User`s guide

Chapter 9: Basic Audio Recording 89
Stereo and Multiple-Track
Recording
Pro Tools can record multiple audio tracks
simultaneously, up to the track recording
limits of your system. To record a stereo
audio signal, record to two audio tracks.
To record audio in stereo:
1 Connect the left and right outputs from
your sound source to the appropriate in-
puts of your audio hardware.
2 Choose File > New Track and specify 2
Audio Tracks, then click Create.
3 Click the Record button for the first and
second track to record enable them.
As long as the preference for Latch Record
Enable Buttons is enabled, you can record
enable subsequent audio tracks by clicking
their Record buttons. Other tracks already
record-enabled will remain so.
4 In the Mix window, use the Input Selec-
tor to assign the input for the first track to
the hardware input for the left channel. As-
sign the second track to the hardware input
for the right channel.
5 In the Mix window, set the pan fader for
the first track to 100% left, then set the pan
fader for the second track to 100% right.
6 Adjust the output level of your sound
source (instrument, mixer, or preamp).
Monitor the track’s meter levels in
Pro Tools to ensure that you get the highest
possible signal without clipping.
7 In the Transport window, click Return to
Zero so the start/end times are cleared. This
ensures that you’ll start recording from the
beginning of the track.
8 Click Record in the Transport window.
When you are ready to begin recording,
click Play.
9 When you have finished recording, click
Stop in the Transport window.
For each record-enabled track, a new audio
file is written to disk and a new region is
created and appears in the playlist. The
new audio regions also appear in the Audio
Regions List.
✽ Create an Edit and Mix Group for the stereo
pair so that edits, fader movements, and
mutes are automatically applied to both
tracks.
Record Pause Mode
When recording a large number of tracks,
or playing back a large number of tracks
while recording, Pro Tools may take a little
longer to begin recording. To avoid this de-
lay, put Pro Tools in Record Pause mode be-
fore beginning to record.
To record from Record Pause mode:
1 Click Record in the Transport window.
The Record button flashes.
2 Option-click (Macintosh) or Alt-click
(Windows) Play in the Transport window
to put Pro Tools in Record Pause mode. The
Play and Record buttons flash.
3 To begin recording instantaneously, click
Play. When you have finished recording,
click Stop in the Transport window.
✽ You can also use Pause mode when record-
ing or playing large numbers of tracks to speed
up lock-up time when syncing to time code.