Specifications

Pro Tools Reference Guide434
General Information
When more than one insert is used on a track,
they are processed in series. Each effect is added
to that of any previous plug-ins or inserts, (flow-
ing from top to bottom in the Mix window In-
serts View, and left to right in the Edit window
Inserts View).
Inserts on audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs are
pre-fader. You can cause clipping if you boost
their gain to extremes, especially on tracks re-
corded at high amplitude. Watch on-screen me-
tering for indication of clipping. (Inserts on
Master Faders are post-fader.)
How to Use Inserts for Effects
Processing
Inserts can be used in two ways:
On Single Tracks An insert can be applied to an
individual audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Mas-
ter Fader.
With in-line inserts, you control the amount of
effect by adjusting the balance (or, wet/dry)
controls of the plug-in or external device.
As Shared Resources An insert can be used as a
shared resource in a send-and-return arrange-
ment, by bussing signals from several tracks to
an Auxiliary Input, and then applying the insert
to the Auxiliary Input track. You can then con-
trol the send level for each track, and the overall
level of the effect can be controlled from the
Auxiliary Input track. Using sends and other sig-
nal routing features helps maximize your sys-
tem’s processing power.
Insert Formats
Mono Inserts Used on mono tracks. Inserts that
occur on a track after a stereo insert are automat-
ically used in stereo as well.
Stereo Inserts Used on stereo tracks. A stereo
hardware I/O insert sends the signal to an in-
put/output path.
Mono In/Stereo Out Plug-In Inserts Used to re-
turn a stereo effect from a mono source. Certain
plug-ins (such as D-Verb) let you generate stereo
output from a mono channel. A track made into
stereo in this way has pan controls for each
channel of the stereo signal. Any inserts that oc-
cur on a track after a stereo insert are automati-
cally used in stereo as well.
Multi-Mono Plug-In Inserts Used on stereo or
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks when a
multichannel version of the plug-in is not avail-
able. Controls for all channels are linked by de-
fault so that you can adjust them in tandem.
You can unlink controls for independent adjust-
ment using the Master Link button. See “Link-
ing and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono
Plug-Ins” on page 443.
Multichannel Plug-In Inserts Used on stereo and
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks. On
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks, the
controls for all channels are generally ganged
together.
For examples of send and return busses and
other submixing setups, see “Submixing for
Signal Routing and Effects Processing” on
page 423.
Relinking may cause automation to be lost.
See “Linking and Unlinking Controls on
Multi-Mono Plug-Ins” on page 443