User`s guide

Chapter 10: MIDI Recording 101
chapter 10
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 “The Record Modes
and MIDI” on page 82 for details.
◆ Unlike audio, a MIDI recording take can
be undone after stopping the Transport.
For details, see “Undo and MIDI Record-
ing” on page 107.
◆ While multiple audio tracks can be
record-enabled and simultaneously re-
corded to, only one MIDI track can be
record-enabled at a time. The record-en-
abled MIDI track can, however, be switched
on the fly while recording.
◆ It is not necessary to use QuickPunch to
punch in on the fly with MIDI tracks. This
capability is available in normal Nonde-
structive Record Mode, and in Destructive
Record mode.
☞ Refer to the Pro Tools Hardware Installa-
tion Guide
that came with your system for de-
tails on configuring it to record MIDI data.
MIDI Controller Devices
Pro Tools does not support recording mul-
tiple MIDI tracks, nor can it record multiple
MIDI channels to a single track. When re-
cording, MIDI received from all devices
and all channels is merged to the current
record track. MIDI tracks in Pro Tools can-
not contain multiple channels and always
play back on the track’s assigned device
and channels.
The following Pro Tools options determine
whether you can record from a MIDI con-
troller device:
◆ Devices that are assigned as a MIDI Con-
troller in the Peripherals dialog are ignored
when MIDI tracks are recorded. This is to
avoid recording data from MIDI control
surfaces like the Mackie HUI.
◆ On the Macintosh, only devices that are
enabled in the Input Devices dialog can be
recorded from. For more information, see
“Enabling Input Devices” on page 102.