show Creation Times. Levels of Undo and Memory Because Pro Tools needs to keep track of the playlists for all tracks that are edited, the use of multiple levels of Undo can be memory intensive.
Basic Editing Commands Pro Tools provides many standard edit commands (such as Cut, Copy, and Paste). Pro Tools also provides many specialized edit commands that are optimized for audio and MIDI production (such as Repeat Paste to Fill). Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear Use the Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear commands to rearrange and edit track material. Edits can operate on entire clips selected with the Time Grabber tool, or on track ranges selected with the Selector tool.
The Shuffle Clips option affects how material is cut and pasted: • When Shuffle Clips is enabled, the Cut command leaves no empty space, since the clips to the right of the cut slide over, closing the gap. Otherwise the Cut command leaves an empty space corresponding to the data removed from the track. • When Shuffle Clips is enabled, pasted data causes all clips to slide over to make room for the pasted material. Otherwise, pasted data can overlap an adjacent clip.
Paste Command Clear Command Use the Paste command to place the contents of the Clipboard at the Edit insertion point, and overwrite any material already there. Use the Clear command to remove a selection from a track without placing it on the Clipboard. To clear a selection or clip: To paste a selection or clip: 1 2 If you want to constrain the insertion point or the selection to the current Grid value, enable Snap to Grid.
Special Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear Commands Use the four “special” Edit menu commands (Cut Special, Copy Special, Paste Special, and Clear Special) for cutting, copying, pasting, and clearing automation (volume, pan, mute, and plug-in automation) on audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master, and Instrument tracks. These commands can also be used for MIDI controller data on MIDI and Instrument tracks.
Editing Across Multiple Tracks When working with data from multiple tracks, there are some important points to remember. For example, if any selected tracks are set to their master view (see “Master Views for Tracks” on page 234), edits affect not only audio and MIDI for the selected tracks, but all automation and controller data as well. If all selected tracks are displayed as automation data, edits only affect the type of automation data displayed in each track.
Chapter 25: Edit Modes and Tools Pro Tools provides four Edit modes and various Edit tools to help you successfully edit material. Edit Modes Pro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot, Slip, and Grid. Grid mode provides two modes of operation, Relative and Absolute, explained below. The Edit mode is selected by clicking the corresponding button in the upper left of the Edit window.
Shuffle Lock With certain workflows, it is important to exclude Shuffle mode in order to ensure that clips stay time-aligned while editing. Shuffle Lock prevents you from inadvertently entering Shuffle mode by disabling all key commands and control surface switches for Shuffle mode. You cannot invoke Shuffle Lock while in Shuffle mode. Slip Mode In Slip mode, clips can be moved freely within a track or to other tracks.
Grid Mode In Grid mode, clips and MIDI notes that are moved, trimmed or inserted “snap” to the currently selected Grid value, or to precise increments on a user-definable time grid. Press F4 to enable Grid mode. Displaying Grid Lines To show (or hide) the Grid lines in the Edit window or in a MIDI Editor window, do one of the following: Select (or deselect) the Grid button. Grid button selected in the Edit window Click the Name of the currently selected Timebase ruler.
Snap To Grid Configuring the Grid Pro Tools lets you enable Snap To Grid while in Shuffle, Slip, or Spot mode. When in any of these modes with Snap To Grid also enabled, placing the Edit cursor and making Edit selections is constrained by the Grid, but any clip editing is also affected by the other selected Edit mode.
The Clips/Markers option in the Grid Value menu allows events to be placed freely (as in Slip mode), but they will snap to clip locations (start, end, and sync points), markers, and Edit selections when placed near them. Edit Tools Pro Tools provides the following Edit tools: the Zoomer, Trim, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, and Pencil tools, and the multifunctional Smart Tool.
Trim Tools Use the Trim tools to trim clips and clip groups. Selector Tool Use the Selector to make selections on tracks. Grabber Tools Use the Grabber tools to select, separate, or move clips on tracks. Smart Tool Use the Smart tool to Trim, Select, or Grab clips in tracks. Scrubber Tool Use the Scrubber tool to scrub through track material. Pencil Tool Use the Pencil tool to draw automation and MIDI data.
Audio and MIDI Zoom In and Out Buttons The Audio and MIDI Zoom buttons let you zoom in and out vertically on audio and MIDI data respectively. Audio Vertical Zoom button To zoom all audio vertically to show the default waveform height: Press Control+Alt+Start+[ (Windows) or Command+Option+Control+[ (Mac). To zoom in vertically for all MIDI and Instrument tracks, do one of the following: Click the MIDI Zoom In button. Press Control+Shift+] (Windows) or Command+Shift+] (Mac).
Additional Zoom Key Commands To return to the previous zoom level, do one of the following: Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) any of the Horizontal, Audio, or MIDI Zoom buttons. Press Control+Alt+E (Windows) or Command+Option+E (Mac). To zoom in horizontally on the Edit selection without affecting vertical zoom: Press Alt+Start+A (Windows) or Option+Control+A (Mac). Press Control+Start+[ (Windows) or Command+Control+[ (Mac).
Normal Zoomer Tool To zoom around a certain point in a track: 1 Do one of the following: • Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select Normal Zoom mode. To zoom into a particular track area: 1 • Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select Normal Zoom mode. • Right-click on any track and select Tools > Zoomer Tools > Normal Zoom. 2 Zoomer tool • Right-click on any track and select Tools > Zoomer Tools > Normal Zoom. 2 Click once with the Zoomer tool at a location within the track.
Single Zoom Mode Single Zoom mode returns you to the previously selected tool after a zoom has been performed. For example, when using the Smart Tool you can click the Single Zoomer tool, and once the Zoom operation has been performed, Pro Tools automatically switches back to the Smart Tool. To use Single Zoom mode, do one of the following: Zooming in a ruler Click the Zoomer tool pop-up menu and select Single Zoom mode. Right-click on any track and select Tools > Zoomer Tools > Single Zoom.
Vertical Zooming In or Out of All Audio Tracks Continuously To vertically zoom in or out of all audio tracks using continuous zoom: Drag up or down on the Audio Zoom In or Out button. To vertically zoom in or out of all MIDI and Instrument tracks that are set to Notes view using continuous zoom: To set all MIDI and Instrument track note heights to match the note height of the topmost MIDI or Instrument track in the Edit window: Drag up or down on the MIDI Zoom In or Out button.
Zoom Toggle For MIDI Editing, set the Zoom Toggle preferences as follows: Vertical Zoom to Last Used, Horizontal Zoom to Last Used, Track View to Waveform/Notes, and Track Height to Fit to Window. Zoom Toggle lets you define and toggle between zoom states in the Edit window.
Track Height Separate Grid Settings When Zoomed In Last Used When selected, zoom toggling in changes all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the last used Track Height. When this option is selected, the Grid setting stored with Zoom toggle is recalled when zoom toggling in. When this option is deselected, the same (current) grid setting is used whether zoom toggling in or out. Medium When selected, zoom toggling in changes all tracks containing an Edit Selection to the Medium Track Height.
To store a zoom state using Zoom Toggle: 1 Set the Zoom Toggle preferences. 2 Make an Edit selection. 3 Click the Zoom Toggle button. It lights to indicate that Zoom Toggle is enabled and Pro Tools zoom toggles in based on the settings of the Zoom Toggle preferences. To modify the stored Zoom Toggle state if Last Used is selected: 1 Make sure the Zoom Toggle button is lit (enabled).
Auto-Toggle When Changing Selection When Zoom Toggle is enabled, selecting a different range of material, or selecting material on a different track affects Zoom Toggle as follows: • Changing the selection length does not re-zoom the window, the current zoom level is maintained. • Changing the selection to a different track sets the toggle-in state for track height and view. However, horizontal zoom remains unchanged.
Trim Tool With the Trim tool, you can quickly shorten or expand a clip (up to the entire length of the source audio file). The first time you trim a clip, Pro Tools automatically adds it to the Clip List as a new clip (with a name derived from the original) in order to differentiate it from the original. The Trim tool is a nondestructive tool and does not actually modify the original audio or MIDI data (when working on clips).
Time Compression/ Expansion Trim Tool The Time Compression/Expansion Trim tool (TCE Trim) is a convenient tool for matching an audio clip to the length of another clip, a tempo grid, a video scene, or to practically any other reference point you want.
Using the TCE Trim Tool in Grid Mode Using the TCE Trim Tool in Slip Mode The TCE Trim tool can be used in Grid mode to match a clip to the tempo of a session or a section of a session. For example, you might import a onebar drum loop with a tempo of 90 BPM into a session with a tempo of 120 BPM. In Grid mode, you can use this tool to simply and quickly “time compress” the drum loop to the length of one measure, with no noticeable to minimal loss of audio fidelity.
Scrub Trim Tool • To scrub trim two tracks, drag with the Scrub Trim tool between two adjacent tracks. (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) • To scrub with finer resolution (without having to zoom in), press Control (Windows) or Command (Mac) while scrubbing. The Scrub Trim tool is a convenient tool for auditioning material (on up to two tracks) to find a trim point.
3 To Loop Trim a looped clip: Do one of the following: • Click at the end of the clip, and drag left or right to the point you want the loop to stop. 1 Select the Loop Trim tool. 2 Move the cursor over the top half of the looped clip (not over a Loop icon). The cursor indicates the Loop Trim tool. • Click at the beginning of the clip, and drag left or right to the point you want the loop to start. Loop Trim tool Loop icon Looped clip Loop Trim tool Trimming Looped Clips 3 Trim the looped clip.
To trim the source clip (loop iteration) of a looped clip: 1 Select the Loop Trim tool. 2 Move the cursor over a Loop icon in the looped clip, or anywhere along the bottom of the clip. The cursor indicates the Trim tool icon. Using the Selector Tool Use the Selector tool to place the edit cursor in a track or Timebase ruler, or to make Timeline selections or Edit selections on tracks.
Using the Grabber Tools Use the Grabber tools to select, move, separate, and arrange clips on tracks. There are three modes for the Grabber tool: Time Grabber, Separation Grabber, and Object Grabber. For more information about arranging clips, also see Chapter 37, “Arranging Clips.” Making a selection with the Selector tool To select an entire clip with the Selector tool: 1 Select the Selector tool in the Edit window. 2 Double-click a clip on a track.
To select one of the Grabber tools, do one of the following: Click the Grabber tool in the Edit window and select the Grabber tool from the pop-up menu. The Smart Tool in Waveform View (Audio) or Clips View (MIDI) Fade In Selector tool Fade Out Trim tool (start) Trim tool (end) Grabber tool Crossfade Smart Tool in Waveform view Selecting a Grabber tool Right-click on any track and select the Grabber tool from Tools > Grabber Tools.
The Smart Tool in Warp View Trim tool (start) Selector tool The Smart Tool in Notes View Trim tool (end) Selector tool (marquee) Trim note start Grabber tool Trim note end Grabber tool Smart Tool in Warp view The following capabilities are available with the Smart Tool when working with Elastic Audio-enabled audio tracks in Warp view, or MIDI or Instrument tracks in Clips view: For the Selector tool, position the cursor over the middle of the clip, in the upper half of the clip.
To temporarily switch the Smart Tool to the Eraser, press Alt+Start (Windows) or Option+Control (Mac). The Smart Tool in Automation and Controller Views The following capabilities are available with the Smart Tool when working in both automation and controller views: For the Selector tool, position the cursor anywhere in the bottom 75% of the playlist for the Selector tool. Drag with the Selector tool to select breakpoints.
To scrub a single audio track: 1 Select the Scrubber tool. 2 Drag within the track: left for reverse or right for forward. Scrub within a selection that contains multiple tracks. When scrubbing multiple tracks, only the first two tracks are heard. The maximum number of channels scrubbed in Pro Tools is eight, which lets you scrub a 7.1 track, two stereo tracks (four channels), but not two 5.1 surround tracks (12 channels).
To play one or two tracks with the shuttle lock: 1 With Pro Tools HD, make sure the Operation preference for Numeric Keypad mode is not set to Shuttle (see “Operation Preferences” on page 128). 2 With the Selector tool, click in the track where you want playback to begin. To shuttle on two tracks, Shift-click in a second track. 3 Press the Start key (Windows) or Control (Mac) and a number on the numeric keypad: 0–9 (9 is fastest, 5 is normal speed, and 0 stops shuttling).
Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, different from that of Shuttle Lock mode. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, playback of the current Edit selection is triggered by pressing and holding the keys on the numeric keypad—playback stops once the keys are released. Various playback speeds are available in both forward and reverse. In this mode, pre- and post-roll are ignored.
To destructively edit an audio waveform with the Pencil tool: 1 Locate the area you want to edit. 2 Using the Zoomer tool or the Zoom buttons, zoom down to the sample level so the waveform appears as a continuous thin line. Adjust the Track Height, as necessary, to edit the waveform with greater precision. You can also use vertical zoom for greater visual resolution.
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Chapter 26: Making Selections Pro Tools provides many tools for selecting material in the Edit window. Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections Pro Tools lets you link or unlink the Timeline and Edit selections. When the Timeline and Edit selections are linked, selecting in a track’s playlist (making an Edit selection) also defines the play and record range (the Timeline selection).
See the following topics for more information on working with Timeline and Edit selections: • “Selecting Track Material” on page 567 • “Timeline Selections” on page 577 • “Setting Punch and Loop Points” on page 460 • “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 464 Timeline and Edit selections unlinked While you could theoretically do this with the Timeline and Edit selections linked, as soon as playback is stopped, the playback range would then be updated to that of the more recent edit range, or to a single note
Selections and Edit Groups When making selections on tracks that are part of an Edit Group, all tracks within the group become selected. Selections and Hidden Tracks Link Track and Edit Selection enabled Selecting Track Material Before audio and MIDI material can be edited, it must first be selected. The Track View determines how the material is viewed and selected.
To select an entire clip, do one of the following: Click the clip with the Time Grabber tool. Double-click the clip with the Selector tool. To select two clips and the time range between them: 1 With the Time Grabber, click the first clip. 2 Shift-click the second clip. Both clips are selected, along with the time range between them (including any other clips).
Making Selections While Playing Object Selections Pro Tools lets you make selections during playback with the Up and Down Arrow keys. Use the Object Grabber tool to select noncontiguous clips on one or more tracks. Noncontiguous selections must encompass entire clips. If you want a noncontiguous selection to include a portion of a clip, first turn the portion into a new clip with the Separate Clip command (see “Separate Commands” on page 588).
Object to Time Selection You can convert between Time- and Object-based selections. Time selections are made with the Selector and Time Grabber tools. Object selections are made with the Object Grabber tool. Converting to an Object selection is useful when you are working with large selections, especially across multiple tracks, and you want to remove certain clips from the selection. Converting to a Time selection is useful if you want to select all clips between a noncontiguous Object selection.
If Link Timeline and Edit Selection is disabled, drag the Edit Marker to change the selection length. Nudging Selection Start/End Points Start and end points for selections can be moved by nudging them. Edit Markers To move a selection start or end point by the Nudge value: To make a long-length selection: 1 Configure the Nudge value. For details, see “Defining the Nudge Value” on page 595. 2 Make the initial selection with the Selector tool.
Extending Selections You can extend selections to clip start and end points, to include an adjacent clip, or to Markers and Memory Locations. To extend a selection to a clip start or end point: 1 With the Selector tool, select a portion of a clip, or click anywhere in the clip. 2 Do one of the following: To extend a selection to a Marker or Memory Location: 1 Do one of the following: • Click in a track with the Selector tool at the start or end point.
To make a selection with the Edit Selection indicators: 1 Click with the Selector tool in the track you want to select. 2 Click in the Start field at the top of the Edit window. 3 4 Type in the start point for the selection and press the Forward Slash key (/) to enter the value and automatically move to the end field. Calculator Entry Mode You can perform calculator-style editing of values in the Edit Selection indicators.
To shorten or lengthen the selection across each of the tracks, press Shift while dragging to change the range of the selection. 3 To select across all tracks, do one of the following: • Press semicolon (;) to move the selection to the next track. Enable the All Edit Group and make a selection in any track. Drag with the Selector tool in any Timebase ruler (make sure the Timeline and Edit Selections are linked). • Press P on your computer keyboard to move the selection to the previous track.
To remove the bottom track from a selection: Press Alt+Start+Semicolon (;) (Windows) or Option+Control+Semicolon (;) (Mac) to remove the bottom track. Other Useful Selection Techniques To move a selection to an adjacent clip on the same track: 1 Select a clip with the Time Grabber. 2 Do one of the following: • Press Start+Tab (Windows) or Control+Tab (Mac) to move the selection to the next clip. Following are some additional selection techniques.
Right-Click Commands and Selection Preservation You can use Right-click commands with key combinations to perform operations on objects while maintaining selections in the Edit and Mix windows.
Once selected, the material can be looped for recording or playback, or it can be turned into a new clip with the Separate or Capture command. Peak transients are usually visible in the waveform. However, some low-frequency transients may not appear as visible peaks in the waveform. To make a Timeline selection with the Selector tool: 1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current Grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid. 2 Drag with the Selector tool in any Timebase ruler.
To set the Timeline selection by typing into the Transport window: Timeline Selections to/from Edit Selections 1 If necessary, resize the Transport window to Expanded view so the start and end times are displayed (View > Transport > Expanded). When the Timeline and Edit selections are unlinked, you can copy selections between them. 2 Do one of the following: To change the Timeline selection to match the current Edit selection: • In the Transport window, click in the start field.
The Main Counter displays the playback location in the time format for the Main Time Scale. The Sub Counter can be set to any of the other Time Scale formats for another timing reference. To scroll the entire contents of the Edit window from a ruler: The Edit Selection indicators (to the right of the Main and Sub counters) display the Start and End times, and Length of the current Edit selection according to the Main Timebase.
Auto-Scrolling Tracks in the Mix and Edit Windows If you are working with more tracks than can be displayed at one time in the Mix or Edit windows, you can select a track in one window and Pro Tools will automatically scroll to that track in both windows. Navigating to Tracks Using Track Position Numbers With Track Number View enabled, each track is assigned a number corresponding to its position in the Mix and Edit Windows. You can scroll directly to any track by its positional number.
Universe View The Universe view displays an overview of the entire Pro Tools session above the tracks pane in the Edit window. Universe view at the top of the Edit window This overview represents audio and MIDI material on all tracks in the session that are not hidden (including tracks that are inactive, or that contain offline clips). The order in which material is displayed in the Universe view corresponds to the track order in the Edit window.
From the Edit window pop-up menu, select or deselect Universe. Framed Area in the Universe View The framed area in the Universe view represents what is visible in the Tracks pane in the Edit window. If you change what is displayed in the Edit window—by zooming, scrolling horizontally or vertically, hiding or showing tracks, or changing track heights—the framed area in the Universe view relocates and resizes accordingly.
Navigating with the Universe View By clicking in the Universe view, you can scroll the material displayed in the Edit window horizontally, vertically, or both. This provides a convenient method of focusing the Edit window anywhere in the session. To navigate the session using the Universe view: 1 2 Ensure that Universe view is shown (View > Other Displays > Universe). Click anywhere in the Universe view to move the framed area and the Edit window updates accordingly.
Navigating Your Pro Tools Session In addition the Universe view, Pro Tools let you quickly and easily navigate your session using keyboard shortcuts. This topic provides an overview of the essential key commands for navigating and making Edit selections in your session. To zoom to an Edit selection using Zoom Toggle: 1 Press F7 for the Selector tool or F8 for the Grabber tool.
To navigate and extend selections backward with Tab to Transients: • Press Control+Tab (Windows) or Option+Tab (Mac) to move the Edit cursor to the previous transient. • Press Control+Shift+Tab (Windows) or Option+Shift+Tab (Mac) to extend the selection to the previous transient. Changing the Edit Selection Pro Tools provides several keyboard shortcuts for moving and extending or decreasing the range of an Edit (or Timeline) selection.
Moving the Insertion to the Beginning or End of the Selection With the Transport stopped, you can use the Down and Up Arrows on your alphanumeric keyboard to the beginning or end of the Edit (or Timeline) selection (and collapse the selection). To move the insertion to the beginning of the selection: To fit the Track heights of tracks containing he Edit selection to the height of the Edit window: Press the Up Arrow.
Chapter 27: Editing Clips and Selections Clips are the basic building blocks for arranging audio and MIDI in Pro Tools. Understanding how clips are created, edited, and arranged is essential to taking full advantage of the editing capabilities of Pro Tools. This topic covers basic editing functions as they apply to clips and clip groups, and selections, which for the most part apply to both MIDI and audio data. For editing procedures more specific to MIDI, see Chapter 31, “MIDI Editing.
To capture a new clip: 1 With the Selector tool, drag in an existing clip to select the material for the new clip. On Grid Creates new clips according to the se- lected Grid value (see “Defining the Grid Value” on page 829). Likewise, MIDI notes can be separated on the grid. At Transients Automatically creates clip boundar- Selecting a portion of a clip 2 Choose Clip > Capture. Press Control+R (Windows) or Command+R (Mac) for Capture Clip. 3 Type a name for the new clip and click OK.
To separate clips (or MIDI notes) according to the current grid resolution: 1 Make an Edit selection. 2 Choose Edit > Separate > On Grid. 3 In the Pre-Separate Amount dialog, type a pre-separate amount in milliseconds. This can be useful to pad the beginnings of the new clips. By separating a clip, additional clips are auto-created from data on either side of the separation, which have new numbers assigned to their names. The original clip remains intact and unchanged on the Clip List.
Separating Multiple Tracks Separation Grabber Tool The following figure illustrates a separation across one mono audio track and two stereo tracks. For some tracks, the selection resides within a clip, while others reside at the start or end of a clip. You can use the Separation Grabber tool to automatically separate an Edit selection and move it to another location or another track. To separate a selection with the Separation Grabber tool: 1 With the Selector tool, make an Edit selection.
To separate a selection without affecting the original clips: 1 With the Selector tool, make an Edit selection. The selection can reside within a single clip, across adjacent clips within the same track, or across multiple tracks. 2 From the Grabber tools pop-up menu, choose the Separation Grabber tool. 3 Clip Overlap and Underlap When a tick-based audio track has multiple clips, an increase in tempo can cause neighboring clips to overlap.
Healing Separated Clips Trimming Clips The Heal Separation command returns separated clips to their original state—provided the clips are still next to each other and their relative start and end points have not changed since the separation. In addition to the Trim tools (see “Using the Trim Tools” on page 549), Pro Tools provides several options for editing clip and clip group boundaries.
Trim to Insertion Commands Trim to Fill Selection Commands You can trim a clip or MIDI note by automatically removing the material between the Edit insertion point and the start or end point of the clip. The Trim to Fill Selection commands let you automatically reveal underlying material in the gaps between clips, or before and after individual clips, as follow: To trim from a start point to insertion: 1 2 With the Selector tool, click inside the clip or note where you want the new start point to be.
The end point of the clip in front of the gap is automatically trimmed (expanded) to the next clip, or as far as possible if there is not enough underlying material to cover the gap. Trimming with Nudge You can trim the start and end points of clips (or MIDI notes) by the current Nudge value.
Defining the Nudge Value Nudging with Nudge The Nudge value determines how far clips and selections are moved when nudging. To nudge one or more clip: Start and end points for selections can also be moved by the Nudge value (see “Nudging Selection Start/End Points” on page 571). In addition, clips can be trimmed by the Nudge value (see “Trimming with Nudge” on page 594). To set the Nudge value: 1 Do one of the following: • From the View > Main Counter menu, select the Time Scale for the Nudge value.
Nudging by Next Nudge Value Nudging the Contents of a Clip In addition to nudging by the current Nudge value, you can also nudge by the next larger value in the Nudge pop-up menu. Often a clip’s start point will reside at the correct location, perhaps at a SMPTE frame or barline, but the material within the clip starts too late or early. You can, in effect, nudge a clip’s audio waveform or MIDI notes without displacing the clip start and end points.
Quantizing Clips to Grid To quantize individual MIDI notes or Elastic Audio Events, use the Quantize Event Operations. You can also use the Quantize Event Operation to quantize audio clips. For more information see “Quantize Command” on page 904). The Quantize to Grid command adjusts the placement of selected audio and MIDI clips so that their start points (or sync points, if present) align precisely to the nearest Grid boundary.
Output and send assignments and volume and pan settings are retained in the new tracks. Mono equivalents of stereo and multi-mono plug-in assignments are assigned in the new tracks. However, multichannel plug-in assignments are not assigned in the new tracks. Dragging Clips to and from Stereo and Multichannel Tracks Multichannel clips can also be dragged from the Clip List, to multichannel tracks of the same format, groups of mono audio tracks, or a combination of both.
All clips have a clip gain of 0 dB by default. Clip gain can be adjusted from –144 dB to +36.0 dB. Static Versus Dynamic Clip Gain Clip Gain Fader Icon Right-Click Menu You can Right-click the Clip Gain Fader icon for any individual clip to access relevant clip gain commands for that clip. You can have either static or dynamic clip gain settings for a single clip. Static clip gain simply means that there is a single gain setting for the entire clip (see “Simple Clip Gain Adjustment” on page 601).
Clip Gain Line Clip Gain Line and Crossfades The Clip Gain Line lets you edit the clip gain settings for any given clip using breakpoint editing, much like with track-based volume automation. However, unlike track-based volume automation, the clip gain settings are always associated with the clip rather than with the track. The Clip Gain Line can be shown or hidden for all clips in the Edit window. Clip gain is applied on a clip-by-clip basis.
Simple Clip Gain Adjustment Graphically Editing Clip Gain You can adjust clip gain using the Clip Gain Fader icon for quick and easy clip gain adjustments. You can graphically edit clip gain using breakpoints on the Clip Gain Line for individual clips. When you drag a clip gain breakpoint up or down, the change in the gain setting value is numerically indicated. Dragging a clip gain breakpoint to the left or right adjusts its timing.
To adjust a clip gain breakpoint with the Grabber tool: 1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled. 2 Select the Grabber tool. 3 Click any breakpoint on the Clip Gain Line and move it up or down to adjust the gain, or left to right to adjust the timing. The gain setting is displayed in dB over the selected breakpoint. Using the Pencil Tool The Pencil tool lets you create new breakpoints by clicking once on the graph line.
To add clip gain breakpoints with the Pencil tool: 1 Ensure that the Clip Gain Line option is enabled. 2 Select the Pencil tool. 3 Do one of the following: • Click once on the Clip Gain Line to add a single breakpoint. Nudging Clip Gain Pro Tools lets you nudge the selected clip gain settings up or down by the Nudge Clip Gain By amount specified in the Pro Tools Editing Preferences. You can also nudge the selected clip gain settings back or forward in the clip by the specified nudge amount.
To nudge the selected clip gain back, do one of the following: Press Control+Shift+“–” (Minus) (Mac) or Start+Shift+“–” (Minus) (Windows). Press Control+Shift+M (Mac) or Start+Shift+M (Windows). Press Control+Shift+“,” (Comma) (Mac) or Start+Shift+“,” (Comma) (Windows). To nudge the selected clip gain forward, do one of the following: Press Control+Shift+“+” (Plus) (Mac) or Start+Shift+“+” (Plus) (Windows). Press Control+Shift+“.” (Period) (Mac) or Start+Shift+“.” (Period) (Windows).
The selected clip gain settings are copied to the clipboard. Clip gain breakpoints on the clipboard are time-stamped with the playback times in the timebase of the track being copied (which means you can copy and paste clip gain settings from clips on tick-based tracks and have the pasted clip gain settings match the corresponding bar:beat locations of clips on other tick-based tracks). To paste clip gain settings: 1 Cut or Copy the clip gain settings you want.
Coalescing Clip Gain and Track Volume Automation (Pro Tools HD or Pro Tools with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Pro Tools lets you coalesce clip gain settings to track-based volume automation, as well as letting you coalesce track-based volume automation to clip gain settings. When coalescing clip gain settings to volume automation, the clip gain settings are cut from the clip and coalesced with track-based volume automation at the same timeline locations as the clip.
Clip gain for any whole clips within the Edit selection is rendered and their clip gain settings are reset to 0 dB. When consolidating, muted clips are treated as silence. Otherwise, whether or not a track is muted, or contains Mute automation, does not affect the Consolidate command. For clips with any clip gain settings other than 0 dB, the Prepare DPE Tracks command (for DestructivePunch) automatically renders all clip gain settings and resets all clip gain settings to 0 dB.
The Compact command can pad the clips of the compacted file by a selectable amount. If clips in your session use crossfades, or if you want to pad the clips for the sake of any future trimming, you should enter an appropriate amount of padding (in milliseconds). The Compact command is destructive and cannot be undone. It permanently alters the original audio files. There is no way to recover data deleted by this command.
Fitting an Audio Clip to an Edit Selection Rating Clips Clips can be dragged from the Clip List to fit within an Edit selection. The dragged clip is compressed or expanded to fit within the selection. On audio tracks, fitting an audio clip to the Edit selection uses the TCE AudioSuite Plug-In selected in the Processing preferences (see “Processing Preferences” on page 138). On Elastic Audio-enabled tracks, it uses the track’s selected Elastic Audio plug-in (see “Elastic Audio Plug-Ins” on page 882).
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Chapter 28: Fades and Crossfades Pro Tools calculates fades and crossfades in RAM in real-time. You can quickly and easily apply a fade-in or fade-out on a audio clip, as well as apply crossfades between adjacent audio clips. Crossfading is the process of fading between two clips of audio to prevent pops, clicks, or sudden changes in sound. Crossfades have many applications, from smoothing transitions between clips to creating special audio effects.
Pre Crossfade This type of selection creates a crossfade after the splice point. It is useful if you want to maintain the amplitude of clip 1 until its very end. When making selections for crossfades that occur on the border of two clips, you can use the Tab key to move the cursor to the exact beginning or end of a clip. splice sp lice point clip 11 clip clip 22 clip crossfade selection Pre crossfade This type of selection creates a crossfade before the splice point.
The controls in the Fades dialog include: Audition Click this button to audition fades. Pro Tools supports fade auditioning directly from your audio interface outputs. View First Track (Crossfades Only) Fades dialog, fade-out If you are cross-fading between more than one track, this button allows you to view and preview the audio of the first in a pair of adjacent tracks.
Fade Curves Only Zoom In Click this button to display the specified fade curves without showing the actual audio waveforms. This is the default view when you open the Fades dialog. Click this button to scale the view of the waveform’s amplitude upwards. Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) for the default view scale. Fade Curves and Separate Waveforms Zoom Out Click this button to display the specified fade curves along with separate views of the fade-in and fade-out waveforms.
Preset Curves Seven commonly used preset curves are provided for fast crossfade creation. These can be edited by dragging the end points of the curve in the curve editor portion of this dialog. The seven presets are as follows: Preset Curve 1 stays at full volume throughout the fade, then immediately drops the volume at the end of the fade. Preset Curve 5 fades out quickly at the beginning of the crossfade.
Equal Power Recommended for material that is not phase coherent, as in the case of a crossfade between two completely different types of material. Use this option to avoid the volume drop that can occur with an Equal Gain crossfade. With this fade, you can Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) the fade curve to reset it to its default shape.
S-Curve Selects an S-shaped curve, which inverts its beginning and end characteristics. This makes it possible to fade in faster at the start of the curve, and slower at the end. S-shaped curves are useful with material that is difficult to fade effectively. Scurves can be edited by dragging the curve in the curve editor. Preset Curves Seven commonly used preset curves are provided for fast creation. These can be edited by dragging the end points of the curve in the curve editor portion of this dialog.
Typical Curve Combinations Following are the available combinations of fadeout and fade-in curves. Overlap Fade This combination of curves keeps both clips at full amplitude throughout the crossfade: clip 2 “jumps in” at the beginning and clip 1 “jumps out” at the end. Linear Crossfade This is a good general purpose crossfade with a smooth, even transition between clip 1 and clip 2. 1. Out 1. Out 2. In 2.
4 Click Fade Out and set the default shape for fade-outs when using the Smart Tool, then click OK. Although fades appear to be discrete clips, they cannot be separated from the clips in which they were created. 5 Click Crossfade and set the default shape for crossfades when using the Smart Tool, then click OK. 6 Click OK. When changing tempo in a tick-based audio track, fade-ins and fade-outs remain with their parent clips.
To create a fade-out: 1 Select the end of the clip that you want to fade out. The selection must extend to the exact end of the clip or a blank area after the clip in the track. To fade from the insertion point to a clip start point: 1 Place the cursor at a location in the clip. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Fades > Fade To Start. • Press Alt+D (Windows) or Control+D (Mac). Selecting the end of a clip for a fade-out 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Edit > Fades > Create.
Creating a Crossfade 8 Click the Audition button to audition the crossfade again. To create a crossfade between two clips: 9 When the crossfade sounds right, click OK. 1 With the Selector tool, click at the point where you want the crossfade to begin in the first clip and drag to where you want it to end in the second clip. Crossfade selections can begin and end anywhere in their respective clips.
Pre and Post Crossfade Selections By making a selection that begins or ends precisely on the border of two clips, you can create “pre” or “post” crossfades. Use the Tab key to place the insertion point at the exact beginning or end of a clip. To create a pre- or post-crossfade: 1 With the Selector tool, click in the track that contains the clips you want to crossfade. 2 Do one of the following: • Press Tab to move forward to the next clip boundary.
To set the length of automatic fade-ins/outs: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Operation tab. 2 Type a value between 0 and 10 ms for the Clip Auto Fade In/Out Length. A value of zero (the default) means that no auto-fading will occur. 3 Click OK. The AutoFade value is saved with the session, and is automatically applied to all freestanding clip boundaries until you change it.
Moving and Nudging Fades and Crossfades Fades and crossfades can be moved or nudged in tracks, independently of their contributing clips. Moving or nudging fade-ins or fade-outs reveals or hides audio as the fade is moved from the edge of a contributing clip. Moving or nudging crossfades changes the overlap point of the contributing clips. Moving or nudging fades is also constrained by underlying clip boundaries.
Moving Clips Containing Fades or Crossfades Nudging Clips Adjacent to Fade-Ins or Fade-Outs When you move or nudge a clip selection that contains a fade-in, fade-out, or crossfade, the fade moves with the selection. When you nudge a clip selection adjacent to a fade-in or fade-out, but do not select the fade, the adjacent fade stretches or shrinks to maintain the fade start or end point. The amount of change depends on the amount of audio material outside the fade start or end point.
Moving Clips Adjacent to Crossfades When you move either of the clips that contributes to a crossfade, the clips separate. The status of the fade depends on the Preserve Fades when Editing preference (in the Editing Preferences page). To separate crossfaded clips and retain the corresponding fades: 1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Editing tab. 2 Select Preserve Fades when Editing. 3 Click OK to close the Preferences dialog.
Nudging Clips Adjacent to Crossfades When you nudge either of the clips that contributes to a crossfade, the fade stretches to preserve the relative position of the crossfade start and end points. The amount of stretch depends on the amount of overlap between the contributing clips. To separate a clip that overlaps with a fade or crossfade: 1 With the Selector tool, drag to select the material for the new clip. 2 Choose Edit > Separate Clip > At Selection.
If the Preserve Fades when Editing option is not enabled in the Editing preferences, any fades within the selection are deleted when editing. Trimming Clips that Include Fades or Crossfades You can trim clips that include fades or crossfades. To trim a clip to a selection that includes fades, do one of the following: Make a selection in the track and choose Edit > Trim > To Selection. You can Trim across multiple clips and fades. Affected fades are adjusted to the new clip boundaries.
