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Pro Tools 8 Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
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Pro Tools 8
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Pro Tools 8 Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Mike Collins
AMSTERDAM s "OSTON s (EIDELBERG s ,ONDON s .EW YORK s /XFORD s PARIS SAN DIEGO s 3AN FRANCISCO s 3INGAPORE s 3YDNEY s 4OKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier
Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier #ORPORATE $RIVE 3UITE "URLINGTON -! 53! ,INACRE (OUSE *ORDAN (ILL /XFORD /8 $0 5+ ¥ -IKE #OLLINS 0UBLISHED BY %LSEVIER )NC !LL RIGHTS RESERVED .O PART OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE REPRODUCED STORED IN A RETRIEVAL SYSTEM OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS ELECTRONIC MECHANICAL PHOTOCOPYING RECORDING OR OTHERWISE WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER 0ERMISSIONS MAY BE SOUGHT DIRECTLY FROM %LSEVIERS 3CIENCE 4ECHNOLOGY 2IGHTS $EPARTMENT IN /XFORD 5+ PHONE FAX % MAIL permissions@ ELSEVIERCOm 9OU MAY ALSO COMPLETE YOUR REQUEST ONLINE VIA THE %LSEVIER HOMEPAGE HTTPWWWELSEVIERCOm BY SELECTING h3UPPORT #ONTACTv THEN h#OPYRIGHT AND 0ERMISSIONv AND THEN h/BTAINING 0ERMISSIONSv
@ 2ECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN %LSEVIER PRINTS ITS BOOKS ON ACID FREE PAPER WHENEVER POSSIBLE Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data #OLLINS -IKE 0RO 4OOLS MUSIC PRODUCTION RECORDING EDITING AND MIXING-IKE #OLLINS P CM )NCLUDES INDEX )3". PBK ALK PAPER 0RO 4OOLS $IGITAL AUDIO EDITORS ) 4ITLE -,0#
DC British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data ! CATALOGUE RECORD FOR THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE FROM THE "RITISH ,IBRARY )3". &OR INFORMATION ON ALL &OCAL 0RESS PUBLICATIONS VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWWBOOKSELSEVIERCOm Typeset by DIACRI4ECH #HENNAI )NDIA 0RINTED IN #HINA
Contents About the Author
xviii
Acknowledgments
xix
Chapter 1 Pro Tools – The world’s leading digital audio workstation
3
)NTRODUCTION
3
,EARNING 0RO 4OOLS
4
Chapter 2 Using Pro Tools )NTRODUCTION
7
'ETTING STARTED
(ELP
3TARTING THE %NGINES
The Playback Engine
!UTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION
0
-ANUAL $ELAY #OMPENSATION
(ARDWARE 3ETUP
)/ 3ETUP
!UDITIONING AUDIO FROM OTHER APPLICATIONS
4
4HE USER INTERFACE
4HE 1UICK3TART DIALOG
/PENING SESSIONS WITH PLUG INS DEACTIVATED
3ETTING THE #OLOR 0ALETTE
-ANAGING YOUR 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS
#REATING 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS
0
7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS
4HE 5NIVERSE 6IEW
3
v
Contents
4HE MAIN WINDOWS /RGANIZING THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 4RANSPORT 0REFERENCES 3CRUB3HUTTLE AND THE .UMERIC +EYPAD MODES
5SING THE 3CRUBBER 4OOLS
3CRUB3HUTTLE MODE
0
3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE
0
4HE NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODES
4HE NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE MODE
/RGANIZING THE -IX WINDOW
4HE 'ROUP SETTINGS POP UP SELECTOR
)NSERTS
3
3ENDS
3
)/ 3ELECTORS
4
!SSIGNING MULTIPLE TRACK OUTPUTS AND SENDS
4
/RGANIZING THE %DIT WINDOW
The Toolbar
3
2EARRANGING 4OOLBAR CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS
4HE %DIT MODES
vi
4
4HE 4OOLBAR :OOM BUTTONS AND 0RESETS
4HE %DIT WINDOW ZOOM BUTTONS
The Tool buttons
3
Zoomer Tool
3
Trimmer Tool
3
Selector Tool
3
Grabber Tool
40
Smart Tool
40
Scrub Tool
4
Pencil Tool
4
4HE -ODE BUTTONS
Zoom Toggle
4
Tab to Transients
4
Contents
-IRRORED -)$) %DITING
,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION
,INK 4RACK AND %DIT SELECTION
3
)NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK
3
,OCATION INDICATORS
3
%DIT 7INDOW -)$) EDITING CONTROLS
4
#URSOR VALUES DISPLAY
%DIT 7INDOW INDICATORS
'RID AND .UDGE
4HE RULERS
%DIT WINDOW POP UP SELECTORS
4RACK HEIGHTS
0
#ONTINUOUSLY 6ARIABLE TRACK HEIGHTS
:OOMING AROUND
:OOM 4OGGLE
4
3CROLLING WINDOWS
3CROLLING BEHAVIOR
0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR
+EYBOARD &OCUS
#OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS
0
2EGION ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS
0
'ROUP ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS
#HANNELS AND TRACKS
6OICES AND 6OICEABLE TRACKS
-UTING TRACKS
4
3OLOING TRACKS
4
&INDING TRACKS IN THE %DIT AND -IX WINDOWS
.AVIGATING TO TRACKS BY NUMBER
&IT ALL SHOWN TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
h$O TO !LLv AND h$O TO !LL 3ELECTEDv
0
3UMMARY
0
vii
Contents
Chapter 3 Time Operations, Tempo Operations, and Key Signatures )NTRODUCTION
3
4IMEBASE AND #ONDUCTOR RULERS
4
#HOOSING THE -ARKER 2EFERENCE
3ETTING THE 4IME 3CALES
-ETER 4EMPO AND #LICK
#REATING A CLICK TRACK
4IME 3IGNATURES AND #LICKS
4EMPO
3ETTING TEMPO MANUALLY
4APPING THE TEMPO
5SING 4EMPO EVENTS
"UILDING A TEMPO MAP
3
%DITING 4EMPO EVENTS
4
4EMPO /PERATIONS
4
4HE 'RAPHIC 4EMPO %DITOR
#HANGING THE 4RACK 4IMEBASE
3AMPLE BASED AUDIO AND -)$)
4ICK BASED AUDIO AND -)$)
0
4IME 3CALES AND TICK RESOLUTION
4HE ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE
4EMPO %VENTS AND "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
4
"UILDING A TEMPO MAP BY INSERTING "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
2E POSITIONING "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
4IME /PERATIONS
3ETTING THE -ETER
)NSERT OR #UT 4IME
-OVE 3ONG 3TART
0
+EY 3IGNATURES
viii
73
4HE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER
4HE +EY #HANGE DIALOG
Contents
$IATONIC VERSUS CHROMATIC
4
0ITCHED TRACKS
4
$IATONIC TRANSPOSITION
%LASTIC !UDIO REGION BASED PITCH TRANSPOSITION
2EMOVING REGION PITCH SHIFTING
3UMMARY Chapter 4 Working with MIDI
111
)NTRODUCTION
#ONTROLLING A -)$) RACK FROM 0RO 4OOLS
#OMPUTER -)$) SETUP
0RO 4OOLS -)$) SETUP
3
-)$) 4HRU PREFERENCES
)NITIAL -)$) SYSTEM SETUP DATA
Saving templates
)MPORT SESSION
2ECORDING AUDIO FROM -)$) HARDWARE DEVICES
#OMPENSATING FOR TRIGGERING DELAYS
-)$) "EAT #LOCK
-)$) "EAT #LOCK /FFSETS
-EASURING "EAT #LOCK ,ATENCY
(OW $ELAY #OMPENSATION WORKS WITH -)$)
5SING $ELAY #OMPENSATION VIEW
$ELAY INDICATOR
5SER /FFSET
Track Compensation
)NSTRUMENT TRACKS
2ECORDING -)$) ONTO A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK
2ECORD MODE
#ANCELING OR UNDOING YOUR -)$) RECORDING
,OOP RECORDING -)$)
2ECORDING AUDIO FROM A VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT
ix
Contents
%DITING -)$)
"ARS "EATS AND #LOCK h4ICKSv
3HORTCUTS TO ADJUST 'RID AND .UDGE VALUES
(OW TO 2EMOVE $UPLICATE .OTES
(OW TO DEAL WITH STUCK NOTES
-IRRORED -)$) %DITING
3ELECTING AND PLAYING NOTES WITH THE MINI KEYBOARD
Do to All
3PECIAL #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR #OMMANDS
'RAPHIC %DITING IN THE %DIT 7INDOW
4RACK VIEWS
Automation lanes
.OTE AND CONTROLLER CHASING
%VENT ,IST %DITING
1UANTIZE TO 'RID COMMAND
-)$) AND )NSTRUMENT CONTROLS AND TRACK HEIGHTS
-)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES
%XPORTING -)$) TRACKS
4HE -)$) %DITORS
4RACKS AND GROUPS IN THE -)$) %DITORS
(OW THE -)$) %DITORS WORK
5SING THE -)$) %DITOR TO INSERT NOTES
!UTOMATION LANES IN -)$) %DITOR 7INDOWS
4HE -)$) %DITOR 4OOLBAR
-UTE AND 3OLO
.OTATION VIEW
4HE %DIT TOOLS
-)$) %DITING CONTROLS
!DDITIONAL 4OOLBAR BUTTONS CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS
x
4HE -)$) %DITOR :OOM CONTROLS
4IMEBASE AND #ONDUCTOR RULERS
4HE 3UPERIMPOSED NOTES VIEW
Contents
4HE 3CORE %DITOR 5SING THE 3CORE %DITOR
3CORE %DITOR POP UP MENU
Setting the Clef
Drum notation
(IDING TRACKS
5SING THE .OTATION 4OOLS
Trimming notes
Copying notes
Moving notes
Transposing instruments
(OW THE 3CORE %DITOR HANDLES transposing instruments
0REPARING THE 3CORE FOR A -USICIAN TO READ
$ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION
Individual attributes
Global attributes
The attributes
Printing the Score
$ISPLAY /PTIONS 3PACING AND ,AYOUT
7HAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET
%XPORTING TO 3IBELIUS 3UMMARY Chapter 5 Recording
181
)NTRODUCTION
0REPARING 0RO 4OOLS FOR RECORDING
$ISK SPACE FOR RECORDING
3
3ETTING UP HEADPHONE MIXES
4
-ONITORING LATENCY
$ELAY #OMPENSATION
24!3 PLUG INS hHEALTHv WARNING
3
!UTO )NPUT AND )NPUT /NLY MONITORING
4
xi
Contents
3ETTING MONITOR LEVELS FOR RECORD AND PLAYBACK
2ECORDING WITH OR WITHOUT EFFECTS
2ECORDING WITH PLUG IN EFFECTS
2ECORDING AUDIO
2ECORD ENABLING
/THER RECORD MODES
2ECORD 3AFE MODE
0
(ALF SPEED RECORDING AND PLAYBACK
0
2ECORDING NEW TAKES USING 0LAYLISTS
!UTOMATIC PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT
0REROLL AND POSTROLL
3
$ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD
,OOP 2ECORDING AUDIO
5SING ,OOP 2ECORDING
3ELECTING TAKES AFTER ,OOP 2ECORDING
0UNCH 2ECORDING
-ANUAL PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT
0
6OICE REQUIREMENTS FOR PUNCH RECORDING
#ROSSFADES WHILE PUNCH RECORDING
3ETTING LEVELS FOR PUNCH RECORDING
3
1UICK0UNCH
3
0REPARING FOR 1UICK0UNCH
4
5SING 1UICK0UNCH
4
4RACK0UNCH
4
0REPARING FOR 4RACK0UNCH
5SING 4RACK0UNCH
$ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH
0REPARING FOR $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH
5SING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH
$ELAY #OMPENSATION AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH
!FTER PUNCH RECORDING 3UMMARY
xii
0
3 4
Contents
Chapter 6 Editing
227
)NTRODUCTION
4HE %DIT MENU COMMANDS
5NDO AND 5NDO (ISTORY
2ESTORE ,AST 3ELECTION
#UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR COMMANDS
3PECIAL #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR COMMANDS
2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTION
Stripping Silence from regions
)NSERTING 3ILENCE
4IME #OMPRESSION AND %XPANSION 4#% %DIT to Timeline Selection
#ONSOLIDATING REGIONS
4HE %DIT MODES
3LIP MODE
3HUFFLE MODE
3POT MODE
'RID MODE
!BSOLUTE AND 2ELATIVE 'RID MODES
%DITING IN THE %DIT WINDOW
%DIT WINDOW TRACK VIEWS
-ASTER 6IEWS
"REAKPOINTS
3WITCHING TRACK VIEWS
5SEFUL KEYBOARD COMMANDS FOR EDITING
7ORKING WITH 2EGIONS
#APTURING 2EGIONS
3EPARATING 2EGIONS
5SING THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER
(EALING SEPARATED REGIONS
/VERLAPPING 2EGIONS
Sync points
.UDGING 2EGIONS
xiii
Contents
2EGION %DITING COMMANDS
3HIFT 2EGION
$UPLICATE 2EGION
2EPEAT 2EGION
,OCKING 2EGIONS
%DIT ,OCK 2EGION
4IME ,OCK 2EGION
-UTE 2EGION
1UANTIZE TO 'RID
'ROUPING 2EGIONS
$YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
5SING $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
(OW THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER WORKS
+EYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
4EMPORARILY LINKING THE 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTIONS
2ECORDING IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
3ETTING 3ELECTION 3TART AND %ND IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
!UDITIONING LOOPS IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
Preferences for Dynamic Transport
4RACK #OMPOSITING
Choosing the takes
0LAYLISTS 4RACK 6IEW
#OPY 3ELECTION COMMANDS
7HY YOU MAY NEED TO FILTER THE #OMP LANES
#OMPACTING AUDIO FILES 3UMMARY Chapter 7 Mixing
xiv
285
)NTRODUCTION
0REPARING FOR YOUR MIX SESSION
Check your monitoring
! NOTE ON EXTERNAL MIXINGMONITORING
Contents
Choose your monitoring levels
,INE UP ANY CONNECTED ANALOG EQUIPMENT
2ECORDING A TEST TONE TO DISK
#REATING A TEST TONE USING !UDIO3UITE
65 METERS OPERATING LEVELS AND HEADROOM
"OMB &ACTORY METER CALIBRATION SIMULATION
"OMB &ACTORY 65 METER SIMULATION
Metering in Pro Tools
Phase Scope metering
-ETERING DISCREPANCIES
Fat meters
300
-ETERING AND LOUDNESS DISCUSSION
4, -ASTER-ETER OVERSAMPLING METERING
5SING THE 4, -ASTER-ETER
303
Phase measurements
,ISSAJOUS FIGURES
$IGI2ACK 0HASE 3COPE
Phase Meter
Leq(A) Meter
Level Meters
!UDIO TRACK FADERS
-ASTER &ADERS
Monitor controllers
-IXING PRECISION AND -ASTER &ADERS
5SING A -ASTER &ADER TO PREVENT CLIPPING ON A BUS )NSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE BOX 4HE 4OOLS OF THE TRADE
,EVEL BALANCING
0ANORAMA 0AN POSITIONS
0ANNING SYNTHESIZED AND SAMPLED SOUNDS
0AN LAWS
5SING COMPRESSORS TO SMOOTH OUT LEVEL CHANGES
xv
Contents
5SING THE GAIN PLUG IN TO SMOOTH OUT LEVEL CHANGES
$E ESSING
#REATING DYNAMICS WITHIN THE MIX
&REQUENCY BALANCING
Technically
2EVERB
Delay effects
.OISE REDUCTION
.OISE GATES AND EXPANDERS
0ITCH AND TIME CORRECTION AND MANIPULATION
(ARMONY PROCESSING
"ASIC PITCH SHIFTING
/THER EFFECTS
2EAMPING AND AMPLIFIER SIMULATORS
Musically
0ETERSON 3TROBO3TOMP 0EDAL
StroboSoft tuner
4HE -ILLENNIA 4$ 4WIN $IRECT 2ECORDING #HANNEL
330
Speaker Soak using the TD-1
330
Reamping using the TD-1
7ORKING ON YOUR MIX SESSION (OUSEWORK
4RACK ORDERING
2EMOVING UNWANTED SOUNDS
333
Sorting the Tempos
334
Marking the sections
334
Grouping tracks
334
6#! 'ROUPS
334
#ONVENTIONAL 6#! 'ROUPS
334
6#! -ASTER 4RACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS
5SING 6#!S TO CONTROL OTHER 6#!S
%DIT 7INDOW -IX !UTOMATION xvi
Contents
4HE FINAL MIX 4O $ITHER OR NOT TO $ITHER n THAT IS THE QUESTION
344
-IX BUS COMPRESSION
344
4HE 'OOD THE "AD AND THE 5GLY
344
A Plea for Sanity
3UMMARY Appendix Index
Summing to talk about!
349 353
xvii
About the Author -IKE #OLLINS IS A STUDIO MUSICIAN RECORDING ENGINEER AND PRODUCER WHO HAS WORKED WITH ALL THE MAJOR AUDIO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS ON PROFES SIONAL MUSIC RECORDING 46 AND FILM SCORING SESSIONS SINCE $URING THAT TIME -IKE HAS REGULARLY REVIEWED MUSIC AND AUDIO SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR MAGAZINES INCLUDING Future Music, Macworld, MacUser, Personal Computer World, Sound On Sound, AudioMedia, Studio Sound, Electronic Musician, EQ AND M, THE QUARTERLY magazine for MCPS-PRS MEMBERS -IKE ALSO WRITES INDUSTRY NEWS AND TECHNICAL REPORTS FOR 0RO 3OUND .EWS %UROPE -IKE HAS BEEN WRITING FOR &OCAL 0RESS SINCE (IS FIRST BOOK Pro Tools 5.1 for Music Production WAS PUBLISHED IN $ECEMBER OF THAT YEAR ! SECOND BOOK A Professional Guide to Audio Plug-ins and Virtual Instruments WAS PUBLISHED IN -AY Choosing & Using Audio & Music Software, -IKES THIRD TITLE FOR &OCAL 0RESS WAS PUBLISHED IN ALONG WITH Pro Tools for Music Production Second Edition -IKES FIFTH BOOK Pro Tools LE & M-Powered, WAS PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER OF
Contact details 4HE AUTHOR MAY BE CONTACTED VIA E MAIL AT MIKE MIKECOLLINSMUSICCOM, or by phone at 4HE AUTHORS 7EB SITE CAN BE FOUND AT HTTPWWWMIKECOLLINSMUSICCOm AND A PROFESSIONAL PROFILE IS AVAILABLE AT HTTPWWWLINKEDINCOMINMIKECOLLINSMUSIc
xviii
Acknowledgments &IRST OF ALL ) WOULD LIKE TO THANK #ATHERINE 3TEERS AT &OCAL 0RESS FOR COMMIS SIONING THIS BOOK ) AM ALSO GRATEFUL FOR THE EFFORTS OF ALL AT &OCAL 0RESS WHO ARE INVOLVED WITH PUBLISHING AND MARKETING MY BOOKS ) WOULD PARTICULARLY LIKE TO THANK +YLE 2ITLAND AT $IGIDESIGN WHO KEPT ME UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE LATEST SOFTWARE PLUG INS AND AUTHORIZATIONS AND CHASED UP TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR ME WHILE ) WAS WRITING THE BOOK 4HANKS ALSO TO 'REG 2OBLES AND 4ARA .AVARRO FROM THE BETA TEST TEAM AT $IGIDESIGN WHO KEPT ME hIN THE LOOPv WHILE WORKING ON THE BOOK IN THE RUN UP TO THE RELEASE OF 0RO 4OOLS ) WOULD LIKE TO SPECIALLY THANK MY FRIEND *OHN ,ECKIE FOR POINTING OUT A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT ) HAD OVERLOOKED IN THE -IXING CHAPTER n EXPLAINING SOME BASIC POINTS ABOUT MIXING CONSOLES THAT HE HAD BEEN SHOWN DURING HIS TRAINING AT !BBEY 2OAD 3TUDIOS THAT REALLY HELPED TO CLARIFY EVERYTHING FOR ME 4HANKS ALSO TO *EAN 0AUL h"LUEYv -AUNICK +IRK 7HALUM AND $ARIO -ARIANELLI WHO TOOK TIME OUT FROM THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO REVIEW AND COMMENT ON THE BOOK PRIOR TO PUBLICATION ) WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THANK MY PARENTS ,UKE AND 0ATRICIA #OLLINS MY BROTHER !NTHONY #OLLINS AND MY FRIENDS !THANASSIA $UMA +EITH /#ONNELL AND "ARRY 3TOLLER FOR ALL THE SUPPORT THEY HAVE GIVEN ME n WITHOUT WHICH THIS BOOK WOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN COMPLETED
xix
In this chapter )NTRODUCTION ,EARNING 0RO 4OOLS
1 Pro Tools – The world’s leading digital audio workstation
1.1 Introduction 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEMS ARE USED ALL OVER THE WORLD IN PROFESSIONAL RECORDING SITUATIONS FOR hLIVEv RECORDING AT GIGS AND CONCERTS FOR FILM SCORING FOR AUDIO FOR VIDEO AND FOR AUDIO POSTPRODUCTION n THE LIST GOES ON AND ON 4HIS BOOK WILL BE PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE UPGRADING FROM PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF 0RO 4OOLS OR hCROSS GRADINGv FROM OTHER DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS )T WILL ALSO SERVE AS A USEFUL HANDBOOK TO BE USED ALONGSIDE YOUR 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEM TO CLARIFY HOW THINGS WORK AND TO PROVIDE USEFUL OPERATIONAL TIPS AND NOTES 0RO 4OOLS ,% USERS WILL ALSO FIND THAT MOST OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK IS EQUALLY APPLICABLE TO 0RO 4OOLS ,% SOFTWARE !LTHOUGH THIS BOOK IS NOT INTENDED TO BE AN ENTRY LEVEL TEXT ) HAVE EXPLAINED THINGS AS SIMPLY AS ) CAN WHEREVER POSSIBLE -INDFUL OF THE FACT THAT SOME READERS MAY NOT HAVE %NGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE ) HAVE TRIED TO AVOID COL LOQUIALISMS AND SLANG AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE AND HAVE DONE MY BEST TO WRITE AS CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE ) HOPE THAT MORE EXPERIENCED AUDIO PROFESSIONALS WILL REGARD THE SOMETIMES LENGTHY EXPLANATIONS OF WHAT THEY MAY CONSIDER TO BE BASIC POINTS AS USEFUL REMINDERS ABOUT HOW THINGS WORK THAT THEY CAN SKIP PAST EASILY ENOUGH IF THEY WISH 4HERE ARE SEVERAL EXCELLENT BOOKS ALREADY AVAILABLE THAT MAY BE MORE SUITABLE FOR BEGINNERS INCLUDING MY OWN Pro Tools LE & M-Powered WHICH TAKE A MORE STEP BY STEP APPROACH !LSO THE h0RO 4OOLS 2EFERENCE 'UIDEv AND OTHER HELP DOCUMENTS ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE FROM THE 0RO 4OOLS (ELP MENU 4HIS BOOK IS ABOUT MUSIC PRODUCTION USING 0RO 4OOLS FALLING IN LINE WITH WHERE $IGIDESIGNS FOCUS HAS SHIFTED WITH 0RO 4OOLS VERSION 4HIS IS NOT TO SUGGEST FOR A MOMENT THAT 0RO 4OOLS IS NOT THE LEADING SYSTEM USED FOR PUTTING SOUND AND MUSIC TO PICTURE OR FOR MIXING IN SURROUND )T IS JUST A REFLECTION OF THE FACT THAT 0RO 4OOLS HAS TRULY COME OF AGE AS A MUSIC PRODUCTION SYSTEM n AND
3
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
THE GREATER PART OF MY EXPERIENCE IS WITH MUSIC PRODUCTION SO ) AM NATURALLY INCLINED TO WRITE ABOUT THINGS ) KNOW MOST ABOUT 4HE MAIN FOCUS OF THE BOOK IS FIRMLY ON USING 0RO 4OOLS FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION AND MIXING IN STEREO n DESPITE THE FACT THAT SURROUND FORMATS HAVE BEEN WITH US FOR MANY YEARS NOW 4HE REALITY IS THAT $6$ !UDIO 3!#$ 3UPER !UDIO #OMPACT $ISC AND OTHER FORMATS THAT CAN DELIVER SURROUND SOUND ARE STILL hNICHEv PROD UCTS 7HEN DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A 4OP hHITv BEING RELEASED PRIMARILY AS A SURROUND MIX AND MAKING IT BECAUSE OF THIS ) NEVER HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING n NOT ONE TIME 3O THIS BOOK WILL NOT DIGRESS INTO THE FASCINATING WORLD OF SURROUND SOUND n AS INTERESTING AS THIS IS TO ME AND TO MANY PEOPLE ) KNOW (AVING READ ALL THE MANUALS AND DOCUMENTATION THOROUGHLY AND HAVING READ MOST OF THE OTHER BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT 0RO 4OOLS ) HAVE NOTICED THAT SOME AREAS ARE NOT COVERED AS THOROUGHLY OR AS ACCURATELY AS THEY COULD BE SO ) HAVE MADE A POINT OF ADDRESSING AS MANY OF THESE AREAS AS POSSIBLE /NE EXAMPLE WOULD BE LEVELS AND METERING WHICH ARE COVERED IN PLENTY OF DETAIL IN #HAPTER h-IXINGv 9OU WILL NOT FIND EVERY FEATURE OF 0RO 4OOLS COVERED IN THIS BOOK IT MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO BE hALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLEv 7HAT YOU WILL FIND IS CLEAR EXPLANA TIONS OF MOST OF THE THINGS YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TO RECORD EDIT AND MIX AUDIO AND -)$) -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE in Pro Tools IN STEREO 4HERE IS A SUBSTANTIAL CHAPTER ON -)$) #HAPTER THAT COVERS ALL THE TECHNICAL STUFF ABOUT 0RO 4OOLS THAT YOU NEED TO GET PROFESSIONAL RESULTS WHETHER USING HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE -)$) INSTRUMENTS 7HEREVER POSSIBLE ) HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN TOPICS THAT ARE COVERED IN THE REFER ENCE GUIDE IN A CLEARER OR ALTERNATIVE WAY 4HROUGHOUT THE BOOK YOU WILL FIND HIGHLIGHTED h4IPSv AND h.OTESv 4HE TIPS ARE OFTEN TAKEN FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND THE NOTES ARE OFTEN TECHNICAL POINTS TAKEN FROM THE 0RO 4OOLS REFERENCE GUIDE THAT MAY OTHERWISE BE OVERLOOKED SO WATCH OUT FOR THESE
1.2 Learning Pro Tools 4HE ONLY WAY TO LEARN 0RO 4OOLS IS TO USE 0RO 4OOLS AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE IN AS MANY CONTEXTS AS POSSIBLE !LTHOUGH THIS BOOK IS ABOUT 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEMS ) STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET YOURSELF A LAPTOP WITH 0RO 4OOLS ,% SOFT WARE AND THE EXTREMELY COMPACT -BOX -ICRO WHICH HAS NO INPUTS AND JUST ONE HEADPHONE OUTPUT OR AN -BOX -INI WHICH ALSO HAS A MICROPHONE AND A LINE INPUT AND A PAIR OF SPEAKER OUTPUTS 4HIS SYSTEM IS COMPACT ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN TAKE IT JUST ABOUT ANYWHERE WITH YOU TO PRACTICE EDITING SEQUENCING AND MIXING SESSIONS CREATED ON 0RO 4OOLS ($ OR ANY OTHER 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM ON THE GO AND TO PRACTICE MAKING MUSIC WITH VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS AND LOOPS /R YOU COULD HAVE A COMPACT DESKTOP SUCH AS AN I-AC AT HOME AND PRACTICE USING THIS WITH AN -BOX AND 0RO 4OOLS ,% 4
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In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
#HANNELS AND TRACKS
3TARTING THE %NGINES
6OICES AND 6OICEABLE TRACKS
4HE USER INTERFACE
-UTING TRACKS
4HE MAIN WINDOWS
3OLOING TRACKS
4HE %DIT MODES
&INDING TRACKS IN THE %DIT AND -IX
4HE RULERS
WINDOWS
%DIT WINDOW POP UP SELECTORS
.AVIGATING TO TRACKS BY NUMBER
4RACK HEIGHTS
&IT ALL SHOWN TRACKS IN THE %DIT
:OOMING AROUND 3CROLLING WINDOWS 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR +EYBOARD &OCUS
WINDOW h$O TO !LLv AND h$O TO !LL 3ELECTEDv 3UMMARY
2 Using Pro Tools
2.1 Introduction 'ETTING STARTED WITH ANY SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT INVOLVES SOMETHING OF A LEARNING CURVE AND IF YOU ARE NEW TO 0RO 4OOLS YOU WILL FIND THAT THIS IS NO EXCEPTION %VEN IF YOU HAVE JUST UPGRADED FROM AN EARLIER VERSION THERE MAY BE A NUMBER OF NEW FEATURES THAT YOU HAVE NOT ENCOUNTERED PREVIOUSLY !LSO IF YOU ARE hCROSS GRADINGv FROM ANOTHER PLATFORM SUCH AS !PPLE ,OGIC -ARK OF THE 5NICORN -/45 $IGITAL 0ERFORMER OR 3TEINBERG #UBASE YOU MAY BE LOOKING FOR FEATURES OR TRYING TO USE KEYBOARD COMMANDS THAT YOU ARE USED TO AND WONDERING WHERE THESE ARE IN 0RO 4OOLS 4HEREFORE BOOT UP YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM AND SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE WORKING hHANDS ONv WITH THE SOFTWARE UNTIL YOU KNOW IT INSIDE OUT /H AND READING THIS BOOK WILL HELPx
Getting started )F YOU ARE USING 0RO 4OOLS FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU WILL NEED TO SPEND SOME TIME FAMILIARIZING YOURSELF WITH THE USER INTERFACE OR WITH ITS MORE RECENT FEATURES IF YOU ARE UPGRADING 9OU WILL ALSO PROBABLY FIND IT HELPFUL TO CONFIGURE THE SOFT WARE TO SUIT THE WAYS YOU LIKE TO WORK 9OU SHOULD TAKE SOME TIME OUT TO PRAC TICE USING THE SYSTEM IN A NONCRITICAL SITUATION FIRST WITHOUT IMPATIENT CLIENTS BREATHING DOWN YOUR NECK AND TAKE THE TROUBLE TO LEARN AT LEAST A BASIC SET OF KEYBOARD COMMANDS SO THAT YOU DONT HAVE TO USE THE MOUSE AND MENUS ALL THE TIME 9OU SHOULD ALSO LEARN HOW TO QUICKLY FIND YOUR WAY AROUND WHICH EVER PIECE OF MUSIC YOU ARE WORKING ON n ZOOMING IN AND OUT AND NAVIGATING ALONG THE TIMELINE UNTIL YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH ALL THIS
Help $IGIDESIGN PROVIDES EXCELLENT MANUALS AS !DOBE !CROBAT PDF DOCUMENT FILES THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE (ELP MENU 7HEN YOU OPEN THE 0RO 4OOLS 2EFERENCE -ANUAL FOR EXAMPLE THE !CROBAT APPLICATION LAUNCHES AND THE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
DOCUMENT FILE OPENS INTO A NEW WINDOW ON YOUR COMPUTER 9OU SHOULD RESIZE THIS WINDOW AND POSITION IT IN A CONVENIENT PLACE ON YOUR SCREEN )T CAN BE VERY USEFUL TO KEEP THE RELEVANT MANUAL OPEN ON YOUR COMPUTER BUT HIDDEN UNTIL YOU NEED IT 9OU CAN USE THE STANDARD MENU COMMAND OR THE KEYBOARD #OMMAND ( ON THE -AC TO HIDE THE !CROBAT APPLICATION 7HEN YOU WANT TO REVEAL THE MANUAL AGAIN YOU CAN ALWAYS SELECT IT AGAIN FROM THE (ELP MENU OR USE THE 3HOW !LL MENU COMMAND /NE OF THE QUICKEST WAYS TO DO THIS IS TO PRESS AND HOLD THE #OMMAND KEY THEN REPEATEDLY PRESS THE 4AB KEY UNTIL YOU SEE THE APPLICATION YOU WANT DISPLAYED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCREEN 7HEN THE 4AB HAS MOVED YOU ALONG THE LIST OF OPEN APPLICATIONS TO !CROBAT LET GO OF THE #OMMAND KEY AND THIS WILL BE SHOWN AND BROUGHT TO THE FRONT 7INDOWS USERS WILL HAVE THEIR OWN PREFERRED WAYS OF DOING THESE THINGS
2.2 Starting the Engines !S WITH ANY COMPLEX PIECE OF MACHINERY THERE ARE VARIOUS SETTINGS THAT YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST EACH TIME YOU WANT TO USE IT 4HIS IS CERTAINLY THE CASE WITH 0RO 4OOLS ) RECOMMEND THAT YOU ALWAYS CHECK THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE SET TINGS AND THE )/ 3ETUP AT THE START OF ANY NEW SESSION 9OU MAY ALSO NEED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES TO THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP IF YOU WANT TO HOOK UP ADDITIONAL HARDWARE
The Playback Engine -OST OF THE SETTINGS IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE $IALOG DEFAULT TO SENSIBLE CHOICES BUT YOU DO NEED TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE SETTINGS THAT YOU CAN MAKE HERE IF YOU WANT TO GET THE BEST OUT OF YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM 4HE (ARDWARE "UFFER SIZE SETTING CONTROLS THE SIZE OF THE HARDWARE MEM ORY BUFFER USED FOR HOST BASED TASKS SUCH AS 2EAL 4IME !UDIO3UITE 24!3 PLUG IN PROCESSING )F YOU ARE RECORDING hLIVEv INPUT OR IF YOU ARE PLAYING OR RECORDING USING 24!3 VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS YOU SHOULD CHOOSE A LOWER (ARDWARE "UFFER SIZE SUCH AS SAMPLES WHICH REDUCES MONITORING LATENCY TO ITS MINIMUM 7HEN YOU ARE MIXING AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE USING LOTS OF 24!3 PLUG INS YOU SHOULD CHOOSE A HIGHER SIZE SUCH AS OR SAMPLES
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(IGHER (ARDWARE "UFFER SIZES CAN AFFECT THE ACCURACY OF PLUG IN AUTOMA TION MUTE DATA AND THE TIMING FOR -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE -)$) TRACKS ESPECIALLY ON SLOWER COMPUTERS
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Figure 2.1 Playback %NGINE (ARDWARE "UFFER SIZE
)F YOUR COMPUTER HAS MORE THAN ONE PROCESSOR YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER THE 24!3 PROCESSING USES ONE OR MORE OF THESE 9OU CAN ALSO LIMIT THE PERCENTAGE OF #05 RESOURCES ALLOCATED TO 0RO 4OOLS HOST PROCESSING TASKS (IGHER SETTINGS ALLOCATE MORE PROCESSING POWER TO 0RO 4OOLS SO YOU CAN WORK WITH LARGER SES SIONS OR USE MORE REAL TIME PLUG INS ,OWER SETTINGS ALLOCATE MORE PROCESSING POWER TO THINGS LIKE SCREEN REDRAWS AND ARE PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN YOU ARE RUNNING OTHER APPLICATIONS AT THE SAME TIME AS 0RO 4OOLS /NE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SETTINGS TO MAKE HERE IS THE NUMBER OF VOICES AND HOW THESE ARE ALLOCATED TO THE DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSORS $30S IN YOUR SYSTEM The number of voices that you choose here controls the number of tracks that CAN PLAY BACK SIMULTANEOUSLY )F YOU DONT NEED TOO MANY TRACKS YOU SHOULD CHOOSE A LOWER NUMBER OF VOICES AND $30S 7ITH LARGER SESSIONS ESPECIALLY WITH EXPANDED SYSTEMS YOU CAN USE HIGHER NUMBERS
Figure 2.2 Playback %NGINE $IALOG SETTING THE NUMBER OF VOICES
9OU CAN ALSO ADJUST THE $!% 0LAYBACK "UFFER SIZE TO TWEAK THE DISK BUFFERS TO OPTIMIZE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WHILE RECORDING OR PLAYING BACK ,OWER SETTINGS IMPROVE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK INITIATION SPEED BUT CAN MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR SLOWER HARD DRIVES TO RECORD OR PLAY RELIABLY (IGHER SETTINGS ALLOW FOR HIGHER DENSITIES OF EDITS DURING A SESSION BUT THE TIME LAG BETWEEN PRESSING 9
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
0LAY2ECORD AND PLAYBACK OR RECORDING ACTUALLY COMMENCING CAN BECOME NOTICEABLE ! TIME LAG CAN ALSO OCCUR WHEN YOU ARE EDITING DURING PLAYBACK n SO YOU DO HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WITH THIS SETTING 4HE $ELAY #OMPENSATION %NGINE CAN BE USED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LATENCY DELAYS INTRODUCED BY PLUG INS $EPENDING ON THE WAY YOU ARE USING YOUR PLUG INS YOU CAN EITHER TURN THIS OFF TO PRESERVE #05 POWER OR USE THE SHORTER OR LONGER DELAY COMPENSATION SETTINGS
Automatic Delay Compensation 7ITH THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION %NGINE ENABLED 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATICALLY COMPENSATES FOR ANY DELAYS BETWEEN TRACKS INTRODUCED BY PLUG INS OR ROUTINGS Phase problems have been an issue for Pro Tools users in the past – especially WHEN USING PLUG INS ON SOME TRACKS AND NOT ON OTHERS OR WHEN USING DIF FERENT PLUG INS WITH DIFFERENT LATENCY DELAYS THUS INTRODUCING PHASE SHIFTS AS A RESULT OF THE SHORT DELAYS BETWEEN THESE TRACKS 4HIS COULD BE PARTICULARLY PROBLEMATIC ON MULTIMICED DRUM KITS IF YOU PUT A COMPRESSOR ON THE SNARE FOR EXAMPLE AND NOT ON THE REST OF THE KIT OR IF COMPLEX ROUTINGS WERE USED WITH SOME TRACKS AND NOT WITH OTHERS n CAUSING DELAYS THROUGH THE BUSSES OR INSERTS !NOTHER EXAMPLE MIGHT OCCUR IF YOU RECORDED A BASS GUITAR TO SEPARATE CHANNELS USING A $) BOX FOR ONE CHANNEL AND A MICROPHONE IN FRONT OF A LOUDSPEAKER FOR THE OTHER CHANNEL )F YOU SUBSEQUENTLY INSERTED A LOOK AHEAD PEAK LIMITER PLUG IN SUCH AS $IGIDESIGNS -AXIM ON ONE OF THESE CHANNELS THIS WOULD DELAY THE OUTPUT OF THIS TRACK BY SAMPLES WITH -AXIM COMPARED WITH THE OTHER TRACK CAUSING PHASE CANCELLATIONS IF YOU SUBSEQUENTLY MIXED THESE TOGETHER &ORTUNATELY SINCE 0RO 4OOLS VERSION 0RO 4OOLS\($ HAS FEATURED !UTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION 7HEN YOU ACTIVATE THIS ALL YOUR AUDIO WILL REMAIN TIME ALIGNED AND IN PHASE NO MATTER WHAT ROUTINGS OR PLUG INS ARE USED )T IS AND WAS ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE DELAYS BY DELAYING ALL THE UNDELAYED TRACKS BY THE SAME AMOUNTS AS THE DELAYED TRACKS 4HE PROB LEM IS THAT THIS TAKES TIME TO DO AND IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO OVERLOOK SUCH DETAILS ON A BUSY SESSION .OW YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF ENABLING THE !UTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION FEATURE IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE DIALOG 4HIS AUTOMATICALLY MAKES ADJUSTMENTS IN 0RO 4OOLS ($ SOFTWARE TO COMPENSATE FOR ANY LATENCIES IN THE )/ INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ROUTING AND PLUG IN ALGORITHM PROCESSING ENSURING THAT RECORDINGS AND MIXES STAY PERFECTLY TIME ALIGNED AND PHASE ACCURATE
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Figure 2.3 Enabling Automatic Delay Compensation in the 0LAYBACK %NGINE $IALOG
Manual Delay Compensation 4IME $IVISION -ULTIPLEXING PLUG INS TYPICALLY HAVE SMALL PROCESSING LATENCIES IF THEY OFFER STATIC PROCESSING SUCH AS %1 BUT DYNAMICS PROCESSORS AND SOME OTHER TYPES MAY HAVE MUCH LONGER LATENCIES ESPECIALLY IF THEY USE LOOK AHEAD TECHNIQUES 24!3 PLUG INS MOSTLY DO NOT HAVE SIGNIFICANT PROCESSING LATENCIES ALTHOUGH SOME DO 9OU CAN EASILY CHECK THE NUMBER OF SAMPLES OF DELAY ON ANY TRACK WHETHER INTRODUCED BY A PLUG IN OR BY AN EXTERNAL EFFECTS PROCESSOR AND THEN MANUALLY CORRECT FOR THIS *UST #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 6OL 0EAK$ELAY VIEW BELOW THE TRACK FADER IN THE 0RO 4OOLS -IX WINDOW UNTIL THE $ELAY VIEW APPEARS AND YOU WILL SEE THE AMOUNT OF DELAY IN SAMPLES REVEALED HERE 9OU CAN MANUALLY COMPENSATE FOR THIS DELAY BY INSERTING A $IGI2ACK 4IME !DJUSTER PLUG IN ON ALL THE OTHER TRACKS IN THE SESSION AND SETTING THE DELAY TIME ON ALL THE OTHER TRACKS TO MATCH THAT OF THE DELAYED TRACK 9OU CAN CHOOSE FROM ANY OF THREE SEPARATE 4IME !DJUSTER PLUG INS SHORT WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO DELAY THE AUDIO SIGNAL UP TO SAMPLES MEDIUM WITH UP TO SAMPLES OR LONG WITH UP TO SAMPLES
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!NOTHER WAY TO COMPENSATE FOR LATENCY IS TO USE THE hNUDGEv FEATURE WITH THIS SET TO SAMPLES TO NUDGE THE DELAYED TRACK BACK IN TIME BY THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE DELAY REPORTED BY THE TRACKS $ELAY VIEW 4HIS IS FASTER TO SET UP SO IT IS USEFUL IF JUST ONE OR TWO TRACKS NEED COMPENSATION BUT THE OTHER METHOD IS BETTER IF LOTS OF TRACKS NEED DELAY COMPENSATION BECAUSE IT IS EASIER TO SEE WHICH TRACKS ARE DELAYED AND BY WHAT AMOUNTS BY LOOKING AT THE $ELAY VIEW THEN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THE 4IME !DJUSTER PLUG INS RATHER THAN NUDGING LOTS OF TRACKS AROUND
Hardware Setup 4HE (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG LETS YOU MAKE VARIOUS SETTINGS FOR YOUR HARDWARE INTERFACE OR INTERFACES /N MOST SYSTEMS YOU WILL MAKE THESE SETTINGS WHEN YOU INSTALL YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM AND THEN LEAVE THEM ALONE FROM THAT POINT ONWARD 11
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
9OU MAY NEED TO ADJUST THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP IF YOU ARE HOOKING UP ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL EQUIPMENT FOR A PARTICULAR SESSION &OR EXAMPLE ON A RECENT SESSION ) CONNECTED A #EDAR $.3 $IALOGUE .OISE 3UPPRESSOR TO THE 3ONY0HILIPS $IGITAL )NTERFACE 30 $)& INPUT AND OUTPUT ON MY )/ INTERFACE AND ROUTED THIS USING )NPUT AND /UTPUT PAIRS n IN THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE
Figure 2.4 (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG SHOWING )NPUT AND /UTPUT PAIRS n ROUTED VIA THE OPTICAL 30 $)& INPUT AND OUTPUT ON THE )/ INTERFACE
4HE (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG LETS YOU DECIDE WHICH INPUTS AND OUTPUTS WITHIN THE SOFTWARE THE PHYSICAL HARDWARE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS WILL BE CONNECTED TO )N THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG THE NUMBERS AT THE LEFT OF THE CENTRAL SECTION n THROUGH TO n REPRESENT THE NUMBERS THAT WILL BE GIVEN TO THE PAIRS OF INPUTS AND OUTPUTS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE 4HE COLUMNS MARKED )NPUT AND /UTPUT HAVE POP UP SELECTORS THAT LET YOU SELECT WHICH PHYSICAL INPUTS OR OUTPUTS WILL BE ROUTED TO THE 0RO 4OOLS INPUTS AND OUTPUTS REPRESENTED BY THE NUMBERS TO THE LEFT )N THE EXAMPLE SHOWN THE POP UP SELECTOR HAS BEEN USED TO SELECT ROUTE THE 30 $)& INPUT TO 0RO 4OOLS INPUT PAIR n
I/O Setup 4HE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG SHOWS THE SIGNAL ROUTINGS FOR EACH CONNECTED AUDIO INTERFACE AND ALLOWS YOU TO CHANGE THE ROUTING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL PORTS ON THE AUDIO INTERFACE AND THE INPUTS AND OUTPUTS TO 0RO 4OOLS 9OU CAN CHANGE THE ROUTINGS FROM YOUR HARDWARE INTERFACES INTO THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE USING THE ROW OF POP UP SELECTORS JUST BELOW THE INTERFACE ICON IN THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG )F YOU HAVE MADE ANY SPECIAL ROUTINGS FOR YOUR SESSION IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO NAME THE )NPUTS /UTPUTS AND ANY )NSERTS OR "US ROUTINGS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO CHOOSE THESE IN THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE 12
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4HESE CONTROLS MIRROR THE ROUTING CONTROLS THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG AND CHANGES MADE IN THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG ARE ALWAYS REFLECTED IN THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP DIALOG
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)F YOU HAVE OPENED A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION THAT WAS RECORDED ON ANOTHER SYS TEM YOU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO GO THROUGH THE DIFFERENT TABS FOR )NPUT /UTPUT )NSERT "US AND SO FORTH BY CLICKING ON THE $EFAULT BUTTON FOR EACH )/ 3ETUP SECTION TO RESET THESE LABELS TO THE DEFAULTS FOR YOUR SYSTEM
&OR EXAMPLE ) NAMED 0RO 4OOLS INPUT AND OUTPUT PAIR n 30 $)& TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THESE WERE CONNECTED TO THE 30 $)& )/ ON THE HARDWARE 7ITH HINDSIGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EVEN BETTER TO NAME THESE AS h4O #EDAR )NPUTv AND h&ROM #EDAR /UTPUT v RESPECTIVELY 4HE POINT HERE IS THAT YOU CAN USE DESCRIPTIVE NAMES FOR THE )NPUTS /UTPUTS )NSERTS AND SO FORTH WHICH MAKES THINGS MUCH EASIER WHEN YOU ARE SETTING UP YOUR TRACKS AND MIXER CONFIGURA TIONS DURING YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION 4HE /UTPUT SECTION IN THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG ALSO LETS YOU CHOOSE VARIOUS OTHER SET TINGS SUCH AS WHICH PHYSICAL OUTPUTS ON YOUR INTERFACE ARE TO BE USED AS !UDITION 0ATHS !FTER &ADE ,ISTEN !&, 0REFADE ,ISTEN 0&, 0ATH AND !&,0&, -UTE
Figure 2.5 )/ 3ETUP DIALOG SHOWING A POP UP SELECTOR BEING USED TO change the routing from THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE TO A HARDWARE INTERFACE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
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0&, IS USEFUL FOR MONITORING CHANNELS WITH THE FADERS ALL THE WAY DOWN so that you can listen for a noisy microphone coming through a chan NEL WITHOUT HEARING THIS IN YOUR MIX 9OU COULD SEND THE 0&, CHANNELS TO A HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER FOR EXAMPLE SO YOU CAN INDEPENDENTLY MONITOR THESE CHANNELS TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE /+ BEFORE FEEDING THEM INTO THE MIX THAT YOU ARE SENDING TO A 0! SYSTEM OR FOR BROADCAST 7HEN YOU MONITOR USING !&, THE VOLUME LEVEL OF WHAT YOU HEAR DEPENDS ON WHERE THE FADER IS SET 3O IF YOU PULL THE CHANNEL FADER ALL THE WAY DOWN YOU WONT HEAR ANYTHING THROUGH THIS CHANNEL WHEN YOU ARE USING !&,
Auditioning audio from other applications 4HERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU WANT TO AUDITION AUDIO PLAYING BACK FROM APPLI CATIONS OTHER THAN 0RO 4OOLS WHILE YOU ARE RUNNING 0RO 4OOLS 4HE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS RUNNING IT WILL NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER APPLICA TION TO USE THE AUDIO HARDWARE 4HIS CAN BE AWKWARD WHEN YOU WANT TO PLAY I4UNES BACK THROUGH YOUR MAIN MONITORS FOR EXAMPLE OR TO SET UP I#HAT ON YOUR -AC FOR VIDEO CONFERENC ING OVER THE )NTERNET USING YOUR MAIN MONITORS INSTEAD OF THE -ACS INTER NAL SPEAKERS /R YOU MIGHT WANT TO PLAY BACK SOME FILES FROM ANOTHER AUDIO APPLICATION SUCH AS ")!3 0EAK /NE WAY TO HANDLE THIS IS TO CONNECT THE AUDIO OUTPUT FROM YOUR COMPUTERS BUILT IN SOUNDCARD DIRECTLY TO YOUR MONITORS )F YOU ARE MONITORING 0RO 4OOLS THROUGH AN EXTERNAL MIXER OR SOME KIND OF MONITOR SWITCHING SYSTEM THEN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE A STEREO INPUT TO THIS THAT YOU CAN USE TO LISTEN TO YOUR COMPUTERS AUDIO OUTPUT AT THE SAME TIME AS THE 0RO 4OOLS AUDIO OUTPUT )T CAN SOMETIMES BE MORE CONVENIENT TO ROUTE THE COMPUTERS AUDIO OUTPUT BACK INTO 0RO 4OOLS USING A PAIR OF AVAILABLE INPUTS ON YOUR $IGIDESIGN INTER FACE &OR INSTANCE ) TAKE THE OPTICAL 30 $)& OUTPUT FROM MY -AC AND CON NECT THIS TO THE OPTICAL 30 $)& INPUT ON MY 0RO 4OOLS )/ INTERFACE )N THE
Figure 2.6 Choosing the /PTICAL 30 $)& FORMAT IN THE (ARDWARE 3ETUP WINDOW
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(ARDWARE 3ETUP WINDOW ) CHOOSE OPTICAL 30 $)& AS THE DIGITAL FORMAT AND SELECT A PAIR OF INPUTS ON THE INTERFACE TO USE THE OPTICAL 30 $)& PORTS )N THE )/ 3ETUP WINDOW ) MAKE SURE THAT THE INPUTS ) AM USING ARE SWITCHED TO 30 $)& AND NAMED SOMETHING DESCRIPTIVE SUCH AS h!UDIO FROM THE -ACv
Figure 2.7 .AMING AN )NPUT IN THE )/ 3ETUP WINDOW
$ONT FORGET THAT YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO SET THE SOUND OUTPUT FROM THE -AC TO USE THE OPTICAL DIGITAL OUTPUTS 9OU MAY ALSO NEED TO CHANGE THE SAMPLE RATE TO MATCH YOUR SESSION USING THE -ACS !UDIO -)$) 3ETUP UTILITY
Figure 2.8 3ET THE 3OUND /UTPUT IN THE 3YSTEM Preferences to use the OPTICAL DIGITAL OUT PORT
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/NE LIMITATION HERE IS THAT THE -AC CANNOT HANDLE SAMPLE RATES HIGHER THAN K(Z 4HE PRACTICAL CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS THAT YOU WOULD HEAR RANDOM CLICKING SOUNDS IF YOU TRY TO PLAY OR K(Z AUDIO FROM YOUR -AC THROUGH AN OR K(Z OR HIGHER SAMPLE RATE 0RO 4OOLS SESSION BECAUSE THE DIGITAL AUDIO WOULD NOT BE CORRECTLY SYNCHRONIZED
7ITH THIS SET UP ALL THAT REMAINS IS TO INSERT A STEREO !UX CHANNEL INTO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION AND CHOOSE !UDIO FROM THE -AC AS ITS INPUT TO HEAR AUDIO COM ING FROM ANY OF YOUR -AC APPLICATIONS OR FROM THE 3YSTEM ROUTED INTO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION 15
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 2.9 Changing the SAMPLE RATE IN THE !UDIO -)$) 3ETUP WINDOW
Figure 2.10 !UX CHANNEL MONITORING THE -ACS AUDIO
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7ITH THE BUILT IN AUDIO ROUTED INTO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION THROUGH AN !UX CHANNEL YOU WILL HEAR ANY BEEPS OR OTHER 3YSTEM SOUNDS THAT ARE PRO DUCED WHEN YOU SAVE A FILE OR EMPTY THE TRASH )T CAN BE A PROBLEM IF YOU FORGET ABOUT THIS ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A MIX SO IT IS PROBABLY BEST TO MUTE THIS !UX CHANNEL WHENEVER YOU ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY USING IT
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2.3 The user interface 0RO 4OOLS HAS A NEW GRAPHIC USER INTERFACE THAT OFFERS A MORE COLORFUL LOOK THAT MAY APPEAL MORE TO CREATIVE MUSICIANS )T STILL HAS MOST OF THE FEATURES OF PREVIOUS VERSIONS BUT WITH SUBTLE ENHANCEMENTS AND IT OFFERS EASIER ACCESS TO VARIOUS EDITING OPTIONS THAT USED TO BE IN THE 0RO 4OOLS 0REFERENCES
The QuickStart dialog 7HEN YOU LAUNCH 0RO 4OOLS THE 1UICK3TART DIALOG APPEARS UNLESS YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY DESELECTED THIS OPTION IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES 5SING THIS DIA LOG YOU CAN CREATE A BLANK SESSION CREATE A NEW SESSION FROM A TEMPLATE OPEN ANY OF THE LAST PREVIOUSLY OPENED SESSIONS OR OPEN ANY EXISTING SESSION
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)F YOU CLICK ON THE 3ESSION 0ARAMETERS ARROW IN THE 1UICK3TART DIALOG YOU CAN CHOOSE A DIFFERENT AUDIO FILE TYPE BIT DEPTH OR SAMPLE RATE FOR YOUR NEW SESSION
! SELECTION OF TEMPLATES IS PROVIDED IN THE 1UICK3TART DIALOG CONTAINING USEFUL 3ESSION CONFIGURATIONS n AND YOU CAN EASILY CREATE YOUR OWN IF YOU PREFER 3IMPLY CREATE A NEW 0RO 4OOLS SESSION CONFIGURE IT HOWEVER YOU LIKE AND CHOOSE 3AVE AS 4EMPLATE FROM THE &ILE MENU &OR SONGWRITING YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE ONE MONO TRACK FOR GUITAR A SECOND MONO TRACK FOR VOICE A STEREO )NSTRUMENT PLUG IN FOR DRUMS OR PERCUSSION AN !UXILIARY )NPUT WITH A REVERB PLUG IN INSERTED AND A STEREO -ASTER &ADER )N THE 3AVE 3ESSION 4EMPLATE DIALOG YOU CAN CHOOSE )NSTALL 4EMPLATE IN 3YSTEM WHICH INSTALLS THE TEMPLATE FILE IN THE SYSTEM FOLDER REFERENCED BY THE 0RO 4OOLS 3ESSION 1UICK3TART DIALOG !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN CHOOSE 3ELECT ,OCATION FOR 4EMPLATE WHICH LETS YOU SELECT ANY OTHER LOCATION IN WHICH CASE THE SESSION TEMPLATE WONT APPEAR IN THE 0RO 4OOLS 3ESSION 1UICK3TART DIALOG n BUT YOU CAN SIMPLY OPEN THIS FILE TO START A NEW SESSION FROM THIS TEMPLATE
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9OU MIGHT PREFER THIS SECOND METHOD IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE TEMPLATE WITH THE PROJECT THAT YOU ARE WORKING ON AND INTEND TO MOVE THIS TO ANOTHER SYSTEM AT SOME POINT DURING THE PROJECT
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
7HEN THE )NCLUDE -EDIA OPTION IS ENABLED ANY AUDIO -)$) OR VIDEO MEDIA IN THE SESSION IS INCLUDED IN THE TEMPLATE 4HIS IS USEFUL IF YOU WANT TO USE SOME STANDARD MEDIA ELEMENTS SUCH AS A PARTICULAR SOUND EFFECT OR DRUM LOOP IN A SERIES OF RELATED 0RO 4OOLS SESSIONS
Opening sessions with plug-ins deactivated )F YOU ARE USING A LOT OF PLUG INS IN A PARTICULAR SESSION THESE CAN TAKE A LONG TIME TO LOAD )F YOU SIMPLY WANT TO OPEN THE SESSION TO CHECK IF THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANT TO WORK WITH OR TO MAKE SOME CHANGES THAT YOU WILL NOT NEED THE PLUG INS FOR 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A CONVENIENT WAY TO OPEN SESSIONS WITH ALL OF THE SESSIONS PLUG INS SET TO INACTIVE &ROM THE &ILE -ENU CHOOSE /PEN 7HEN THE /PEN 3ESSION DIALOG APPEARS FIRST LOCATE AND SELECT THE SESSION YOU WANT THEN 3HIFT CLICK /PEN 4HE SESSION WILL NOW OPEN WITH THE PLUG INS DEACTIVATED )F YOU DECIDE THAT YOU DO WANT TO WORK WITH THIS FILE WITH THE PLUG INS LOADED AND ACTIVATED YOU CAN EITHER CHOOSE 2EVERT TO 3AVED FROM THE &ILE MENU OR CHOOSE /PEN 2ECENT FROM THE &ILE MENU AND SELECT THE MOST RECENT SESSION IN THE SUB MENU
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4HERE IS A CONVENIENT KEYBOARD COMMAND THAT LETS YOU REOPEN THE MOST RECENTLY OPENED SESSION #OMMAND 3HIFT / -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT / 7INDOWS
Setting the Color Palette /NE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU WILL NOTICE IF YOU HAVE USED PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF 0RO 4OOLS IS THE GREATER USE OF COLOR IN THE NEW USER INTERFACE 4HE #OLOR 0ALETTE LETS YOU MAKE COLOR SELECTIONS FOR TRACKS REGIONS GROUPS AND MARKERS )T ALSO LETS YOU APPLY COLORS TO CHANNEL STRIPS IN THE -IX AND %DIT WINDOWS AND LETS YOU ADJUST THE SATURATION AND BRIGHTNESS OF THE COLORS TO EMULATE THE WAY THAT OTHER POPULAR USER INTERFACES LOOK
Managing your Window Configurations 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU SAVE YOUR CURRENT ARRANGEMENT OF WINDOWS ONSCREEN AS A 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION THAT YOU CAN QUICKLY RECALL AT ANY TIME FROM THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST 4O OPEN THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST YOU CAN EITHER SELECT THIS FROM THE #ONFIGURATIONS SUB MENU IN THE 7INDOW MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND /PTION
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-AC OR #ONTROL !LT 7INDOWS AND THE LETTER hJv ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD (ERE YOU WILL SEE ANY 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY CREATED
Figure 2.11 The 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST SHOWING NINE SAVED CONFIGURATIONS
/NLY ONE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION CONTAINING A 7INDOW ,AYOUT CAN BE ACTIVE AT ANY TIME AND TO INDICATE WHICH OF THE CONFIGURATIONS IN THE LIST IS ACTIVE THIS WILL HAVE A BLACK DOT TO THE LEFT OF ITS LIST NUMBER )F YOU HAVE CREATED LOTS OF WINDOW CONFIGURATIONS IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE ONE YOU WANT TO RECALL QUICKLY 4O MAKE THIS EASIER YOU CAN FILTER OUT CON FIGURATIONS THAT YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN USING THE OPTIONS IN THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST POP UP MENU OR BY CLICKING ON THE 6IEW &ILTER ICONS IN THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST 5SING EITHER OF THESE METHODS YOU CAN SHOW OR HIDE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS BASED ON WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE STORED WITH 7INDOW ,AYOUT %DIT 7INDOW SETTINGS -IX 7INDOW SETTINGS 3CORE %DITOR 4RANSPORT OR 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR 7INDOW SETTINGS
Figure 2.12 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST WINDOW SHOWING POP UP MENU WITH VIEW FILTER OPTIONS
)F YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WAY YOU HAVE CONFIGURED ONE OF YOUR WIN DOW CONFIGURATIONS JUST SELECT THIS MAKE YOUR CHANGES THEN CHOOSE THE 19
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
5PDATE #ONFIGURATION .AME COMMAND FROM THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST POP UP MENU
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) FIND MYSELF MOSTLY WORKING WITHIN ONE hNORMALv LAYOUT THAT SHOWS BOTH THE %DIT AND -IX WINDOWS (OWEVER AS ) ADD TRACKS TO THE MIXER AND ADJUST THE SIZE OF THE -IX WINDOW AND CHANGE SETTINGS IN THE %DIT WINDOW ) USUALLY WANT TO RETAIN THESE NEW LAYOUTS AND SETTINGS 4HE BEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO ENABLE h!UTO 5PDATE !CTIVE #ONFIGURATIONv IN THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS SUB MENU
Figure 2.13 !UTO 5PDATE !CTIVE Configuration option in the Configurations SUB MENU
#REATING 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS 7HY WOULD YOU WANT TO USE DIFFERENT WINDOW CONFIGURATIONS 7ELL FOR EXAM PLE YOU MAY WANT TO CLOSE THE -IX AND %DIT WINDOWS WHEN YOU ARE EDITING 3CORE AND -)$) DATA SO THAT YOU CAN FOCUS ON USING JUST THESE WINDOWS !LL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO CLOSE THE WINDOWS THAT YOU DONT WANT INCLUDED AND OPEN THE ONES YOU DO WANT POSITIONING THESE WHEREVER YOU LIKE ONSCREEN
Figure 2.14 3CORE AND -)$) %DITING WINDOW CONFIGURATION
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4O CREATE THE CONFIGURATION CHOOSE .EW #ONFIGURATION FROM THE POP UP MENU AVAILABLE AT THE RIGHT OF THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ,IST )N THE .EW 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION DIALOG THAT APPEARS YOU CAN NAME YOUR CONFIGURATION THEN CLICK /+ TO SAVE IT )F YOU ENABLE THE 7INDOW ,AYOUT BUTTON THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF ALL THE OPEN WINDOWS WILL BE STORED WITH THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION ! CHECKBOX BELOW THIS LETS YOU OPTIONALLY INCLUDE ALL THE WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS SUCH AS WHETHER OR NOT THE 2EGION ,IST IS SHOWN IN THE %DIT WINDOW FOR THE %DIT -IX 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR 3CORE %DITOR AND 4RANSPORT $ISPLAY
Figure 2.15 Creating A NEW WINDOW CONFIGURATION
9OU CAN STORE AND RECALL UP TO WINDOW CONFIGURATIONS ALONG WITH OTHER SET TINGS SUCH AS THE :OOM 4OGGLE PREFERENCES THE TRACK HEIGHTS AND THE INTERNAL WINDOW CONFIGURATIONS OF THE MAIN WINDOWS
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4HE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION MEMORY SLOT NUMBERS CAN BE USED TO QUICKLY RECALL INDIVIDUAL CONFIGURATIONS USING THE NUMERIC KEYPAD ON YOUR COMPUTERS KEYBOARD PRESS PERIOD FIRST RELEASE THIS AND THEN PRESS THE NUMBER OF THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION RELEASE THIS AND THEN PRESS THE ASTERISK 4HIS SERIES OF ACTIONS WILL RECALL THE 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION STORED IN THAT SLOT
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
7INDOW #ONFIGURATIONS ARE PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN YOU HAVE LIMITED SCREEN SPACE SO ) ALWAYS CREATE A COMPACT LAYOUT CONTAINING THE %DIT AND -IX WIN DOWS WHEN ) AM USING A LAPTOP FOR EXAMPLE
7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS 9OU CAN ALSO STORE THE WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS FOR THE %DIT -IX 4RANSPORT 3CORE %DITOR AND 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS AS RECALLABLE WINDOW CONFIGURATIONS 4HE WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS FOR THE %DIT WINDOW INCLUDE THE WIDTH OF THE 4RACKS ,IST AND 'ROUP ,IST THE HEIGHT OF THE 4RACKS ,IST THE WIDTH OF THE 2EGION ,IST WHAT RULERS ARE SHOWN THE MAIN RULER IS ALWAYS SHOWN WHAT TRACK COLUMNS ARE SHOWN SUCH AS )NSERTS 3ENDS OR #OMMENTS THE 4EMPO EDITOR DISPLAY AND WHETHER THE 4RANSPORT CONTROLS ARE SHOWN IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 2.16 %DIT 7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS
4HE WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS FOR THE -IX WINDOW INCLUDE THE WIDTH OF THE 4RACKS ,IST AND 'ROUP ,IST THE HEIGHT OF THE 4RACKS ,IST WHAT TRACK ROWS ARE SHOWN SUCH AS )NSERTS 3ENDS OR #OMMENTS AND THE .ARROW7IDE MIXER VIEW 4HE 4RANSPORT 7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS OPTION STORES ALL WINDOW DISPLAY SET TINGS FOR THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW INCLUDING THE #OUNTERS -)$) CONTROLS AND %XPANDED VIEW SETTINGS AND LETS YOU RECALL THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WITH THESE SETTINGS WHEN IT IS CLOSED 4HE 3CORE %DITOR 7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS OPTION STORES ALL THE CURRENT WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS FOR THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW 4HE 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR 7INDOW $ISPLAY 3ETTINGS OPTION STORES THE CURRENT AUTOMATION PANES AND HEIGHTS AND THE CURRENT SETTINGS OF WHICH RULERS AND ROWS ARE BEING SHOWN IN THE TARGETED -)$) %DITOR WINDOW 22
U s i n g P r o To o l s
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)F YOU JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO RECALL THE SIZE LOCATION AND ORDER OF A PAR TICULAR SET OF WINDOWS THAT YOU LIKE TO WORK WITH BUT WITHOUT RECALLING THE DISPLAY SETTINGS WITHIN THOSE WINDOWS YOU CAN SIMPLY STORE THE 7INDOW ,AYOUT WITH THE h)NCLUDE x $ISPLAY 3ETTINGSv OPTION DESELECTED IN THE .EW 7INDOW #ONFIGURATION DIALOG
Figure 2.17 7INDOW ,AYOUT CONFIGURATION
The Universe View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
Figure 2.18 The 5NIVERSE 6IEW
4O MAKE MATERIAL VISIBLE WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE %DIT WINDOW YOU OFTEN NEED TO USE THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL SCROLL BARS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE 4HE 5NIVERSE 6IEW PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE WAY OF POSITIONING MATERIAL IN THE %DIT WINDOW SO THAT IT IS VISIBLE ! WHITE RECTANGULAR AREA WITHIN THE 5NIVERSE 6IEW REPRESENTS WHAT IS VISIBLE IN THE 4RACKS AREA OF THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN CLICK ON AND DRAG THIS WHITE 23
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
R ECTANGLE TO MOVE THE AREA THAT IT ENCOMPASSES OR hFRAMESv AND THE MATERIAL DISPLAYED IN THE %DIT WINDOW WILL FOLLOW 4HIS CAN BE A MUCH FASTER METHOD THAN USING THE SCROLL BARS TO ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT 4HE FRAMED AREA UPDATES TO REFLECT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE %DIT WINDOW SO WHEN ALL THE TRACKS ARE MADE VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND THE SESSION IS ZOOMED ALL THE WAY OUT WITH ALL REGIONS VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW THE FRAMED AREA ENCLOSES THE WHOLE OF THE 5NIVERSE WINDOW $URING PLAYBACK IF THE %DIT WINDOW IS SET TO SCROLL THE FRAMED AREA IN THE 5NIVERSE 6IEW WILL SCROLL TO KEEP IN STEP WITH THIS
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0RO 4OOLS ($ ALSO HAS A 6IDEO 5NIVERSE WINDOW ACCESSIBLE FROM THE 7INDOW MENU THAT LETS YOU VIEW NAVIGATE ZOOM AND SELECT VIDEO REGIONS ON THE MAIN VIDEO TRACK
2.4 The main windows 4HE %DIT AND -IX WINDOWS ARE THE MAIN 0RO 4OOLS WORK AREAS $EPENDING ON WHICH PHASE OF YOUR PROJECT YOU ARE IN OR WHAT TYPE OF PROJECT YOU ARE WORK ING ON YOU MAY PREFER TO WORK WITH JUST THE -IX OR JUST THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN USE THE 6IEW -ENU TO CHOOSE WHAT WILL BE PRESENTED TO YOU IN THE %DIT AND -IX WINDOWS 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU REVEAL THE )NSTRUMENTS )/ CONTROLS )NSERTS AND 3ENDS IN THE %DIT WINDOW YOU CAN MOSTLY WORK IN JUST THE %DIT WINDOW WHICH SOME PEOPLE FIND EASIER THAN WORKING IN TWO WINDOWS
Figure 2.19 2EVEALING THE )/ CONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
Organizing the Transport window 4HE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE NAME GIVEN TO THE CONTROLS THAT WERE USED ON TAPE RECORDERS TO CONTROL THE TAPE TRANSPORT n THAT IS THE MECHA NISM THAT CAUSED THE TAPE TO BE TRANSPORTED ALONG ITS PATH ACROSS THE TAPE HEADS 0RESUMABLY $IGIDESIGN CHOSE THIS NAME TO MAKE RECORDING ENGINEERS AND PRO DUCERS WHO STARTED OUT USING TAPE RECORDERS FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THEIR DIG ITAL AUDIO RECORDER )NTERESTINGLY A HARD DISK DRIVE IS LIKE A HYBRID BETWEEN A TAPE RECORDER AND A VINYL DISC RECORDER LIKE A VINYL DISC RECORDER IT HAS A ROTATING PLAT TER AND A READWRITE HEAD ON A MOVABLE ARM OR SEVERAL OF THESE AND LIKE A TAPE RECORDER IT RECORDS THE AUDIO AS PATTERNS OF MAGNETIZATION ON A MAGNETIC MEDIUM n AN ANALOG PROCESS (OWEVER AS FAR AS THE COMPUTER IS CONCERNED THE AUDIO IS RECORDED AND PLAYED BACK DIGITALLY AS A SERIES OF S AND S FROM A FILE ON DISK #LEARLY THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF ANY 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM n ALLOWING YOU TO CONTROL RECORDING AND PLAYBACK OF AUDIO AND -)$) n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
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4EMPO CONTROLS ABOVE THE -)$) CONTROLS 9OU CAN EITHER ENTER THE TEMPO MANU ALLY HERE OR YOU CAN ENABLE THE 4EMPO TRACK BY CLICKING ON THE #ONDUCTOR BUTTON 5NDERNEATH THE TRANSPORT CONTROLS THE %XPANDED 4RANSPORT WINDOW ADDS 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL SETTINGS ALONG WITH 3TART %ND AND ,ENGTH INDICATORS FOR MAKING 4IMELINE SELECTIONS Figure 2.20 Transport 7INDOW EXPANDED TO SHOW THE #OUNTERS AND -)$) #ONTROLS WITH THE POP UP SELECTOR FOR THESE REVEALED AT THE FAR RIGHT
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4O START AND STOP THE PLAYBACK SIMPLY PRESS THE 3PACEBAR ON YOUR COMPU TER KEYBOARD
Transport Preferences 4O BE FULLY IN CONTROL OF 0RO 4OOLS YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE EFFECTS THAT THE VARIOUS 4RANSPORT 0REFERENCES SETTINGS HAVE )F h4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv IS SELECTED WHEN YOU STOP PLAYBACK THE 4IMELINE )NSERTION AND THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER BOTH MOVE TO THE POINT ON THE 4IMELINE WHERE PLAYBACK STOPS /THERWISE WHEN THIS OPTION IS DESELECTED THE 4IMELINE )NSERTION AND 0LAY 3TART -ARKER WILL RETURN TO THE POINT ON THE 4IMELINE FROM WHICH PLAYBACK BEGAN
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4HIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT SETTING THAT THERE IS A DEDICATED BUTTON ON THE 4OOLBAR MARKED h)NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK v WHICH LETS YOU TOGGLE THIS OPTION ON AND OFF 7HEN h%DIT )NSERTION &OLLOWS 3CRUB3HUTTLEv IS SELECTED THE EDIT CURSOR AUTO MATICALLY LOCATES TO THE POINT ON THE 4IMELINE WHERE YOU STOP SCRUBBING THE AUDIO 7HEN h!UDIO DURING &AST &ORWARD2EWINDv IS SELECTED YOU WILL HEAR THE AUDIO PLAYING BACK DURING FAST FORWARD OR REWIND 7HEN h,ATCH &ORWARD2EWINDv IS SELECTED &AST &ORWARD AND 2EWIND WILL LATCH AND CONTINUE TO OPERATE UNTIL YOU START OR STOP PLAYBACK 7HEN THIS PREFER ENCE IS DISABLED THE &AST &ORWARD AND 2EWIND WILL ONLY LAST AS LONG AS YOU 26
U s i n g P r o To o l s
HOLD DOWN THE MOUSE AFTER CLICKING EITHER BUTTON ON THE 4RANSPORT OR HOLD DOWN THE CORRESPONDING SWITCH ON A #ONTROL 3URFACE
Figure 2.21 Transport PREFERENCES
7HEN h0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 4IMELINE 3ELECTIONv IS ENABLED THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER SNAPS TO THE 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 3TART -ARKER WHEN YOU MOVE THE 4IMELINE 3ELECTION OR WHEN YOU DRAW A NEW 4IMELINE 3ELECTION OR WHEN YOU ADJUST THE 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 3TART 7HEN THIS PREFERENCE IS DISABLED THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER DOESNT MOVE WITH THE 4IMELINE SELECTION 7HEN h2ESERVE 6OICES FOR 0REVIEW IN #ONTEXTv IS ENABLED 0RO 4OOLS RESERVES THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF VOICES FOR PREVIEW IN CONTEXT THE FEATURE THAT ALLOWS PREVIEWING AUDIO FILES IN $IGI"ASE DURING SESSION PLAYBACK
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7HEN YOU ARE RESERVING VOICES FOR 0REVIEW IN #ONTEXT THESE ARE NO LONGER available to use for other purposes, because the number of available VOICES IS INEVITABLY REDUCED BY THE CHANNEL WIDTH OF THE SELECTED !UDITION 0ATHS ON THE /UTPUT PAGE OF THE )/ 3ETUP WINDOW &OR EXAMPLE IF THE NUMBER OF PLAYBACK VOICES IS SET TO IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE AND YOU HAVE A STEREO AUDITION PATH SELECTED IN THE )/ 3ETUP ONLY VOICES WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR TRACKS )F YOU HAVE A AUDITION PATH ONLY VOICES WILL BE AVAILABLE 7HEN THIS OPTION IS DISABLED YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PREVIEW IN CONTEXT IF THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH AVAILABLE VOICES
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
9OU CAN USE THE #USTOM 3HUTTLE ,OCK 3PEED PREFERENCE TO CUSTOMIZE THE HIGH EST FAST FORWARD 3HUTTLE ,OCK SPEED IN 4RANSPORT OR #LASSIC NUMERIC KEYPAD MODES 4HE RANGE FOR THIS SETTING IS n 9OU CAN USE THE "ACK&ORWARD !MOUNT TO SET THE DEFAULT LENGTH OF "ACK "ACK AND 0LAY &ORWARD AND &ORWARD AND 0LAY 4HE TIMEBASE OF THE "ACK&ORWARD !MOUNT SETTINGS FOLLOWS THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE BY DEFAULT OR YOU CAN DESE LECT &OLLOW -AIN 4IME 3CALE AND SELECT ANOTHER TIMEBASE FORMAT "ARS"EATS -IN3EC 4IME #ODE &EET &RAMES OR 3AMPLES 7HEN h5SE 3EPARATE 0LAY AND 3TOP +EYSv IS ENABLED YOU CAN START PLAYBACK WITH THE %NTER KEY AND STOP PLAYBACK WITH THE KEY ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD h5SE 3EPARATE 0LAY AND 3TOP +EYSv IS ONLY AVAILABLE WHEN YOU ARE USING THE .UMERIC +EYPADS 4RANSPORT MODE
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3ETTING UP 0RO 4OOLS TO USE THE %NTER AND KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO START AND STOP PLAYBACK MAKES 0RO 4OOLS BEHAVE LIKE #UBASE AND OTHER POPULAR -)$) !UDIO SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN YOU WANT TO QUICKLY AUDITION THE LOOP TRANSITIONS
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7HEN h5SE 3EPARATE 0LAY AND 3TOP +EYSv IS ENABLED THIS OPTION OVERRIDES USING THE %NTER KEY TO ADD -EMORY ,OCATION MARKERS SO IF YOU DO NEED TO ADD A -EMORY ,OCATION MARKER WHILE THIS IS ACTIVE YOU NEED TO PRESS PERIOD BEFORE YOU PRESS %NTER ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD
Scrub/Shuttle and the Numeric Keypad modes 4O UNDERSTAND WHICH .UMERIC +EYPAD MODE TO CHOOSE YOU NEED TO UNDER STAND THE 3CRUB3HUTTLE FEATURES FIRST
5SING THE 3CRUBBER 4OOLS 3CRUBBING IS A TECHNIQUE BORROWED FROM TAPE EDITING WHERE THE TAPE WAS MOVED BACK AND FORTH PAST THE PLAYBACK HEAD BY HAND WHILE LISTENING TO THE AUDIO TO FIND A SUITABLE EDIT POINT FOR CUTTING OR SPLICING 4HE 3CRUBBER TOOL IN 0RO 4OOLS EMULATES THIS PROCEDURE ALLOWING YOU TO hSCRUBv UP TO TWO TRACKS OF AUDIO IN THE %DIT 7INDOW -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS CANNOT BE SCRUBBED 4O SCRUB A SINGLE AUDIO TRACK SELECT THE 3CRUBBER TOOL THEN POINT CLICK AND DRAG WITHIN THE TRACK MOVING LEFT FOR REVERSE OR RIGHT FOR FORWARD 28
U s i n g P r o To o l s
Figure 2.22 Scrubbing BY DRAGGING WITHIN A SINGLE TRACK
4O SCRUB TWO AUDIO TRACKS DRAG BETWEEN THE ADJACENT TRACKS OR SCRUB WITHIN A SELECTION THAT CONTAINS MULTIPLE TRACKS
Figure 2.23 Scrubbing BY DRAGGING BETWEEN TWO ADJACENT TRACKS
)F THE h%DIT )NSERTION &OLLOWS 3CRUB3HUTTLEv OPTION IS ENABLED IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES PAGE WHEN YOU STOP SCRUBBING THE EDIT CURSOR WILL AUTOMATICALLY LOCATE TO THE POINT WHERE YOU STOPPED )T MAKES MOST SENSE TO ENABLE THIS OPTION WHEN YOU ARE USING THE 3CRUBBER TOOL BECAUSE YOU WILL USUALLY WANT TO INSERT THE EDIT CURSOR AT THIS POINT TO MAKE YOUR EDIT 4O MAKE THE SCRUB FEATURE EVEN MORE LIKE TAPE EDITING YOU CAN SET THE 3CROLLING OPTION TO #ONTINUOUS OR #ENTER 0LAYHEAD 7ITH EITHER OF THESE SCROLLING MODES WHEREVER YOU CLICK IN A TRACKS PLAYLIST WITH THE 3CRUBBER TOOL ACTIVATED 0RO 4OOLS SCROLLS SO THAT THE 0LAYHEAD IS CENTERED IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HEN AS YOU SCRUB THE AUDIO IT MOVES PAST THE 0LAYHEAD WHICH REMAINS STATIONARY AND CENTERED n MORE LIKE MOVING THE TAPE BACK AND FORTH PAST A FIXED PLAY HEAD
Figure 2.24 Scrubbing WITH #ENTER 0LAYHEAD SCROLLING ENABLED
4O GET USED TO USING THE 3CRUBBER TOOL IS EASY ENOUGH *UST MOVE THE MOUSE BACK AND FORTH OVER THE AUDIO WHERE YOU ARE TRYING TO FIND THE CORRECT EDIT POINT MOVING PROGRESSIVELY MORE SLOWLY UNTIL YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED THE SPOT 4HIS CAN BE MUCH EASIER TO CONTROL IF YOU ARE USING A SCRUB WHEEL ON A CONTROL SURFACE 29
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
+EEP IN MIND THAT THE SPEED OF PLAYBACK OF THE SCRUBBED AUDIO DEPENDS ON HOW FAST AND HOW FAR YOU DRAG !LSO THE RESOLUTION FOR THE 3CRUBBER IS DEPENDENT ON THE ZOOM FACTOR FOR THE SCRUBBED TRACK SO YOU MAY NEED TO ZOOM IN OR ZOOM OUT FOR BEST RESULTS
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9OU CAN TEMPORARILY SWITCH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL TO THE 3CRUBBER TOOL BY #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR 3TART CLICKING 7INDOWS &OR A FINER RESOLUTION #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS
3CRUB3HUTTLE MODE 4HE 3CRUBBER TOOL LETS YOU SCRUB AT NORMAL PLAYBACK SPEEDS OR SLOWER 3OMETIMES WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING THROUGH LARGER RANGES OF AUDIO YOU MAY WANT TO SCRUB AT FASTER THAN NORMAL SPEEDS IN WHAT IS CALLED 3HUTTLE MODE 4O SCRUB IN 3HUTTLE MODE SIMPLY HOLD DOWN THE /PTION KEY -AC OR !LT KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU DRAG WITHIN THE TRACK WITH THE 3CRUBBER TOOL SELECTED 4HE &AST &ORWARD AND 2EWIND BUTTONS IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WILL ENGAGE TO INDICATE THAT YOU ARE IN FAST FORWARDREWIND 3HUTTLE MODE
Figure 2.25 3CRUB 3HUTTLE MODE SHOWING THE &AST &ORWARD AND 2EWIND BUTTONS IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW ENGAGED
3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE LETS YOU SHUTTLE FORWARD OR BACKWARD THROUGH YOUR AUDIO WHILE CONTROLLING THE SPEED AND DIRECTION USING THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD INSTEAD OF USING THE MOUSE OR SCRUB WHEEL 4O ENTER 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS AND PRESS A NUMBER ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD 9OU CAN LET GO OF THE MODIFIER KEY ONCE PLAYBACK HAS STARTED AND YOU CAN REVERSE THE DIREC TION OF PLAYBACK BY PRESSING THE MINUS OR PLUS KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
4O CHANGE THE SPEED OF PLAYBACK HOLD DOWN THE MODIFIER KEY AGAIN AND PRESS A DIFFERENT NUMBER ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD IS THE NORMAL SPEED NUMBERS FROM UP TO PROVIDE INCREASINGLY FASTER FAST FORWARD SPEEDS AND NUMBERS FROM DOWN TO PROVIDE PROGRESSIVELY FASTER REWIND SPEEDS IS THE SLOWEST REWIND 3HUTTLE ,OCK SPEED IS THE FASTEST 4O STOP PLAYBACK PRESS #ONTROL -AC OR 3TART 7INDOWS AND TO EXIT 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE JUST PRESS %SCAPE OR THE 3PACEBAR 2EMEMBER THAT AS WITH ALL THE 3CRUB3HUTTLE MODES IF MULTIPLE TRACKS ARE SELECTED ONLY THE FIRST TWO TRACKS WILL BE HEARD
4HE NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODES 4HERE ARE TWO NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODES #LASSIC AND 4RANSPORT #LASSIC MODE EMULATES THE WAY 0RO 4OOLS WORKED IN VERSIONS LOWER THAN 4O CONTROL 3HUTTLE SPEED PRESS THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS FOLLOWED BY A NUMBER FROM TO FOR THE DIFFERENT PLAY SPEEDS )N #LASSIC MODE YOU CAN RECALL -EMORY ,OCATIONS MARKERS BY SIMPLY TYPING THE -EMORY ,OCATION NUMBER FOLLOWED BY 0ERIOD !S WITH #LASSIC MODE 4RANSPORT MODE ALLOWS YOU TO CONTROL 3HUTTLE SPEED BY PRESSING THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS FOLLOWED BY A NUMBER FROM TO FOR THE DIFFERENT PLAY SPEEDS 4HE DIFFERENCE IS THAT 4RANSPORT MODE ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO SET A NUMBER OF RECORD AND PLAY FUNCTIONS AND LETS YOU OPERATE THE 4RANSPORT USING THE NUMERIC KEYPAD 7ITH 4RANSPORT MODE ACTIVE YOU CAN PRESS TO 0LAY3TOP TO 2EWIND TO &AST &ORWARD TO ENABLE 2ECORD TO TURN ,OOP 0LAYBACK MODE ONOFF TO TURN ,OOP 2ECORD MODE ONOFF TO TURN 1UICK0UNCH MODE ONOFF TO TURN THE #LICK ONOFF TO TURN THE #OUNTOFF ONOFF TO ENABLE -)$) -ERGE 2EPLACE MODE 9OU CAN RECALL -EMORY ,OCATIONS MARKERS IN 4RANSPORT MODE BY TYPING 0ERIOD THE -EMORY ,OCATION NUMBER AND 0ERIOD AGAIN
4HE NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE MODE 4HE NUMERIC KEYPAD 3HUTTLE MODE PROVIDES AN ALTERNATIVE TO USING 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODE WHEN YOU WANT TO CONTROL 3CRUB3HUTTLE USING THE COMPUTER KEY BOARD INSTEAD OF THE MOUSESCRUB WHEEL 3HUTTLE MODE WORKS QUITE DIFFERENTLY FROM THE TWO 3HUTTLE ,OCK MODES 4HE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THAT TO PLAY THE CURRENT %DIT SELECTION YOU MUST PRESS AND HOLD THE KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD PLAYBACK STOPS AS SOON AS YOU LET GO OF THE KEYS !LSO YOU DONT HAVE TO BE IN 3CRUB MODE TO USE THE 3HUTTLE FEATURE 31
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
BECAUSE 3CRUB MODE IS AUTOMATICALLY ENGAGED AS SOON AS YOU PRESS THE REL EVANT KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD !LSO IN THIS MODE 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL ARE IGNORED 6ARIOUS PLAYBACK SPEEDS ARE AVAILABLE IN BOTH FORWARD AND REVERSE 0RESS KEY TO 2EWIND AT QUARTER SPEED KEY TO GO &ORWARD AT QUARTER SPEED KEY TO 2EWIND AT NORMAL SPEED KEY TO GO &ORWARD AT NORMAL SPEED KEY TO 2EWIND AT X SPEED KEY TO GO &ORWARD AT X SPEED 9OU CAN ,OOP A 3ELECTION AT NORMAL SPEED BY PRESSING KEY &OR MORE OPTIONS YOU CAN USE PAIRS OF KEYS PRESS KEYS TO 2EWIND AT X SPEED KEYS TO GO &ORWARD AT X SPEED KEYS TO 2EWIND AT HALF SPEED KEYS TO GO &ORWARD AT HALF SPEED KEYS TO 2EWIND AT DOUBLE SPEED KEYS TO GO &ORWARD AT DOUBLE SPEED 9OU CAN RECALL -EMORY ,OCATIONS IN 3HUTTLE MODE BY TYPING PERIOD THE -EMORY ,OCATION NUMBER AND PERIOD AGAIN
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.O MATTER WHICH .UMERIC +EYPAD MODE IS SELECTED YOU CAN ALWAYS USE THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO SELECT AND ENTER VALUES IN THE %VENT %DIT AREA %DIT 3ELECTION INDICATORS -AIN AND 3UB#OUNTERS AND 4RANSPORT FIELDS
Organizing the Mix window )N THE -IX WINDOW TRACKS APPEAR AS MIXER CHANNEL STRIPS WITH CONTROLS FOR SIG NAL ROUTING INPUT AND OUTPUT ASSIGNMENTS VOLUME PANNING RECORD ENABLE AUTOMATION MODE AND SOLOMUTE &ROM THE 6IEW MENU YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO DISPLAY THE -IC 0REAMPS )NSTRUMENTS )NSERTS 3ENDS $ELAY #OMPENSATION AND 4RACK #OLOR CONTROLS OR #OMMENTS IN THE -IX WINDOW
4HE 'ROUP SETTINGS POP UP SELECTOR !LTHOUGH MOST OF THE 0RO 4OOLS USER INTERFACE IS VERY SIMILAR TO PREVIOUS VER SIONS IN TERMS OF LAYOUT AND FEATURES THERE ARE VARIOUS SMALL CHANGES INTENDED TO MAKE THINGS CLEARER OR EASIER TO USE &OR EXAMPLE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE 0AN CONTROLS AT THE TOP OF EACH FADER SECTION YOU WILL NOW FIND A POP UP SELECTOR THAT LETS YOU CONTROL ANY 'ROUP SETTINGS THAT YOU HAVE MADE FOR THE TRACK 5SING THIS POP UP SELECTOR YOU CAN SELECT OR HIDE ALL THE TRACKS IN THE GROUP SHOW ONLY THE TRACKS IN THE GROUP DELETE DUPLICATE OR MODIFY THE GROUP AND SEE WHICH TRACKS AND ATTRIBUTES ARE INCLUDED IN THE GROUP 32
U s i n g P r o To o l s
Figure 2.26 -IX WINDOW WITH MOUSE pointing to the Group SETTINGS POP UP SELECTOR 4HE POP UP SELECTOR FOR AN ADJACENT TRACK IS OPEN IN FRONT OF THE -IX WINDOW
)NSERTS 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU USE UP TO )NSERTS ON EACH !UDIO TRACK !UXILIARY )NPUT )NSTRUMENT 4RACK OR -ASTER &ADER %ACH INSERT CAN BE EITHER A SOFTWARE PLUG IN OR AN EXTERNAL HARDWARE DEVICE 4HERE ARE TWO SETS OF )NSERTS LABELED !n% AND &n* SO YOU CAN CONSERVE SPACE ONSCREEN BY ONLY DISPLAYING ONE SET AT A TIME
3ENDS 9OU CAN ALSO USE UP TO 3ENDS ON EACH TRACK 3ENDS LET YOU ROUTE SIGNALS ACROSS INTERNAL BUSES OR TO AUDIO INTERFACE OUTPUTS SO THAT ONE PLUG IN OR ONE EXTERNAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR CAN BE USED TO PROCESS SEVERAL TRACKS AT ONCE 4HERE ARE TWO SETS OF SENDS LABELED !n% AND &n* THAT CAN OPTIONALLY BE DIS PLAYED IN THE -IX WINDOW 9OU MIGHT USE THE FIRST SET TO SEND TO EFFECTS SUCH 33
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
AS REVERB THAT YOU WISH TO APPLY TO SEVERAL TRACKS AND USE THE SECOND SET TO SEND CUE MIXES TO MUSICIANS n ROUTING THESE FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS HARDWARE INTERFACE TO SUITABLE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS )F YOU ARE NOT USING THE SECOND SET OF SENDS OR THE MIC PREAMPS OR YOU DONT NEED TO SEE THE DELAY COMPENSATION CONTROLS OR COMMENTS OR WHICHEVER THEN YOU SHOULD HIDE THESE SO THAT THEY DONT DISTRACT YOU FROM THE CONTROLS YOU DO WANT TO USE AND SO THAT THE -IX WINDOW TAKES UP LESS SPACE ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN
)/ 3ELECTORS 4RACK )NPUT AND /UTPUT 3ELECTOR POP UPS ARE LOCATED BELOW THE )NSERTS AND JUST ABOVE THE !UTOMATION CONTROLS ON THE CHANNEL STRIPS 4HE 4RACK )NPUT 3ELECTOR POP UPS LET YOU CHOOSE INPUT SOURCES FOR !UDIO TRACKS )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AND !UXILIARY )NPUTS 4RACK INPUT CAN COME FROM YOUR HARDWARE INTER FACE FROM AN INTERNAL 0RO 4OOLS BUS OR FROM A PLUG IN
Figure 2.27 4RACK )NPUT 3ELECTOR POP UP
4HE 4RACK /UTPUT 3ELECTOR POP UPS LET YOU ROUTE THE AUDIO FROM EACH TRACK TO YOUR CHOICE OF AVAILABLE OUTPUTS OR BUS PATHS
!SSIGNING MULTIPLE TRACK OUTPUTS AND SENDS 0RO 4OOLS !UDIO TRACKS )NSTRUMENT 4RACKS AND !UXILIARY )NPUTS CAN HAVE MUL TIPLE TRACK OUTPUT AND SEND ASSIGNMENTS CHOSEN FROM THE ACTUAL PATHS AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE ON YOUR SYSTEM ALTHOUGH -ASTER &ADERS CAN ONLY BE ASSIGNED TO A SINGLE PATH !SSIGNING TO MULTIPLE PATHS IS AN EFFICIENT WAY TO ROUTE AN IDENTICAL MIX TO OTHER SEPARATE OUTPUTS FOR SIMULTANEOUS MONITOR FEEDS HEADPHONE MIXES OR OTHER SITUATIONS WHERE A PARALLEL MIX IS NEEDED 4O ASSIGN AN EXTRA OUTPUT HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS OPEN THE /UTPUT 3ELECTOR AND SELECT YOUR ADDITIONAL OUTPUT 34
U s i n g P r o To o l s
! hv SIGN IS ADDED TO THE /UTPUT 3ELECTOR LEGEND TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS TRACK HAS MORE THAN ONE OUTPUT ASSIGNED AND YOU CAN ADD AS MANY ADDI TIONAL OUTPUTS AS ARE AVAILABLE ON YOUR SYSTEM )F YOU ALSO HOLD THE /PTION !LT KEY AT THE SAME TIME AS THE #ONTROL 3TART KEY THE ADDITIONAL OUTPUT WILL BE ADDED TO ALL TRACKS APART FROM -ASTER &ADERS AND -)$) TRACKS OF COURSE
Figure 2.28 Making multiple assignments for A TRACKS !UDIO /UTPUT 0ATH
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Note
9OU CAN USE THE SAME PROCEDURE TO ADD ADDITIONAL OUTPUT ASSIGNMENTS TO THE TRACK 3ENDS
Figure 2.29 Multiple ASSIGNMENTS FOR A 3ENDS !UDIO /UTPUT 0ATH
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Organizing the Edit window 4HE %DIT WINDOW PROVIDES A TIMELINE DISPLAY OF AUDIO -)$) DATA AND MIXER AUTOMATION !S IN THE -IX WINDOW EACH TRACK HAS CONTROLS FOR RECORD ENABLE SOLO MUTE AND AUTOMATION MODE 5SING THE 6IEW MENU OPTIONS YOU CAN ALSO REVEAL THE INPUT AND OUTPUT )/ ROUTING ASSIGNMENTS THE )NSERTS THE 3ENDS THE )NSTRUMENT CONTROLS THE 2EAL 4IME PROPERTIES THE #OMMENTS OR ANY COMBINATION OF THESE n WHICH MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO WORK WITH JUST THE %DIT WINDOW FOR MOST OF THE TIME 4HE %DIT WINDOW LETS YOU DISPLAY THE AUDIO AND -)$) DATA IN A VARIETY OF WAYS TO SUIT YOUR PURPOSE AND YOU CAN EDIT THE AUDIO RIGHT DOWN TO SAMPLE LEVEL IN THIS ONE WINDOW
The Toolbar 5NDERSTANDING THE AREA AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF LEARNING HOW TO USE 0RO 4OOLS 4HIS AREA CALLED THE 4OOLBAR CONTAINS THE %DIT MODE BUTTONS THE :OOM BUTTONS THE %DIT 4OOLS THE ,OCATION VARIOUS OTHER DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS AND THE 'RID AND .UDGE CONTROLS )N 0RO 4OOLS YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THE 4OOLBAR IN THE %DIT WINDOW AS WITH THE -)$) AND 3CORE %DITOR WINDOWS BY REARRANGING SHOWING AND HIDING THE AVAILABLE CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS 4O SHOW OR HIDE THE VARIOUS TOOLS YOU CAN USE THE POP UP 4OOLBAR MENU LOCATED IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE %DIT WINDOW (ERE YOU CAN CHOOSE TO DISPLAY THE 4RANSPORT %XPANDED 4RANSPORT -)$) AND 3YNCHRONIZATION CONTROLS IN THE 4OOLBAR IF YOU WISH 9OU CAN ALSO SHOW OR HIDE THE 4RACK ,IST OR 2EGIONS ,IST REVEAL THE 5NIVERSE 6IEW AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW OR REVEAL THE -)$) %DITOR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE %DIT WINDOW 7ITH ALL THESE SHOWING IN THE %DIT WINDOW THIS ALLOWS YOU TO WORK ALMOST ENTIRELY WITHIN ONE WINDOW 4HE DISADVANTAGE IS THAT THE %DIT WINDOW THEN STARTS TO LOOK VERY CLUTTERED n WHICH IS WHY YOU ARE GIVEN THE OPTION TO HIDE WHICHEVER OF THESE ELEMENTS YOU ARE NOT USING
Figure 2.30 Toolbar SHOWING THE BASIC SET OF CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS
2EARRANGING 4OOLBAR CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS 4O REARRANGE CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS IN THE %DIT OR -)$) OR 3CORE %DITOR WIN DOW TOOLBAR SIMPLY #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE CONTROLS OR DISPLAYS THAT YOU WANT TO MOVE AND DRAG THEM TO THE RIGHT OR TO 36
U s i n g P r o To o l s
THE LEFT TO REPOSITION THEM ALONG THE TOOLBAR 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU PREFER TO HAVE THE #OUNTERS AND %DIT 3ELECTION INDICATORS REPOSITIONED TO THE RIGHT OF THE 4RANSPORT CONTROLS IN THE TOOLBAR IT WILL ONLY TAKE YOU A MOMENT TO DO THIS
2.5 The Edit modes !T THE LEFT OF THE 4OOLBAR THERE ARE FOUR BUTTONS TO LET YOU SELECT THE %DIT MODE
Figure 2.31 4HE %DIT -ODE BUTTONS
N
3LIP MODE IS THE BASIC MODE TO USE BY DEFAULT )N THIS MODE YOU CAN FREELY MOVE REGIONS FORWARD AND BACKWARD IN TIME IN THE %DIT WINDOW
N
)N 3HUFFLE MODE WHEN YOU MOVE A REGION IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY SNAP TO THE REGION BEFORE IT n PERFECTLY BUTTING UP TO THIS
N
)N 3POT -ODE A 3POT $IALOG APPEARS WHENEVER YOU CLICK ON A REGION 4HIS LETS YOU SPECIFY EXACTLY WHERE THE REGION SHOULD BE PLACED ON THE TIME LINE n IDEAL FOR hSPOTTINGv EFFECTS TO PICTURE
N
)N 'RID -ODE MOVEMENTS ARE CONSTRAINED BY WHICHEVER 'RID SETTINGS YOU HAVE MADE n SUCH AS "ARS"EATS OR -INS3ECS
0RO 4OOLS NOW LETS YOU 3HIFT CLICK TO ENABLE 'RID -ODE WHILE IN 3HUFFLE 3LIP OR 3POT MODE 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE KEYBOARD COMMAND 3HIFT & IF YOU PREFER 7ITH 'RID -ODE ACTIVE PLACING THE %DIT CURSOR AND MAKING %DIT SELECTIONS IS CONSTRAINED BY THE 'RID WHILE REGION EDITING IS SIMULTANEOUSLY AFFECTED BY THE OTHER SELECTED %DIT MODE &OR EXAMPLE IN 3HUFFLE MODE WITH 'RID -ODE ALSO ACTIVE YOU CAN MAKE A SELECTION IN A REGION BASED ON THE 'RID CUT THE SELEC TION AND ANY REGIONS TO THE RIGHT OF THE EDIT WILL SHUFFLE TO THE LEFT
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4O ENABLE 3HUFFLE 3LIP OR 3POT WHILE IN 'RID MODE 3HIFT CLICK THE 3HUFFLE 3LIP OR 3POT MODE BUTTON !LTERNATIVELY PRESS & & TO ENABLE 'RID AND 3HUFFLE MODE PRESS & & TO ENABLE 'RID AND 3LIP MODE AND PRESS & & TO ENABLE 'RID AND 3POT MODE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
The Toolbar Zoom buttons and Presets 4O THE RIGHT OF THE %DIT -ODE BUTTONS THERE ARE VARIOUS ARROW BUTTONS THAT LET YOU ZOOM THE DISPLAY VERTICALLY OR HORIZONTALLY 4HE HORIZONTAL ZOOM ARROWS WORK FOR BOTH AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS 4O ZOOM AUDIO REGIONS VERTICALLY USE THE FIRST PAIR OF UP AND DOWN ARROW BUTTONS 4O ZOOM -)$) REGIONS VERTICALLY USE THE SECOND PAIR
Figure 2.32 Zoom BUTTONS AND PRESETS
5NDERNEATH THESE ZOOM CONTROLS THERE ARE FIVE SMALL :OOM 0RESET BUTTONS THAT STORE PRESET ZOOM LEVELS 9OU CAN USE THESE AS HANDY SHORTCUTS TO PARTICULAR ZOOM LEVELS JUST SET THE ZOOM LEVEL YOU WANT THEN #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY OF THE FIVE BUTTONS TO STORE THE CURRENT ZOOM LEVEL 4O RECALL THESE ZOOM PRESETS YOU CAN EITHER CLICK ON THE NUMBERED BUTTONS USING THE MOUSE OR PRESS THE NUMBERS OR ON YOUR COMPUTERS 17%249 KEYBOARD NOT ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD
The Edit window zoom buttons )N ADDITION TO THE :OOM CONTROLS IN THE 4OOLBAR 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES HORI ZONTAL AND VERTICAL ZOOM BUTTONS IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF THE %DIT WIN DOW 4HE 6ERTICAL :OOM BUTTONS ZOOM THE TRACK HEIGHTS PROPORTIONALLY IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE (ORIZONTAL :OOM BUTTONS ZOOM THE 4IMELINE JUST LIKE THE (ORIZONTAL :OOM CONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR
Vertical zoom in and out button
Figure 2.33 (ORIZONTAL AND 6ERTICAL :OOM BUTTONS
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Horizontal zoom in and out button
U s i n g P r o To o l s
0RO 4OOLS ALSO PROVIDES !UDIO AND -)$) :OOM )N AND /UT BUTTONS IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE %DIT WINDOW 4HESE CONTROLS FUNCTION EXACTLY THE SAME AS THE !UDIO AND -)$) :OOM CONTROLS IN THE 4OOLBAR AND LET YOU ZOOM IN AND OUT VERTICALLY ON AUDIO WAVEFORMS AND -)$) NOTES RESPECTIVELY ALTHOUGH -)$) 6ERTICAL :OOM ONLY AFFECTS TRACKS IN .OTES VIEW
Audio zoom in and out button
Figure 2.34 !UDIO AND -)$) :OOM )N AND /UT BUTTONS
MIDI Zoom in and out button
The Tool buttons ,OCATED BY DEFAULT TO THE RIGHT OF THE :OOM BUTTONS YOU WILL FIND SIX 4OOL BUTTONS
Zoomer Tool 4HE FIRST BUTTON IS THE :OOMER 4OOL 9OU CAN USE THIS TO ZOOM THE DISPLAY EITHER VERTICALLY OR HORIZONTALLY )F YOU CLICK AND HOLD THIS YOU CAN SELECT THE 3INGLE :OOM MODE 7ITH THIS SELECTED YOU CAN CLICK IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO ZOOM THE DISPLAY ONE TIME THEN WHEN YOU LET GO OF THE MOUSE THE :OOMER 4OOL IS DESELECTED AND THE 3ELECTOR 4OOL BECOMES ACTIVE
Trimmer Tool 4HE NEXT BUTTON IS THE 4RIMMER TOOL 9OU CAN USE THIS TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN REGIONS 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE TO APPLY 4IME #OMPRESSION%XPANSION DIRECTLY IN THE %DIT WINDOW OR TO APPLY THE 3CRUB FEATURE PRIOR TO TRIMMING REGIONS OR TO APPLY THE ,OOP FEATURE 3ELECT THESE MODES USING THE POP UP THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU CLICK ON THIS TOOL
Selector Tool To the right of the Trimmer Tool is the Selector Tool that lets you use the cur SOR TO SELECT AREAS WITHIN THE %DIT WINDOW 7ITH THIS TOOL SELECTED THE MOUSE 39
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
POINTER CHANGES TO AN INSERTION CURSOR THAT YOU CAN USE TO DRAG ACROSS AND SELECT REGIONS IN THE %DIT WINDOW OR YOU CAN SIMPLY POINT AND CLICK AT A PAR TICULAR LOCATION IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO POSITION THE INSERTION POINT AND UPDATE THE ,OCATION INDICATORS AT THAT LOCATION
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Whenever you are not specifically using one of the other tools, the Selector 4OOL IS THE MOST USEFUL AND SAFEST TOOL TO LEAVE SELECTED
Grabber Tool 4O THE RIGHT OF THE 3ELECTOR 4OOL YOU WILL FIND THE 'RABBER 4OOL n THE ONE WITH THE HAND ICON 9OU CAN USE THIS TO MOVE REGIONS AROUND IN THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE 'RABBER TO AUTOMATICALLY SEPARATE AN EDIT SELECTION AND MOVE IT TO ANOTHER LOCATION OR ANOTHER TRACK USING ITS 3EPARATION -ODE 4HE 'RABBER 4OOL OFFERS A THIRD MODE n THE /BJECT MODE n THAT YOU CAN ENTER USING THE POP UP THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE 'RABBER 4OOL 4HIS /BJECT 'RABBER LETS YOU SELECT NONCONTIGUOUS REGIONS ON ONE OR MORE TRACKS *UST TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCREENSHOT TO SEE AN EXAMPLE OF A NONCONTIGUOUS SELECTION OF THREE REGIONS ALL ON DIFFERENT TRACKS "Y THE WAY N ONCONTIGUOUS REGIONS IN THIS CONTEXT BASICALLY MEANS REGIONS THAT ARE NOT NEXT TO EACH OTHER
Figure 2.35 4HE /BJECT 'RABBER 4OOL BEING USED to select noncontiguous REGIONS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Smart Tool 4HE 4RIMMER 3ELECTOR AND 'RABBER TOOLS CAN BE COMBINED USING THE 3MART 4OOL TO LINK THEM TOGETHER 4HE 3MART 4OOL BUTTON HAS A NEW LOOK AND LOCA TION IN 0RO 4OOLS )T IS NOW POSITIONED BOTH ABOVE AND TO EITHER SIDE OF THE 40
U s i n g P r o To o l s
4RIMMER 3ELECTOR AND 'RABBER TOOLS 4O ACTIVATE IT SIMPLY CLICK IN THIS AREA ABOVE OR TO EITHER SIDE OF THESE TOOLS 7ITH THE 3MART 4OOL ACTIVATED THEN DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU POINT YOUR MOUSE IN THE %DIT WINDOW ONE OR OTHER OF THESE TOOLS WILL BECOME ACTIVE n SAVING YOU HAVING TO CLICK ON THESE TOOLS INDIVIDUALLY WHEN YOU WANT TO CHANGE TO A DIFFERENT TOOL
Scrub Tool 4O THE RIGHT OF THE 'RABBER 4OOL IS THE 3CRUB 4OOL THAT LETS YOU SCRUB BACK AND FORTH OVER AN EDIT POINT WHILE YOU ARE TRYING TO HEAR THE EXACT POSITION OF A PARTICULAR SOUND n RATHER LIKE MOVING A TAPE BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE PLAY BACK HEAD IN CONVENTIONAL TAPE EDITING
Figure 2.36 The Smart 4OOL
Pencil Tool 4HE SIXTH TOOL IS THE 0ENCIL THAT YOU CAN USE TO REDRAW A WAVEFORM TO REPAIR A POP OR CLICK !LTERNATE 0ENCIL MODES ARE AVAILABLE THAT CONSTRAIN DRAWING TO LINES TRIANGLE SQUARE OR RANDOM SHAPES
The Mode buttons 2UNNING UNDERNEATH THE 4OOL BUTTONS THERE ARE SIX MORE MODE BUTTONS
Zoom Toggle 4HE LEFTMOST BUTTON CONTROLS THE :OOM 4OGGLE 4HIS FEATURE LETS YOU DEFINE AND TOGGLE BETWEEN ZOOM STATES IN THE %DIT WINDOW STORING AND RECALLING THE 6ERTICAL :OOM (ORIZONTAL :OOM 4RACK (EIGHT 4RACK 6IEW AND 'RID SETTINGS 7HEN :OOM 4OGGLE IS ACTIVATED THE %DIT WINDOW CHANGES TO THE STORED ZOOM STATE AND WHEN :OOM 4OGGLE IS DISABLED THE %DIT WINDOW REVERTS TO THE PREVI OUS ZOOM STATE !NY CHANGES MADE TO THE VIEW WHILE :OOM 4OGGLE IS ENABLED ARE ALSO STORED IN THE ZOOM STATE
Figure 2.37 Zoom 4OGGLE BUTTON
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
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Tip
7HEN :OOM 4OGGLE IS ENABLED YOU CAN CANCEL IT AND REMAIN AT THE SAME ZOOM LEVEL BY PRESSING /PTION 3HIFT % -AC OR !LT 3HIFT % 7INDOWS
Tab to Transients The Tab to Transients button lets you automatically locate the cursor to the NEXT TRANSIENT WHILE EDITING WAVEFORMS 7ITH THIS ACTIVATED JUST PRESS THE 4AB KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO JUMP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT TRAN SIENT EG AT THE START OF A SNARE HIT IN THE WAVEFORM THAT YOU ARE CURRENTLY EDITING
Figure 2.38 Tab to 4RANSIENTS BUTTON
-IRRORED -)$) %DITING 4HE THIRD BUTTON FROM THE LEFT LETS YOU ENABLE OR DISABLE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING -IRRORED -)$) %DITING IS USEFUL WHEN YOU EDIT A REGION CONTAINING -)$) NOTES AND YOU WANT THESE EDITS TO APPLY TO EVERY -)$) REGION OF THE SAME NAME
Figure 2.39 -IRRORED -)$) %DITING BUTTON
,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION 4HE ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON LETS YOU LINK OR UNLINK %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS 7ITH THE 4IMELINE AND %DIT SELECTIONS unlinked, you can SELECT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS IN THE 4IMELINE AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW AND IN THE REGIONS WITHIN THE %DIT WINDOW 7ITH THE 4IMELINE AND %DIT SELEC tions linked WHENEVER YOU MAKE A SELECTION INSIDE THE %DIT WINDOW THE SAME SELECTION IS AUTOMATICALLY MADE IN THE 4IMELINE AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 2.40 ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
,INK 4RACK AND %DIT SELECTION 4HE ,INK 4RACK AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON ALSO DOES WHAT IT SAYS WITH THIS HIGHLIGHTED WHEN YOU SELECT A REGION IN THE %DIT WINDOW THE TRACK BECOMES SELECTED AS WELL )F YOU THEN SELECT ANOTHER TRACK 0RO 4OOLS SELECTS THE CORRE SPONDING REGION TO THE REGION SELECTED IN THE FIRST TRACK IN THIS OTHER TRACK n BECAUSE THE 4RACK AND %DIT 3ELECTION FEATURES ARE LINKED
Figure 2.41 ,INK 4RACK AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON
)NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A NEW )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK BUTTON IN THE %DIT WIN DOW 4HIS LETS YOU ENABLE OR DISABLE THE h4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv OPTION AND ALSO PROVIDES A VISUAL INDICATION OF WHETHER OR NOT THIS OPTION IS ON 0REVIOUSLY THIS OPTION WAS ONLY AVAILABLE IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES
Figure 2.42 )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK BUTTON
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4HERE IS A USEFUL KEYBOARD COMMAND THAT LETS YOU SWITCH THIS PREFER ENCE ON AND OFF PRESS #ONTROL N -AC OR 3TART N 7INDOWS OR WITH THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS ENABLED SIMPLY PRESS THE hNv KEY
Location indicators ,OCATED CENTRALLY AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW YOU WILL FIND THE -AIN AND OPTIONAL 3UB LOCATION INDICATORS WITH THE %VENT %DIT AREA TO THE RIGHT OF THESE 4HE ,OCATION INDICATORS SHOW YOU WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR SESSION IN TERMS OF "ARS"EATS -INS3ECS OR WHATEVER YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO DISPLAY HERE 4HE %VENT %DIT AREA LETS YOU DEFINE SELECTIONS n BY TYPING THE 3TART AND %ND POINTS FOR EXAMPLE n AND ALSO SERVES TO DISPLAY THESE ALONG WITH THE ,ENGTH OF THE SELECTION 43
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 2.43 ,OCATION INDICATORS AND %VENT %DIT AREA
Edit Window MIDI editing controls 4O ALLOW CONVENIENT EDITING OF SELECTED SINGLE NOTES WHEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES VARIOUS -)$) EDITING CON TROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR )F YOU SELECT A -)$) NOTE USING THE 'RABBER OR 0ENCIL 4OOLS THE -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS AREA AT THE RIGHT OF THE %VENT %DIT AREA AND DISPLAYS THE SELECTED -)$) NOTE WITH ITS ASSOCIATED -)$) /N AND /FF VELOCITIES 9OU CAN EDIT THESE VALUES BY TYPING NEW VALUES OR BY DRAGGING THE CURSOR TO CHANGE VALUES
Figure 2.44 -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS AREA IN THE 4OOLBAR ABOVE A -)$) TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW WITH A SELECTED -)$) NOTE # DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS AREA TOGETHER WITH ITS /N 6ELOCITY OF AND /FF 6ELOCITY OF a MIDI not
Figure 2.45 -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4OOLBAR
n ditin
u tom not du ation D au t not on
o it
4HE -)$) SOCKET WITH LOUDSPEAKER ICON TO THE RIGHT OF THE -)$) NOTE PARAM ETERS DISPLAY CAN BE USED TO ENABLE OR DISABLE THE 0LAY -)$) .OTES 7HEN %DITING FEATURE 7HEN THIS IS HIGHLIGHTED IN GREEN -)$) NOTES WILL SOUND WHEN YOU CLICK ON THEM WHILE EDITING
44
U s i n g P r o To o l s
7HEN YOU ARE MANUALLY INSERTING NOTES INTO A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL THE POP UP #USTOM .OTE $URATION SELECTOR LETS YOU CHOOSE THE DEFAULT NOTE DURATION
Figure 2.46 Custom .OTE $URATION POP UP SELECTOR
4O THE RIGHT OF THIS THE $EFAULT .OTE ON 6ELOCITY SETTING LETS YOU DEFINE THE DEFAULT NOTE ON VELOCITY
Cursor values display 5NDERNEATH THE #OUNTERS THERE IS A DISPLAY AREA THAT TRACKS THE POSITION OF THE CURSOR 4HIS AREA ALSO DISPLAYS CURSOR VALUES SUCH AS THE -)$) NOTE NAME WHEN THE CURSOR IS MOVED VERTICALLY WITHIN A -)$) TRACK OR THE 6OLUME LEVEL IN D"S WHEN THE CURSOR IS MOVED VERTICALLY WITHIN A -ASTER TRACK
Figure 2.47 Cursor VALUES DISPLAY SHOWING THE BAR BEAT AND CLOCK AND THE -)$) NOTE NAME OF THE SELECTED NOTE # IN THIS EXAMPLE
Edit Window indicators 0OSITIONED DIRECTLY BELOW THE %VENT %DIT AREA THERE ARE THREE SMALL STA TUS INDICATORS 4IMELINE $ATA /NLINE 3TATUS 3ESSION $ATA /NLINE 3TATUS AND !UTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION 45
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
im in data on in
Figure 2.48 %DIT 7INDOW 3TATUS INDICATORS
tatu
ion data on in Automati d a
tatu om
n ation
)F ANY FILES THAT ARE USED IN TRACK PLAYLISTS IE VISIBLE IN THE 4IMELINE THE MAIN PART OF THE %DIT WINDOW ARE OFFLINE BEING PROCESSED OR OTHERWISE UNAVAIL ABLE FOR PLAYBACK THE 4IMELINE $ATA /NLINE 3TATUS INDICATOR WILL TURN RED TO WARN YOU )F ANY AUDIO OR FADE FILES REFERENCED BY THE SESSION ARE OFFLINE BEING PROCESSED OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE FOR PLAYBACK THE 3ESSION $ATA /NLINE 3TATUS INDICA TOR TURNS RED TO WARN YOU 7HEN !UTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ENABLED IN THE /PTIONS MENU THIS INDICATOR SHOWS h$LYv TO INDICATE THIS
Grid and Nudge 3EPARATE DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS ARE PROVIDED FOR THE 'RID AND .UDGE FEATURES
Figure 2.49 'RID AND .UDGE $ISPLAYS AND CONTROLS
9OU CAN CLICK ON THE SMALL DOWNWARD POINTING ARROWS TO THE RIGHT OF THESE DISPLAYS TO OPEN THE POP UP SELECTORS THAT LET YOU CHANGE THE 'RID OR .UDGE VALUES )F YOU ARE WORKING ON MUSIC PRODUCTION YOU WOULD NORMALLY SET THESE VALUES TO "ARS"EATS ALTHOUGH 3AMPLES MAY BE USEFUL FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF EDITS AND -INUTES3ECONDS IS USEFUL IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING TO "ARS"EATS 4HE 'RID VALUES ARE USED IN 'RID MODE TO SET THE INCREMENTS BY WHICH REGIONS OR -)$) NOTES CAN BE MOVED FORWARD OR BACKWARD IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE .UDGE VALUES ARE USED WHEN NUDGING REGIONS OR NOTES FORWARD OR BACK WARD IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE WORD hNUDGEv USED IN THIS CONTEXT MEANS TO MOVE BY A SMALL AMOUNT 46
U s i n g P r o To o l s
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4O INCREMENT OR DECREMENT THE NUDGE VALUES USING THE KEYBOARD HOLD THE #OMMAND AND /PTION KEYS -AC OR #ONTROL AND !LT KEYS 7INDOWS AND PRESS THE PLUS AND MINUS KEYS ON YOUR 17%249 OR NUMERIC KEYPADS
4O NUDGE A REGION REGIONS REGION GROUPS -)$) NOTES OR AUTOMATION BREAK points, select these using the Time Grabber or Selector tool then press the PLUS AND MINUS KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO NUDGE FORWARD AND BACKWARD IN TIME !NY AUTOMATION DATA RELATING TO A SELECTION OF REGIONS THAT YOU NUDGE WILL ALSO BE SHIFTED
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0RO 4OOLS CAN NUDGE MATERIAL DURING PLAYBACK SO YOU CAN NUDGE CONTINU OUSLY IN REAL TIME TO ADJUST THE TIMING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRACKS
2.6 The rulers )MMEDIATELY BELOW THE %DIT WINDOW 4OOLBAR YOU WILL FIND ONE OR MORE hRUL ERSv )F YOU ARE RECORDING MUSIC THE MAIN RULER THAT YOU SHOULD BE USING WILL DISPLAY "AR"EATS OR POSSIBLY -INUTES3ECONDS !T VARIOUS TIMES YOU WILL ALSO WANT TO DISPLAY -ARKERS 4EMPO -ETER +EY AND #HORDS RULERS
Figure 2.50 A selection OF 2ULERS SHOWING BELOW THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR
&OR CERTAIN TYPES OF EDITS IT CAN BE USEFUL TO DISPLAY THE 3AMPLES RULER )F YOU ARE WORKING TO PICTURE YOU CAN HAVE UP TO TWO 4IME #ODE RULERS AND FOR FILM WORK YOU CAN DISPLAY &EET &RAMES 9OU CAN CHOOSE WHICH RULERS TO DISPLAY EITHER BY SELECTING THESE FROM THE 2ULERS SUB MENU IN THE 6IEW MENU OR USING THE POP UP SELECTOR AT THE FAR LEFT OF THE MAIN RULER IN THE %DIT WINDOW 47
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4HE 4EMPO RULER CAN BE USED TO INSERT TEMPO CHANGES ANYWHERE IN YOUR MUSIC *UST CLICK ON THE SMALL @ SIGN TO OPEN THE 4EMPO #HANGE DIALOG AND INSERT A TEMPO CHANGE AT THE CURRENT LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE 4HE 4EMPO RULER CAN ALSO BE @OPENED BY CLICKING ON THE SMALL ARROW TO THE LEFT OF ITS NAME TO REVEAL THE 4EMPO %DITOR THAT ALLOWS YOU TO EDIT TEMPO @EVENTS GRAPHICALLY
Figure 2.51 h#ONDUCTORv 4RACK 2ULER FOR 4EMPO WITH THE 4EMPO %DITOR REVEALED
The Meter ruler lets you insert time signature markings at appropriate locations ALONG THE TIMELINE *UST CLICK ON THE SMALL hv SIGN TO OPEN THE -ETER #HANGE DIALOG AND INSERT A METER CHANGE AT THE CURRENT LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE 4HE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER CAN BE USED TO INSERT KEY CHANGES ANYWHERE IN YOUR MUSIC *UST CLICK ON THE SMALL @ SIGN TO OPEN THE +EY #HANGE DIALOG AND INSERT A KEY CHANGE AT THE CURRENT LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE ,IKE THE 4EMPO RULER THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER CAN ALSO BE @OPENED BY CLICKING ON THE SMALL ARROW TO THE LEFT OF ITS NAME 4HIS REVEALS THE +EY 3IGNATURE %DITOR THAT ALLOWS YOU TO EDIT KEY CHANGES GRAPHICALLY
Figure 2.52 +EY 3IGNATURE %DITOR
The Markers ruler lets you insert markers at appropriate locations along the TIMELINE *UST CLICK ON THE SMALL hv SIGN TO OPEN THE .EW -EMORY ,OCATION DIALOG AND CHOOSE AND NAME A MARKER AND INSERT THIS AT THE CURRENT LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE .EW FOR 0RO 4OOLS THE #HORDS RULER LETS YOU ADD CHORD SYMBOLS TO 0RO 4OOLS SESSIONS IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND IN -)$) %DITOR AND THE 3CORE %DITOR WIN DOWS #HORD SYMBOLS IN 0RO 4OOLS ARE SIMPLY MARKERS THAT DISPLAY CHORD SYM BOLS AND GUITAR TABLATURES n THEY HAVE NO EFFECT ON -)$) DATA Figure 2.53 2ULERS VIEW SHOWING THE #HORDS RULER ABOVE THE -ARKERS RULER
4HE #HORDS RULER LETS YOU ADD CHANGE MOVE AND DELETE CHORD SYMBOLS 4O ADD A CHORD SYMBOL PLACE THE CURSOR IN THE 4IMELINE WHERE YOU WANT TO ADD 48
U s i n g P r o To o l s
THIS #LICK THE PLUS BUTTON IN THE #HORDS RULER TO OPEN THE #HORD #HANGE DIALOG AT THE CURRENT 4IMELINE LOCATION )N THE #HORD #HANGE DIALOG YOU CAN SELECT THE NAME FOR THE ROOT OF THE CHORD THE CHORD TYPE THE BASS NOTE OF THE CHORD AND THE CHORD DIAGRAM THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED IN THE 3CORE %DITOR 4O CHANGE A CHORD SYMBOL DOUBLE CLICK THE #HORD 3YMBOL MARKER IN THE #HORD 3YMBOL RULER TO OPEN THE #HORD #HANGE DIALOG AGAIN )F YOU WANT TO REPOSITION A CHORD SYMBOL YOU CAN JUST CLICK AND DRAG THE #HORD 3YMBOL MARKER TO ANY NEW LOCATION ALONG THE TIMELINE 4O DELETE A CHORD SYMBOL EITHER /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE #HORD 3YMBOL MARKER IN THE #HORDS RULER !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN MAKE A SELECTION IN THE #HORDS RULER THAT INCLUDES THE CHORD SYMBOLS YOU WANT TO DELETE AND CHOOSE #LEAR FROM THE %DIT MENU OR JUST PRESS $ELETE
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!NOTHER WAY TO OPEN THE #HORD #HANGE +EY #HANGE -ETER #HANGE 4EMPO #HANGE OR .EW -EMORY ,OCATION DIALOGS THAT CAN BE CONVENIENT IS TO MOVE THE CURSOR INTO THE RULER WHILE PRESSING THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS 4HE CURSOR CHANGES TO THE 'RABBER WITH A h v AND WHEN YOU CLICK AT THE LOCATION WHERE YOU WANT TO PLACE THE #HORD SYMBOL +EY SIGNA TURE 4IME SIGNATURE 4EMPO OR -ARKER THE APPROPRIATE DIALOG OPENS
2.7 Edit window pop-up selectors )MMEDIATELY BENEATH THE RULERS AT THE FAR LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW YOU WILL FIND TWO MORE POP UP SELECTORS 4HE FIRST OF THESE DUPLICATES THE OPTIONS AVAILABLE IN THE 6IEW MENU FOR THE %DIT WINDOW ALLOWING YOU TO SHOW OR HIDE )NSERTS 3ENDS AND SO FORTH
Figure 2.54 %DIT WINDOW 6IEW OPTIONS POP UP SELECTOR
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4O THE RIGHT OF THIS YOU WILL FIND THE ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE POP UP 4HIS LETS YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN ,INEAR 4ICK "ARS"EATS $ISPLAY AND A ,INEAR 3AMPLE ABSOLUTE $ISPLAY
Figure 2.55 ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE POP UP
2.8 Track heights 0RO 4OOLS HAS SEVEN PRESET TRACK HEIGHTS RANGING FROM -ICRO TO %XTREME PLUS THE &IT TO 7INDOW COMMAND -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ALSO FEATURE A SINGLE NOTE VIEW -ICRO IS THE SMALLEST POSSIBLE TRACK HEIGHT WITH SIX MORE CHOICES RANGING FROM -INI UP TO %XTREME PLUS h&IT TO 7INDOWv &IT TO 7INDOW FILLS THE ENTIRE TRACKS AREA OF THE %DIT WINDOW AT THE CURRENT WINDOW SIZE WITH THE SELECTED TRACK USE THIS SETTING WHEN YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON A SINGLE TRACK FOR EDITING 4HESE TRACK HEIGHTS CAN BE SELECTED FROM THE 4RACK /PTIONS POP UP SELECTOR THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE SMALL ARROW THAT CAN BE FOUND AT THE TOP LEFT OF EACH SET OF 4RACK CONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 2.56 Track /PTIONS POP UP SELECTOR ARROW
!LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN PRESS CLICK AND HOLD THE MOUSE POINTER ONTO THE VERTI CAL RULE TO THE LEFT OF THE WAVEFORM DISPLAY ON ANY AUDIO TRACK TO ACCESS THE SAME POP UP SELECTOR WHICH CAN OFTEN BE MORE CONVENIENT
Figure 2.57 Click on the vertical rule to the left of THE WAVEFORM DISPLAY TO reveal the Track height POP UP SELECTOR
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
4HERE IS A MINI KEYBOARD AT THE LEFT OF EACH -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW THAT LETS YOU SELECT AND PLAY NOTES ON THAT TRACK BY CLICKING WITH THE MOUSE POINTER 4O REVEAL THE TRACK HEIGHT SELECTOR YOU HAVE TO PRESS AND HOLD THE #ONTROL KEY WHILE POINTING AT AND CLICKING ON THE MINI KEYBOARD AT THE LEFT OF -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS n OTHERWISE THIS ACTION WILL SELECT AND PLAY THE NOTES ON THE TRACK CORRESPONDING TO THE NOTE ON THE MINI KEYBOARD THAT YOU TOUCHED
Figure 2.58 -)$) 4RACK HEIGHT POP UP SELECTOR n HOLD THE #ONTROL KEY TO ACCESS THIS
Continuously Variable track heights 0RO 4OOLS OFFERS YET ANOTHER WAY TO CHANGE THE HEIGHT OF A TRACK RESIZING IN SMALL INCREMENTS OR CONTINUOUSLY IF YOU HOLD THE #OMMAND KEY -AC OR THE #ONTROL KEY 7INDOWS 3IMPLY CLICK AND DRAG THE LOWER BOUNDARY OF THE 4RACK #ONTROLS COLUMN IN THE %DIT WINDOW When you point your mouse at the bottom line of any Track Controls column THE AREA AT THE LEFT OF EACH TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW CONTAINING CONTROLS SUCH AS -UTE 3OLO AND SO FORTH THE MOUSE POINTER CHANGES INTO A THICK HORIZON TAL LINE WITH UP AND DOWN ARROWS
Figure 2.59 Mouse POINTER POISED READY TO ADJUST THE TRACK HEIGHT
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
)F YOU THEN PRESS AND HOLD THE MOUSE BUTTON AND DRAG UPWARD OR DOWN WARD THE TRACK HEIGHT WILL CHANGE n EITHER IN SMALL INCREMENTS OR CONTINU OUSLY DEPENDING ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ALSO PRESSING AND HOLDING THE #OMMAND KEY -AC OR THE #ONTROL KEY 7INDOWS !S USUAL WITH 0RO 4OOLS THERE ARE SHORT CUTS PROVIDED TO LET YOU APPLY CHANGES TO ALL THE TRACKS OR TO A GROUP OF TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE SELECTED 4O CONTINUOUSLY RESIZE ALL TRACKS /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS AND DRAG 4O CON TINUOUSLY RESIZE ALL SELECTED TRACKS /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS AND DRAG
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4HE CONTINUOUS TRACK HEIGHT RESIZING CAPABILITY MAKES ANOTHER COUPLE OF USEFUL FEATURES POSSIBLE 4O MAKE ALL THE TRACKS IN WHICH YOU HAVE MADE AN %DIT SELECTION JUST FIT INTO THE %DIT WINDOW PRESS AND HOLD THE #OMMAND AND #ONTROL KEYS !RROW -AC OR THE #ONTROL AND 3TART KEYS 7INDOWS THEN PRESS EITHER THE 5P OR $OWN !RROW KEY IT DOESNT MATTER WHICH 4O MAKE ALL THE TRACKS THAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE SELECTED FIT EXACTLY INTO THE %DIT WINDOW /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ONTO THE 4RACK (EIGHT POP UP MENU AND SELECT &IT TO 7INDOW
2.9 Zooming around 'ETTING USED TO THE DIFFERENT WAYS TO ZOOM IN OR OUT TO SEE YOUR AUDIO AND -)$) DATA DISPLAYED APPROPRIATELY FOR THE TASKS YOU ARE APPROACHING WILL TAKE A LITTLE WHILE !S USUAL 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES SEVERAL WAYS TO DO THE SAME THINGS 6ETERAN 0RO 4OOLS USERS WILL BE FAMILIAR WITH THE GROUP OF ZOOM ARROW BUT TONS NEAR THE TOP LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW THAT LET YOU ZOOM AUDIO AND -)$) TRACKS HORIZONTALLY OR VERTICALLY #LICK THE LEFT POINTING OR RIGHT POINTING ARROWS TO ZOOM ALL THE TRACK DISPLAYS HORIZONTALLY #LICK THE LEFTMOST PAIR OF UPWARD AND DOWNWARD POINTING ARROWS TO ZOOM THE AUDIO WAVEFORM VERTICALLY AND USE THE RIGHTMOST PAIR OF UPWARD OR DOWNWARD POINTING ARROWS TO ZOOM THE -)$) DISPLAY VERTICALLY 4HERE ARE FIVE SMALL BUTTONS UNDERNEATH THESE ZOOM BUTTONS THAT ARE ACTU ALLY MEMORY LOCATIONS INTO WHICH YOU CAN STORE DIFFERENT ZOOM LEVELS OF YOUR CHOICE *UST SET THE ZOOM LEVELS YOU WANT USING THE ARROW KEYS OR ANY OTHER METHOD THEN #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY OF THE FIVE :OOM 0RESETS TO STORE THIS ZOOM LEVEL
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)N RECENT VERSIONS OF 0RO 4OOLS YOU CAN SIMPLY POINT CLICK AND DRAG ON ANY OF THE ARROW SHAPED ZOOM BUTTONS TO CHANGE THE ZOOM LEVELS CONTINUOUSLY $RAGGING TO LEFT OR RIGHT ZOOMS HORIZONTALLY IN A CONTINUOUS FASHION $RAGGING UP OR DOWN ON THE !UDIO :OOM )N OR :OOM /UT BUTTON CONTINUOUSLY ZOOMS ALL THE AUDIO TRACKS VERTICALLY n WHILE PRESERVING ANY WAVEFORM HEIGHT OFFSETS
9OU CAN ALSO USE THE :OOMER TOOL THE ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE A MAGNIFYING GLASS *UST POINT AND CLICK OR DRAG IN ANY TRACK TO ZOOM IN EXPANDING THE WAVEFORM OR -)$) DISPLAY OR HOLD THE /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS KEY WHILE YOU CLICK OR DRAG TO ZOOM OUT CONTRACTING THE DISPLAY 5SERS OF OTHER POPULAR SOFTWARE SUCH AS #UBASE WILL PROBABLY FEEL MORE COM FORTABLE USING THE -ARQUEE :OOM FEATURE WHICH WORKS AS FOLLOWS SINCE 0RO 4OOLS VERSION )F YOU HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS WHILE USING THE :OOMER TOOL AND DRAG TO THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT THE DISPLAY WILL SHRINK OR STRETCH HORIZONTALLY n A BIT LIKE A CONCERTINA !LL TRACKS ARE AFFECTED EQUALLY USING THIS METHOD )F YOU DRAG UP OR DOWN WITHIN ANY TRACK THE HEIGHT OF THE DISPLAY WITHIN THE TRACK WILL ZOOM VERTICALLY /NLY THE TRACK THAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH IS AFFECTED USING THIS METHOD (OLDING THE 3HIFT KEY AS WELL APPLIES THIS TO ALL TRACKS SO IF YOU #ONTROL 3HIFT DRAG -AC OR 3TART 3HIFT DRAG 7INDOWS IN AN AUDIO TRACK WITH THE :OOMER TOOL SELECTED THIS WILL APPLY TO ALL THE AUDIO TRACKS OR TO ALL THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS IF YOU DRAG IN ONE OF THESE 9OU CAN SET ALL THE AUDIO TRACK WAVEFORM HEIGHTS TO MATCH THE WAVEFORM HEIGHT OF THE TOPMOST AUDIO TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW BY #OMMAND 3HIFT CLICKING -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE AUDIO WAVEFORM VERTICAL :OOM BUTTON
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)F YOU DOUBLE CLICK THE :OOMER TOOL THE WAVEFORM DISPLAY ZOOMS ALL THE TRACKS HORIZONTALLY UNTIL EVERYTHING IN YOUR SESSION JUST FILLS THE %DIT WIN DOW 4HIS IS A VERY CONVENIENT WAY TO RESET THE DISPLAY SO THAT IT SHOWS YOUR WHOLE SESSION IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HIS ACTION ALSO RESETS THE WAVE FORM DISPLAY WITHIN EACH TRACK TO ITS DEFAULT HEIGHT
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
0RO 4OOLS ALSO OFFERS A KEYBOARD COMMAND THAT ZOOMS THE SELECTION TO FILL THE %DIT WINDOW -AKE AN %DIT SELECTION FIRST THEN PRESS /PTION & -AC OR !LT & 7INDOWS AND all THE -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS WILL ZOOM HORIZONTALLY UNTIL THE CURRENT EDIT SELECTION JUST FILLS THE %DIT WINDOW Selected TRACKS WILL ALSO ZOOM VERTICALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE -)$) NOTES WITHIN THE SELECTION ARE VISIBLE 6ERY OFTEN YOU WILL WANT TO ZOOM ALL THE TRACKS OUT SO THAT YOU CAN SEE AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR SESSION )F YOU PRESS /PTION ! -AC OR !LT ! 7INDOWS THIS WILL ZOOM ALL THE TRACKS OUT ALL THE WAY HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS WILL AUTOMATICALLY ZOOM VERTICALLY TO DISPLAY ALL NOTES
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4HE ONLY WAY TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE WAY THE ZOOM FEATURES WORK IS TO KEEP ON TRYING THEM OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS UNTIL THEY BECOME hSECOND NATUREv TO YOU n SO GO BACK AND TRY THESE OUT NOW
Zoom Toggle 5SING THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE YOU CAN MAKE THE %DIT WINDOW BEHAVE THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO WHEN YOU CHANGE THE %DIT SELECTION OR 4RACK SELECTION 4HE :OOM 4OGGLE BUTTON IS LOCATED JUST UNDERNEATH THE :OOMER TOOL *UST CLICK ON THIS TO ACTIVATE THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE OR WHEN THE #OMMAND &OCUS IS ACTIVE JUST PRESS THE hEv KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD 4O CONFIGURE THE WAY THIS FEATURE WORKS YOU NEED TO SET VARIOUS PREFERENCES AND ZOOM BEHAVIORS IN THE :OOM 4OGGLE SECTION OF THE %DITING 0REFERENCES WINDOW WHICH YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE 3ETUP MENU (ERE YOU CAN SET THE WAY THAT BOTH THE 6ERTICAL AND (ORIZONTAL :OOM WILL SWITCH IE TOGGLE WHEN YOU ENABLE THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE AND YOU CAN ALSO SET THE WAY THAT THE 4RACK (EIGHT AND 4RACK 6IEW BEHAVE 4HE 6ERTICAL :OOM DEFAULTS TO ZOOMING TO THE CURRENT %DIT 3ELECTION WITH h3ELECTIONv CHOSEN IN THE :OOM 4OGGLE 0REFERENCES )F YOU ARE EDITING -)$) NOTES AND YOU ARE IN .OTES VIEW AND IF YOU SET THE 6ERTICAL :OOM 4OGGLE 0REFERENCE TO h,AST 5SED v HITTING THE :OOM 4OGGLE BUTTON ZOOMS VERTICALLY TO THE LAST STORED :OOM 4OGGLE STATE FOR -)$) NOTES )F YOU CHOOSE h3ELECTIONv AS THE (ORIZONTAL :OOM PREFERENCE USING THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE WILL CAUSE THE %DIT WINDOW TO ZOOM HORIZONTALLY TO THE CURRENT 54
U s i n g P r o To o l s
Figure 2.60 Zoom 4OGGLE 0REFERENCES
SELECTION WHICH IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR AUDIO EDITING )F YOU SELECT h,AST 5SEDv INSTEAD :OOM 4OGGLE MAKES THE %DIT WINDOW ZOOM HORIZONTALLY TO THE LAST STORED :OOM 4OGGLE STATE 4HIS OPTION IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL FOR EDITING -)$) NOTES ! CHECK BOX IN THE :OOM 4OGGLE 0REFERENCES LETS YOU h2EMOVE 2ANGE 3ELECTION AFTER :OOMING )N v IN WHICH CASE THE CURRENT %DIT SELECTION COLLAPSES AND BECOMES AN INSERTION POINT WHEN YOU USE THE :OOM 4OGGLE 4HIS IS USE FUL WHEN YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO KEEP ANY SELECTION YOU HAVE MADE PREVIOUSLY WHEN YOU ZOOM IN USING THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE 9OU CAN ALSO SET PREFERENCES FOR HOW THE 4RACK (EIGHT BEHAVES WHEN YOU USE THE :OOM 4OGGLE )F YOU CHOOSE h,AST 5SED v USING THE :OOM 4OGGLE CHANGES ALL TRACKS CONTAINING AN %DIT 3ELECTION TO THE LAST USED 4RACK (EIGHT )F YOU CHOOSE h-EDIUM v h,ARGE v h*UMBO v OR h%XTREME v ALL TRACKS CONTAINING AN %DIT 3ELECTION CHANGE TO THE -EDIUM ,ARGE *UMBO OR %XTREME 4RACK (EIGHT AND IF YOU CHOOSE h&IT TO 7INDOW v ALL TRACKS CONTAINING AN %DIT 3ELECTION WILL CHANGE THEIR 4RACK (EIGHT TO A SIZE THAT WILL ALLOW THEM TO FIT INTO THE %DIT WINDOW 1UITE OFTEN YOU WILL WANT TO CHANGE THE 4RACK 6IEW DURING A 0RO 4OOLS SES SION SO THE :OOM 4OGGLE ALSO LETS YOU DO THIS 4O MAKE THE :OOM 4OGGLE CHANGE THE 4RACK 6IEW FOR AUDIO TRACKS TO 7AVEFORM VIEW AND FOR )NSTRUMENT AND -)$) TRACKS TO .OTES VIEW CHOOSE h7AVEFORM.OTESv IN THE :OOM 4OGGLE 0REFERENCES )F YOU WANT :OOM 4OGGLE TO CHANGE THE 4RACK 6IEW TO THE LAST USED 4RACK 6IEW THAT WAS STORED WITH :OOM 4OGGLE CHOOSE h,AST 5SED v AND IF YOU DONT WANT ANY CHANGE TO THE 4RACK 6IEW SELECT THE h.O #HANGEv OPTION 7ITH 0RO 4OOLS VERSION AND NEWER VERSIONS THE 4RACK VIEW OPTIONS ALSO INCLUDE h7ARP.OTESv )F YOU WANT TO KEEP THE GRID SETTINGS CONSTANT WHEN YOU USE :OOM 4OGGLE CLICK THE OPTION FOR h3EPARATE 'RID 3ETTINGS 7HEN :OOMED INv /THERWISE 55
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
THE GRID SETTING STORED WITH :OOM TOGGLE WILL BE RECALLED WHEN YOU USE THE :OOM 4OGGLE FEATURE 4HERE IS ALSO A CHECKBOX FOR h:OOM 4OGGLE &OLLOWS %DIT 3ELECTIONv 7HEN THIS IS TICKED :OOM 4OGGLE AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWS THE CURRENT EDIT SELECTION 7HEN DISABLED CHANGING THE EDIT SELECTION HAS NO EFFECT ON THE CURRENTLY TOGGLED IN TRACK
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)F YOU ARE EDITING -)$) THE MOST SENSIBLE :OOM 4OGGLE PREFERENCES CHOICES ARE TO SET 6ERTICAL :OOM TO h,AST 5SED v (ORIZONTAL :OOM TO h,AST 5SED v 4RACK 6IEW TO h7AVEFORM.OTES v AND 4RACK (EIGHT TO h&IT TO 7INDOWv
Figure 2.61 2ECOMMENDED :OOM Toggle Preferences for -)$)
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)F YOU ARE EDITING AUDIO THE MOST SENSIBLE :OOM 4OGGLE PREFERENCES CHOICES ARE TO SET 6ERTICAL :OOM TO h3ELECTION v (ORIZONTAL :OOM TO h3ELECTION v 4RACK (EIGHT TO h&IT TO 7INDOW v AND 4RACK 6IEW TO h.O #HANGEv
Figure 2.62 2ECOMMENDED :OOM Toggle Preferences for !UDIO
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7HEN YOU HAVE :OOM 4OGGLE ENABLED AND YOU SELECT A SMALLER RANGE OF MATERIAL THE WINDOW DOES NOT IMMEDIATELY ZOOM TO ENCOMPASS THIS NEW SELECTION n IT STAYS AT THE SAME ZOOM LEVEL (OWEVER IF YOU DISABLE :OOM 4OGGLE AND THEN ENABLE IT AGAIN THE WINDOW WILL ZOOM TO ENCOMPASS THE CURRENT SELECTION
2.10 Scrolling windows 4HERE ARE VARIOUS SCROLLING OPTIONS IN 0RO 4OOLS 4HE FIRST OF THESE h.ONE v IS SELF EXPLANATORY 4HE !FTER 0LAYBACK SCROLLING OPTION LEAVES THE WINDOW WHERE IT IS WHEN YOU START PLAYBACK AND SCROLLS THE VIEW TO THE NEW POSITION AFTER YOU STOP PLAYBACK 4HE h0AGEv SCROLL OPTION KEEPS THE DISPLAY STATIONARY UNTIL PLAYBACK REACHES THE RIGHTMOST SIDE OF THE PAGE THEN IT QUICKLY CHANGES THE DISPLAY TO SHOW THE NEXT SECTION IE PAGE OF THE WAVEFORM THAT WILL FIT WITHIN THE %DIT WINDOW n AND SO FORTH 4HERE ARE TWO CONTINUOUS SCROLLING OPTIONS 4HE FIRST OF THESE h#ONTINUOUS v DOES EXACTLY WHAT IT SAYS n CONTINUOUSLY MOVING THE DISPLAY DURING PLAYBACK TO KEEP UP WITH THE PLAYBACK 4HE SECOND OPTION h#ENTER 0LAYHEAD v SHOWS THE PLAYHEAD n A VERTICAL BLUE BAR INDICATING WHERE THE PLAYBACK POINT IS AT IN THE %DIT WINDOW n AND MOVES THE WAVEFORMS PAST THIS 4HE "LUE 0LAYHEAD LINE STAYS EXACTLY WHERE IT IS n IN THE CENTER OF THE %DIT WINDOW n AND THE ITEMS ON THE TIMELINE MOVE PAST THIS
Figure 2.63 Continuous 3CROLL WITH #ENTER 0LAYHEAD
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Scrolling behavior 7ITH h4IMELINE )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv ENABLED IN THE /PERATION 0RE FERENCES DIALOG WHEN YOU PRESS 0LAY THEN SUBSEQUENTLY PRESS 3TOP OR 0AUSE AND THEN PRESS 0LAY AGAIN 0RO 4OOLS PICKS UP WHERE IT LEFT OFF )N OTHER WORDS WHEN YOU STOP PLAYBACK THE INSERTION POINT hPARKS ITSELFv AT THAT POINT n INSTEAD OF RETURNING TO THE POSITION IT WAS AT WHEN YOU COMMENCED PLAYBACK )F YOU ARE USING THE h#ONTINUOUSv SCROLL OPTION THE PLAYBACK POSITION JUMPS BACK TO THE POSITION YOU STARTED PLAYING FROM WHEN YOU PAUSE OR STOP PLAY BACK n UNLESS YOU HAVE ENABLED THE h4IMELINE )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv OPTION IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES DIALOG )F YOU ARE USING THE #ENTER 0LAYHEAD SCROLL OPTION THE PLAYBACK POSITION STAYS WHEREVER IT HAS REACHED AT THE MOMENT YOU PAUSE OR STOP PLAYBACK 4HIS HAP PENS BECAUSE THIS SCROLLING MODE OVERRIDES THE h4IMELINE )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv PREFERENCE CAUSING 0RO 4OOLS TO BEHAVE AS THOUGH THIS PREFERENCE IS ENABLED n EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT ENABLED .OTE THAT IF h4IMELINE )NSERTION &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv WAS DISABLED BEFORE YOU ENTERED THE #ENTER 0LAYHEAD SCROLLING MODE IT WILL STILL BE DISABLED WHEN YOU EXIT THIS MODE n WHICH IS THE WAY THAT MOST USERS PREFER IT TO BEHAVE
2.11 Playback Cursor Locator 4HE 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR LETS YOU LOCATE THE PLAYBACK CURSOR WHEN IT IS OFF SCREEN &OR EXAMPLE IF SCROLLING IS NOT ACTIVE SET TO h.ONEv WHEN YOU STOP PLAYING BACK THE 0LAYBACK #URSOR WILL BE POSITIONED SOMEWHERE TO THE RIGHT OFF THE SCREEN n IF IT HAS PLAYED PAST THE LOCATION CURRENTLY VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW !LSO IF YOU MANUALLY SCROLL THE SCREEN WAY OFF TO THE RIGHT PER HAPS TO CHECK SOMETHING VISUALLY THEN THE 0LAYBACK #URSOR WILL BE POSITIONED SOMEWHERE TO THE LEFT OFF THE SCREEN 4O ALLOW YOU TO QUICKLY NAVIGATE TO WHEREVER THE 0LAYBACK #URSOR IS POSITIONED ON SCREEN YOU CAN USE THE 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR BUTTON
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4HE 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR BUTTON ONLY APPEARS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS )T WILL APPEAR AT THE right EDGE OF THE -AIN 4IMEBASE 2ULER AFTER THE PLAYBACK cursor moves to any position after THE LOCATION VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW )T WILL APPEAR AT THE left EDGE OF THE -AIN 4IMEBASE 2ULER IF THE PLAYBACK CURSOR IS LOCATED before THE LOCATION VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
Figure 2.64 The 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR THE SMALL BLUE ARROWHEAD can be seen at the top right in the Main 4IMEBASE 2ULER
! CLICK ON THE 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR IMMEDIATELY MOVES THE %DIT WIN DOWS WAVEFORM DISPLAY TO THE 0LAYBACK #URSORS CURRENT ON SCREEN LOCA TION n SAVING YOU LOTS OF TIME COMPARED WITH ANY OTHER WAY OF FINDING THIS LOCATION
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4HE 0LAYBACK #URSOR ,OCATOR CHANGES ITS COLOR FROM BLUE TO RED WHEN ANY OF THE TRACKS ARE RECORD ENABLED
2.12 Keyboard Focus 4O ALLOW THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO BE USED TO ISSUE MORE COMMANDS THAN THERE ARE AVAILABLE KEYS 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES THREE TYPES OF +EYBOARD &OCUS THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS THE 2EGION ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS AND THE 'ROUP ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS /BVIOUSLY ONLY ONE OF THESE CAN BE ACTIVE AT A TIME SO WHEN YOU ENGAGE ONE +EYBOARD &OCUS IT WILL DISABLE THE ONE PREVIOUSLY ENGAGED $EPENDING ON WHICH +EYBOARD &OCUS IS ENABLED YOU CAN USE THE KEYS ON YOUR COMPUTERS KEYBOARD TO SELECT REGIONS IN THE 2EGION ,IST ENABLE OR DIS ABLE 'ROUPS OR PERFORM AN EDIT OR PLAY COMMAND
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9OU CAN CHOOSE THE +EYBOARD &OCUS BY HOLDING #OMMAND /PTION -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 7INDOWS WHILE YOU PRESS FOR THE #OMMANDS FOR THE 2EGION ,IST OR FOR THE 'ROUP ,IST ) NORMALLY HAVE THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS ENABLED SO THAT ) GET FAST ACCESS TO ALL MY FAVORITE KEYBOARD COMMANDS 59
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Commands Keyboard Focus )N 0RO 4OOLS THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS BUTTON FOR THE %DIT WINDOW IS LOCATED IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE TRACKS PANE IN THE %DIT WINDOW 7HEN YOU CLICK ON THIS THE LETTERS hAv AND hZv AND THE SQUARE OUTLINE CHANGE TO YELLOW TO INDICATE THAT IT IS ACTIVATED
Figure 2.65 #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS BUTTON hAnZv LOCATED AT THE TOP right of the tracks pane in THE %DIT WINDOW
7ITH THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS ACTIVATED A WIDE RANGE OF SINGLE KEY SHORTCUTS FOR EDITING AND PLAYBACK BECOME AVAILABLE ON YOUR COMPUTERS KEY BOARD 4O SEE THESE COMMANDS LISTED CHOOSE h+EYBOARD 3HORTCUTSv FROM THE 0RO 4OOLS (ELP MENU
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7HEN THE #OMMANDS +EYBOARD &OCUS IS DISABLED YOU CAN STILL USE THESE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS BY PRESSING THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS AT THE SAME TIME AS THE SHORTCUT KEY
Region List Keyboard Focus 7HEN THE 2EGION ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS IS SELECTED BY CLICKING THE hAnZv BUT TON IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST AUDIO REGIONS -)$) REGIONS AND REGION GROUPS CAN BE LOCATED AND SELECTED IN THE 2EGION ,IST BY TYPING THE FIRST FEW LETTERS OF THE REGIONS NAME
Figure 2.66 Enabling THE 2EGION ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
Group List Keyboard Focus 7HEN THE 'ROUP ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS IS SELECTED BY CLICKING THE hAnZv BUTTON IN THE %DIT 'ROUPS LIST YOU CAN ENABLE OR DISABLE THE -IX AND %DIT 'ROUPS BY TYPING THE 'ROUP )$ LETTER A B C ETC ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD WHEN USING EITHER THE -IX OR %DIT WINDOW
Figure 2.67 Enabling THE 'ROUP ,IST +EYBOARD &OCUS
2.13 Channels and tracks )N 0RO 4OOLS TERMINOLOGY hTRACKSv ARE USED TO RECORD AUDIO OR -)$) TO YOUR HARD DRIVE 4HESE TRACKS APPEAR IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND IN THE -IX WIN DOW hCHANNELv STRIPS 2ATHER CONFUSINGLY WHAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT WOULD BE REFERRED TO AS hCHANNELSv IN THE -IX WINDOW ARE REFERRED TO AS !UDIO 4RACKS 6IDEO 4RACKS -)$) 4RACKS )NSTRUMENT 4RACKS !UXILIARY )NPUTS 6#! -ASTER AND -ASTER &ADERS IN 0RO 4OOLS !LSO 0RO 4OOLS USES THE TERM hCHANNELv TO REFER TO AN ACTUAL PHYSICAL INPUT OR OUTPUT CONNECTION ON WHICHEVER INTERFACE OR INTERFACES YOU ARE USING SO THE DOCUMENTATION TALKS ABOUT A )/ INTER FACE HAVING CHANNELS OF AUDIO INPUT AND OUTPUT FOR EXAMPLE !LL THIS IS STRAIGHTFORWARD ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND n BUT IT IS LITTLE UNUSUAL WHEN YOU ARE USED TO A TAPE RECORDER HAVING TRACKS AND A MIXER HAVING CHANNELS )T CAN BE LITTLE hJARRINGv MENTALLY TO TALK ABOUT ADJUSTING THE MIXERS hTRACKv CON TROLS RATHER THAN THE MIXERS hCHANNELv CONTROLS UNTIL YOU GET USED TO THE IDEA (OWEVER THE DOCUMENTATION STILL TALKS ABOUT hCHANNELv STRIPS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS -IX WINDOW n EACH OF WHICH CORRESPONDS TO A TRACK IN A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION
2.14 Voices and Voiceable tracks 4HE CONCEPT OF hVOICESv IN 0RO 4OOLS NEEDS TO BE THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD 4HE NUMBER OF PLAYBACK AND RECORDING hVOICESv IS THE NUMBER OF UNIQUE SIMULTA NEOUS PLAYBACK AND RECORD TRACKS ON YOUR SYSTEM n A BIT LIKE THE CONCEPT OF POLYPHONY IN A SYNTHESIZER WHICH DICTATES THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SIMULTA NEOUSLY PLAYABLE NOTES &OR EXAMPLE WITH A 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEM YOU CAN
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
RECORD UP TO MONO TRACKS n BUT NOT ALL AT ONCE !LSO YOU CANT PLAY ALL THESE BACK AT ONCE EITHER 9OU CAN ONLY RECORD AND PLAY BACK UP TO THE LIMIT OF THE AVAILABLE hVOICESv WITHIN YOUR SYSTEM WHICH DEPENDS ON THE TYPE OF CARD OR CARDS YOU HAVE IN YOUR SYSTEM AND THE SAMPLE RATE YOU ARE WORKING AT &OR EXAMPLE A 0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEM CAN PROVIDE UP TO VOICES OF AUDIO PLAY BACK AND RECORDING AT OR K(Z $IGIDESIGN SPELLS OUT THE RULES FOR hVOICEABLEv TRACKS AS FOLLOWS 4HE TOTAL NUMBER OF hVOICEABLEv TRACKS IS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF AUDIO TRACKS THAT CAN SHARE THE AVAILABLE VOICES ON YOUR SYSTEM -ONO TRACKS TAKE UP ONE VOICE 3TEREO AND MULTICHANNEL TRACKS TAKE UP ONE VOICE PER CHANNEL 6OICE LIMITS ARE DEPENDENT ON THE SESSION SAMPLE RATE AND THE NUMBER OF $30 CHIPS DEDICATED TO THE SYSTEMS 0LAYBACK %NGINE 0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEMS CAN OPEN SESSIONS WITH UP TO AUDIO TRACKS BUT ANY AUDIO TRACKS BEYOND THAT SYS TEMS VOICEABLE TRACK LIMIT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY SET TO h6OICE /FFv 3O WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RUN OUT OF VOICES 4HE NEAT THING HERE IS THAT YOU CAN ASSIGN MORE THAN ONE TRACK TO THE SAME VOICE AND THE TRACK WITH THE HIGHEST PRIORITY WILL ALWAYS PLAY BACK &OR EXAMPLE IF A PARTICULAR TRACK CON TAINS AN INSTRUMENTAL PART THAT WAS ONLY RECORDED IN THE VERSES OF A SONG AND ANY EMPTY AUDIO REGIONS ARE REMOVED FROM THE CHORUSES THEN YOU WILL HEAR ANY AUDIO REGIONS THAT EXIST ON THE NEXT TRACK IN ORDER OF PRIORITY ASSIGNED TO THAT VOICE PLAY BACK IN THE CHORUS SECTIONS *UST TO MAKE THIS EVEN CLEARER LET ME PUT IT ANOTHER WAY 7HEN NO REGIONS ARE PRESENT WITHIN A PARTICULAR TIME RANGE ON A TRACK THE TRACK WITH THE NEXT HIGH EST PRIORITY WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY BACK UNTIL A REGION APPEARS AGAIN FOR PLAYBACK IN THE FIRST TRACK n IN WHICH CASE THE SECOND TRACK WILL STOP PLAYING BACK AND THE FIRST WILL RESUME PLAYBACK 4HE TRACK PRIORITY DEPENDS ON THE ORDER OF THE TRACKS IN THE -IX OR %DIT WIN DOWS n WITH THE LEFTMOST TRACK IN THE -IX WINDOW AND THE TOPMOST TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOWS HAVING THE GREATEST PRIORITY 4HIS SYSTEM REFERRED TO AS hVOICE BORROWING v MAKES 0RO 4OOLS BEHAVE AS IF IT HAS MANY MORE TRACKS AVAILABLE THAN ARE ALLOWED BY THE HARDWARE !LL YOU HAVE TO DO IS EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF TRACK PRIORI TIES VOICE ASSIGNMENTS AND ARRANGEMENTS OF REGIONS WITHIN YOUR TRACKS TO BE ABLE TO PLAY BACK MANY MORE TRACKS THAN YOU CAN WITH A CONVENTIONAL RECORDER /N COMPLEX SESSIONS WITH LOTS OF TRACKS YOU MAY STILL FIND YOURSELF RUNNING OUT OF VOICES AT TIMES 4O HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR VOICE ALLOCATIONS 0RO 4OOLS FREES UP A VOICE IF YOU UNASSIGN THE TRACKS OUTPUT AND SEND ASSIGNMENTS OR MAKE THE TRACK INACTIVE n OR YOU CAN SIMPLY SET THE TRACKS 6OICE 3ELECTOR TO h/FFv 5SING THE 6OICE 3ELECTOR A TRACKS VOICE ASSIGNMENT CAN ALSO BE DYNAMICALLY
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
ALLOCATED OR IT CAN BE EXPLICITLY ASSIGNED TO A SPECIFIC VOICE NUMBER /NE RESTRICTION HERE IS THAT %LASTIC !UDIO AND 24!3 PLUG INS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON EXPLICITLY VOICED TRACKS SO YOU MUST USE $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED 6OICING FOR THESE TRACKS INSTEAD
Figure 2.68 4RACK 6OICE POP UP SELECTOR
9OU CAN MAKE TRACKS INACTIVE BY CLICKING ON THE TRACK TYPE ICON THAT YOU WILL FIND TO THE RIGHT OF THE 6OICE 3ELECTOR POP UP ON EACH MIXER CHANNEL STRIP AND CHOOSING h-AKE )NACTIVEv FROM THE POP UP SELECTOR THAT APPEARS 9OU CAN ALSO USE THIS POP UP TO MAKE THE TRACK ACTIVE IF IT HAS BEEN DEACTIVATED 4O GIVE YOU VISUAL FEEDBACK MIXER CHANNELS TURN A DARKER SHADE OF GRAY AND TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW ARE DIMMED WHEN INACTIVE
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9OU CAN ALSO USE A KEYBOARD COMMAND TO TOGGLE THE TRACK BETWEEN ACTIVE AND INACTIVE #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK 4YPE INDICATOR IN THE -IX WINDOW
Figure 2.69 Clicking on the track type icon to ACCESS THE -AKE )NACTIVE POP UP
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
-AKING SOME OF YOUR LESS IMPORTANT OR UNUSED TRACKS INACTIVE IS A GREAT WAY OF FREEING UP $30 RESOURCES AND VOICES FOR USE ELSEWHERE AS ALL THE PLUG INS SENDS VOICES AND AUTOMATION ON INACTIVE TRACKS ARE DISABLED 4HIS FEATURE ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO OPEN 0RO 4OOLS SESSIONS ON SYSTEMS WITH LESS $30 RESOURCES THAN WERE AVAILABLE WHEN THE SESSIONS WERE CREATED 0RO 4OOLS WILL AUTOMATICALLY MAKE TRACKS INACTIVE AS NECESSARY TO ALLOW SESSIONS TO BE OPENED
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0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEMS PROVIDE UP TO !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACKS AND A TOTAL OF INTERNAL MIX BUSSES 9OU CAN USE UP TO INSERTS AND SENDS PER TRACK DEPENDING ON THE $30 CAPACITY OF YOUR SYSTEM ($ SYSTEMS ALSO SUPPORT UP TO )NSTRUMENT TRACKS -)$) TRACKS 6#! -ASTER TRACKS AND MULTIPLE VIDEO TRACKS
2.15 Muting tracks 9OU CAN TEMPORARILY FREE UP A VOICE BY MUTING A TRACK DURING PLAYBACK AND IF YOU HAVE h-UTE &REES !SSIGNED 6OICEv ENABLED IN THE /PTIONS MENU THE VOICE WILL BE ALLOCATED TO THE NEXT HIGHEST PRIORITY VOICEABLE TRACK THAT IS ASSIGNED TO THE SAME VOICE
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7HEN YOU USE THE h-UTE &REES !SSIGNED 6OICEv FEATURE THE COMPUTER INTRO DUCES A DELAY OF ONE OR MORE SECONDS DEPENDING ON YOUR #05 SPEED BEFORE THE MUTE OR UNMUTE INSTRUCTION IS CARRIED OUT )F THIS BOTHERS YOU YOUR ONLY OPTION IS TO TURN IT OFF !LSO MUTING A TRACK USING THIS FEATURE WILL NOT MAKE THE VOICE AVAILABLE FOR USE WITH 1UICK0UNCH 4RACK0UNCH OR $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH RECORDING ,ARGER $!% 0LAYBACK "UFFER SIZES CAN ALSO INCREASE THE TIME BETWEEN CLICKING THE -UTE BUTTON AND THE ONSET OF MUTING
2.16 Soloing tracks 9OU CAN USE THE 3OLO BUTTONS TO SOLO ANY TRACK OR TRACKS AT ANY TIME DURING PLAYBACK AND IF YOU SOLO A TRACK THAT IS A MEMBER OF AN ACTIVE -IX 'ROUP THIS WILL SOLO ALL OTHER TRACKS THAT ARE A MEMBER OF THAT ACTIVE -IX 'ROUP AS WELL 4HE DEFAULT 3OLO MODE IS CALLED h3OLO IN 0LACEv 3)0 )N THIS MODE ENGAGING A 3OLO BUTTON MUTES ALL THE OTHER TRACKS SO THAT THE SELECTED TRACK CAN BE AUDI TIONED INDEPENDENTLY )N 3)0 MODE 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU hSOLO SAFEv A TRACK TO PREVENT THE TRACK FROM BEING MUTED WHEN YOU SOLO OTHER TRACKS 4O SOLO SAFE 64
U s i n g P r o To o l s
A TRACK #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACKS 3OLO BUTTON 4HE 3OLO BUTTON CHANGES ITS APPEARANCE IN 3OLO 3AFE MODE AS CAN BE SEEN IN THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT 3OLO 3AFE IS USEFUL FOR TRACKS SUCH AS !UXILIARY )NPUTS THAT ARE BEING USED TO SUBMIX AUDIO TRACKS OR FOR EFFECTS RETURNS TO ALLOW THE AUDIO OR EFFECTS TRACK TO STILL BE HEARD IN THE MIX WHEN OTHER TRACKS ARE SOLOED 7ITHOUT THIS FEATURE YOU WOULD HAVE TO REMEMBER TO ALSO SOLO THE APPROPRIATE !UXILIARY TRACKS WHENEVER YOU SOLOED A TRACK n AND THIS COULD BE VERY AWKWARD IF THE !UXILIARY TRACK IS POSITIONED A LONG WAY FROM THE TRACK YOU ARE SOLOING IN THE MIXER
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)T CAN ALSO BE USEFUL TO SOLO SAFE -)$) TRACKS SO THAT THEIR PLAYBACK IS NOT AFFECTED WHEN YOU SOLO AUDIO TRACKS
Figure 2.70 4WO STEREO PIANO TRACKS BUSSED TO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TO FORM A SUBMIX WITH THE !UXILIARY )NPUT IN 3OLO 3AFE MODE .OTICE THE WAY THE SOLO SAFED 3OLO BUTTON ON THE !UX TRACK LOOKS COMPARED WITH THE NORMAL 3OLO button on the Double "ASS TRACK NEXT TO IT n WHICH IS MUTED BECAUSE the piano tracks have BEEN SOLOED
Figure 2.71 Choosing THE 3OLO MODE FROM THE /PTIONS MENU
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
9OU CAN SELECT TWO ALTERNATIVE 3OLO MODES FROM THE /PTIONS MENU 5SING THESE MODES !FTER &ADER ,ISTEN !&, AND 0RE &ADER ,ISTEN 0&, THE 3OLO BUTTON CAN BE USED TO ROUTE THE SELECTED TRACK TO A SEPARATE !&, OR 0&, OUTPUT 9OU CAN CONFIGURE THE !&,0&, OUTPUT PATH IN THE /UTPUT PAGE OF THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG
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4HE 3OLO MODE FOR ALL SOLOED TRACKS CAN BE CHANGED hON THE FLYv FROM ANY 3OLO MODE TO EITHER 3)0 OR !&, 0REVIOUSLY SOLOED TRACKS WILL SWITCH THEIR SOLO BEHAVIOR TO THE NEW MODE )F YOU TRY SWITCHING THE 3OLO MODE FOR SOLOED TRACKS ON THE FLY TO 0&, ALL THE PREVIOUSLY SOLOED TRACKS WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF 3OLO BEFORE ENTERING 0&, MODE TO PREVENT ANY LARGE BOOSTS IN LEVEL )N !&, MODE THE 3OLO BUTTON ROUTES THE TRACKS hPOSTFADERPOSTPANv SIGNAL VIA THE !&,0&, OUTPUT PATH 7ITH !&, THE LEVEL YOU HEAR IS DEPENDENT ON THE FADER LEVEL FOR THAT TRACK )N 0&, MODE THE 3OLO BUTTON ROUTES THE TRACKS hPREFADER PREPANv SIGNAL TO THE !&,0&, OUTPUT PATH 7ITH 0&, THE FADER LEVEL AND PAN ARE IGNORED AND THE LEVEL YOU HEAR IS DEPENDENT ON THE SIGNALS RECORDED LEVEL Figure 2.72 !&, 0&, 0ATH 3ETTING IN THE /UTPUT PAGE OF THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG
4HERE IS ALSO A SEPARATE MASTER LEVEL SETTING FOR !&, AND 0&, THAT AFFECTS THE OUTPUT OF ANY OR ALL TRACKS THAT YOU SOLO IN !&, OR 0&, MODE 7HEN YOU ARE IN !&, OR 0&, MODE YOU CAN SET THIS LEVEL IN THE -IX OR %DIT WINDOWS 7HEN YOU #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON A 3OLO BUTTON ON ANY TRACK A SMALL FADER APPEARS THAT YOU CAN USE TO ADJUST THE MASTER LEVEL FOR THE !&,0&, 0ATH
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4O SET THE !&,0&, 0ATH LEVEL TO D" #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY 3OLO BUTTON
Figure 2.73 Setting the !&,0&, 3OLO LEVEL
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U s i n g P r o To o l s
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9OU SHOULD SET THE !&,0&, /UTPUT 0ATH TO h.ONEv WHENEVER YOU ARE NOT USING THIS FEATURE 0RO 4OOLS ALLOCATES A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF ITS AVAILABLE $30 WHEN USING !&,0&, MODE SO SETTING THE !&,0&, 0ATH TO h.ONEv WILL FREE UP THESE $30 RESOURCES
)F YOU ARE NOT USING A $ #ONTROL OR $ #OMMAND WORK SURFACE WHERE 8-/. IS USED TO AUTOMATICALLY SWITCH THE MONITOR SOURCE BETWEEN THE MAIN OUTPUT AND THE !&,0&, OUTPUT YOU WILL NEED TO CHOOSE SUITABLE OUTPUT PATHS BOTH FOR YOUR MAIN MONITORING AND FOR YOUR !&,0&, MONITORING IN THE )/ 3ETUP AND MANUALLY CONFIGURE THIS SO THAT THE MAIN 0RO 4OOLS OUTPUT PATH IS MUTED WHEN YOU ARE USING THE !&,0&, PATH 9OU CAN DESIGNATE YOUR MAIN OUTPUT PAIR AS THE OUTPUTS TO BE MUTED WHEN TRACKS ARE SOLOED IN !&, OR 0&, 3OLO MODE USING THE !&,0&, -UTES POP UP IN THE )/ 3ETUP WINDOW Figure 2.74 When tracks ARE SOLOED IN !&, OR 0&, 3OLO MODE THE OUTPUT PAIR SELECTED IN THE !&, 0&, -UTES POP UP IN THE )/ 3ETUP WINDOW WILL BE MUTED
3OLO BUTTONS DEFAULT TO ,ATCH MODE IN WHICH PRESSING OTHER SOLO BUTTONS ALSO SOLOS THESE TRACKS WITHOUT DISENGAGING PREVIOUSLY SOLOED TRACKS )F YOU CHOOSE 8n/2 MODE PRESSING SUBSEQUENT 3OLO BUTTONS CANCELS PREVIOUSLY SOLOED TRACKS )N -OMENTARY MODE A TRACK IS ONLY IN SOLO WHILE ITS 3OLO BUTTON IS BEING HELD DOWN 4O TEMPORARILY LATCH MORE THAN ONE SOLO BUTTON IN -OMENTARY MODE PRESS AND HOLD THE 3OLO BUTTON ON THE FIRST TRACK THAT YOU WANT TO SOLO THEN PRESS ADDITIONAL 3OLO BUTTONS 4HESE WILL ALL REMAIN SOLOED AS LONG AS ONE 3OLO BUTTON IS HELD
2.17 Finding tracks in the Edit and Mix windows )F YOU HAVE LOTS OF TRACKS IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN SOME OF THESE ARE NOT VISIBLE ON SCREEN BECAUSE YOUR COMPUTER MONITOR IS NOT LARGE ENOUGH 9OU CAN ALWAYS USE THE SCROLLBARS IN THE -IX OR %DIT WINDOWS TO SCROLL ALONG UNTIL YOU FIND THE TRACK YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BUT THIS CAN SLOW YOU DOWN AT TIMES (OWEVER IF THE TRACK YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS VISIBLE IN EITHER THE -IX OR THE %DIT WINDOW YOU CAN INSTANTLY BRING THIS TRACK INTO VIEW IN THE 67
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
OTHER WINDOW USING THE 3CROLL INTO 6IEW COMMAND 9OU CAN ACCESS THIS COM MAND FROM THE POP UP MENU THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACK NAME
Figure 2.75 #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK .AME AND YOU CAN CHOOSE h3CROLL INTO 6IEWv FROM THE POP UP SELECTOR
2.18 Navigating to tracks by number 0RO 4OOLS GIVES YOU THE OPTION OF DISPLAYING A NUMBER FOR EACH TRACK CORRE SPONDING TO ITS POSITION IN THE -IX AND %DIT 7INDOWS 4HESE NUMBERS CAN BE HELPFUL WHEN YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY TRACKS YOU ARE WORKING WITH OR HOW FAR ALONG THE -IX WINDOW YOU ARE AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT TO FIND A TRACK THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY SHOWING IN THE WINDOW AND YOU CAN REMEMBER ITS NUMBER 4O ACTIVATE THIS FEATURE MAKE SURE THAT 4RACK .UMBER IS SELECTED WITH A TICK NEXT TO ITS NAME IN THE 6IEW MENU 4HEN YOU CAN NAVIGATE DIRECTLY TO ANY TRACK USING THESE 4RACK 0OSITION .UMBERS 3IMPLY OPEN THE 3CROLL TO 4RACK DIA LOG FROM THE 4RACK MENU OR BY PRESSING #OMMAND /PTION & -AC OR #ONTROL !LT & 7INDOWS AND ENTER THE 4RACK .UMBER FOR THE TRACK YOU WANT TO VIEW
Figure 2.76 Scroll to 4RACK DIALOG n ACCESSIBLE FROM THE 4RACK MENU
7HEN YOU CLICK /+ THE TRACK BECOMES SELECTED AND THE %DIT WINDOW TRACKS SCROLL TO BRING THE SELECTED TRACK AS CLOSE TO THE TOP AS POSSIBLE 4HE 68
U s i n g P r o To o l s
-IX WINDOW TRACKS SCROLL TO BRING THE SELECTED TRACK AS CLOSE TO THE LEFT AS POSSIBLE
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)F YOU CHANGE THE POSITIONS OF ANY TRACKS IN THE -IX OR %DIT WINDOWS THE 4RACK 0OSITION .UMBERS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY RENUMBERED TO KEEP THEM IN NUMERICAL SEQUENCE
2.19 Fit all shown tracks in the Edit window 3OMETIMES YOU MIGHT WANT TO FIT ALL THE TRACKS THAT ARE SHOWING IN THE %DIT WINDOW INTO THE VISIBLE PART OF THE WINDOW SO 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A KEYBOARD COMMAND TO DO THIS #OMMAND /PTION #ONTROL 5P !RROW OR $OWN !RROW -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART 5P !RROW OR $OWN !RROW 7INDOWS /BVIOUSLY THERE ARE LIMITS TO THIS n DEPENDING ON HOW MANY TRACKS YOU HAVE AND HOW BIG YOU MAKE THE %DIT WINDOW !LL THE TRACKS WILL BE RESIZED TO AN APPROPRIATE HEIGHT TO FIT AND FILL THE WINDOW SO IF YOU JUST HAVE ONE OR TWO TRACKS THESE MIGHT BE RESIZED TO *UMBO HEIGHT BUT IF YOU HAVE LOTS OF TRACKS AND A SMALL WINDOW SIZE THEY MIGHT ALL GO DOWN TO -ICRO SIZE AS IN THE ACCOMPA NYING SCREENSHOT !LSO IF THE WINDOW IS TOO SMALL AND THERE ARE TOO MANY TRACKS THEY STILL WONT ALL FIT .EVERTHELESS THIS CAN BE A VERY USEFUL FEATURE AT TIMES
Figure 2.77 Fitting as many tracks as possible in THE %DIT WINDOW
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)F :OOM 4OGGLE IS ENABLED FITTING ALL TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW CANCELS :OOM 4OGGLE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
2.20 “Do to All” and “Do to All Selected” (ERES A FINAL TIP FOR THIS CHAPTER TWO EXTREMELY USEFUL KEYBOARD COMMANDS THAT LET YOU APPLY CHANGES TO ALL TRACKS OR TO WHICHEVER TRACKS YOU HAVE SELECTED &OR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT WANT TO SET ALL THE TRACK OUTPUTS OR ALL SELECTED TRACK OUTPUTS TO THE SAME DESTINATION 4O h$O TO !LL v PRESS AND HOLD /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS AS YOU MAKE YOUR CHANGE 4O h$O TO !LL 3ELECTED v PRESS AND HOLD /PTION 3HIFT -AC OR !LT 3HIFT 7INDOWS AS YOU MAKE YOUR CHANGE
2.21 Summary -AKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW ALL THE BASIC FEATURES OF THE USER INTERFACE AND YOUR PATIENCE WILL BE REWARDED WHEN YOU REALIZE HOW FAST YOU CAN WORK WITH THE SYSTEM 4AKE TIME OUT TO PRACTICE WITH FEATURES LIKE :OOM 4OGGLE AND ALL THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU CAN ZOOM THE DISPLAY :OOM 4OGGLE CAN DELIVER UNEX PECTED RESULTS AT TIMES SO YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE FULLY MASTERED THIS BEFORE USING IT ON AN IMPORTANT SESSION 'ET USED TO THE RULERS THESE ARE VERY EASY TO WORK WITH AND FAMILIARIZE YOUR SELF WITH ALL THE 4OOLBAR CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU WILL NEED TO PRACTICE WITH THE SCRUB AND SHUTTLE FEATURES IF YOU HAVE NOT USED THESE BEFORE BUT THESE SHOULD NOT PRESENT YOU WITH TOO MANY DIFFICUL TIES ONCE YOU HAVE SPENT SOME TIME SHUTTLING AROUND IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND SCRUBBING TO LOOK FOR EDIT POINTS !LSO MAKE SURE THAT YOU PICK UP AS MANY KEYBOARD COMMANDS AS YOU CAN ALONG THE WAY 9OU CAN USE THE MOUSE TO DO MOST THINGS BUT IT CAN BE MUCH QUICKER TO PRESS JUST ONE OR TWO KEYS ON THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD OR ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THESE $ESKTOP COMPUTERS NORMALLY HAVE A NUMERIC KEYPAD TO THE RIGHT OF THE MAIN KEYBOARD AND YOU CAN BUY SEPA RATE NUMERIC KEYPADS FOR LAPTOPS OR FOR ANY COMPUTER THAT DOESNT HAVE ONE OF THESE !LSO DONT FORGET TO KEEP YOUR WINDOWS TIDY AND ORGANIZED n HIDING ANYTHING THAT YOU DONT NEED TO SEE SUCH AS 2EGION ,ISTS )NSERTS 3ENDS UNUSED TRACKS OR RULERS THAT YOU ARE NOT USING ! CLUTTERED SCREEN SIMPLY DISTRACTS n AND YOU LOSE TIME THAT YOU CAN ILL AFFORD TO LOSE ON BUSY SESSIONS IF YOU HAVE TO LOOK TWICE TO FIND SOMETHING 9OU SHOULD ALSO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE CLEAR ABOUT CHANNELS AND TRACKS ABOUT VOICES AND VOICEABLE TRACKS ABOUT HOW TO MUTE AND SOLO TRACKS AND HOW TO FIND TRACKS IN LARGE SESSIONS -ASTER THE USER INTER FACE AND YOU WILL BE WELL ON YOUR WAY TO MASTERING 0RO 4OOLS
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In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
4IME /PERATIONS
4IMEBASE AND #ONDUCTOR RULERS
+EY 3IGNATURES
-ETER 4EMPO AND #LICK
3UMMARY
3 Time Operations, Tempo Operations, and Key Signatures
3.1 Introduction /NE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU OUGHT TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU ARE WORKING ON MUSIC IN 0RO 4OOLS IS THE TEMPO )F YOU ARE ABOUT TO RECORD A NEW PIECE OF MUSIC YOU WILL USUALLY WANT TO HAVE THE MUSICIANS PLAY ALONG TO A CLICK TO HELP KEEP THEIR TIMING ACCURATE 4HIS WILL ALSO HELP TO ENSURE THAT THE MUSIC YOU RECORD LINES UP WITH THE BAR LINES IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION SO THAT YOU CAN EDIT USING THE GRID AND OTHER EDITING FEATURES )F THE MUSICIANS DONT WANT TO RECORD TO A CLICK THERE ARE WAYS TO MATCH THE AUDIO YOU RECORD TO THE BARS AND BEATS IN 0RO 4OOLS AFTERWARDS BUT THIS WILL INEVITABLY TAKE MORE TIME TO SORT OUT 9OU WILL OFTEN NEED TO USE THE )DENTIFY "EAT FEATURE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BARS AND BEATS IN 0RO 4OOLS MATCH THOSE IN ANY IMPORTED AUDIO REGIONS OR LOOPS 9OU MAY ALSO NEED TO CREATE TEMPO MAPS SO THAT MUSICIANS CAN PLAY FASTER OR SLOWER IN DIFFERENT SECTIONS OF THE MUSIC ALONG WITH METER CHANGES WHENEVER THESE ARE NEEDED %VEN SHORT POP SONGS SOMETIMES HAVE ODD NUMBERS OF BARS OR BEATS OR CHANGING METERS AND THESE ARE VERY COMMON IN MUSIC TO PICTURE 4HE METER OR TIME SIGNATURE DEFINES THE NUMBER OF BEATS IN A BAR AND THE WAY THEY CAN BE SUBDIVIDED "EAT $ETECTIVE CAN BE USED TO HELP WITH VARIOUS KINDS OF ANALYSIS OF TEMPO AND hGROOVEv FOR EXISTING AUDIO OR -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE -)$) RECORDINGS )T IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH A hGROOVEv TEMPLATE THAT DEVIATES FROM THE STANDARD GRID SO THAT YOU CAN MATCH NEW RECORDINGS TO THE hGROOVEv OF A PARTICULAR DRUM MACHINE SEQUENCER OR PERCUSSION LOOP )T CAN ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL TO ESTABLISH THE CORRECT KEY SIGNATURE FOR YOUR MUSIC ESPECIALLY IF YOU INTEND TO USE THE 3CORE %DITOR OR KEY TRANSPOSITION FEATURES
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
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)F YOU ARE LEARNING 0RO 4OOLS FOR THE FIRST TIME YOU SHOULD MAKE THE EFFORT TO GET USED TO THE TERMINOLOGY THAT $IGIDESIGN USES TO DESCRIBE THE FEA tures of the system so that this all becomes very familiar to you as soon AS POSSIBLE 4HEN YOU WILL FIND EVERYTHING LESS CONFUSING n AND WHEN YOU NEED TO LOOK SOMETHING UP IN THE MANUAL OR REMIND YOURSELF ABOUT HOW SOMETHING WORKS YOU WILL BE MUCH FASTER AT THIS
3.2 Timebase and Conductor rulers )N 0RO 4OOLS YOU EDIT AND ARRANGE YOUR MUSIC ALONG THE TRACKS IN THE %DIT WIN DOW BY PLACING AND MOVING THE AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS ALONG THE 4IMELINE THAT RUNS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ALONG THE WINDOW 2EGIONS AND EVENTS CAN BE ANCHORED TO SPECIFIC POINTS OR LOCATIONS ALONG THIS TIME LINE AND YOU CAN VIEW THESE LOCATIONS AS TIME IN SECONDS AND MINUTES AS 3OCIETY OF -OTION 0ICTURE AND 4ELEVISION %NGINEERS 3-04% TIME CODE LOCATIONS OR AS BAR BEAT AND TICK LOCATIONS AND IN OTHER FORMATS USING THE 4IMEBASE RULERS THAT CAN BE DISPLAYED ALONG THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW ABOVE THE #ONDUCTOR RULERS 4HE 4IMEBASE RULERS CAN MEASURE TIME IN TWO DIFFERENT WAYS SAMPLE BASED TIME ABSOLUTE TIME AS SHOWN IN THE -INUTES3ECONDS RULER AND TICK BASED TIME RELATIVE TIME AS SHOWN IN THE "ARS\"EATS RULER 4HE RELATIVE TIME THAT THE "ARS\"EATS RULER REPRESENTS WILL CHANGE DEPENDING ON THE TEMPO AND METER SETTINGS !BSOLUTE TIME AS DISPLAYED IN THE -INUTES3ECONDS RULER CAN NEVER CHANGE WHICH OF COURSE IS WHY IT IS CALLED ABSOLUTE TIME !NY OR ALL OF THE 4IMEBASE RULERS CAN BE DISPLAYED AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WIN DOW IN "ARS\"EATS OR IN -INUTES3ECONDS OR AS 4IME #ODE WHICH DISPLAYS THE 4IME 3CALE IN 3-04% FRAMES OR 4IME #ODE WHICH LETS YOU REFERENCE VIDEO FRAME RATES THAT ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE SESSION 4IME #ODE RATE OR AS &EET &RAMES WHICH IS USED FOR FILM WORK 9OU CAN ALSO DISPLAY THE 4IME 3CALE IN SAMPLES WHICH CAN BE VERY USEFUL FOR PRECISE EDITING TASKS 4HE MOST USEFUL 4IMEBASE RULERS FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION ARE "ARS\"EATS AND -INUTES3ECONDS SO YOU SHOULD DESELECT THE ONES THAT YOU ARE NOT USING TO REMOVE THE POTENTIAL FOR CONFUSION AND TO CONSERVE SCREEN SPACE 4HE #ONDUCTOR RULERS INCLUDE THE 4EMPO -ETER +EY 3IGNATURE #HORDS AND -ARKERS RULERS 4EMPO AND -ETER EVENTS ENTERED INTO THESE RULERS WILL AFFECT THE TIMING OF ANY TICK BASED TRACKS AND ALSO PROVIDE THE TEMPO AND METER MAP FOR
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Ti m e O p e r a t i o n s , Te m p o O p e r a t i o n s , a n d K e y S i g n a t u r e s
THE "AR\"EAT GRID AND #LICK 0RO 4OOLS ALLOWS YOU TO EDIT 4EMPO EVENTS EITHER IN THE 4EMPO RULER OR USING THE 4EMPO %DITOR THAT YOU CAN OPEN BELOW THIS
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4HE 4IMEBASE RULERS MAY BE USED TO DEFINE Edit selections for track MATERIAL AND Timeline selections FOR RECORD AND PLAY RANGES &OR EXAM PLE USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL YOU CAN DRAG ALONG ANY 4IMEBASE RULER TO SELECT MATERIAL ACROSS ALL THE TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4O INCLUDE THE #ONDUCTOR TRACKS IN THE SELECTION JUST PRESS /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS WHILE YOU DRAG /FTEN YOU WILL WANT TO LINK THE %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS BUT SOMETIMES YOU WILL WANT TO MAKE DIFFERENT %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS 9OU CAN MAKE OR BREAK THE LINK BETWEEN THESE USING THE ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON LOCATED JUST BELOW THE TOOLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 3.1 Tempo %DITOR
9OU CAN ENTER KEY SIGNATURES AND MAKE KEY CHANGES USING THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER 4HIS IS USEFUL WHEN TRANSPOSING -)$) NOTES FOR EXAMPLE 7HEN YOU CHOOSE 4RANSPOSE IN +EY IN THE %VENT /PERATIONS 4RANSPOSE WINDOW AND ENTER A PARTICULAR NUMBER OF SCALE STEPS 0RO 4OOLS WORKS OUT WHAT THE ROOT NOTE OF THE KEY SHOULD BE BASED ON THE KEY SIGNATURE THAT APPLIES AT THIS POINT ALONG THE TIMELINE THEN TRANSPOSES ANY SELECTED -)$) NOTES BY THE NUMBER OF STEPS THAT YOU SPECIFY 9OU CAN ALSO CHANGE THE KEY OF AUDIO REGIONS
Figure 3.2 +EY 3IGNATURE %DITOR
4HE #HORDS RULER LETS YOU DISPLAY #HORD SYMBOLS FOR MUSICIANS TO FOLLOW AND THE -ARKERS RULER LETS YOU DISPLAY -ARKERS TO INDICATE WHICH SECTION OF THE MUSIC IS WHICH 75
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 3.3 #HORDS AND -ARKERS
-ARKERS ARE ACTUALLY -EMORY LOCATIONS THAT CAN BE USED FOR OTHER PURPOSES but their most basic function, that of marking out the sections of your music, IS PROBABLY THEIR MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTION )T IS A GOOD IDEA TO DEFINE -ARKERS FOR ANY MUSICAL SESSION IN 0RO 4OOLS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
Choosing the Marker Reference 7HEN YOU CREATE OR EDIT -ARKER OR 3ELECTION -EMORY ,OCATIONS IN THE .EW OR %DIT -EMORY ,OCATION DIALOGS YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER THEY HAVE AN !BSOLUTE SAMPLE BASED OR "AR\"EAT TICK BASED REFERENCE USING THE 2EFERENCE POP UP
Figure 3.4 Choosing the -ARKER 2EFERENCE
)F YOU CHOOSE "AR\"EAT THE -EMORY ,OCATION WILL BE TICK BASED AND ITS "AR\"EAT LOCATION will not CHANGE IF THE TEMPO IS CHANGED (OWEVER ITS SAM ple location will CHANGE )F YOU CHOOSE !BSOLUTE THE -EMORY ,OCATION WILL BE SAMPLE BASED AND ITS "AR\"EAT LOCATION will CHANGE IF THE TEMPO IS CHANGED "UT ITS SAMPLE LOCATION will not CHANGE 3O THAT YOU CAN DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE TWO TYPES OF MARKERS "AR\"EAT 2EFERENCE -ARKERS WILL APPEAR AS YELLOW CHEVRONS IN THE -ARKERS RULER WHEREAS !BSOLUTE 2EFERENCE -ARKERS WILL APPEAR AS YELLOW DIAMONDS
Figure 3.5 "AR\"EAT 2EFERENCE AND !BSOLUTE 2EFERENCE -ARKERS
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Setting the Time Scales 4HE -AIN 4IME 3CALE THAT YOU SHOULD CHOOSE FOR THE SESSION WILL NORMALLY BE "ARS\"EATS FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION 4HIS WILL ALSO BE DISPLAYED AS THE -AIN #OUNTER IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW 4HIS COUNTER WILL ALSO BE USED FOR THE 3TART %ND AND ,ENGTH VALUES NEXT TO THE -AIN #OUNTER FOR THE 'RID AND .UDGE VALUES IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND FOR ANY PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS THAT YOU SET 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHICH 3UB #OUNTER 4IME 3CALE TO DISPLAY BELOW EACH -AIN #OUNTER 4HE OBVIOUS CHOICE FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION WOULD BE -INUTES3ECONDS SO THAT YOU ALWAYS GET SOME FEEDBACK ABOUT HOW LONG REGIONS OR COMPLETE SESSIONS LAST
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7HEN THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE IS SET TO "ARS\"EATS AND YOU ARE USING TEMPO CHANGES YOU SHOULD SET THE ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE TO ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY 4HIS WILL KEEP THE "ARS\"EATS RULER FIXED AT THE SELECTED ZOOM LEVEL AND SAMPLE BASED RULERS SUCH AS -INUTES3ECONDS WILL SCALE TO FIT ANY TEMPO CHANGES WHILE BAR LENGTHS REMAIN CONSTANT
3.3 Meter, Tempo, and Click )F YOU INTEND TO DO ANYTHING BUT THE MOST BASIC RECORDING AND PLAYBACK OF MUSICAL AUDIO MATERIAL YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE BAR AND BEAT POSI TIONS IN THE AUDIO LINE UP WITH THE BAR AND BEAT POSITIONS IN 0RO 4OOLS )T IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT THE BARS CORRESPOND CORRECTLY IF YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO NAVIGATE TO BAR POSITIONS AND USE 'RID MODE AND OTHER FEATURES TO EDIT YOUR AUDIO WITH EASE )F YOU ARE RECORDING MUSICIANS YOU CAN GENERATE A CLICK FOR THE MUSICIANS TO PLAY ALONG TO )F THEY DO THIS WELL THEN WHAT THEY PLAY WILL BE IN TIME WITH THE CLICK AND WILL LINE UP WITH THE BAR LINES IN 0RO 4OOLS !UDIO THAT IS RECORDED WITHOUT LISTENING TO A CLICK CAN STILL BE ALIGNED TO BAR AND BEAT BOUNDARIES IN 0RO 4OOLS BY EITHER USING "EAT $ETECTIVE OR USING THE )DENTIFY "EAT COMMAND n BUT THIS CAN TAKE SOME TIME 9OU CAN ALSO RECORD -)$) WITH OR WITHOUT A CLICK AND EITHER MANUALLY ADD "AR\"EAT MARKERS OR GENERATE A TEMPO AND METER MAP USING "EAT $ETECTIVE
Creating a click track 5SING OLDER VERSIONS OF 0RO 4OOLS THE WAY TO CREATE A CLICK TRACK WAS TO CREATE A MONO !UXILIARY )NPUT AND INSERT THE $IGIDESIGN #LICK PLUG IN OR A VIRTUAL INSTRU MENT PLUG IN OR AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE TO PLAY THE CLICK 9OU CAN STILL DO ANY
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OF THESE THINGS IF YOU LIKE BUT WITH MORE RECENT VERSIONS YOU CAN USE THE #REATE #LICK 4RACK COMMAND THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE 4RACK MENU When you choose THE #REATE #LICK COMMAND 0RO 4OOLS CREATES A NEW !UXILIARY )NPUT PUTS #LICK AS THE TRACK NAME INSERTS THE #LICK PLUG IN ON THE TRACK AND SETS THE 4RACK (EIGHT TO -INI 4O HEAR THE CLICK YOU ALSO NEED TO HIGHLIGHT THE -ETRONOME ICON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 4O DO THIS YOU CAN EITHER CLICK ONCE ON THE -ETRONOME ICON OR PRESS THE hv KEY ON YOUR NUMERIC KEYPAD OR SELECT h#LICKv IN THE /PTIONS MENU
Figure 3.6 The Click 0LUG IN
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4O AVOID CLUTTERING UP YOUR -IX AND %DIT WINDOWS IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU CAN HIDE THE CLICK TRACK USING THE hHIDEv FEATURE IN THE 4RACKS ,IST )F YOU SOLO SAFE YOUR CLICK TRACK USING A #OMMAND #LICK -AC OR #ONTROL #LICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACKS SOLO BUTTON YOU CAN HIDE YOUR CLICK TRACK IN THE TRACKS LIST AND USE THE KEY ON YOUR NUMERIC KEYPAD TO TURN THE CLICK ON AND OFF AT ANY TIME "ECAUSE THE TRACK IS hSOLO SAFED v YOU WILL ALWAYS HEAR THE CLICK WHEN OTHER TRACKS IN YOUR SESSION ARE SOLOED
9OU CAN USE THE #LICK#OUNTOFF /PTIONS DIALOG AVAILABLE FROM THE 3ETUP MENU TO CHOOSE WHEN THE CLICK WILL BE ACTIVE AND TO SET THE -)$) NOTES VELOCITIES AND DURATIONS THAT WILL PLAY IF YOU ARE USING A VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT OR AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE TO PRODUCE THE CLICK SOUND 4HE -)$) PARAMETERS IN THE #LICK#OUNTOFF /PTIONS DIALOG DO NOT AFFECT THE #LICK PLUG IN n THIS IS
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)F YOU ARE USING THE INTERNAL #LICK PLUG IN LEAVE THE /UTPUT POP UP SET TO h.ONEv )F YOU ARE USING AN EXTERNAL DEVICE OR A SOFTWARE SYNTHESIZER TO PRODUCE YOUR CLICK SOUND YOU CAN CHOOSE THIS DEVICE OR SYNTHESIZER USING THE /UTPUT POP UP
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CONTROLLED INTERNALLY BY THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE 9OU CAN ALSO SET THE NUMBER OF COUNT IN BARS THAT YOU PREFER AND WHETHER YOU WILL HEAR THESE EVERY TIME YOU PLAY BACK OR ONLY WHEN RECORDING
Figure 3.7 #LICK #OUNTOFF /PTIONS DIALOG
Time Signatures and Clicks 7HEN YOU ARE SETTING UP A CLICK FOR MUSICIANS TO PLAY ALONG TO YOU MAY NEED TO CHANGE THE TIME SIGNATURE IF THE MUSIC IS NOT IN THE DEFAULT METER 4HIS WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS IF THE MUSIC IS IN OR BOTH OF WHICH TIME SIGNA TURES ARE USED IN POPULAR MUSIC "UT IT MAY NOT BE QUITE AS OBVIOUS IF THE MUSIC IS IN OR !ND IF THE MUSIC IS IN FOR INSTANCE YOU MAY FIND IT BETTER TO USE A DOTTED QUARTER NOTE VALUE FOR THE CLICK 4HIS WAY YOU WOULD GET TWO CLICKS IN EACH BAR /THERWISE IF YOU USE AN EIGHTH NOTE CLICK THIS WOULD GIVE YOU SIX CLICKS IN EACH BAR WHICH CAN SOMETIMES BE DISTRACTING FOR THE MUSICIANS 4O SET THE -ETER DOUBLE CLICK ON THE #URRENT -ETER DISPLAY IN THE -)$) #ONTROLS TO OPEN THE #HANGE -ETER DIALOG )N THIS DIALOG WINDOW MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE AT THE CORRECT LOCATION IN YOUR SESSION BY TYPING IN THE CORRECT BAR BEAT AND TICK VALUES IF THESE ARE NOT ALREADY CORRECT )F THE MUSIC USES THE SAME TIME SIGNATURE THROUGHOUT THEN YOU SHOULD ENTER THIS -ETER VALUE AT THE START OF YOUR SONG OR MUSIC
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Figure 3.8 $OUBLE CLICK THE #URRENT -ETER DISPLAY IN THE -)$) #ONTROLS TO open the Change Meter DIALOG
C OMPOSITION /BVIOUSLY IF THE METER CHANGES ANYWHERE IN THE SONG YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO ENTER METER CHANGES AT THESE LOCATIONS
Figure 3.9 Changing THE #LICK RESOLUTION
4HE -ETER #HANGE DIALOG WINDOW HAS A POP UP SELECTOR THAT LETS YOU CHANGE THE #LICK RESOLUTION
Figure 3.10 Choosing DOTTED QUARTER NOTE CLICK RESOLUTION
(ERE YOU CAN CHOOSE THE NOTE SUBDIVISION THAT MAKES MOST SENSE TO USE 3O FOR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT CHOOSE A DOTTED QUARTER NOTE RESOLUTION WHEN YOU ARE IN -ETER SO THAT YOU GET JUST TWO CLICKS PER BAR 80
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Figure 3.11 Meter SET TO FROM BAR BEAT WITH THE CLICK RESOLUTION SET TO A DOTTED QUARTER NOTE
Tempo 4EMPO IS ONE OF THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL ASPECTS OF MUSIC !FTER ALL IF THERE IS NO TEMPO THE MUSIC GOES NOWHERE !ND IF THE TEMPO BECOMES ERRATIC THE MUSIC IS NOT hWORKINGv PROPERLY !LSO WHEN YOU ARE MAKING A RECORDING GETTING THE TEMPO TO FEEL hRIGHTv CAN MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SUCCESSFUL RECORD ING AND ONE THAT DOES NOT INSPIRE PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO IT /F COURSE THIS CAN BE A SUBJECTIVE MATTER THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL AGREE ABOUT BUT MOST MUSICIANS WILL PERFORM MUCH BETTER ON A PARTICULAR PIECE OF MUSIC IF THE TEMPO MAKES THEM FEEL hCOMFORTABLEv !ND THIS GOOD FEELING WILL USUALLY COMMUNICATE ITSELF TO THE LISTENERS 3O IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO TEMPO
Setting tempo manually 9OU CAN SET A TEMPO FOR YOUR SESSION MANUALLY USING THE -)$) TEMPO CONTROLS IN THE EXPANDED 4RANSPORT WINDOW 7HEN THE CONDUCTOR ICON IS NOT SELECTED YOU CAN EITHER TYPE THE TEMPO INTO THE TEMPO FIELD OR DRAG THE MOUSE POINTER IN THIS FIELD TO CHANGE THE TEMPO
Figure 3.12 Setting the TEMPO USING THE -)$) TEMPO CONTROLS
Tapping the tempo )F YOU ARE TRYING TO MATCH THE TEMPO OF THE SESSION TO THE TEMPO OF A RECORD ING OF SOME MUSIC AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS SHOULD BE JUST CLICK ON THE NUMERIC TEMPO FIELD TO HIGHLIGHT IT AS IN THE SCREENSHOT &IGS – AND TAP 81
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ON THE hTv KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD )F YOU CAN TAP ACCURATELY IN TIME WITH THE MUSIC 0RO 4OOLS WILL WORK OUT THE TEMPO FROM YOUR TAPS AND DISPLAY THIS FOR YOU %VEN IF YOU DONT GET THE TEMPO EXACTLY RIGHT YOU SHOULD AT LEAST BE ABLE TO GET THIS hINTO THE RIGHT BALLPARKv VERY QUICKLY USING THIS METHOD
5SING 4EMPO EVENTS 7HEN YOU HAVE DECIDED ON A TEMPO FOR YOUR SESSION IT MAKES GOOD SENSE TO ENABLE THE #ONDUCTOR TRACK BY SELECTING THE #ONDUCTOR ICON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND ENTER THE CORRECT TEMPO FOR YOUR SESSION INTO THE 4EMPO RULERS 3ONG 3TART -ARKER
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4HE SMALL RED 3ONG 3TART -ARKER LOCATED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 4EMPO RULER DEFINES THE INITIAL TEMPO OF THE 3ESSION AND DEFAULTS TO A TEMPO OF "0- 9OU CAN MOVE THE 3ONG 3TART -ARKER BY DRAGGING IT TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT IN THE 4EMPO RULER BUT IT CANNOT BE DELETED
4O EDIT THE DEFAULT TEMPO GO TO THE 4EMPO RULER AND DOUBLE CLICK THE RED 3ONG 3TART -ARKER TRIANGLE AT THE START OF THE TRACK TO OPEN THE 4EMPO #HANGE DIALOG
Figure 3.13 Clicking on the Song Start Marker in THE 4EMPO RULER
4YPE THE TEMPO YOU WANT TO USE FOR YOUR SESSION INTO THE "0- FIELD AND CLICK /+ TO REPLACE THE DEFAULT "0- VALUE AT THE START OF THE 3ONG
Figure 3.14 Tempo #HANGE DIALOG
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"UILDING A TEMPO MAP )F YOU KNOW WHAT TEMPOS YOU WANT TO USE FOR YOUR MUSIC YOU CAN BUILD A TEMPO MAP FOR THE #ONDUCTOR TRACK BY INSERTING 4EMPO @EVENTS CONTAINING METRONOME "0- VALUES INTO THE 4EMPO RULER AT THE LOCATIONS WHERE YOU WANT THE TEMPO TO CHANGE 4O INSERT 4EMPO EVENTS CLICK IN THE 4EMPO RULER AT THE LOCATION WHERE YOU WANT TO INSERT THE 4EMPO EVENT THEN CLICK THE !DD 4EMPO #HANGE BUTTON TO THE LEFT OF THE 4EMPO RULER TO OPEN THE 4EMPO #HANGE DIALOG
Figure 3.15 !DDING A Tempo Change to the 4EMPO RULER
)N THE 4EMPO #HANGE DIALOG YOU CAN TYPE THE EXACT LOCATION WHERE YOU WISH TO ADD THE NEW TEMPO VERY USEFUL IF YOU JUST CLICKED SOMEWHERE NEARBY THIS TO OPEN THE DIALOG THEN TYPE THE NEW TEMPO IN "0- AND CLICK /+
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To save typing the location if you are close to this, you can tick the Snap 4O "AR OPTION TO PLACE THE NEW 4EMPO EVENT EXACTLY ON THE FIRST BEAT OF THE NEAREST BAR
Figure 3.16 Tempo #HANGE DIALOG WITH 3NAP 4O "AR OPTION SELECTED
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
%DITING 4EMPO EVENTS )F YOU NEED TO ADJUST THE POSITION OF YOUR 4EMPO EVENTS YOU CAN SIMPLY DRAG THESE BACK AND FORTH ALONG THE TIMELINE 7HEN YOU DRAG A 4EMPO EVENT TO A NEW LOCATION THE SAMPLE AND 3-04% LOCATIONS FOR THE EVENT ARE ALSO UPDATED AND ANY NEIGHBORING -)$) EVENTS AND AUDIO REGIONS ON TICK BASED TRACKS ALONG WITH THE RULER SHRINK OR EXPAND AS NECESSARY TO ADJUST FOR THE NEW TEMPO LOCATION (OWEVER THE "0- VALUE FOR THE DRAGGED 4EMPO EVENT REMAINS CONSTANT AS DO ANY OTHER 4EMPO EVENTS IN THE SESSION 4O DELETE A 4EMPO EVENT YOU CAN SIMPLY /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4EMPO EVENT 4O DELETE SEVERAL AT ONCE DRAG TO SELECT THESE USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL THEN PRESS THE "ACKSPACE KEY OR CHOOSE #LEAR FROM THE %DIT MENU )F YOU DOUBLE CLICK WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL IN THE 4EMPO RULER THIS ACTION WILL SELECT ALL THE 4EMPO EVENTS 9OU CAN THEN CUT COPY AND PASTE THESE USING THE STANDARD COMPUTER KEYBOARD COMMANDS
4EMPO /PERATIONS 9OU CAN ALSO APPLY TEMPO CHANGES TO A TIME SELECTION USING THE 4EMPO /PERATIONS DIALOG THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE %VENT MENUS 4EMPO SUB MENU 4HERE ARE SIX 4EMPO /PERATIONS WINDOWS TO CHOOSE FROM HERE INCLUDING #ONSTANT ,INEAR 0ARABOLIC 3 #URVE 3CALE AND 3TRETCH 4HE FIRST OF THESE WHICH YOU WILL PROBABLY USE THE MOST OFTEN LETS YOU SET A CONSTANT TEMPO AT A SPECIFIED BAR POSITION OR BETWEEN TWO SPECIFIED BAR POSI TIONS 4HE NEXT THREE WINDOWS LET YOU CREATE A LINEAR PARABOLIC OR 3 CURVED hRAMPv OF TEMPO CHANGES BETWEEN A PAIR OF SPECIFIED BAR POSITIONS 4HE FINAL TWO WINDOWS LET YOU SCALE OR STRETCH EXISTING TEMPOS BETWEEN SPECIFIED BAR POSITIONS %ACH WINDOW HAS A BASIC SET OF CONTROLS AND A MORE ADVANCED SET THAT IS REVEALED WHEN YOU CHECK THE h!DVANCEDv CHECK BOX &OR INSTANCE TO CHANGE THE TEMPO BETWEEN SPECIFIC LOCATIONS RETURNING TO THE ORIGINAL TEMPO AFTERWARDS YOU WOULD USE THE #ONSTANT 4EMPO /PERATIONS DIA LOG 4O SEE HOW THIS WORKS SELECT SAY "AR THROUGH TO "AR BY DRAGGING THE CURSOR ALONG THE RULERS THEN OPEN THE #ONSTANT 4EMPO /PERATIONS WINDOW FROM THE %VENT MENU 4YPE THE NEW TEMPO INTO THE 4EMPO FIELD AND TICK THE BOX FOR h0RESERVE TEMPO AFTER SELECTIONv 4HIS CAUSES THE TEMPO TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL VALUE AFTER THE SELECTION THAT YOU HAVE CHANGED TO THE NEW TEMPO 4O RAMP UP THE TEMPO FROM ONE VALUE TO ANOTHER USING A SERIES OF EQUAL INCREMENTS OVER A RANGE OF BARS YOU CAN USE THE ,INEAR 4EMPO /PERATIONS DIALOG TO SPECIFY THE SELECTION OF BARS AND BEATS THE START TEMPO AND THE END TEMPO 5SING THE !DVANCED SETTINGS YOU CAN ALSO SPECIFY THE RESOLUTION AND DENSITY OF THE 4EMPO EVENTS THAT YOU ARE CREATING ACROSS THIS RANGE OF BARS
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Figure 3.17 Applying a constant tempo change TO A RANGE OF BARS
Figure 3.18 5SING THE ,INEAR 4EMPO /PERATIONS DIALOG TO RAMP BETWEEN tempos over a range OF BARS
4HE 'RAPHIC 4EMPO %DITOR 0RO 4OOLS OFTEN PROVIDES VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF DOING THINGS AND TEMPO EDITING IS NO EXCEPTION )F YOU CLICK ON THE SMALL ARROWHEAD AT THE LEFT OF THE 4EMPO RULER THIS WILL EXPAND DOWNWARDS TO REVEAL THE 4EMPO %DITOR (ERE YOU CAN SEE TEMPO INFORMATION REPRESENTED GRAPHICALLY 9OU CAN CHANGE THE LOCATION OR VALUE OF ANY 4EMPO EVENTS BY DRAGGING THESE TO LEFT OR RIGHT UP OR DOWN
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4EMPO EVENTS ARE ONLY VISIBLE IN THE 'RAPHIC 4EMPO %DITOR WHEN THE #ONDUCTOR IS ENABLED IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW
Figure 3.19 The Graphic 4EMPO %DITOR
3ELECTED 4EMPO EVENTS CAN BE COPIED AND PASTED NUDGED OR SHIFTED AND YOU CAN RAISE OR LOWER ANY GROUP OF SELECTED 4EMPO EVENTS USING THE 4RIMMER TOOL &IRST MAKE A SELECTION THAT ENCOMPASSES THE 4EMPO EVENTS YOU WANT TO TRIM THEN JUST CLICK AND DRAG UP OR DOWN USING THE 4RIMMER TOOL
Figure 3.20 5SING the Trimmer Tool in the 'RAPHIC 4EMPO %DITOR
9OU CAN ALSO DRAW IN NEW 4EMPO EVENTS REPLACING EXISTING ONES USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL 4HE ,INE SHAPE LETS YOU DRAW IN A STRAIGHT LINE AND WITH THIS TOOL THE 4EMPO VALUES CHANGE IN STEPS ACCORDING TO BOTH THE 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY AND 2ESOLUTION 4HE &REE (AND SHAPE LETS YOU DRAW FREELY BY MOVING THE MOUSE PRODUCING AS A SERIES OF STEPS THAT DEPEND ON THE 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY SETTING 4HE 0ARABOLIC AND THE 3 #URVE SHAPES DRAW THE BEST POSSIBLE CURVE TO FIT YOUR FREEHAND DRAWING AGAIN PRODUCING A SERIES OF STEPS THAT DEPEND ON THE 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY SETTING 4HE 4RIANGLE 3QUARE AND 2ANDOM 0ENCIL TOOL SHAPES CANNOT BE USED TO CREATE 4EMPO EVENTS 4HERE ARE TWO POP UP SELECTORS LOCATED AT THE LEFT OF THE 4EMPO %DITOR THAT LET YOU CHOOSE 4EMPO 2ESOLUTION AND 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY SETTINGS FOR THE 4EMPO EVENTS THAT YOU DRAW 5SING THE h2ESv POP UP SELECTOR YOU CAN CHOOSE A
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4EMPO 2ESOLUTION OR "0- RATE BY SELECTING A BEAT NOTE VALUE 4HE BEAT NOTE VALUE THAT YOU SELECT WILL NORMALLY BE BASED ON THE METER 3O FOR EXAMPLE IN THE BEAT WOULD BE A QUARTER NOTE AND IN THE BEAT WOULD BE USUALLY A DOTTED QUARTER NOTE
Figure 3.21 Tempo 2ESOLUTION POP UP SELECTOR LOCATED ABOVE the Tempo Density POP UP
)F YOU SELECT &OLLOW -ETRONOME #LICK 4EMPO EVENTS CREATED BY DRAWING WITH THE 0ENCIL TOOL WILL AUTOMATICALLY MIRROR THE CLICK VALUES SET BY -ETER EVENTS IN THE -ETER RULER
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!LTHOUGH A TEMPO CURVE CAN HAVE DIFFERENT "0- VALUES IF THERE ARE METER CLICK CHANGES WITHIN THE SELECTED RANGE IT CAN BE A COMPLICATED BUSINESS TO SET -ETER EVENTS SEPARATELY FOR EACH 4EMPO EVENT SO $IGIDESIGN RECOM MENDS SELECTING &OLLOW -ETRONOME #LICK IN MOST CASES
Figure 3.22 Tempo 2ESOLUTION SELECTOR
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4HE 4EMPO %DITOR ALSO LETS YOU SPECIFY THE DENSITY OF 4EMPO EVENTS CREATED IN THE 4EMPO RULER WHEN YOU DRAW A TEMPO CURVE WITH THE 0ENCIL TOOL )F YOU CLICK ON THE 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY $ENS SELECTOR YOU CAN USE THE POP UP MENU TO SELECT A SUITABLE TIME VALUE EITHER AS A NOTE SUBDIVISION OR IN MILLISECONDS
Figure 3.23 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY SELECTOR
Changing the Track Timebase "Y DEFAULT 0RO 4OOLS USES SAMPLE BASED TIME FOR AUDIO MEASURED IN MINUTES AND SECONDS AND TICK BASED TIME FOR -)$) MEASURED IN BARS AND BEATS (OWEVER IT IS POSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE TIMEBASE OF AUDIO TRACKS TO BE TICK BASED OR OF -)$) TRACKS TO BE SAMPLE BASED )F THE TRACKS HEIGHT IS SET TO -EDIUM OR LARGER THE 4IMEBASE SELECTOR BUTTON WITH ITS TICK BASED OR SAMPLED BASED ICON WILL BE VISIBLE AMONG THE TRACK CONTROLS 7HEN YOU CLICK ON THIS A POP UP SELECTOR APPEARS ALLOWING YOU TO CHANGE THE TIMEBASE FOR THE TRACK
Figure 3.24 Timebase SELECTOR
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Figure 3.25 0OP UP 4IMEBASE SELECTOR
)F THE TRACKS HEIGHT IS SET TO 3MALL OR LESS CLICK THE SMALL ARROW TO THE LEFT OF THE 4RACK .AME TO ACCESS THE 4RACK /PTIONS POP UP MENU (ERE YOU CAN CHOOSE THE TIMEBASE USING THE 4RACK 4IMEBASE SUB MENU
Figure 3.26 Track /PTIONS ARROW
Figure 3.27 Track /PTIONS 4IMEBASE SUB MENU
"Y DEFAULT WHEN YOU CHANGE A TRACKS TIMEBASE THE CHANGE IS APPLIED TO ANY ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS THAT EXIST ON THE TRACK )F YOU ONLY WANT THE CHANGE TO APPLY TO THE ACTIVE PLAYLIST SIMPLY DE SELECT THE h3ELECTION #HANGES !LTERNATE 0LAYLISTSv OPTION
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7HEN YOU CHANGE THE TIMEBASE FOR AN AUDIO TRACK THAT IS PART OF AN ACTIVE GROUP ALL THE TRACKS IN THE GROUP WILL CHANGE TO THE SAME TIMEBASE
Sample-based audio and MIDI !UDIO IS STORED AS INDIVIDUAL AUDIO SAMPLES WITHIN AUDIO FILES ON DISK )N 0RO 4OOLS REGIONS REPRESENTING ALL OR PARTS OF THESE FILES ARE USED TO REPRE SENT THE AUDIO ON TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW !UDIO TRACKS ARE DESIGNATED AS SAMPLE BASED BY DEFAULT SO ANY PARTICULAR AUDIBLE SOUND IS LOCATED AT A
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ARTICULAR SAMPLE LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE 4HESE LOCATIONS ARE ABSOLUTE P LOCATIONS IN TIME MEASURED IN SAMPLES FROM THE START OF THE SESSION )F YOU CHANGE THE TEMPO OF THE SESSION THE BARS AND BEATS WILL MOVE RELATIVE TO THE ABSOLUTE UNCHANGING LOCATIONS OF SAMPLE BASED AUDIO REGIONS BUT THESE AUDIO REGIONS AND THE AUDIO THAT YOU HEAR PLAYING BACK WILL NOT BE AFFECTED IN ANY WAY
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)F YOU MAKE A -)$) TRACK SAMPLE BASED ALL THE -)$) EVENTS IN THE TRACK WILL HAVE AN ABSOLUTE LOCATION ON THE 4IMELINE n JUST LIKE SAMPLE BASED AUDIO REGIONS n AND THESE WILL STAY FIXED TO THIS TIME LOCATION NO MATTER WHAT TEMPO OR METER CHANGES TAKE PLACE
Tick-based audio and MIDI -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS USE TICK BASED TIMING WHICH TIES EVENTS TO "AR\"EAT LOCATIONS n NOT TO SAMPLE LOCATIONS 4ICK BASED LOCATIONS ARE RELATIVE LOCATIONS IN TIME MEASURED IN BARS BEATS AND TICKS FROM THE START OF THE SES SION 3O IF YOU CHANGE THE TEMPO OF THE SESSION A -)$) REGION LOCATED AT A PARTICULAR BAR\BEAT LOCATION WILL NOT MOVE FROM THIS "AR\"EAT LOCATION n BUT THE LOCATION OF ANY SAMPLE BASED REGIONS IN THE SAME SESSION will change relative TO THIS "AR\"EAT LOCATION )F YOU INCREASE THE TEMPO ON A TICK BASED TRACK THE DATA PLAYS BACK MORE QUICKLY n SO INDIVIDUAL EVENTS TAKE PLACE SOONER IN TIME RELATIVE TO ANY SAMPLE BASED AUDIO IN THE SESSION )F YOU DECREASE THE TEMPO EVENTS WILL PLAY BACK MORE SLOWLY n SO INDIVIDUAL EVENTS WILL TAKE PLACE LATER IN TIME RELATIVE TO ANY SAMPLE BASED AUDIO IN THE SESSION !NOTHER WAY OF THINKING ABOUT THIS IS TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE BARS AND BEATS PLAY BACK MORE QUICKLY AND LAST FOR A SHORTER TIME AT FASTER TEMPOS AND VICE VERSA )F YOU ARE USING %LASTIC !UDIO 2%8 OR !#)$ AUDIO FILES YOU WILL WANT TO CHANGE THE SAMPLE BASED AUDIO TRACKS TO BE TICK BASED SO THAT THE TEMPO OF THE AUDIO WILL AUTOMATICALLY CHANGE WHEN YOU CHANGE THE TEMPO OF THE SESSION
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0RO 4OOLS %LASTIC !UDIO USES EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH QUALITY TRANSIENT DETECTION ALGORITHMS BEAT AND TEMPO ANALYSIS AND 4IME #OMPRESSION AND %XPANSION PROCESSING ALGORITHMS 4ICK BASED %LASTIC !UDIO TRACKS ACTUALLY CHANGE THE LOCATION OF SAMPLES ACCORDING TO THE CHANGES IN TEMPO BECAUSE THE AUDIO STRETCHES OR COMPRESSES TO MATCH THESE TEMPO CHANGES
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+EEP IN MIND THAT TEMPO CHANGES WILL ONLY AFFECT THE LOCATIONS OF THE START POINTS OR THE SYNC POINTS IF THESE ARE SET DIFFERENTLY OF ANY STANDARD IE NONn %LASTIC !UDIO AUDIO REGIONS IN TICK BASED AUDIO TRACKS 9OU CAN SLICE A DRUM LOOP INTO BEATS IN 0RO 4OOLS MAKE THE TRACK TICK BASED AND IT WILL PLAY EACH SLICE BACK EARLIER OR LATER ACCORDING TO THE TEMPO n IN A SIMILAR WAY TO 2%8 FILES
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)N TICK BASED AUDIO TRACKS THE LOCATION OF AN AUDIO REGION IS DETERMINED BY THE REGIONS START POINT UNLESS THE REGION CONTAINS A SYNC POINT )F THE REGION CONTAINS A SYNC POINT THE SYNC POINT DETERMINES WHERE THE AUDIO REGION IS FIXED TO THE GRID
Time Scales and tick resolution 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING ON MUSIC IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU WILL NORMALLY SET THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE TO "ARS\"EATS WITH THE 3UB #OUNTER 4IME 3CALE SET TO -INUTES3ECONDS "ECAUSE YOU ARE WORKING WITH MUSIC IT WILL MAKE MOST SENSE TO USE BAR BEAT AND TICK VALUES FOR A NUMBER OF OPERATIONS INCLUDING PLAC ING AND SPOTTING REGIONS SETTING LENGTHS FOR REGIONS OR -)$) NOTES LOCATING AND SETTING PLAY AND RECORD RANGES INCLUDING PREROLL AND POSTROLL SPECIFYING SETTINGS IN THE 1UANTIZE AND #HANGE $URATION PAGES OF THE %VENT /PERATIONS WINDOW AND SETTING THE 'RID AND .UDGE VALUES 9OU WOULD NOT NORMALLY WANT TO SET THESE USING SAMPLES ALTHOUGH THIS MAY BE USEFUL AT TIMES 7ITH THE TICK BASED 4IME 3CALE THE BARS AND BEATS ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO CLOCK hTICKSv WITH EACH QUARTER NOTE REPRESENTED BY TICKS 4HIS IS OFTEN QUOTED AS A TICK RESOLUTION OF PULSES PER QUARTER NOTE 001. AND ALL -)$) SEQUENCERS HAVE A SIMILAR SPECIFICATION 3OME -)$) SEQUENCERS HAVE THE SAME RESOLUTION AS 0RO 4OOLS WHEREAS OTHERS OFFER LESS OR MORE 001. AND SOME ALLOW YOU TO SELECT THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU FEEL IS APPROPRIATE
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)N 0RO 4OOLS THE ACTUAL INTERNAL -)$) RESOLUTION IS 001. WITH 001. USED AS THE DISPLAY RESOLUTION SO THAT THE NUMBERS ARE MORE MANAGEABLE
The Linearity Display Mode 9OU CAN CHOOSE TO VIEW THE 4IMELINE USING EITHER A ,INEAR 3AMPLE SCALE OR A ,INEAR 4ICK SCALE THAT YOU CAN SELECT USING THE ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE POP UP MENU 4HE ,INEAR 3AMPLE SCALE USES AN ABSOLUTE TIMEBASE WHEREAS THE ,INEAR 91
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4ICK SCALE USES A RELATIVE TIMEBASE SO -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AUDIO TRACKS AND 4EMPO CURVES WILL LOOK AND BEHAVE QUITE DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON WHICH OF THESE YOU CHOOSE
Figure 3.28 ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE 3ELECTOR
7HEN YOU ARE WORKING PRIMARILY WITH SAMPLE BASED MATERIAL WHICH IS USUALLY THE CASE WHEN RECORDING OR MIXING AUDIO YOU SHOULD USE THE ,INEAR 3AMPLE $ISPLAY MODE n ESPECIALLY IF YOU INTEND TO ALIGN THE TEMPO AND METER MAP TO SAMPLE BASED EVENTS )N ,INEAR 3AMPLE $ISPLAY MODE BECAUSE THE 4IMELINE DISPLAY IS SAMPLE BASED THE LOCATIONS OF TICK BASED EVENTS SUCH AS BARS AND BEATS WILL SHIFT WHENEVER YOU CHANGE TEMPO 3O FOR EXAMPLE THE LOCATIONS OF THE BARS AND BEATS WILL MOVE TO DIFFERENT TIME POSITIONS n AS YOU WILL SEE IF YOU DISPLAY MINUTES AND SECONDS ON THE SAMPLE BASED 4IMELINE 5SING THE ,INEAR 3AMPLE DISPLAY THE -INUTES3ECONDS RULER SHOWS EACH SECOND OCCUPYING THE SAME DISTANCE ALONG THE TIMELINE ,OOKING AT THE SCREENSHOTS SHOWN HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF SECONDS DISPLAYED STAYS THE SAME WITH NO CHANGE MADE TO THE ZOOM LEVEL WHILE THE CORRESPONDING NUMBER OF BEATS DISPLAYED DEPEND ON THE TEMPO !T SLOWER TEMPOS FEWER BARS AND BEATS PLAY BACK IN A GIVEN TIME WHEREAS AT FASTER TEMPOS MORE BARS AND BEATS PLAY BACK IN THAT SAME TIME INTERVAL !NOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS IS TO notice that, as the tempo increases, the length of the bars along the timeline GETS SHORTER Figure 3.29 Each beat at "0- OCCUPIES AROUND S 3O IN THE S SHOWN IN THIS EXAMPLE LESS THAN COMPLETE BARS WILL PLAY BACK Figure 3.30 Each beat at "0- OCCUPIES ABOUT S 3O WITH THE ,INEAR 3AMPLE DISPLAY SELECTED YOU WILL SEE MORE BARS PLAYING BACK WITHIN THE SAME NUMBER OF SECONDS along the timeline – 4 complete bars playing BACK IN THE S DISPLAYED IN THIS EXAMPLE
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7HEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH TICK BASED MATERIAL SUCH AS -)$) NOTES OR %LASTIC !UDIO EVENTS YOU MAY FIND IT MORE USEFUL TO SWITCH TO THE ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY MODE 7HEN YOU MAKE TEMPO CHANGES IN ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY MODE THE BARS AND BEATS WILL REMAIN FIXED IN THE 4IMELINE WHILE SAMPLE BASED EVENTS WILL MOVE TO DIFFERENT BAR AND BEAT LOCATIONS ALONG THE 4IMELINE )N ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY MODE ALL THE BARS ARE EVENLY SPACED WHATEVER THE TEMPO 3O FOR EXAMPLE SAMPLE BASED AUDIO REGIONS WILL EXPAND ALONG THE TIMELINE AS YOU INCREASE THE TEMPO n ALTHOUGH THEY WILL STILL PLAY BACK THE AUDIO THAT THEY CONTAIN IN THE SAME LENGTH OF TIME 4ICK BASED MATERIAL SUCH AS -)$) NOTES OR %LASTIC !UDIO MATERIAL ON TICK BASED TRACKS WILL PLAY BACK AT WHATEVER TEMPO YOU SET THE SESSION TO
Figure 3.31 !T "0- ABOUT ONE AND A HALF BARS ARE DISPLAYED HERE IN ,INEAR 4ICK MODE WHILE THE TIME ELAPSED SHOWS S
Figure 3.32 !T "0- ONE AND A HALF BARS ARE STILL DISPLAYED WITH THE TIMELINE DISPLAY IN ,INEAR 4ICK MODE WITH NO CHANGE MADE TO THE ZOOM LEVEL BUT THE TIME ELAPSED SHOWS ONE AND A HALF SECONDS
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9OU SHOULD USE ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY WHEN DRAWING TEMPO CHANGES FOR EXAMPLE BECAUSE USING THE ,INEAR 3AMPLE $ISPLAY CAUSES "AR\"EAT BASED MATERIAL TO MOVE MAKING IT AWKWARD TO WORK ON TICK BASED MATERIAL SUCH AS 4EMPO EVENTS
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7HEN BOTH THE 4EMPO %DIT $ENSITY SETTING IN THE 4EMPO %DITOR AND THE ,INEARITY $ISPLAY -ODE SETTING ARE SET TO EITHER THE "AR\"EAT 4IME 3CALE OR TO AN ABSOLUTE 4IME 3CALE 4EMPO EDITS APPEAR EVENLY SPACED 7ITH EITHER ONE SET TO AN ABSOLUTE 4IME 3CALE AND THE OTHER SET TO THE "AR\"EAT 4IME 3CALE THE NUMBER OF 4EMPO EDITS WILL APPEAR TO INCREASE OR DECREASE OVER tIME AGAINST ABSOLUTE TIME
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Tempo Events and Bar|Beat Markers 4EMPO EVENTS ARE FOR USE WITH TICK BASED TRACKS WHILE "AR\"EAT -ARKERS ARE INTENDED FOR USE WITH SAMPLE BASED TRACKS 4HEY CANNOT BE MIXED SO IF A SESSION CONTAINS 4EMPO EVENTS AND YOU INSERT "AR\"EAT -ARKERS EXISTING 4EMPO EVENTS ARE CONVERTED TO "AR\"EAT -ARKERS AND VICE VERSA
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4EMPO EVENTS ARE DISPLAYED AS SMALL GREEN TRIANGLES IN THE 4EMPO RULER "AR\"EAT -ARKERS LOOK SIMILAR TO 4EMPO EVENTS BUT ARE BLUE IN COLOR
4EMPO EVENTS CAN BE MANUALLY CONVERTED TO "AR\"EAT -ARKERS AND VICE VERSA USING THE 4EMPO RULER POP UP MENU 7HEN YOU HOLD DOWN THE #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL 7INDOWS KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD AND CLICK THE h!DD 4EMPO #HANGEv BUTTON THIS OPENS THE 4EMPO RULER POP UP MENU WHERE YOU CAN SELECT WHICH OF THESE YOU WISH TO USE
Figure 3.33 Clicking WHILE HOLDING THE #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL 7INDOWS KEY TO convert Tempo events to "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
Figure 3.34 5SING THE 4EMPO RULER POP UP menu to change Tempo EVENTS TO "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
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)F YOU BUILD A TEMPO MAP IN A -)$) SEQUENCER SUCH AS $IGITAL 0ERFORMER ,OGIC OR #UBASE THEN TRANSFER THIS TO 0RO 4OOLS USING A -)$) FILE THIS TEMPO MAP WILL APPEAR AS 4EMPO %VENTS IN 0RO 4OOLS
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)F YOU ARE WORKING PRIMARILY WITH -)$) INSTRUMENTS IN 0RO 4OOLS IT MAKES SENSE TO USE 4EMPO EVENTS FOR ANY TEMPO CHANGES /N THE OTHER HAND IF YOU ARE WORKING PRIMARILY WITH AUDIO AND YOU WANT TO MAP OUT WHERE THE BAR LINES AND BEATS FALL WITHIN AUDIO MATERIAL THAT WAS NOT RECORDED TO A CLICK IT MAKES BETTER SENSE TO USE "AR\"EAT -ARKERS
Building a tempo map by inserting Bar|Beat Markers 9OU CAN INSERT INDIVIDUAL "AR\"EAT -ARKERS ANYWHERE IN THE TIMELINE BY SETTING AN %DIT INSERTION POINT INSTEAD OF MAKING A SELECTION THEN USING THE )DENTIFY "EAT COMMAND 4HIS ABILITY TO IDENTIFY EACH INDIVIDUAL BEAT IS A PARTICULARLY USEFUL TECHNIQUE TO USE WHEN YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE A FEW CORRECTIONS TO TIGHTEN UP THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE 0RO 4OOLS BARS AND BEATS AND THE AUDIO THAT YOU ARE WORKING WITH )F THE TEMPO GETS A LITTLE FASTER OR SLOWER EVEN WITHIN A BAR YOU CAN EASILY INSERT A NEW "AR\"EAT -ARKER TO MAKE SURE THAT 0RO 4OOLS KEEPS IN STEP WITH YOUR AUDIO )N THE EXAMPLE SHOWN THIS DRUMBEAT WAS PLAYED A LITTLE LATE AT BAR BEAT CLOCK TICK
Figure 3.35 )NSERTING A "AR\"EAT -ARKER AT AN %DIT INSERTION POINT
4O MOVE THE BEAT IN 0RO 4OOLS TO CORRESPOND WITH THE ACTUAL DRUMBEAT MAKE AN %DIT INSERTION POINT USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE BEAT THEN USE THE )DENTIFY "EAT COMMAND TO OPEN THE !DD "AR\"EAT -ARKER DIALOG 5SE THIS DIALOG TO TELL 0RO 4OOLS THAT THIS %DIT INSERTION POINT IS WHERE THIS BEAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE BY TYPING THE CORRECT BAR BEAT AND CLOCK TICK LOCATION 7HEN YOU /+ THE DIALOG 0RO 4OOLS INSERTS A BEAT MARKER AT THIS POINT ALONG WITH A 4EMPO EVENT THAT ADJUSTS THE "AR\"EAT LOCATION TO CORRESPOND WITH THIS POINT 95
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Figure 3.36 "AR\"EAT -ARKER INSERTED INTO THE Tempo ruler to make this beat in Pro Tools CORRESPOND WITH THE ACTUAL BEAT IN THE AUDIO
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4O DELETE A "AR\"EAT -ARKER JUST HOLD DOWN THE /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS KEY MOVE THE CURSOR OVER THE "AR\"EAT -ARKER AND CLICK TO REMOVE IT
7HEN YOU HAVE YOUR "AR\"EAT -ARKERS IN PLACE YOU MAY NEED TO FINELY ADJUST THE LOCATIONS TO POSITION THESE EVEN MORE ACCURATELY n DRAGGING EACH MARKER AS NECESSARY TO ALIGN WITH THE ASSOCIATED BEAT WITHIN THE AUDIO
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7HEN YOU DRAG "AR\"EAT -ARKERS BACK AND FORTH ALONG THE TIMELINE TO RE POSITION THEIR LOCATIONS THIS RESULTS IN NEIGHBORING -)$) DATA BEING ADJUSTED TO ALIGN WITH THE NEW TEMPO MAP
Re-positioning Bar|Beat Markers "ECAUSE "AR\"EAT -ARKERS ARE SAMPLE BASED THEY BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY FROM TICK BASED 4EMPO EVENTS WHEN YOU DRAG THEM IN THE 4EMPO RULER 7HEN YOU DRAG A "AR\"EAT -ARKER ITS BAR AND BEAT LOCATION IS DRAGGED with THE "AR\"EAT -ARKER 4HIS LOCATION DOES NOT CHANGE 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF THE "AR\"EAT -ARKER WAS ORIGINALLY PLACED AT \\ IT WILL BE STILL AT THIS LOCATION UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY CHANGE THIS (OWEVER ITS "0- VALUE IS RECALCULATED ALONG WITH THE "0- VALUE OF THE "AR\"EAT -ARKER TO ITS IMME DIATE LEFT !LSO ITS SAMPLE AND 3-04% LOCATIONS WILL BE RECALCULATED ACCORDING 96
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TO THE NEW TEMPO OF THE "AR\"EAT -ARKER "AR\"EAT -ARKERS TO THE RIGHT OF THE DRAGGED MARKER REMAIN UNCHANGED .EIGHBORING -)$) EVENTS ALONG WITH THE "ARS\"EATS RULER SHRINK OR EXPAND AS NECESSARY TO ADJUST FOR THE NEW TEMPO )F YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE BAR AND BEAT LOCATION OF A "AR\"EAT -ARKER YOU MUST USE THE %DIT "AR\"EAT DIALOG INSTEAD )F YOU DOUBLE CLICK ON A "AR\"EAT -ARKER THIS OPENS THE %DIT "AR\"EAT DIALOG WHERE YOU CAN MAKE CHANGES TO ITS BAR AND BEAT LOCATION AND ALSO CHANGE THE TIME SIGNATURE IF YOU WISH
Figure 3.37 %DIT "AR\"EAT -ARKER DIALOG
3.4 Time Operations 4HE 4IME /PERATIONS WINDOW PROVIDES FOUR IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS CONTROLLED ON SEPARATE PAGES 9OU CAN USE THIS TO CHANGE THE METER )NSERT OR CUT TIME OR MOVE THE SONG START POSITION
Setting the Meter 0RO 4OOLS DEFAULTS TO METER WHICH IS THE TIME SIGNATURE OF MOST POPULAR MUSIC )F YOU WANT TO WORK IN OTHER METERS SUCH AS WALTZ TIME OR LIKE $AVE "RUBECKS JAZZ HIT h4AKE &IVEv OR WITH THE CHANGING METERS THAT ARE USED IN VARIOUS FORMS OF MUSIC SUCH AS CLASSICAL AND ORCHESTRAL FILM SCORES THEN YOU WILL NORMALLY NEED TO SET THESE BEFORE YOU START RECORDING 4O OPEN THE -ETER #HANGE DIALOG YOU CAN EITHER CLICK ON THE sign in the -ETER RULER OR DOUBLE CLICK ON THE DISPLAYED TIME SIGNATURE IN THE -)$) CON TROLS SECTION OF THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN USE THE #HANGE -ETER DIALOG THAT YOU CAN SELECT FROM THE %VENT MENUS 4IME /PERATIONS SUB MENU 97
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 3.38 Meter #HANGE WINDOW
Figure 3.39 Time /PERATIONS #HANGE -ETER DIALOG
/NE SITUATION WHERE YOU WILL NEED TO MAP OUT TEMPO OR METER CHANGES IS WHEN YOU HAVE RECORDED A MUSICIAN PLAYING WITHOUT A CLICK PERHAPS TO CAP TURE AN IMPROVISED PERFORMANCE 4HIS COULD INVOLVE METER CHANGES WHERE THE MUSICIAN PLAYS A BAR OF OR A BAR OF BY JUST hFEELINGv OUT HOW MANY BEATS TO PLAY IN A PARTICULAR SECTION 3OMETIMES THIS IS DONE DELIBERATELY SOMETIMES NOT BUT WHATEVER THE REASON YOU CAN USE THE 4EMPO AND -ETER RULERS TO FOLLOW
Figure 3.40 Tempo, -ETER AND -ARKERS RULERS CONSTRUCTED TO FOLLOW AN IMPROVISED PERFORMANCE
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Insert or Cut Time 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING ON YOUR MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS IT IS QUITE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL NEED TO INSERT SOME BARS OR REMOVE SOME BARS AT SOME TIME OR OTHER 9OU COULD JUST MOVE EVERYTHING IN YOUR SESSION FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS BY THE CORRECT NUMBER OF BARS BUT THIS CAN BE QUITE AWKWARD AND IS NOT WHAT YOU USUALLY WANT TO DO 0RO 4OOLS HAS THE FEATURES THAT YOU NEED TO DO THIS CONVENIENTLY AND PROPERLY n ADDING OR REMOVING hTIMEv TO OR FROM THE TIMELINE 4HE )NSERT 4IME DIALOG LETS YOU INSERT TIME FROM ANY PARTICULAR START LOCATION AND LETS YOU SPECIFY THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU WISH TO INSERT IN TERMS OF BARS BEATS AND CLOCKS )T ALSO MOVES ANY TEMPO MARKERS FORWARDS FROM THE INSER TION POINT
Figure 3.41 )NSERT 4IME DIALOG
4HE #UT 4IME DIALOG LETS YOU REMOVE TIME STARTING FROM ANY PARTICULAR START LOCATION AND LETS YOU SPECIFY THE AMOUNT OF TIME YOU WISH TO REMOVE IN TERMS OF BARS BEATS AND CLOCKS 4HIS ALSO MOVES ANY TEMPO MARKERS BACKWARDS FROM THE INSERTION POINT
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 3.42 Cut Time DIALOG
Move Song Start 3OMETIMES YOU MAY NEED TO MOVE THE ACTUAL START POINT OF THE SONG SO 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A DIALOG TO LET YOU SPECIFY THE BAR BEAT AND CLOCK LOCATION THAT YOU WANT TO MOVE IT TO .ORMALLY ALL TICK BASED MARKERS AND TRACKS WILL MOVE ALONG WITH ANY -ETER AND 4EMPO EVENTS 9OU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO MOVE SAMPLE BASED MARKERS AND TRACK
Figure 3.43 Move Song 3TART DIALOG
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3.5 Key Signatures 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A +EY 3IGNATURE RULER FOR ADDING KEY SIGNATURES TO 0RO 4OOLS SESSIONS +EY SIGNATURES ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF ANY MUSICAL COMPOSITION THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED AS NOTATION FOR MUSICIANS TO READ .OW THAT 0RO 4OOLS HAS NEW 3CORE %DITOR AND -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS THAT CAN DISPLAY NOTATION IT IS BECOMING MUCH MORE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL NEED TO ENTER +EY 3IGNATURES AS NECESSARY INTO THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER FOR EACH 0RO 4OOLS SESSION 4HE DEFAULT KEY SIGNATURE IS # MAJOR BUT IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT EVERY PIECE OF MUSIC YOU WORK ON WILL BE IN THIS KEY +EY SIGNATURES CAN BE IMPORTED AND EXPORTED WITH -)$) DATA 4HIS IS ESPE CIALLY USEFUL WHEN EXPORTING -)$) SEQUENCES FOR USE IN NOTATION PROGRAMS LIKE 3IBELIUS AND CAN SAVE YOU LOTS OF TIME IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING -)$) SEQUENCE TO IMPORT TO HELP YOU GET STARTED WITH YOUR MUSIC PRODUCTION !LL -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS NOW HAVE AN OPTION CALLED 0ITCHED 7HEN THIS IS ENABLED THESE TRACKS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE TRANSPOSED OR CON FORMED TO ANY KEY SIGNATURE CHANGES n ALTHOUGH THIS SHOULD BE DISABLED ON DRUM TRACKS WHICH SHOULD NOT NORMALLY BE TRANSPOSED 9OU CAN ALSO MAKE QUICK TRANSPOSITIONS USING THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES FOR ANY TRACK OR REGION
The Key Signature ruler 4HE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER LETS YOU ADD EDIT AND DELETE KEY SIGNATURES 9OU CAN USE KEY SIGNATURES TO INDICATE KEY AND KEY CHANGES IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION +EY SIGNATURES CAN ALSO BE USED FOR VARIOUS OTHER FUNCTIONS SUCH AS TRANSPOS ING IN KEY OR CONSTRAINING PITCHES TO THE SPECIFIED KEY
Figure 3.44 +EY 3IGNATURE RULER
4O VIEW THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER SELECT THIS USING THE 2ULERS SUB MENU IN THE 6IEW MENU OR FROM THE POP UP 6IEW SELECTOR NEAR THE TOP LEFT OF THE %DIT WIN DOW )F YOU CLICK ON THE SMALL 3HOW(IDE TRIANGLE AT THE LEFT OF THE +EY RULER THIS WILL REVEAL THE +EY 3IGNATURE 3TAFF 4O THE RIGHT OF THE RULERS NAME IN THE %DIT WINDOW THERE IS A SMALL @ BUT TON THAT CAN BE USED TO ADD A KEY SIGNATURE AT THE CURRENT TIMELINE POSITION 101
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
!LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN CHOOSE h!DD +EY #HANGEv FROM THE %VENT MENU 5SING THE +EY #HANGE DIALOG THAT APPEARS YOU CAN SELECT THE MODE MAJOR OR MINOR THE KEY ITS LOCATION AND RANGE AND HOW YOU WANT IT TO AFFECT PITCHED TRACKS 9OU CAN ALSO EDIT AN EXISTING KEY SIGNATURE BY DOUBLE CLICKING ITS MARKER IN THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER TO OPEN THE +EY #HANGE DIALOG 4O DELETE A KEY SIGNATURE SIMPLY /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS THE +EY 3IGNATURE MARKER IN THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER !NOTHER WAY TO DO THIS IS TO MAKE A SELECTION IN THE +EY 3IGNATURE RULER THAT INCLUDES THE KEY SIG NATURE YOU WANT TO DELETE AND CHOOSE #LEAR FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESS $ELETE
The Key Change dialog 5SING THE +EY #HANGE DIALOG THAT OPENS WHENEVER YOU ADD OR DOUBLE CLICK TO EDIT A +EY 3IGNATURE MARKER YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER THE KEY IS MAJOR or minor, select from any of the flat keys or sharp keys, specify a range of BARS THROUGHOUT WHICH THE KEY CHANGE WILL APPLY AND CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT EXISTING -)$) NOTES ON PITCHED TRACKS WILL BE TRANSPOSED OR CONSTRAINED TO THE KEY
Figure 3.45 +EY #HANGE DIALOG
9OU CAN VIEW THE SHARP KEYS IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN AND THE FLAT KEYS IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN 4O THE LEFT OF THESE COLUMNS A PAIR OF hRADIOv BUTTONS LETS YOU SELECT MAJOR OR MINOR KEYS FROM THE NATURAL MINOR MODE 4O THE RIGHT OF THE KEY CHANGE COLUMNS THERE ARE VARIOUS OPTIONS 9OU CAN SPECIFY THE "AR\"EAT LOCATIONS AT WHICH AND UNTIL WHICH THE KEY CHANGE WILL BE APPLIED TO THE NEXT +EY 3IGNATURE MARKER TO A SELECTION OR TO THE END OF THE SESSION
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!N OPTION IS ALSO AVAILABLE TO hSNAPv THE +EY 3IGNATURE MARKER TO THE BAR LINE WHICH CAN SOMETIMES BE USEFUL %NABLING THE h%DIT 0ITCHED 4RACKSv OPTION LETS YOU TRANSPOSE EXISTING -)$) NOTES ON 0ITCHED TRACKS UP OR DOWN EITHER DIATONICALLY OR CHROMATICALLY BASED ON THE KEY CHANGE n OR YOU CAN CONSTRAIN PITCHES TO THE NEW KEY &OR EXAMPLE IF THE SESSION IS IN # MAJOR AND YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE KEY TO $ MINOR YOU WOULD SELECT %DIT 0ITCHED 4RACKS 4RANSPOSE 5P AND $IATONICALLY 7HEN YOU /+ THE DIALOG THIS WILL TRANSPOSE NOTES ON 0ITCHED TRACKS UP A WHOLE STEP AND THEN LOWER THE THIRD SIXTH AND SEVENTH SCALE DEGREES BY A HALF STEP TO MAKE THE KEY MINOR 3PECIFICALLY THE NOTES # $ AND % WOULD BE TRANSPOSED TO $ % AND & NATURAL )F YOU TRANSPOSED THESE NOTES CHROMATICALLY INSTEAD OF DIATONICALLY % WOULD BE TRANSPOSED TO & SHARP INSTEAD 3O DIATONIC TRANSPOSITION ALTERS NOTES TO MAKE THEM CONFORM TO THE TYPE OF KEY CHANGE THAT YOU WANT WHETHER MAJOR TO MINOR OR MINOR TO MAJOR !NY CHROMATIC NOTE ALTERATIONS THAT EXIST IN THE MATERIAL BEING TRANSPOSED SUCH AS A FLATTENED SEVENTH ARE LEFT UNALTERED BY DIATONIC TRANSPOSITION 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU CHANGE KEY FROM # MAJOR TO % MAJOR AND THERE IS A "B NOTE AMONG THOSE YOU HAVE SELECTED FOR TRANSPOSITION THE " FLAT IS TRANSPOSED TO $ NATURAL n WHICH IS THE FLATTENED SEVENTH NOTE IN THE SCALE OF % MAJOR 4HE h#ONSTRAIN 0ITCHES 4O +EYv OPTION LETS YOU CONSTRAIN PITCHES TO THE NOTES OF THE NEW KEY 7HEN YOU USE THIS OPTION ANY DIATONIC PITCHES OF THE OLD KEY ON 0ITCHED TRACKS THAT ARE NOT IN THE NEW KEY ARE INDIVIDUALLY TRANSPOSED TO THE NEAREST DIATONIC PITCH OF THE NEW KEY WHILE NOTES THAT ARE IN THE NEW KEY ARE LEFT UNTOUCHED &OR EXAMPLE WHEN CHANGING FROM # MAJOR TO $ MAJOR THE SEQUENCE OF NOTES # $ % & AND ' WILL BECOME # SHARP $ % & SHARP AND ' RESPECTIVELY 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT # GETS TRANSPOSED TO # SHARP WHICH IS IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR $ IS NOT TRANSPOSED BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY A VALID NOTE IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR % IS NOT TRANSPOSED BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY A VALID NOTE IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR & GETS TRANSPOSED TO & SHARP WHICH IS IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR AND ' IS NOT TRANSPOSED BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY A VALID NOTE IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR #ONSTRAINING PITCHES TO KEY ALSO CONSTRAINS ANY CHROMATIC PITCHES TO THE NEW DIATONIC SCALE &OR EXAMPLE GOING FROM # MAJOR TO $ MAJOR THE SEQUENCE OF NOTES # $ $ SHARP AND % WILL BE CHANGED TO # SHARP $ $ AND % RESPEC TIVELY 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT # GETS TRANSPOSED TO # SHARP WHICH IS IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR $ IS NOT TRANSPOSED BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY A VALID NOTE IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR $ SHARP IS MOVED TO $ TO KEEP IT WITHIN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR AND % IS NOT TRANSPOSED BECAUSE IT IS ALREADY A VALID NOTE IN THE SCALE OF $ MAJOR
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Diatonic versus chromatic 4HIS IS MOST SIMPLY EXPLAINED BY DISCUSSING THE NOTES ON THE PIANO KEYBOARD WHEN YOU PLAY THE BLACK AND WHITE KEYS OF A PIANO ONE AFTER THE OTHER THIS IS CALLED THE CHROMATIC SCALE AND ALWAYS CONSISTS OF A SERIES OF SEMITONE INTERVALS ! DIATONIC SCALE IS WHAT YOU HEAR WHEN YOU PLAY THE WHITE KEYS OF THE PIANO ONE AFTER THE OTHER )F YOU START ON # YOU GET A MAJOR SCALE ALSO KNOWN AS THE )ONIAN MODE 3TARTING ON ! YOU GET THE NATURAL MINOR SCALE THE DESCENDING FORM OF THE MELODIC MINOR SCALE ALSO KNOWN AS THE !EOLIAN MODE )F YOU START ON ANY OTHER NOTE YOU GET ONE OF THE OTHER hCHURCH MODES v THE $ORIAN START ING ON $ THE 0HRYGIAN STARTING ON % THE ,YDIAN STARTING ON & THE -IXOLYDIAN STARTING ON ' OR THE ,OCRIAN STARTING ON " 9OU CAN ALSO PLAY A MAJOR SCALE STARTING ON ANY BLACK KEY AND DERIVE DIATONIC SCALES FROM THIS IN A SIMILAR WAY $IATONIC INTERVALS ARE UNDERSTOOD TO BE THE INTERVALS BETWEEN PAIRS OF NOTES TAKEN FROM THE SAME DIATONIC SCALE !NY OTHER INTERVALS ARE CALLED CHROMATIC INTERVALS $IATONIC CHORDS ARE UNDERSTOOD TO BE THOSE THAT ARE BUILT USING ONLY NOTES FROM THE SAME DIATONIC SCALE ALL OTHER CHORDS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE CHROMATIC 4HE MEANINGS OF THE TERMS DIATONIC NOTE AND CHROMATIC NOTE VARY ACCORDING TO THE MEANING OF THE TERM hDIATONIC SCALE v WHICH IS DEFINED SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY BY DIFFERENT AUTHORITIES 'ENERALLY n NOT UNIVERSALLY n A NOTE IS UNDERSTOOD AS DIATONIC IN A CONTEXT IF IT BELONGS TO THE DIATONIC SCALE THAT IS USED IN THAT CONTEXT OTHERWISE IT IS CHROMATIC
Pitched tracks -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ARE REGARDED AS hPITCHEDv TRACKS BECAUSE -)$) NOTE DATA SPECIFIES THE PITCH OF THE NOTES .ORMALLY YOU WILL WANT THESE TRACKS TO BE AFFECTED BY TRANSPOSITIONS DUE TO KEY CHANGES "UT IF THESE TRACKS ARE CONTROLLING DRUM MACHINES OR SAMPLERS THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE YOU NORMALLY WILL NOT WANT THESE TRACKS TO BE AFFECTED BY KEY CHANGES BECAUSE IT WOULD MESS UP THE KEY MAPPINGS THAT CAUSE PARTICULAR DRUMS OR SAMPLES TO BE PLAYED
Figure 3.46 5SING the Playlist selector to DE SELECT THE 0ITCHED OPTION
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0RO 4OOLS ALLOWS YOU TO OVERRIDE THE DEFAULT hPITCHEDv BEHAVIOR ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS USING THE TRACKS 0LAYLIST SELECTOR 3IMPLY DESELECT THE 0ITCHED OPTION SO THAT IT HAS NO TICK MARK NEXT TO IT IN THE 0LAYLIST SELECTOR FOR SPECIFIC -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS n AND THESE WONT BE AFFECTED BY KEY CHANGES
Diatonic transposition 6ARIOUS DIATONIC TRANSPOSITION OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE 4RANSPOSE DIALOG THAT YOU CAN ACCESS USING THE %VENT /PERATIONS SUB MENU IN THE %VENT MENU 4HE 4RANSPOSE %VENT /PERATIONS DIALOG ALLOWS YOU TO TRANSPOSE BY OCTAVES AND SEMITONES OR FROM ONE SPECIFIED PITCH TO ANOTHER OR TO TRANSPOSE ALL THE NOTES YOU HAVE SELECTED TO A SPECIFIED PITCH )T WILL ALSO ALLOW YOU TO TRANSPOSE IN KEY UP OR DOWN BY SCALE STEPS &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE A SEQUENCE OF NOTES THAT YOU WANT TO DOUBLE IN THIRDS YOU CAN SIMPLY COPY THIS TO A NEW TRACK SELECT THE -)$) NOTES ON THE NEW TRACK AND TRANSPOSE THEM UP BY TWO SCALE STEPS )N # MAJOR FOR EXAMPLE THE SEQUENCE # $ % WOULD BE TRANS POSED TO % & '
Figure 3.47 Event /PERATIONS 4RANSPOSE DIALOG
9OU CAN ALSO USE THE TRACK BASED -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES OR THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW FROM THE %VENT MENU TO TRANSPOSE UP OR DOWN BY OCTAVES AND SEMITONES TO A NAMED PITCH OR TO A KEY
Figure 3.48 4RACK BASED -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES 4RANSPOSITION FEATURE
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Figure 3.49 -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW 4RANSPOSITION FEATURE
"OTH OF THESE HAVE A 4RANSPOSE -ODE POP UP SELECTOR THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE THE TYPE OF TRANSPOSITION THAT YOU WANT 4HE DEFAULT IS TO TRANSPOSE BY OCTAVE ANDOR SEMITONE 9OU CAN ALSO TRANSPOSE TO A SPECIFIED PITCH OR IN KEY
Figure 3.50 Transposing TO A SPECIFIED PITCH
Figure 3.51 5SING THE 4RANSPOSE -ODE BUTTON to choose Transpose IN +EY
#HANGES THAT YOU MAKE USING EITHER THE TRACK BASED -)$) 2EAL 4IME PROPER TIES OR THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW ARE REFLECTED IN THE OTHER 9OU CAN ALSO APPLY -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES TO ANY REGION ON A TRACK BY SELECTING THE REGION AND OPENING THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW FROM THE %VENT MENU
Figure 3.52 2EGION BASED 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW
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Elastic Audio region-based pitch transposition %LASTIC !UDIO CAN BE USED TO CHANGE THE PITCH OF AUDIO REGIONS IN REAL TIME IN SEMITONES AND CENTS BY UP TO TWO OCTAVES ABOVE OR BELOW THE ORIGINAL PITCH (OWEVER JUST BECAUSE IT CAN CHANGE THE PITCH WITHIN THIS INCREDIBLY WIDE RANGE DOESNT MEAN THAT IT CAN DO THIS WITHOUT INTRODUCING ARTIFACTS INTO THE SOUND n AND IT DOES %VEN WHEN USING THE NON REAL TIME 8 &ORM RENDERING YOU WILL HEAR WARBLING PHASING SOUNDS IN THE PITCH SHIFTED AUDIO EVEN WHEN YOU SHIFT THE PITCH BY AS LITTLE AS ONE SEMITONE .EVERTHELESS THE PITCH DOES SHIFT AND THE RESULTING SOUNDS CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE WHEN USED AS hSOUND EFFECTSv
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)T CAN OFTEN BE USEFUL TO SHIFT THE PITCH OF A MUSICAL PART TO ASSESS HOW THIS WOULD SOUND IN A DIFFERENT KEY BEFORE GOING TO THE TROUBLE OF RE RECORDING THE PART IN THE NEW KEY 4O APPLY A PITCH SHIFT %LASTIC !UDIO MUST BE ENABLED FOR THE TRACK FIRST CHOOS ING THE 0OLYPHONIC 2HYTHMIC OR 8 &ORM ALGORITHM
Figure 3.53 Enabling %LASTIC !UDIO
7ITH %LASTIC !UDIO ENABLED ON THE TRACK SELECT ANY WHOLE REGION OR REGIONS WITHIN THE TRACK USING THE 'RABBER OR 3ELECTOR TOOL THEN OPEN THE %LASTIC 0ROPERTIES WINDOW FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR BY PRESSING /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD )N THE %LASTIC 0ROPERTIES WINDOW YOU CAN ENTER THE PITCH SHIFT IN SEMITONES AND CENTS
Figure 3.54 Elastic PROPERTIES WINDOW
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9OU CAN ALSO USE THE 4RANSPOSE WINDOW TO TRANSPOSE THE PITCH OF AUDIO REGIONS ON %LASTIC !UDIOnENABLED TRACKS !S WITH THE %LASTIC 0ROPERTIES WINDOW ONLY REGIONS THAT ARE COMPLETELY SELECTED WILL BE AFFECTED )N THE 4RANSPOSE WINDOW YOU CAN EITHER TRANSPOSE BY OCTAVES AND SEMITONES OR YOU CAN USE THE h4RANSPOSE &ROM AND 4Ov SETTINGS TO TRANSPOSE FROM ONE SPECIFIED KEY NOTE TO ANOTHER
Figure 3.55 Event /PERATIONS 4RANSPOSE WINDOW
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4HE h4RANSPOSE !LL .OTES 4Ov AND THE h4RANSPOSE )N +EYv SETTINGS CAN ONLY BE APPLIED TO -)$) NOTES SO THESE OPTIONS ARE NOT ACTIVE WHEN YOU SELECT AUDIO REGIONS
Removing region pitch shifting )F YOU HAVE APPLIED ANY PITCH SHIFTING TO A REGION AND YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS OR CHANGE YOUR MIND LATER ON YOU CAN ALWAYS REMOVE THIS PITCH SHIFTING AND REVERT THE REGION TO ITS ORIGINAL PITCH 4O REMOVE ANY PITCH TRANSPOSITION APPLIED TO A SELECTED REGION YOU CAN EITHER OPEN THE %LASTIC 0ROPERTIES WINDOW OR 4RANSPOSE WINDOW TO REMOVE THE TRANS POSITION CHANGING EITHER OF THESE CHANGES THE OTHER OR YOU CAN USE THE 2EMOVE 0ITCH 3HIFT COMMAND FROM THE 2EGION MENU n WHICH IS FASTER
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9OU CAN ONLY USE THE 2EMOVE 0ITCH 3HIFT COMMAND WITH REGIONS n NOT WITH REGION GROUPS )F YOU NEED TO REMOVE PITCH SHIFTING FROM THE REGIONS WITHIN A GROUP UNGROUP THE REGION FIRST THEN REMOVE THE PITCH SHIFT FROM THE INDIVIDUAL REGIONS THEN REGROUP THE REGIONS
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Ti m e O p e r a t i o n s , Te m p o O p e r a t i o n s , a n d K e y S i g n a t u r e s
3.6 Summary (AVING CONTROL OF THE TEMPO METER AND KEY SIGNATURE OF YOUR MUSIC IS ESSEN TIAL IF YOU ARE TO ACT AS THE hCONDUCTORv OF THE MUSICIANS BAND OR ORCHESTRA THAT YOU ARE RECORDING n WHETHER REAL OR VIRTUAL )F YOUR ROLE IS TO ENGINEER THE SESSION THEN YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ACT ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE PRODUCER ARRANGER COMPOSER MUSICAL DIRECTOR OR OF THE MUSICIANS WHO ARE PERFORMING ON THE RECORDING TO ESTABLISH THE TEMPO METER AND KEY 4HIS IDEALLY SHOULD BE DONE BEFORE YOU START RECORDING OR AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER RECORDING WHILE THE PEOPLE WHO PERFORMED INCLUDING ANY CONDUCTOR ARRANGER OR PRODUCER DIRECTING THE PERFORMANCES OF THE MUSI CIANS ARE STILL PRESENT AT THE SESSION 4HERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN THE PEOPLE INVOLVED DO NOT WANT TO BE CONSTRAINED BY HAVING TO PLAY TO A CLICK %VERYONE NEEDS TO CLEARLY UNDERSTAND THAT ANY FURTHER RECORDING EDITING OR MIXING OF THE TRACK WILL BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT UNTIL THE CORRECT TEMPOS TIME SIGNATURES AND KEY SIGNATURES HAVE BEEN WORKED OUT FOR THE SESSION )F THIS HAS TO BE DONE AFTER THE RECORDING IT CAN TAKE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME TO SORT ALL THIS OUT .EVERTHELESS THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT 0RO 4OOLS DOES PROVIDE EXCELLENT TOOLS TO HELP YOU DO THIS INCLUD ING )DENTIFY "EAT AND "EAT $ETECTIVE AND %LASTIC !UDIO 9OU NEED TO BE CLEAR ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE SAMPLE BASED ABSO LUTE AND THE TICK BASED RELATIVE TIMEBASES AND HOW THESE ARE DISPLAYED USING THE RULERS !LSO YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW AND WHY YOU CAN CHANGE TRACKS TO BE SAMPLE BASED OR TICK BASED THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 4EMPO EVENTS AND "AR\"EAT -ARKERS WHEN TO CHOOSE "AR\"EAT OR !BSOLUTE 2EFERENCE -ARKERS AND WHEN TO VIEW THE 4IMELINE USING EITHER THE ,INEAR 3AMPLE $ISPLAY OR THE ,INEAR 4ICK $ISPLAY MODE 9OU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE OF HOW TO CARRY OUT 4IME /PERATIONS SUCH AS CHANGING THE METER INSERTING OR CUTTING TIME FROM YOUR SESSION AND MOVING THE 3ONG 3TART 5NDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHROMATIC AND DIATONIC KEY TRANSPOSI TION REQUIRES SOME KNOWLEDGE OF MUSIC BUT SHOULD NOT BE BEYOND THE CAPA BILITIES OF ANYONE WHO CAN MASTER THE OTHER INTRICACIES OF USING THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARE !PPRECIATING THE DIFFERENCES AND WHAT IS POSSIBLE WHEN TRANSPOSING -)$) AND AUDIO REGIONS ALSO REQUIRES UNDERSTANDING OF MUSIC AND OF -)$) ITSELF 4HERE ARE MANY GOOD BOOKS PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE THAT COVER THESE TOPICS MORE THOROUGHLY THAN IS POSSIBLE HERE )F YOU ARE STILL UNSURE ABOUT ANY OF THESE THINGS PLEASE GO BACK AND REVIEW THIS CHAPTER AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU TRY EVERYTHING FOR YOURSELF ON YOUR OWN SYSTEM &OR SOME PEOPLE MYSELF INCLUDED IT CAN TAKE A LITTLE WHILE BEFORE THE IMPORTANCE OF ALL THESE THINGS BECOMES APPARENT 7HEN THIS DOES HAPPEN n LEARNING FOLLOWS MUCH MORE QUICKLY 109
In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
#ONTROLLING A -)$) RACK FROM 0RO 4OOLS (OW $ELAY #OMPENSATION WORKS WITH -)$)
%DITING -)$) -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT CONTROLS AND TRACK HEIGHTS -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES %XPORTING -)$) TRACKS
)NSTRUMENT TRACKS
4HE -)$) %DITORS
2ECORDING -)$) ONTO A -)$) OR
4HE 3CORE %DITOR
)NSTRUMENT TRACK 2ECORDING AUDIO FROM A VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT
3UMMARY
4 Working with MIDI
4.1 Introduction 4HERE ARE MANY 0RO 4OOLS USERS WHO WILL USE -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE -)$) IN THEIR MUSIC PRODUCTION WORK n EVEN WHEN STARTING ON A PROJECT THAT MAY END UP AS AUDIO ONLY BY THE TIME THAT IT IS FINISHED )TS JUST GREAT TO BE ABLE TO TRY IDEAS OUT USING PIANO BASS DRUMS PERCUSSION ORCHES TRAL SOUNDS OR VOCAL SAMPLES WHEN YOU ARE WORKING ON A NEW COMPOSITION OR ARRANGEMENT /F COURSE THERE IS PLENTY OF MUSIC BEING RECORDED TODAY USING -)$) INSTRUMENTS VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS SYNTHESIZED AND SAMPLED SOUNDS VERY HEAVILY OR EVEN EXCLUSIVELY
4.2 Controlling a MIDI rack from Pro Tools "EFORE WE START USING VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS LETS TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT HOW THINGS WORK WITH A RACK OF REAL -)$) HARDWARE "EFORE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS WERE AVAIL ABLE -)$) MUSICIANS USED REAL INSTRUMENTS n KEYBOARD SYNTHESIZERS SUCH AS THE 9AMAHA $8 AND v RACK MOUNTABLE -)$) hMODULESv SUCH AS THE 2OLAND -+3 4HERE ARE STILL LOTS OF THESE INSTRUMENTS hOUT THERE v SO ITS QUITE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL COME ACROSS THESE AT SOME TIME OR OTHER &OR EXAMPLE ) STILL HAVE A 9AMAHA $8)) SYNTHESIZER A +8 WEIGHTED -)$) -ASTER +EYBOARD AND A FLIGHTCASE CONTAINING A 9AMAHA 48 48 AND 48: A 2OLAND -+3 AND -+3 WITH A -ARK OF THE 5NICORN -)$) %XPRESS 84 INTERFACE TO CONNECT THESE TO MY COMPUTER AND A 9AMAHA $ MIXING CONSOLE THAT ) USE AS A SUBMIXER 4HESE SYNTHESIZERS ARE MY S LEG ACY AS ANYONE WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH THESE INSTRUMENTS WILL INSTANTLY REALIZE /F COURSE 9AMAHA AND 2OLAND ARE STILL MAKING HARDWARE SYNTHESIZERS TODAY ALONG WITH MORE RECENT ARRIVALS SUCH AS .OVATION AND #LAVIA
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Computer MIDI setup "EFORE YOU CAN USE ANY -)$) HARDWARE WITH 0RO 4OOLS YOU WILL NEED TO SET UP THE -)$) CONNECTIONS TO AND FROM YOUR COMPUTER FIRST /N THE -AC FOR EXAMPLE YOU CAN OPEN THE -)$) 3ETUP APPLICATION USING THE h-)$) 3TUDIOxv MENU OPTION AVAILABLE FROM THE 3ETUP MENU IN 0RO 4OOLS (ERE YOU CAN ADD A DEVICE CORRESPONDING TO EACH ACTUAL DEVICE IN YOUR -)$) RACK AND HOOK THESE UP TO YOUR -)$) INTERFACE TO REFLECT THE ACTUAL CABLE CONNEC TIONS YOU HAVE MADE
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4O MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS WORKING /+ JUST CLICK ON h4EST 3ETUPv IN THE !PPLE -)$) 3ETUP -)$) $EVICES WINDOW THEN CLICK ON EACH DEVICE IN YOUR SETUP 4HIS SENDS A BUNCH OF -)$) NOTES TO THE DEVICE UNDER TEST 9OU SHOULD SEE -)$) INPUT INDICATORS FLASH ON EACH DEVICE THAT YOU TEST AND YOU SHOULD HEAR AUDIO IF THE DEVICES AUDIO OUTPUTS ARE CONNECTED TO A MONITORING SYSTEM !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN PLUG A SET OF HEADPHONES INTO EACH DEVICE THAT YOU ARE TESTING TO MAKE SURE IT IS PLAYING /+
Figure 4.1 -)$) $EVICES hPAGEv IN THE !PPLE !UDIO -)$) 3ETUP UTILITY
/N THE 0# WHEN YOU CHOOSE -)$) 3TUDIO 3ETUP FROM THE 3ETUP MENU YOU CAN CREATE AN ENTRY FOR EACH hINSTRUMENTv THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR SETUP IN A SIMILAR WAY 0OP UP SELECTORS LET YOU CHOOSE FROM A LIST OF POPULAR -)$) DEVICES AND MODELS AND CHOOSE THE )NPUT AND /UTPUT PORTS 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHICH -)$) CHANNELS TO SEND AND RECEIVE ON FOR EACH DEVICE
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Pro Tools MIDI setup 7HEN YOU ARE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IN YOUR -)$) RACK IS WORKING /+ THEN ITS TIME TO START WORKING WITH 0RO 4OOLS ! GOOD WAY TO WORK WITH A RACK OF -)$) GEAR LIKE THIS IS TO SET UP A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION WITH A -)$) TRACK FOR EACH INSTRUMENT AN !UX TRACK TO MONITOR EACH INSTRUMENT AND AN !UDIO TRACK TO RECORD EACH INSTRUMENT INTO WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING AND EDITING THE -)$) TRACK 9OU WILL NEED TO ROUTE THE OUTPUTS FROM EACH HARDWARE -)$) DEVICE INTO AVAIL ABLE INPUTS ON YOUR 0RO 4OOLS AUDIO INTERFACE AND CHOOSE THESE AS THE INPUTS TO THE !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACKS THAT YOU HAVE CREATED TO MONITOR IE LISTEN TO EACH -)$) DEVICE )F YOU DONT HAVE ENOUGH INPUTS YOU WILL EITHER HAVE TO SWAP CABLES AND RECORD INSTRUMENTS INDIVIDUALLY OR USE A SUBMIXER 7HEN YOU ARE READY TO RECORD A -)$) TRACK AS AUDIO SIMPLY ROUTE THE OUTPUT OF THE !UX TRACK THAT YOU ARE USING TO MONITOR THIS INTO THE !UDIO TRACK THAT YOU HAVE CREATED TO RECORD IT 7HEN YOU FINISH RECORDING THE -)$) TRACK AS AUDIO YOU CAN MAKE THE !UXILIARY TRACK INACTIVE MUTE THE -)$) TRACK HIDE BOTH OF THESE TRACKS AND JUST PLAY BACK THE AUDIO TRACK /F COURSE IF YOU NEED to make any changes at any point in the future, you still have the original -)$) AND !UX TRACKS TO RETURN TO
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9OU CAN USE )NSTRUMENT TRACKS INSTEAD OF -)$) AND !UX TRACKS BUT LETS DO THINGS THIS WAY FIRST SO THAT YOU GET TO SEE EXACTLY HOW EVERYTHING WORKS
Figure 4.2 Pro Tools 3ESSION SHOWING THREE -)$) TRACKS EACH WITH AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TO MONITOR THE AUDIO FROM A SYNTHESIZER AND AN !UDIO TRACK INTO WHICH THIS AUDIO CAN BE RECORDED 4O RECORD THE -)$) AS AUDIO the outputs of each !UXILIARY )NPUT NEED TO BE ROUTED TO THE INPUTS OF THE CORRESPONDING !UDIO TRACK
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%ACH -)$) DEVICE THAT YOU ARE USING SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN -)$) TRACK IN 0RO 4OOLS WITH THE TRACK OUTPUT SET TO CONTROL THAT DEVICE 4YPICALLY YOU WOULD USE A -)$) -ASTER +EYBOARD )M USING A 9AMAHA +8 AS THE MAIN )NPUT DEVICE TO RECORD INTO EACH TRACK
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+EEP IN MIND THAT MANY -)$) DEVICES CAN OPERATE AS hMULTITIMBRALv INSTRUMENTS 4HIS MEANS THAT THEY CAN BE SET UP TO OPERATE AS THOUGH THEY CONTAIN TWO OR MORE SEPARATE -)$) DEVICES n EACH OF WHICH IS CONTROLLED BY A DIFFERENT -)$) CHANNEL 9OU MAY ENCOUNTER DEVICES THAT HAVE AS MANY AS MULTITIMBRAL INSTRUMENTS OR EVEN IN WHICH CASE THEY WILL HAVE TWO SEPARATE CHANNEL -)$) INTERFACE PORTS 4HEY MAY ALSO HAVE MULTI PLE AUDIO OUTPUTS 4HE 9AMAHA 48 HAS EIGHT TOTALLY SEPARATE OUTPUTS FOR EXAMPLE SO ) USE AN AUDIO SUBMIXER WITH THIS
)N MY RIG THE 9AMAHA $8)) AND THE 2OLAND -+3 CAN EACH RESPOND TO TWO -)$) CHANNELS WHILE THE OTHERS CAN RESPOND TO UP TO EIGHT -)$) CHANNELS ) SAY hUP TOv EIGHT -)$) CHANNELS BECAUSE IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET THESE DEVICES TO PLAY ALL THEIR MULTITIMBRAL INSTRUMENTS FROM THE SAME -)$) CHANNEL OR FROM A SMALLER COMBINATION OF -)$) CHANNELS &OR EXAMPLE THE 9AMAHA 48 CON TAINS EIGHT $8 SYNTHESIZER MODULES IN ONE RACK EACH MODULE CAN BE SET TO WHATEVER -)$) CHANNEL YOU LIKE SO YOU CAN USE THEM IN PAIRS WITH EACH PAIR SET TO A DIFFERENT -)$) CHANNEL GIVING YOU FOUR DIFFERENT SETS OF SOUNDS OR YOU CAN SET ALL EIGHT MODULES TO THE SAME -)$) CHANNEL AND USE ALL EIGHT TO LAYER UP ONE VERY BIG COMPLEX SOUND
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)T IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE THE SAME RESULT BY LEAVING THE -)$) MOD ULES IN YOUR RACK ON SEPARATE -)$) CHANNELS THEN ROUTING THE OUTPUTS FROM YOUR -)$) TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS TO ANY NUMBER OF THESE MODULES 4HIS WAY YOU CAN LAYER UP SOUNDS ANY WAY YOU LIKE USING YOUR VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS
MIDI Thru preferences ) HAVE TWO KEYBOARDS IN MY RIG n THE +8 AND THE $8)) 4HE FIRST TIME THAT ) SET EVERYTHING UP ) COULD NOT WORK OUT WHY WHENEVER ) PLAYED THE $8)) KEYBOARD IT WOULD ALSO PLAY THE 48 !FTER ALL ) HAD CAREFULLY SET THE -)$) TRACK INPUTS TO USE EITHER THE +8 OR THE $8)) 3O WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE
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)T TOOK ME A FEW MINUTES OF HEAD SCRATCHING BEFORE ) FIGURED OUT THAT THERE MUST BE A DEFAULT PREFERENCE THAT WAS CAUSING THIS 3URE ENOUGH IN THE -)$) 0REFERENCES ) FOUND AN OPTION TO SET A $EFAULT 4HRU )NSTRUMENT 4HIS WAS SET TO h&OLLOWS &IRST 3ELECTED -)$) 4RACK v AND THE FIRST -)$) TRACK IN MY 0RO 4OOLS SESSION THE 48 WAS SELECTED HIGHLIGHTED 3O THATS WHY THE 48 PLAYED BACK EVEN IF ) WAS PLAYING ON THE $8)) KEYBOARD 7ITH THIS PREFERENCE SET TO h.ONE v THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEARED
Figure 4.3 -)$) 0REFERENCES hPAGEv SHOWING THE $EFAULT -)$) 4HRU )NSTRUMENT SETTINGS
Initial MIDI system setup data )TS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO PUT INITIAL PATCH CHANGES FOR YOUR -)$) GEAR AND ANY OTHER SETUP DATA SUCH AS CONTROLLERS LIKE PITCH BEND AND MODULATION SET TO SENSIBLE DEFAULTS INTO A COUPLE OF SETUP BARS THAT PLAY BACK BEFORE ANY MUSIC PLAYS 4HIS WAY YOU CAN MAKE SURE THAT THE -)$) DEVICES IN YOUR RIG ARE ALL READY TO PLAY BACK BY THE TIME THE FIRST BAR OF MUSIC IS REACHED 2ESETTING THE PITCH BEND AND THE MODULATION TO THEIR DEFAULT POSITIONS WOULD BE TWO OF THE MOST BASIC THINGS THAT YOU MIGHT DO HERE n IN CASE THESE CONTROLS HAVE BEEN LEFT IN SOME OTHER STATE BEFORE YOU START TO PLAY BACK YOUR NEW SEQUENCES
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9OU CAN EVEN EMBED THE ACTUAL PATCHES AND OTHER DATA FOR YOUR -)$) GEAR INTO EACH -)$) TRACK n STORING THIS AS -)$) 3YSTEM %XCLUSIVE 3YS%X DATA "E AWARE THAT SENDING OUT 3YS%X DATA WILL DISRUPT OTHER -)$) DATA SUCH AS NOTES AND TIMING INFORMATION SO YOU MAY NEED TO WAIT UNTIL SEVERAL BARS HAVE PASSED BEFORE YOU START THE REST OF YOUR -)$) PLAYBACK 4O AVOID THIS DISRUPTION YOU COULD PUT THE 3YS%X DATA IN DEDICATED TRACKS MUTE ALL THE OTHER TRACKS TEMPO RARILY PLAY BACK THE TRACKS CONTAINING THE 3YS%X DATA TO SET UP YOUR -)$) RIG THEN MUTE ALL THE 3YS%X TRACKS AND UNMUTE THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO PLAY BACK 4O RECORD 3YS%X INTO 0RO 4OOLS ENABLE A -)$) TRACK TO RECORD MAKE SURE THAT THE 3YS%X DATA IS NOT BEING FILTERED OUT BY THE 0RO 4OOLS -)$) )NPUT &ILTER CLICK h7AIT FOR .OTEv IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR TRACK BY PRESSING THE h2ETURNv KEY THEN INITIATE THE 3YS%X TRANSFER FROM YOUR -)$) DEVICE 7HEN THIS HAS FINISHED HIT THE 3PACEBAR OR CLICK h3TOPv IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO STOP RECORDING 4HE 3YS%X DATA WILL APPEAR AS A -)$) REGION IN THE TRACKS PLAYLIST AND IN THE -)$) 2EGIONS ,IST 3YS%X MESSAGES ARE ALSO DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %VENT ,IST WHERE THEY CAN BE COPIED DELETED OR MOVED AS NECESSARY
Figure 4.4 -)$) %VENT ,IST WINDOW SHOWING A 3YS%X %VENT
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!LTHOUGH 0RO 4OOLS WILL RECORD AND PLAYBACK 3YS%X DATA IT WILL NOT LET YOU EDIT THIS DATA OR WRITE IN DATA MANUALLY n UNLIKE $IGITAL 0ERFORMER FOR EXAMPLE WHICH DOES OFFER THESE MORE ADVANCED FEATURES
Saving templates (AVING SET UP AND TESTED EVERY DEVICE IN YOUR RIG WITH -)$) !UXILIARY )NPUT AND !UDIO TRACKS FOR THESE CREATED IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU SHOULD SAVE YOUR SESSION AS A TEMPLATE FILE AND KEEP IT SOMEWHERE SAFE n EITHER IN THE SYSTEM OR IN A PROJECT FOLDER )F YOU SAVE IT WITH THE SYSTEM IT WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE AS A TEMPLATE TO CHOOSE FROM WHEN YOU CREATE A NEW SESSION
Import session )F YOU HAVE ALREADY OPENED A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION AND YOU REALIZE THAT THERE ARE some tracks set up in other sessions, or in a Template session, you can use the )MPORT 3ESSION $ATA COMMAND TO BRING IN TRACKS THAT YOU WANT TO USE FROM THE OTHER SESSION INTO YOUR CURRENT SESSION 116
Working with MIDI
Figure 4.5 ,OWER PART OF )MPORT 3ESSION $ATA DIALOG SHOWING TRACKS BEING IMPORTED
Recording audio from MIDI hardware devices 7HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING AND EDITING YOUR -)$) TRACKS IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO RECORD THESE AS AUDIO 4HERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS BUT THE FACT THAT YOU CAN DISCONNECT THE -)$) HARDWARE AND STILL HEAR THE AUDIO PLAYBACK IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT REASON THAT EVERYONE WILL BE ABLE TO APPRECI ATE !NOTHER MAJOR ADVANTAGE IS THAT YOU CAN PLAY BACK THE SESSION ON ANY OTHER 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM SUCH AS FROM A LAPTOP WHEN YOU ARE AWAY FROM YOUR STUDIO WITHOUT HAVING TO CARRY THE -)$) HARDWARE WITH YOU 7HILE YOU ARE WORKING ON THE -)$) SEQUENCES YOU NEED TO MONITOR THE AUDIO COMING FROM THE -)$) DEVICE SYNTHESIZER SAMPLER DRUM MACHINE OR WHATEVER 4HE BEST CHOICES HERE ARE TO USE EITHER AN !UXILIARY )NPUT OR AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK NEITHER OF WHICH WILL USE UP ANY OF THE AVAILABLE hVOICESv THAT YOU MAY NEED FOR YOUR AUDIO TRACKS 7HEN YOU NEED TO RECORD THE AUDIO FROM THE -)$) DEVICE YOU WILL NEED AN !UDIO TRACK WITH ITS INPUT SET TO RECEIVE THE OUTPUT FROM THE !UXILIARY )NPUT OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT YOU ARE
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9OU CAN ALSO RECORD AUDIO FROM AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE BY SETTING THE !UDIO TRACKS INPUT TO THE SAME AUDIO INPUT AS THE !UXILIARY )NPUT OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK BEING USED TO MONITOR THE EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE 4HIS SECOND METHOD AVOIDS ANY ADDITIONAL LATENCY ASSOCIATED WITH BUSSING BUT DONT FORGET TO MUTE THE !UXILIARY )NPUT OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK USED FOR MONITORING WHILE RECORDING FROM THE SAME AUDIO PATH TO THE !UDIO TRACK !LTERNATIVELY MUTE THE !UDIO TRACK /THERWISE YOU WILL GET PROBLEMS DUE TO DOUBLE MONITORING OF THE SAME SIGNAL VIA THE TWO SEPARATE SIGNAL PATHS THROUGH THE -IXER
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7HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING THE AUDIO FROM A -)$) DEVICE YOU CAN MUTE THE -)$) TRACK MAKE THE !UXILIARY TRACK INACTIVE AND HIDE BOTH OF THESE 9OU CAN ALWAYS REVERSE THIS PROCEDURE IF YOU NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES LATER ON IN YOUR PRODUCTION WORKFLOW
USING TO MONITOR THE AUDIO FROM YOUR -)$) DEVICE 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOM PANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THIS LOOKS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS -IXER
Figure 4.6 2ECORDING AUDIO FROM A 9AMAHA 48 3YNTHESIZER
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#OMPENSATING FOR TRIGGERING DELAYS !LL -)$) DEVICES ARE NOT EQUAL 7HEN A PARTICULAR SYNTHESIZER SUCH AS A 9AMAHA $8 RECEIVES -)$) DATA IT WILL TAKE A FEW MILLISECONDS BEFORE IT PLAYS THE SOUND 3END THE SAME DATA TO A 2OLAND SYNTHESIZER AND THIS WILL TAKE A DIFFERENT NUMBER OF MILLISECONDS TO RESPOND 4RY THE SAME THING WITH AN !KAI SAMPLER AND AN %-5 SAMPLER !LMOST CERTAINLY THE RESPONSE TIMES BEFORE THEY PLAY THE AUDIO WILL BE DIFFERENT )F THE RESPONSE TIME IS VERY FAST SAY MS OR LESS AND DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF SOUND THE SYNTHESIZER IS PLAYING THIS MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM 3TRING SOUNDS USUALLY HAVE A SLOW ATTACK TIME FOR EXAMPLE SO YOU WOULD PROBABLY NOT HEAR ANYTHING hWRONGv 7HERE IT DOES BECOME A PROBLEM IS WHEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH A -)$) DEVICE THAT HAS A VERY SLOW RESPONSE TIME OR WHEN YOU ARE WORK ING WITH SOUNDS THAT HAVE VERY FAST ATTACK TIMES SUCH AS PERCUSSION INSTRU MENTS !LSO IF YOU HAVE SOME AUDIO IN 0RO 4OOLS THAT SHOULD PLAY EXACTLY AT THE SAME TIME AS THE AUDIO COMING FROM AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE THIS CAN EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM 2EMEMBER THAT IT USUALLY TAKES AT LEAST MS TO TRIG GER THE NOTES FROM AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE AND IT COULD TAKE EVEN LONGER DEPENDING ON THE DEVICE 3O IF YOU HAVE A KICK DRUM THAT IS BEING PLAYED BY AN !UDIO TRACK IN 0RO 4OOLS AND A KICK DRUM THAT IS BEING PLAYED BY A -)$) DEVICE TRIGGERED BY -)$) NOTES COMING FROM 0RO 4OOLS YOU WOULD HEAR A hFLAMv A DELAY BETWEEN THE TWO KICK DRUMS 4O COMPENSATE FOR DELAYS CAUSED BY THE TIME IT TAKES TO TRIGGER EVENTS ON A -)$) SAMPLER OR SYNTHESIZER YOU CAN OFFSET INDIVIDUAL -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACK OFFSETS IN 0RO 4OOLS
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9OU CAN MEASURE THE LATENCY DELAY FOR A -)$) DEVICE ASSIGNED TO A -)$) TRACK BY RECORDING ITS AUDIO OUTPUT BACK INTO 0RO 4OOLS 4HEN COMPARE THE SAMPLE LOCATIONS FOR THE RECORDED AUDIO EVENTS AGAINST THE ORIGINAL -)$) NOTES TO CALCULATE THE LATENCY DELAY AND USE THIS VALUE WHEN SETTING THE -)$) 4RACK /FFSET 4O CONFIGURE A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK OFFSET FOR A TRACK CHOOSE -)$) 4RACK /FFSETS FROM THE %VENT MENU 7HEN THE WINDOW OPENS CLICK IN THE 3AMPLE /FFSET COLUMN FOR THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK AND ENTER A NUMBER BETWEEN AND TO SPECIFY THE OFFSET IN SAMPLES .EGATIVE VALUES CAUSE THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS TO PLAY BACK EARLIER THAN THE AUDIO TRACKS POSITIVE VALUES CAUSE THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS TO PLAY BACK LATER 4HE -SEC /FFSET COLUMN SHOWS
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Figure 4.7 Entering INDIVIDUAL -)$) )NSTRUMENT TRACK /FFSETS
THE EQUIVALENT OFFSET IN MILLISECONDS 4HIS VALUE UPDATES WHEN A NEW VALUE IS ENTERED IN THE 3AMPLE /FFSET COLUMN ALTHOUGH IT CANNOT BE EDITED *UST PRESS 2ETURN -AC OR %NTER 7INDOWS ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO ACCEPT THE ENTERED OFFSET VALUE ! CLICK ON THE 2ESET BUTTON IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE WIN DOW RESETS THE OFFSETS FOR ALL THE -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS
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9OU CAN ALSO APPLY A DELAY IN MILLISECONDS OR IN TICKS USING THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW TO OFFSET -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS
Figure 4.8 4HE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES CAN BE USED TO DELAY A TRACK
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MIDI Beat Clock 9OU MAY HAVE -)$) DEVICES CONNECTED TO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM THAT CAN USE -)$) "EAT #LOCK TO SYNCHRONIZE WITH THE TEMPO OF THE 0RO 4OOLS SEQUENCE 4HIS IS OFTEN THE CASE WITH DRUM MACHINES OR WITH SYNTHESIZ ERS THAT HAVE ARPEGGIATORS $ELAY UNITS ARE ANOTHER EXAMPLE WHERE THE TIMING OF THE DELAY REPEATS CAN BE SYNCHRONIZED TO THE SESSION TEMPO IN 0RO 4OOLS
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-ANY PLUG IN INSTRUMENTS AND EFFECTS CAN ALSO BE SYNCHRONIZED USING -)$) "EAT #LOCK -OST OF THESE AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURE TO RECEIVE -)$) "EAT #LOCK FROM 0RO 4OOLS 0LUG INS THAT DO NOT SELF CONFIGURE ARE DETECTED WHEN INSERTED THEN LISTED IN THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK DIALOG WHERE YOU CAN SELECT THE ONES THAT YOU WISH TO SYNCHRONIZE MANUALLY
-)$) "EAT #LOCK /FFSETS !S PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED -)$) HARDWARE DEVICES TYPICALLY TAKE A NUMBER OF MILLISECONDS TO RESPOND AFTER RECEIVING -)$) NOTE AND PERFORMANCE DATA 4HE SAME THING HAPPENS WITH -)$) "EAT #LOCKS 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU SET A -)$) "EAT #LOCK OFFSET FOR EACH PORT OR EXTERNAL DEVICE ON YOUR -)$) INTER FACE OR FOR ANY PLUG INS THAT DO NOT SELF CONFIGURE )F YOU KNOW HOW MANY MILLISECONDS A PARTICULAR DEVICE TAKES TO RESPOND YOU CAN COMPENSATE FOR THIS LATENCY DELAY BY ENTERING A NEGATIVE OFFSET VALUE IN SAMPLES FOR THE DEVICE OR THE PORT THAT IT IS CONNECTED TO 9OU CAN ACCESS THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK DIALOG FROM THE -)$) SUB MENU IN THE 3ETUP -ENU (ERE YOU CAN ENABLE -)$) "EAT #LOCK TRANSMISSION FOR ANY OF THE DEVICES LISTED 9OU CAN ALSO ENTER NEGATIVE OFFSET VALUES SUCH AS SAMPLES FOR EACH DEVICE OR PORT THAT YOU ENABLE
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)F YOUR -)$) INTERFACE DOES NOT TRANSMIT -)$) "EAT #LOCK TO SEPARATE PORTS THE INTERFACE APPEARS AS A DESTINATION IN THIS DIALOG n NOT THE PORT OR DEVICE NAME
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 4.9 Setting an OFFSET FOR -)$) "EAT #LOCK
-EASURING "EAT #LOCK ,ATENCY 4O DISCOVER THE CORRECT -)$) "EAT #LOCK OFFSET FOR AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE YOU CAN RECORD THE AUDIO OUTPUT FROM A SYNCHRONIZED EXTERNAL DEVICE SUCH AS A DRUM MACHINE AND SEE ANY DELAY BY EXAMINING THE WAVEFORM IN THE 0RO 4OOLS %DIT WINDOW !N EFFICIENT WAY TO DO THIS IS AS FOLLOWS FIRST ENABLE BOTH 3NAP TO 'RID AND 3HOW 'RID 4HEN USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL PLACE THE EDIT CURSOR ON A BEAT 'RID LINE IMMEDIATELY BEFORE A PROMINENT TRANSIENT IN THE WAVEFORM THAT SHOULD FALL ON THIS BEAT BUT IS A LITTLE LATE DUE TO THE LATENCY OF THE -)$) DEVICE %NABLE h4AB TO 4RANSIENTSv THEN PRESS THE 3HIFT AND 4AB KEYS TO MAKE A SELEC TION FROM THE FIRST EDIT POINT ON THE 'RID LINE TO THE TRANSIENT 4HE DURATION OF THIS SELECTION WILL BE THE APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF LATENCY FOR YOUR EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE )F YOU THEN SWITCH THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE TO 3AMPLES THE LENGTH OF THE SELECTED REGION DISPLAYED IN SAMPLES IS THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK ,ATENCY FOR THAT DEVICE
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"ECAUSE -)$) IS NOT SAMPLE ACCURATE YOU MAY WANT MAKE SEVERAL MEAS UREMENTS AT DIFFERENT GRID LOCATIONS AND AVERAGE THEM TO COME UP WITH THE BEST VALUE FOR THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK /FFSET (AVING ASCERTAINED THIS INFORMATION OPEN THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK DIALOG AND ENTER THE 3AMPLE /FFSET VALUE AS A NEGATIVE NUMBER SO THAT 0RO 4OOLS WILL COMPENSATE FOR THIS LATENCY WHEN YOU MAKE FUTURE RECORDINGS USING THIS DEVICE IN THIS SESSION
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9OU SHOULD CARRY OUT THIS PROCEDURE ONCE FOR ALL THE -)$) "EAT #LOCK ENABLED DEVICES IN YOUR SETUP AND KEEP A RECORD OF THESE VALUES SO THAT YOU CAN RE ENTER THE CORRECT SAMPLE OFFSETS FOR FUTURE SESSIONS
4.3 How Delay Compensation works with MIDI 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES AUTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION FOR DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING $30 DELAYS THAT CAN OCCUR WHEN YOU ARE USING PLUG IN OR HARDWARE INSERTS OR AS A RESULT OF ROUTING AUDIO SIGNALS AROUND THE MIXER USING BUSSES OR SENDS 9OU SHOULD NORMALLY HAVE $ELAY #OMPENSATION ENABLED TO MAINTAIN PHASE COHERENT TIME ALIGNMENT BETWEEN TRACKS THAT HAVE PLUG INS WITH DIFFERING $30 DELAYS TRACKS WITH DIFFERENT MIXING PATHS TRACKS THAT ARE SPLIT OFF AND RECOM BINED WITHIN THE MIXER AND TRACKS WITH HARDWARE INSERTS )T IS IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE THAT WHEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ACTIVE A -)$) EVENT THAT IS RECORDED TO SOUND hIN TIMEv WITH DELAY COMPENSATED MATERIAL IS ACTUALLY RECORDED LATE BY THE LENGTH OF TOTAL DELAY IN EFFECT 4O COMPENSATE FOR THIS -)$) EVENTS ARE SHIFTED BACK IN TIME BY THE TOTAL SESSION DELAY FOLLOW ING EACH -)$) RECORDING PASS (OWEVER DURING SOME RECORDING SCENARIOS YOU MAY NEED TO OVERRIDE THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION FOR PARTICULAR TRACKS 9OU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS SUSPENDED WHILE RECORDING VIRTUAL -)$) )NSTRUMENTS 4O ALLOW LATENCY FREE MONITORING OF VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT PLUG INS DURING RECORDING 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDS $ELAY #OMPENSATION THROUGH THE MAIN OUTPUTS OF THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK !UXILIARY )NPUT OR !UDIO TRACK ON WHICH AN INSTRUMENT PLUG IN IS INSERTED WHEN A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT IS ROUTING -)$) DATA TO THIS INSTRUMENT PLUG IN IS
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RECORD ENABLED /BVIOUSLY THIS IS NECESSARY OTHERWISE THE MUSICIAN PLAYING THE -)$) KEYBOARD OR OTHER CONTROLLER WOULD HEAR A DELAYED VERSION OF THE AUDIO FROM THE )NSTRUMENT PLUG IN WHICH WOULD MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO PLAY IN TIME /F COURSE DURING PLAYBACK OF THE VIRTUAL -)$) INSTRUMENT WHEN ALL THE -)$) AND AUDIO CONNECTIONS TAKE PLACE INSIDE 0RO 4OOLS $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS RESTORED "ECAUSE THIS AUTOMATIC BEHAVIOR IS NOT ALWAYS APPROPRIATE MANUAL INTERVEN TION MAY BE NECESSARY FOR EXAMPLE WHEN USING -)$) AND !UDIO PROCESS ING PLUG INS 3OME INSTRUMENT PLUG INS OR AUDIO PROCESSING PLUG INS SUCH AS $IGIDESIGNS "RUNO AND 2ESO LET YOU PROCESS AUDIO WHILE ALLOWING -)$) DATA TO CONTROL PROCESSING PARAMETERS OR WHILE USING -)$) "EAT #LOCK TO SYNCHRONIZE WITH THE SESSION TEMPO "Y DEFAULT WHEN YOU RECORD ENABLE A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT IS CONTROLLING AN AUDIO PROCESSING PLUG IN THE TRACK THE PLUG IN IS INSERTED ON WILL GO INTO ,OW ,ATENCY MODE n WITH $ELAY #OMPENSATION SUSPENDED n SO THE PROCESSED AUDIO WILL PLAY EARLY (OWEVER THE AUDIO OUTPUT FROM THE PROCESSING PLUG IN SHOULD BE DELAY COMPENSATED JUST LIKE THE OTHER TRACKS IN THE SESSION IF IT IS TO BE CORRECTLY TIME ALIGNED WHILE YOU ARE LISTENING TO THIS 4O ACHIEVE THIS YOU WILL NEED TO OVERRIDE THE SUSPENSION OF THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION AS EXPLAINED BELOW )F YOU ARE RECORDING WHILE USING A -)$) CONTROLLED PLUG IN ON AN AUDIO TRACK YOU CAN #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR TO OVERRIDE THE SUSPENDED $ELAY #OMPENSATION SO THAT THE !UDIO TRACK WILL CORRECTLY APPLY $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4HE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR WILL TURN BLUE TO WARN THAT THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION HAS BEEN FORCIBLY ENABLED ON THE TRACK )F YOU ARE RECORDING WHILE USING A -)$) CONTROLLED PLUG IN ON AN !UXILIARY )NPUT YOU WILL NEED TO BYPASS THE AUTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION AND MANUALLY APPLY THE TOTAL SYSTEM DELAY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR SO THAT THE !UXILIARY )NPUT WILL BYPASS THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4HE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR WILL TURN GRAY TO INDICATE THAT $ELAY #OMPENSATION FOR THE TRACK IS BYPASSED AND THAT NO DELAY IS BEING APPLIED TO THE TRACK 4HEN YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK THE 3ESSION 3ETUP WINDOW TO DISCOVER THE TOTAL SYSTEM DELAY AND MANUALLY ENTER THIS TOTAL SYSTEM DELAY INTO THE 5SER /FFSET FIELD
Using Delay Compensation view 4HERE ARE THREE NUMERIC DISPLAY FIELDS IN THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION VIEW THE $ELAY )NDICATOR THE 5SER /FFSET &IELD AND THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION )NDICATOR 9OU CAN BYPASS ANY OF THESE BY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE DISPLAY FIELD IN WHICH CASE THE DISPLAY FIELD WILL TURN GRAY
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.ORMALLY THE ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS IN THESE FIELDS ARE COLORED GREEN BUT WHEN THE AMOUNT OF PLUG IN AND HARDWARE INSERT DELAY ON THE TRACK EXCEEDS THE AVAILABLE AMOUNT OF $ELAY #OMPENSATION THE COLOR TURNS RED !LSO THE COLOR TURNS ORANGE ON THE TRACK REPORTING THE LONGEST PLUG IN AND HARDWARE INSERT DELAY IN THE SESSION
Figure 4.10 Delay #OMPENSATION 6IEW
$ELAY VALUES ARE SHOWN IN SAMPLES OR MILLISECONDS DEPENDING ON THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4IME -ODE SETTING IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW
Figure 4.11 Delay Compensation Time -ODE PREFERENCE
$ELAY INDICATOR 4HE $ELAY INDICATOR REPORTS THE TOTAL DELAY DUE TO INSERTING 4$- 4IME $IVISION -ULTIPLEXING ANDOR 24!3 PLUG INS ON THE TRACK PLUS ANY DELAYS DUE TO BUS SING AUDIO TO AND FROM ANY EXTERNAL HARDWARE 7HEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ACTIVATED THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION ENGINE APPLIES A COMPENSATING AMOUNT OF DELAY FOR THE TRACK CORRESPONDING TO THE FIGURE REPORTED HERE )F THE TOTAL DELAY ON A TRACK EXCEEDS THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION LIMIT THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 6IEW WILL TURN RED TO WARN YOU OF THIS )N THIS CASE THE AUTO MATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION CAN BE BYPASSED AND THE TRACK CAN BE MANUALLY TIME ALIGNED INSTEAD &IRST YOU BYPASS THE REPORTED DELAY FOR THE TRACK BY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE $ELAY INDICATOR WHICH TURNS GRAY 4HEN NOTE THE AMOUNT OF DELAY REPORTED IN THE TRACKS $ELAY INDICATOR AND MANUALLY NUDGE ANY AUDIO DATA ON THE TRACK EARLIER BY THAT AMOUNT
5SER /FFSET 4HE 5SER /FFSET FIELD LETS YOU ADJUST TRACK DELAYS MANUALLY WHILE $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ENABLED 9OU CAN USE THIS TO ADJUST THE WAY A TRACKS TIMING FEELS BY ADDING OR SUBTRACTING FROM THE AMOUNT OF DELAY APPLIED BY THE AUTO MATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION
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! POSITIVE NUMBER WITH OR WITHOUT THE hv MODIFIER SETS A POSITIVE DELAY MAKING THE TRACK SOUND LATER IN TIME WHEREAS A NEGATIVE NUMBER WITH THE hv MODIFIER SETS A NEGATIVE DELAY MAKING THE TRACK SOUND EARLIER IN TIME
Track Compensation 4HE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF $ELAY #OMPENSATION THAT IS BEING APPLIED TO THE TRACK
Figure 4.12 )NSTRUMENT TRACK SHOWING $ELAY #OMPENSATION VIEW n the Track is not RECORD ENABLED SO $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS APPLIED
7HEN AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS RECORD ENABLED ITS $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED TO PROVIDE LOW LATENCY MONITORING SO THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR SHOWS ZERO DELAY
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Figure 4.13 )NSTRUMENT TRACK SHOWING $ELAY #OMPENSATION VIEW n THE Track is RECORD ENABLED so Delay Compensation is SUSPENDED
4.4 Instrument tracks )NSTRUMENT TRACKS MAKE YOUR SESSION A LITTLE MORE CONVENIENT TO SET UP IF YOU ARE PLANNING TO RECORD JUST ONE -)$) PART FOR EACH -)$) OR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT !N )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS A SUBSTITUTE FOR A -)$) TRACK PAIRED WITH AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACK USED TO MONITOR THE AUDIO OUTPUT FROM A -)$) HARDWARE INSTRU MENT OR A VIRTUAL SOFTWARE INSTRUMENT 3O AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK CAN DO EVERY THING A -)$) TRACK NEEDS TO DO AND EVERYTHING AN !UXILIARY TRACK NEEDS TO DO WHEN RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK -)$) DATA AND MONITORING THE AUDIO DATA FROM A -)$) OR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT ,IKE A -)$) TRACK THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK LETS YOU RECORD -)$) DATA ONTO THE TRACK ,IKE AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACK THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK LETS YOU MONITOR AUDIO COMING FROM AN EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICE OR LETS YOU MONITOR AUDIO FROM AN INSERTED VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT PLUG IN )F YOU ARE RECORDING -)$) DRUM PARTS YOU MAY WANT TO RECORD EACH DRUM ONTO A SEPARATE -)$) TRACK SO THAT YOU CAN EDIT THESE SEPARATELY 3O YOU MIGHT HAVE TRACKS FOR BASS DRUM SNARE DRUM HI HATS TOMS AND CYMBALS )F THIS IS THE CASE THERE IS NOT MUCH ADVANTAGE TO USING AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST USE AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACK TO MONITOR THE
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AUDIO FROM THE DRUM MACHINE SAMPLER OR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT /F COURSE YOU COULD USE AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK FOR ONE OF THESE INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS THE BASS DRUM THEN USE SEPARATE -)$) TRACKS FOR THE SNARE AND OTHER DRUMS WITH THE -)$) OUTPUT OF EACH TRACK SET TO CONTROL THE APPROPRIATE DRUM SOUND FROM THE -)$) OR VIRTUAL )NSTRUMENT THAT IS BEING MONITORED VIA THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK
4.5 Recording MIDI onto a MIDI or Instrument track 4O RECORD -)$) DATA FIRST YOU NEED TO CREATE A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK OR CHOOSE AN EXISTING ONE 4HEN ASSIGN THE TRACK INPUT AND OUTPUT TO ACCEPT INPUT FROM THE -)$) KEYBOARD OR CONTROLLER THAT YOU WILL BE USING AND ROUTE THE TRACKS -)$) OUTPUT TO THE -)$) DEVICE THAT YOU WISH TO CONTROL )N THE -IX WINDOW YOU CAN CLICK THE TRACKS -)$) )NPUT $EVICE#HANNEL 3ELECTOR AND ASSIGN A DEVICE AND CHANNEL FROM THE POP UP MENU )F YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE KEYBOARD OR OTHER -)$) DEVICE HOOKED UP THAT YOU WANT TO PLAY AND CREATE -)$) DATA WITH YOU CAN USE THE h!LLv OPTION TO ALLOW INPUT FROM ALL YOUR CONNECTED -)$) DEVICES ) HAVE TWO -)$) KEYBOARDS FOR EXAM PLE ONE WITH A WEIGHTED ACTION FOR PLAYING PIANO SOUNDS AND ONE WITH A NON WEIGHTED ACTION FOR PLAYING SYNTHESIZER SOUNDS
Figure 4.14 4HE -)$) )NPUT POP UP SELECTOR SHOWING THE AVAILABLE SOURCES IN MY TEST SESSION
9OU SHOULD ALSO ASSIGN THE -)$) OUTPUT OF THE TRACK TO THE -)$) INSTRUMENT n THE ACTUAL HARDWARE OR THE hVIRTUALv SOFTWARE n THAT YOU WILL BE USING 9OU MAY ALSO NEED TO ENABLE THE -)$) 4HRU ITEM IN THE /PTIONS MENU
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Figure 4.15 4HE -)$) /UTPUT POP UP SELECTOR SHOWING THE AVAILABLE DESTINATIONS IN MY TEST SESSION
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2EMEMBER THAT WHEN YOU ARE RECORDING -)$) ONTO )NSTRUMENT TRACKS THE -)$) )NPUT AND /UTPUT POP UP SELECTORS ARE LOCATED AT THE TOP OF THE )NSTRUMENTS SECTION RATHER THAN IN THE TRACK )/ SECTION 4HIS IS BECAUSE )NSTRUMENT TRACKS CAN BE USED TO ACCEPT AUDIO INPUT FROM EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICES AS WELL AS FROM VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT PLUG INS 3O THE TRACK )/ SEC TION IS USED TO SET UP THE INPUT AND OUTPUT PATHS FOR THIS AUDIO n NOT TO SET UP -)$) )/
Record mode 4O ENTER 2ECORD MODE FIRST YOU NEED TO 2ECORD ENABLE THE TRACK AND MAKE SURE THAT IT IS RECEIVING -)$) FROM YOUR KEYBOARD OR OTHER CONTROLLER 4HE TRACK METERS WILL INDICATE -)$) INPUT WHEN YOU PLAY YOUR -)$) DEVICE IF EVERYTHING IS SET UP AND WORKING /+ )N THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW CLICK 2ETURN TO :ERO TO START RECORDING FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION n OR SIMPLY PRESS THE 2ETURN KEY ON THE COMPUTERS KEYBOARD )F YOU PREFER YOU CAN START RECORDING FROM WHEREVER THE CURSOR IS LOCATED IN THE %DIT WINDOW OR IF YOU SELECT A RANGE OF TIME IN THE %DIT WIN DOW RECORDING WILL START AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS SELECTION AND WILL AUTOMATI CALLY FINISH AT THE END OF THE SELECTION
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9OU CAN START RECORDING BY PRESSING AND HOLDING THE #OMMAND KEY #ONTROL KEY ON THE 0# THEN PRESSING THE 3PACEBAR ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD n WHICH IS EVEN FASTER THAN USING 3TEPS AND ABOVE !LSO IF YOU PREFER TO HIT A SINGLE KEY JUST PRESS FUNCTION KEY & OR PRESS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD WHEN THE .UMERIC +EYPAD -ODE IS SET TO 4RANSPORT INSTEAD
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
#LICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO ENABLE 2ECORD MODE THEN CLICK 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW OR PRESS THE 3PACEBAR TO ACTUALLY BEGIN RECORDING
Figure 4.16 Transport WINDOW WITH 2ECORD AND 0LAY BUTTONS ENGAGED
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)F YOU WANT THE FIRST -)$) NOTE THAT YOU PLAY TO START THE RECORDING YOU CAN ENABLE THE 7AIT FOR .OTE BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW THIS IS THE FIRST OF THE FOUR BUTTONS IN THE -)$) CONTROLS SECTION AND HAS A -)$) SOCKET ICON )F YOU WANT TO HEAR A METRONOME CLICK WHILE YOU RECORD MAKE SURE THAT THE CLICK IS SET UP CORRECTLY AND ENABLE THE -ETRONOME BUTTON 4O HEAR A COUNTOFF ENABLE THE #OUNTOFF BUTTON 4HESE BUTTONS WILL EACH TURN BLUE WHEN ENABLED
7HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING CLICK 3TOP IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW OR PRESS THE 3PACEBAR 4HE NEWLY RECORDED -)$) DATA WILL APPEAR AS A -)$) REGION ON THE TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST 4O SEE THE NOTES CHOOSE THE .OTES VIEW FROM THE POP UP SELECTOR IN THE 4RACK CONTROLS AREA AT THE LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 4.17 -)$) $ATA IN .OTES VIEW IN THE %DIT 7INDOW
Canceling or undoing your MIDI recording )F YOU MESS UP WHILE YOU ARE RECORDING WHICH CAN EASILY HAPPEN BEFORE YOU GET USED TO PLAYING THE PART YOU WANT TO RECORD YOU CAN STOP THE RECORDING AND SIMULTANEOUSLY DISCARD ANY STUFF THAT YOU HAVE RECORDED INCLUDING MUL TIPLE TAKES WHEN IN ,OOP 2ECORD USING ONE SIMPLE KEYBOARD COMMAND *UST PRESS THE #OMMAND KEY OR #ONTROL KEY 7INDOWS TOGETHER WITH THE PERIOD KEY WHICH IS KNOWN AS THE hFULL STOPv KEY IN 5+ %NGLISH )F YOU STOP RECORDING AND THEN DECIDE THAT YOU WANT TO DISCARD THE LAST TAKE YOU CAN USE THE STANDARD 5NDO LAST ACTION COMMAND BY SELECTING THIS FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESSING #OMMAND Z -AC OR #ONTROL Z 7INDOWS 130
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Loop recording MIDI 4HERE ARE TWO WAYS TO LOOP RECORD WITH -)$) n EITHER USING THE NORMAL NON DESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE WITH ,OOP 0LAYBACK AND -)$) -ERGE ENABLED FOR DRUM MACHINE STYLE RECORDING OR USING THE SPECIAL ,OOP 2ECORD MODE TO RECORD MULTIPLE TAKES ON EACH RECORD PASS n AS WHEN LOOP RECORDING AUDIO 4O SET UP DRUM MACHINE STYLE LOOP RECORDING WHERE EACH TIME AROUND THE LOOP YOU RECORD EXTRA BEATS UNTIL YOU HAVE CONSTRUCTED THE PATTERN YOU WANT YOU NEED TO ENABLE THE -)$) -ERGE FUNCTION BY CLICKING ITS BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW OR IN THE %DIT WINDOWS -)$) #ONTROLS SECTION
Figure 4.18 4HE -)$) -ERGE "UTTON
-AKE SURE THAT 1UICK0UNCH 4RACK0UNCH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ,OOP 2ECORD AND $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD ARE NOT SELECTED IN THE /PERATIONS MENU BUT DO SELECT ,OOP 0LAYBACK SO THAT THE LOOP SYMBOL APPEARS AROUND THE h0LAYv BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 9OU SHOULD ALSO DISABLE 7AIT FOR .OTE AND h#OUNTOFFv IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 3ELECT h,INK %DIT AND 4IMELINE 3ELECTIONv FROM THE /PTIONS MENU THEN MAKE A SELECTION IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO ENCOMPASS THE RANGE THAT YOU WANT TO LOOP AROUND )F YOU WANT TO HEAR THE AUDIO THAT PLAYS IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE LOOP RANGE AS A CUE YOU WILL NEED TO SET A PRE ROLL TIME 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU SET A BAR PRE ROLL YOU WOULD HEAR YOUR SESSION PLAY BACK FROM BARS BEFORE THE LOOP RANGE THEN IT WOULD PLAY AROUND THE LOOP UNTIL YOU HIT h3TOPv %ACH TIME THROUGH THE LOOP YOU CAN ADD MORE NOTES UNTIL IT SOUNDS THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO WITHOUT ERASING ANY OF THE NOTES FROM PREVIOUS PASSES THROUGH THE LOOP n JUST LIKE USING A DRUM MACHINE
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4O SWITCH TO A NEW RECORD TRACK PRESS #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL 7INDOWS AND PRESS THE 5P$OWN !RROW KEYS TO RECORD ENABLE THE PRE VIOUS OR NEXT -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 4.19 ,OOP 2ECORDING n DRUM MACHINE STYLE
)F YOU RECORD -)$) USING THE ,OOP 2ECORD MODE INSTEAD NEW REGIONS ARE CRE ATED EACH TIME YOU RECORD NEW NOTES DURING SUCCESSIVE PASSES THROUGH THE LOOP 4HIS TIME SELECT ,OOP 2ECORD AND ,INK %DIT AND 4IMELINE 3ELECTION FROM THE /PTIONS MENU AND DESELECT h,OOP 0LAYBACKv 7ITH ,OOP 2ECORD ENABLED A LOOP SYMBOL APPEARS AROUND THE h2ECORDv BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW -AKE A SELECTION IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO ENCOMPASS THE RANGE THAT YOU WANT TO LOOP AROUND AND SET A PRE ROLL TIME IF YOU NEED THIS 3TART RECORDING AND PLAY YOUR -)$) KEYBOARD OR OTHER -)$) CONTROLLER %ACH TIME AROUND THE LOOP A NEW -)$) REGION IS RECORDED AND PLACED INTO THE %DIT WINDOW REPLACING THE PREVIOUS REGION 7HEN YOU STOP RECORDING THE MOST RECENTLY RECORDED OF THESE hTAKESv IS LEFT IN THE TRACK AND ALL THE TAKES APPEAR AS CONSECUTIVELY NUM BERED REGIONS IN THE -)$) 2EGIONS ,IST 4HE EASIEST WAY TO AUDITION THE VARIOUS TAKES IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TAKE CUR RENTLY RESIDING IN THE TRACK IS SELECTED THEN #OMMAND CLICK #ONTROL CLICK IN 7INDOWS ON THE SELECTED REGION WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ENABLED ! POP UP MENU THE h4AKES ,IST v APPEARS CONTAINING ALL YOUR RECORDED TAKES 9OU CAN CHOOSE ANY OF THESE TO REPLACE THE TAKE THAT CURRENTLY APPEARS IN THE TRACK
Figure 4.20 !UDITIONING hTAKESv IN ,OOP 2ECORD -ODE 4HESE ARE ALSO accessible from the 2EGIONS ,IST
4.6 Recording audio from a virtual instrument 9OU SHOULD ALWAYS RECORD YOUR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS AS AUDIO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE IN THE PRODUCTION PROCESS 4HERE ARE TWO REASONS FOR THIS &IRST YOU CAN REMOVE THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT SO THAT IT IS NO LONGER USING $30 RESOURCES
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3ECOND AND POSSIBLY EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY IF YOU TAKE YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION TO ANOTHER STUDIO THAT DOESNT HAVE THE PARTICULAR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT THAT YOU USED YOU WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO RECREATE THE ORIGINAL SOUND THAT YOU HAD n BUT IF YOU HAVE RECORDED THE AUDIO THEN YOU HAVE IT 9OU MAY THINK THAT THE WAY TO RECORD A VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT IS TO SIMPLY USE AN !UDIO TRACK INSTEAD OF AN !UXILIARY TRACK TO MONITOR YOUR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT SO THAT YOU CAN JUST PUT THIS !UDIO TRACK INTO RECORD WHILE PLAYING BACK THE -)$) INTO THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT 5NFORTUNATELY 0RO 4OOLS DOES NOT MAKE IT AS SIM PLE AS THIS )F YOU TRY THIS SCENARIO YOU WILL SOON DISCOVER THAT THE AUDIO FROM THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT CANNOT BE RECORDED ONTO THE SAME !UDIO TRACK THAT IS MONITORING THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT 4HE SOLUTION IS TO ROUTE THE OUTPUT FROM THE )NSTRUMENT OR !UXILIARY TRACK USED TO MONITOR THE VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT TO THE INPUT OF AN !UDIO TRACK USING AN INTERNAL BUS THEN USE THIS !UDIO TRACK TO RECORD THE AUDIO FROM THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK
Figure 4.21 2ECORDING AUDIO FROM A 6IRTUAL )NSTRUMENT INTO AN !UDIO 4RACK OUTPUT FROM )NSTRUMENT TRACK ROUTED TO INPUT OF !UDIO TRACK
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!FTER YOU HAVE RECORDED THE AUDIO FROM YOUR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT YOU CAN MAKE THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK INACTIVE TO RELEASE THE $30 RESOURCES USED AND HIDE THE TRACK YOU CAN ALWAYS REVEAL THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK AND MAKE IT ACTIVE AGAIN IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SOME CHANGES LATER ON
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4.7 Editing MIDI 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU EDIT -)$) DATA ALPHANUMERICALLY OR GRAPHICALLY ACCORDING TO YOUR PREFERENCE 9OU CAN USE THE STANDARD #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR COMMANDS TO MANIPULATE -)$) DATA AND 0RO 4OOLS ALSO HAS h3PECIALv VERSIONS OF THESE COMMANDS #UT 3PECIAL #OPY 3PECIAL ETC THAT PROVIDE EXTRA FUNC TIONS FOR -)$) DATA 4HERE ARE MANY USEFUL KEYBOARD COMMANDS AND DISPLAY ZOOMING FEATURES THAT IT WILL PAY YOU TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH SO YOU SHOULD PRACTICE USING THESE UNTIL THEY BECOME hSECOND NATUREv 4HE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES FEATURE LETS YOU APPLY CHANGES TO REGIONS OR TRACKS WITH A MINIMUM OF FUSS AND THE -)$) /PERATIONS WINDOWS LET YOU TRANSFORM -)$) DATA IN A VARIETY OF WAYS SO TIME SPENT LEARNING THESE FEATURES WILL BE WELL REWARDED
Bars, Beats, and Clock “Ticks” 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING ON MUSIC YOU WILL NORMALLY WANT TO DISPLAY THE "ARS"EATS RULER SO THAT YOU CAN EDIT ACCORDING TO THE BAR LINES AND CORRECT NOTE POSITIONS -)$) DATA IS RECORDED INTO 0RO 4OOLS WITH A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY 4HE INTERNAL hCLOCKv TO WHICH -)$) IS RESOLVED HAS AN INCREDI BLE PULSES PER QUARTER NOTE 001. RESOLUTION (OWEVER WHEN THE 4IME 3CALE IS SET TO "ARS"EATS THE display RESOLUTION IN 0RO 4OOLS IS 001. WHICH PROVIDES MORE MANAGEABLE NUMBERS TO WORK WITH 7HEN YOU ARE EDITING -)$) DATA USING "ARS AND "EATS THERE ARE SEVERAL SETS OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU MAY WANT TO SPECIFY TICK VALUES &OR EXAMPLE WHEN PLACING AND SPOTTING REGIONS WHEN SETTING LENGTHS FOR REGIONS OR -)$) NOTES WHEN LOCATING AND SETTING PLAY AND RECORD RANGES INCLUDING PRE ROLL AND POST ROLL WHEN SPECIFYING SETTINGS IN THE 1UANTIZE AND #HANGE $URATION WINDOWS AND WHEN SETTING THE 'RID AND .UDGE VALUES "ARS ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO BEATS AND BEATS ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO TICKS SO THE LOCATIONS OF -)$) NOTES ARE SPECIFIED IN TERMS OF BARS BEATS AND TICKS 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE A SELECTED -)$) NOTE IN THE %DIT WINDOW WITH ITS LOCATION AND LENGTH ALSO DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %VENT ,IST 4HE SELECTED NOTE STARTS AT BAR BEAT TICK AND THE NOTE LASTS FOR BAR SO IT ENDS AT BAR BEAT TICK
Figure 4.22 ! -)$) NOTE DISPLAYED GRAPHICALLY IN THE %DIT WINDOW WITH ITS PARAMETERS DISPLAYED alphanumerically in the -)$) %VENT ,IST TO THE RIGHT
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)T HELPS TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE NUMBERS OF TICKS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE MAIN NORMAL DOTTED AND TRIPLET NOTE LENGTHS &OR A HALF NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS &OR A QUARTER NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS &OR AN EIGHTH NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS &OR A SIXTEENTH NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS &OR A THIRTY SECONDTH NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS AND FOR A SIXTY FOURTH NOTE THESE ARE AND TICKS
Shortcuts to adjust Grid and Nudge values 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING ON YOUR -)$) SEQUENCES THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN YOU WILL WANT TO CHANGE THE GRID VALUES SO YOU CAN SNAP REGIONS OR NOTES TO BARS OR TO BEATS OR WHATEVER OR TO CHANGE NUDGE VALUES SO YOU CAN NUDGE BY SMALLER OR LARGER INCREMENTS )F YOU ARE USING A -AC SIMPLY HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL AND /PTION KEYS AND USE THE hvAND hv KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO ADJUST THE GRID VALUES )F YOU ARE USING 7INDOWS HOLD DOWN THE 3TART AND !LT KEYS INSTEAD /BVIOUSLY IT IS HELPFUL TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE GRID LINES IN THE %DIT WINDOW SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ENABLED THE h$RAW 'RID ,INES IN %DIT 7INDOWv PREF ERENCE IN THE $ISPLAY SECTION OF THE 0REFERENCES WINDOW
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! USEFUL SHORTCUT TO TOGGLE THE GRID LINES ON AND OFF IS TO #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE NAME OF THE -AIN 2ULER NEAR THE TOP LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW
How to Remove Duplicate Notes /NE OF THE MOST BASIC YET USEFUL -)$) EDITING COMMANDS IS h2EMOVE $UPLICATE .OTESv )T IS VERY EASY TO ACCIDENTALLY HIT A .OTE /N A -)$) KEYBOARD TWICE n YOU MIGHT HIT IT TENTATIVELY JUST BEFORE IT SHOULD BE PLAYED AND THEN AGAIN MORE POSITIVELY ON THE BEAT OR A LITTLE LATE )F A NOTE STARTS WITHIN THE FIRST OF THE DURATION OF A NOTE OF THE SAME PITCH THAT IS ALREADY SOUNDING OR WITHIN AN EIGHTH NOTE WHICHEVER IS SHORTER IT IS CONSIDERED A DUPLICATE AND IS COMBINED WITH THE PREVIOUS NOTE )F IT STARTS LATER THAN THAT THE FIRST NOTE IS SHORTENED SO THAT IT ENDS AT THE SAME TICK AT WHICH THE NEW ONE STARTS 4O USE THIS COMMAND MAKE AN %DIT SELECTION THAT INCLUDES THE DUPLICATE NOTES THEN CHOOSE 2EMOVE $UPLICATE .OTES FROM THE %VENT MENU
How to deal with stuck notes ! TYPICAL PROBLEM THAT COMES UP TIME AND TIME AGAIN WHEN YOU ARE PROGRAM MING -)$) INSTRUMENTS IS hSTUCK NOTESv 4YPICALLY THIS HAPPENS WHEN YOU 135
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CHANGE hPATCHv BEFORE THE PATCH YOU ARE PLAYING HAS RECEIVED A -)$) .OTE /FF COMMAND )F THIS HAPPENS YOU CAN USE THE h!LL -)$) .OTES /FFv COM MAND FROM THE %VENT MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND 3HIFT 0ERIOD IF YOU ARE USING A -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT 0ERIOD IF YOU ARE USING 7INDOWS 4HIS WILL SEND OUT A SERIES OF MESSAGES TO ALL THE -)$) DEVICES ATTACHED TO YOUR INTERFACE INSTRUCT ING THEM TO TURN OFF ANY STUCK NOTES
Mirrored MIDI Editing -IRRORED -)$) %DITING LETS YOU EDIT -)$) REGIONS AND HAVE YOUR EDITS APPLY TO EVERY -)$) REGION OF THE SAME NAME 4HIS CAN BE PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN EDITING LOOPED -)$) REGIONS 4O ENABLE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING YOU CAN SELECT THE h-IRROR -)$) %DITINGv ITEM FROM THE /PTIONS MENU 4O DISABLE THIS FEATURE DESELECT THIS MENU ITEM 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING BUTTON IN THE 4OOLBAR SECTION OF THE %DIT WINDOW TO hTOGGLEv THIS FEATURE ON OR OFF 4O WARN YOU THAT YOUR EDIT IS BEING APPLIED TO MORE THAN ONE REGION WHEN YOU MAKE AN EDIT WITH -IRRORED -)$) %DITING ENABLED THE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING BUTTON WILL BLINK 2ED JUST ONCE n SO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THIS
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)T IS A GOOD IDEA TO DISABLE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING WHEN YOU ARE NOT USING IT AS IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO INADVERTENTLY EDIT A REGION NOT REALIZING THAT THIS IS EDITING OTHER REGIONS OF THE SAME NAME WHEN YOU DONT WANT TO DO THIS
Selecting and playing notes with the mini-keyboard 9OU CAN USE THE MINI KEYBOARD AT THE LEFT OF EACH -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO SELECT AND PLAY NOTES BY CLICKING ON ITS KEYS WITH THE MOUSE n WITH ANY %DIT TOOL SELECTED 7HEN YOU CLICK A KEY ON THE MINI KEYBOARD ALL THE NOTES AT THAT PITCH ON THE TRACK IMMEDIATELY BECOME SELECTED READY FOR EDITING )F YOU DONT WANT THE NOTES TO BE SELECTED n BECAUSE YOU JUST WANT TO HEAR A NOTE AT THAT PITCH PLAY n HOLD THE #OMMAND AND /PTION KEYS -AC OR THE #ONTROL AND !LT KEYS 7INDOWS WHILE YOU CLICK ON THE MINI KEYBOARD )F YOU WANT TO SELECT AND PLAY A RANGE OF NOTES JUST CLICK A KEY AND DRAG UP OR DOWN ON THE MINI KEYBOARD AND IF YOU WANT TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN THE RANGE OF NOTES SELECTED YOU CAN 3HIFT CLICK ON THE MINI KEYBOARD
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)F YOU WANT TO DESELECT NOTES OR SELECT NOTES THAT ARE NOT ADJACENT TO ONE ANOTHER HOLD THE #OMMAND KEY -AC OR #ONTROL KEY 7INDOWS AND CLICK ON THE NOTES
Do to All 4WO EXTREMELY USEFUL KEYBOARD COMMANDS LET YOU APPLY CHANGES TO ALL TRACKS OR TO WHICHEVER TRACKS YOU HAVE SELECTED &OR EXAMPLE MAYBE YOU WANT TO SET ALL THE TRACK OUTPUTS TO THE SAME DESTINATION $O TO !LL OR YOU MAY WANT to set all selected TRACK OUTPUTS TO THE SAME DESTINATION $O TO !LL 3ELECTED 4O h$O TO !LL v PRESS AND HOLD /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS AS YOU MAKE YOUR CHANGE 4O h$O TO !LL 3ELECTED v PRESS AND HOLD /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS
Special Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear Commands 4HE %DIT MENU COMMANDS #UT 3PECIAL #OPY 3PECIAL 0ASTE 3PECIAL AND #LEAR 3PECIAL CAN BE VERY USEFUL FOR EDITING -)$) CONTROLLER DATA 4HESE EACH HAVE THREE SUB MENU SELECTIONS TWO OF WHICH LET YOU EDIT EITHER ALL THE -)$) CON TROLLER DATA OR JUST THE -)$) PAN DATA 4HE THIRD SUB MENU COMMAND ONLY WORKS WITH AUDIO PLUG IN AUTOMATION #ONVENIENTLY THESE COMMANDS WORK WHETHER THE DATA IS SHOWING IN THE TRACK OR NOT 4HE #UT 3PECIAL #OPY 3PECIAL AND #LEAR 3PECIAL COMMANDS WORK IDENTICALLY 3O THE h!LL !UTOMATIONv SUB MENU SELECTION CUTS COPIES OR CLEARS ALL -)$) CONTROLLER DATA AND THE h0AN !UTOMATIONv SUB MENU SELECTION CUTS COPIES OR CLEARS ONLY -)$) PAN DATA 4HE 0ASTE 3PECIAL SUB MENU COMMANDS REQUIRE FURTHER EXPLANATION 4HE h-ERGEv SUB MENU SELECTION PASTES -)$) CONTROLLER DATA FROM THE CLIPBOARD TO THE SELECTION AND MERGES IT WITH ANY CURRENT -)$) CONTROLLER DATA IN THE SELECTION 4HE h4O #URRENT !UTOMATION 4YPEv SUB MENU SELECTION PASTES -)$) CONTROLLER DATA FROM THE CLIPBOARD TO THE SELECTION AND CHANGES THIS TO THE CURRENT -)$) CONTROLLER DATA TYPE 4HIS LETS YOU CONVERT FROM ANY -)$) CONTROLLER DATA TYPE TO ANY OTHER -)$) CONTROLLER DATA TYPE &OR EXAMPLE YOU COULD COPY -)$) VOLUME DATA AND PASTE THIS TO -)$) PAN 4HE h2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTIONv SUB MENU SELECTION REPEATEDLY PASTES THE -)$) CONTROLLER DATA FROM THE CLIPBOARD UNTIL IT FILLS THE SELECTION n SAVING LOTS OF TIME COMPARED WITH MANUAL PASTING OF SELECTIONS 3IMPLY CUT OR COPY A -)$) REGION THEN MAKE AN %DIT SELECTION AND USE THIS COMMAND TO FILL THE SELECTION
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!LSO IF YOU HAVE SELECTED AN AREA THAT IS NOT AN EXACT MULTIPLE OF THE COPIED REGION SIZE IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY TRIM THE LAST COPIED REGION THAT IS PASTED SO THAT IT FITS EXACTLY
Graphic Editing in the Edit Window 0RO 4OOLS -)$) TRACKS CAN BE EDITED GRAPHICALLY IN THE %DIT WINDOW (ERE YOU CAN USE THE STANDARD 0RO 4OOLS 4RIMMER TOOL TO MAKE NOTES SHORTER OR LONGER AND USE THE 'RABBER TOOL TO MOVE THE PITCH OR POSITION n OR hDRAWv NOTES IN USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL 9OU CAN DRAW IN OR EDIT EXISTING VELOCITY VOLUME PAN MUTE PITCH BEND AFTERTOUCH AND ANY CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER DATA AND THE 0ENCIL TOOL CAN BE SET TO DRAW FREEHAND OR TO AUTOMATICALLY DRAW STRAIGHT LINES TRIANGLES SQUARES OR RANDOMLY 4HE 0ENCIL TOOL ALSO LETS YOU DRAW AND TRIM -)$) NOTE AND CONTROLLER DATA AND THE 4RIM TOOL CAN TRIM -)$) NOTE DURATIONS WHEN A -)$) TRACK IS SET TO 6ELOCITY VIEW )T CAN BE VERY HANDY AT TIMES TO INSERT NOTES USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL INSTEAD OF SETTING UP AN EXTERNAL KEYBOARD *UST MAKE SURE THAT THE -)$) TRACK IS IN .OTES VIEW AND SELECT THE 0ENCIL TOOL AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW 4O INSERT QUARTER NOTES ON THE BEAT FOR EXAMPLE SET THE 4IME 3CALE TO "ARS AND "EATS THEN SET THE %DIT MODE TO 'RID AND THE 'RID VALUE TO QUARTER NOTES !S YOU MOVE THE 0ENCIL TOOL VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY WITHIN A -)$) TRACK THE BARBEATCLOCK LOCATION AND THE PITCH OF THE -)$) NOTE ARE SHOWN IN THE #URSOR ,OCATION AND #URSOR 6ALUE DISPLAYS JUST BELOW THE -AIN #OUNTER IN THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR 7HEN YOU FIND THE NOTE AND POSITION YOU WANT YOU CAN JUST CLICK IN THE TRACK TO INSERT IT )TS AS SIMPLE AS THAT 4O SELECT NOTES FOR EDITING YOU CAN EITHER USE THE 'RABBER TOOL TO DRAG A MARQUEE AROUND THE NOTES OR DRAG USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ACROSS A RANGE Figure 4.23 The SELECTED -)$) NOTES ATTRIBUTES ARE DISPLAYED IN THE %VENT %DIT AREA TO the right of the Counters, READY FOR EDITING 4HE -AIN #OUNTER SHOWS THE BARBEATCLOCK LOCATION of the start point of the SELECTED -)$) NOTE 4HE BARBEATTICK LOCATION OF THE CURSOR AND THE PITCH OF THE -)$) NOTE THAT THE CURSOR IS POINTING TO # ARE SHOWN IN THE #URSOR ,OCATION AND #URSOR 6ALUE DISPLAYS JUST BELOW THE -AIN #OUNTER
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OF NOTES /NCE SOME NOTES ARE SELECTED YOU CAN DRAG THESE UP OR DOWN TO CHANGE THE PITCH USING THE 'RABBER OR 0ENCIL TOOLS n WHILE PRESSING THE 3HIFT KEY IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT INADVERTENTLY MOVE THE POSI TION OF THE NOTES IN THE BAR 9OU CAN USE THE 4RIMMER TOOL OR THE 0ENCIL TOOL TO ADJUST THE START AND END POINTS OF THE NOTES )F YOU SET THE -)$) TRACK TO 6ELOCITY VIEW YOU WILL SEE THE ATTACK VELOCITIES OF THE NOTES REPRESENTED BY hSTALKSv 9OU CAN EDIT THESE USING THE 'RABBER TOOL 3OMETIMES YOU MAY SIMPLY NEED TO EDIT ONE NOTE )F YOU SELECT A NOTE USING THE 'RABBER OR THE 0ENCIL ITS ATTRIBUTES WILL BE DISPLAYED IN THE %VENT %DIT AREA TO THE RIGHT OF THE COUNTERS IN THE TOOLBAR AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW (ERE YOU CAN TYPE IN NEW VALUES FOR ANY OF THE DISPLAYED PARAMETERS 3EE THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT FOR MORE DETAILS
4RACK VIEWS 9OU CAN SWITCH THE 4RACK 6IEW OF ANY -)$) TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO SHOW -)$) #ONTINUOUS #ONTROLLER DATA 7HEN #ONTINUOUS #ONTROLLER DATA IS RECORDED ONTO -)$) TRACKS IT IS DISPLAYED AS A LINE GRAPH WITH A SERIES OF EDITABLE BREAKPOINTS 4HESE BREAKPOINTS ARE STEPPED TO REPRESENT INDIVIDUAL CONTROLLER EVENTS IN CONTRAST TO THE STANDARD AUTOMATION BREAKPOINTS WHICH ARE INTERRUPTIONS ON A CONTINUOUS LINE
Figure 4.24 -)$) Continuous Controller DATA LINE GRAPH WITH STEPPED BREAKPOINTS
4HE 4RACK 6IEW FOR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS CAN EITHER SHOW -)$) ## DATA OR IT CAN SHOW AUDIO AUTOMATION DATA SUCH AS AUDIO VOLUME
Figure 4.25 !UDIO !UTOMATION DATA VECTOR GRAPH WITH BREAKPOINTS ON CONTINUOUS LINE
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9OU CAN EDIT -)$) ## DATA DIRECTLY IN THE %DIT WINDOW ACCORDING TO WHICH TYPE OF DATA YOU SELECT USING THE POP UP 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR !LSO BLOCKS REGIONS AND NOTES VIEWS THE 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR FOR -)$) TRACKS LETS YOU CHOOSE VELOCITY -)$) VOLUME MUTE PAN PITCH BEND MONO AFTERTOUCH PRO GRAM CHANGE OR 3YS%X AND LETS YOU ACCESS OTHER CONTROLLER VIEWS USING THE CONTROLLERS SUB MENU
Figure 4.26 -)$) 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR
4HE 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR FOR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ADDITIONALLY LETS YOU DISPLAY AUDIO VOLUME AND VOLUME TRIM AUDIO MUTE PAN LEFT AND RIGHT AND ANY SEND OR PLUG IN AUTOMATION DATA
Figure 4.27 )NSTRUMENT 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR
&OR EXAMPLE WITH -)$) VOLUME SELECTED IN THE 4RACK 6IEW YOU CAN USE THE 0ENCIL TOOL TO DRAW -)$) 6OLUME DATA
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Figure 4.28 $RAWING -)$) 6OLUME DATA IN THE %DIT WINDOW ON A -)$) track using the 0ENCIL TOOL
Automation lanes 9OU CAN DISPLAY THE AUTOMATION DATA MORE CLEARLY IN A SEPARATE LANE BELOW THE NOTES DISPLAY IN THE %DIT WINDOW #LICK ON THE DISCLOSING ARROW AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE 4RACK CONTROLS TO SHOW THE AUTOMATION LANES AND CHOOSE THE TYPE OF AUTOMATION THAT YOU WANT TO DISPLAY USING THE POP UP SELECTOR PROVIDED 9OU CAN ADD MORE AUTOMATION LANES USING THE SMALL hv ICON AND YOU CAN REMOVE THESE USING THE SMALL hv ICON IN THE CONTROLS AREA AT THE LEFT OF EACH AUTOMATION LANE
Figure 4.29 2EVEALING THE AUTOMATION DATA IN A SEPARATE LANE BELOW THE NOTE DATA CAN MAKE THIS EASIER TO EDIT
)N 6ELOCITY VIEW YOU CAN EDIT EACH NOTES ATTACK VELOCITY USING THE 'RABBER TOOL BY DRAGGING ITS VELOCITY STALK UPWARD OR DOWNWARD THE TALLER THE STALK THE HIGHER THE VELOCITY VALUE 9OU CAN USE VELOCITIES TO CREATE CRESCENDOS OR TO MAKE ACCENTS WITHIN -)$) PARTS
Figure 4.30 6ELOCITY DATA SHOWN IN AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK OVERLAID ON TOP OF THE NOTE DATA
)T CAN ALSO BE EASIER TO EDIT THE VELOCITY DATA IF YOU OPEN A SEPARATE LANE FOR THIS BUT IT DOES TAKE UP MORE SPACE ON YOUR SCREEN
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Figure 4.31 A lane OPENED BELOW THE -)$) )NSTRUMENT TRACK TO ALLOW 6ELOCITY EDITING
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-)$) CONTROLLER VOLUME AND PAN ARE TREATED BY 0RO 4OOLS AS AUTOMATION DATA SO THESE CONTROLLER EVENTS ALONG WITH -UTES CAN BE RECORDED AND AUTOMATED FROM THE -IX WINDOW #ONSEQUENTLY A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AUTOMATION MODE WILL AFFECT HOW THESE EVENTS ARE PLAYED BACK AND RECORDED &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU SUSPEND AUTOMATION FOR A -)$) TRACK THE -)$) VOLUME PAN AND MUTE EVENTS WILL BE SUSPENDED BUT ANY OTHER -)$) CONTROLLER EVENTS WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE 4O AVOID CONFUSION REMEMBER THAT )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ALSO SUPPORT AUDIO VOLUME PAN AND MUTE ALONG WITH -)$) VOLUME PAN AND MUTE
Note and controller chasing .EW -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS HAVE .OTE #HASING ENABLED BY DEFAULT BUT THIS CAN BE TURNED ON OR OFF INDIVIDUALLY FOR EACH -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK FROM THE POP UP 0LAYLIST SELECTOR MENU
Figure 4.32 Enabling .OTE #HASING USING THE 0LAYLIST SELECTOR POP UP MENU
.OTE #HASING IS NECESSARY TO ALLOW SUSTAINED -)$) NOTES TO BE HEARD WHEN YOU START PLAYBACK AT SOME POINT AFTER THE NOTES START TIME )F A LONG NOTE
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STARTED PLAYING BACK AT THE START OF THE CHORUS AT SAY BAR AND LASTED FOR BARS YOU WOULD NOT HEAR THIS NOTE IF YOU STARTED PLAYBACK HALF WAY THROUGH THIS CHORUS SECTION AT BAR n UNLESS OF COURSE .OTE #HASING IS ENABLED
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9OU SHOULD DISABLE .OTE #HASING WHEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH SAMPLERS THAT ARE PLAYING LOOPS BECAUSE .OTE #HASING WOULD TRIGGER THE LOOP TO START PLAYBACK FROM WHEREVER YOU START THE SESSION PLAYBACK n INEVITABLY PUTTING THE LOOP OUT OF TIME WITH THE OTHER TRACKS UNLESS YOU START AT THE CORRECT LOOP TRIGGER LOCATION
!S FAR AS CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER EVENTS AND PROGRAM CHANGES ARE CONCERNED 0RO 4OOLS ALWAYS CHASES THESE TO MAKE SURE THAT CONTROLLER VALUES AND ANY PATCHES FOR -)$) DEVICES ARE ALWAYS SET CORRECTLY
Event List Editing 9OU CAN ALSO VIEW AND EDIT -)$) DATA USING THE -)$) %VENT ,IST WHICH IS AVAILABLE FROM THE %VENT MENU 4HIS LISTS -)$) EVENTS ALPHANUMERICALLY USING LETTER NAMES FOR THE NOTES AND NUMBERS FOR THE LOCATIONS THE /N AND /FF VELOCITIES AND THE NOTE LENGTHS )N THIS WINDOW YOU CAN SELECT COPY PASTE OR DELETE EVENTS AND YOU CAN EDIT VALUES BY TYPING DIRECTLY IN THE LIST ! POP UP SELECTOR AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE WINDOW LETS YOU SELECT WHICH -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK TO DISPLAY IN THE EVENT LIST
Figure 4.33 Data in the -)$) %VENT ,IST WINDOW
! SECOND POP UP AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE WINDOW HAS VARIOUS COMMANDS THAT LET YOU CUSTOMIZE THE -)$) %VENT ,IST MAKE IT SCROLL THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO OR
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CHOOSE WHERE EVENTS ARE TO BE INSERTED 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHAT TO DISPLAY IN THE LIST USING THE 6IEW &ILTER ! SUB MENU LABELED )NSERT LETS YOU INSERT ANY -)$) EVENT EXCEPT 3YS%X INTO THE LIST
Figure 4.34 -)$) %VENT ,IST /PTIONS POP UP SELECTOR
Figure 4.35 -)$) %VENT ,IST )NSERT SUB MENU
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7HEN THE -)$) %VENT ,IST IS THE FRONTMOST WINDOW YOU CAN SIMPLY PRESS #OMMAND . -AC OR #ONTROL . 7INDOWS TO INSERT A NOTE AND USE THE LEFTRIGHT ARROWS ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO MOVE BETWEEN THE %VENT %NTRY FIELDS 4O INSERT A #ONTROLLER %VENT PRESS #OMMAND , -AC OR #ONTROL , 7INDOWS AND TO INSERT A 0ROGRAM #HANGE %VENT PRESS #OMMAND 0 -AC OR #ONTROL 0 7INDOWS !FTER INSERTING ANY OF THESE EVENTS YOU CAN INSERT ANOTHER SIMILAR EVENT BY PRESSING #OMMAND - -AC OR #ONTROL - 7INDOWS
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0RO 4OOLS HAS NO LIST EDITOR FOR AUDIO EVENT DATA n A MAJOR OMISSION IN MY OPINION
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Quantize to Grid command 4HE 1UANTIZE TO 'RID COMMAND ADJUSTS THE PLACEMENT OF SELECTED AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS BUT NOT INDIVIDUAL -)$) NOTES OR INDIVIDUAL %LASTIC !UDIO %VENTS SO THAT THEIR START POINTS OR SYNC POINTS IF PRESENT ALIGN PRECISELY TO THE NEAR EST 'RID BOUNDARY 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT YOU CHOOSE A 'RID VALUE USING THE CONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR USE THE 3ELECTOR OR 4IME 'RABBER TO SELECT THE REGION OR REGIONS ON ONE OR MORE TRACKS THAT YOU WANT TO QUANTIZE THEN CHOOSE THE 1UANTIZE TO 'RID COMMAND FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL 7INDOWS AND hv ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD 4HE 2EGION START TIMES OR SYNC POINTS IF THESE ARE DIFFERENT WILL THEN BE AUTOMATICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE NEAREST 'RID LINES
Figure 4.36 Part of the 2EGIONS MENU SHOWING THE 1UANTIZE TO 'RID COMMAND
7ITH -)$) REGIONS ONLY THE REGION START TIMES OR SYNC POINTS ARE QUANTIZED THEREFORE ALL THE -)$) DATA WITHIN THE REGIONS SUCH AS NOTES WILL BE MOVED EQUALLY THEREBY PRESERVING EXISTING RHYTHMIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DATA 3IMILARLY WITH %LASTIC !UDIO REGIONS ONLY THE REGION START TIMES OR SYNC POINTS ARE QUANTIZED #ONSEQUENTLY ALL %LASTIC !UDIO %VENTS WITHIN THE REGIONS ARE MOVED EQUALLY THEREBY RETAINING THEIR RHYTHMIC RELATIONSHIPS
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4HE %VENT /PERATION 1UANTIZE FEATURES CAN BE APPLIED TO -)$) NOTES AND %LASTIC !UDIO %VENTS INDIVIDUALLY IN ADDITION TO AUDIO REGION START TIMES OR SYNC POINTS
4.8 MIDI and Instrument controls and track heights %ACH -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK HAS A SET OF CONTROLS THAT INCLUDES THE 4RACK .AME BUTTONS FOR 2ECORD %NABLE 3OLO -UTE AND 0ATCH 3ELECT A 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR A 0LAYLIST SELECTOR A 4RACK 4IMEBASE SELECTOR AN !UTOMATION -ODE SELECTOR AND A 4RACK (EIGHT SELECTOR 145
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4O CHANGE THE TRACK HEIGHTS FOR -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS YOU CAN CLICK ON THE MINI KEYBOARD AT THE LEFT OF THE 4RACK DISPLAY IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND SELECT THE HEIGHT YOU PREFER
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7HEN THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS IN .OTES OR 6ELOCITY VIEW YOU WILL NEED TO #ONTROL CLICK ON THE MINI KEYBOARD TO ACCESS THE TRACK HEIGHTS POP UP
Figure 4.37 -)$) 4RACK (EIGHT POP UP SHOWING the available options MICRO TO EXTREME INCLUDING THE SINGLE NOTE OPTIONS
)T CAN BE USEFUL TO VIEW JUST ONE PARTICULAR NOTE PITCH WITHIN A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK SUCH AS THOSE THAT PLAY A SINGLE -)$) .OTE /N A SAMPLER OR WHEN YOU HAVE SPLIT THE DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS OF A DRUM KIT ONTO INDIVIDUAL -)$) TRACKS 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A 3INGLE .OTE HEIGHT FOR THIS PURPOSE Figure 4.38 3INGLE .OTE HEIGHT
9OU CAN ALSO ACCESS THE 4RACK (EIGHT SELECTOR FROM THE 4RACK /PTIONS POP UP 7HEN THE TRACK HEIGHT IS SET TO SMALL MINI OR MICRO THE 4RACK /PTIONS POP UP LETS YOU ACCESS THE 4RACK 4IMEBASE AND 4RACK 6IEW OPTIONS AS WELL BECAUSE THE
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TRACK CONTROLS AREA BECOMES TOO SMALL TO PROVIDE SPACE FOR THESE OTHER POP UP SELECTORS IN THEIR NORMAL POSITIONS
Figure 4.39 Track /PTIONS SELECTOR
Figure 4.40 Track /PTIONS POP UP
)N SMALL VIEW THERE ARE THREE VERY SMALL BUTTONS PROVIDED TO LET YOU ACCESS THE 4RACK 6IEW 0ATCH 3ELECT AND !UTOMATION -ODE SELECTORS BUT EVEN THESE DIS APPEAR IN MINI AND MICRO VIEWS Figure 4.41 Small Track 6IEW SHOWING THREE TINY buttons to the right of the Mute button for the 4RACK 6IEW 0ATCH 3ELECT AND !UTOMATION -ODE POP UP SELECTORS
4.9 MIDI Real-Time Properties ! RELATIVELY RECENT FEATURE THAT USERS OF #UBASE AND ,OGIC WILL PARTICULARLY APPRECIATE IS THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES 4HE hPROPERTIESv THAT WE ARE TALK ING ABOUT HERE ARE 1UANTIZE $URATION 6ELOCITY 4RANSPOSE AND $ELAY ALL OF WHICH ARE ATTRIBUTES OF -)$) NOTES THAT CAN BE CHANGED BY SELECTING THE NOTES AND USING THE APPROPRIATE COMMAND FROM THE %VENT MENU $ELAY IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT IN THAT THIS CAN BE ACHIEVED IN A NUMBER OF WAYS ONE OF WHICH IS BY ENTERING A -)$) 4RACK /FFSET FROM THE %VENT MENU 5SING THE %VENT MENU COMMANDS CHANGES THE -)$) DATA WHEREAS USING THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES FEATURE JUST ALTERS THE DATA AS IT IS BEING PLAYED BACK n IN REAL TIME n LEAVING THE ORIGINAL DATA UNALTERED 7HY WOULD YOU WANT TO DO THIS "ECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU MAY WANT TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT SETTINGS BEFORE YOU ARE SURE WHICH YOU WANT TO COMMIT TO 9OU CAN EVEN 147
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CHANGE THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES PARAMETERS WHILE THE SESSION IS PLAYING BACK SO THAT YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY HEAR THE EFFECT THIS WILL HAVE 7HEN YOU HAVE MADE UP YOUR MIND THERE IS A COMMAND IN THE 4RACK MENU h7RITE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIESv THAT LETS YOU WRITE THESE PROPERTIES TO THE TRACK n PERMANENTLY CHANGING THE DATA IN THE TRACK 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES FOR THE WHOLE TRACK CAN EITHER BE ADJUSTED IN THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES 6IEW IN THE %DIT WINDOW OR BY USING THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE %VENT MENU 9OU CAN ALSO APPLY -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES TO INDIVIDUAL REGIONS BY SELECT ING THE REGION OR REGIONS AND OPENING THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES DIALOG FROM THE %VENT MENU 2EGION BASED 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES CAN ONLY BE APPLIED USING THE 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOW n NOT IN THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU WILL SEE THE LETTER h4v DISPLAYED IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE TRACKS -)$) REGIONS AND IN THE %VENT ,IST WHENEVER 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES ARE BEING APPLIED TO A TRACK 3IMILARLY YOU WILL SEE THE LETTER h2v DISPLAYED IN THE UPPER RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE REGION AND IN THE %VENT ,IST WHENEVER 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES ARE BEING APPLIED TO A REGION Figure 4.42 %DIT WINDOW SHOWING THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES FOR A TRACK 4HIS TRACK HAS JUST ONE REGION IDENTIFIED WITH A h4v IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER TO INDICATE THAT TRACK BASED 2EAL 4IME PROPERTIES ARE BEING APPLIED
Figure 4.43 4HE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES DIALOG "ELOW THIS YOU CAN SEE A -)$) REGION WITH THE LETTER h2v DISPLAYED IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER TO INDICATE THAT REGION BASED -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES ARE BEING APPLIED TO THIS REGION
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)F YOU WISH YOU CAN PERMANENTLY CHANGE THE DATA IN THE SELECTED REGION OR REGIONS BY CLICKING ON THE h7RITE TO 2EGIONv BUTTON IN THE -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES DIALOG 4HE GOOD THING ABOUT USING -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES IS THAT YOU CAN CHANGE ANY OF THE PARAMETERS WITHOUT HAVING TO COMMIT TO YOUR CHANGES UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO DO THIS !LSO IF YOU ARE APPLYING THESE TO A TRACK YOU CAN KEEP THESE PROPERTIES CONVENIENTLY DISPLAYED IN THE %DIT WINDOW IF YOU WISH WHICH CAN BE A BIG HELP WHEN YOU ARE WORKING OUT WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR -)$) TRACKS !LSO WHEN YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE SETTINGS YOU WANT YOU CAN WRITE THESE SETTINGS TO THE SELECTED TRACKS OR REGIONS
4.10 Exporting MIDI tracks 4HERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU WANT TO EXPORT -)$) TRACKS OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS CONTAINING -)$) DATA FROM A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE RECORDED 3YS%X DATA CONTAINING PATCH INFORMATION FOR YOUR -)$) SYNTHESIZERS OR OTHER EXTERNAL -)$) DEVICES INTO 0RO 4OOLS TRACKS YOU MAY WISH TO STORE THIS DATA SEPARATELY FOR USE WITH 0RO 4OOLS OR OTHER SOFTWARE IN THE FUTURE OR YOU MAY HAVE DEVELOPED USEFUL -)$) SEQUENCES THAT YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO BUILD LIBRARIES OF TO USE WITH 0RO 4OOLS OR OTHER SOFTWARE IN THE FUTURE )F YOU HAVE RECORDED AN ARRANGEMENT USING -)$) TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU MAY WISH TO TRANSFER THIS TO OTHER SOFTWARE SUCH AS $IGITAL 0ERFORMER OR ,OGIC 0RO TO WORK ON THE -)$) ARRANGEMENT FURTHER OR YOU MAY JUST WANT TO TRANSFER INDI VIDUAL TRACKS TO A NOTATION SOFTWARE APPLICATION SO THAT YOU CAN PRINT OUT PARTS FOR MUSICIANS TO PLAY &OR THESE PURPOSES 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU EXPORT YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION OR ONE OR MORE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AS A 4YPE MULTITRACK OR 4YPE MERGED 3TANDARD -)$) FILE 4HE -)$) FILE CONTAINS ANY METER AND TEMPO INFORMA TION AND ANY KEY SIGNATURES USED IN YOUR SESSION ALONG WITH TRACK NAMES AND MARKERS
Figure 4.44 %XPORT -)$) DIALOG
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4O EXPORT A SELECTED TRACK OR A GROUP OF SELECTED TRACKS CHOOSE THE h%XPORT -)$)v COMMAND FROM THE &ILE MENU IN 0RO 4OOLS 4O EXPORT A SINGLE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK AS A -)$) FILE YOU CAN #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE NAME OF THE TRACK YOU WANT TO EXPORT AND CHOOSE h%XPORT -)$)xv FROM THE POP UP MENU THAT APPEARS 4HIS SHORTCUT ALSO WORKS WITH A GROUP OF SELECTED TRACKS IF YOU #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE NAME OF ANY ONE OF THEM
Figure 4.45 4RACK .AME POP UP
4.11 The MIDI Editors 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES SEPARATE -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS THAT CAN BE BETTER TO USE FOR DETAILED -)$) EDITING THAN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE NOTES ARE DISPLAYED IN A CLEARER WAY FOR EXAMPLE WITH VELOCITY CONTROLLER AND AUTOMATION DISPLAYED IN SEPARATE LANES BELOW THE NOTES DISPLAY
Figure 4.46 Part of the -)$) 0REFERENCES WINDOW SHOWING WHAT MAY BE OPENED WHEN DOUBLE CLICKING A -)$) 2EGION
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4O OPEN A -)$) %DITOR SELECT ANY -)$) REGION AND CHOOSE -)$) %DITOR FROM THE 7INDOW MENU 9OU CAN ALSO OPEN A -)$) %DITOR FOR ANY -)$) REGION BY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THE REGION WHEN THE PREFERENCE FOR THIS IS SET APPROPRIATELY IN THE -)$) 0REFERENCES WINDOW 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE KEYBOARD COMMAND #ONTROL EQUALS ON THE -AC OR 3TART EQUALS ON 7INDOWS
Tracks and groups in the MIDI Editors 9OU CAN VIEW THE 4RACKS AND 'ROUPS LISTS AT THE LEFT OF ANY -)$) %DITOR WINDOW AND USE THIS TO REVEAL OR HIDE 4RACKS AND TO ENABLE OR DISABLE 'ROUPS AS NEC ESSARY 4O OPEN THE 4RACKS AND GROUPS LIST YOU CAN EITHER CLICK ON THE SMALL ARROW AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW OR USE THE 4OOLBAR MENU AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
Figure 4.47 4HE -)$) %DITOR 7INDOW SHOWING ALL THE %DIT 4OOLS AND THE 'RID.UDGE $ISPLAY IN THE 4OOLBAR AND WITH THE 4RACKS AND 'ROUPS ,ISTS OPEN AT THE LEFT
"Y DEFAULT -)$) )NSTRUMENT AND !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACKS ARE ALL SHOWN IN THE 4RACKS ,IST )F YOU PREFER YOU CAN SHOW ONLY THE -)$) 4RACKS OR ONLY THE )NSTRUMENT TRACKS USING THE OPTIONS IN THE 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU
Figure 4.48 5SING THE 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU TO CHOOSE WHAT TO SHOW IN THE LIST
How the MIDI Editors work %ACH -)$) %DITOR WINDOW HAS A SMALL RED hTARGETv BUTTON NEAR THE TOP RIGHT OF THE WINDOW )F YOU CLICK THIS IT WILL TURN GRAY 4HEN IF YOU OPEN ANOTHER -)$) %DITOR WINDOW WHETHER THIS IS FOR THE SAME -)$) REGION ON THE SAME TRACK OR FOR A DIFFERENT -)$) REGION ON THE SAME OR ON ANOTHER TRACK THIS WILL BE OPENED IN A SEPARATE WINDOW /THERWISE WITH THE TARGET BUTTON SHOWING RED THE NEW REGION WILL OPEN IN PLACE OF THE EXISTING -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
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)F YOU CHOOSE TO DISPLAY MULTIPLE TRACKS IN A SINGLE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW THE -)$) NOTES FROM THE DIFFERENT TRACKS WILL BE SUPERIMPOSED IN THE WINDOW 6ELOCITY AND OTHER CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER DATA FOR -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AND AUTOMATION DATA FOR )NSTRUMENT AND !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACKS ARE DISPLAYED IN #ONTROLLER LANES BELOW THE .OTES PANE IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS 6ELOCITIES FOR -)$) NOTES ARE SUPERIMPOSED IN THE SINGLE 6ELOCITY LANE WHEREAS OTHER AUTOMATION AND CONTROLLER DATA ARE SHOWN USING INDIVIDUAL LANES FOR EACH TYPE OF AUTOMATION OR CONTROLLER
Using the MIDI Editor to insert notes !S WITH THE MAIN %DIT WINDOW AND THE 3CORE %DITOR YOU CAN USE THE 0ENCIL TOOL TO INSERT NOTES ONTO ANY TRACK IN THE -)$) %DITOR (OWEVER BECAUSE NOTES FOR MULTIPLE TRACKS CAN BE DISPLAYED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN A SINGLE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU CHOOSE WHICH OF THESE TO EDIT PREVENTING YOU FROM INADVERTENTLY MAKING CHANGES TO THE OTHERS )N THE 4RACKS ,IST THERE IS A COLUMN AT THE RIGHT THAT DISPLAYS A PENCIL ICON FOR WHICHEVER TRACK IS CURRENTLY hPENCIL ENABLEDv FOR EDITING )F YOU ONLY HAVE ONE TRACK SHOWING IN THE -)$) %DITOR THAT TRACK WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE PENCIL ENABLED )F YOU HAVE MULTIPLE TRACKS YOU CAN CHOOSE WHICH TO ENABLE )F THE 4RACKS ,IST IS NOT OPEN THE QUICKEST WAY TO OPEN IT IS TO SELECT THE TRACK YOU WANT TO EDIT USING THE 0ENCIL %NABLED 4RACK POP UP SELECTOR IN THE 4OOLBAR 4HIS POP UP SELECTOR LETS YOU CHOOSE FROM WHICHEVER 4RACKS ARE CUR RENTLY BEING SHOWN IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
Figure 4.49 0ENCIL %NABLED 4RACK POP UP SELECTOR
)F THE 4RACKS ,IST IS OPEN AT THE LEFT OF THE WINDOW YOU CAN SIMPLY CLICK IN THE RIGHTMOST COLUMN TO PENCIL ENABLE ANY OF THE 4RACKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY SHOW ING AND YOU CAN ALSO SHOW OR HIDE ANY TRACKS BY CLICKING IN THE LEFTMOST COL UMN )F YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO EDIT MORE THAN ONE TRACK YOU CAN 3HIFT CLICK IN THE 0ENCIL COLUMN TO ENABLE A CONTIGUOUS SELECTION OF TRACKS )F ANY OF THE TRACKS IN THIS RANGE ARE NOT ALREADY BEING SHOWN IN THE -)$) %DITOR THIS ACTION WILL CAUSE THEM TO BE SHOWN AS WELL AS PENCIL ENABLED )F THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO PENCIL ENABLE ARE NOT NEXT TO EACH OTHER IN THE LIST YOU CAN #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS IN THE 0ENCIL COL UMN TO ENABLE ADDITIONAL TRACKS !LSO IF YOU APPLY THIS COMMAND TO TRACKS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY SHOWN IN THE .OTES PANE THEY WILL BE BOTH SHOWN AND
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PENCIL ENABLED )F YOU WANT TO BOTH SHOW AND PENCIL ENABLE all tracks in the 4RACKS ,IST THE SHORTCUT IS TO /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS 4O INSERT NEW NOTES CHOOSE THE 0ENCIL TOOL FROM THE 4OOLBAR AND CLICK IN THE .OTES PANE AT ANY TIME AND PITCH LOCATION 4HIS ACTION WILL INSERT A -)$) .OTE /N THE PENCIL ENABLED TRACK 4HIS WILL HAVE THE $EFAULT .OTE /N 6ELOCITY UNLESS YOU CHANGE THIS VELOCITY FIRST BY ENTERING A NEW VALUE FOR .OTE /FF 6ELOCITY USING THE -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS DISPLAY 4HE NOTE ENTERED WILL ALSO USE THE $EFAULT .OTE $URATION SHOWN IN THE -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS UNLESS YOU CHANGE THIS FIRST
Figure 4.50 0ENCIL ENABLING A TRACK READY TO EDIT NOTES ON THIS TRACK IN THE .OTES PANE
Automation lanes in MIDI Editor Windows -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS ALSO LET YOU EDIT VELOCITIES -)$) CONTROLLER DATA AND AUTOMATION FOR ALL SHOWN -)$) )NSTRUMENT AND !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACKS IN LANES UNDER THE .OTES PANE 4O SHOW OR HIDE LANES UNDER THE .OTES PANE JUST CLICK THE 3HOW(IDE ,ANES BUTTON 4HIS IS A SMALL REVEALING ARROW TO THE LEFT OF THE KEYBOARD AT THE BOTTOM LEFT OF THE .OTES PANE
Figure 4.51 5SING THE 3HOW(IDE ,ANES BUTTON
)F THERE ARE MULTIPLE -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS SHOWING IN THE .OTES PANE THE VELOCITIES FOR NOTES ON SEPARATE TRACKS WILL ALL BE SHOWN TOGETHER IN A SINGLE LANE SUPERIMPOSED JUST LIKE NOTES IN THE .OTES PANE
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Figure 4.52 3UPERIMPOSED .OTES AND #ONTROLLERS
(OWEVER ALL OTHER #ONTROLLER LANES ARE GROUPED BY AUTOMATION AND CONTROLLER TYPE AND PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL LANES FOR EACH SHOWN TRACK 4O ADD OR REMOVE LANES YOU CAN USE THE hv OR hv BUTTONS AT THE LEFT OF THE LANE
Figure 4.53 5SING THE !DD ,ANE BUTTON
)F THE VERTICAL ZOOM FOR THE CONTROLLER LANES IS SET TO THE MINIMUM SIZE YOU WONT BE ABLE TO SEE THE !DD ,ANE BUTTON )N THIS CASE IF YOU USE THE POP UP ,ANE 6IEW SELECTOR THE OPTIONS TO ADD OR REMOVE A LANE WILL BE SHOWN THERE
Figure 4.54 5SING THE POP UP ,ANE 6IEW SELECTOR
9OU CAN USE THE POP UP ,ANE 6IEW SELECTOR WHENEVER YOU LIKE TO CHOOSE THE !UTOMATION OR #ONTROLLER TYPE YOU WANT TO DISPLAY -)$) TRACKS LET YOU CHOOSE FROM THE STANDARD LIST OF -)$) CONTROLLERS WHEREAS )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ALSO LET YOU CHOOSE FROM THE AVAILABLE AUDIO AUTOMATION TYPES )F YOU CHOOSE -)$) VOLUME FOR EXAMPLE YOU CAN CLICK USING THE 'RABBER TOOL TO INSERT BREAKPOINTS DRAGGING THESE INTO POSITION OR MOVING EXISTING ONES TO
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NEW POSITIONS OR DRAW IN BREAKPOINTS USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL TO CREATE AND EDIT AUTOMATION DATA
Figure 4.55 0OP UP ,ANE 6IEW SELECTOR SHOWING AVAILABLE -)$) CONTROLLER AND AUDIO AUTOMATION TYPES
Figure 4.56 %DITING -)$) VOLUME CONTROLLER DATA USING THE LANES IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
The MIDI Editor Toolbar 2UNNING ALONG THE TOP OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW YOU WILL FIND A 4OOLBAR THAT IS SIMILAR TO THE %DIT WINDOW TOOLBAR BUT WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES
-UTE AND 3OLO !T THE FAR LEFT THERE ARE TWO SMALL BUTTONS FOR 3OLO AND -UTE 4HE 3OLO BUT TON LETS YOU SOLO ALL THE TRACKS CURRENTLY DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW Figure 4.57 3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS ENGAGED AND APPLYING TO ALL TRACKS CURRENTLY DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW n NORMALLY YOU WOULD engage one or other of THESE
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WHEREAS THE -UTE BUTTON LETS YOU MUTE ALL THE TRACKS CURRENTLY DISPLAYED IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW )F YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE TRACK SHOWING IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW ENGAG ING THE 3OLO OR -UTE BUTTON IN THE -)$) %DITOR SOLOS OR MUTES ALL THESE TRACKS )F ON THE OTHER HAND YOU SOLO OR MUTE SOME BUT NOT ALL OF THE TRACKS SHOWN IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW USING 3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS IN THE %DIT OR -IX WINDOWS THE APPEARANCE OF THE 3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS UPDATES TO INDICATE MIXED STATES -IXED SOLO AND MUTE STATES ARE SAID TO OCCUR WHEN ONE OR MORE TRACKS SHOWN IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW BUT NOT ALL ARE SOLOED OR MUTED Figure 4.58 Mute status INDICATES A MIXED STATE revealing that not all the SELECTED TRACKS ARE MUTED
Figure 4.59 Solo status INDICATES A MIXED STATE revealing that not all THE SELECTED TRACKS ARE SOLOED
.OTATION VIEW 4O THE RIGHT OF THE 3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS THERE IS A BUTTON THAT LETS YOU SWITCH THE NOTE DISPLAY TO SHOW THE -)$) NOTES AS MUSIC NOTATION ON A STAVE %ACH -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS DISPLAYED INDEPENDENTLY IN .OTATION VIEW WITH ONE TRACK PER STAFF !LSO NOTATION IS DISPLAYED AS A CONTINUOUS TIMELINE AND NOT IN PAGE VIEW AS IN THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW 9OU CAN EDIT NOTES IN .OTATION VIEW JUST LIKE YOU CAN IN THE 3CORE %DITOR AS EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT SECTION BUT WITH THE ADVANTAGE OF HAVING ACCESS TO 6ELOCITY #ONTROLLER AND !UTOMATION LANES
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)N .OTATION VIEW THE 4RIMMER TOOL FUNCTIONS AS THE 'RABBER TOOL WHEN YOU HOVER THIS ABOVE A NOTE AND FUNCTIONS AS THE .OTE 3ELECTOR TOOL WHEN IT IS NOT OVER A NOTE !LSO THE %DIT MODE IS AUTOMATICALLY SET TO 'RID AND CANNOT BE CHANGED
!T THE TOP LEFT OF THE .OTATION VIEW JUST BELOW THE RULERS THERE IS A $OUBLE "AR BUTTON )F YOU ENABLE THIS BUTTON A DOUBLE BAR LINE WILL BE DISPLAYED AT THE END OF THE LAST -)$) REGION OR EVENT IN THE SESSION 7HEN THIS IS DISABLED
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Figure 4.60 .OTATION DISPLAY ENABLED IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
THERE WILL BE A NUMBER OF EMPTY BARS AT THE END OF THE LAST EVENT IN THE SESSION 9OU MAY WANT ADDITIONAL EMPTY BARS TO BE AVAILABLE SO THAT YOU CAN MANUALLY ENTER NEW NOTES AFTER THE LAST -)$) REGION OR EVENT IN THE SESSION IF YOU HAVE NOT YET COMPLETED YOUR COMPOSITION )N THIS CASE YOU SHOULD DIS ABLE THE $OUBLE "AR BUTTON AND YOU CAN SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF EMPTY BARS USING THE h!DDITIONAL %MPTY "ARS IN THE 3CORE %DITORv SETTING IN THE -)$) 0REFERENCES PAGE THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE 3ETUP MENU
Figure 4.61 Clicking on THE $OUBLE "AR BUTTON IN .OTATION VIEW
Figure 4.62 ! DOUBLE BAR LINE INDICATES THE END OF THE PIECE OF MUSIC
4HE %DIT TOOLS 4HE BUTTON TO THE RIGHT OF THE .OTATION BUTTON IS A POP UP SELECTOR THAT DEFAULTS TO THE :OOMER TOOL
Figure 4.63 %DIT 4OOL 0OP UP 3ELECTOR n DEFAULTED TO THE :OOMER 4OOL
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
)F YOU CLICK AND HOLD THIS BUTTON A POP UP SELECTOR OPENS FROM WHICH YOU CAN CHOOSE AN %DIT TOOL OR THE 3MART TOOL
Figure 4.64 %DIT TOOLS POP UP SELECTOR
9OU CAN EXPAND THIS SECTION OF THE 4OOLBAR TO SHOW THESE %DIT TOOLS AS A ROW OF BUTTONS JUST LIKE IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4O OPEN THE %XPANDED %DIT TOOLS CLICK ON THE POP UP 4OOLBAR MENU AT THE TOP RIGHT OF -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
Figure 4.65 Toolbar -ENU
4HE %DIT TOOLS IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW LET YOU WORK WITH -)$) DATA IN THE SAME WAYS AS THE TOOLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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4HE %DIT TOOL SETTINGS CAN BE SET DIFFERENTLY FOR EACH WINDOW WHEN YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW OPEN
Figure 4.66 The %XPANDED -)$) %DITOR TOOLS
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-)$) %DITING CONTROLS 4O THE RIGHT OF THE %DIT TOOLS YOU WILL FIND A SET OF -)$) %DITING CONTROLS THAT WORK EXACTLY LIKE THE -)$) %DITING CONTROLS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 4.67 4HE -)$) %DITING #ONTROLS
4HE LEFTMOST OF THESE CONTROLS IS THE 4RACK %DIT POP UP 3ELECTOR THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE WHICH OF THE VISIBLE TRACKS TO EDIT $IGIDESIGN CALLS THIS PENCIL ENABLED AND WARNS THAT YOU CAN ONLY INSERT -)$) NOTES MANUALLY IN PENCIL ENABLED TRACKS .EXT ALONG IS THE $EFAULT .OTE $URATION SELECTOR THAT YOU WILL USE TO CHOOSE NOTE DURATIONS WHEN YOU ARE MANUALLY INSERTING -)$) NOTES ! USEFUL CHOICE HERE IS TO FOLLOW THE DURATIONS SET USING THE 'RID
Figure 4.68 Default .OTE $URATION POP UP SELECTOR
4HE NUMERICAL ENTRY FIELD WITH THE NUMBER SET BY DEFAULT IS THE DEFAULT .OTE /N 6ELOCITY SETTING FOR -)$) NOTES THAT YOU MANUALLY INSERT 9OU CAN TYPE ANY NUMBER BETWEEN AND HERE 4HE COMBINED -)$) SOCKET AND LOUDSPEAKER ICON IS ACTUALLY A BUTTON THAT WHEN ENABLED CAUSES -)$) NOTES TO PLAY WHEN YOU INSERT THEM USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL CLICK THEM WITH THE 'RABBER TOOL 4AB TO THEM OR SELECT THEM WITH THE .OTE 3ELECTOR TOOL
!DDITIONAL 4OOLBAR BUTTONS CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS 4O THE RIGHT OF THE -)$) %DITING CONTROLS THERE ARE TWO MORE LARGE BUTTONS 4HE FIRST OF THESE IS THE ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON THAT SHOULD BE FAMILIAR TO YOU FROM THE %DIT WINDOW )F YOU DISABLE THIS YOU CAN MAKE INDE PENDENT 4IMELINE AND %DIT SELECTIONS 4HE SECOND OF THESE BUTTONS LETS YOU
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
ENABLE OR DISABLE -IRRORED -)$) %DITING 4HIS LETS YOU EDIT ONE -)$) REGION AND HAVE YOUR EDITS APPLY TO EVERY COPY OF THAT SAME -)$) REGION -OVING FURTHER ALONG THE 4OOLBAR YOU WILL FIND THE STANDARD %DIT -ODE BUT TONS WHICH OPERATE IN EXACTLY THE SAME WAY AS THOSE IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HERE IS ALSO A #URSOR ,OCATION DISPLAY THAT SHOWS THE EXACT LOCATION THAT THE CURSOR IS POINTING AT IN THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW AND ALSO DISPLAYS THE PITCH THAT THE CURSOR IS CURRENTLY POSITIONED AT
Figure 4.69 4HE %DIT -ODE BUTTONS AND THE #URSOR ,OCATION $ISPLAY
4O THE RIGHT OF THE #URSOR ,OCATION $ISPLAY AN %DIT 3ELECTION $ISPLAY CAN BE ADDED TO THE 4OOLBAR BY SELECTING THIS FROM THE 4OOLBAR MENU (ERE FOR EXAM PLE YOU CAN SEE THE EXACT "AR"EAT4ICK LOCATION OF A SELECTED NOTE ALONG WITH ITS -)$) .OTE .AME AND .OTE /N 6ELOCITY
Figure 4.70 The OPTIONAL %DIT 3ELECTION $ISPLAY
4HE FINAL GROUP OF CONTROLS FOR 'RID AND .UDGE CAN BE DISPLAYED EITHER IN A COMPACT OR EXPANDED FORMAT "Y DEFAULT THE COMPACT FORM HAS A POP UP SELECTOR THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE WHETHER TO SET THE 'RID OR THE .UDGE VALUES Figure 4.71 The compact version of the 'RID AND .UDGE CONTROLS WITH THE CURSOR POINTING TO THE POP UP 'RID .UDGE 4OGGLE SELECTOR that lets you choose WHICH TO CONTROL
&ROM THE 4OOLBAR MENU YOU CAN SELECT THE EXPANDED FORMAT WHICH DISPLAYS THE 'RID AND .UDGE CONTROLS SEPARATELY 4O THE RIGHT OF THESE CONTROLS YOU CAN SEE THE 4ARGET BUTTON WHICH IS COLORED RED WHEN IT IS ENABLED AND THE 4OOLBAR MENU POP UP SELECTOR
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Figure 4.72 %XPANDED 'RID AND .UDGE CONTROLS WITH THE ENABLED 4ARGET BUTTON AND THE 4OOLBAR MENU POP UP SELECTOR TO THE RIGHT OF THESE
4HE 4ARGET BUTTON WORKS THE SAME WAY THAT THE 4ARGET BUTTON WORKS IN 0LUG IN /UTPUT AND 3END WINDOWS ALLOWING YOU TO HAVE UNTARGETED WIN DOWS OPEN AT THE SAME TIME 7HEN YOU UNTARGET ANY OF THESE WINDOWS BY CLICKING ON ITS RED TARGET BUTTON THIS BUTTON BECOMES GRAYED OUT TO CONFIRM THAT IT IS UNTARGETED 4HE 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR WINDOW YOU CAN ONLY TARGET ONE -)$) %DITOR WIN DOW AT A TIME ALSO SYNCHRONIZES ITS 4IMELINE LOCATION VIEW TO THE 4IMELINE LOCATION VIEW IN THE %DIT WINDOW #ONSEQUENTLY IF YOU MAKE OR CHANGE AN %DIT SELECTION IN THE %DIT WINDOW THIS SAME %DIT SELECTION WILL BE MADE OR CHANGED IN THE 4ARGETED -)$) %DITOR WINDOW 4HE 4OOLBAR MENU HAS A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MENTIONED YET YOU CAN OPEN THE 4RACK ,IST AT THE LEFT OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW BY SELECTING THE 4RACK ,IST ITEM HERE AND A SUB MENU IS PROVIDED TO LET YOU CHOOSE FROM VARIOUS 3CROLLING OPTIONS FOR THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW 4HE 3CROLLING OPTIONS OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY FROM THOSE CHOSEN FOR THE %DIT WINDOW AND CAN BE SET INDEPENDENTLY FOR EACH -)$) %DITOR WINDOW 4HERE IS ALSO AN OPTION TO HAVE THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW FOLLOW THE 3CROLLING SETTINGS THAT YOU HAVE MADE FOR THE %DIT WINDOW
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9OU CAN REARRANGE THE POSITIONS OF THE CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS IN THE TOOLBAR JUST AS YOU CAN IN THE %DIT WINDOW #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS AND SIMPLY DRAG THE CONTROLS OR DISPLAYS THAT YOU WANT TO A NEW LOCATION IN THE 4OOLBAR
The MIDI Editor Zoom controls 4HERE IS A (ORIZONTAL :OOM CONTROL FOR THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW CONSISTING OF A PAIR OF hv AND hv BUTTONS TUCKED AWAY AT THE BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER OF THE WINDOW JUST TO THE RIGHT OF THE SCROLLBAR THAT RUNS ALONG THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDOW 4HIS CONTROLS THE VERTICAL ZOOM FOR BOTH THE .OTES PANE AND THE #ONTROLLER LANES 4HERE IS A 6ERTICAL :OOM BUTTON FOR THE .OTES PANE LOCATED IN THE UPPER RIGHT CORNER OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW JUST ABOVE THE RIGHT HAND SCROLL BAR
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
#LICKING THE TOP PART OF THIS BUTTON THIS WILL INCREASE THE VERTICAL ZOOM AND CLICKING THE LOWER HALF WILL DECREASE THE VERTICAL ZOOM FOR -)$) NOTES ! SECOND PAIR OF hv AND hv BUTTONS LOCATED JUST BENEATH THE SCROLLBAR AT THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE WINDOW ACTS AS A 6ERTICAL :OOM CONTROL FOR THE !UTOMATION AND #ONTROLLER LANES THAT RUN BELOW THE .OTES PANE
Timebase and Conductor rulers 9OU CAN CHOOSE WHICH 4IMEBASE AND #ONDUCTOR RULERS TO VIEW IN EACH -)$) %DITOR WINDOW INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER AND INDEPENDENTLY OF THE MAIN %DIT WINDOW USING THE POP UP SELECTOR JUST UNDERNEATH THE 3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS 9OU CAN ALSO VIEW DIFFERENT TIME LOCATIONS FROM THE MAIN %DIT WIN DOW IN ONE OR MORE -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS AND THESE CAN BE SET TO DIFFERENT ZOOM LEVELS
Figure 4.73 -)$) %DITOR WINDOW SHOWING 4IMEBASE AND #ONDUCTOR RULERS
The Superimposed notes view 4HE -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS ALLOW YOU TO VIEW AND EDIT -)$) NOTES FROM DIFFERENT -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AT THE SAME TIME ALL TOGETHER SUPERIM POSED IN THE SAME WINDOW 4O DISTINGUISH NOTES FROM DIFFERENT TRACKS THESE CAN BE COLOR CODED BY 4RACK OR BY 6ELOCITY USING TWO BUTTONS AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE -)$) %DITOR WINDOW JUST BELOW THE RULERS 4HE FIRST BUTTON LETS YOU ENABLE THE h#OLOR #ODE -)$) .OTES BY 4RACKv FEA TURE 7HEN THIS IS ENABLED TRACKS IN THE -)$) %DITOR ARE TEMPORARILY ASSIGNED ONE OF FIXED COLORS IN THE ORDER THEY APPEAR IN THE TRACK LIST
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Figure 4.74 -)$) %DITOR COLOR CODED BY 4RACK
4HE SECOND BUTTON LETS YOU ENABLE THE h#OLOR #ODE -)$) NOTES BY 6ELOCITYv FEATURE 7HEN THIS IS ENABLED ALL THE -)$) NOTES ARE ALL DISPLAYED IN RED BUT THE COLOR SATURATION VARIES FROM LIGHT RED FOR LOW VELOCITIES TO DARK RED FOR HIGH VELOCITIES BASED ON THE .OTE /N VELOCITIES
Figure 4.75 #OLOR CODED BY VELOCITY
7HEN NEITHER BUTTON IS ENABLED -)$) NOTES ARE DRAWN USING THE SAME COLORS THEY ARE IN THE %DIT WINDOW USING THE COLOR CODING OPTIONS THAT YOU CAN SET IN THE 4RACK #OLOR #ODING SETTINGS IN THE $ISPLAY 0REFERENCES
Figure 4.76 Display 0REFERENCES #OLOR CODING OPTIONS
4.12 The Score Editor /NE OF THE BEST NEW FEATURES FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION IN 0RO 4OOLS IS THE 3CORE %DITOR !NYONE WHO READS AND WRITES CONVENTIONAL MUSIC NOTATION WILL IMME DIATELY REALIZE THE BENEFIT OF THIS *UST ASK THE GUITAR PLAYER TO READ THE CHORDS 163
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
ONSCREEN OR PRINT OFF A COPY OF THE CHORD SHEET SO HE OR SHE CAN LEARN THE PART OR SKETCH OUT A BASS PART USING -)$) THEN PRINT THIS OUT AND ASK A BASS PLAYER TO TURN THIS INTO A hPROPERv BASS PART 0UT SOME STRINGS OR BRASS PARTS TOGETHER n YOU GET THE IDEAx )T WONT TAKE YOU LONG TO LEARN HOW TO USE THE 3CORE %DITOR EITHER n IT HAS ONE MAIN WINDOW WITH A SIMPLE TOOL PALETTE AND JUST A COUPLE OF DIALOG BOXES TO LET YOU ADJUST THINGS LIKE THE PAGE LAYOUT FOR PRINTING 4HE TOOLS ARE THE SAME ONES THAT YOU WILL RECOGNIZE FROM THE %DIT WINDOW n THE :OOMER THE 4RIMMER THE 3ELECTOR THE 'RABBER AND THE 0ENCIL n SO IF YOU KNOW 0RO 4OOLS ALREADY YOU WILL KNOW HOW TO USE THESE %VERYTHING IS VERY INTUITIVE )F YOU SEE SOMETHING YOU WANT TO CHANGE SUCH AS THE 4ITLE OR A #LEF OR A 4IME 3IGNATURE JUST DOUBLE CLICK IT AND IT WILL USUALLY OPEN UP A DIALOG WINDOW TO LET YOU CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY
Using the Score Editor 4O GET STARTED WITH THE 3CORE %DITOR YOU COULD RECORD SOME PIANO OR SYNTHESIZER PAD CHORDS OR IMPORT A -)$) FILE SO THAT YOU HAVE SOME MUSIC TO WORK WITH ! QUICK WAY TO GET SOME MUSIC INTO THE 3CORE %DITOR BEFORE YOU HAVE LEARNED HOW TO USE ITS SPECIALIZED TOOLS IS TO ENTER THE CHORDS FOR YOUR MUSIC USING THE #HORDS RULER !FTER YOU HAVE ENTERED THE CHORDS CREATE A NEW -)$) TRACK IF THERE IS NOT ONE ALREADY THERE AND OPEN THE 3CORE %DITOR (ERE YOU WILL SEE THE CHORDS LAID OUT ABOVE THE DEFAULT MUSIC STAVES "UT THERE WILL PROBABLY BE LOTS OF EMPTY BARS AFTER THE MUSIC HAS FINISHED 4O FIX THIS JUST CLICK THE $OUBLE "ARLINE BUT TON THAT YOU WILL FIND AMONG THE TOOLS AT THE TOP OF THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW AND THIS WILL CREATE A DOUBLE BARLINE MARKING AT THE END OF YOUR SCORE AND THE UNUSED BARS WILL DISAPPEAR FROM THE SCREEN
Figure 4.77 Entering a $OUBLE "ARLINE AT THE END OF THE MUSIC
)F YOU HAVE USED A LOT OF CHORDS AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE NOT A GUITARIST YOU PROBABLY WONT WANT TO CLUTTER UP YOUR SCORE WITH LOTS OF GUITAR CHORD DIAGRAMS 4O GET RID OF THESE OPEN THE 3CORE 3ETUP DIALOG BY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THE 4ITLE IN THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW (ERE YOU CAN UNTICK #HORD $IAGRAMS IN THE $ISPLAY SECTION SO THAT THESE WILL NOT BE DISPLAYED 9OU CAN ALSO ENTER THE TITLE AND THE COMPOSER CREDIT IN THE )NFORMATION SECTION
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Figure 4.78 Part of THE 3CORE 3ETUP DIALOG SHOWING THE )NFORMATION AND $ISPLAY OPTIONS
!T THE BOTTOM RIGHT OF THE 3CORE %DITOR YOU WILL FIND THE 3CORE ZOOMER ARROWS 9OU CAN USE THESE TO SIZE UP THE SCORE SO THAT YOU CAN SEE JUST WHAT YOU NEED TO SEE IN THE WINDOW
Figure 4.79 Score :OOMER
4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW MIGHT LOOK WHEN YOU HAVE SET EVERYTHING UP THIS WAY WITH THE PIANO CHORDS VISIBLE ABOVE THE PIANO STAVE
Figure 4.80 Piano CHORDS REVEALED IN THE 3CORE %DITOR
4HE VERTICAL BLUE LINE IS CALLED THE #URSOR ,OCATION )NDICATOR 4HIS INDICATES WHERE THE MUSIC WILL START FROM WHEN YOU PRESS THE 3PACEBAR OR CLICK 0LAY ON THE 4RANSPORT )F YOU WANT TO MOVE THIS YOU CAN EITHER TYPE ANOTHER LOCATION INTO THE -AIN #OUNTER OR JUST USE THE MOUSE TO GRAB IT AND MOVE IT TO WHER EVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO START PLAYBACK FROM When you play back the music, a separate playback cursor appears in the 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW AND MOVES THROUGH THE SCORE AS THE SESSION PLAYS BACK 4HIS IS A LITTLE THINNER AND IS BLACK NOT BLUE SO YOU WONT GET THEM CONFUSED
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 4.81 Playback Cursor visible near the END OF BAR
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9OU WILL NEED PLENTY OF SCREEN SPACE IF YOU WANT TO SEE LOTS OF THE 3CORE %DITOR ONSCREEN ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE USING LOTS OF INSTRUMENTS ! SECOND MONITOR OR EVEN A v MONITOR WOULD BE GOOD TO HAVE )F YOU ARE USING A SMALLER MONITOR YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SEE THE WHOLE SCORE BUT YOU CAN RESIZE THE 3CORE %DITOR TO SHOW JUST ONE OR TWO LINES OF THE SCORE AND SET IT TO SCROLL DURING PLAYBACK
3CORE %DITOR POP UP MENU )N THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW THERE IS A POP UP MENU THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE WHETHER OR NOT TO SHOW THE 3ELECTION $ISPLAY AND THE %XPANDED %DIT 4OOLS IN THE TOOLBAR THAT RUNS ALONG THE TOP OF THE WINDOW
Figure 4.82 /PENING THE 3CORE %DITOR -ENU
)T ALSO LETS YOU OPEN THE 4RACKS ,IST AT THE LEFT OF THE WINDOW WHICH ALLOWS YOU TO SHOW OR HIDE YOUR -)$) TRACKS IN THE 3CORE %DITOR AND LETS YOU SET THE 3CROLLING OPTIONS FOR THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW
Figure 4.83 The Score %DITOR -ENU
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!S YOU ADD MORE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS THESE WILL SHOW UP IN THE 3CORE %DITOR USING THE DEFAULT PIANO STAVE 4O CHANGE THESE TO SINGLE STAVES YOU CAN EITHER SELECT h.OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGSv FROM THE 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU IN THE 3CORE %DITOR OR JUST $OUBLE CLICK A #LEF ON A 3TAFF
Figure 4.84 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU
4HE 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU LETS YOU SHOW OR HIDE SELECTED TRACKS OR ALL TRACKS AND LETS YOU ACCESS THE 3CORE %DITORS TWO MAIN DIALOG WINDOWS FOR .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS AND 3CORE 3ETUP
Figure 4.85 4RACKS ,IST POP UP MENU
Setting the Clef )N THE .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS WINDOW YOU WILL FIND A POP UP SELEC TOR THAT LETS YOU CHOOSE BETWEEN THE 'RAND 3TAFF THAT YOU USE FOR PIANO HARP ORGAN AND OTHER KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS OR THE 4REBLE "ASS !LTO AND 4ENOR CLEFS USED FOR INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS BASS DRUMS PERCUSSION VOCALS STRINGS OR BRASS
Figure 4.86 Part of the .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS DIALOG SHOWING THE CLEF SETTINGS
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Drum notation -USIC FOR KIT DRUMS IS TYPICALLY WRITTEN USING THE BASS CLEF AND THE STANDARD FIVE LINE MUSICAL STAFF 4HE HI HAT OR CYMBAL NOTES ARE USUALLY WRITTEN ABOVE THE TOP LINE OF THE STAFF AT MUSICAL PITCH " WRITTEN WITH STEMMED 8S 9OU WILL SOMETIMES SEE THE LETTERS h/0v TO INDICATE OPEN AND h#,v TO INDICATE CLOSED WRITTEN OVER THE HI HAT )F THERE IS NO INDICATION THE HI HAT REMAINS CLOSED 4HE SMALL TOM TOM IS INDICATED BY A NOTE HEAD PLACED IN THE TOP SPACE CORRESPONDING TO THE MUSICAL PITCH ' THE SNARE IS IN THE SPACE BELOW AT MUSI CAL PITCH % THE LARGE TOM TOM IS BELOW THIS IN THE SPACE AT MUSICAL PITCH # WITH THE BASS DRUM IN THE SPACE BELOW THIS AT MUSICAL PITCH ! 4HE HI HAT MAY ALSO BE FOUND IN THE SPACE BELOW THE LOWEST LINE AT MUSICAL PITCH & ESPECIALLY IF THE TOP LINE OF 8S IS BEING USED FOR THE RIDE CYMBAL 4HERE CAN BE VARIATIONS TO THIS SCHEME WITH DRUMS WRITTEN ON THE LINES INSTEAD OF IN THE SPACES OR WITH TWO SEPARATE BASS CLEF STAVES FOR CLARITY n USUALLY THERE WILL BE NOTES WITH THE MUSIC THAT EXPLAIN ALL THIS
Figure 4.87 Clefs set correctly for piano, DRUMS AND DOUBLE BASS
(IDING TRACKS 4O HIDE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS THAT YOU DONT NEED TO SEE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OPEN THE 4RACKS ,IST AND CLICK ON THE SMALL BLACK DOT TO THE LEFT OF ANY TRACK YOU WANT TO HIDE 4HIS WILL IMMEDIATELY DISAPPEAR FROM THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW
Figure 4.88 (IDING TRACKS
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Using the Notation Tools 4O INSERT A NOTE YOU JUST CHOOSE THE 0ENCIL TOOL SELECT A NOTE DURATION USING THE POP UP SELECTOR TO THE RIGHT OF THE 0ENCIL TOOL THEN CLICK AT THE PITCH AND TIMING LOCATION WITHIN A BAR WHERE YOU WANT THE NOTE TO APPEAR 2ESTS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE INSERTED ELSEWHERE IN THE BAR 7HENEVER YOU INSERT OR EDIT A NOTE IN THE 3CORE %DITOR THIS NOTE WILL ALSO APPEAR ON OR BE CHANGED IN A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK IN BOTH THE %DIT AND -)$) %DITOR WINDOWS n ITS ALL THE SAME -)$) DATA
Figure 4.89 Selecting a -)$) .OTE $URATION
)F YOU WANT TO HEAR THE -)$) NOTES PLAY WHEN YOU CLICK ON THESE IN THE SCORE CLICK ON THE SPEAKER ICON TO THE RIGHT OF THE -)$) .OTE $URATION SELECTOR AND LEAVE THIS HIGHLIGHTED 4HEN WHEN YOU CLICK ON ANY NOTE IN THE 3CORE %DITOR YOU WILL HEAR IT PLAY BACK n ASSUMING THAT THE -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT IT IS BASED ON IS SET UP TO PLAY BACK CORRECTLY
Figure 4.90 5SING THE 0ENCIL TOOL TO INSERT NOTES
Trimming notes )F YOU WANT TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN A NOTE JUST USE THE TRIMMER TOOL AS YOU WOULD WITH A -)$) NOTE OR AN AUDIO REGION
Figure 4.91 Trimming A NOTE
)F YOU POINT AT A SELECTED .OTE /N THE STAFF DRAGGING TO THE LEFT WILL MAKE IT SHORTER AND DRAGGING TO THE RIGHT WILL LENGTHEN IT 169
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Figure 4.92 5SING THE Trimmer tool to lengthen A NOTE
7HEN YOU GET USED TO WORKING THIS WAY IT WONT TAKE YOU TOO LONG TO ENTER A COMPLETE BASS PART FOR A SONG
Figure 4.93 4HE DOUBLE BASS PART FOR MY NEW ARRANGEMENT LAID OUT IN THE 3CORE %DITOR
Copying notes #OPYING NOTES IS EASY ENOUGH &OR EXAMPLE ) DECIDED TO COPY SOME OF THE BASS NOTES IN MY FIRST ARRANGEMENT TO CREATE A MATCHING DRUM PART &IRST ) USED THE .OTE 3ELECTOR TOOL TO SELECT THE NOTES IN THE SCORE DRAGGING THE CURSOR ACROSS THE NOTES TO HIGHLIGHT THEM IN BLUE
Figure 4.94 Selecting NOTES USING THE .OTE 3ELECTOR 4OOL
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7ITH THE NOTES SELECTED ) USED THE STANDARD #OPY AND 0ASTE COMMANDS FROM THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO COPY THESE TO AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT ) HAD SET UP FOR THE DRUMS
Figure 4.95 .OTES COPIED TO THE $RUMS TRACK
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"EFORE PASTING THE NOTES AT A SPECIFIC LOCATION YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE #URSOR ,OCATION )NDICATOR IS POSITIONED AT THE CORRECT LOCATION WITHIN THE BAR 9OU CAN JUST DRAG THE BLUE #URSOR ,OCATION )NDICATOR TO ANY LOCATION YOU LIKE WITHIN A BAR !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN JUST TYPE THE LOCATION INTO THE -AIN #OUNTER
Moving notes 9OU CAN USE THE 'RABBER TOOL TO MOVE SELECTED NOTES TO ANY OTHER TIME OR PITCH LOCATION ON THE SAME TRACK 7ITH THE 'RABBER TOOL SELECTED SIMPLY CLICK AND DRAG TO MOVE THE NOTES
Figure 4.96 Moving .OTES USING THE 'RABBER 4OOL
9OU CAN ALSO MOVE NOTES TO ANOTHER TIME OR PITCH LOCATION ON THE SAME TRACK USING THE 0ENCIL TOOL 4HIS CHANGES INTO A POINTING FINGER THAT YOU CAN USE TO GRAB AND MOVE NOTES WHEN YOU POINT THE MOUSE AT EXISTING NOTES WITH THE 0ENCIL TOOL SELECTED
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Figure 4.97 5SING THE Pencil tool to move a NOTE
Transposing instruments ! hTRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTv IS A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FOR WHICH MUSIC IS WRITTEN AT A DIFFERENT PITCH THAN THE PITCH THAT YOU WILL HEAR WHEN THE INSTRUMENT IS PLAYED 4HERE ARE TWO COMMON REASONS WHY THIS IS DONE EITHER TO MAKE THE MUSIC EASIER TO READ OR TO MAKE THE FINGERINGS ON THE INSTRUMENT EASIER TO LEARN AND PLAY !LSO SOMETIMES BOTH OF THESE REASONS APPLY )F AN INSTRUMENT HAS A VERY HIGH OR VERY LOW RANGE THE MUSIC IS TYPICALLY WRITTEN EITHER AN OCTAVE HIGHER OR LOWER THAN IT ACTUALLY SOUNDS TO REDUCE THE USE OF LEDGER LINES %XAMPLES SOUNDING AN OCTAVE HIGHER INCLUDE THE CELESTE AND THE XYLOPHONE PICCOLO AND TIN WHISTLE %XAMPLES SOUNDING AN OCTAVE LOWER INCLUDE THE GUITAR BASS GUITAR DOUBLE BASS AND BASS FLUTE 3OME INSTRU MENTS WITH EXTREMELY HIGH OR LOW RANGES SUCH AS THE GLOCKENSPIEL USE A TWO OCTAVE TRANSPOSITION )NSTRUMENTS THAT hTRANSPOSE AT THE OCTAVEv IN THIS WAY DONT PLAY IN A DIFFERENT KEY FROM CONCERT PITCH INSTRUMENTS INSTEAD THEY JUST SOUND AN OCTAVE HIGHER OR LOWER THAN WRITTEN &OR EXAMPLE MUSIC FOR THE DOUBLE BASS IS WRITTEN ON THE BASS CLEF ONE OCTAVE HIGHER THAN CONCERT PITCH AND MUSIC FOR THE GUITAR IS WRITTEN ON THE TREBLE CLEF ONE OCTAVE HIGHER THAN CONCERT PITCH -USIC FOR THE PICCOLO ON THE OTHER HAND IS WRITTEN ON THE TRE BLE CLEF ONE OCTAVE LOWER THAN CONCERT PITCH 4HE INSTRUMENTS IN FAMILIES OF DIFFERENT SIZED INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS THE SAXO PHONE CLARINET AND FLUTE HAVE DIFFERING RANGES OF NOTES THAT THEY CAN PLAY AND THESE INSTRUMENTS SOUND LOWER AS THEY GET LARGER 3O THAT A PLAYER CAN play any member of a particular instrument family using the same fingerings, THESE INSTRUMENTS ARE TRANSPOSED BASED ON THEIR RANGE SUCH THAT EACH WRITTEN NOTE IS FINGERED THE SAME WAY ON EACH INSTRUMENT 4RANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS OF THIS TYPE ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS BEING IN A CERTAIN hKEY v SUCH AS THE HORN IN & 4HIS INSTRUMENT KEY DETERMINES WHICH PITCH WILL SOUND WHEN THE PLAYER PLAYS A NOTE WRITTEN AS # 3O FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU PLAY A WRITTEN # ON THE &RENCH HORN HORN IN & IT WILL SOUND THE NOTE & AND IF YOU PLAY A WRITTEN # ON THE "B CLARINET YOU WILL HEAR A "B NOTE !LL THE OTHER NOTES ON A TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENT WILL CORRESPONDINGLY SOUND AT DIFFERENT PITCHES THAN WRITTEN (ERE ARE SOME COMMON EXAMPLES )NSTRUMENTS IN "B INCLUDE THE 3OPRANO 3AXOPHONE THE "B #LARINET THE 4RUMPET AND THE &LUGELHORN AND SOUND A MAJOR SECOND LOWER THAN WRITTEN )NSTRUMENTS IN ' INCLUDE THE !LTO &LUTE AND 172
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SOUND A PERFECT FOURTH LOWER THAN WRITTEN )NSTRUMENTS IN & INCLUDE THE #OR !NGLAIS AND THE &RENCH HORN AND SOUND A PERFECT FIFTH LOWER THAN WRITTEN )NSTRUMENTS IN %B INCLUDE THE !LTO 3AXOPHONE AND SOUND A MAJOR SIXTH BELOW WHAT IS WRITTEN ,OW BASS INSTRUMENTS IN "B INCLUDE THE 4ENOR 3AXOPHONE AND THE "B "ASS #LARINET WHICH IS SOMETIMES WRITTEN IN TREBLE CLEF AND SOUND AN OCTAVE AND A MAJOR SECOND BELOW WHAT IS WRITTEN "ASS INSTRUMENTS IN %B INCLUDE THE "ARITONE 3AXOPHONE AND SOUND AN OCTAVE AND A MAJOR SIXTH BELOW WHAT IS WRITTEN 6ERY LOW BASS INSTRUMENTS IN "B INCLUDE THE "ASS 3AXOPHONE AND SOUND TWO OCTAVES AND A MAJOR SECOND BELOW WHAT IS WRITTEN
How the Score Editor handles transposing instruments 4HE 3CORE %DITOR LETS YOU TAKE ACCOUNT OF TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS BY ALLOWING YOU TO DISPLAY NOTES FOR ANY TRACK WITH A TRANSPOSITION THAT DOES NOT AFFECT THE -)$) NOTES n IT JUST DISPLAYS THE PITCHES DIFFERENTLY IN THE 3CORE %DITOR 9OU CAN SET THESE DISPLAY ONLY TRANSPOSITIONS USING THE .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS WINDOW 4HE +EY POP UP SELECTOR LETS YOU CHOOSE THE +EY 3IGNATURE THAT WILL BE DISPLAYED AND THE /CTAVE SLIDER LETS YOU TRANSPOSE UP OR DOWN BY ONE OR TWO OCTAVES IN EITHER DIRECTION 7ITH A "ASS #LARINET TRACK RECORDED USING A -)$) INSTRUMENT TO SOUND AT THE CORRECT PITCH FOR INSTANCE YOU WOULD SET THE +EY POP UP TO " FLAT AND SET THE /CTAVE SLIDER TO 4HEN IF YOU PRINT OUT THE "ASS #LARINET PART A MUSICIAN WILL BE ABLE TO READ THE PART EASILY AND THE PITCH WILL STILL SOUND CORRECTLY n A MAJOR NINTH BELOW WHERE THE PART IS WRITTEN
Figure 4.98 .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RANSPOSITION
4O GET MUSIC NOTATION INTO THE 3CORE %DITOR YOU CAN EITHER WRITE THE NOTES DIRECTLY INTO THE 3CORE %DITOR OR RECORD THEM ONTO A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK USING STEP ENTRY OR USING A -)$) KEYBOARD 9OU DONT HAVE TO ASSIGN THE OUT PUT OF THE -)$) TRACK TO ANY INSTRUMENT IF ALL YOU WANT TO DO IS TO SEE THE MUSIC NOTATION BUT MOST PEOPLE WILL PROBABLY FIND IT VERY CONVENIENT TO PLAY
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THE PART USING A VIRTUAL OR REAL -)$) INSTRUMENT SO THAT THEY CAN HEAR HOW THIS SOUNDS WHILE THEY ARE BUILDING UP THE ARRANGEMENT
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)F YOU ONLY WANT TO GET NOTES INTO THE 3CORE %DITOR SO THAT YOU CAN PRINT THESE OUT FOR A MUSICIAN TO READ YOU MIGHT AS WELL GO AHEAD AND WRITE THESE AT THE TRANSPOSED PITCHES IN THE TRANSPOSED KEY 4HEN WHEN YOU PRINT THIS OUT THE MUSICIAN WILL JUST PLAY WHAT HE SEES WHILE THE SOUND FROM HIS INSTRUMENT WILL BE AT THE CORRECT PITCH
Preparing the Score for a Musician to read 7HEN YOU RECORD A MUSICAL PART WITH A PARTICULAR -)$) OR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENT ESPECIALLY IF THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF hSWINGv OR A LOT OF COMPLEXITY IN THE RHYTHMS THIS CAN LOOK MUCH TOO DIFFICULT FOR A MUSICIAN TO READ WHILE THEY ARE TRYING TO PLAY THIS #OMPOSERS AND ARRANGERS OFTEN SIMPLIFY THE MUSIC NOTATION TO SOME EXTENT WHEN THEY ARE PREPARING PARTS FOR MUSICIANS TO PLAY -USICIANS UNDERSTAND THIS AND WILL INTERPRET STRAIGHT NOTES THAT ARE INTENDED TO BE hSWUNGv ACCORD ING TO THE DIRECTIONS OF THE LEADER MUSICAL DIRECTOR ARRANGER OR PRODUCER n OR ACCORDING TO HOW THEY FEEL THE MUSIC SHOULD BE PERFORMED 4HEY WILL MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT EXACTLY HOW LONG TO SUSTAIN THE NOTES AND WHAT ACCENTS TO GIVE THE NOTES IN THE SAME WAY n GUIDED BY WHOEVER IS DIRECTING THEIR PER FORMANCE OR ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN EXPERIENCE !CCORDINGLY THE 3CORE %DITOR ALLOWS YOU TO CHOOSE A h$ISPLAY 1UANTIZATIONv SO THAT THE NOTES IN THE SCORE ARE EASIER FOR A HUMAN TO READ WHILE THE UNDER LYING -)$) DATA CAN USE WHATEVER QUANTIZATION IS APPROPRIATE SO THAT THE SOUNDS PRODUCED BY -)$) OR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS ARE CORRECT
$ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION 4HE .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS WINDOW HAS TWO TABS THAT LET YOU SET GLO BAL $ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION AND OTHER ATTRIBUTES FOR ALL THE TRACKS OR INDIVIDUAL $ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION ATTRIBUTES FOR INDIVIDUAL TRACKS
Individual attributes "Y DEFAULT ALL THE TRACKS USE THE GLOBAL ATTRIBUTES SO IF YOU CLICK ON THE !TTRIBUTES TAB YOU WILL SEE THAT h&OLLOW 'LOBALSv IS SELECTED AND THE VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES ARE GRAYED OUT
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)F YOU WANT TO SET THESE ATTRIBUTES INDIVIDUALLY FOR A PARTICULAR TRACK CHOOSE THE !TTRIBUTES TAB MAKE SURE THIS TRACK IS SELECTED IN THE 4RACK POP UP AT THE TOP OF THE .OTATION $ISPLAY 4RACK 3ETTINGS WINDOW DESELECT &OLLOW 'LOBALS THEN GO AHEAD AND SET THE ATTRIBUTES THAT YOU WANT FOR THIS TRACK
Figure 4.99 .OTATION Display Attributes set to h&OLLOW 'LOBALSv
Global attributes )F YOU CHOOSE THE 'LOBALS TAB YOU CAN SET THE VARIOUS ATTRIBUTES THAT YOU WANT TO APPLY TO ALL THE TRACKS THAT ARE NOT INDIVIDUALLY SET UP
Figure 4.100 .OTATION $ISPLAY 'LOBAL !TTRIBUTES
The attributes 4HE MAIN ATTRIBUTE THAT YOU WILL SET IS THE $ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION USING THE POP UP SELECTOR PROVIDED
Figure 4.101 Display 1UANTIZATION POP UP SELECTOR
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)F YOU CHOOSE THIRTY SECOND NOTE QUANTIZATION FOR EXAMPLE THE THIRTY SECOND NOTE SUBDIVISIONS CAN BE DIFFICULT TO READ AT A GLANCE WHEN SIGHT READING
Figure 4.102 NOTE QUANTIZATION
)F YOU SET THE $ISPLAY 1UANTIZATION TO SIXTEENTH NOTES IT DOESNT AFFECT THE -)$) DATA IN THE TRACK BUT IT DOES MAKE THE MUSIC EASIER TO READ n ESPECIALLY FOR A SESSION MUSICIAN OR BAND MEMBER WHO IS FEELING THE PRESSURE OF THE hRED LIGHTv IN THE STUDIO
Figure 4.103 3IXTEENTH NOTE QUANTIZATION
! CHECK BOX FOR h3TRAIGHTEN 3WINGv LETS YOU SET SWUNG NOTES TO BE DISPLAYED AS STRAIGHT NOTATION )F YOU SELECT THIS BOX A RUN OF SWUNG EIGHTH NOTES WOULD BE DISPLAYED AS STRAIGHT EIGHTH NOTES FOR EXAMPLE 3OMETIMES TWO NOTES THAT START AT DIFFERENT TIMES OVERLAP )F THIS HAPPENS THE FIRST NOTE WILL BE TRUNCATED WHEN THE SECOND NOTE BEGINS )F THE h!LLOW .OTE /VERLAPv CHECK BOX IS SELECTED THE 3CORE %DITOR WILL DISPLAY THE FULL LENGTH OF ANY OVERLAPPING NOTES USING TIED NOTES 9OU CAN ALSO SET A 3PLIT 0OINT TO DIVIDE NOTES BETWEEN THE TREBLE AND BASS CLEFS 7HEN THE #LEF FOR THE SELECTED TRACK IS SET TO 'RAND 3TAFF THE SELECTED 3PLIT 0OINT SETTING DETERMINES THE PITCH AT WHICH THE NOTES ARE PLACED IN EITHER THE UPPER OR LOWER STAFF OF THE 'RAND 3TAFF )F YOU CLICK IN THE BUTTON MARKED h!UTOMATIC v THE NOTES WILL BE SPLIT BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER STAVES OF THE 'RAND 3TAFF BASED ON LOGICAL NOTE GROUP INGS )F YOU CLICK IN THE BUTTON MARKED h&IXED v YOU CAN USE THE ASSOCIATED ALPHANUMERIC FIELD TO SPECIFY A FIXED PITCH AT WHICH TO SPLIT NOTES BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER STAVES OF THE 'RAND 3TAFF
Printing the Score 7HEN YOU HAVE PREPARED ALL THE TRACKS IN THE 3CORE %DITOR TO LOOK THE WAY THAT THEY SHOULD THERE ARE STILL A COUPLE OF THINGS THAT YOU MAY NEED TO ATTEND TO IN THE 3CORE 3ETUP WINDOW BEFORE YOU PRINT OUT THE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS OR THE COMPLETE SCORE 176
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$ISPLAY /PTIONS 3PACING AND ,AYOUT )N THE 3CORE 3ETUP WINDOW YOU CAN CHOOSE WHETHER TO DISPLAY THE 4ITLE AND #OMPOSER CREDITS THE 4RACK NAMES THE PAGE NUMBERS THE BAR NUMBERS THE CHORD SYMBOLS OR THE CHORD DIAGRAMS !S ) MENTIONED EARLIER YOU WOULD NOT WANT TO CLUTTER UP THE PAGES WITH GUITAR CHORD DIAGRAMS UNLESS YOU REALLY DO NEED THESE %VEN MORE IMPORTANTLY YOU CAN ADJUST THE SPACING BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS ON THE PAGE AND ADJUST THE LAYOUT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY THING IS AS EASY TO READ AS POSSIBLE 4O OPEN THE 3CORE 3ETUP WINDOW EITHER CHOOSE 3CORE 3ETUP FROM THE &ILE MENU OR SELECT 3CORE 3ETUP FROM THE 4RACKS MENU IN THE 3CORE %DITOR WINDOW OR YOU CAN SIMPLY DOUBLE CLICK ON THE 4ITLE )N THE 3PACING SECTION YOU CAN ENTER THE SPACING YOU WANT TO USE BETWEEN THE STAVES AND BETWEEN SYSTEMS OF STAVES 9OU CAN ALSO SPECIFY THE DISTANCE TO LEAVE BELOW THE 4ITLE AND #OMPOSER CREDITS AND THE FIRST STAFF OF THE SCORE AND BELOW THE CHORD SYMBOLS AND DIAGRAMS AND THE TOP STAVE OF EACH SYSTEM
Figure 4.104 Score 3ETUP 3PACING /PTIONS
4HE ,AYOUT SECTION HAS A POP UP SELECTOR TO LET YOU CHOOSE THE PAGE SIZE ! 4ABLOID ,EGAL OR ,ETTER 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHETHER TO USE 0ORTRAIT TALL AND NOT AS WIDE OR ,ANDSCAPE WIDE BUT NOT AS TALL PAGE ORIENTATION 9OU CAN ALSO SPECIFY THE 3TAFF 3IZE AND THE 0AGE -ARGINS IN INCHES OR MILLIMETERS
Figure 4.105 Score 3ETUP ,AYOUT /PTIONS
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7HAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET 7HEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING ELSE SET UP AND READY TO PRINT YOUR SCORE ALL THAT IS LEFT IS TO CHOOSE WHETHER TO PRINT THE WHOLE SCORE OR INDIVIDUAL TRACKS 7HAT GETS PRINTED IS WHAT YOU SEE IN THE 3CORE %DITOR SO ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO HIDE ANY TRACKS THAT YOU DONT WANT TO PRINT )F YOU WANT TO PRINT INDIVIDUAL TRACKS HIDE ALL THE OTHER TRACKS AND JUST SHOW ONE TRACK AT A TIME PRINT THIS THEN SHOW THE NEXT TRACK AND PRINT THAT AND SO ON 4O PRINT THE SCORE YOU CAN EITHER CHOOSE h0RINT 3COREv FROM THE &ILE -ENU IN 0RO 4OOLS OR PRESS #OMMAND 0 -AC OR #ONTROL 0 7INDOWS 9OUR COM PUTERS STANDARD 0RINT DIALOG WILL APPEAR AND YOU MAY CHOOSE FURTHER OPTIONS HERE OR JUST CLICK 0RINT -AC OR /+ 7INDOWS TO PRINT YOUR SCORE
Exporting to Sibelius 0RO 4OOLS ALSO LETS YOU EXPORT THE SCORE FROM YOUR SESSION AS A 3IBELIUS SIB FILE 9OU CAN THEN OPEN YOUR SCORE IN 3IBELIUS EDIT THE NOTATION FURTHER AND PRINT THE SCORE AND PARTS FROM 3IBELIUS 4O EXPORT A SCORE FROM 0RO 4OOLS CHOOSE h%XPORT4O 3IBELIUSv FROM THE &ILE -ENU SELECT A DESTINATION AND CLICK 3AVE 9OU CAN ALSO SEND THE SCORE DIRECTLY FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION TO 3IBELIUS IF YOU HAVE 3IBELIUS INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER 4O DO THIS YOU CAN EITHER 2IGHT CLICK IN THE 3CORE %DITOR AND CHOOSE h3END TO 3IBELIUSv OR CHOOSE 3END TO 3IBELIUS FROM THE &ILE -ENU 0RO 4OOLS WILL EXPORT ALL THE )NSTRUMENT AND -)$) TRACKS SHOWN IN THE 3CORE %DITOR TO 3IBELIUS AS A SIB FILE AND WILL LAUNCH 3IBELIUS IF IT IS INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER !S WITH PRINTING ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO HIDE ANY TRACKS THAT YOU DONT WANT TO EXPORT
4.13 Summary 0RO 4OOLS OFFERS A RICH SET OF FEATURES FOR WORKING WITH -)$) DATA )F YOU HAVE -)$) HARDWARE IN YOUR STUDIO SUCH AS SYNTHESIZERS SAMPLERS DRUM MACHINES KEYBOARDS OR OTHER CONTROLLERS OR CONTROL SURFACES TO PROVIDE HANDS ON CON TROL FOR VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS AND PLUG INS THEN 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES THE TOOLS YOU NEED TO RECORD ALL YOUR -)$) DATA 9OU CAN CHOOSE YOUR METHOD n GRAPHICAL %VENT LIST OR 3CORE n AND USE THE POWERFUL EDITING FEATURES THAT ARE PROVIDED IN THE %VENT /PERATIONS AND -)$) 2EAL 4IME 0ROPERTIES WINDOWS 4HE SEPARATE -)$) %DITOR AND 3CORE %DITOR WINDOWS PROVIDE EVEN GREATER EASE OF USE THAN THE MAIN %DIT WINDOW FOR MANY TYPES OF EDITING BUT THE MAIN %DIT WINDOW ALLOWS YOU TO ACCESS EVERYTHING YOU NEED WITHOUT CLUTTER ING UP YOUR SCREEN UNNECESSARILY 4HE -)$) %DITOR HAS THE ADVANTAGE THAT YOU CAN VIEW -)$) NOTES FROM DIFFERENT TRACKS SUPERIMPOSED IN THE SAME WINDOW
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IF YOU WISH n WHICH CAN BE VERY USEFUL WHEN WORKING ON COMPLEX MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS !LSO THE 3CORE %DITOR HAS THE ADVANTAGE THAT IT IS VERY EASY TO USE AND CLEAR TO READ 4IME SPENT GETTING YOUR -)$) EQUIPMENT ORGANIZED AND SET UP TO WORK WITH 0RO 4OOLS AND PREPARING TEMPLATES THAT CAN BE REUSED WILL BE TIME WELL SPENT )F YOU WORK OUT ANY OFFSETS NEEDED TO TIGHTEN UP THE TIMING ASPECTS OF YOUR -)$) GEAR THIS WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE RESULTS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE 9OU SHOULD ALWAYS RECORD -)$) AND VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS AS AUDIO AS SOON IN YOUR WORKFLOW AS POSSIBLE SO THAT YOU CAN THEN RECLAIM THE $30 RESOURCES USED TO CREATE THESE FOR USE ELSEWHERE IN YOUR SESSION 4HIS MAKES IT EASIER TO TRANSFER PROJECTS TO OTHER SOFTWARE AND ENSURES THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS HEAR THESE PARTS EVEN IF YOU NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THE HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE INSTRUMENTS 0RO 4OOLS STARTED OUT AS AN AUDIO RECORDING EDITING AND MIXING ENVIRONMENT )T NOW OFFERS AN EXTREMELY CAPABLE -)$) RECORDING EDITING AND MIXING ENVI RONMENT AS WELL
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In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
$ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD
0REPARING 0RO 4OOLS FOR
,OOP 2ECORDING AUDIO
RECORDING 2ECORDING AUDIO !UTOMATIC PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT
0UNCH 2ECORDING 3UMMARY
5 Recording
5.1 Introduction ! COMPLETE RECORDING SYSTEM INCLUDES MICROPHONES AND MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS OPTIONAL SIGNAL PROCESSORS SUCH AS EQUALIZERS AND COMPRES SORS MIXING FEATURES FOR MULTIPLE MICROPHONES A RECORDING CAPABILITY WITH ENOUGH CHANNELSTRACKS PLAYBACK FACILITIES FOR EXISTING MUSIC OR FOR A CLICK TO PLAY ALONG WITH PLAYBACK FACILITIES FOR THE NEWLY RECORDED MUSIC A CUE ING SYSTEM WITH HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS AND HEADPHONES FOR THE MUSICIANS TO HEAR THE CLICK TRACKS OR MUSIC PLAYBACK AND A LOUDSPEAKER MONITORING SYSTEM WITH A TALKBACK SYSTEM AND CONTROLS SO THAT THE RECORDING ENGINEER PRODUCER ARRANGER OR OTHERS INVOLVED IN THE RECORDING CAN HEAR EVERYTHING THEY NEED TO AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE MUSICIANS 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS DO NOT INCLUDE MONITOR SPEAKERS OR MICROPHONES AND PROFESSIONAL $IGIDESIGN HARDWARE INTERFACES DONT INCORPORATE MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS n THEY TYPICALLY HAVE LINE LEVEL ANALOG OR DIGITAL INPUTS n SO YOU WILL NEED TO USE ADDITIONAL $IGIDESIGN OR THIRD PARTY EQUIPMENT IN MOST RECORDING SITUATIONS $IGIDESIGN DOES OFFER THE 02% WHICH IS A HIGH QUALITY CHANNEL REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER UNIT (OWEVER MANY RECORDING ENGINEERS AND PRODUCERS PREFER TO USE ESTABLISHED DESIGNS FROM THIRD PARTY MANUFACTURERS 3O MOST STUDIOS WILL WANT TO ADD AT LEAST A COUPLE OF HIGH QUALITY MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS TO THE EQUIPMENT LIST ALONG WITH AT LEAST ONE OR TWO OR EVEN A CUPBOARD FULL OF HIGH QUALITY STUDIO MICRO PHONES IF THEY PLAN TO RECORD VOCALS GUITARS OR OTHER ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS !NOTHER OPTION ESPECIALLY FOR LARGER STUDIOS IS TO USE A PROFESSIONAL MIXING CONSOLE FROM .EVE 33, !0) OR OTHER QUALITY MANUFACTURERS 4HESE MIXING CONSOLES USUALLY HAVE EXTREMELY HIGH QUALITY MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFI ERS AND PLENTY OF SIGNAL PROCESSORS SUCH AS EQUALIZERS OR COMPRESSORS BUILT IN ! RECENT TREND FROM THIRD PARTY MANUFACTURERS IS TO PRODUCE MIXING CONSOLES THAT ARE DESIGNED ESPECIALLY TO INTERFACE WITH 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS SUCH AS THE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
33, !73 SERIES WHICH ALSO FUNCTIONS AS A $!7 $IGITAL !UDIO 7ORKSTATION CONTROLLER OR THE SMALL FORMAT !0) WHICH PROVIDES VINTAGE STYLE ANA LOG MIC PRES AND ALONG WITH EQUALIZERS !N EXTERNAL MIXER ALSO PROVIDES LATENCY FREE MONITORING WHILE RECORDING USUALLY HAS ADDITIONAL CONNECTIONS FOR PLAYBACK EQUIPMENT AND TYPICALLY PROVIDES VOLUME CONTROLS DIM MONO AND MUTE SWITCHES TALKBACK FEATURES AND SWITCHING FOR CONTROL ROOM AND STUDIO MONITOR SYSTEMS (EADPHONE AMPLIFIERS WITH SUITABLE SETS OF HEADPHONES SUCH AS THE "EYER$YNAMIC $4 MODELS WILL BE NEEDED FOR THE MUSICIANS WHILE THEY RECORD 4HE RECORDING ENGINEER OR PRODUCER WILL BE MORE INTERESTED IN THE SUPER HIGH QUALITY "EYER$YNAMIC $4 HEADPHONES WHICH ARE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE TO BUY BUT WHICH PRODUCE SOUND QUALITY SIMILAR TO PROFESSIONAL STU DIO MONITORS &OR THE ENGINEER AND PRODUCER IN THE CONTROL ROOM $IGIDESIGN OFFERS ITS 2EFERENCE -ONITOR 3ERIES OF POWERED NEARFIELD MONITORS WHICH NICELY COMPLEMENT 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS /F COURSE THERE ARE PLENTY OF ALTERNATIVES FROM COMPANIES SUCH AS !4# OR 0-# AT THE HIGH END 'ENELEC OR +2+ IN THE MID GROUND AND MORE AFFORDABLE MODELS FROM -ACKIE AND OTHERS AT ENTRY LEVEL
5.2 Preparing Pro Tools for recording )F YOU ARE JUST RECORDING ONE SINGER OR MUSICIAN SINGING OR PLAYING WITHOUT ACCOMPANIMENT AND WITHOUT A CLICK THEN ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO ROUTE A MICROPHONE THROUGH A SUITABLE MIC PRE VIA THE ANALOG TO DIGITAL !$ CON VERTERS IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE ONTO ONE AUDIO TRACK !SK THE PERFORMER TO SING OR PLAY THE LOUDEST THAT THEY EXPECT THEY WILL DURING THE RECORDING THEN SET THE GAIN ON THE MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER TO AVOID DISTORTION WHILE KEEPING THE LEVEL HIGH ENOUGH TO MAINTAIN A GOOD SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO 2ECORD ENABLE THE TRACK PRESS 0LAY AND 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND GO AHEAD WITH YOUR RECORDING 7HILE YOU ARE LEARNING TO USE 0RO 4OOLS OR TESTING A NEWLY INSTALLED SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME ITS A GOOD IDEA TO PLUG A MICROPHONE IN AND TRY THIS OUT FIRST !S SOON AS YOU WANT TO GET A LITTLE MORE AMBITIOUS RECORDING WITH MORE MICRO PHONES IT WILL PAY YOU TO MAKE A NUMBER OF OTHER PREPARATIONS &OR EXAMPLE ITS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO CHECK THE 0RO 4OOLS )/ SETUP WINDOW AND ENTER HELPFUL NAMES FOR THE )NPUTS /UTPUTS )NSERTS AND "US SIGNAL PATHS "Y DEFAULT A NEWLY RECORDED AUDIO FILE AND ITS REGION ARE NAMED BASED ON THE NAME OF THE 4RACK ONTO WHICH IT IS RECORDED 3O YOU SHOULD ALSO NAME THE TRACK OR TRACKS THAT YOU ARE RECORDING ONTO WITH NAMES THAT WILL MAKE SENSE WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THE RECORDED hTAKESv TO FIND THESE LATER ON IN THE 2EGIONS LIST 9OU SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE SET THE TEMPO AND METER APPROPRIATELY AND SET UP A CLICK TRACK FOR THE MUSICIANS TO PLAY TO )F THEY WILL BE PLAYING
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ALONG TO EXISTING MATERIAL YOU MAY NEED TO CREATE AND ADJUST ONE OR MORE HEADPHONE MIXES AND ROUTE THESE INTO THE STUDIO FOR THE MUSICIANS )T SHOULD NEVER BE UNDERESTIMATED HOW IMPORTANT THE HEADPHONE MIXES CAN BE IF YOU WANT TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM THE MUSICIANS )T IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA FOR THE ENGINEER OR PRODUCER TO GO OUT INTO THE STUDIO AND LISTEN TO THE HEAD PHONES PERSONALLY TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS /+ /FTEN THE MUSICIANS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DESCRIBE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE SOUND OR TO RECOGNIZE FAULTS THAT WILL BE IMMEDIATELY APPARENT TO THE ENGINEER OR PRODUCER )F YOU HAVE AN EXTERNAL MIXER OR A $!7 CONTROLLER OR MONITOR CONTROLLER WITH TALKBACK FACILITIES YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TALK TO THE ARTIST FROM THE CONTROL ROOM )F NOT YOU SHOULD SET UP A MICROPHONE IN YOUR CONTROL ROOM ROUTE THIS INTO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS MIXER AND ROUTE THE OUTPUT TO THE MUSI CIANS HEADPHONES n NOT FORGETTING TO MUTE THIS WHEN YOU ARE NOT USING IT )T CAN ALSO BE A GOOD IDEA TO SET UP AN EXTRA MICROPHONE IN YOUR RECORDING ROOM SET TO OMNI SO IT hLISTENSv TO EVERYTHING AND ROUTE THIS INTO AN !UXILIARY CHANNEL IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS MIXER 4HIS WAY THE MUSICIANS CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU EVEN IF THEIR INSTRUMENT OR VOCAL MICS ARE MUTED
Disk space for recording $O YOU HAVE ENOUGH DISK SPACE TO RECORD FOR AS LONG AS YOU WILL NEED TO 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU CHECK HOW MUCH DRIVE SPACE IS AVAILABLE 4HE $ISK 5SAGE WIN DOW AVAILABLE FROM THE 7INDOW MENU SHOWS THE AVAILABLE DRIVE SPACE FOR EACH DRIVE CONNECTED TO YOUR SYSTEM AS TEXT AND AS A GAUGE DISPLAY
Figure 5.1 $ISK 5SAGE WINDOW
9OU CAN LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF YOUR AVAILABLE HARD DISK SPACE THAT IS ALLOCATED FOR RECORDING USING THE 2ECORD !LLOCATION PREFERENCE SETTINGS IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW 4HIS DEFAULTS TO THE /PEN %NDED h5SE !LL !VAILABLE 3PACEv SETTING BUT YOU CAN CHOOSE TO LIMIT THIS TO A SPECIFIED NUMBER OF MINUTES IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT ACTUALLY USE ALL THE AVAIL ABLE SPACE )T IS NEVER A GOOD IDEA TO USE UP ALL THE AVAILABLE SPACE ON YOUR DISK DRIVES AS THIS LEAVES NO ROOM FOR MOVING THINGS AROUND OR FOR ANY SYSTEM RELATED REQUIREMENTS 4HE RULE OF THUMB IS TO KEEP OF YOUR DISK DRIVES FREE AT ALL TIMES 183
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 5.2 Setting the 2ECORD !LLOCATION IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW
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)F YOU DO CHOOSE TO ALLOCATE ALL AVAILABLE SPACE 0RO 4OOLS MAY TAKE A LITTLE LONGER TO BEGIN RECORDING 4O AVOID THIS DELAY YOU CAN PUT 0RO 4OOLS INTO 2ECORD 0AUSE MODE BEFORE YOU START TO RECORD
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)N GENERAL THE h5SE !LL !VAILABLE 3PACEv PREFERENCE MAKES HARD DRIVES WORK HARDER )N ADDITION TO RECORD AND PUNCH LAG TIMES MANY SYSTEMS SEE BETTER OVERALL RECORDING PERFORMANCE WHEN THE h/PEN %NDED 2ECORD !LLOCATIONv SETTING IS LIMITED
Setting up headphone mixes )N ADDITION TO THE MAIN MIX THAT YOU WILL USE TO MONITOR THE RECORDINGS IN THE CONTROL ROOM YOU MAY ALSO NEED TO CREATE HEADPHONE OR hCUEv MIXES FOR THE MUSICIANS AND VOCALISTS 4HE BEST WAY TO DO THIS IS TO USE 3ENDS TO ROUTE AUDIO FROM EACH TRACK TO A PAIR OF AVAILABLE OUTPUTS ON YOUR AUDIO INTERFACE AND ROUTE THESE IN TURN TO A SUITABLE HEADPHONE MONITORING AMPLIFIER 9OU CAN ALSO SET UP A -ASTER &ADER TO CONTROL THE OVERALL LEVEL FOR YOUR CUE MIX !ND IF YOU NEED DIFFERENT HEADPHONE CUE MIXES YOU CAN USE ADDITIONAL 3ENDS -ASTER &ADERS INTERFACE OUTPUTS AND HEADPHONE AMPLIFIERS 4O SET UP A CUE MIX FOR ALL THE TRACKS IN YOUR SESSION YOU CAN PRESS /PTION -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS AND CHOOSE ANY AVAILABLE 3END TO INSERT THIS ONTO EVERY TRACK 9OU PROBABLY WONT WANT TO INSERT A CUE 3END ON EVERY TRACK THOUGH n THERE WILL USUALLY BE SOME TRACKS THAT IT MAKES NO SENSE TO ROUTE INTO THE HEADPHONES FOR THE CUE MIX 3O MORE USEFULLY THERE IS A SHORTCUT TO INSERT 3ENDS ON SELECTED TRACKS ONLY FIRST YOU SELECT ALL THE TRACKS ON WHICH YOU WISH TO INSERT 3ENDS FOR YOUR CUE MIX THEN PRESS THE 3HIFT KEY AT THE SAME TIME AS HOLDING THE /PTION -AC OR !LT KEY 7INDOWS AND CHOOSE AN AVAILABLE 3END /FTEN YOU WILL BE USING OUTPUT PATHS AND FROM YOUR AUDIO INTERFACE TO ROUTE THE MAIN MIX FROM 0RO 4OOLS TO YOUR MONITORS )F THIS IS THE CASE OUTPUT
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4O SELECT A GROUP OF TRACKS 3HIFT CLICK ON THE TRACK NAMES IN THE -IX OR %DIT WINDOW 4O SELECT NONADJACENT TRACKS HOLD THE #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL KEY 7INDOWS AND CLICK ON THE NONADJACENT TRACKS
PATHS AND MAY BE FREE TO USE FOR YOUR CUE MIX SO YOU WOULD ROUTE THE 3ENDS TO THESE OUTPUTS 9OU WOULD THEN NEED TO ROUTE THIS OUTPUT PAIR FROM YOUR HARDWARE INTERFACE INTO A SUITABLE HEADPHONE MONITORING AMPLIFIER INTO WHICH YOU WOULD PLUG THE HEADPHONES /NE WAY TO SET UP A CUE MIX IS AS FOLLOWS SET EACH OF THE 3ENDS TO UNITY GAIN BY /PTION CLICKING -AC OR !LT CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE SEND FADER IN EACH 3END WINDOW !LSO SET EACH 3END TO POSTFADER AND ENABLE THE &OLLOW -AIN 0AN &-0 BUTTON ON EACH SEND SO THAT THE CUE MIX WILL HAVE THE SAME PAN NING AS THE MAIN MIX 4HIS LETS YOU USE THE SAME MIX FOR THE CUE AS FOR YOUR MAIN MIX /F COURSE YOU CAN ALWAYS RAISE OR LOWER THE LEVEL OF ANY INDIVIDUAL TRACK IN THE CUE MIX USING AN INDIVIDUAL SEND FADER IF THE SINGER OR THE GUITARIST WANTS TO HEAR hMORE MEv
Figure 5.3 3END WINDOW IN POSTFADER MODE SET TO UNITY GAIN WITH &OLLOW -AIN 0AN SELECTED
!NOTHER WAY TO SET UP A CUE MIX IS TO HOLD THE /PTION -AC OR !LT KEY 7INDOWS AND USE THE h#OPY TO 3ENDv COMMAND TO COPY THE CURRENT FADER SETTINGS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS -IX WINDOW TO THE 3ENDS 9OU WILL FIND THIS COMMAND IN THE !UTOMATION SUB MENU IN THE %DIT MENU
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 5.4 Copy To 3END DIALOG Figure 5.5 Clicking ON THE 3END SELECTOR TO CHANGE THE 3ENDS VIEW 4HE 3ENDS VIEW IS SHOWING THE INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR 3END # WHICH IS BEING ROUTED TO INTERFACE OUTPUTS AND IN THIS EXAMPLE .OTICE THAT THE PREFADER BUTTONS ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE TO INDICATE THAT THESE ARE ENABLED
)F YOU #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 3END SELECTOR FOR ANY TRACK THIS WILL CHANGE THE 3ENDS VIEW TO SHOW THE INDIVIDUAL ASSIGN MENTS FOR LEVEL PAN MUTE AND PREPOST FADER 9OU CAN /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 0RE0OST BUTTON FOR ANY 3END TO SET ALL THE 0RE 0OST BUTTONS TO PREFADER THESE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE WHEN SELECTED SO THAT THE 3END LEVELS WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY ANY CHANGES YOU MAKE TO THE MAIN MIX FADER LEVELS 9OU CAN ALSO TWEAK THE INDI VIDUAL SEND LEVELS TO SUIT THE MUSICIANS WITHOUT AFFECTING THE MAIN MIX )F YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE 3ENDS VIEW SO THAT YOU SEE A DIFFERENT INDIVIDUAL SEND OR SO THAT YOU SEE ALL FIVE SEND ASSIGNMENTS AGAIN #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 3END SELECTOR FOR ANY TRACK AND CHOOSE ANY INDIVIDUAL SEND n OR CHOOSE !SSIGNMENTS TO SEE THEM ALL 4O CONTROL THE OVERALL LEVEL FOR THE CUE MIX CREATE A NEW STEREO -ASTER &ADER AND SET THIS TO CONTROL THE OUTPUT PATHS THAT YOU ARE USING FOR THE CUE MIX n IN &IGURE OUTPUTS AND
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Figure 5.6 Choose !SSIGNMENTS FROM THE 3END SELECTOR POP UP TO SHOW ALL FIVE 3END ASSIGNMENTS AT the same time – or choose ANY INDIVIDUAL 3END TO SHOW INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE CHOSEN 3END
Figure 5.7 -ASTER &ADER setup to control the OVERALL LEVEL OF A CUE MIX being sent to interface OUTPUTS AND
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)F YOU NEED ADDITIONAL CUE MIXES FOR THE DRUMMER OR FOR OTHER GROUPS OF MUSICIANS YOU CAN SET UP ADDITIONAL 3ENDS AND ROUTE THESE VIA ADDI TIONAL -ASTER &ADERS TO OTHER AVAILABLE OUTPUTS ON YOUR AUDIO INTERFACE IN THE SAME WAY
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)F YOU ARE WORKING WITH $ELAY #OMPENSATION ENABLED $IGIDESIGN RECOM MENDS THAT YOU DO NOT USE ANY INSERTS ON ANY -ASTER &ADER TRACKS THAT YOU ARE USING TO CONTROL CUE MIX LEVELS !LSO YOU SHOULD AVOID USING INSERTS ON ANY TRACKS THAT YOU ARE RECORDING ONTO ALTHOUGH LOW LATENCY INSERTS MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM !LWAYS CHECK THAT LATENCY IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR THE MUSI CIANS AND SINGERS THOUGH n AND NEVER FORGET THAT YOU ARE CREATING THE CUE MIX TO HELP THE PERFORMERS NOT FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Monitoring latency 4HERE WILL BE ALWAYS SOME DELAY TYPICALLY REFERRED TO AS LATENCY BETWEEN THE AUDIO COMING INTO 0RO 4OOLS AND THE AUDIO THAT IS SENT OUT FROM 0RO 4OOLS TO YOUR MONITOR SPEAKERS !T VERY LEAST THERE WILL BE A DELAY OF A FEW SAM PLES IN LENGTH DUE TO THE !$ CONVERSION PROCESS ON THE WAY IN AND THE DIGITAL TO ANALOG PROCESS ON THE WAY OUT 4HERE MAY be OTHER LATENCY DELAYS CAUSED BY BUSSING SIGNALS AROUND WITHIN THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER OR DUE TO ANY PROCESSING OF THE AUDIO SIGNALS WITHIN 0RO 4OOLS n WHICH WILL TAKE AT LEAST SOME SMALL ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS OF TIME 3O YOU WILL ALWAYS HEAR A DELAYED VERSION OF THE AUDIO INPUT THROUGH YOUR MONITOR SPEAKERS WHEN YOU ARE MONITORING THROUGH 0RO 4OOLS 9OU ARE UNLIKELY TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THE SMALL AMOUNTS OF LATENCY CAUSED BY !$ AND $! CONVERSIONS BUT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO HEAR DELAYS CAUSED BY BUS SING SIGNALS INTERNALLY OR DUE TO PROCESSING BY PLUG INS AND SOME PLUG INS CAN CAUSE QUITE LONG DELAYS THAT YOU WILL HAVE NO TROUBLE HEARING &OR EXAMPLE 2EAL 4IME !UDIO3UITE 24!3 PLUG INS USE THE HOST PROCESSOR IN YOUR COMPUTER AND MONITORING LATENCY WILL OCCUR IF YOU USE ANY 24!3 SIGNAL PROCESSING PLUG INS ON THE TRACKS YOU ARE RECORDING WITH 4HIS IS PARTICULARLY NOTICEABLE WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING 24!3 VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTS AND MONITORING THE INSTRUMENTS AUDIO OUTPUT WHICH WILL SUFFER FROM MONITORING LATENCY WHEN THE HOST PROCESSOR RECEIVES THE -)$) DATA AND PROCESSES THIS VIA THE PLUG IN TO CREATE THE AUDIO )F THIS DELAY IS CLEARLY AUDIBLE THIS CAN BE VERY OFF PUTTING FOR A MUSICIAN WHO IS TRYING TO OVERDUB TO AN EXISTING PERFORMANCE n BECAUSE THE MUSIC ALREADY RECORDED WILL PLAY BACK AT THE CORRECT TIME WHILE THE NEW PER FORMANCE WILL BE DELAYED WITH RESPECT TO THIS DUE TO THE MONITORING LATENCY )T IS POSSIBLE TO REDUCE THE SIZE OF THE HARDWARE BUFFER TO MINIMIZE LATENCY DELAYS 9OU CAN DO THIS IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE DIALOG THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE 3ETUP MENU n SETTING THE (7 "UFFER 3IZE TO A SMALLER NUMBER OF SAMPLES TO REDUCE THE LATENCY (OWEVER EVEN AT THE SMALLEST BUFFER SIZE THERE IS STILL SOME LATENCY !LSO REDUCING THE BUFFER SIZE LIMITS THE NUMBER OF SIMULTANEOUS AUDIO TRACKS YOU CAN RECORD WITHOUT ENCOUNTERING PERFORMANCE ERRORS 7HEN YOU ARE RECORDING YOU WILL WANT TO SET THE SMALLEST POSSIBLE BUFFER SIZE TO COUNTERACT LATENCY BUT WHEN YOU HAVE HIGHER TRACK COUNTS WITH MORE PLUG INS YOU WILL NEED TO USE LARGER BUFFER SIZES
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4HE LOWEST AVAILABLE (7 "UFFER 3IZE SETTING WILL BE OR SAMPLES DEPENDING ON THE .UMBER OF 6OICES SETTING &OR EXAMPLE THE SAMPLE BUFFER SIZE SETTING WILL BE AVAILABLE ONLY WHEN THE .UMBER OF 6OICES SETTING IS VOICES DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR ;$30= OR VOICES $30
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Figure 5.8 Setting the (ARDWARE "UFFER 3IZE
7HEN AUTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ENABLED THIS IS APPLIED TO 3ENDS AND )NSERTS TO COMPENSATE FOR MIXER DELAYS INHERENT IN BUSSING 3O IN MOST CASES YOU CAN NOW RECORD IN 0RO 4OOLS WITH $ELAY #OMPENSATION ENABLED TO MINI MIZE LATENCY PROBLEMS /F COURSE YOU CAN AVOID THE LATENCY PROBLEM ALTOGETHER BY MONITORING THE RECORDING SOURCE USING AN EXTERNAL MIXER BEFORE IT IS ROUTED TO 0RO 4OOLS 0LUG YOUR MICROPHONES OR INSTRUMENTS INTO THE MIXER AND YOU WILL HEAR THE SOUND DIRECTLY THROUGH A CONNECTED MONITOR SYSTEM WITH NO AUDIBLE DELAY !T THE SAME TIME ROUTE THE AUDIO TO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE SO THAT YOU CAN RECORD IT
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)F YOU ARE MONITORING THROUGH AN EXTERNAL MIXER WHILE RECORDING DONT FORGET TO DEFEAT THE MONITORING PULL THE FADER DOWN OR ENGAGE THE MUTE BUTTON FOR EACH TRACK THAT YOU ARE RECORDING IN 0RO 4OOLS /THERWISE YOU WILL HEAR A DELAYED VERSION OF THE AUDIO MIXED IN WITH THE UNDELAYED VERSION
Delay Compensation 7HEN YOU ARE USING PLUG INS OR HARDWARE INSERTS AND WHEN YOU ARE ROUTING AUDIO WITHIN THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER USING 3ENDS AND BUSSES DELAYS CAN OCCUR DUE TO THE TIME NEEDED FOR THE $30 TO TAKE PLACE 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES AUTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE $30 DELAYS 4HIS $ELAY #OMPENSATION MAINTAINS PHASE COHERENT TIME ALIGNMENT BETWEEN TRACKS THAT HAVE PLUG INS WITH DIFFERING $30 DELAYS TRACKS WITH DIFFERENT MIXING PATHS TRACKS THAT ARE SPLIT OFF AND RECOMBINED WITHIN THE MIXER AND TRACKS WITH HARDWARE INSERTS $ELAY #OMPENSATION SHOULD ALWAYS BE USED WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING BACK AND MIXING IN 0RO 4OOLS )T SHOULD ALSO BE USED IN MOST RECORDING SITUATIONS
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
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7HEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ENABLED YOU WILL HAVE TO AVOID USING INSERTS ON TRACKS THAT ARE BEING USED FOR RECORDING OR FOR CONTROLLING THE LEVELS OF CUE MIXES BECAUSE $ELAY #OMPENSATION WILL CREATE AN UNWANTED TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TRACKS PLAYING BACK FROM DISK AND ANY NEW AUDIO COMING INTO 0RO 4OOLS
To enable Delay Compensation, you can either select Delay Compensation FROM THE /PTIONS MENU OR CHOOSE 3HORT OR ,ONG $ELAY #OMPENSATION IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE DIALOG THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE 3ETUP MENU 4HE 3HORT $ELAY #OMPENSATION SETTING IS THE MOST EFFICIENT SETTING FOR 0RO 4OOLS\($ !CCEL SYSTEMS AND IF YOU ARE ONLY USING A FEW PLUG INS THAT ARE NOT PRODUCING TOO MUCH $30 DELAY THIS SHOULD SUFFICE 4HE ,ONG $ELAY #OMPENSATION SET TING IS INTENDED FOR USE ON SESSIONS WITH LOTS OF PLUG INS AND LARGE AMOUNTS OF $30 DELAY
Figure 5.9 Part of the 0LAYBACK %NGINE DIALOG SHOWING THE $ELAY Compensation Engine SETTINGS
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0RO 4OOLS ADDS THE EXACT AMOUNT OF DELAY TO EACH TRACK NECESSARY TO MAKE THAT PARTICULAR TRACKS DELAY EQUAL TO THE TOTAL 3YSTEM $ELAY 4HE TOTAL 3YSTEM $ELAY IS THE LONGEST DELAY REPORTED ON A TRACK PLUS ANY ADDITIONAL DELAY CAUSED BY MIXER ROUTING
4HE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DELAY DUE TO INSERTS AND MIXER ROUTING FOR THE ENTIRE SESSION IS DISPLAYED IN THE 3ESSION 3ETUP WINDOW THAT YOU CAN ACCESS FROM THE 3ETUP MENU 9OU CAN VIEW THE REPORTED 3YSTEM $ELAY IN THE 3ESSION 3ETUP WINDOW TO CHECK WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE CLOSE TO EXCEEDING THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION LIMIT )N THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES PAGE THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4IME -ODE SETTING LETS YOU SPECIFY WHETHER DELAY VALUES ARE DISPLAYED IN SAMPLES OR MILLISECONDS
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Figure 5.10 The total System Delay in samples IS DISPLAYED IN THE 3ESSION 3ETUP WINDOW ACCESSIBLE FROM THE 3ETUP MENU
Figure 5.11 Delay Compensation Time -ODE POP UP SELECTOR IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES
4HERE IS A $ELAY #OMPENSATION STATUS INDICATOR IN THE %DIT 7INDOW 4OOLBAR THAT IS DISPLAYED WHEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ACTIVATED BUT TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE DELAYS ON EACH TRACK YOU SHOULD ENABLE THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 6IEW FOR TRACKS IN THE -IX WINDOW 4HIS VIEW DISPLAYS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DELAY DUE TO 4$- 4IME $IVISION -ULTIPLEXING ANDOR 24!3 2EAL4IME !UDIO3UITE PLUG INS AND ANY HARDWARE INSERTS IN THE $ELAY )NDICATOR DLY FIELD 9OU CAN APPLY A TRACK DELAY OFFSETT USING THE 5SER /FFSET hv FIELD AND YOU CAN VIEW THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DELAY THAT 0RO 4OOLS IS APPLYING TO THE TRACK IN THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION CMP FIELD 4HE ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS IN THESE FIELDS ARE DISPLAYED IN DIFFERENT COLORS TO INDICATE STATUS &OR EXAMPLE GREEN IS USED TO INDICATE THAT EVERYTHING IS WORKING NORMALLY
Figure 5.12 The 3TRUCTURE )NSTRUMENT TRACK WITH SUFFICIENT $ELAY #OMPENSATION AVAILABLE
/RANGE IS USED TO IDENTIFY THE TRACK REPORTING THE LONGEST PLUG IN AND HARDWARE INSERT DELAY IN THE SESSION
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 5.13 !N !UX TRACK WITH !LTIVERB 24!3 PLUG IN INSERTED HAS THE LONGEST DELAY IN THIS SESSION SO THE DELAY PARAMETERS ARE SHOWN IN ORANGE
Figure 5.14 Delay #OMPENSATION 6IEW THE FIRST TRACK HAS NO INSERTS the Piano track has the #OMPRESSOR,IMITER $YN 4$- PLUG IN INSERTED THE )NSTRUMENT TRACK HAS 3TRUCTURE INSERTED AND THE DELAY VALUES ARE SHOWN IN RED BECAUSE WITH THE 3HORT $ELAY Compensation Engine SELECTED THERE IS NOT SUFFICIENT DELAY AVAILABLE to compensate for this AMOUNT OF DELAY
7HEN THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF PLUG IN AND HARDWARE INSERT DELAY ON A TRACK EXCEEDS THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF $ELAY #OMPENSATION AVAILABLE THE ALPHANUMERIC CHARACTERS IN THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION VIEW TURN RED AND $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS DISABLED ON THAT TRACK )F THIS HAPPENS CHECK THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION %NGINE SETTING IN THE 0LAYBACK %NGINE AND IF THIS IS SET TO 3HORT CHANGE THE SETTING TO ,ONG )F THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION %NGINE IS ALREADY SET TO ,ONG YOU CAN MANUALLY COMPEN SATE FOR THE TRACK DELAY BY MOVING AUDIO DATA ON THE TRACK EARLIER BY THE AMOUNT OF DELAY REPORTED IN THE TRACKS DLY )N THIS CASE YOU SHOULD BYPASS THE REPORTED DELAY FOR THE TRACK BY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE DLY 4HE DLY FIELD WILL TURN GRAY WHEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS BYPASSED
Figure 5.15 Delay )NDICATOR TURNED GRAY TO SHOW THAT THE $ELAY Compensation has been BYPASSED
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7HILE $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS ENABLED YOU CAN USE THE 5SER /FFSET FIELD TO ADJUST THE TIMING hFEELv OF THE TRACK MANUALLY ADDING TO OR SUBTRACTING FROM THE AMOUNT OF DELAY BEING APPLIED BY THE AUTOMATIC $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4HE 5SER /FFSET FIELD IS DISPLAYED IN WHITE WHEN A 5SER /FFSET IS BEING USED ON THE TRACK AND IN GRAY WHEN THE 5SER /FFSET FEATURE IS DISABLED ON THE TRACK 4O BYPASS THE 5SER /FFSET DELAY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS THE 5SER /FFSET FIELD 4HE CMP FIELD SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF $ELAY #OMPENSATION BEING APPLIED TO EACH TRACK 4HE 4RACK #OMPENSATION FIELD TURNS GRAY WHEN $ELAY #OMPENSATION FOR THE TRACK IS BYPASSED AND NO DELAY IS BEING APPLIED TO THE TRACK 7HEN AN AUDIO TRACK IS RECORD ENABLED 4RACK )NPUT MONITORING ENABLED $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED OR PUNCHED IN THE TRACKS $ELAY #OMPENSATION IS AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED TO PROVIDE LOW LATENCY MONITORING ON THE TRACK OUTPUTS )F THIS IS A PROBLEM YOU CAN FORCIBLY APPLY $ELAY #OMPENSATION EVEN WHEN THE TRACK IS RECORD ENABLED OR 4RACK )NPUT ENABLED IN WHICH CASE THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR TURNS BLUE 4O APPLY $ELAY #OMPENSATION TO TRACKS ON WHICH $ELAY #OMPENSATION HAS BEEN SUSPENDED #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR
RTAS plug-ins “health” warning 5SING 24!3 PLUG INS CAN SERIOUSLY DEPLETE THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE VOICES IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEM 4HEY ALSO ADD TO THE LATENCY IN YOUR SYSTEM SO USE WITH CARE 7HEN YOU INITIALLY INSERT AN 24!3 PLUG IN ON AN !UXILIARY )NPUT OR -ASTER &ADER OR ON AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN AN INSTRUMENT PLUG IN AND WHENEVER YOU INSERT AN 24!3 PLUG IN AFTER A 4$- PLUG IN ON ANY KIND OF TRACK THIS WILL USE TWO ADDITIONAL VOICES PER CHANNEL n ONE FOR INPUT AND ONE FOR OUTPUT !ND IF THE TRACK IS STEREO EACH CHANNEL WILL USE TWO VOICES 4HE BAD NEWS IS THAT 0RO 4OOLS ALSO USES ANOTHER ADDITIONAL VOICE FOR THE TRACK IF YOU USE THE EXTERNAL KEY SIDE CHAIN OF AN 24!3 PLUG IN ON THAT TRACK OR IF YOU SELECT MULTIPLE TRACK OUTPUTS FOR THE TRACK IT USES ONE ADDITIONAL VOICE FOR EACH ADDITIONAL OUTPUT !ND ONE VOICE IS USED FOR EACH CHANNEL WHEN YOU SELECT AN !&,0&, PATH OUTPUT IN THE /UTPUT TAB OF THE )/ 3ETUP DIALOG 4HE GOOD NEWS IS THAT ADDING FURTHER 24!3 PLUG INS ON THE SAME TRACK DOES NOT USE ANY ADDITIONAL VOICES n UNLESS THAT IS A 4$- PLUG IN IS INSERTED BETWEEN TWO OF THESE OTHER 24!3 PLUG INS /BVIOUSLY THIS IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD AND CAN AVOID *UST REMEMBER THAT INSERTING 4$- PLUG INS BETWEEN 24!3 PLUG INS ON ANY KIND OF TRACK WILL ALWAYS CAUSE UNNECESSARY VOICE USAGE n AND MAY CAUSE ADDITIONAL LATENCY 3O HOW DOES 0RO 4OOLS HANDLE THINGS WHEN YOU MIX 4$- AND 24!3 PLUG INS 7ELL THIS IS A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED TO EXPLAIN )T DEPENDS ON WHAT MIX OF
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4$- AND 24!3 PLUG INS YOU ARE USING #OMBINING 24!3 AND 4$- PLUG INS ON AN !UDIO TRACK !UXILIARY )NPUT OR -ASTER &ADER PRODUCES DIFFERENT RESULTS DEPENDING ON THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARE INSERTED )F THE 24!3 PLUG INS ARE GROUPED TOGETHER AND INSERTED before THE 4$- PLUG INS NO ADDITIONAL VOICES WILL BE USED AND NO PROCESSING LATENCY IS ADDED 7ITH THIS CONFIGURATION THE 24!3 PLUG INS WILL BE BYPASSED WHEN 2ECORD %NABLE OR 4RACK)NPUT MONITORING IS ENABLED FOR THAT TRACK )F THE 24!3 PLUG INS ARE GROUPED TOGETHER AND INSERTED after THE 4$- PLUG INS EACH INITIAL INSERT OF AN 24!3 PLUG IN AFTER A 4$- PLUG IN ON A TRACK WILL CAUSE PROCESSING LATENCY AND WILL USE VOICES AS PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED !ND IN THIS CASE 24!3 PLUG INS WILL not BE BYPASSED WHEN 2ECORD %NABLE OR 4RACK)NPUT MONITORING IS ENABLED FOR THAT TRACK !S A CONSEQUENCE THERE ARE TWO RULES THAT YOU SHOULD OBSERVE WHEN USING COMBINATIONS OF 4$- AND 24!3 PLUG INS !LWAYS GROUP PLUG INS OF THE SAME TYPE TOGETHER AND INSERT THESE BEFORE ANY 4$- PLUG INS TO AVOID ADDITIONAL VOICES BEING USED AND TO MINIMIZE PROCESSING LATENCY )F YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE 24!3 PLUG INS STAY ACTIVE WHEN YOU RECORD ENABLE A TRACK OR USE 4RACK)NPUT MONITORING THEN YOU MUST INSERT ANY 4$- PLUG INS BEFORE YOU INSERT THE 24!3 PLUG INS
Auto Input and Input Only monitoring "EFORE YOU START RECORDING YOU ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER THE MONITORING MODE AND HOW TO SET THE MONITORING LEVELS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER 4HERE ARE TWO DIF FERENT WAYS IN WHICH THE INPUT SIGNALS CAN BE MONITORED WHILE PLAYING BACK WHILE RECORDING OR WITH THE TRANSPORT STOPPED 4HESE ARE THE !UTO )NPUT AND )NPUT /NLY MONITORING MODES ,ETS CONSIDER THE DEFAULT !UTO )NPUT MODE FIRST 7HEN PLAYBACK IS STOPPED THE TRACK MONITORS WHATEVER IS COMING INTO ITS AUDIO INPUT .OW LETS CONSIDER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE OVERDUBBING AND REACH A PUNCH IN POINT )N THIS CASE YOU WILL NORMALLY WANT TO HEAR WHATEVER HAS BEEN RECORDED UP TO THE PUNCH IN POINT $URING THE PUNCH IN YOU WANT TO HEAR THE NEW AUDIO THAT IS coming in SO YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE TRACKS YOU ARE PUNCHING INTO ARE monitoring inputs 7HEN YOU REACH THE PUNCH OUT POINT YOU WANT THE MONI toring to instantly SWITCHBACK to monitoring the track playback so that you CAN HEAR THE EXISTING TRACK MATERIAL AGAIN 3O THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT !UTO )NPUT MODE DOES 3OMETIMES YOU DONT WANT TO HEAR THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL THAT WAS RECORDED YOU WANT TO HEAR THE INCOMING AUDIO AT ALL TIMES 4HIS IS WHAT )NPUT /NLY -ONITORING DOES
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4HESE INPUT MONITORING OPTIONS WILL BE FAMILIAR TO RECORDING ENGINEERS WHO ARE ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING INPUT SWITCHING AVAILABLE ON ANALOG MULTI TRACK RECORDERS
%ACH MIXER CHANNEL STRIP HAS A 4RACK)NPUT BUTTON THAT LETS YOU SWITCH INDIVID UAL AUDIO TRACKS BETWEEN !UTO )NPUT AND )NPUT /NLY MONITORING 9OU CAN ALSO PRESS 3HIFT ) TO ENABLE THE 4RACK)NPUT -ONITOR BUTTON FOR ANY TRACK CONTAINING THE %DIT CURSOR OR AN %DIT SELECTION 7HEN )NPUT -ONITOR IS ENABLED ON A TRACK THE )NPUT 3TATUS ,%$ IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND THE 4RACK)NPUT -ONITOR BUTTONS FOR EACH ENABLED TRACK TURN GREEN 7HEN YOU HAVE RECORD ENABLED ANY TRACKS THE MENU COMMAND h3ET 2ECORD 4RACKS TO !UTO )NPUTv BECOMES ACTIVE IN THE 4RACK MENU 4HIS LETS YOU TOG GLE THE INPUT STATUS OF ALL RECORD ENABLED TRACKS BETWEEN !UTO )NPUT AND )NPUT /NLY
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7HEN IN !UTO )NPUT MODE THE SWITCHBACK TO MONITORING TRACK MATERIAL ON PUNCH OUT IS NOT INSTANTANEOUS
Figure 5.16 When )NPUT -ONITOR IS ENABLED ON A TRACK THE )NPUT 3TATUS ,%$ IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND THE 4RACK)NPUT -ONITOR BUTTONS FOR EACH ENABLED TRACK TURN GREEN
4HERE ARE SEVERAL USEFUL SHORTCUTS FOR SWITCHING 4RACK)NPUT MONITORING TO TOGGLE ALL TRACKS IN THE SESSION /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY 4RACK)NPUT -ONITOR BUTTON 4O TOGGLE ALL SELECTED TRACKS IN THE SESSION /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ON A SELECTED TRACKS 195
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4RACK)NPUT -ONITOR BUTTON 4O TOGGLE RECORD ENABLED TRACKS BETWEEN !UTO )NPUT AND )NPUT /NLY MONITORING PRESS /PTION + -AC OR !LT + 7INDOWS
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)F YOU HAVE )NPUT /NLY AND 2ECORD %NABLE BOTH SELECTED ON A TRACK )NPUT /NLY MONITORING WILL BE DISABLED IF YOU DE SELECT 2ECORD %NABLE FOR THE TRACK 3OMETIMES YOU WILL NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU ARE RECORDING ON A SERIES OF TRACKS ONE AT A TIME 4O PREVENT THIS HAPPENING YOU CAN DISABLE THIS BEHAVIOR IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES BY DE SELECTING THE h$ISABLE @)NPUT 7HEN $ISARMING 4RACK IN @3TOP v PREFERENCE
Setting monitor levels for record and playback 7HEN YOU RECORD ENABLE AUDIO TRACKS THEIR VOLUME FADERS TURN BRIGHT RED 4HIS IS TO REMIND YOU THAT DIFFERENT FADER LEVELS CAN BE SET FOR ANY AUDIO TRACK DURING RECORDING AND PLAYBACK )F YOU de-select h,INK 2ECORD !ND 0LAY &ADERSv IN THE /PERATION PAGE OF THE 0REFERENCES WINDOW YOU CAN SET MONITOR ING LEVELS INDEPENDENTLY WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS RECORDING AND WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS PLAYING BACK FOR EACH AUDIO TRACK AND 0RO 4OOLS WILL REMEMBER THE TWO DIFFER ENT FADER LEVELS ONE FOR WHEN THE TRACK IS RECORD ENABLED AND OTHER FOR WHEN it is not RECORD ENABLED 7HEN THE /PERATION PREFERENCE FOR h,INK 2ECORD AND 0LAY &ADERSv IS selected THE MONITORING LEVELS WILL BE KEPT THE SAME WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS RECORDING AND PLAYING BACK KEEPING THE MIX CONSISTENT WHETHER YOU ARE RECORDING OR LISTENING
Recording with or without effects 9OU NEED TO THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT WHETHER TO RECORD ANY EFFECTS THAT YOU ARE ADDING TO DISK OR WHETHER TO USE THESE EFFECTS PURELY FOR MONITORING n PERHAPS TO hVIBE UPv THE PERFORMERS WHILE THEY ARE PLAYING 3INGERS USUALLY LIKE TO HEAR AT LEAST A LITTLE REVERB AND GUITAR PLAYERS OFTEN WANT TO HEAR DISTORTION OR DELAY EFFECTS FOR EXAMPLE /NE PROBLEM WITH MONITORING BUT NOT RECORDING EFFECTS IS THAT THE MUSICIAN WILL OFTEN PLAY THINGS THAT ONLY MAKE SENSE WHEN HEARING THIS PARTICULAR EFFECT AND IF YOU DONT RECORD THIS AT THE SAME TIME YOU MAY NEVER BE ABLE TO RECREATE THIS AGAIN YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO GET HOLD OF THE PLUG IN OR THE HARDWARE THAT WAS USED )F YOU WANT TO RECORD THE EFFECTS THAT YOU ARE ADDING TO VOICES OR INSTRUMENTS TO DISK YOU HAVE MORE CHOICES TO MAKE 9OU MAY BE ADDING THE EFFECTS BY BUSSING SIGNALS TO AND FROM EXTERNAL HARDWARE /R YOU MAY BE ROUTING THE AUDIO FROM THE MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS INTO hOUTBOARDv EFFECTS BEFORE ROUT ING THIS INTO 0RO 4OOLS )T IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO USE SOFTWARE PLUG INS TO CREATE EFFECTS WHILE YOU ARE RECORDING 196
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Recording with plug-in effects )F YOU INSERT A PLUG IN ON AN !UDIO TRACK AND RECORD AUDIO INTO THIS TRACK THE EFFECT IS NOT RECORDED TO DISK IT IS ONLY APPLIED TO THE AUDIO COMING BACK FROM DISK )F YOU WANT TO RECORD THE EFFECT TO DISK YOU NEED TO USE AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACK #ONNECT YOUR AUDIO SOURCE TO THIS INPUT INSERT ONE OR MORE PLUG IN EFFECTS ON THE !UXILIARY )NPUT AND ROUTE THE OUTPUT TO THE INPUT OF AN !UDIO TRACK 4HEN YOU CAN USE THE !UDIO TRACK TO RECORD THE INCOMING AUDIO TOGETHER WITH THE SOUND OF THE PLUG IN EFFECTS
Figure 5.17 2ECORDING WITH PLUG IN EFFECTS INSERTED ON THE !UXILIARY )NPUT 4HE OUTPUT OF THIS CHANNEL IS ROUTED TO THE INPUT OF AN !UDIO TRACK WHICH IS USED TO RECORD THE INCOMING AUDIO WITH THE PLUG IN EFFECTS APPLIED TO THIS
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4HE ADDITIONAL PROCESSING VIA THE PLUG IN ADDS A FURTHER LATENCY DELAY THAT CAN BE CONSIDERABLE WITH CERTAIN PLUG INS 4HIS IS WHY IT IS MORE USUAL TO APPLY PLUG IN EFFECTS TO YOUR RECORDINGS AFTER YOU HAVE RECORDED THE BASIC TRACKS
5.3 Recording audio 7HEN YOU HAVE SET UP THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO RECORD ONTO ROUTED MICRO phones into these, set the levels on the microphone preamplifiers, set up HEADPHONE MIXES THAT THE MUSICIANS ARE HAPPY TO WORK WITH CHECKED
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LAYBACK OF ANY EXISTING MATERIAL SORTED OUT CLICKS TEMPO METER KEY CHORDS P OR WHATEVER AND IDEALLY SET UP -ARKERS FOR THE SECTIONS OF THE MUSIC SET UP ANY EFFECTS PROCESSING EITHER FOR THE MUSICIANS TO HEAR TO hGIVE THEM THE VIBEv OR THAT WILL ALSO BE RECORDED TO DISK AND SET YOUR MONITORING LEVELS FOR THE CONTROL ROOM AND FOR THE HEADPHONE MIXES THEN YOU ARE CLOSE TO GETTING STARTED "UT THERE ARE STILL MORE MOVES TO MAKEx
Record enabling %ACH TRACK IN 0RO 4OOLS HAS A 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON THAT MUST BE SELECTED SO THAT IT LIGHTS UP RED BEFORE YOU PUT 0RO 4OOLS INTO 2ECORD MODE USING THE 4RANSPORT CONTROLS 9OU CAN RECORD SIMULTANEOUSLY TO MULTIPLE TRACKS BY RECORD ENABLING YOUR CHOICE OF !UDIO )NSTRUMENT OR -)$) TRACKS 7HEN YOU HAVE CLICKED THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON FOR THE FIRST TRACK YOU WANT TO SET UP YOU CAN ADD MORE CHOICES BY 3HIFT CLICKING ON MORE TRACK 2ECORD %NABLE BUT TONS AS YOU DECIDE WHICH YOU WANT TO USE
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)F YOU ENABLE THE h,ATCH 2ECORD %NABLE "UTTONSv PREFERENCE THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE /PERATIONS SECTION OF THE 0REFERENCES WINDOW THEN YOU DONT NEED TO 3HIFT CLICK THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS TO ENABLE ADDITIONAL TRACKS n JUST CLICK EACH IN TURN THAT YOU WANT TO BE ENABLED 4HEY WILL ALL STAY ENA BLED UNTIL DE SELECTED !ND IF YOU WANT TO RECORD ENABLE ALL THE TRACKS IN YOUR SESSION IF YOU ARE RECORDING A BAND FOR EXAMPLE THEN /PTION CLICKING -AC OR !LT CLICKING 7INDOWS WILL DO THIS
0RO 4OOLS ALSO PROVIDES KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS TO LET YOU RECORD ENABLE INPUT ENABLE SOLO OR MUTE ANY TRACKS THAT CONTAIN THE %DIT CURSOR OR AN %DIT SELEC TION WITHOUT USING THE MOUSE SIMPLY HOLD DOWN THE 3HIFT KEY AND PRESS 2 FOR 2ECORD ) FOR )NPUT ENABLE 3 FOR 3OLO OR - FOR -UTE TO TOGGLE THESE ON OR OFF )F YOU ARE WORKING IN THE %DIT WINDOW IT CAN BE QUICKER TO USE THESE COM MANDS TO INPUT ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE TRACKS 7HEN YOU HAVE RECORD ENABLED ALL THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO RECORD ONTO CLICK THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT TO ARM RECORDING THEN CLICK THE 0LAY BUT TON IN THE 4RANSPORT TO START RECORDING !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN ARM AND START RECORDING IMMEDIATELY BY PRESSING ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD WHEN THE .UMERIC +EYPAD MODE IS SET TO 4RANSPORT OR BY PRESSING THE FUNCTION KEY & /R YOU CAN SIMPLY PRESS #OMMAND 3PACEBAR -AC OR #ONTROL 3PACEBAR 7INDOWS n WHICH ) ALWAYS USE )F THE TAKE GETS MESSED UP FOR ANY REASON AND YOU REALIZE THIS BEFORE YOU STOP RECORDING THE FASTEST WAY TO ABORT THE RECORDING IS TO PRESS #OMMAND 0ERIOD
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/N -AC SYSTEMS TO USE & OR #OMMAND 3PACEBAR FOR RECORDING THE -AC h3POTLIGHTv FEATURE MUST BE DISABLED OR REMAPPED
-AC OR #ONTROL 0ERIOD 7INDOWS 4HIS INSTANTLY ABORTS THE RECORDING WITH OUT SAVING THE FILE n SAVING YOU TIME IF YOU REALIZE THAT YOU HAVE A USELESS TAKE )F YOU STOP THE RECORDING AND THEN REALIZE THAT IT IS NO GOOD YOU CAN USE THE STANDARD KEYBOARD COMMAND #OMMAND : -AC OR #ONTROL : 7INDOWS TO UNDO YOUR LAST ACTION n IN THIS CASE THE RECORDING THAT YOU JUST MADE
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)F YOU ARE RECORDING A LARGE NUMBER OF TRACKS OR PLAYING BACK A LARGE NUMBER OF TRACKS WHILE RECORDING 0RO 4OOLS MAY TAKE A LITTLE LONGER TO BEGIN RECORDING 4O AVOID THIS DELAY YOU CAN PUT 0RO 4OOLS IN h0RIME FOR 2ECORDv MODE FIRST #LICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT SO THE 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES THEN /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 0LAY BUTTON 4HE 3TOP BUTTON LIGHTS AND BOTH THE 0LAY AND 2ECORD BUTTONS FLASH TO INDI CATE THAT 0RIME FOR 2ECORD MODE IS ENABLED .OW WHEN YOU CLICK 0LAY 0RO 4OOLS WILL BEGIN RECORDING INSTANTANEOUSLY
Other record modes 0RO 4OOLS HAS SEVERAL OTHER RECORD MODES THAT YOU CAN SELECT USING THE /PTIONS MENU $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD ,OOP 2ECORD 1UICK0UNCH 4RACK0UNCH AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH 9OU CAN SWITCH BETWEEN THESE BY #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR 2IGHT CLICKING 7INDOWS AND -AC THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 7HEN YOU CYCLE THROUGH THESE MODES THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON CHANGES TO INDICATE THE CURRENTLY SELECTED MODE ADDING A h$v TO INDICATE $ESTRUCTIVE A LOOP SYMBOL TO INDICATE ,OOP 2ECORD A h0v TO INDICATE 1UICK0UNCH A h4v TO INDICATE 4RACK0UNCH AND h$0v TO INDICATE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE WORKS LIKE A CONVENTIONAL TAPE RECORDER WHERE NEW RECORDINGS ONTO A PARTICULAR TRACK REPLACE ANY PREVIOUS RECORDINGS WITH THAT TRACK 4HERE IS LITTLE JUSTIFICATION FOR USING THIS MODE UNLESS YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF HARD DISK SPACE TO RECORD TO ,OOP 2ECORD MODE LETS YOU RECORD MULTIPLE TAKES INTO THE SAME TRACK OVER A SELECTED TIME RANGE %ACH SUCCESSIVE TAKE WILL APPEAR IN THE 2EGION ,IST AND
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
CAN BE PLACED IN THE TRACK USING THE 4AKES ,IST POP UP MENU 4HIS IS VERY USEFUL WHEN A SINGER OR MUSICIAN IS TRYING TO PERFECT A DIFFICULT SECTION 1UICK0UNCH LETS YOU MANUALLY PUNCH IN AND OUT OF RECORD ON RECORD ENABLED AUDIO TRACKS DURING PLAYBACK BY CLICKING THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 4HIS IS USEFUL WHEN THE ENGINEER OR PRODUCER WANTS TO DECIDE hON THE FLYv WHICH BIT OF A PERFORMANCE TO REPLACE WHILE THE SINGER OR MUSICIAN PLAYS THROUGHOUT THE SESSION 4RACK0UNCH MODE LETS YOU MANUALLY PUNCH SINGLE TRACKS IN AND OUT OR TAKE TRACKS OUT OF RECORD ENABLE WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ONLINE RECORDING AND PLAY BACK 9OU CAN ALSO SIMULTANEOUSLY PUNCH MULTIPLE TRACKS IN AND OUT DestructivePunch is a destructive RECORDING MODE THAT LETS YOU MANUALLY PUNCH TRACKS IN AND OUT DURING PLAYBACK REPLACING THE AUDIO MATERIAL WITHIN ANY TRACK THAT YOU PUNCH INTO AND THEREBY DESTROYING WHAT WAS THERE PREVI OUSLY ,IKE 4RACK0UNCH MODE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE LETS YOU PUNCH TRACKS IN AND OUT INDIVIDUALLY PUNCH MULTIPLE TRACKS IN AND OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY OR TAKE TRACKS OUT OF RECORD ENABLE WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ONLINE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK
Record Safe mode )F YOU ARE WORRYING THAT YOU MIGHT ACCIDENTALLY PUT THE WRONG TRACK OR TRACKS INTO RECORD AND MESS UP A PREVIOUS RECORDING THEN BE ASSURED THAT IT IS VERY UNLIKELY THAT THIS COULD HAPPEN WITH 0RO 4OOLS !NY NEW RECORDINGS ARE MADE TO NEW FILES BY DEFAULT SO THE PREVIOUS FILES WILL STILL BE THERE IN YOUR 2EGIONS LIST AND IN YOUR SESSIONS AUDIO FOLDER 4HIS IS WHAT IS REFERRED TO AS hNONDESTRUC TIVEv RECORDING .EVERTHELESS 0RO 4OOLS DOES HAVE A hDESTRUCTIVEv RECORDING MODE IN WHICH NEW RECORDINGS REPLACE PREVIOUS RECORDINGS IN THE SAME FILES 3O TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A 2ECORD 3AFE MODE FOR EACH TRACK THAT PREVENTS TRACKS FROM BEING RECORD ENABLED 3IMPLY #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON AND THIS WILL BECOME GRAYED OUT AND WONT LET YOU ENABLE THE TRACK TO RECORD )F YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND JUST DO THIS AGAIN TO GET OUT OF 2ECORD 3AFE MODE )F YOU HOLD THE /PTION KEY -AC OR !LT 7INDOWS AT THE SAME TIME ALL TRACKS WILL BE AFFECTED !ND IF YOU HOLD THE 3HIFT KEY AS WELL JUST THE CURRENTLY SELECTED TRACKS WILL BE AFFECTED
Half-speed recording and playback ! TRICK THAT RECORDING ENGINEERS HAVE BEEN USING FOR AT LEAST YEARS IS TO RECORD A DIFFICULT TO PLAY MUSICAL PART AT HALF SPEED AN OCTAVE BELOW 7HEN PLAYED BACK AT NORMAL SPEED THE PART PLAYS BACK AT THE CORRECT TEMPO BUT PITCHED UP AN OCTAVE n BACK TO WHERE IT SHOULD BE
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) REMEMBER BEING INTRODUCED TO THIS TECHNIQUE IN THE EARLY S WHILE RECORDING TO ANALOG TAPE ) WAS STRUGGLING TO PLAY A TRICKY #LAVINET PART AND THE RECORDING ENGINEER JUST RAN THE TAPE AT HALF SPEED AND TOLD ME TO PLAY ALONG AN OCTAVE BELOW 7HEN HE PLAYED WHAT ) HAD RECORDED BACK AT NOR MAL SPEED IT SOUNDED PERFECT n MUCH TIGHTER TIMING WISE THAN ) HAD ACTUALLY PLAYED IT EVEN AT HALF TEMPO ) SUBSEQUENTLY LEARNED THAT 'EORGE -ARTIN USED THIS TECHNIQUE EXTENSIVELY WHEN RECORDING WITH 4HE "EATLES .OW YOU CAN USE THIS TECHNIQUE WHEN RECORDING WITH 0RO 4OOLS 0RESS #OMMAND 3HIFT 3PACEBAR -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT 3PACEBAR 7INDOWS WHEN YOU START RECORDING AND 0RO 4OOLS WILL PLAY BACK EXISTING TRACKS AND RECORD INCOMING AUDIO AT HALF SPEED
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)F YOU JUST WANT TO PLAY BACK A 0RO 4OOLS SESSION AT HALF SPEED ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PRESS 3HIFT 3PACEBAR 4HIS CAN BE VERY USEFUL WHEN PLAYING ALONG WITH OR TRANSCRIBING WHAT IS BEING PLAYED ON EXISTING RECORDINGS n WHICH MANY MUSICIANS NEED TO DO FROM TIME TO TIME
Recording new takes using Playlists 0LAYLISTS PROVIDE A SIMPLE WAY TO BE ABLE TO KEEP RECORDING NEW TAKES INTO THE SAME TRACK WITHOUT ANY FUSS 9OU CAN CREATE A NEW 0LAYLIST FOR THE TRACK EACH TIME YOU WANT TO RECORD A NEW TAKE 4HIS SAVES YOU THE TROUBLE OF INSERTING OR CHOOSING A NEW TRACK AND THEN HAVING TO SET THE TRACK UP WITH THE CORRECT INPUTS AND OUTPUTS HEADPHONE MIXES FOR THE MUSICIANS INSERTS OR PLUG INS 7ORKING ON THE SAME TRACK YOU JUST RECORDED ONTO WITH A NEW 0LAYLIST LEAVES THE PREVIOUS TAKE JUST AS IT WAS n BUT HIDDEN FROM VIEW AND DISABLED FROM PLAYING n SO YOU CAN SIMPLY RECORD ANOTHER TAKE INTO THIS NEW 0LAYLIST %VERY TRACK LETS YOU CREATE AS MANY OF THESE EDIT PLAYLISTS AS YOU LIKE SO IF YOU WANT TO RECORD ANOTHER TAKE YOU JUST CREATE ANOTHER NEW 0LAYLIST %ACH TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW HAS A POP UP 0LAYLIST SELECTOR NEXT TO THE TRACK NAME #LICK AND HOLD THIS TO SHOW THE 0LAYLIST MENU 9OU CAN SELECT h.EWxv TO CREATE A NEW 0LAYLIST 4HE h$UPLICATEv COMMAND IS USEFUL WHEN YOU START EDITING YOUR 0LAYLISTS LATER ON AS IS THE h$ELETE 5NUSEDxv COMMAND !LL THE 0LAYLISTS YOU HAVE CREATED FOR THIS TRACK ARE ALSO LISTED HERE AND YOU CAN EVEN ACCESS 0LAYLISTS FOR OTHER TRACKS 7HEN YOU SELECT h.EWx v YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH A DIALOG BOX THAT LETS YOU TYPE A NAME FOR THE NEW 0LAYLIST n OR YOU CAN JUST /+ THIS AND GO WITH THE DEFAULT NAME IF THIS IS FINE FOR YOU
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Figure 5.18 0OP UP 0LAYLIST SELECTOR
Figure 5.19 .AMING A NEW 0LAYLIST
(AVING CREATED A NEW 0LAYLIST THE FIRST THING YOU WILL NOTICE IS THAT THE TRACK IS NOW EMPTY n THERE ARE NO REGIONS VISIBLE AND THE PREVIOUS TAKE DOES NOT PLAY BACK 3O YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND RECORD ENABLE THE TRACK READY TO RECORD THE NEXT TAKE
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0LAYLISTS ARE ALSO VERY USEFUL FOR MANAGING DIFFERENTLY EDITED VERSIONS OF A PARTICULAR RECORDING 9OU CAN CHOP UP A RECORDED FILE ONE WAY IN ONE 0LAYLIST AND ANOTHER WAY IN ANOTHER 0LAYLIST AND THEN SWAP THESE WHENEVER YOU LIKE WHILE WORKING ON YOUR ARRANGEMENT
5.4 Automatic punch-in and punch-out "ECAUSE 0RO 4OOLS RECORDS NONDESTRUCTIVELY BY DEFAULT YOU DONT HAVE TO TAKE CARE TO PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT EXACTLY AT THE RIGHT PLACES TO AVOID RECORD ING OVER MATERIAL BEFORE AND AFTER THE PUNCH LOCATIONS UNLESS YOU ARE USING 202
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$ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE !LL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO START RECORDING ANYWHERE BEFORE THE SECTION YOU WANT TO REPLACE AND STOP RECORDING ANYWHERE AFTER THE SECTION YOU WANT TO REPLACE 4HEN YOU SIMPLY TRIM THE NEWLY RECORDED AND PREVIOUSLY RECORDED REGIONS SO THAT YOU REPLACE THE SECTION OF INTEREST FROM THE ORIGINAL RECORDING .EVERTHELESS YOU CAN ALWAYS DROP IN PUNCH IN ON A TRACK BY SPECIFYING A RANGE TO RECORD TO FIRST AND SETTING UP A PREROLL AND POSTROLL IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AS YOU WOULD DO WITH A CONVENTIONAL MULTITRACK RECORDER 0LAYBACK WILL START AT THE PREROLL TIME AND 0RO 4OOLS WILL DROP INTO RECORD AT THE PUNCH IN POINT AND DROP OUT OF RECORD AT THE PUNCH OUT POINT STOPPING AT THE END OF THE POSTROLL TIME %NGINEERS MORE USED TO USING MULTITRACK TAPE RECORDERS WILL PROBABLY FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THIS WAY OF WORKING !ND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO hRE LIVEv THE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING WITH TAPE RECORDERS YOU CAN ENA BLE $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD TO PERMANENTLY REPLACE THE PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AUDIO 4HE SIMPLEST WAY TO SET UP A RANGE TO RECORD IS TO SELECT A RANGE IN A TRACKS 0LAYLIST OR IN A 4IMEBASE RULER AT THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW USING THE 3ELECTION TOOL n MAKING SURE THAT THE %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS ARE LINKED !S USUAL THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO DO THIS n SUCH AS TYPING THE START AND END TIMES INTO THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 3ET PREROLL AND POSTROLL TIMES IF YOU WISH THEN GO AHEAD AND RECORD )F YOU ARE RECORDING IN THE DEFAULT NONDESTRUCTIVE MODE A NEW AUDIO FILE IS WRITTEN TO YOUR HARD DRIVE AND A NEW AUDIO REGION APPEARS IN THE RECORD TRACK AND 2EGION ,IST )F YOU ARE RECORDING IN $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE THE NEW AUDIO OVERWRITES THE PREVIOUS MATERIAL IN THE EXISTING AUDIO FILE AND REGION
Figure 5.20 Automatic PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT WITH 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL ENABLED
Preroll and postroll 0REROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS CAN BE ENTERED IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW OR SET FROM A TRACKS 0LAYLIST OR 4IMEBASE RULER 3MALL YELLOW FLAGS APPEAR IN THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE RULER TO INDICATE THE PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS THAT YOU HAVE 203
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
SET 7HEN PREROLL AND POSTROLL ARE ENABLED THE FLAGS ARE YELLOW OTHERWISE THEY ARE WHITE
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9OU CAN ALWAYS SET PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS STORE THEM IN A -EMORY ,OCATION AND RECALL THE -EMORY ,OCATION WHENEVER YOU LIKE
4O SET AND ENABLE THE PREROLL AND POSTROLL DIRECTLY IN A 0LAYLIST FIRST MAKE SURE THAT h,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTIONv IS ENABLED THEN WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ENABLED DRAG THE CURSOR ACROSS THE RANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SELECT IN THE TRACKS 0LAYLIST
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7HEN YOU MAKE AN %DIT SELECTION WITH 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION LINKED A PAIR OF 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 3TART AND %ND MARKERS WILL APPEAR IN THE 4IMEBASE RULER 9OU CAN DRAG EITHER OF THESE TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN YOUR SELECTION !ND IF YOU /PTION DRAG -AC OR !LT DRAG 7INDOWS YOU CAN MOVE THE SELECTION BACKWARDS OR FORWARDS ALONG THE 4IMELINE
Figure 5.21 ! LINKED 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION
7ITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL STILL ENABLED /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS IN THE TRACKS 0LAYLIST BEFORE THE SELECTION TO ENABLE THE PREROLL AND AFTER THE SELECTION TO ENABLE THE POSTROLL AT THOSE LOCATIONS 9ELLOW FLAGS WILL APPEAR IN THE 4IMEBASE RULER )F YOU CLICK ON THE 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL BUTTONS IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO DE SELECT THESE BUT LEAVE THE PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS SET THE FLAGS IN THE 4IMEBASE RULER WILL TURN WHITE TO INDICATE THIS 204
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Figure 5.22 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL ENABLED WITH YELLOW FLAGS SHOWING TO INDICATE THESE
Figure 5.23 White flags INDICATE THAT PREROLL AND postroll amounts are set, BUT DISABLED
4O REMOVE THE PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS DIRECTLY IN A 0LAYLIST WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ENABLED YOU CAN SIMPLY /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS NEAR THE START OF THE %DIT SELECTION TO DISABLE THE PREROLL AND NEAR THE END OF THE %DIT SELECTION TO DISABLE THE POSTROLL !NOTHER WAY TO REMOVE THE PREROLL AND POSTROLL AMOUNTS IS TO DRAG THE 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL FLAGS UNTIL THEY COINCIDE EXACTLY WITH THE 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 3TART AND %ND MARKERS 4HE 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL FLAGS CAN BE MOVED BY DRAGGING THESE IN THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER WHENEVER YOU LIKE EITHER SEPARATELY OR AT THE SAME TIME AND IF YOU SET THE %DIT MODE TO 'RID THE 0REROLL AND 0OSTROLL FLAGS WILL SNAP TO THE CURRENT 'RID VALUE WHEN YOU DRAG THEM ALONG THE 4IMELINE 4O SET PREROLL AND POSTROLL VALUES TO THE SAME AMOUNT /PTION DRAG -AC OR !LT DRAG 7INDOWS EITHER THE 0REROLL OR THE 0OSTROLL FLAG IN THE RULER 4HE OTHER FLAG WILL IMMEDIATELY BE SET TO THE SAME VALUE AND WILL ADJUST TO THE IDENTICAL AMOUNT AS YOU DRAG THE SELECTED FLAG
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Figure 5.24 Drag the Preroll or Postroll flags along the Timeline to set OR REMOVE THE AMOUNTS
Figure 5.25 /PTION DRAG THE 0REROLL OR 0OSTROLL FLAGS TO SET IDENTICAL AMOUNTS
5.5 Destructive Record )F YOU PREFER TO HAVE 0RO 4OOLS BEHAVE MORE LIKE A CONVENTIONAL MULTITRACK RECORDER WHERE YOU TYPICALLY RECORD ADDITIONAL TAKES OVER PREVIOUS TAKES YOU CAN ALWAYS ENABLE THE $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE FROM THE /PERATIONS MENU 4HE LETTER h$v WILL APPEAR IN THE 2ECORD BUTTON ON THE 4RANSPORT TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE USING THIS MODE 7HEN YOU HAVE RECORDED THE FIRST TAKE SIMPLY LEAVE THE TRACK RECORD ENABLED GO BACK AND RECORD AGAIN 9OUR NEW RECORDING WILL HAVE REPLACED WHATEVER YOU HAD PREVIOUSLY RECORDED INTO THAT AUDIO FILE ON DISK .OW THAT WE HAVE ALL GOT USED TO THE IDEA OF 0RO 4OOLS HARD DISK RECORDING BEING NONDESTRUCTIVE AS LONG AS YOU ALWAYS RECORD NEW TAKES TO NEW FILES ON DISK n WHICH IS THE DEFAULT SITUATION IT MAY SEEM A LITTLE STRANGE FOR SOME OF YOU TO USE THE $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD MODE %XPERIENCED RECORDING ENGINEERS USED TO WORKING WITH CONVENTIONAL MULTITRACK RECORDERS WILL OF COURSE BE PER FECTLY FAMILIAR WITH THIS WAY OF WORKING $ONT FORGET THIS CAN BE A MORE EFFICIENT WAY TO WORK n ESPECIALLY IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND ARE CONFIDENT THAT YOU ARE NOT TOO LIKELY TO MAKE A MISTAKE 9OU WONT HAVE TO TAKE THE TIME AND TROUBLE TO SORT THROUGH THE ALTERNATE TAKES AND DELETE THEM
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)F YOU INSERT THE CURSOR AT THE END OF YOUR PREVIOUS RECORDING THE ADDI TIONAL MATERIAL WILL BE APPENDED AT THE END OF THE FILE n THUS EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF THE TRACK FROM YOUR HARD DRIVE AFTERWARDS n AND IF YOU ARE RUNNING LOW ON HARD DISK SPACE $ESTRUCTIVE 2ECORD CAN BE A BOON
5.6 Loop Recording audio )F YOU ARE TRYING TO PIN DOWN THAT PERFECT BAR INSTRUMENTAL SOLO IN THE MID DLE OF YOUR SONG OR THE DEFINITIVE LEAD VOCAL ON THE VERSE ITS TIME TO USE THE ,OOP 2ECORDING FEATURE Setting this up IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD *UST SELECT ,OOP 2ECORD FROM THE /PERATIONS MENU AND YOU WILL SEE A LOOP SYMBOL APPEAR ON THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW -AKE SURE YOU HAVE ,INK %DIT AND 4IMELINE 3ELECTION CHECKED IN THE /PERATIONS MENU AND THEN USE THE 3ELECTOR TOOL TO DRAG OVER THE REGION YOU WANT TO WORK WITH IN THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN SET A PREROLL TIME IF YOU LIKE OR YOU CAN SIMPLY SELECT A LITTLE EXTRA AT THE BEGINNING AND THEN TRIM THIS BACK LATER .OW WHEN YOU HIT 2ECORD 0RO 4OOLS WILL LOOP AROUND THIS SELECTION RECORDING EACH TAKE AS AN INDIVIDUAL REGION WITHIN ONE LONG FILE 7HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED RECORDING YOU CAN CHOOSE THE BEST TAKE AT YOUR LEISURE !LL THE TAKES WILL BE PLACED INTO THE !UDIO 2EGIONS LIST AND NUMBERED SEQUENTIALLY WITH THE LAST ONE LEFT IN THE TRACK FOR YOU .OW IF YOU WANT TO HEAR ANY OF THE OTHER TAKES JUST SELECT THE LAST TAKE WITH THE 'RABBER TOOL AND #OMMAND DRAG -AC OR #ONTROL DRAG 7INDOWS WHICH EVER TAKE YOU FANCY FROM THE !UDIO 2EGIONS LIST AND IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY REPLACE THE SELECTED TAKE IN THE TRACK n VERY CONVENIENT !N EVEN FASTER WAY IS TO #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL CLICK 7INDOWS WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL AT THE EXACT START OF THE LOOP OR PUNCH RANGE 4HIS IMMEDIATELY BRINGS UP THE 4AKES ,IST POP UP n MAKING IT EVEN EASIER TO SELECT ALTERNATE TAKES "UT WHAT IF YOU WANT TO AUDITION TAKES FROM A PREVIOUS SESSION 4HESE WILL NOT BE LISTED HERE NORMALLY AS THE START TIMES ARE LIKELY TO BE DIFFERENT 4HE 5SER 4IME 3TAMP FOR EACH TAKE IN ,OOP 2ECORD IS SET TO THE SAME START TIME n AT THE BEGIN NING OF THE LOOP n AND THE 4AKES ,IST IS BASED ON MATCHING START TIMES 4HAT IS WHY IT DISPLAYS ALL YOUR TAKES WHEN YOU BRING THE ,IST UP AT THE START TIME OF YOUR LOOP 3O IF YOU WANT TO INCLUDE OTHER TAKES FROM A PREVIOUS SESSION IN THE 4AKES ,IST POP UP FOR A PARTICULAR LOCATION YOU CAN SIMPLY SET THE 5SER 4IME 3TAMP FOR THESE REGIONS TO THE SAME AS FOR THESE NEW TAKES AND THEY WILL ALL APPEAR IN THE 4AKES ,IST !ND IF YOU PLAN ON RECORDING SOME MORE TAKES LATER ON FOR THIS SAME SECTION YOU SHOULD STORE YOUR LOOP RECORD SELECTION AS A -EMORY ,OCATION 4HIS WAY THESE TAKES WILL ALSO APPEAR IN THE 4AKES ,IST POP UP FOR THAT LOCATION 207
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
9OU CAN ALSO RESTRICT WHAT APPEARS IN THE 4AKES ,IST ACCORDING TO THE %DITING 0REFERENCES YOU CHOOSE )F YOU ENABLE h4AKE 2EGION .AMES 4HAT -ATCH 4RACK .AMES v THEN THE LIST WILL ONLY INCLUDE REGIONS THAT TAKE THEIR NAMES FROM THE 4RACK0LAYLIST 4HIS CAN BE USEFUL WHEN SORTING THROUGH MANY DIFFER ENT TAKES FROM OTHER SESSIONS FOR EXAMPLE /R MAYBE YOU WANT TO RESTRICT THE 4AKES ,IST TO REGIONS WITH EXACTLY THE SAME LENGTH AS THE CURRENT SELECTION )N THIS CASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ENABLED 4AKE 2EGION ,ENGTHS 4HAT -ATCH IN THE %DITING 0REFERENCES )F YOU HAVE BOTH OF THESE PREFERENCES SELECTED YOU CAN EVEN WORK WITH MUL TIPLE TRACKS TO REPLACE ALL TAKES ON THESE SIMULTANEOUSLY 7HEN YOU CHOOSE A REGION FROM THE 4AKES ,IST IN ONE OF THE TRACKS NOT ONLY WILL THE SELECTED REGION BE REPLACED IN THAT TRACK BUT ALSO THE SAME TAKE NUMBERS WILL BE PLACED IN THE OTHER SELECTED TRACKS ! THIRD OPTION IS PROVIDED IN THE %DITING 0REFERENCES TO MAKE ANY h3EPARATE 2EGIONv COMMANDS YOU APPLY TO A PARTICULAR REGION APPLY SIMULTANEOUSLY TO ALL OTHER RELATED TAKES THAT IS TAKES WITH THE SAME 5SER 4IME 3TAMP 9OU COULD USE THIS TO SEPARATE OUT A PARTICULAR PHRASE THAT YOU WANT TO COMPARE WITH DIFFERENT TAKES FOR EXAMPLE
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!LL THE REGIONS IN YOUR SESSION WITH THE SAME 5SER 4IME 3TAMP WILL BE AFFECTED UNLESS YOU KEEP ONE OR BOTH OF THE OTHER TWO OPTIONS SELECTED n IN WHICH CASE THE 3EPARATE 2EGION COMMAND WILL ONLY APPLY TO REGIONS THAT ALSO MATCH THESE CRITERIA
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)T CAN BE EASY TO FORGET THAT YOU HAVE LEFT THIS PREFERENCE SELECTED AND END UP ACCIDENTALLY SEPARATING REGIONS WHEN YOU DONT INTEND TO n SO MAKE SURE YOU DESELECT THIS EACH TIME AFTER USING IT
Using Loop Recording &IRST MAKE SURE THAT ,OOP 2ECORD IS SELECTED FROM THE /PTIONS MENU SO THAT THE LOOP SYMBOL IS SHOWING IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOWS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON )F YOU ARE GOING TO SET A RECORD OR PLAY RANGE BY SELECTING WITHIN A 0LAYLIST MAKE SURE THAT THE %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS ARE LINKED 3ELECT ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION FROM THE /PTIONS MENU OR MAKE SURE THAT THE ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION BUTTON ABOVE THE RULERS IS HIGHLIGHTED #HOOSE THE 3ELECTOR 4OOL AND DRAG THE CURSOR ACROSS THE RANGE OF AUDIO IN THE 0LAYLIST
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THAT YOU WANT TO LOOP RECORD OVER !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN SET 3TART AND %ND TIMES FOR THE LOOP IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 4HE ,OOP 2ECORD SELECTION MUST BE AT LEAST S LONG
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!LTHOUGH YOU CAN SET A PREROLL TIME THAT WILL BE USED ON THE FIRST PASS AND A POSTROLL TIME THAT WILL BE USED ON THE LAST PASS ) RECOMMEND THAT YOU SIM PLY SELECT A LOOP RANGE THAT INCLUDES SOME TIME BEFORE AND SOME TIME AFTER THE RANGE YOU WISH TO RECORD OVER ,ATER YOU CAN TRIM BACK THE RECORDED TAKES TO THE PROPER LENGTH WITH THE 4RIM TOOL 2ECORD ENABLE THE TRACK OR TRACKS YOU WANT TO RECORD ONTO CLICK 2ECORD AND 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WHEN YOU ARE READY TO BEGIN RECORDING AND CLICK 3TOP IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED
Figure 5.26 Setup for ,OOP 2ECORDING
!LL THE TAKES ARE RECORDED INTO A SINGLE AUDIO FILE WITH SEQUENTIALLY NUMBERED REGIONS DEFINED FOR EACH TAKE 4HE MOST RECENTLY RECORDED TAKE IS LEFT IN THE RECORD TRACK !LL OF THESE TAKES APPEAR AS REGIONS IN THE 2EGION ,IST AND YOU CAN AUDITION TAKES ON THEIR OWN FROM THE 2EGION ,IST OR FROM THE 4AKES ,IST POP UP MENU
Selecting takes after Loop Recording %ACH TAKE CREATED DURING A ,OOP 2ECORD SESSION IS GIVEN THE SAME 5SER 4IME 3TAMP 3O TO SELECT A DIFFERENT TAKE FROM THE 2EGION ,IST YOU CAN USE THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL TO SELECT THE CURRENT TAKE IN THE %DIT WINDOW THEN
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Command-drag (Macintosh) or Control-drag (Windows) another take from the Region List into the Playlist. This will immediately replace the previous take, snapping exactly to the correct location because it has the same User Time Stamp. To access the Takes List pop-up menu to select a different take, make sure that the Selector tool is engaged, select the take currently residing in the track, then Command-click (Mac) or Control-click (Windows) anywhere in the region. The pop-up menu that appears contains a list of regions that share the same User Time Stamp. So when you choose a region from the Takes List pop-up menu, this replaces the previous take and snaps exactly to the correct location in the same way.
Figure 5.27 The Takes List pop-up menu.
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If you intend to use the track compositing feature after your Loop Recording session, you should enable the “Automatically Create New Playlists when Loop Recording” preference which you will find in the Record section of the Operation Preferences window. This copies alternate takes created during Loop Recording to new Playlists in the track.
5.7 Punch Recording Manual punch-in and punch-out Pro Tools provides three different manual punch recording modes that all have their uses when you are tracking and overdubbing music. QuickPunch is a nondestructive punch-recording mode that lets recordenabled tracks be punched in and out during playback by clicking the Record
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BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT AND PROVIDES INSTANTANEOUS MONITOR SWITCHING ON PUNCH OUT 4RACK0UNCH IS A NONDESTRUCTIVE PUNCH RECORDING MODE THAT LETS INDIVIDUAL TRACKS BE PUNCHED IN PUNCHED OUT AND TAKEN OUT OF RECORD ENABLE WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ONLINE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK )T ALSO PROVIDES INSTANTANEOUS MONITOR SWITCHING ON PUNCH OUT $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH IS A DESTRUCTIVE PUNCH RECORDING MODE THAT PERMANENTLY REPLACES PRE EXISTING TRACK MATERIAL WITH NEWLY RECORDED AUDIO IN THE ORIGINAL AUDIO FILE 0RO 4OOLS ONLY RECORDS WHILE TRACKS ARE PUNCHED IN INSERTING NEW MATERIAL AND REPLACING AUDIO IN THE TRACK 0LAYLIST !S WITH 4RACK0UNCH MODE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS CAN BE PUNCHED IN PUNCHED OUT AND TAKEN OUT OF RECORD ENABLE WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ONLINE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK 7ITH BOTH 4RACK0UNCH AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH YOU CAN RECORD ENABLE TRACKS ON THE FLY PUNCH TRACKS IN AND OUT USING ON SCREEN 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS OR REMOTELY FROM A SYNCHRONIZER OR FROM A CONTROL SURFACE OR USING A FOOT SWITCH AND COMPARE AND MATCH LEVELS USING 4RACK)NPUT SWITCHING
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1UICK0UNCH AND 4RACK0UNCH CREATE NEW AUDIO FILES FOR EACH pass A PASS IS ONE CYCLE OF STARTING AND STOPPING THE 4RANSPORT 0RO 4OOLS BEGINS RECORDING A NEW AUDIO FILE WHEN PLAYBACK BEGINS AUTOMATICALLY GENERAT ing regions IN THAT FILE AT EACH PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT POINT 5P TO RUNNING PUNCHES CAN BE PERFORMED IN A SINGLE PASS !FTER RECORDING THE NEW AUDIO REGIONS APPEAR IN THE 2EGION ,IST 4HIS INCLUDES THE WHOLE FILE AUDIO REGION ENCOMPASSING ALL PUNCHES FROM THE RECORD PASS ALONG WITH THE REGIONS DERIVED FOR EACH PUNCH
Voice requirements for punch recording 7ITH 0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEMS THE PUNCH RECORDING MODES 1UICK0UNCH 4RACK0UNCH AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH USE AN ADDITIONAL VOICE FOR EACH RECORD ENABLED MONO TRACK n SO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF AVAILABLE VOICES FOR PUNCH RECORDING IS CUT IN HALF /N A LARGE PROJECT IT WOULD NOT BE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND YOURSELF SHORT OF VOICES BUT YOU WILL BE PROMPTED TO FREE UP THE NECESSARY VOICES IF THIS HAPPENS $ONT FORGET THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS TURN OFF THE VOICE ASSIGNMENTS TO LESS IMPORTANT TRACKS n OR MAKE THESE INACTIVE 6OICES THAT ARE BEING USED BY OTHER TRACKS BUT ARE NOT RECORD ENABLED WILL BE CLAIMED FOR USE DURING PUNCH RECORDING AS NECESSARY n SO YOU WILL NOT HEAR THESE TRACKS PLAYBACK
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
7ITH 4$- SYSTEMS THE RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE IS TO USE $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED VOICE ASSIGNMENTS FOR EACH TRACK SO THAT 0RO 4OOLS WILL AUTOMATICALLY DISTRIBUTE THE VOICES BETWEEN THE $30 CHIPS &OR EXAMPLE FOR A VOICE CONFIGURED 0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEM $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED VOICING DISTRIBUTES VOICES EVENLY ACROSS FOUR SETS OF VOICES n n n AND n 3IMILARLY WITH A VOICE CONFIGURED 0RO 4OOLS\($ !CCEL SYSTEM $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED VOICING DISTRIBUTES VOICES EVENLY ACROSS FOUR SETS OF VOICES n n n AND n (OWEVER IT CAN BE STILL A GOOD IDEA TO ASSIGN VOICES TO TRACKS MANUALLY n ESPECIALLY IF YOU ANTICIPATE RUNNING OUT OF VOICES AND WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT TRACKS WILL ALWAYS PLAY
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)F YOU DECIDE NOT TO USE $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED VOICING THE TRACK VOICES MUST BE SET MANUALLY TO DISTRIBUTE THE TRACKS ACROSS THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF $30 CHIPS &OR EXAMPLE TO USE 1UICK0UNCH ON TRACKS WITH OUT $YNAMICALLY !LLOCATED VOICING TRACKS n MUST BE ASSIGNED TO VOICES n AND TRACKS n MUST BE ASSIGNED TO VOICES n RESPECTIVELY
Crossfades while punch recording 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATICALLY WRITES A CROSSFADE FOR EACH PUNCH POINT WHEN USING 1UICK0UNCH AND 4RACK0UNCH TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE ARE SMOOTH TRANSITIONS BETWEEN PUNCH REGIONS 9OU CAN SET THE LENGTH FOR THESE CROSSFADES USING THE 1UICK0UNCH4RACK0UNCH #ROSSFADE ,ENGTH OPTION THAT YOU WILL FIND ON THE %DITING 0REFERENCES PAGE )F THIS IS SET TO ZERO 0RO 4OOLS WONT CRE ATE ANY CROSSFADES AT THE PUNCH INPUNCH OUT POINTS )F YOU SET A NONZERO VALUE 0RO 4OOLS WRITES A PRECROSSFADE UP TO BUT NOT INTO THE PUNCHED REGION BOUNDARY AT THE PUNCH IN POINT AND A POSTCROSSFADE AT PUNCH OUT AFTER THE PUNCHED REGION ! TYPICAL VALUE TO USE FOR THE CROSSFADE LENGTH FOR PUNCHES WOULD BE MS )F NECESSARY YOU CAN ALWAYS EDIT THE CROSS FADES WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED PUNCH RECORDING USING THE STANDARD FADE EDITING FEATURES
Figure 5.28 &ADES %DITING 0REFERENCES
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2EGARDLESS OF THE CURRENT 1UICK0UNCH4RACK0UNCH #ROSSFADE ,ENGTH SET TING 0RO 4OOLS ALWAYS EXECUTES A MS hMONITOR ONLYv CROSSFADE WHICH IS NOT WRITTEN TO DISK TO AVOID DISTRACTING POPS OR CLICKS THAT MIGHT OCCUR AS YOU ENTER AND EXIT RECORD MODE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH DOESNT GIVE YOU A CHOICE OF CROSSFADE LENGTHS A FIXED MS LINEAR CROSSFADE IS AUTOMATICALLY CREATED AT EACH IN AND OUT POINT
Setting levels for punch recording "EFORE YOU START PUNCH RECORDING YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST THE MONITOR ING LEVELS FOR THE INCOMING AUDIO AND THE PLAYBACK AUDIO FOR THE TRACKS YOU WILL PUNCH RECORD ONTO SO THAT THE LEVEL THAT YOU HEAR IN THE CONTROL ROOM MONITORS AND THE LEVEL THAT THE PERFORMER HEARS IN THE HEADPHONES DOES NOT CHANGE DRASTICALLY WHEN YOU PUNCH IN 4O GET THE PLAYBACK LEVEL FOR A TRACK FROM DISK TO MATCH THE MONITORING LEVEL OF INCOMING AUDIO START PLAYBACK AND COMPARE THE LEVELS OF THE INPUT SOURCE WITH THE AUDIO ON DISK CLICKING THE 4RACK)NPUT BUTTON TO TOGGLE THE TRACK SOURCE BETWEEN INPUT AND PLAYBACK FROM DISK 4HE 4RACK)NPUT BUTTON TURNS GREEN WHEN IT IS MONITORING THE INPUT 7HEN YOU HAVE SET ALL THE LEVELS APPRO PRIATELY YOU ARE READY TO START PUNCH RECORDING
QuickPunch )F YOU LIKE TO WORK FAST WHILE DOING OVERDUBS YOU CAN USE THE 1UICK0UNCH FEA TURE TO DROP IN AND OUT OF RECORD ON RECORD ENABLED TRACKS .ORMALLY WHEN YOU USE !UTO )NPUT -ONITORING THEN SWITCHBACK TO MONITORING TRACK MATERIAL ON PUNCH OUT THIS IS NOT INSTANTANEOUS 4HE BIG DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT 1UICK0UNCH INSTANTLY SWITCHES FROM MONITORING THE INPUT TO MONITORING THE PLAYBACK WHEN YOU PUNCH OUT OF RECORDING !LSO WITH 1UICK0UNCH 0RO 4OOLS ACTUALLY STARTS RECORDING A NEW AUDIO FILE AS SOON AS YOU START PLAYBACK AUTOMATICALLY DEFINING AND NAMING REGIONS IN THAT FILE AT EACH PUNCH INPUNCH OUT POINT
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)F A MUSICIAN PLAYS OR A VOCALIST SINGS SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP WHILE THE 4RANSPORT IS RUNNING IN 1UICK0UNCH MODE BUT BEFORE YOU HAVE PUNCHED IN ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PUNCH IN LATER THAN THIS AND WHEN YOU STOP RECORDING TRIM THE REGION BACKWARDS ALONG THE 4IMELINE TO REVEAL THE EARLIER MATERIAL n WHICH WILL HAVE BEEN RECORDED
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Preparing for QuickPunch 9OU CAN ENABLE 1UICK0UNCH MODE BY SELECTING THIS IN THE /PTIONS MENU OR BY RIGHT CLICKING THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND SELECTING 1UICK0UNCH FROM THE POP UP MENU )F YOU PREFER A KEYBOARD COMMAND YOU CAN USE #OMMAND 3HIFT 0 -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT 0 7INDOWS 0OSSIBLY THE FASTEST WAY IS TO #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO CYCLE THROUGH THE AVAILABLE 2ECORD MODES UNTIL 1UICK0UNCH MODE IS SELECTED 7HEN 1UICK0UNCH MODE IS ENABLED A h0v APPEARS IN THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT
5SING 1UICK0UNCH 4O RECORD USING 1UICK0UNCH MODE FIRST MAKE SURE THAT THE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS THAT YOU WANT TO RECORD ONTO ARE ALSO RECORD ENABLED WITH THEIR 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FLASHING RED #UE 0RO 4OOLS TO THE LOCATION YOU WANT TO START from, using a preroll value if you like, then press the Spacebar or click the Play BUTTON TO START PLAYBACK 7HEN YOU REACH THE LOCATION AT WHICH YOU WANT TO START RECORDING SIMPLY CLICK THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 0RO 4OOLS WILL IMMEDIATELY SWITCH TO MONITORING THE INPUT IF IT IS NOT ALREADY IN )NPUT -ONITORING MODE AND WILL START RECORDING 7HILE A TRACK IS RECORDING ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON LIGHTS SOLID RED 4O PUNCH OUT AGAIN JUST CLICK THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 9OU CAN CONTINUE TO PUNCH IN AND OUT UP TO TIMES DURING A SINGLE PASS 7HEN YOU ARE FINISHED RECORDING JUST CLICK 3TOP IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW OR PRESS THE 3PACEBAR TO STOP RECORD ING AND PLAYBACK
Figure 5.29 Pro Tools in 1UICK0UNCH MODE WITH A TRACK RECORD ENABLED n GOOD TO GO
TrackPunch 4RACK0UNCH MODE LETS YOU PUNCH TRACKS IN AND OUT INDIVIDUALLY OR PUNCH MUL TIPLE TRACKS IN AND OUT SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHOUT INTERRUPTING ONLINE RECORDING AND PLAYBACK 5P TO hRUNNING PUNCHESv CAN BE PERFORMED IN A TRACK DUR ING A SINGLE 4RACK0UNCH PASS
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Preparing for TrackPunch 9OU CAN ENABLE 4RACK0UNCH MODE BY SELECTING THIS IN THE /PTIONS MENU OR BY 2IGHT CLICKING THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND SELECTING 4RACK0UNCH FROM THE POP UP MENU )F YOU PREFER A KEYBOARD COMMAND YOU CAN USE #OMMAND 3HIFT 4 -AC OR #ONTROL 3HIFT 4 7INDOWS 0OSSIBLY THE FASTEST WAY IS TO #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO CYCLE THROUGH THE AVAILABLE 2ECORD MODES UNTIL 4RACK0UNCH MODE IS SELECTED 7HEN 4RACK0UNCH MODE IS ENABLED A h4v APPEARS IN THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT "EFORE EACH PASS YOU MUST 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE ALL THE TRACKS THAT YOU INTEND TO PUNCH 9OU CAN ENABLE TRACKS FOR 4RACK0UNCH WITHOUT RECORD ENABLING THEM 4HIS LETS YOU PUNCH IN ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS AT ANY TIME AFTER STARTING PLAYBACK BY CLICKING THEIR RESPECTIVE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS /R YOU CAN SIMUL TANEOUSLY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE TRACKS AND RECORD ENABLE THEM 4HIS LETS RECORD ING BEGIN ON ALL THE ENABLED TRACKS AS SOON AS THE TRANSPORT IS RECORD ARMED AND PLAYBACK BEGINS 4O 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE A SINGLE AUDIO TRACK #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOGGLE THE BUTTON TO SOLID BLUE 4O 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE OR DISABLE all AUDIO TRACKS /PTION #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR !LT 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOG GLE ALL THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS TO SOLID BLUE 4O 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE OR DISABLE all selected AUDIO TRACKS /PTION #ONTROL 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3TART 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOGGLE THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FOR THE SELECTED AUDIO TRACKS TO SOLID BLUE 4HESE ACTIONS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE THE TRACKS BUT DO NOT RECORD ENABLE THE TRACKS SO YOU WILL STILL NEED TO CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS THAT YOU WISH TO PUNCH IN ON /R YOU CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE TRACKS AND RECORD ENABLE THEM 4HIS LETS RECORDING BEGIN ON ALL THE ENABLED TRACKS AS SOON AS THE TRANSPORT IS RECORD ARMED AND PLAYBACK BEGINS 4O SIMULTANEOUSLY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE A SINGLE AUDIO TRACK #LICK THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT IT FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED 4O SIMULTANE OUSLY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE ALL AUDIO TRACKS /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ANY TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT ALL TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED 4O SIMULTANEOUSLY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE ALL SELECTED AUDIO TRACKS /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ANY SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FOR THE SELECTED AUDIO TRACKS FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED !FTER PUTTING THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON INTO 4RACK0UNCH MODE WHEN YOU FIRST CLICK ON ANY INDIVIDUAL TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON THIS WILL BOTH 4RACK0UNCH ENABLE IT AND RECORD ENABLE THE TRACK 4O CONFIRM THIS THE SMALL
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2ECORD %NABLE 3TATUS ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON GOES RED !LSO WHEN A TRACK IS BOTH 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON WILL FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED
Figure 5.30 When A TRACK IS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED AND IS ALSO RECORD ENABLED ITS 2ECORD Enable button lights FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 2ECORD BUTTON ALSO FLASHES BLUE TO RED AND HAS A @4 IN THE MIDDLE AND THE SMALL RECORD ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THIS IS LIT
)F YOU CLICK ONCE MORE ON THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON THIS WILL DISABLE IT FOR RECORDING BUT WILL LEAVE IT 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED AND THE 2ECORD %NABLE 3TATUS ,%$ IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WILL BE UNLIT 7ITH 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED BUT NOT RECORD ENABLED FOR A TRACK THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON WILL LIGHT UP SOLID BLUE
Figure 5.31 When A TRACK IS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED BUT NOT RECORD ENABLED ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON LIGHTS SOLID BLUE THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES BLUE TO RED AND HAS A @4 IN THE MIDDLE AND THE SMALL RECORD ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THIS IS NOT LIT
4O DISABLE A TRACK THAT YOU HAVE 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED SO THAT IT IS NEITHER 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED NOR RECORD ENABLED #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON 4HIS WILL NO LONGER BE LIT AND WHEN NO TRACKS ARE 4RACK0UNCH OR RECORD ENABLED NEITHER WILL THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW 216
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)F AT LEAST ONE TRACK IS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW LIGHTS SOLID BLUE 7HEN 4RACK0UNCH MODE IS ENABLED BUT NO TRACKS ARE 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM GRAY TO RED )F AT LEAST ONE TRACK IS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED )F AT LEAST ONE 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED TRACK IS ALSO RECORD ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED AND THE SMALL RECORD ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THIS ALSO LIGHTS UP RED 7HENEVER AT LEAST ONE AUDIO TRACK IS RECORDING THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUT TON LIGHTS UP SOLID RED
5SING 4RACK0UNCH 7HEN YOU ARE ALL SET UP TO USE 4RACK0UNCH YOU CAN EITHER PUNCH IN ON INDIVID UAL TRACKS OR PUNCH IN ON MULTIPLE TRACKS SIMULTANEOUSLY WHEN YOU REACH THE FIRST PUNCH IN POINT DURING PLAYBACK 9OU MAY ALSO WANT TO PUNCH IN IMMEDI ATELY THEN PUNCH OUT FURTHER INTO THE TRACK THEN PUNCH IN AGAIN LATER ON 4O PUNCH IN ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS MAKE SURE THAT EACH TRACK YOU WANT TO PUNCH IN ON IS 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED WITH ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON LIT SOLID BLUE #LICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT TO ENTER THE 4RACK0UNCH 2ECORD 2EADY MODE WITH THE 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHING FROM BLUE TO RED 4HEN CLICK 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT TO BEGIN PLAYBACK 7HILE THE SESSION PLAYS BACK YOU CAN PUNCH IN AND OUT ON INDIVIDUAL 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS BY CLICKING THEIR 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS
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!FTER A 4RACK0UNCH RECORDING PASS THE PUNCHED TRACKS 0LAYLIST IN THE %DIT WINDOW DISPLAYS THE REGIONS CREATED BY PUNCHING 9OU CAN USE ANY OF THE 4RIM TOOLS AFTER PUNCH RECORDING TO OPEN UP THE START OR END OF ANY 4RACK0UNCH RECORDED REGIONS TO reveal more, or all, of THE PARENT AUDIO FILE THAT WAS RECORDED IN THE BACKGROUND 4HIS LETS YOU COMPENSATE FOR ANY LATE OR MISSED PUNCHES To punch in on multiple tracks simultaneously, make sure that each track you WANT TO PUNCH IN ON IS BOTH 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED 4O PUNCH IN OR OUT ON ALL THE 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS SIMULTANEOUSLY PLAY BACK THE SES SION AND CLICK THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WHENEVER YOU LIKE 4O START YOUR 4RACK0UNCH PASS IN RECORD PUNCHING IN IMMEDIATELY ON ALL TRACKS MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE TRACKS ARE BOTH 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED AND THE 4RANSPORT IS IN 4RACK0UNCH 2ECORD 2EADY MODE THEN CLICK 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT TO BEGIN PLAYBACK $URING PLAYBACK YOU CAN PUNCH OUT AND THEN
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!LTERNATIVELY CLICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT FIRST THEN /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PUNCH IN AND OUT ON ALL THE CURRENTLY SELECTED 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS
PUNCH IN AND OUT AGAIN WHENEVER YOU LIKE ON ANY 4RACK0UNCH ENABLED TRACK BY CLICKING ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON
DestructivePunch $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH IS A DESTRUCTIVE VERSION OF 4RACK0UNCH MODE 7HERE 4RACK0UNCH ALWAYS RECORDS AUDIO TO A NEW FILE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH DESTRUCTIVELY RECORDS AUDIO DIRECTLY INTO THE ORIGINAL FILE USING A FIXED MS LINEAR CROSS FADE .O ADDITIONAL REGIONS ARE CREATED WHEN RECORDING IN $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE 5P TO RUNNING PUNCHES CAN BE PERFORMED IN A TRACK DURING A SINGLE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH PASS
Preparing for DestructivePunch 4O USE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ON AN AUDIO TRACK THE TRACK MUST CONTAIN A CON TINUOUS AUDIO FILE OF A MINIMUM LENGTH WHICH YOU CAN SET IN THE 0RO 4OOLS /PERATION PREFERENCES PAGE !LSO THE FILE MUST START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION AT SAMPLE AND THE FILE LENGTH MUST BE EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH &ILE ,ENGTH SETTING )F THE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH &ILE ,ENGTH IS NOT SUFFICIENTLY LONG FOR THE FILES YOU ARE WORKING WITH IT IS EASY ENOUGH TO CHANGE THIS IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES SO THAT IT IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE LENGTH OF THE CURRENT FILE Figure 5.32 Setting the DestructivePunch File ,ENGTH IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES
3OMETIMES YOU MAY WANT TO USE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH WITH A FILE THAT DOES NOT START AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION AND THAT YOU CANNOT MOVE TO THE START OF THE SESSION BECAUSE THIS WOULD PUT IT OUT OF SYNC WITH OTHER FILES !ND VERY OFTEN A 0LAYLIST WILL CONTAIN REGIONS TAKEN FROM DIFFERENT FILES )N THESE CASES YOU CAN EITHER USE THE "OUNCE TO $ISK COMMAND OR USE THE #ONSOLIDATE COM MAND TO CREATE A CONTINUOUS FILE OF THE REQUIRED LENGTH THAT STARTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SESSION "ECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A COMMON SITUATION 0RO 4OOLS
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HAS A SPECIAL h0REPARE $0% 4RACKSv COMMAND IN THE /PTIONS MENU THAT LETS YOU CONSOLIDATE AUDIO ON ALL $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS 4O USE THIS COMMAND YOU NEED TO ENABLE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE FIRST THEN MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO PREPARE ARE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED BUT NOT RECORD ENABLED 7HEN YOU USE THE h0REPARE $0% 4RACKSv COMMAND 0RO 4OOLS CONSOLIDATES AUDIO ON ALL $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS FROM THE BEGIN NING OF THE SESSION TO THE VALUE SPECIFIED IN THE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH &ILE ,ENGTH PREFERENCE 9OU CAN ENABLE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE BY SELECTING THIS IN THE /PTIONS MENU OR BY RIGHT CLICKING THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW AND SELECT ING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH FROM THE POP UP MENU ! FASTER WAY IS TO #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW TO CYCLE THROUGH THE AVAILABLE 2ECORD MODES UNTIL $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE IS SELECTED 7HEN $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE IS ENABLED h$0v APPEARS IN THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT "EFORE EACH PASS YOU MUST $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE ALL TRACKS THAT YOU INTEND TO PUNCH 9OU CAN ENABLE TRACKS FOR $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH WITHOUT RECORD ENABLING THEM 4HIS LETS YOU PUNCH IN ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS AT ANY TIME AFTER STARTING PLAYBACK BY CLICKING THEIR RESPECTIVE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS 9OU MAY ALSO NEED TO DO THIS IF YOU WANT TO USE THE 0REPARE $0% 4RACKS COMMAND TO CONSOLIDATE FILES FOR $ESTRUCTIVE 0UNCH RECORDING 4O $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE A SINGLE AUDIO TRACK #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOGGLE THE BUT TON TO SOLID BLUE 4O $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE OR DISABLE all AUDIO TRACKS /PTION #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR !LT 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ANY TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOGGLE ALL 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS TO SOLID BLUE 4O $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE OR DISABLE ALL selected AUDIO TRACKS /PTION #ONTROL 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3TART 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS A SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO TOGGLE THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FOR THE SELECTED AUDIO TRACKS SOLID BLUE 4HESE ACTIONS $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE THE TRACKS BUT DO NOT RECORD ENABLE THE TRACKS SO YOU WILL STILL NEED TO CLICK ON THE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS THAT YOU WISH TO PUNCH IN ON /R YOU CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE TRACKS and RECORD ENABLE THEM 4HIS LETS RECORDING BEGIN ON ALL THE ENABLED TRACKS AS SOON AS THE TRANS PORT IS RECORD ARMED AND PLAYBACK BEGINS 4O SIMULTANEOUSLY $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE A SINGLE AUDIO TRACK CLICK THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT IT FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED 4O SIMULTANEOUSLY $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE ALL AUDIO TRACKS /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS A TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT ALL TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED 4O SIMULTANEOUSLY $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE AND RECORD ENABLE ALL SELECTED AUDIO 219
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TRACKS /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ANY SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON SO THAT THE 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FOR THE SELECTED AUDIO TRACKS FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED !FTER PUTTING THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON INTO $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE WHEN YOU FIRST CLICK ON ANY INDIVIDUAL TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON THIS WILL BOTH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLE IT AND RECORD ENABLE THE TRACK 4O CON FIRM THIS THE SMALL 2ECORD %NABLE 3TATUS ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON GOES RED !LSO WHEN A TRACK IS BOTH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON WILL FLASH FROM BLUE TO RED
Figure 5.33 2ECORD %NABLE 3TATUS ,%$
)F YOU CLICK ONCE MORE ON THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON THIS WILL DIS ABLE IT FOR RECORDING BUT WILL LEAVE IT $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED AND THE 2ECORD %NABLE 3TATUS ,%$ IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WILL BE UNLIT 7ITH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED BUT NOT RECORD ENABLED FOR A TRACK THE 4RACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON WILL LIGHT UP SOLID BLUE
Figure 5.34 DestructivePunch is ENABLED IN THE /PTIONS MENU AND THE 2ECORD BUTTON HAS BEEN SELECTED IN THE 4RANSPORT AN !UDIO TRACK IS ALSO RECORD ENABLED SO THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES BLUE TO RED THE INDIVIDUAL TRACK 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS FLASH BLUE TO RED AND THE SMALL ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW LIGHTS UP RED
4O DISABLE A TRACK THAT YOU HAVE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED SO THAT IT IS NEITHER $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED NOR RECORD ENABLED #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON 4HIS WILL NO LONGER BE LIT AND WHEN NO TRACKS ARE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH OR RECORD ENABLED NEITHER WILL THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW
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)F AT LEAST ONE TRACK IS $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW LIGHTS SOLID BLUE 7HEN $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE IS ENA BLED BUT NO TRACKS ARE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM GRAY TO RED )F AT LEAST ONE TRACK IS $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED )F AT LEAST ONE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACK IS ALSO RECORD ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHES FROM BLUE TO RED AND THE SMALL RECORD ,%$ TO THE RIGHT OF THIS ALSO LIGHTS UP RED 7HENEVER AT LEAST ONE AUDIO TRACK IS RECORD ING THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD BUTTON LIGHTS UP SOLID RED
5SING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH When you are all set up to use DestructivePunch, you can either punch in ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS OR PUNCH IN ON MULTIPLE TRACKS SIMULTANEOUSLY WHEN YOU REACH THE FIRST PUNCH IN POINT DURING PLAYBACK 9OU MAY ALSO WANT TO PUNCH IN IMMEDIATELY THEN PUNCH OUT FURTHER INTO THE TRACK AND PUNCH IN AGAIN LATER ON 4O PUNCH IN ON INDIVIDUAL TRACKS MAKE SURE THAT EACH TRACK YOU WANT TO PUNCH IN ON IS $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED WITH ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON LIT SOLID BLUE #LICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT TO ENTER THE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH 2ECORD 2EADY MODE WITH THE 2ECORD BUTTON FLASHING FROM BLUE TO RED 4HEN CLICK 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT TO BEGIN PLAYBACK 7HILE THE SESSION PLAYS BACK YOU CAN PUNCH IN AND OUT ON INDIVIDUAL $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS BY CLICKING THEIR 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTONS To punch in on multiple tracks simultaneously, make sure that each track you WANT TO PUNCH IN ON IS BOTH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED 4O PUNCH IN OR OUT ON ALL THE $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS SIMULTANEOUSLY PLAY BACK THE SESSION AND CLICK THE 2ECORD BUTTON IN THE 4RANSPORT WINDOW WHENEVER YOU LIKE
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!LTERNATIVELY CLICK 2ECORD IN THE 4RANSPORT FIRST THEN /PTION 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR !LT 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ON ANY SELECTED TRACKS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON TO SIMULTANEOUSLY PUNCH IN AND OUT ON ALL THE CURRENTLY SELECTED $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACKS
4O START YOUR $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH PASS IN RECORD PUNCHING IN IMMEDIATELY ON ALL TRACKS MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE TRACKS ARE BOTH $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED
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AND RECORD ENABLED AND THE 4RANSPORT IS IN $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH 2ECORD 2EADY MODE THEN CLICK 0LAY IN THE 4RANSPORT TO BEGIN PLAYBACK $URING PLAYBACK YOU CAN PUNCH OUT AND THEN PUNCH IN AND OUT AGAIN WHENEVER YOU LIKE ON ANY $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH ENABLED TRACK BY CLICKING ITS 2ECORD %NABLE BUTTON
$ELAY #OMPENSATION AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH )T IS IMPORTANT TO BE AWARE OF WHETHER OR NOT $ELAY #OMPENSATION WAS IN USE WHEN THE RECORDING THAT YOU WISH TO USE $ESTRUCTUVE0UNCH WITH WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED )F $ELAY #OMPENSATION WAS USED ON THE ORIGINAL RECORD ING AND THIS IS NOT USED WHEN YOU PUNCH IN USING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH OR VICE VERSA THE NEW AUDIO WILL NOT BE RECORDED INTO EXACTLY THE CORRECT POSITION IN THE AUDIO FILE )T WILL BE OFFSET IN ONE DIRECTION OR THE OTHER BY THE AMOUNT OF THE $ELAY #OMPENSATION 4O MAKE SURE THAT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IF $ELAY #OMPENSATION WAS INACTIVE WHEN RECORDING THE ORIGINAL FILE IT SHOULD BE DEACTIVATED WHILE USING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH AND IF WAS ACTIVE WHEN RECORDING THE ORIGINAL FILE IT SHOULD BE KEPT ACTIVE WHILE USING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH
Figure 5.35 Track Compensation is AUTOMATICALLY SUSPENDED BY THE !UTO ,OW ,ATENCY FEATURE WHEN )NPUT -ONITORING IS ENABLED
#ONSEQUENTLY YOU MAY NEED TO MANUALLY OVERRIDE THE AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION OF $ELAY #OMPENSATION THAT OCCURS WHEN RECORD ENABLED TRACKS SWITCH TO )NPUT -ONITORING WHEN YOU ARE USING $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH 222
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4HIS FEATURE IS CALLED !UTO ,OW ,ATENCY AND CAN BE TURNED OFF BY RIGHT CLICKING THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR ON THE TRACK AND SELECTING !UTO ,OW ,ATENCY /FF OR BY #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICKING -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART CLICKING 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR ON THE TRACK
Figure 5.36 Track Compensation suspension CAN BE OVERRIDDEN WITH A #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE Track Compensation INDICATOR
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4O APPLY $ELAY #OMPENSATION TO ALL SELECTED TRACKS WHERE $ELAY #OMPENSATION WAS SUSPENDED EITHER 3HIFT 2IGHT CLICK THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICA TOR ON ANY SELECTED TRACK AND SELECT !UTO ,OW ,ATENCY /FF OR #OMMAND #ONTROL 3HIFT CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART 3HIFT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 4RACK #OMPENSATION INDICATOR ON ANY SELECTED TRACK
After punch recording 7HEN YOU ARE FINISHED WITH THE RECORD PASS AFTER PUNCH RECORDING THE TRACK 2ECORD %NABLE STATUS AND TRANSPORT 2ECORD !RM STATUS FOR THE TRACKS YOU HAVE BEEN RECORDING ONTO WILL FOLLOW THE CURRENT !UDIO 4RACK 2ECORD,OCK AND 4RANSPORT 2ECORD,OCK SETTINGS 9OU CAN SET THESE IN THE 2ECORD SECTION OF THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES
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Figure 5.37 2ECORD,OCK 0REFERENCES
)F THE !UDIO 4RACK 2ECORD,OCK OPTION IS ENABLED THE RECORD ENABLED AUDIO TRACKS REMAIN ARMED WHEN PLAYBACK OR RECORDING STOPS 7HEN THE !UDIO 4RACK 2ECORD,OCK OPTION IS NOT ENABLED RECORD ENABLED AUDIO TRACKS ARE TAKEN OUT OF RECORD ENABLE WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS STOPPED n AS WITH A DIGITAL DUBBER )F THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD,OCK PREFERENCE SETTING IS NOT ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD DISARMS WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS STOPPED 7HEN ENABLED THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD REMAINS ARMED WHEN PLAYBACK OR RECORDING STOPS SO YOU DONT HAVE TO RE ARM THE 4RANSPORT BETWEEN TAKES n AS WITH A DIGITAL DUBBER 3O FOR MUSIC PRODUCTION YOU WILL NORMALLY HAVE THE !UDIO 4RACK 2ECORD,OCK PREFERENCE SELECTED TO ENABLE IT AND THE 4RANSPORT 2ECORD,OCK PREFERENCE UN TICKED TO DISABLE IT )F YOU ARE USING 0RO 4OOLS AS A DIGITAL DUBBER THEN YOU WOULD REVERSE THESE PREFERENCES
5.8 Summary )F YOU HAVE FOLLOWED THIS CHAPTER THROUGH THOROUGHLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SET UP 0RO 4OOLS TO RECORD IN A VARIETY OF SCENARIOS 3ETTING UP HEADPHONE CUE MIXES STRATEGIES FOR COMBINING 4$- AND 24!3 PLUG INS INPUT MONITORING ADJUSTING MONITORING LEVELS DURING RECORD AND PLAYBACK RECORDING WITH OR WITHOUT EFFECTS RECORDING THROUGH PLUG INS n YOU NEED TO GET ALL OF THIS STUFF SORTED OUT BEFORE YOU GET STARTED WITH SERIOUS RECORDING PROJECTS 7HETHER YOU ARE OVERDUBBING ONE MUSICIAN AT A TIME OR RECORDING A WHOLE BAND YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO ARM TRACKS IN THE VARIOUS RECORD MODES HOW TO RECORD OR PLAY BACK AT HALF SPEED HOW TO PUNCH IN AND OUT AUTOMATICALLY OR MANUALLY HOW TO LOOP RECORD AUDIO AND HOW TO USE 0LAYLISTS TO RECORD ALTERNATE TAKES 9OU ALSO NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHERE LATENCY DELAYS OCCUR AND DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO AVOID THESE DELAYS THAT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE NEEDS OF THE MUSI CIANS YOU ARE RECORDING AND THE RESULTS THAT YOU ARE AIMING TO ACHIEVE 'ET TO KNOW HOW THE DELAY COMPENSATION FEATURES WORK AND YOU WILL BE ON YOUR WAY TO MASTERING THE 0RO 4OOLS RECORDING ENVIRONMENT !ND TO MAKE THOSE QUICK FIXES THAT ARE NEEDED WITH EVEN THE MOST PRACTICED STUDIO MUSICIANS YOU NEED TO MASTER THE VARIOUS PUNCH MODES n CHOOSING JUST THE RIGHT LENGTH OF PREROLL IN BARS AND BEATS THAT GIVES THE MUSICIANS ENOUGH TIME TO PREPARE FOR THE PUNCH IN WITHOUT WASTING TIME BY STARTING TOO MANY BARS BEFORE THE PUNCH LOCATION
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0RO 4OOLS HAS ALL THE FEATURES YOU NEED TO RECORD JUST ABOUT ANYTHING THAT MAKES A SOUND THAT CAN BE CAPTURED BY A MICROPHONE BUT IF YOU ARE NEW TO THIS SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT AND EVEN IF YOU ARE UPGRADING FROM OLDER SYSTEMS THERE IS PLENTY THAT IS NEW TO LEARN HERE )T MAY TAKE A WHILE BEFORE YOU GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO USE ALL THESE RECORDING FEATURES SO FEEL FREE TO RE VISIT THIS CHAPTER WHENEVER YOU LIKE TO REMIND YOURSELF OF HOW EVERYTHING WORKS
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In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
2EGION %DITING COMMANDS
4HE %DIT MENU COMMANDS 4HE %DIT MODES
%DITING IN THE %DIT WINDOW 7ORKING WITH 2EGIONS
$YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE Track Compositing
#OMPACTING AUDIO FILES 3UMMARY
6 Editing
6.1 Introduction 4O BECOME PROFICIENT AT EDITING USING 0RO 4OOLS YOU NEED A FIRM UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE VARIOUS %DIT MODES WORK AND HOW TO SELECT MATERIAL TO EDIT USING THE VARIOUS EDITING COMMANDS 5NDERSTANDING WHAT REGIONS ARE AND HOW TO MANIPULATE THESE IS ALSO CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT +NOWING THE BEST WAYS TO CRE ATE LOOPS AND EDIT THESE IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT WHEN YOU ARE WORKING IN THE VARIOUS POP RAP AND DANCE MUSIC GENRES WHERE THE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE CAN ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL 4HE MOST RECENT FEATURE ADDED TO 0RO 4OOLS 4RACK #OMPOSITING OFFERS AN EASY TO USE WORKFLOW BUT SEASONED 0RO 4OOLS USERS MAY CHOOSE TO CONTINUE USING THEIR PREVIOUSLY TRIED AND TESTED METHODS !S USUAL THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS OF ACHIEVING THE SAME RESULTS WITH 0RO 4OOLS n IT IS ONE OF THE MOST FLEXIBLE ENVIRONMENTS AVAILABLE FOR EDITING AUDIO
6.2 The Edit menu commands 9OU CAN ACCESS MOST OF THE COMMANDS THAT YOU WILL USE FOR EDITING FROM THE %DIT MENU BUT YOU WILL ALSO FIND SOME COMMANDS SUCH AS #APTURE AND ,OOP THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED EDITING COMMANDS IN THE 2EGION MENU AND VICE VERSA )M THINKING ABOUT 4RIM 2EGION AND 3EPARATE 2EGION HERE 'AINING FAMILIARITY WITH THE %DIT MENU AND THE EDITING COMMANDS IN THE 2EGION MENU SHOULD BE PRIORITIES FOR ASPIRING 0RO 4OOLS EDITORS 3OME OF THESE COMMANDS SUCH AS 3ELECT !LL DONT REQUIRE ANY ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION OR ARE EXPLAINED PERFECTLY ADEQUATELY IN THE 0RO 4OOLS 2EFERENCE 'UIDE WHILE EXPLANATIONS OF OTHERS SUCH AS THE !UTOMATION EDITING COM MANDS BELONG ELSEWHERE /NE OF THE FASTEST WAYS TO LEARN THE KEYBOARD COM MANDS IS TO LOOK THROUGH THESE MENUS NOTE THE KEYBOARD EQUIVALENTS FOR THE VARIOUS COMMANDS THEN USE THESE AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE FROM MEMORY
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Figure 6.1 4HE %DIT MENU
Undo and Undo History 0RO 4OOLS TRACKS THE LAST UNDOABLE OPERATIONS THAT YOU CARRY OUT STORING THESE IN A QUEUE THAT YOU CAN STEP BACK THROUGH USING THE %DIT MENUS 5NDO COMMAND OR BY PRESSING #OMMAND : -AC OR #ONTROL : 7INDOWS )F YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT THIS YOU CAN STEP FORWARD THROUGH THE UNDO QUEUE BY CHOOSING THE 2EDO COMMAND FROM THE %DIT MENU OR BY HOLDING THE 3HIFT KEY WHILE YOU PRESS #OMMAND : -AC OR #ONTROL : 7INDOWS 7HEN YOU REACH THE STEP LIMIT AND PERFORM ANOTHER UNDOABLE OPERATION THE OLDEST STORED OPERATION IS REMOVED FROM THE QUEUE +EEP IN MIND THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO SET A LOWER LIMIT FOR THE NUMBER OF UNDOABLE STEPS IN THE %DITING 0REFERENCES SO IF YOU ARE WORKING ON SOMEONE ELSES SYSTEM OR IF SOMEONE ELSE MAY HAVE RESET THIS YOU SHOULD CHECK TO MAKE SURE WHAT LIMIT IS SET 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE 5NDO (ISTORY WINDOW THAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE 7INDOW MENU 4HIS LETS YOU VIEW THE QUEUE OF UNDOABLE AND REDOABLE OPERATIONS )T SHOWS UNDOABLE OPERATIONS IN BOLD TYPE AND IF YOU CLICK ON ANY OF THESE IT WILL UNDO ALL THE UNDOABLE OPERATIONS BACK TO AND INCLUDING THE ONE YOU CLICKED ON AND WILL SHOW THESE AS REDOABLE OPERATIONS IN ITALIC TYPE #LICK ON ANY REDOABLE OPERATION TO REDO ALL OPERATIONS UP TO AND INCLUDING THE ONE YOU CLICKED ON
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4HE 5NDO (ISTORY CAN OPTIONALLY SHOW EDIT CREATION TIMES WHICH CAN BE A HELP WHEN YOU ARE DECIDING WHICH OPERATION TO UNDO OR REDO 4HIS OPTION CAN BE ACCESSED USING THE POP UP SELECTOR AT THE TOP RIGHT CORNER OF THE 5NDO (ISTORY WINDOW 9OU CAN ALSO UNDO OR REDO ALL OPERATIONS IN THE QUEUE OR CLEAR THE WHOLE QUEUE
Figure 6.2 5NDO (ISTORY WINDOW SHOWING
Restore Last Selection 6ERY OFTEN YOU WILL MAKE AN %DIT OR 4IMELINE SELECTION THEN LOSE IT 0ERHAPS YOU ACCIDENTALLY CLICK SOMEWHERE IN THE %DIT WINDOW WITHOUT REALIZING OR WHATEVER 0RO 4OOLS HAS A REALLY USEFUL COMMAND TO GET YOU OUT OF TROUBLE HERE *UST CHOOSE h2ESTORE ,AST 3ELECTIONv FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND /PTION : -AC OR #ONTROL !LT : 7INDOWS AND YOUR SELECTION WILL MAGICALLY REAPPEAR
Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear commands 0RO 4OOLS HAS SOME SIMILARITIES WITH WORD PROCESSING AND GRAPHICS SOFTWARE &OR EXAMPLE THE WAY THAT THE COMPUTER EXPECTS YOU TO WORK IS TO SELECT SOMETHING FIRST AND THEN TO ISSUE A COMMAND THAT SAYS WHAT YOU WANT TO DO WITH WHATEVER YOU HAVE SELECTED n EITHER USING KEYBOARD COMMANDS OR USING THE MOUSE POINTER AND MENUS /NCE YOU HAVE SELECTED A REGION FOR
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XAMPLE YOU CAN USE THE #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR COMMANDS TO REARRANGE E AND EDIT THE MATERIAL IN YOUR TRACKS 9OU CAN SELECT A REGION OR REGIONS USING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL OR YOU CAN SELECT A RANGE ALONG A TRACK USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL 9OU CAN ALSO WORK ACROSS MULTIPLE TRACKS 9OU CAN THEN USE THE #UT COMMAND TO REMOVE WHATEVER YOU HAVE SELECTED FROM THE %DIT WINDOW AND PUT THIS SELECTION INTO THE CLIPBOARD READY TO PASTE IT ELSEWHERE 4HE CLIPBOARD IS A TEMPORARY STORAGE AREA IN THE COMPUTERS RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY 2!- 9OU CAN USE THE #OPY COMMAND TO COPY YOUR SELECTION INTO THE CLIPBOARD READY TO PASTE ELSEWHERE WITHOUT REMOVING THE ORIGINAL SELECTION FROM THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN USE THE 0ASTE COMMAND TO PUT THE CONTENTS OF THE CLIPBOARD INTO THE %DIT WINDOW AT THE %DIT INSERTION POINT OVERWRITING ANY MATERIAL THAT IS ALREADY THERE )F YOU SIM PLY WANT TO REMOVE YOUR SELECTION WITHOUT PUTTING IT INTO THE CLIPBOARD USE THE #LEAR COMMAND INSTEAD
Special Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear commands 0RO 4OOLS ALSO HAS FOUR SPECIAL %DIT MENU COMMANDS THAT YOU CAN USE FOR EDIT ING AUTOMATION PLAYLISTS EG VOLUME PAN MUTE OR PLUG IN AUTOMATION ON AUDIO !UXILIARY )NPUT -ASTER &ADER AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS #UT 3PECIAL #OPY 3PECIAL AND #LEAR 3PECIAL EACH HAVE THREE SUBMENU SELEC TIONS 4HESE LET YOU EDIT ALL THE !UTOMATION OR JUST THE 0AN !UTOMATION WHETHER THE DATA IS SHOWING IN THE TRACK OR NOT OR JUST THE PLUG IN AUTOMA TION ON ITS OWN WHEN THIS IS SHOWING IN THE TRACK 4HE 0ASTE 3PECIAL COMMAND ALSO HAS THREE SUBMENU SELECTIONS THE MOST USE FUL OF WHICH IS THE h2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTIONv COMMAND 4HIS ALLOWS YOU TO AUTOMATICALLY FILL A SELECTION WITH AUDIO REGIONS OR DATA MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN BY MANUALLY DUPLICATING THE REGIONS
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4O USE THE 2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTION SIMPLY CUT OR COPY AN AUDIO REGION SO THAT IT IS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS SOFTWARES CLIPBOARD IE TEMPORARILY STORED INTO 2!- THEN MAKE A SELECTION IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND USE THE COMMAND TO FILL THIS SELECTION 4HE "ATCH &ADES WINDOW AUTOMATICALLY OPENS TO LET YOU APPLY CROSSFADES BETWEEN THE PASTED REGIONS
Repeat to Fill Selection 4HE 2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTION COMMAND LETS YOU AUTOMATICALLY FILL A SELECTION WITH AUDIO OR -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE -)$) REGIONS OR DATA WITHOUT REQUIRING THAT YOU MANUALLY DUPLICATE THE REGIONS 4O USE 2EPEAT TO 230
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&ILL 3ELECTION #UT OR #OPY A REGION THEN MAKE A SELECTION AND USE THE COM MAND TO FILL THE SELECTION 7HEN PASTING AUDIO REGIONS YOU ARE PROMPTED TO SPECIFY A CROSSFADE TO BE USED FOR THE PASTED REGIONS )F YOU FILL AN AREA THAT IS AN EXACT MULTIPLE OF THE COPIED REGION SIZE EG FILLING BARS WITH A BAR REGION THE COPIED SELEC TION IS PASTED AS MANY TIMES AS IT TAKES TO FILL THE SELECTION )F YOU FILL AN AREA THAT IS NOT AN EXACT MULTIPLE OF THE COPIED REGION SIZE EG FILLING S OF A TRACK WITH A S REGION OF ROOM NOISE THE REMAINING SELECTION AREA IS FILLED WITH AN AUTOMATICALLY TRIMMED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL SELECTION
Stripping Silence from regions 4HE 3TRIP 3ILENCE FEATURE LETS YOU ANALYZE AUDIO SELECTIONS CONTAINING ONE OR MORE REGIONS ACROSS ONE OR MORE TRACKS TO DEFINE AREAS THAT YOU WISH TO REGARD AS hSILENCEv /NCE YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED THESE YOU CAN hSTRIP AWAYv IE REMOVE THE SILENCE OR CAN KEEP IE hEXTRACTv THE SILENCE BY REMOVING THE REST OF THE AUDIO 4HE THIRD OPTION IS TO SEPARATE YOUR SELECTION INTO LOTS OF SMALLER REGIONS SO THAT THESE CAN BE QUANTIZED OR EDITED INDIVIDUALLY AFTERWARDS &OUR SLIDING CONTROLS IN THE 3TRIP 3ILENCE WINDOW LET YOU SET THE PARAMETERS BY WHICH SILENCE WILL BE DEFINED
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)F YOU PRESS #OMMAND -AC OR #ONTROL 7INDOWS WHILE ADJUSTING THE SLIDERS YOU GET FINER RESOLUTION
Figure 6.3 The Strip 3ILENCE WINDOW
4HE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD PARAMETER LETS YOU SET A VALUE FOR THE AMPLITUDE BELOW WHICH ANY AUDIO IS CONSIDERED TO BE SILENCE &OR EXAMPLE ON A BASS DRUM TRACK YOU WILL PROBABLY HEAR THE SOUND OF THE REST OF THE DRUM KIT WHEN 231
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THE BASS DRUM IS NOT PLAYING BUT THIS WILL BE MUCH QUIETER THAN THE BASS DRUM IN OTHER WORDS THE AMPLITUDE OF THIS QUIETER AUDIO WILL BE MUCH LESS THAN THE AMPLITUDE OF THE BASS DRUM SOUND 9OU CAN DEFINE THIS LOW AMPLITUDE AUDIO TO BE CONSIDERED AS SILENCE BY SETTING THE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD JUST ABOVE THIS
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)N 0RO 4OOLS 3TRIP 3ILENCE LETS YOU ADJUST THE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD DOWN TO D" THE LOWER LIMIT USED TO BE D" 4HIS INCREASED DYNAMIC RANGE IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN WORKING ON RECORDINGS WITH LOW SIGNAL LEVELS SUCH AS AMBIENT RECORDINGS AND RECORDINGS WITH A WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE SUCH AS ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
9OU CAN ALSO DEFINE WHAT IS TO BE CONSIDERED TO BE SILENCE USING THE -INIMUM 3TRIP $URATION PARAMETER 4HIS SETS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THE MATERIAL BELOW THE THRESHOLD MUST LAST FOR BEFORE IT IS REGARDED AS hWANTEDv AUDIO 4HE 2EGION 3TART 0AD PARAMETER LETS YOU EXTEND THE START OF EACH NEW REGION TO INCLUDE ANY WANTED AUDIO MATERIAL THAT FALLS BELOW THE THRESHOLD SUCH AS BREATHY SOUNDS BEFORE A VOCAL OR THE SOUND OF FINGERS SLIDING UP TO A NOTE OR CHORD ON A GUITAR 3IMILARLY THE 2EGION %ND 0AD PARAMETER LETS YOU EXTEND THE END OF EACH NEW REGION TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FULL DECAY OF THE AUDIO MATERIAL IS PRESERVED !S YOU ADJUST THE CONTROLS RECTANGLES START TO APPEAR IN THE SELECTED REGION SURROUNDING THE WANTED AUDIO 4HE AUDIO IN BETWEEN THESE RECTANGLES IS CON SIDERED TO BE SILENCE &OR EXAMPLE TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCREENSHOT BELOW 4HIS SHOWS A SELECTION FROM THE BASS DRUM TRACK OF A MULTI MICED DRUM KIT 4HE BASS DRUM INSIDE THE SELECTION PLAYS hBU BOOMxBU BOOMx BOOMxBOOMxBU BOOMv 4HESE FOUR SETS OF NOTES ARE OUTLINED BY FOUR BLACK RECTANGLES %VERYTHING IN BETWEEN IS CONSIDERED TO BE SILENCE )F YOU PAD THE START THIS OPENS UP THE RECTANGLES BEFORE THE DRUM BEATS AND IF YOU PAD THE END THIS OPENS UP THE RECTANGLES AFTER THE DRUM BEATS INCLUDING MORE AUDIO BEFORE AND AFTER THE DRUM BEATS !S YOU CAN SEE IN THE ACCOMPA NYING SCREENSHOT IT IS UNABLE TO DO THIS BEFORE AND AFTER THE REGION SELECTION 4O ASSESS HOW MUCH TO PAD THE SOUNDS YOU WILL NEED TO STRIP THE SILENCE AUDITION CAREFULLY UNDO THE 3TRIP 3ILENCE AND ADJUST THE PAD SETTINGS STRIP THE SILENCE AGAIN AND AUDITION CAREFULLY AGAIN AND REPEAT THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE THE
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Figure 6.4 With the Strip Silence parameters correctly set, you see black rectangular BOUNDARIES AROUND THE hWANTEDv AUDIO
RESULTS YOU WANT ,ISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE DECAY OF THE SOUND FOR EXAMPLE )F YOU CUT THIS TOO SHORT IT CAN MAKE THE RECORDING SOUND TOO UNNATURAL
Figure 6.5 !DJUSTING THE 3TART AND %ND 0ADS
7HEN YOU CLICK THE 3TRIP BUTTON IT REMOVES THE AREAS THAT YOU HAVE DEFINED AS SILENCE FROM THE SELECTED REGION )N THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT YOU WILL SEE THE FIVE hWANTEDv REGIONS CONTAINING THE BASS DRUM NOTES .OW YOU CAN MOVE THE BASS DRUMS AROUND TO CHANGE THE TIMING OR hFEEL v OR EDIT THESE WHATEVER WAY YOU WISH )F YOU CLICK THE %XTRACT BUTTON INSTEAD THIS REMOVES THE AUDIO ABOVE THE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD AND LEAVES OR EXTRACTS THE AUDIO THAT YOU HAVE DEFINED AS SILENCE 3O YOU CAN THINK OF %XTRACT AS THE INVERSE OF 3TRIP WITH THE hWANTEDv AUDIO
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Figure 6.6 The silence BETWEEN THE WANTED REGIONS HAS BEEN STRIPPED AWAY BY CLICKING h3TRIPv
IN THIS CASE BEING THE AUDIO THAT FALLS BELOW THE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD 4HIS FEATURE COULD BE USEFUL IN POSTPRODUCTION IF YOU WANTED TO EXTRACT THE hROOM TONEv OR AMBIENCE FROM PART OF A RECORDING TO USE ELSEWHERE FOR EXAMPLE
Figure 6.7 4HE AUDIO ABOVE THE 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD HAS BEEN REMOVED LEAVING THE AUDIO DEFINED AS hSILENCE v BUT WHICH ACTUALLY CONTAINS ambience, remaining IE EXTRACTED IN THE TRACK
4HE THIRD OPTION IS TO CLICK THE 3EPARATE BUTTON 4HIS AUTOMATICALLY DIVIDES THE SELECTION INTO REGIONS BASED ON THE BOUNDARIES DETECTED BY 3TRIP 3ILENCE )N THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT YOU WILL SEE THAT THE SELECTION WHICH ) EXTENDED A LITTLE COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLES HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO SEPARATE REGIONS EACH WITH ITS OWN NAME 4HE 3EPARATE FEATURE IS VERY USE FUL IF YOU WANT TO QUANTIZE THE AUDIO IN EACH REGION TO LINE UP WITH THE BARS AND BEATS FOR EXAMPLE
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Figure 6.8 The Separate BUTTON DIVIDES THE WHOLE selection into separate REGIONS BASED ON THE BOUNDARIES DETECTED BY 3TRIP 3ILENCE
)F YOU CLICK THE 2ENAME BUTTON IN THE 3TRIP 3ILENCE WINDOW THIS OPENS THE 2ENAME 3ELECTED 2EGIONS DIALOG 4HIS LETS YOU DEFINE HOW THE REGIONS THAT YOU WILL CREATE USING THE 3TRIP 3ILENCE FEATURE WILL BE NAMED 7HATEVER YOU TYPE IN THE .AME FIELD WILL BE USED AS THE BASE NAME FOR THE REGIONS CREATED USING 3TRIP 3ILENCE &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU WANT A SPACE TO APPEAR AFTER THE NAME AND BEFORE THE NUMBERS YOU WILL HAVE TO INSERT A SPACE HERE 4HE 3TARTING .UMBER FIELD LETS YOU SPECIFY THE NUMBER AT WHICH SEQUENTIAL AUTONUMBERING STARTS 4HE .UMBER OF 0LACES FIELD LETS YOU SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF ZEROES TO USE BEFORE THE REGION NUMBERS 9OU CAN ALSO SPECIFY A 3UFFIX TO BE USED AT THE END OF THE NAME AFTER THE NUMBER 9OU MIGHT USE THIS TO IDENTIFY THE hTAKEv FROM WHICH THESE REGIONS HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR EXAMPLE &OR THIS EXAMPLE ) CHOSE h"ASS $RUMv WITH A SPACE AFTER IT AS THE .AME 3TARTING .UMBER THREE AS THE .UMBER OF 0LACES TO GIVE ME TWO LEADING
Figure 6.9 2ENAME 3ELECTED 2EGIONS DIALOG
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ZEROES WITH EACH NUMBER UP TO ONE LEADING ZERO BEFORE EACH NUMBER FROM n AND NO LEADING ZEROES FOR NUMBERS ABOVE &OR MY 3UFFIX ) TYPED A SPACE FOLLOWED BY A HYPHEN THEN ANOTHER SPACE THEN h4AKE v TO IDENTIFY THE TAKE FROM WHICH THESE BASS DRUMS HAD BEEN STRIPPED 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THE REGIONS WERE NAMED IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST AS A RESULT OF THIS NAMING SCHEME
Figure 6.10 "ASS DRUM REGIONS IN 2EGIONS ,IST SHOWING THE NAMING SCHEME
Inserting Silence 4HE )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND DOES WHAT IT SAYS REPLACING A SELECTION THAT YOU HAVE MADE ON A TRACK OR TRACKS WITH SILENCE ,ESS OBVIOUSLY IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO REMOVE AUTOMATION DATA )F THE TRACK IS DISPLAYING AUDIO OR -)$) DATA WHEN YOU APPLY THE )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND TO A SELECTED RANGE IT NOT ONLY CLEARS THE AUDIO OR -)$) DATA IT ALSO CLEARS ANY AUTOMATION DATA FOR THE TRACK OR TRACKS (OWEVER IF THE SELECTED TRACKS ARE DISPLAYING AUTOMATION DATA THE AUTOMATION DATA VISIBLE ON EACH TRACK IS CLEARED THROUGHOUT THE SELECTED RANGE AND ANY AUDIO OR -)$) IS LEFT UNTOUCHED !LSO IF YOU PRESS THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS WHILE CHOOSING THE )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND THIS CLEARS ALL THE AUTOMATION DATA FROM ALL THE SELECTED TRACKS n NOT JUST THE VISIBLE DATA 4HE )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND IS PARTICULARLY CLEVER WHEN USED IN 3HUFFLE MODE )N THIS CASE IT MOVES THE TRACK DATA WITHIN AND AFTER THE %DIT SELEC TION FORWARD BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE SELECTION PUSHING EVERYTHING INCLUDING ANY AUTOMATION DATA FORWARD FROM THE START OF THE SELECTION TO GET IT hOUT OF THE WAYv OF THUS MAKING ROOM FOR THE SILENCE THAT YOU ARE INSERTING 4O EXPLAIN THIS ANOTHER WAY WHEN YOU APPLY THE )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND TO AN %DIT SELECTION WHILE IN 3HUFFLE MODE 0RO 4OOLS SPLITS THE REGION OR REGIONS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE INSERTION POINT AND MOVES THE NEW REGION OR REGIONS TO A POSITION LATER IN THE TRACK BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE LENGTH OF THE SELECTION BEFORE INSERTING THE SELECTED AMOUNT OF SILENCE 236
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Time Compression and Expansion (TCE) Edit to Timeline Selection 7HEN THE %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS ARE UNLINKED YOU CAN COMPRESS OR EXPAND AN AUDIO SELECTION TO FIT THE 4IMELINE SELECTION USING THE %DIT MENUS 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTION COMMAND )F YOU PREFER A KEYBOARD COMMAND YOU CAN USE /PTION 3HIFT 5 -AC OR !LT 3HIFT 5 7INDOWS Figure 6.11 %DIT MENU 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTION COMMAND
4HE 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE COMMAND CAN BE USED ON MULTICHANNEL SELECTIONS AND SELECTIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE TRACKS !LL REGIONS ARE COMPRESSED OR EXPANDED EQUALLY BY THE SAME PERCENTAGE VALUE BASED ON THE %DIT SELECTION RANGE 4HIS ENSURES THAT THE RHYTHMIC RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT CHANNELS OR TRACKS IS MAINTAINED /N AUDIO TRACKS THE 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTION COMMAND USES WHICHEVER 4#% !UDIO3UITE 0LUG IN YOU HAVE SELECTED IN THE 0ROCESSING 0REFERENCES /N %LASTIC !UDIO ENABLED TRACKS 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTION USES THE TRACKS SELECTED %LASTIC !UDIO PLUG IN
Figure 6.12 Selecting THE 4#% 0LUG IN PREFERENCE
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4HE STANDARD $IGIDESIGN 4#% PLUG IN DOES NOT PRODUCE VERY GOOD RESULTS AND $IGIDESIGNS 4IME 3HIFT PLUG IN IS ONLY MARGINALLY BETTER THAN THIS 4HE %LASTIC !UDIO REAL TIME PLUG INS ARE NOT VERY GOOD EITHER 4HESE PLUG INS ARE ONLY USABLE TO GIVE YOU A ROUGH IDEA OF HOW THINGS WILL SOUND AS YOU ARE WORKING IDEAS OUT 9OU WILL NEED TO BUY A MUCH HIGHER QUALITY PLUG IN IF YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE PROFESSIONAL RESULTS ) CAN RECOMMEND 3ERATOS 0ITCH @N 4IME WHICH HAS VERY PROFESSIONAL FEATURES $IGIDESIGN ALSO OFFERS AN EXCELLENT PLUG IN FOR TIME COMPRESSION AND EXPANSION CALLED 8 &ORM WHICH ) AM CURRENTLY USING 4HIS TAKES QUITE A LOT LONGER TO PROCESS THE AUDIO BUT DELIVERS TRULY PROFESSIONAL RESULTS
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4O FIT AN %DIT SELECTION TO THE 4IMELINE DISABLE ,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTION 7ITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL SELECT THE AUDIO MATERIAL TO BE COMPRESSED OR EXPANDED )N ANY 4IMEBASE RULER SELECT THE TIME RANGE WHERE YOU WANT TO FIT THE AUDIO MATERIAL THEN CHOOSE 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTION FROM THE %DIT MENU
Figure 6.13 !N %DIT SELECTION READY TO BE FITTED TO A 4IMELINE SELECTION
4HE %DIT SELECTION IS COMPRESSED OR EXPANDED TO THE LENGTH OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION Figure 6.14 4HE %DIT selection has been COMPRESSED AND MOVED to fit into the Timeline SELECTION USING THE h4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE SELECTIONv COMMAND
Consolidating regions /FTEN DURING YOUR EDITING SESSIONS YOU WILL END UP WITH TRACKS MADE UP FROM MANY SMALLER REGIONS 4HIS COULD HAPPEN IF YOU hCOMPv SEVERAL TAKES TO MAKE A COMPOSITE CONTAINING THE BEST FROM EACH TAKE 7HEN YOU ARE SATISFIED WITH YOUR EDITS TO THESE TRACKS 0RO 4OOLS ALLOWS YOU TO CONSOLIDATE A TRACK OR A RANGE WITHIN A TRACK SUCH AS A VERSE OR CHORUS INTO A SINGLE REGION WHICH IS MUCH EASIER TO WORK WITH 7HEN WORKING WITH AUDIO TRACKS THIS CONSOLIDATION PROCESS CAUSES A NEW AUDIO FILE TO BE CREATED THAT ENCOMPASSES THE SELECTION RANGE INCLUDING ANY BLANK SPACE TREATING ANY MUTED REGIONS AS SILENCE 4O USE THIS FEATURE FIRST YOU SELECT THE REGIONS YOU WANT TO CONSOLIDATE USING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL OR THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ! QUICK WAY TO SELECT ALL THE
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#ONSOLIDATING AN AUDIO TRACK DOES NOT APPLY ANY AUTOMATION DATA AS IT CRE ATES THE NEW FILE SO IF YOU WANT TO CREATE A NEW FILE WITH AUTOMATION DATA APPLIED TO THE AUDIO USE THE h"OUNCE TO $ISKv FEATURE INSTEAD
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REGIONS IN A TRACK IS TO TRIPLE CLICK IN ITS PLAYLIST WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL 7HEN YOU CHOOSE #ONSOLIDATE FROM THE %DIT MENU THIS WILL CREATE A NEW SINGLE REGION THAT REPLACES THE PREVIOUSLY SELECTED REGIONS )F YOU PREFER TO USE A KEY BOARD COMMAND INSTEAD YOU CAN PRESS /PTION 3HIFT -AC OR !LT 3HIFT 7INDOWS
6.3 The Edit modes 0RO 4OOLS HAS FOUR %DIT MODES 3LIP 3HUFFLE 3POT AND 'RID THAT CAN BE SELECTED BY CLICKING THE CORRESPONDING BUTTON IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN ALSO USE THE FUNCTION KEYS ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD & 3HUFFLE & 3LIP & 3POT AND & 'RID TO SELECT THE MODE 4HE %DIT MODE THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN AFFECTS THE WAYS THAT REGIONS MAY BE MOVED OR PLACED HOW COMMANDS LIKE #OPY AND 0ASTE WORK AND HOW THE VARIOUS %DIT TOOLS 4RIM 3ELECTOR 'RABBER AND 0ENCIL WORK
Slip mode 4HE DEFAULT MODE THAT YOU SHOULD NORMALLY WORK IN IS THE 3LIP MODE )T IS CALLED 3LIP MODE BECAUSE IT LETS YOU MOVE REGIONS FREELY WITHIN A TRACK OR TO OTHER TRACKS AND ALLOWS YOU TO PLACE A REGION SO THAT THERE IS SPACE BETWEEN IT AND OTHER REGIONS IN A TRACK )N 3LIP MODE IF YOU USE THE #UT COMMAND TO REMOVE A SELECTION BEFORE THE END OF THE LAST REGION ON A TRACK IT LEAVES AN EMPTY SPACE WHERE THE DATA WAS REMOVED FROM THE TRACK 9OU SHOULD ALSO BE AWARE THAT REGIONS ARE ALLOWED TO OVERLAP OR COMPLETELY COVER OTHER REGIONS IN 3LIP MODE
Shuffle mode )N 3HUFFLE MODE IF YOU PLACE TWO OR MORE REGIONS INTO A TRACK THEY WILL AUTO MATICALLY SNAP TOGETHER WITH NO GAP IN BETWEEN
Figure 6.15 Selecting AND MOVING A REGION IN 3HUFFLE MODE
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)F YOU HAVE AN EXISTING TRACK THAT CONTAINS TWO OR MORE REGIONS WITH GAPS BETWEEN THEM YOU CAN CLOSE THE GAPS BY SELECTING 3HUFFLE MODE AND USING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL TO PUSH A REGION IN THE DIRECTION OF THE PREVIOUS REGION !S SOON AS YOU LET GO OF THE MOUSE THE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO REGIONS IS CLOSED LEAVING THEM STUCK TOGETHER
Figure 6.16 The REGION THAT YOU MOVED automatically attaches itself to the previous REGION IN 3HUFFLE MODE
3O IF YOU WANT A REGION THAT YOU ARE MOVING AROUND IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO AUTOMATICALLY BUTT UP AGAINST THE PREVIOUS REGION WITH NO OVERLAP AND WITH NOT EVEN THE SMALLEST GAP BETWEEN THEM YOU CAN USE 3HUFFLE MODE )F YOU ARE IN 3LIP MODE OR EVEN IN 'RID MODE YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL TO AVOID OVER LAPPING THE REGIONS AND YOU WILL HAVE TO ZOOM IN TO SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING #ONSEQUENTLY PLACING REGIONS ACCURATELY IN THESE MODES TAKES MORE TIME "Y THE WAY IT IS CALLED 3HUFFLE MODE BECAUSE IF YOU USE THE GRABBER TO DRAG A REGION PLACED EARLIER IN A PLAYLIST TO A LATER POSITION OR VICE VERSA THE OTHER REGIONS WILL SHUFFLE IE MOVE THEIR POSITIONS AROUND TO ACCOMMODATE THIS REPOSITIONING OF THE REGION 3IMILARLY IF YOU USE THE #UT COMMAND TO REMOVE A SELECTION BEFORE THE END OF THE LAST REGION ON A TRACK THE REGIONS TO THE RIGHT OF THE CUT MOVE TO THE LEFT CLOSING THE GAP !LSO IF YOU PASTE DATA ANY WHERE BEFORE THE END OF THE LAST REGION ON A TRACK ALL REGIONS BEYOND THE INSERTION POINT MOVE TO THE RIGHT TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE PASTED MATERIAL
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"E CAREFUL TO RETURN TO 3LIP OR 'RID MODE AS SOON AS YOU HAVE MADE YOUR MOVES IN 3HUFFLE MODE n IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO ACCIDENTALLY MOVE A REGION AND HAVE 3HUFFLE MODE SHUFFLE YOUR REGIONS TO SOMEWHERE THEY SHOULDNT BE !ND IF YOU DONT NOTICE THIS AT THE TIME IT HAPPENS YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE EVEN THE MULTIPLE 5NDO FEATURE TO GET BACK TO WHERE YOU WERE
Spot mode 3POT MODE WAS ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR WORKING TO PICTURE WHERE YOU OFTEN NEED TO SPOT A SOUND EFFECT OR A MUSIC CUE TO A PARTICULAR 3-04% TIME CODE LOCATION 240
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4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT YOU SELECT 3POT MODE AND THEN CLICK ON ANY REGION IN THE %DIT WINDOW OR DRAG A REGION FROM THE 2EGION ,IST OR FROM A $IGI"ASE BROWSER INTO THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE 3POT DIALOG COMES UP AND YOU CAN EITHER TYPE IN THE LOCATION YOU WANT OR USE THE REGIONS TIME STAMP LOCATIONS FOR SPOTTING 4HERE ARE ACTUALLY TWO TIME STAMPS THAT ARE SAVED WITH EVERY REGION 7HEN YOU ORIGINALLY RECORD A REGION IT IS PERMANENTLY TIME STAMPED RELATIVE TO THE 3-04% START TIME SPECIFIED FOR THE SESSION %ACH REGION CAN ALSO HAVE A 5SER 4IME 3TAMP THAT CAN BE ALTERED WHENEVER YOU LIKE USING THE 4IME 3TAMP 3ELECTED COMMAND IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST POP UP MENU )F YOU HAVE NOT SPECIFI CALLY SET A 5SER 4IME 3TAMP THE /RIGINAL 4IME 3TAMP LOCATION WILL BE SET HERE AS THE DEFAULT
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3POT MODE CAN ALSO BE VERY USEFUL WHEN EDITING MUSIC PROJECTS IN 0RO 4OOLS n PARTICULARLY IF YOU MOVE A REGION OUT OF PLACE ACCIDENTALLY 5SING 3POT MODE YOU CAN ALWAYS RETURN A REGION TO WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED !LSO AS LONG AS YOU REMEMBER TO SET A 5SER 4IME 3TAMP IF YOU REARRANGE REGIONS TO LOCATIONS OTHER THAN WHERE THEY WERE FIRST RECORDED YOU CAN ALWAYS RETURN REGIONS TO THESE LOCATIONS
&OR EXAMPLE IF YOU MOVE A REGION BY ACCIDENT USING 3POT MODE WOULD BE AN IDEAL WAY TO PUT IT BACK TO EXACTLY WHERE IT CAME FROM
Figure 6.17 %DIT WINDOW SHOWING A 2EGION ACCIDENTALLY MOVED FROM ITS ORIGINAL POSITION
4O DO THIS PUT THE SOFTWARE INTO 3POT MODE BY CLICKING ON THE 3POT MODE ICON AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE %DIT WINDOW SELECT THE 'RABBER TOOL AND CLICK ON THE REGION TO BRING UP THE 3POT DIALOG
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Figure 6.18 5SING THE 3POT DIALOG TO RETURN A 2EGION TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION
)F THE 2EGION HAS BEEN MOVED FROM THE POSITION AT WHICH IT WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED THE CURRENT 3TART POSITION DISPLAYED IN THE 3POT DIALOG WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THE /RIGINAL 4IME 3TAMP POSITION SHOWN IN THE DIALOG 9OU CAN EITHER TYPE THE CORRECT 3TART POSITION OR EVEN QUICKER JUST CLICK THE UPWARDS POINTING ARROW NEXT TO THE /RIGINAL 4IME 3TAMP TO PUT THIS VALUE INTO THE 3TART POSITION FIELD
Figure 6.19 Click the /RIGINAL 4IME 3TAMP ARROW TO ENTER THIS location into the Start FIELD IN THE 3POT DIALOG
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)F YOU HAVE DELIBERATELY MOVED THE 2EGION SINCE RECORDING IT AND HAVE TAKEN THE TROUBLE TO ENTER A 5SER 4IME 3TAMP IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST FOR THE MOVED REGION YOU SHOULD ENTER THE 5SER 4IME 3TAMP INTO THE 3TART FIELD INSTEAD )F YOU DID NOT UPDATE THE 5SER 4IME 3TAMP WHEN YOU MOVED THE REGION THEN YOU WILL NOT KNOW WHAT THE CORRECT LOCATION SHOULD BE SO YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RETURN THE REGION TO THE CORRECT POSITION USING 3POT MODE
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7HEN YOU CLICK /+ IN THE 3POT DIALOG THE REGION WILL BE MOVED BACK TO THE LOCATION WHERE IT WAS ORIGINALLY RECORDED
Figure 6.20 %DIT WINDOW SHOWING 'UITAR 2EGION BACK IN ITS ORIGINAL POSITION
Grid mode 'RID MODE LETS YOU CONSTRAIN YOUR EDIT SELECTION TO 'RID LINES THAT CORRESPOND TO A 'RID VALUE THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SUIT YOUR PURPOSE 'RID MODE IS PARTIC ULARLY USEFUL IF YOU ARE EDITING PATTERN BASED MUSIC THAT STARTS AND ENDS CLEANLY AT REGULAR BOUNDARIES SUCH AS BARS OR BEATS 9OU CAN CHOOSE THE 'RID SIZE USING THE 'RID VALUE POP UP MENU LOCATED ABOVE THE 4IMEBASE RULERS AND THE TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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)F YOU PRESS AND HOLD THE #ONTROL AND /PTION KEYS -AC OR THE 3TART AND !LT KEYS IN 7INDOWS YOU CAN USE THE PLUS AND MINUS KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO INCREASE OR DECREASE THE 'RID SIZE
4HE 'RID SIZE CAN BE BASED ON A TIME VALUE USING THE -AIN 4IME 3CALE OR IF &OLLOW -AIN 4IME 3CALE IS DESELECTED ANOTHER TIME FORMAT CAN BE USED FOR THE 'RID SIZE 4O MAKE THE 'RID LINES VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW JUST CLICK ON THE CURRENTLY SELECTED 4IMEBASE RULER NAME THE ONE HIGHLIGHTED IN BLUE TO TOGGLE THESE ON AND OFF
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9OU CAN TEMPORARILY SUSPEND 'RID MODE AND SWITCH TO 3LIP MODE BY HOLD ING DOWN THE #OMMAND KEY THE #ONTROL KEY IN 7INDOWS WHICH IS VERY USEFUL WHILE YOU ARE TRIMMING REGIONS FOR EXAMPLE
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Absolute and Relative Grid modes 'RID MODE CAN BE APPLIED EITHER IN AN !BSOLUTE OR 2ELATIVE WAY )N !BSOLUTE 'RID MODE REGIONS ARE hSNAPPEDv ONTO 'RID BOUNDARIES WHEN YOU MOVE THEM n SO REGIONS CAN NEVER BE PLACED IN BETWEEN THE CURRENTLY APPLICABLE 'RID BOUNDARIES 4HIS IS WHAT YOU NORMALLY EXPECT AND WANT 'RID MODE TO DO AND IS THE DEFAULT BEHAVIOR 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE LETS YOU EDIT REGIONS THAT ARE NOT ALIGNED WITH 'RID BOUND ARIES AS THOUGH THEY WERE &OR EXAMPLE IN TIME SIGNATURE IF A REGIONS START POINT FALLS BETWEEN BEATS AND THE 'RID IS SET TO NOTES DRAGGING THE REGION IN 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE WILL PRESERVE THE REGIONS POSITION RELATIVE TO THE NEAREST BEAT )N A MUSIC RECORDING FOR EXAMPLE A MUSICIAN MAY HAVE DELIBERATELY PLAYED A NOTE JUST BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF A NEW BAR )F YOU SEPARATE THIS NOTE INTO ITS OWN REGION THEN USE THE 'RABBER TOOL TO MOVE IT EARLIER OR LATER BY AN EXACT NUMBER OF BEATS USING THE !BSOLUTE 'RID MODE THE REGIONS START POSITION WILL BE SNAPPED EXACTLY ONTO THE NEW BEAT POSITION AND WILL NOT SOUND AS THE MUSICIAN INTENDED IT TO )F YOU CHOOSE 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE AND SET A SUITABLE 'RID VALUE THAT ALLOWS SUFFICIENT TIME BEFORE THE BAR THEN WHEN YOU MOVE THE REGION CONTAINING THE NOTE ALONG THE 'RID IT SNAPS TO POSITIONS THAT PRESERVE THE NOTES ORIGINAL POSITIONING JUST A LITTLE BEFORE THE BEAT 4O SELECT 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE CLICK AND HOLD THE 'RID BUTTON MOVE THE MOUSE TO WHERE IT SAYS 2ELATIVE 'RID THEN LET GO
Figure 6.21 Selecting 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE
As you can see from the accompanying screenshot, the bass plays four hPICKUPv NOTES BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF BAR )F YOU WANT TO DRAG THIS WHOLE REGION TO START AT THE NEXT BAR WITH 'RID MODE SET TO "ARS USING !BSOLUTE 'RID MODE IT WOULD SNAP THE BEGINNING OF THE REGION TO THE NEXT BAR LINE 4HIS WOULD MAKE NO SENSE BECAUSE THE PICKUP NOTES NEED TO PLAY BEFORE THE BAR LINE 7ITH 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE SELECTED WHEN YOU USE THE 'RABBER TOOL TO SLIDE THE region to right or left along the Timeline, the region snaps to start positions
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Figure 6.22 The bass HAS SOME PICKUP NOTES
THAT ARE EXACTLY THE SAME DISTANCE BEFORE THE NEW BAR POSITION AS THOSE IN THE original region, thus preserving the original positioning of the notes relative to THE BAR POSITIONS )N THE EXAMPLE BELOW ) DRAGGED THE REGION LATER BY ONE BAR IN 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE AND AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SCREENSHOT IT IS NOW POSITIONED A LITTLE BEFORE BAR
Figure 6.23 .OTE DRAGGED ALONG THE 4IMELINE IN 2ELATIVE 'RID MODE TO THE CORRECT POSITION BEFORE BAR
$RAGGING THE REGION IN !BSOLUTE 'RID MODE WOULD HAVE ONLY ALLOWED ME TO POSITION THE START OF THE REGION EXACTLY ON A GRID LINE n A BAR LINE IN THIS EXAM PLE 7HEN ) DO THIS AS YOU WILL SEE FROM THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT THE REGION STARTS EXACTLY AT THE BEGINNING OF "AR WHICH IN THIS INSTANCE WOULD SOUND WRONG Figure 6.24 .OTE DRAGGED BACK ALONG THE Timeline in Absolute 'RID MODE TO A NEW BAR POSITION
6.4 Editing in the Edit window 4HE 0RO 4OOLS %DIT WINDOW LETS YOU EDIT AUDIO NONDESTRUCTIVELY n EDITING A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE AUDIO DATA WITHOUT ALTERING THE AUDIO SOURCE FILES 4HE REGIONS THAT REPRESENT THE AUDIO CAN BE CUT COPIED PASTED TRIMMED OR CLEARED FROM THE %DIT WINDOW WITH NO RISK THAT YOU WILL PERMANENTLY ALTER OR LOSE ANY OF YOUR PRECIOUS AUDIO RECORDINGS 4HERE ARE SOME TOOLS AND PROCESSES THAT DO WORK DESTRUCTIVELY IN OTHER WORDS THAT CAN PERMANENTLY CHANGE AUDIO FILES ON YOUR HARD DISK /NE IMPORTANT EXAMPLE IS WHEN YOU USE THE PENCIL TOOL TO REDRAW AN AUDIO WAVEFORM WHICH DOES ALTER THE AUDIO FILE ON DISK WHEN YOU SAVE YOUR CHANGES !NOTHER
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EXAMPLE IS WHEN YOU USE THE !UDIO 3UITE PROCESSES n BUT THESE ARE NORMALLY ACCOMPANIED BY CLEAR WARNINGS TO THIS EFFECT /NE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT 0RO 4OOLS IS THAT YOU CAN CARRY OUT MANY EDIT ING TASKS WHILE THE SESSION IS PLAYING BACK 9OU CAN SEPARATE AND TRIM REGIONS PLACE SPOT OR REARRANGE REGIONS ADD FADES OR CROSSFADES TRANSPOSE OR QUAN TIZE -)$) TRACKS NUDGE AUDIO OR -)$) REGIONS LISTEN TO DIFFERENT PLAYLISTS INSERT REAL TIME PLUG INS AND PERHAPS MOST USEFULLY EDIT AUTOMATION BREAK POINTS 4HIS MAKES IT EXTREMELY FAST TO EDIT SESSIONS WHICH CAN BE A CRUCIAL FACTOR ON BUSY COMMERCIAL RECORDING SESSIONS 7HENEVER YOU RECORD OR IMPORT AUDIO VIDEO OR -)$) DATA TO TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS REGIONS ARE CREATED THAT REPRESENT THIS DATA VISUALLY IN THE TRACKS 2EGIONS INDICATE WHERE THE MATERIAL BEGINS AND ENDS AND ALSO GIVE USEFUL VIS UAL FEEDBACK ABOUT THE GENERAL SHAPE AND CONTENT .EW REGIONS ARE CREATED WHEN YOU RESIZE OR SEPARATE CUT OR PASTE EXISTING REGIONS AND ALL REGIONS OF ALL TYPES ARE DISPLAYED IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST FROM WHICH THEY CAN BE DRAGGED INTO TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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! 2EGION CAN REPRESENT A COMPLETE AUDIO FILE OR JUST PART OF AN AUDIO FILE &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU IMPORT A TRACK FROM A #$ A REGION IS CREATED THAT REP RESENTS THE WHOLE TRACK )F YOU THEN EDIT THIS SAY BY TRIMMING THE REGION IN THE %DIT WINDOW A SECOND REGION WILL BE CREATED THAT REPRESENTS LESS THAN BY THE AMOUNT YOU TRIMMED THE WHOLE TRACK
Edit window track views "Y DEFAULT THE %DIT WINDOW IS SET TO SHOW TRACKS IN h7AVEFORMv VIEW 4HIS MEANS THAT YOU SEE A REPRESENTATION OF THE AUDIO WAVEFORM PRESENTED AS A GRAPH OF AMPLITUDE VERSUS TIME !UDIO TRACKS CAN ALSO BE SET TO SHOW 0LAYLISTS "LOCKS 6OLUME 6OLUME 4RIM 0AN -UTE OR ANY PLUG IN CONTROLS THAT HAVE BEEN ENABLED FOR AUTOMATION 9OU CAN ALSO SELECT THE %LASTIC !UDIO !NALYSIS AND 7ARP VIEWS HERE 4HE DEFAULT VIEW FOR AUDIO TRACKS IS 7AVEFORM VIEW !UXILIARY )NPUTS CAN BE SET TO 6OLUME 6OLUME 4RIM 0AN -UTE OR PLUG IN AUTOMATION CONTROLS -ASTER &ADER TRACKS CAN BE SET TO 6OLUME 6OLUME 4RIM OR PLUG IN AUTOMATION CONTROLS 6#! -ASTER TRACKS CAN BE SET TO 6OLUME 6OLUME 4RIM OR -UTE 4HE DEFAULT VIEW FOR 6#! !UXILIARY AND -ASTER TRACKS IS 6OLUME AUTOMATION VIEW -)$) TRACKS ARE USUALLY SET TO EITHER .OTES OR 2EGIONS AND CAN ALSO BE SET TO "LOCKS 6OLUME 0AN -UTE 6ELOCITY 0ITCH "END !FTER 4OUCH 0ROGRAM 3YSEX
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OR ANY CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER TYPE )NSTRUMENT TRACKS LIKE -)$) TRACKS ARE USUALLY SET TO EITHER .OTES OR 2EGIONS AND CAN ALSO BE SET TO "LOCKS 6OLUME 0AN -UTE 6ELOCITY 0ITCH "END !FTER 4OUCH 0ROGRAM 3YSEX OR ANY CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER TYPE AS WELL AS 6OLUME 6OLUME 4RIM 0AN -UTE OR ANY PLUG IN CONTROLS THAT HAVE BEEN ENABLED FOR AUTOMATION 4HE DEFAULT VIEW FOR -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS IS 2EGIONS VIEW WHICH IS THE MOST USEFUL VIEW FOR EDITING AND ARRANGING -)$) REGIONS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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"LOCK VIEW CAN BE USEFUL WHEN YOU ARE CUTTING AND PASTING REGIONS AND WANT TO MOVE THEM AROUND TO REARRANGE THEM
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&OR DETAILED -)$) EDITING YOU CAN DOUBLE CLICK ANY -)$) REGION TO OPEN IT IN A -)$) %DITOR WINDOW
Master Views !UDIO TRACKS HAVE TWO -ASTER 6IEWS 7AVEFORM AND "LOCKS -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS HAVE THREE 2EGIONS "LOCKS AND .OTES WHEN USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL AND !UXILIARY )NPUT -ASTER &ADER AND 6#! -ASTER TRACKS JUST HAVE ONE 6OLUME 7HEN A TRACK IS IN A -ASTER 6IEW ANY EDITS THAT YOU PERFORM APPLY TO ALL DATA IN THE TRACK n INCLUDING ALL THE AUTOMATION DATA )F YOU ARE WORKING WITH DATA FROM MULTIPLE TRACKS AND ANY OF THE SELECTED TRACKS IS SET TO A -ASTER 6IEW ANY EDITS YOU MAKE WILL NOT ONLY AFFECT THE AUDIO OR -)$) DATA ON THE TRACK THEY WILL ALSO APPLY TO ANY AUTOMATION OR CONTROLLER DATA ON THE TRACK 3O WHEN YOU ARE IN A -ASTER 6IEW CUTTING AN AUDIO REGION ALSO CUTS ANY VOLUME PAN MUTE SEND OR PLUG IN AUTOMATION THAT IS ALSO ON THE TRACK n SAVING YOU FROM HAVING TO INDIVIDUALLY CUT DATA FROM EACH AUTOMATION PLAYLIST ON THE TRACK 3IMILARLY WHEN AN !UXILIARY )NPUT OR -ASTER &ADER TRACK IS DISPLAYED IN ITS -ASTER 6IEW ANY EDITS PERFORMED APPLY TO ALL AUTOMATION DATA IN THE TRACK )N ANY OTHER TRACK VIEW WITH AUTOMATION DATA DISPLAYED ON THE SELECTED TRACKS EDITS ONLY AFFECT THE TYPE OF AUTOMATION DATA DISPLAYED IN EACH TRACK &OR EXAM PLE IF TRACK DISPLAYS 0AN AUTOMATION TRACK DISPLAYS 6OLUME A UTOMATION
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7HEN AUDIO TRACKS ARE SET TO DISPLAY EITHER 7AVEFORM OR "LOCKS THEY ARE SAID TO BE IN A -ASTER 6IEW 7HEN -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACKS ARE SET TO DISPLAY 2EGIONS "LOCKS OR .OTES WHEN USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL THESE TRACKS ARE SAID TO BE IN A -ASTER 6IEW 7HEN !UXILIARY INPUTS ARE SET TO DISPLAY 6OLUME THIS IS REGARDED AS THE -ASTER 6IEW AND -ASTER &ADER TRACKS WHICH CAN ONLY DISPLAY 6OLUME ARE ALWAYS CONSIDERED TO BE IN -ASTER 6IEW
AND TRACK DISPLAYS -UTE AUTOMATION THE #UT COMMAND CUTS ONLY PAN DATA FROM TRACK VOLUME DATA FROM TRACK AND MUTE DATA FROM TRACK
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0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU OVERRIDE THIS BEHAVIOR TEMPORARILY BY PRESSING AND HOLD ING THE #ONTROL -AC OR THE 3TART KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU CHOOSE THE #UT #OPY OR 0ASTE COMMANDS ENABLING YOU TO COPY ALL TYPES OF AUTOMA TION ON ALL SELECTED TRACKS
Breakpoints "REAKPOINTS ARE POINTS THAT CAN BE INSERTED ONTO THE GRAPH LINES THAT CON TROL AUTOMATION DATA IN THE 0RO 4OOLS %DIT WINDOW !S THE MANUAL EXPLAINS h7HEN AN AUDIO OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS DISPLAYED AS 6OLUME 0AN OR ANOTHER AUTOMATED CONTROL OR WHEN A -)$) OR )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS SET TO ONE OF THE CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER TYPES 6OLUME 0ITCH "END !FTER 4OUCH THE DATA FOR THAT TRACK APPEARS IN THE FORM OF A LINE GRAPH WITH A SERIES OF EDITABLE BREAKPOINTS 4HE BREAKPOINTS CAN BE DRAGGED TO MODIFY THE AUTOMATION DATA AND NEW BREAKPOINTS CAN BE INSERTED WITH THE 0ENCIL TOOL OR A 'RABBER TOOLv 'OT THAT !LL ) WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO THIS IS THAT EDITING VOLUME AND OTHER AUTOMATION DATA CAN OFTEN BE DONE MUCH MORE QUICKLY AND MUCH MORE ACCURATELY BY EDIT ING THE BREAKPOINTS THAN BY MOVING FADERS AND OTHER CONTROLS WHICH TENDS TO GENERATE LOTS OF UNNECESSARY AUTOMATION DATA /F COURSE IF YOU LIKE THE FEEL OF FADERS KNOBS AND SWITCHES NOTHING IS GOING TO SUBSTITUTE FOR THESE
Switching track views 9OU CAN SWITCH THE VIEW OF ANY TRACK USING ITS 4RACK 6IEW POP UP MENU 7HEN YOU HAVE THE 4RACK (EIGHT SET TO MEDIUM OR GREATER THIS IS LOCATED TO THE LEFT OF THE TRACK IN THE 4RACK #ONTROLS DISPLAY AREA JUST UNDERNEATH THE 2ECORD 248
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3OLO AND -UTE BUTTONS /THERWISE YOU CAN SELECT THIS FROM THE 4RACK /PTIONS POP UP MENU AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE #ONTROLS AREA
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5SE KEYBOARD COMMAND SHORTCUTS TO GET TO THE VIEWS YOU WANT 4O CHANGE TO THE PREVIOUS OR NEXT 4RACK 6IEW CLICK IN THE TRACK YOU WANT TO CHANGE )F THIS TRACK IS A MEMBER OF A GROUP ALL THE OTHER MEMBERS WILL BE SELECTED )F YOU WANT TO CHANGE VIEWS ON MORE THAN ONE TRACK 3HIFT CLICK OR DRAG THE 3ELECTOR TOOL TO SELECT ADDITIONAL TRACKS 7ITH THE TRACK OR TRACKS SELECTED JUST PRESS AND HOLD THE #ONTROL AND #OMMAND KEYS -AC OR #ONTROL AND 3TART KEYS 7INDOWS WITH THESE KEYS HELD DOWN YOU CAN USE THE ,EFT OR 2IGHT ARROW KEYS ON YOUR COMPU TER KEYBOARD TO SELECT THE PREVIOUS OR NEXT 4RACK 6IEW 4O CHANGE THE VIEW BETWEEN 7AVEFORM AND 6OLUME AUDIO OR .OTES AND 2EGIONS -)$) JUST SELECT THE RELEVANT TRACK OR TRACKS AS ABOVE THEN PRESS THE #ONTROL AND -INUS -AC OR 3TART AND -INUS 7INDOWS KEYS ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD
Useful keyboard commands for editing 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES A USEFUL KEYBOARD COMMAND THAT LETS YOU COLLAPSE AN %DIT OR 4IMELINE SELECTION AND SIMULTANEOUSLY MOVE THE %DIT CURSOR INSERTION POINT TO THE BEGINNING OR END OF THE SELECTION 0RO 4OOLS ALSO PROVIDES SEVERAL KEY BOARD SHORTCUTS FOR MOVING AND EXTENDING OR DECREASING THE RANGE OF AN %DIT OR 4IMELINE SELECTION 4HE BEST WAY TO LEARN HOW THESE WORK IS TO MAKE A SELECTION AS ) HAVE IN THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOTS AND TRY THESE FOR YOURSELF (AVING MADE YOUR SELECTION AND WITH THE 4RANSPORT STOPPED YOU CAN USE THE $OWN AND 5P ARROWS ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD TO RE POSITION THE %DIT CUR SOR AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF THE %DIT OR 4IMELINE SELECTION AND COLLAPSE THE SELECTION
Figure 6.25 A region SELECTED IN THE %DIT WINDOW WITH 4IMELINE SELECTION 3TART AND %ND -ARKERS SHOWN IN RED IN THE "ARS\"EATS RULER BECAUSE A TRACK HAPPENS TO BE RECORD ENABLED
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To move the insertion point to the beginning of the selection, press the $OWN ARROW OR TO MOVE THE INSERTION POINT TO THE END OF THE SELECTION PRESS THE 5P ARROW 9OU WILL hLOSEv THE SELECTION WHICH IS THEN SAID TO HAVE COL LAPSED AND THE INSERTION POINT WILL APPEAR AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF THE SELECTION
Figure 6.26 Selection hCOLLAPSED v WITH THE %DIT CURSOR INSERTED AT THE END OF THE SELECTION AND THE Timeline selection Marker PLACED ABOVE THIS IN THE "ARS\"EATS RULER
4O HALVE THE LENGTH OF THE SELECTION PRESS #OMMAND #ONTROL /PTION 3HIFT , -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART 3HIFT , 7INDOWS
Figure 6.27 The Selection has been HALVED
4O MOVE THE SELECTION FORWARD BY THE SELECTION AMOUNT PRESS #OMMAND #ONTROL /PTION SINGLE QUOTE -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART SINGLE QUOTE 7INDOWS
Figure 6.28 The 3ELECTION HAS BEEN MOVED FORWARD BY THE SELECTION AMOUNT
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4O MOVE THE SELECTION BACKWARD BY THE SELECTION AMOUNT PRESS #OMMAND #ONTROL /PTION , -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART , 7INDOWS
Figure 6.29 The 3ELECTION HAS BEEN MOVED BACK AGAIN
4O DOUBLE LENGTH OF THE %DIT SELECTION PRESS #OMMAND #ONTROL /PTION 3HIFT SINGLE QUOTE -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART 3HIFT SINGLE QUOTE 7INDOWS
Figure 6.30 The Selection has been DOUBLED
To align the start point of a region to timeline position, select the Grabber TOOL AND USE THE MOUSE TO POINT AT AND CLICK IN THE TIMELINE RULER TO POSITION THE %DIT CURSOR AT EXACTLY THE POINT AT WHICH YOU WISH TO ALIGN THE START POINT OF THE REGION 4HEN WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS CLICK ON THE REGION AND WATCH IT SNAP EXACTLY TO THE TIMELINE POSI TION THAT YOU HAVE SPECIFIED
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4HIS TRICK EVEN WORKS WHEN YOU ARE DRAGGING REGIONS INTO THE TIMELINE FROM THE 2EGIONS LIST AND CAN BE FASTER TO USE THAN 3POT MODE WHICH LETS YOU DO MUCH OF THE SAME THING
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4O ALIGN THE END POINT OF A REGION TO A TIMELINE POSITION SELECT THE 'RABBER TOOL AND USE THE MOUSE TO POINT AT AND CLICK IN THE TIMELINE RULER TO POSITION THE %DIT CURSOR AT EXACTLY THE POINT AT WHICH YOU WISH TO ALIGN THE END POINT OF THE REGION 4HEN WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE #OMMAND AND #ONTROL KEYS -AC OR #ONTROL AND 3TART KEYS 7INDOWS CLICK ON THE REGION AND WATCH IT SNAP EXACTLY TO THE TIMELINE POSITION THAT YOU HAVE SPECIFIED
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4HIS CAN BE VERY USEFUL IF YOU WANT TO ALIGN TWO SOUND FILES WHOSE END POINT IS THE SAME BUT START POINTS ARE DIFFERENT To align the sync point of a region to a timeline position, select the Grabber TOOL AND USE THE MOUSE TO POINT AT AND CLICK IN THE TIMELINE RULER TO POSITION THE %DIT CURSOR AT EXACTLY THE POINT AT WHICH YOU WISH TO ALIGN THE SYNC POINT OF THE REGION 4HEN WHILE HOLDING DOWN THE #ONTROL AND 3HIFT KEYS -AC OR 3TART AND 3HIFT KEYS 7INDOWS CLICK ON THE REGION AND WATCH IT SNAP EXACTLY TO THE TIMELINE POSITION THAT YOU HAVE SPECIFIED
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4HIS IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL FOR ALIGNING SOUND EFFECTS THAT HAVE A SYNC POINT SOMEWHERE OTHER THAN AT THE START OF THE REGION SUCH AS EXPLOSIONS OR DOOR SLAMS
6.5 Working with Regions 2EGIONS ARE THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS FOR ARRANGING AUDIO AND -)$) IN THE %DIT WINDOW SO YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU KNOW HOW THESE ARE CREATED EDITED AND ARRANGED 7HEN YOU RECORD NEW AUDIO OR IMPORT EXISTING AUDIO FILES 0RO 4OOLS CREATES A 2EGION THAT PLAYS BACK THE ENTIRE FILE WHEN PLACED INTO A PLAYLIST ON A TRACK 6ERY OFTEN YOU WILL USE THE 4RIMMER TOOL TO REMOVE SOME AUDIO FROM THE START OR END OF THE RECORDING 4HIS CREATES A NEW 2EGION IN THE PLAYLIST THAT IS SHORTER THAN THE ORIGINAL REGION AND THIS NEW REGION ALSO APPEARS IN THE 2EGION ,IST .EW REGIONS ARE OFTEN CREATED AUTOMATICALLY WHEN YOU MAKE EDITS TO EXISTING REGIONS &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU USE THE #LEAR COMMAND TO REMOVE A SECTION FROM WITHIN A REGION THE SECTIONS ON EITHER SIDE OF THIS WILL FORM NEW REGIONS )F YOU USE THE #UT COMMAND INSTEAD THE SECTION YOU ARE CUTTING IS PLACED ONTO THE CLIPBOARD AND A NEW REGION REPRESENTING THIS SECTION IS ALSO ADDED TO THE 2EGION ,IST 252
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/NCE YOU HAVE CREATED A REGION IT APPEARS IN THE 2EGION ,IST &ROM THE 2EGION ,IST YOU CAN DRAG IT TO A TRACK TO ADD TO AN EXISTING ARRANGEMENT OF REGIONS OR TO CREATE A NEW ARRANGEMENT hFROM SCRATCHv 9OU CAN SLIDE REGIONS OR GROUPS OF REGIONS AROUND FREELY IN THE %DIT WINDOW USING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL IN 3LIP MODE 9OU CAN ALSO MOVE REGIONS AROUND WHILE CONSTRAINED TO THE GRID IN 'RID MODE SHUFFLE THEM AROUND IN 3HUFFLE MODE OR SPOT REGIONS TO EXACT LOCATIONS USING 3POT MODE
Capturing Regions 4HE h#APTURExv REGION COMMAND DEFINES A SELECTION AS A NEW REGION AND ADDS IT TO THE 2EGION ,IST &ROM THERE THE NEW REGION CAN BE DRAGGED TO ANY EXISTING TRACKS
Figure 6.31 A selection WITHIN A REGION
7HEN YOU MAKE A SELECTION WITHIN A REGION AND CHOOSE h#APTURExv FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND 2 -AC OR #ONTROL 2 7INDOWS THE .AME DIALOG APPEARS 9OU CAN TYPE A NAME FOR THE CAPTURED REGION HERE AND /+ THIS
Figure 6.32 .AMING A SELECTION WITHIN A REGION USING THE 2EGION MENUS #APTUREx COMMAND
4HIS CAPTURED REGION THEN APPEARS IN THE 2EGIONS ,IST FROM WHERE IT CAN BE DRAGGED AND DROPPED INTO ANY TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW AT ANY LOCATION Figure 6.33 The CAPTURED 'UITAR ,ICK REGION CAN BE DRAGGED FROM THE 2EGIONS ,IST AND PLACED ANYWHERE IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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Separating Regions 9OU CAN SEPARATE REGIONS WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL ENABLED BY INSERTING THE CURSOR ANYWHERE IN A REGION AND PRESSING #OMMAND % -AC OR #ONTROL % 7INDOWS OR BY CHOOSING h3EPARATE 2EGION !T 3ELECTIONv FROM THE %DIT MENU 4HIS SIM PLY CUTS THE REGION INTO TWO AT THE INSERTION POINT )F YOU MAKE AN %DIT SELEC TION WITHIN A REGION AND USE THIS COMMAND TO SEPARATE THE REGION THIS WILL CREATE TWO SEPARATE REGIONS OR THREE IF YOU LEAVE PARTS OF THE ORIGINAL REGION UNSELECTED EITHER SIDE OF YOUR SELECTION )F YOU NEED TO SEPARATE A REGION INTO LOTS OF SMALLER REGIONS YOU CAN USE ONE OR OTHER OF THE TWO ADDITIONAL CHOICES AVAILABLE IN THE 3EPARATE 2EGION SUB MENU h3EPARATE 2EGION /N 'RIDv SEPARATES REGIONS BASED ON THE CURRENTLY DISPLAYED 'RID VALUES AND BOUNDARIES h3EPARATE 2EGION !T 4RANSIENTSv SEPA RATES REGIONS AT EACH DETECTED TRANSIENT 5SING EITHER OF THESE COMMANDS OPENS A h0RE 3EPARATE !MOUNTv DIALOG THAT YOU CAN USE TO TYPE A PRESEPARATE AMOUNT IN MILLISECONDS TO hPADv THE BEGIN NINGS OF THE NEW REGIONS WITH A SMALL EXTRA AMOUNT OF AUDIO
Figure 6.34 0RE 3EPARATE !MOUNT DIALOG
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7ITH LOOPED REGIONS THE 3EPARATE 2EGIONS COMMANDS AUTOMATICALLY UNLOOP AND FLATTEN THE LOOPED REGIONS BEFORE SEPARATING THEM
4HE !UTO .AME 3EPARATED 2EGIONS OPTION IN THE %DITING 0REFERENCES PAGE IS SELECTED BY DEFAULT SO 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATICALLY NAMES SEPARATED REGIONS FOR YOU )F THIS PREFERENCE IS DISABLED A DIALOG BOX APPEARS THAT LETS YOU TYPE A NAME FOR THE NEW REGION
Figure 6.35 %DITING 0REFERENCES FOR 2EGIONS
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7HEN THE h3EPARATE 2EGIONv /PERATES ON !LL 2ELATED 4AKES OPTION IS ENA BLED IN THE %DITING 0REFERENCES EDITING A REGION WITH THE 3EPARATE 2EGION COMMAND ALSO AFFECTS ALL OTHER RELATED TAKES WITH THE SAME 5SER 4IME 3TAMP 4HIS OPTION HELPS YOU COMPARE DIFFERENT SECTIONS FROM A GROUP OF RELATED TAKES &OR EXAMPLE YOU CAN QUICKLY SEPARATE AN ENTIRE GROUP OF RELATED VOCAL TAKES INTO SECTIONS THEN AUDITION AND SELECT THE BEST MATE RIAL FROM EACH SECTION INDEPENDENTLY )F THIS OPTION IS SELECTED MAKE SURE THE 4RACK .AME AND 2EGION 3TART AND %ND OPTIONS ARE ALSO SELECTED IN THE -ATCHING #RITERIA WINDOW )F THEY ARE NOT all regions in the session WITH THE SAME 5SER 4IME 3TAMP WILL BE AFFECTED )N MOST INSTANCES YOU WILL WANT TO DISABLE THIS OPTION TO PREVENT A LARGE NUMBER OF REGIONS FROM BEING CREATED WHEN YOU USE THE 3EPARATE 2EGION COMMAND
Using the Separation Grabber 9OU CAN ALSO CREATE NEW REGIONS USING THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER TOOL 5SING THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER SAVES YOU THE TROUBLE OF SEPARATING THE REGION FIRST -AKE A SELECTION USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL 4HEN SELECT THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER TOOL FROM THE POP UP SELECTOR THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU PRESS AND HOLD THE 'RABBER TOOLS BUTTON 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THIS MIGHT LOOK 7HEN YOU HAVE SELECTED THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER TOOL YOU WILL SEE A SMALL PAIR OF SCISSORS APPEAR ON THE hHANDv TO REMIND YOU THAT THE 3EPARATION 'RABBER IS CURRENTLY SELECTED .OW YOU CAN DRAG YOUR SELECTION TO A NEW LOCATION WITHIN THE SAME TRACK OR ON ANOTHER TRACK 4HE SELECTION IS AUTOMATICALLY SEP ARATED FROM ITS PARENT REGION AND A NEW REGION CONTAINING THIS SELECTION IS CREATED !S USUAL NEW REGIONS ARE ALSO CREATED FROM THE MATERIAL OUTSIDE THE
Figure 6.36 Choosing the Separation Grabber TOOL
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ORIGINAL SELECTION 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THIS MIGHT LOOK
Figure 6.37 5SING THE Separation Grabber tool to separate a selection FROM A REGION AND MOVE THIS NEW REGION TO A NEW LOCATION
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)F YOU WANT TO LEAVE THE ORIGINAL REGION INTACT PRESS THE /PTION KEY -AC OR THE !LT KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU DRAG THE SELECTION TO THE NEW LOCA TION ! NEW REGION CONTAINING A COPY OF THE PREVIOUS SELECTION IS CREATED AND PLACED AT THE NEW LOCATION WHILE THE ORIGINAL REGION IS NOT MOVED OR CHANGED IN ANY WAY
Healing separated regions )F YOU HAVE MADE A CUT IN A REGION OR REMOVED A SECTION FROM WITHIN A REGION YOU MAY CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT THIS AND WANT TO RETURN IT TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION )F THE REGIONS HAVE NOT BEEN MOVED AROUND SINCE YOU MADE THE CUT OR REMOVED MATERIAL YOU CAN JOIN THE SEPARATED REGIONS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN USING THE (EAL 3EPARATION COMMAND 4HE (EAL 3EPARATION COMMAND RETURNS SEPARATED REGIONS TO THEIR ORIGINAL STATE PROVIDED THAT THE REGIONS ARE STILL NEXT TO EACH OTHER AND THAT THEIR RELATIVE STARTEND POINTS HAVE NOT CHANGED SINCE THEY WERE SEPARATED 4O HEAL A SEPARATION BETWEEN TWO REGIONS USE THE 3ELECTOR TOOL TO MAKE A SELECTION THAT INCLUDES PART OF THE FIRST REGION THE ENTIRE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE REGIONS AND PART OF THE SECOND REGION 4HEN CHOOSE (EAL 3EPARATION FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND ( -AC OR #ONTROL ( 7INDOWS TO HEAL THE SEPARATION
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9OU CANNOT JOIN TWO REGIONS CREATED FROM DIFFERENT AUDIO FILES TOGETHER USING (EAL 3EPARATION BECAUSE THEY WERE NEVER PART OF THE SAME REGION PREVIOUSLY
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Overlapping Regions 3OMETIMES WHEN YOU MOVE REGIONS AROUND IN 3LIP MODE YOU WILL INADVERT ENTLY OVERLAP THESE 9OU WILL ALSO GET OVERLAPPING REGIONS ON TICK BASED TRACKS WITH MULTIPLE REGIONS IF YOU INCREASE THE TEMPO 4O WARN YOU THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED YOU CAN CHOOSE TO DISPLAY A SMALL hDOG EARv IN THE TOP RIGHT HAND CORNER OF EACH REGION IF AN OVERLAP OR AN UNDERLAP HAS OCCURRED *UST SELECT h/VERLAPv VIEW FOR 2EGIONS IN THE 6IEW MENU 4HE 2EGIONS MENU ALSO PROVIDES A COUPLE OF USEFUL COMMANDS THAT LET YOU BRING AN OVERLAPPED REGION TO THE FRONT OR SEND IT BEHIND NEIGHBORING REGIONS AS NECESSARY )F YOU SELECT MULTIPLE REGIONS AND CHOOSE h"RING TO &RONTv FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS /PTION 3HIFT & -AC OR !LT 3HIFT & 7INDOWS THE FIRST REGION IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE SECOND REGION THE SECOND REGION IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE THIRD REGION AND SO FORTH 4AKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THIS LOOKS
Figure 6.38 Three SELECTED OVERLAPPING regions, each brought to THE FRONT BEFORE THE NEXT region, so each overlaps THE NEXT
)F YOU SELECT MULTIPLE REGIONS AND CHOOSE h3END TO "ACKv FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS /PTION 3HIFT " -AC OR !LT 3HIFT " 7INDOWS THE SECOND REGION OVERLAPS THE FIRST REGION THE THIRD REGION OVERLAPS THE SECOND REGION AND SO FORTH !GAIN TAKE A LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT TO SEE HOW THIS LOOKS 4O DESCRIBE THIS SITUATION ANOTHER WAY YOU COULD SAY THAT EACH REGION hUNDERLAPSv THE FOLLOWING REGION
Figure 6.39 Three SELECTED OVERLAPPING regions, each sent to the back before the NEXT REGION SO EACH hUNDERLAPSv THE NEXT
.OW IF YOU SELECT THE MIDDLE OF THE THREE REGIONS AND SEND THIS TO THE BACK BOTH THE REGION BEFORE AND THE REGION AFTER WILL OVERLAP THIS REGION
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Figure 6.40 4HE MIDDLE of three regions has been sent to the back so that THE REGION BEFORE AND THE region after both overlap THIS REGION
!ND IF YOU SELECT THE MIDDLE OF THE THREE REGIONS AND BRING THIS TO THE FRONT IT WILL OVERLAP BOTH THE REGION BEFORE AND THE REGION AFTER
Figure 6.41 4HE MIDDLE of three regions has been brought to the front so that it overlaps both the REGION BEFORE AND THE REGION AFTER
4HE EASIEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND HOW ALL THIS WORKS IS TO LOOK AT THE ACCOMPANY ING SCREENSHOTS THEN TRY IT FOR YOURSELF
Sync points 7HEN YOU ARE PLACING REGIONS IN 3POT MODE OR 'RID MODE IT IS SOMETIMES USEFUL TO ALIGN A PARTICULAR POINT WITHIN A REGION WITH A SPECIFIC 4IMELINE LOCA TION INSTEAD OF ALIGNING THE START POINT OF THE REGION WHICH IS THE DEFAULT SITUATION 4O CATER FOR SUCH SITUATIONS 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU DEFINE A SYNC POINT FOR ANY REGION 4HIS SITUATION OFTEN COMES UP WHEN YOU ARE LAYING UP MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS TO PICTURE 4HE STANDARD EXAMPLE QUOTED HERE IS WHERE YOU HAVE A CREAKING DOOR THAT EVENTUALLY SLAMS SHUT 4HE SOUND EFFECT FILE INCLUDES THE CREAK AND THE SLAM AND THE OBVIOUS THING TO DO HERE IS TO LINE UP THE SOUND OF THE DOOR SLAMMING SHUT WITH THE VIDEO FRAME AT WHICH THE DOOR ACTUALLY SLAMS SHUT WHICH IS SOME WAY INTO THE AUDIO REGION REPRESENTING THIS SOUND EFFECT 9OU CAN DEFINE A REGIONS SYNC POINT IN 3LIP MODE BY FIRST PLACING THE 3ELECTOR TOOLS INSERTION CURSOR AT EXACTLY THE POINT WITHIN THE REGION WHERE THE SOUND THAT YOU WANT TO SYNCHRONIZE TO START 4HEN CHOOSE THE )DENTIFY 3YNC 0OINT COMMAND FROM THE 2EGION MENU TO IDENTIFY THIS AS THE SYNC POINT FOR THE REGION 258
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Figure 6.42 Setting a SYNC POINT WITHIN A REGION WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOLS INSERTION CURSOR PLACED AT THE POSITION WITHIN THE REGION WHERE THE SYNC POINT IS TO BE PLACED
! SMALL DOWN ARROW APPEARS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE REGION WITH A VERTICAL LIGHT GRAY LINE ABOVE THIS INDICATING THE LOCATION OF THE SYNC POINT Figure 6.43 The sync POINT APPEARS WITHIN THE REGION AS A SMALL DOWN ARROW WITH A VERTICAL LIGHT GRAY LINE ABOVE THIS
9OU CAN MOVE THIS SYNC POINT TO ANYWHERE ELSE INSIDE THE REGION USING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL TO DRAG IT EARLIER OR LATER 4O REMOVE A SYNC POINT JUST /PTION CLICK -AC OR !LT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE SYNC POINT USING THE 4IME 'RABBER OR 3CRUBBER TOOLS
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(EARING THE AUDIO SCRUBBING BACK AND FORTH CAN OFTEN BE FAR MORE REVEAL ING THAN LOOKING AT THE WAVEFORM WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO IDENTIFY WHAT SOUNDS BEST 3O YOU MAY FIND IT HELPFUL TO USE THE 3CRUBBER TOOL TO HELP YOU TO FIND EXACTLY WHERE THE SYNC POINT SHOULD BE PLACED
Nudging Regions 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU NUDGE REGIONS OR -)$) NOTES BY SMALL INCREMENTS OR DECRE MENTS ALONG THE TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT YOU SET A .UDGE VALUE USING THE .UDGE 6ALUE POP UP MENU AND SELECT A REGION OR GROUP OF REGIONS THEN YOU CAN NUDGE IE MOVE THE SELECTED ITEMS FORWARD OR BACKWARD ALONG THE 4IMELINE BY PRESSING THE PLUS OR MINUS KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD 9OU CAN NUDGE MATERIAL WHILE 0RO 4OOLS IS PLAYING BACK WHICH REALLY HELPS WHEN YOU ARE FINE TUNING hGROOVESv 9OU CAN NUDGE CONTINUOUSLY IN REAL TIME TO ADJUST THE TIMING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRACKS AND YOU CAN EVEN NUDGE THE POSITIONS OF AUTOMATION BREAKPOINTS IN THE PLAYLISTS 4HE .UDGE VALUE NOT ONLY DETERMINES HOW FAR REGIONS AND SELECTIONS ARE MOVED WHEN YOU PRESS THE NUDGE KEYS IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO MOVE THE 3TART AND %ND POINTS FOR SELECTIONS BY THE .UDGE VALUE OR TO TRIM REGIONS BY THE .UDGE VALUE 259
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Figure 6.44 Setting the .UDGE VALUE
! POP UP SELECTOR NEAR THE TOP OF THE %DIT WINDOW LETS YOU CHOOSE THE .UDGE VALUE 7ITH THE MAIN COUNTER SET TO "ARS"EATS FOR EXAMPLE THE VALUES OFFERED ARE THE COMMON SUBDIVISIONS OF A BAR 9OU CAN ALSO TYPE THE VALUES YOU WANT DIRECTLY INTO THE .UDGE 6ALUE DISPLAY WHICH IS USEFUL IF THE VALUES YOU WANT TO USE ARE NOT LISTED IN THE POP UP
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)F YOU PRESS AND HOLD THE #OMMAND AND /PTION KEYS -AC OR THE #ONTROL AND !LT KEYS IN 7INDOWS YOU CAN USE THE PLUS AND MINUS KEYS ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD TO INCREASE OR DECREASE THE .UDGE VALUE
Figure 6.45 4HE .UDGE 6ALUE POP UP
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9OU CAN ALSO NUDGE A REGIONS CONTENTS SLIDING AUDIO OR -)$) INTO AND OUT OF THE CURRENT REGION BOUNDARIES WHILE KEEPING THE REGIONS 3TART AND %ND POINTS EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE n ASSUMING THAT THERE IS MATERIAL OUTSIDE THE REGIONS 3TART AND %ND POINTS THAT CAN BE SLID INTO OR OUT OF THE REGION 5SING THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL SELECT A REGION WHOSE CONTENTS YOU WANT TO NUDGE 0RESS AND HOLD THE #ONTROL KEY -AC OR THE 3TART KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU USE THE PLUS AND MINUS KEYS TO NUDGE THE CONTENTS OF THE REGION WITHOUT CHANGING THE REGIONS 3TART AND %ND POINTS
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6.6 Region Editing commands 4HE %DIT MENU AND THE 2EGION MENU BOTH CONTAIN USEFUL COMMANDS THAT YOU CAN APPLY TO REGIONS
Shift Region )F YOU SIMPLY WANT TO MOVE SELECTED MATERIAL FORWARD OR BACKWARD IN TIME ALONG A TRACK AND YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MANY BARS AND BEATS SECONDS OR SAMPLES THAT YOU WANT TO MOVE THIS BY THE QUICKEST WAY IS PROBABLY TO USE THE 3HIFT COMMAND 4HE 3HIFT COMMAND WORKS WITH SELECTIONS REGIONS -)$) NOTES -)$) CONTROLLER DATA AND AUTOMATION BREAKPOINTS AND THE SELECTED MATERIAL CAN RESIDE ON MULTIPLE TRACKS 4O USE THIS COMMAND FIRST SELECT THE TRACK MATERIAL YOU WANT TO SHIFT USING THE 3ELECTOR OR 4IME 'RABBER TOOL THEN CHOOSE 3HIFT FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESS /PTION ( -AC OR !LT ( 7INDOWS 4HE 3HIFT DIALOG THAT OPENS LETS YOU CHOOSE WHETHER THE DATA WILL BE MOVED EARLIER OR LATER AND YOU CAN TYPE THE AMOUNT IN BARS AND BEATS OR USING ANY OF THE OTHER TIMEBASES
Figure 6.46 The Shift DIALOG
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)F YOU HAVE SELECTED JUST PART OF A REGION WHEN YOU SHIFT IT NEW REGIONS ARE CREATED FROM THE SELECTION AND FROM ANY MATERIAL OUTSIDE OF THE SELECTION
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Duplicate Region 4HE %DIT MENUS $UPLICATE COMMAND COPIES A SELECTION AND PLACES IT IMME DIATELY AFTER THE END OF THE SELECTION 4HOUGH THIS IS SIMILAR TO USING #OPY AND 0ASTE $UPLICATE IS MORE CONVENIENT AND FASTER PARTICULARLY WHEN WORKING WITH DATA ON MULTIPLE TRACKS 4O DUPLICATE A BAR OR BAR OR OTHER EVEN BAR NUMBER SELECTION WHEN YOU ARE WORKING IN "ARS\"EATS SO THAT IT FOLLOWS THE ORIGINAL SELECTION USE 'RID %DIT MODE AND THE DUPLICATE WILL BE PLACED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SELECTIONS END POINT 4HE KEYBOARD COMMAND TO USE FOR THIS IS #OMMAND $ -AC OR #ONTROL $ 7INDOWS
Figure 6.47 5SING THE $UPLICATE COMMAND select a region using the Selector tool, then choose Duplicate from THE %DIT MENU OR USE THE KEYBOARD COMMAND
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7HEN USING $UPLICATE OR 2EPEAT FOR AUDIO THAT MUST FALL CLEANLY ON THE BEAT SUCH AS RHYTHMIC LOOPS IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU SELECT THE AUDIO MATERIAL WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL OR BY TYPING IN THE 3TART AND %ND POINTS IN THE %VENT %DIT AREA )F YOU SELECT AN AUDIO REGION WITH THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL OR BY DOUBLE CLICKING IT WITH THE 3ELECTOR TOOL THE MATERIAL MAY DRIFT BY SEVERAL TICKS BECAUSE OF SAMPLE ROUNDING
4O COPY A REGION AND AUTOMATICALLY PLACE IT IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE SELECTED REGION CHOOSE THE 4IME 'RABBER TOOL THEN CLICK ON THE REGION WHILE HOLDING ALL THREE MODIFIER KEYS #OMMAND /PTION #ONTROL ON THE -AC OR 3TART !LT #ONTROL IN 7INDOWS 4HIS COMMAND ACTUALLY CREATES A COPY OF THE REGION AND SLIDES IT EARLIER n IT DOESNT USE THE $UPLICATE COMMAND
Figure 6.48 4O DUPLICATE A REGION AND PLACE IT BEFORE THE SELECTED region, click using the THREE MODIFIER KEYS
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Figure 6.49 The DUPLICATED REGION IS PLACED IMMEDIATELY before the region that WAS CLICKED ON
!ND IT GETS BETTER )F YOU CLICK ON ANY OTHER REGION IN THE TRACK TO SELECT THIS REGION FIRST THEN CLICK ON THE REGION YOU WANT TO DUPLICATE WHILE HOLDING THE THREE MODIFIER KEYS A DUPLICATE OF THIS REGION WILL ATTACH ITSELF IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE REGION YOU FIRST SELECTED
Figure 6.50 Select a REGION BEFORE WHICH YOU WISH TO PLACE ANOTHER region so that it goes DARK
4O CARRY OUT THIS MOVE SELECT A REGION BEFORE WHICH YOU WISH TO PLACE ANOTHER REGION SO THAT IT GOES DARK THEN CLICK ON THE REGION THAT YOU WISH TO PLACE BEFORE THE SELECTED REGION USING THE THREE MODIFIER KEYS 4HIS COMMAND DOESNT ACTUALLY USE THE $UPLICATE COMMAND IT CREATES A COPY OF THE REGION AND SLIDES IT INTO POSITION IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THE PREVIOUSLY SELECTED REGION Figure 6.51 Click on the REGION THAT YOU WISH TO PLACE BEFORE THE SELECTED region using the three MODIFIER KEYS AND IT WILL BE COPIED AND MOVED INTO POSITION IMMEDIATELY before the previously SELECTED REGION n AS SHOWN IN THIS SCREENSHOT
Repeat Region )F YOU WANT TO CREATE A NUMBER OF DUPLICATES AND PLACE THESE ONE AFTER ANOTHER IN THE %DIT WINDOW YOU CAN USE THE 2EPEAT COMMAND 4HIS WORKS SIMILARLY TO THE $UPLICATE COMMAND BUT OPENS A DIALOG WINDOW TO LET YOU SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF REPEATS WHEN YOU CHOOSE h2EPEATxv FROM THE %DIT MENU OR PRESS /PTION 2 -AC OR !LT 2 7INDOWS 263
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Figure 6.52 4HE 2EPEAT DIALOG LETS YOU SPECIFY THE NUMBER OF REPEATS
Locking Regions 7HEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR REGION EDITS ESPECIALLY IF THESE INCLUDE DETAILED OR DIFFICULT EDITS THAT HAVE TAKEN YOU SOME TIME TO CREATE IT CAN BE USEFUL TO hLOCKv THE REGIONS OR REGION GROUPS CONTAINING THESE EDITS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT CHANGE ANYTHING BY MISTAKE 4HERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT COMMANDS AVAIL ABLE IN 0RO 4OOLS THAT CAN BE USED FOR LOCKING REGIONS %DIT ,OCK AND 4IME ,OCK 4IME LOCKING REGIONS IS PARTICULARLY USEFUL WHEN YOU ARE USING 3HUFFLE MODE )N 3HUFFLE MODE 4IME LOCKED OR %DIT LOCKED REGIONS AND ALL REGIONS OCCURRING AFTER THE LOCKED REGION WILL STAY EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE EVEN THOUGH NEIGH BORING REGIONS ARE BEING SHUFFLED AROUND /N TICK BASED %LASTIC !UDIO ENABLED TRACKS BOTH 4IME AND %DIT LOCKED REGIONS CONFORM TO TEMPO CHANGES BUT OTHER %LASTIC !UDIO PROCESSING SUCH AS 1UANTIZE OR MANUAL WARPING CANNOT BE APPLIED
%DIT ,OCK 2EGION )F YOU WANT TO PREVENT A SELECTED REGION OR REGIONS EVEN ON DIFFERENT TRACKS FROM BEING EDITED CUT DELETED SEPARATED OR TRIMMED BY MISTAKE YOU CAN USE THE 2EGION MENUS %DIT ,OCK COMMAND TO PREVENT THIS %DIT LOCKING REGIONS ALSO PREVENT THESE REGIONS FROM BEING MOVED TO DIFFERENT TIME LOCATIONS 9OU CAN COPY AND PASTE %DIT LOCKED REGIONS TO ANOTHER TRACK OR TIME LOCATION BUT THE COPY WILL ALSO BE %DIT LOCKED AT THIS NEW TIME LOCATION 4O %DIT LOCK OR UNLOCK A REGION USE THE 4IME 'RABBER TO SELECT THE REGION AND CHOOSE %DIT ,OCK5NLOCK FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND , -AC
Figure 6.53 An %DIT LOCKED REGION DISPLAYS A SMALL LOCK ICON
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OR #ONTROL , 7INDOWS ! SMALL %DIT ,OCK ICON IS DISPLAYED IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE REGION TO INDICATE THAT IT CANNOT BE MOVED DELETED OR EDITED
4IME ,OCK 2EGION )F YOU SIMPLY WANT TO LOCK A REGION TO A PARTICULAR LOCATION IN A TRACK TO PREVENT IT FROM BEING MOVED ACCIDENTALLY THERE IS A SEPARATE 4IME ,OCK COMMAND FOR THIS 4IME LOCKED REGIONS CAN BE DELETED OR TRIMMED !UDIO3UITE PROCESSED OR EVEN MOVED TO THE SAME TIME LOCATION ON ANOTHER TRACK )F YOU SEPARATE A 4IME LOCKED REGION THE NEW REGIONS THAT YOU CREATE BY DOING THIS WILL ALSO BE LOCKED TO THEIR TIME LOCATIONS 4O 4IME LOCK OR UNLOCK A REGION USE THE 4IME 'RABBER TO SELECT ONE OR MORE REGIONS WHICH CAN BE ON DIFFERENT TRACKS AND CHOOSE 4IME ,OCK5NLOCK FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS 3HIFT 4 4HE 4IME ,OCK ICON WHICH TAKES THE FORM OF AN OUTLINE OF A SMALL LOCK IS DISPLAYED IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF THE REGION TO INDICATE THAT THE REGION CANNOT BE MOVED FROM ITS TIME LOCATION
Figure 6.54 A 4IME LOCKED REGION DISPLAYS THE OUTLINE OF A SMALL LOCK
Mute Region )F YOU WANT TO MUTE A REGION THE %DIT MENU HAS A -UTE5NMUTE 2EGIONS COMMAND THAT MUTES SELECTED REGIONS OR UNMUTES THESE IF THEY ARE ALREADY MUTED 4HE KEYBOARD COMMAND FOR THIS IS #OMMAND - -AC OR #ONTROL - 7INDOWS
Quantize to Grid 6ERY OFTEN DURING EDITING YOU WILL FIND IT USEFUL TO BE ABLE TO QUANTIZE SELECTED AUDIO OR -)$) REGIONS TO THE 'RID 4HE 2EGION MENUS h1UANTIZE TO 'RIDv COMMAND IS THE QUICKEST WAY TO DO THIS 4HIS COMMAND ADJUSTS THE PLACE MENT OF SELECTED AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS SO THAT THEIR START POINTS OR THEIR SYNC POINTS IF THEY CONTAIN ONE LINE UP EXACTLY WITH THE NEAREST 'RID LINE 4O USE THIS COMMAND CHOOSE A 'RID VALUE FIRST AND USE THE 3ELECTOR OR 'RABBER TOOL TO SELECT THE REGIONS YOU WANT TO QUANTIZE MAKING SURE THAT THE WHOLE OF EACH REGION IS SELECTED 7HEN YOU CHOOSE THE 1UANTIZE TO 'RID COMMAND SELECTED REGIONS OR THEIR SYNC POINTS ARE MOVED TO THE NEAREST 'RID LINE 4HE
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KEYBOARD COMMAND FOR THIS IS #OMMAND ZERO FOR THE -AC AND #ONTROL ZERO FOR 7INDOWS
Grouping Regions 0RO 4OOLS LETS YOU GROUP TOGETHER ANY COMBINATION OF AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS ON TRACKS THAT ARE NEXT TO EACH OTHER SO THAT THEY CAN BE TREATED AS A SINGLE GROUP FOR EASE OF EDITING )F YOU USE "EAT $ETECTIVE OR THE 3EPARATE 2EGION !T 4RANSIENTS COMMAND TO SPLIT YOUR DRUM TRACKS INTO INDIVIDUAL HITS YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE LOTS OF SMALL REGIONS TO DEAL WITH 4HE SAME THING CAN HAP PEN WITH IMPORTED 2%8 OR !#)$ FILES OR WITH LOOPED TAKES WHEN YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PERFECT A VOCAL OR A GUITAR SOLO OR WHATEVER 9OU CAN USE 2EGION Groups to gather useful sets of regions together so that you can move them AROUND WHILE WORKING ON YOUR ARRANGEMENT 2EGION GROUPS ARE ALSO USEFUL FOR GROUPING PARTS AND SECTIONS TOGETHER SO THAT THEY CAN BE EASILY COPIED AND MOVED 3O FOR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT GROUP ALL THE BACKING VOCALS TOGETHER IN THE FIRST CHORUS SO THAT YOU CAN COPY AND PASTE THESE INTO SUBSEQUENT CHORUSES
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! REGION GROUP IS A COLLECTION OF ANY COMBINATION OF AUDIO AND -)$) REGIONS THAT LOOKS AND ACTS LIKE A SINGLE REGION 2EGION GROUPS CAN BE CRE ATED ON SINGLE OR MULTIPLE ADJACENT AUDIO -)$) AND )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AND CAN INCLUDE BOTH TICK BASED AND SAMPLE BASED TRACKS
To create a region group, select one or more regions on one or more tracks AND CHOOSE THE 'ROUP COMMAND FROM THE 2EGION MENU
Figure 6.55 5SING THE 'ROUP COMMAND TO GROUP REGIONS
4HE REGION GROUP WILL APPEAR AS ONE REGION WITH THE 2EGION 'ROUPS ICON IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER AND WILL BE ADDED TO THE 2EGION ,IST
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Figure 6.56 ! GROUPED REGION SELECTED IN THE %DIT WINDOW IDENTIFIABLE BY ITS 2EGION 'ROUP ICON IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER
9OU CAN NEST REGION GROUPS TOGETHER WITH OTHER REGIONS OR REGION GROUPS 4AKE A LOOK AT THE SCREENSHOT BELOW AND OBSERVE THE REGION GROUP CREATED IN THE ABOVE EXAMPLE ABOUT TO BE NESTED WITHIN A NEW REGION GROUP COMPRISING THIS REGION GROUP AND THREE MORE REGIONS Figure 6.57 .ESTING A region group together WITH OTHER REGIONS INTO A NEW REGION GROUP
7HEN YOU CHOOSE THE 'ROUP COMMAND ALL THREE GROUPS ARE JOINED TOGETHER TO FORM A NEW 2EGION 'ROUP Figure 6.58 ! NEW 2EGION 'ROUP CREATED FROM AN EXISTING 2EGION 'ROUP TOGETHER WITH TWO MORE REGIONS
4HE 2EGION MENU ALSO HAS COMMANDS TO LET YOU UNGROUP AND REGROUP REGIONS )F YOU APPLY THE 5NGROUP COMMAND TO NESTED REGION GROUPS IT WILL ONLY UNGROUP THE TOP LAYER REGION GROUP LEAVING ANY UNDERLYING REGION GROUPS UNTOUCHED 4HE 5NGROUP !LL COMMAND ON THE OTHER HAND WILL UNGROUP A REGION GROUP TOGETHER WITH ALL OF ITS NESTED REGION GROUPS
Figure 6.59 5SING THE 5NGROUP !LL 2EGION COMMAND
!S YOU CAN SEE FROM THE SCREENSHOT BELOW AFTER USING THE 5NGROUP !LL COM MAND THE GROUPED REGION IS DISASSEMBLED SO THAT THE ORIGINAL REGIONS ARE ACCESSIBLE AGAIN
Figure 6.60 2EGIONS ALL UNGROUPED
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7ITH THE REGIONS UNGROUPED YOU CAN EDIT THESE INDIVIDUALLY AS NECESSARY !S LONG AS YOU DONT GROUP AND UNGROUP ANY OTHER REGIONS BEFOREHAND YOU CAN THEN USE THE 2EGROUP COMMAND TO REGROUP THESE AS THEY WERE AND CONTINUE WORKING ON YOUR ARRANGEMENT 9OU CAN ALSO CREATE MULTITRACK REGION GROUPS BY SELECTING REGIONS ON MULTIPLE ADJACENT TRACKS
Figure 6.61 Preparing to CREATE A MIXED MULTITRACK REGION GROUP
!FTER SELECTING THE REGIONS CHOOSE THE 'ROUP COMMAND FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR PRESS #OMMAND /PTION ' -AC OR #ONTROL /PTION ' 7INDOWS
Figure 6.62 A multitrack REGION GROUP CREATED BY grouping regions across TWO TRACKS
)F YOU GROUP A MIX OF SAMPLE AND TICK BASED AUDIO OR -)$) TRACKS TOGETHER A DIFFERENT REGION GROUP ICON IN THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER OF THE REGION GROUP INDICATES THIS
Figure 6.63 Selecting a SAMPLE BASED AUDIO TRACK AND A TICK BASED -)$) TRACK
!S YOU WILL SEE FROM THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOTS WHEN TWO MIXED REGIONS ARE GROUPED LIKE THIS A SPECIAL MIXED 'ROUP ICON IS DISPLAYED IN THE LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER OF THE GROUPED REGION 268
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Figure 6.64 ! MIXED multitrack region group CONTAINING BOTH SAMPLE BASED AND TICK BASED TRACKS WITH A MIXED region group icon in the LOWER LEFT CORNER
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2EGION GROUPS CAN BECOME SEPARATED IF YOU MOVE A TRACK FROM THE GROUP SO THAT IT IS NO LONGER ADJACENT HIDE A TRACK FROM THE GROUP INSERT A TRACK WITHIN THE GROUP DELETE A TRACK FROM THE GROUP RECORD INTO A REGION GROUP CHANGE THE TEMPO OF A MIXED GROUP OR CHANGE PLAYLISTS ON A TRACK WITHIN THE GROUP ! BROKEN ICON APPEARS IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER TO WARN YOU IF THIS HAS HAPPENED
)N THE EXAMPLE HERE THE AUDIO TRACK IS SAMPLE BASED WHEREAS THE -)$) TRACK IS TICK BASED 7HEN ) CHANGED THE TEMPO AFTER GROUPING THESE THE TICK BASED -)$) TRACK MOVED ALONG THE TIMELINE WHILE THE SAMPLE BASED AUDIO REGION STAYED AT THE SAME LOCATION ON ITS TRACK 4HE hBROKENv ICON APPEARED IN THE LOWER LEFT CORNER OF BOTH REGIONS TO WARN THAT THIS HAD HAPPENED
Figure 6.65 ! MIXED multitrack region group SEPARATED BY CHANGING TEMPO
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0RO 4OOLS CAN EXPORT AND IMPORT REGION GROUPS USING THE NEW hRGRPv REGION GROUP FILE FORMAT 4HIS CAN BE VERY USEFUL FOR CREATING MULTITRACK LOOPS CONTAINING REFERENCES TO ALL THE AUDIO FILES WITHIN THE REGION GROUP REGION NAMES AND RELATIVE LOCATION IN TRACKS TRACK NAMES FADES AND CROSS FADES AND ALL THE -)$) DATA FROM THE REGION GROUP 9OU CAN THEN IMPORT THESE INTO YOUR CURRENT OR FUTURE PROJECTS BY DRAGGING AND DROPPING THE REGION GROUP FILE FROM A $IGI"ASE BROWSER OR FROM 7INDOWS %XPLORER OR -ACINTOSH &INDER TO THE 4IMELINE A TRACK THE 4RACK ,IST OR THE 2EGION ,IST
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2EGION GROUP FILES DONT STORE AUTOMATION PLUG INS TRACK ROUTING TEMPO OR METER MAPS OR 2EGION ,IST INFORMATION
6.7 Dynamic Transport mode $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE LETS YOU DECOUPLE THE PLAYBACK LOCATION FROM THE 4IMELINE SELECTION )T IS SIMILAR IN THIS RESPECT TO USING THE h5NLINK 4IMELINE FROM %DIT 3ELECTIONv FEATURE WHICH IS VERY USEFUL FOR -)$) EDITING "UT $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE OFFERS A LOT MORE THAN UNLINKING THESE SELECTIONS THE 4IMELINE SELECTION CAN BE FREELY MOVED AROUND BY CLICKING AND DRAGGING THE GRAY AREA THAT DEFINES THE SELECTION IN THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER FOR EXAM PLE AND YOU CAN START PLAYBACK FROM ANYWHERE ON THE 4IMELINE WITHOUT LOSING YOUR 4IMELINE OR %DIT SELECTIONS 3O YOU CAN CYCLE AROUND A SECTION OF YOUR SONG IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE WHILE YOU DO SOME EDITS ON THE FLY THEN SIMPLY GRAB AND DRAG THE 4IMELINE SELECTION TO ANOTHER PART OF THE SONG TO DO MORE EDITS THERE The Dynamic Transport has a separate Play Start Marker that you can move TO A DIFFERENT LOCATION ON THE TIMELINE n INSIDE OR OUTSIDE OF THE TIMELINE SELEC TION )F YOU MOVE THE 0LAY 3TART TO WITHIN THE 4IMELINE SELECTION THAT YOU ARE CYCLING AROUND THEN START PLAYBACK IT STARTS FROM THIS LOCATION PLAYS TO THE END OF THE TIMELINE SELECTION THEN SUBSEQUENTLY LOOPS AROUND THE WHOLE OF THE TIMELINE SELECTION ! MORE PRACTICAL WAY TO USE THIS IS TO MOVE THE 0LAY 3TART TO A BAR OR TWO BEFORE THE 4IMELINE SELECTION SO THAT IT ACTS AS A PREROLL TO THE CYCLE AROUND THE TIMELINE SELECTION 3O IF YOU WANT TO RECORD SAY A -)$) PART IN BAR SECTIONS EACH WITH A OR BAR PREROLL YOU CAN SET THE 4IMELINE SELECTION TO COVER BARS SET THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER A BAR OR TWO BEFORE THIS RECORD THIS
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7HEN YOU ENABLE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE IT DISABLES THE ,INK 4IMELINE TO 3ELECTION FUNCTION 4HIS ALLOWS YOU TO PLAY BACK EITHER THE 4IMELINE SELECTION OR AN %DIT SELECTION WHICHEVER YOU PREFER 9OU CAN PRESS THE LEFT BRACKET KEY TO AUDITION THE %DIT SELECTION AND USE THE %NTER KEY TO PLAY THE TIME LINE SELECTION 4HIS LETS YOU CARRY ON MAKING YOUR EDITS VERY FLEXIBLY WHILE 0RO 4OOLS IS PLAYING BACK !ND IF YOU WANT THE 4IMELINE SELECTION TO FOLLOW THE %DIT SELECTION YOU CAN ALWAYS RE ENABLE THE ,INK 4IMELINE TO 3ELECTION BUTTON WHENEVER YOU LIKE 4HEN THE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT WILL FOLLOW EACH TIME YOU MAKE A NEW SELECTION IN THE %DIT WINDOW
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SECTION THEN GRAB AND DRAG THE 4IMELINE SELECTION TO THE NEXT BARS RECORD THIS SECTION AND SO ON )F YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE LENGTH OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION JUST DRAG THE START OR END MARKERS FOR THE SELECTION BACK OR FORTH ALONG THE 4IMELINE SO THAT IT ENCOMPASSES HOWEVER MANY BARS YOU WANT
Using Dynamic Transport mode 9OU CAN ENABLE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE BY SELECTING THIS FROM THE /PTIONS MENU )F YOU PREFER TO USE A KEYBOARD COMMAND YOU CAN PRESS #OMMAND #ONTROL 0 -AC OR #ONTROL 3TART 0 7INDOWS TO TOGGLE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE ON OR OFF 7HEN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE IS ENABLED THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER EXPANDS TO DOUBLE HEIGHT AND REVEALS THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER WHICH MARKS THE LOCATION FROM WHICH PLAYBACK WILL BEGIN WHEN YOU START PLAYBACK
Figure 6.66 When Dynamic Transport IS ENABLED THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER EXPANDS to reveal the Play Start -ARKER
How the Play Start Marker works 4HE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER IS VERY USEFUL WHILE YOU ARE PLAYING BACK %DIT AND 4IMELINE SELECTIONS ALLOWING YOU TO COMMENCE PLAYBACK INDEPENDENTLY OF THESE SELECTIONS &OR EXAMPLE THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT SHOWS THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER LOCATED APPROXIMATELY HALFWAY BETWEEN BARS AND IN THIS EXAMPLE WHICH HAS A TIME SIGNATURE OF 4HE %DIT SELECTION AS SHOWN BY THE DARKENED REGION IN THE %DIT WINDOW AND BY THE %DIT 3ELECTION 3TART AND %ND LOCATIONS DISPLAYED IN THE 4OOLBAR DOES NOT PLAY BACK WHEN YOU PRESS 0LAY THE 4IMELINE SELECTION SHOWN BY THE DARKENED AREA IN THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER THE "ARS\"EATS RULER IN THIS EXAMPLE PLAYS BACK INSTEAD 9OU CAN POSITION THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER ANYWHERE YOU LIKE n IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE AT THE START OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION OR AT THE START OF THE %DIT 3ELECTION 9OU CAN EVEN REPOSITION THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER DURING PLAYBACK AND HAVE PLAYBACK CONTINUE FROM THE NEW LOCATION 271
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)N THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT PLAYBACK WILL START FROM THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER PLAY THROUGH THE %DIT 3ELECTION THAT FOLLOWS THIS PLAY THROUGH THE 4IMELINE SELECTION THAT FOLLOWS THIS AND LOOP AROUND THE 4IMELINE SELECTION UNTIL YOU STOP PLAYBACK
Figure 6.67 Play 3TART -ARKER POSITIONED INDEPENDENTLY OF THE %DIT 3ELECTION AND OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION
)F YOU WANT TO JUDGE HOW WELL THE TRANSITION INTO THE LOOPED 4IMELINE SELEC TION WORKS BUT YOU DONT NEED TO START FROM QUITE SO FAR BACK NEXT TIME YOU CAN SIMPLY DRAG THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER DURING PLAYBACK TO A NEW LOCATION AND WHEN YOU LET GO LET GO OF THE MOUSE PLAYBACK WILL JUMP TO THAT LOCATION AND CONTINUE PLAYBACK FROM THERE
Figure 6.68 Dragging the Play Start Marker to A NEW LOCATION THIS EVEN WORKS DURING PLAYBACK
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4O CHANGE THE 4IMELINE SELECTION YOU CAN EITHER CLICK AND DRAG A NEW SELEC TION IN THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER USING THE 3ELECTOR TOOL OR WITH ANY %DIT 4OOL SELECTED JUST CLICK AND DRAG THE 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 3TART OR %ND -ARKERS
4O REPOSITION THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER YOU CAN CLICK ANYWHERE IN THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER 3TRIP IN THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER OR WITH ANY %DIT 4OOL SELECTED YOU CAN SIMPLY DRAG THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO WHEREVER YOU LIKE
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4HE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER 3TRIP OCCUPIES THE LOWER HALF OF THE EXPANDED -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE
Keyboard shortcuts for Dynamic Transport mode "ECAUSE IT IS VERY PROBABLE THAT YOU WILL WANT TO LOCATE THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO THE BEGINNING OR END OF THE 4IMELINE OR %DIT SELECTIONS EITHER DURING PLAY BACK OR WHEN THE 4RANSPORT IS STOPPED THERE ARE SEVERAL KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS PROVIDED FOR THESE AND SIMILAR ACTIONS 0RESSING 0ERIOD ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD THEN THE ,EFT !RROW MOVES THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO THE 3TART OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION PRESSING THE 2IGHT !RROW MOVES IT TO THE %ND OF THE 4IMELINE SELECTION INSTEAD 0RESSING 0ERIOD ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD THEN THE $OWN !RROW MOVES THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO THE 3TART OF THE %DIT 3ELECTION 9OU CAN NUDGE THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER BACKWARD ALONG THE TIMELINE A BAR AT A TIME BY PRESSING ON THE NUMERIC KEYPAD 4O GO FORWARD PRESS !SSUMING THAT YOU HAVE "ARS\"EATS SELECTED AS THE -AIN 4IMEBASE RULER YOU CAN MOVE THE 0LAY 3TART TO A SPECIFIC BAR USING THE NUMERIC KEYPAD HOLD THE !STERISK KEY WHILE YOU TYPE THE BAR NUMBER THEN LET GO OF THESE KEYS AND PRESS THE %NTER KEY
Temporarily linking the Timeline and Edit Selections 7HENEVER YOU HAVE AN %DIT 4OOL SELECTED YOU CAN MOVE THE 4IMELINE SELEC TION BACKWARD OR FORWARD ALONG THE 4IMELINE BY CLICKING AND DRAGGING 7HEN THE 4IMELINE AND %DIT SELECTIONS ARE NOT LINKED ONLY THE 4IMELINE SELECTION WILL MOVE WHEN YOU DO THIS )F YOU WANT TO TEMPORARILY LINK THE 4IMELINE AND %DIT SELECTIONS WHILE YOU MOVE THE 4IMELINE SELECTION PRESS THE /PTION KEY -AC OR !LT KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU DRAG THE 4IMELINE SELECTION 4HE %DIT SELECTION WILL BE MADE TO CORRESPOND WITH THE 4IMELINE SELECTION AND THEY WILL MOVE TOGETHER TO THE NEW LOCATION
Recording in Dynamic Transport mode )F YOU ARE RECORDING IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE YOU CAN START INDEPEND ently of the Timeline selection, using the Play Start Marker as a manual preroll BEFORE THE 4IMELINE SELECTION AND 0RO 4OOLS WILL PUNCH IN TO RECORD AT THE START OF THE SELECTION AND PUNCH OUT AT THE END OF THE SELECTION
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Setting Selection Start and End in Dynamic Transport mode 7HEN YOU ENABLE $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATICALLY ENA BLES ,OOP 0LAYBACK MODE AND AUTOMATICALLY DISABLES h,INK 4IMELINE AND %DIT 3ELECTIONv !S A CONSEQUENCE WHEN YOU SELECT A REGION IN THE %DIT WINDOW THE 3TART AND %ND POINTS ARE not AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED INTO THE 4RANSPORT WIN DOWS 0LAY 3ELECTION FIELDS OR THE 4OOLBAR DISPLAYS %DIT 3ELECTION 3TART AND %ND LOCATIONS (OWEVER A SPECIAL KEYBOARD COMMAND BECOMES AVAILABLE IN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT MODE TO LET YOU DO THIS MANUALLY JUST PRESS THE LETTER h/v ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD
Auditioning loops in Dynamic Transport mode 9OU CAN AUDITION A SERIES OF LOOPS WITHOUT STOPPING AND RESTARTING PLAYBACK WHEN $YNAMIC 4RANSPORT IS ENABLED 3IMPLY SELECT A NEW REGION THAT YOU WISH TO LOOP AROUND DURING PLAYBACK THEN PRESS THE LETTER h/v TO UPDATE THE LOOP 3TART AND %ND LOCATIONS AND 0RO 4OOLS WILL IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO THE START OF THE NEW LOOP REGION
Preferences for Dynamic Transport )F YOU WANT THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO ALWAYS SNAP TO THE 4IMELINE SELECTION 3TART -ARKER WHEN YOU MOVE THE 4IMELINE SELECTION OR WHEN YOU DRAW A NEW SELEC TION OR ADJUST THE 4IMELINE SELECTION 3TART YOU CAN SET A PREFERENCE FOR THIS h0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 4IMELINE SELECTION v IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW 4HE WAY THIS WORKS WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING BACK IS THAT IF YOU CLICK ANYWHERE IN THE %DIT WINDOW PLAYBACK WILL IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO THAT POSITION n GREAT FOR QUICKLY CHECKING THROUGH THE SESSION TO SEE HOW EVERYTHING IS SOUNDING WHILE COMPARING SECTIONS 3IMILARLY IF YOU DRAG IN THE %DIT WINDOW TO MAKE A SELEC TION PLAYBACK WILL IMMEDIATELY JUMP TO THE BEGINNING OF THAT %DIT SELECTION Figure 6.69 Selecting 0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS Timeline selection in the /PERATION 0REFERENCES
!NOTHER IMPORTANT SETTING TO CHOOSE IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW IS THE PLAYBACK BEHAVIOR THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STOP PLAYBACK 7HEN THE OPTION h4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv IS SELECTED IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES WINDOW THE 4IMELINE )NSERTION AND THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER BOTH MOVE TO THE POINT IN THE 4IMELINE AT WHICH PLAYBACK IS STOPPED 3O WHEN YOU START PLAYBACK AGAIN PLAYBACK CONTINUES FROM THE POINT AT WHICH YOU STOPPED 4HIS IS SUCH A REGULARLY USED PREFERENCE THAT A DEDICATED BUTTON IS AVAILABLE TO LET YOU TOGGLE THIS ON AND OFF FROM THE %DIT WINDOW 4OOLBAR 274
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Figure 6.70 Selecting 4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK IN THE /PERATION 0REFERENCES Figure 6.71 Setting h4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACKv USING THE BUTTON IN THE %DIT WINDOW 4OOLBAR
)F YOU WANT THE 4IMELINE )NSERTION AND THE 0LAY 3TART -ARKER TO STAY AT THE LOCA TION FROM WHICH YOU ORIGINALLY COMMENCED PLAYBACK YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS OPTION IS DESELECTED 4HEN WHEN YOU START PLAYBACK AGAIN IT STARTS FROM THIS ORIGINAL STARTING POINT n NOT FROM THE PLACE WHERE YOU STOPPED
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9OU CAN TOGGLE THE 4IMELINE )NSERTION0LAY 3TART -ARKER &OLLOWS 0LAYBACK OPTION ON AND OFF USING THE hNv KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD
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"E CAREFUL NOT TO ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE hNv KEY ON YOUR COMPUTER KEYBOARD OR YOU WILL FIND THAT YOUR SESSION IS BEHAVING DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY YOU EXPECT
6.8 Track Compositing 6ERY OFTEN WHEN YOU ARE RECORDING OR OVERDUBBING YOU WILL RECORD MULTIPLE TAKES UNTIL YOU HAVE CAPTURED THE BEST POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE -AYBE THIS WILL BE THE LAST TAKE THAT YOU RECORD n AND MAYBE IT WILL BE THE FIRST ) HAVE OFTEN SEEN PRODUCERS OR MUSICIANS INSIST ON REPEATING TAKES IN THEIR SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT PERFORMANCE ONLY TO DISCOVER WITH HINDSIGHT THAT THE FIRST TAKE WAS THE BEST /N THE OTHER HAND ) HAVE WITNESSED JUST AS MANY RECORDINGS IN WHICH THE MUSICIANS ONLY ACHIEVED THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS !ND WITH OTHERS IT COULD BE THE MIDDLE TAKE THAT IS BEST STARTING OFF WITH TAKES THAT ARE NOT PERFECT REACHING THE BEST PERFORMANCE ACHIEVABLE THEN TAILING OFF AFTER THIS POINT )N MANY MANY CASES THE MUSICIANS WILL MESS UP ONE SECTION BUT PERFORM BRIL LIANTLY IN ANOTHER SECTION 4HIS IS WHEN YOU WILL NEED TO COMBINE MATERIAL FROM 275
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TWO OR MORE TAKES TO MAKE A COMPOSITE OF THE BEST MATERIAL THAT YOU HAVE RECORDED 4YPICALLY REFERRED TO AS hCOMPINGv THE TAKES A MORE FORMAL WAY OF REFERRING TO THIS WOULD BE h4RACK #OMPOSITINGv 9OU MAY HAVE RECORDED THE VARIOUS TAKES INTO DIFFERENT TRACKS BUT IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL HAVE RECORDED THESE INTO DIFFERENT PLAYLISTS ON THE SAME TRACK OR TRACKS 9OU MAY ALSO HAVE USED ,OOP 2ECORD TO RECORD MULTIPLE TAKES INTO THE SAME SECTION OF THE MUSIC PERHAPS FOR A GUITAR OR SAX SOLO
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! PLAYLIST CONTAINS ALL THE REGIONS IN A TRACK IN THE LOCATIONS AT WHICH THEY WERE RECORDED OR TO WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN MOVED
)F YOU WILL BE USING ,OOP 2ECORD AND WANT TO BE ABLE TO USE THE 4RACK #OMPOSITING FEATURES IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU SHOULD ENABLE THE /PERATION 0REFERENCE TO h!UTOMATICALLY #REATE .EW 0LAYLISTS 7HEN ,OOP 2ECORDINGv "EFORE YOU START RECORDING ENABLE ,OOP 2ECORD MODE AND SELECT A RANGE OVER WHICH TO LOOP
Figure 6.72 ,OOP RECORDING
!FTER USING ,OOP 2ECORD TO AUTOMATICALLY RECORD NEW TAKES INTO NEW PLAYLISTS YOU CAN SWITCH THE TRACK TO 0LAYLISTS VIEW WHERE YOU WILL SEE ALL THE TAKES IN THE ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS BELOW THE MAIN PLAYLIST 9OU CAN SELECT THE BEST PARTS FROM THESE ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS AND COPY THEM TO THE MAIN PLAYLIST TO CREATE THE hPERFECT TAKEv )F THE !UTOMATICALLY #REATE .EW 0LAYLISTS 7HEN ,OOP 2ECORDING OPTION WAS DISABLED BEFORE YOU STARTED LOOP RECORDING SELECT THE MAIN PLAYLIST AND #OMMAND CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS THE REGION IN THE MAIN PLAYLIST AND CHOOSE %XPAND !LTERNATES TO .EW 0LAYLISTS FROM THE -ATCHES SUBMENU 276
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Figure 6.73 The -ATCHES SUBMENU
4HE FIRST OF THESE ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS WILL SHOW A LONG REGION CONTAINING ALL OF THE TAKES IN ONE LONG FILE 4HE OTHER ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS WILL CONTAIN THE INDIVID UAL TAKES WITH THEIR START TIMES SET TO MATCH THAT OF THE %DIT SELECTION AROUND WHICH YOU WERE LOOPING WHEN YOU RECORDED THESE
Figure 6.74 The Alternate Playlists REVEALED
9OU DONT REALLY NEED TO SEE THE WHOLE FILE REGION THAT CONTAINS ALL THE TAKES n YOU JUST WANT TO SEE THE INDIVIDUAL TAKES THAT HAVE THE SAME START AND END TIMES AS THE %DIT SELECTION 4O HIDE THIS LONG REGION YOU CAN #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS ON THE 0LAYLIST NAME AND CHOOSE (IDE !NOTHER WAY TO DO THIS IS TO SELECT FROM THE MAIN PLAYLIST THE SAME %DIT SELEC TION THAT YOU USED FOR LOOP RECORDING THEN #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS THE 4RACK .AME OR ANY OF THE 0LAYLIST ,ANE .AMES AND CHOOSE h3HOW /NLY ,ANES 7ITH 2EGIONS 7ITHIN THE %DIT 3ELECTIONv FROM THE &ILTER ,ANES SUBMENU
Choosing the takes 7HEN YOU HAVE YOUR TAKES SHOWING IN THE ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS IN THE h#OMP LANESv BELOW THE MAIN PLAYLIST YOU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO AUDITION THESE IN ,OOP 0LAYBACK MODE CHECKING EACH TAKE IN TURN BY PRESSING THE BUTTON MARKED h3v
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
ON EACH #OMP LANE 4HE 3 STANDS FOR h3OLO v BUT PRESSING THIS DOES NOT SOLO THE ALTERNATE TAKE IT MUTES THE MAIN PLAYLIST AND PLAYS THE AUDIO ON THE #OMP LANE INSTEAD n AND YOU ALSO HEAR THE REST OF YOUR MIX AT THE SAME TIME 9OU CAN PRESS 3HIFT 3 TO SOLO ANY #OMP LANE CONTAINING THE %DIT CURSOR AND YOU CAN USE #ONTROL 0 AND #ONTROL hv -AC OR 3TART 0 AND 3TART hv 7INDOWS TO MOVE THE %DIT CURSOR OR THE %DIT SELECTION UP AND DOWN THROUGH THE #OMP LANES
Figure 6.75 Copy Selection To Main Playlist BUTTON
When you hear a section on a Comp lane that you prefer, you can select this AND CLICK THE UPWARD POINTING ARROW TO THE RIGHT OF THE 3OLO BUTTON TO COPY THIS SELECTION TO THE MAIN PLAYLIST
Figure 6.76 Selection MOVED TO MAIN PLAYLIST
Playlists Track View 0LAYLISTS 4RACK 6IEW LETS YOU VIEW THE MAIN PLAYLIST IN THE TRACK AND ALSO ANY ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE TRACK !LTERNATE PLAYLISTS ARE DISPLAYED DIRECTLY BELOW THE TRACK IN 0LAYLIST LANES 9OU CAN EDIT ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS IN 0LAYLIST VIEW JUST LIKE THE MAIN PLAYLIST IN 7AVEFORM VIEW )N 0LAYLISTS VIEW EDITS THAT ARE APPLIED TO RANGE SELECTIONS ARE APPLIED TO ALL SHOWN ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS !LTERNATE PLAYLISTS THAT ARE NOT SHOWN ARE NOT AFFECTED 278
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"EFORE STARTING WORK WITH 4RACK #OMPOSITING DUPLICATE THE TRACKS MAIN 0LAYLIST TO KEEP IT INTACT AS A BACKUP ALTERNATE PLAYLIST 4O VIEW THE 0LAYLIST LANES FOR A TRACK FROM THE 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR SELECT 0LAYLISTS
Figure 6.77 The Track 6IEW SELECTOR
9OU CAN ALSO #OMMAND #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR #ONTROL !LT CLICK 7INDOWS THE 0LAYLIST SELECTOR TO SWITCH TO 0LAYLISTS VIEW
Figure 6.78 The 0LAYLIST SELECTOR
)F THE TRACK CONTAINS ONE OR MORE ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS IN ADDITION TO THE MAIN PLAYLIST THEY ARE DISPLAYED IN LANES UNDER THE MAIN PLAYLIST 2EGARDLESS THE BOTTOM PLAYLIST LANE IS ALWAYS EMPTY AND CAN BE USED FOR ADDING REGIONS TO CREATE NEW ALTERNATE PLAYLISTS
Figure 6.79 !DDING another region to the BOTTOM PLAYLIST
Copy Selection commands /NCE YOU HAVE FOUND A SELECTION IN AN ALTERNATE PLAYLIST THAT YOU WANT TO USE IN THE MAIN PLAYLIST YOU CAN ALWAYS MANUALLY COPY AND PASTE THE SELECTION to the main playlist to construct the best combination of selections from the
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
IFFERENT TAKES 0RO 4OOLS ALSO PROVIDES THREE %DIT MENU COMMANDS THAT YOU D CAN USE TO COPY AND PASTE THE SELECTION Figure 6.80 h#OPY 3ELECTION 4Oxv COMMANDS IN THE %DIT MENU
4HE h#OPY 3ELECTION 4O -AIN 0LAYLISTv COMMAND COPIES AND PASTES THE SELEC TION TO THE MAIN PLAYLIST OVERWRITING ANY MATERIAL AT THAT LOCATION 9OU CAN USE THIS MENU COMMAND AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO USING THE BUTTONS IN EACH #OMP LANE 4HE SECOND COMMAND h#OPY 3ELECTION TO .EW 0LAYLIST v CREATES A NEW EMPTY MAIN PLAYLIST AND COPIES AND PASTES THE SELECTION TO THE NEW MAIN PLAY LIST ! DIALOG BOX OPENS WHEN YOU USE THIS COMMAND TO LET YOU TYPE A NAME FOR THE NEW PLAYLIST ) OFTEN USE THIS COMMAND WHEN ) FIND THE FIRST SECTION THAT ) WANT TO USE AND NAME THIS AS MY h#OMPv TRACK 4HEN ) GO THROUGH ALL THE TAKES AND JUST ADD THE SECTIONS THAT ) WANT TO USE TO THIS PLAYLIST
Figure 6.81 ! NEW PLAYLIST CREATED USING THE h#OPY 3ELECTION TO .EW 0LAYLISTv COMMAND
4HE h#OPY 3ELECTION TO $UPLICATE 0LAYLISTv COMMAND WORKS IN A SIMILAR WAY BUT IN THIS CASE IT DUPLICATES THE CURRENT MAIN PLAYLIST AND COPIES AND PASTES THE SELECTION TO THE DUPLICATE MAIN PLAYLIST !S WITH THE #OPY 3ELECTION TO .EW 0LAYLIST COMMAND THE PREVIOUS MAIN PLAYLIST MOVES TO A NEW 0LAYLIST LANE
Why you may need to filter the Comp lanes Compositing tracks using these features can result in you having large num BERS OF PLAYLISTS IN THE TRACKS YOU ARE WORKING WITH 3AY YOU LOOP RECORD THE VOCALIST ON THE VERSES AND DO FOUR TAKES THEN YOU DO FOUR MORE ON THE BRIDGE 280
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SECTIONS THEN FOUR MORE ON THE CHORUS SECTIONS !LREADY THAT IS TAKES AND WHEN YOU ARE COMPING THE VERSE SECTIONS YOU PROBABLY DONT WANT TO VIEW THE BRIDGES AND CHORUSES AT THE SAME TIME 4HIS IS WHERE YOU WILL VALUE THE FILTERING FEATURE 9OU CAN FILTER 0LAYLIST LANES TO SHOW OR HIDE THEM BASED ON DIFFERENT CRITERIA SUCH AS THE 2EGION RATING OR WHETHER THEY ARE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE %DIT SELEC TION 4O FILTER 0LAYLIST LANES YOU CAN EITHER #ONTROL CLICK -AC OR 2IGHT CLICK 7INDOWS THE 4RACK .AME OR THE 0LAYLIST .AME TO ACCESS THE CONTEXT MENU )F YOU ACCESS THE MENU FROM THE 0LAYLIST .AME YOU GET OPTIONS TO HIDE SCROLL INTO VIEW CREATE DELETE OR RENAME THE PLAYLIST OR TO &ILTER THE ,ANES
Figure 6.82 #ONTROL clicking the Playlist name OPENS THIS MENU
)F YOU ARE GOING TO FILTER BASED ON RATINGS IT CAN BE HELPFUL TO VIEW THE RATINGS IN THE REGIONS AND YOU CAN SELECT THIS OPTION IN THE 2EGION SUBMENU LOCATED WITHIN THE 6IEW MENU 9OU CAN CHOOSE A RATING FROM TO FOR ANY REGION BY SELECTING THE REGION AND CHOOSING A RATING FROM THE 2EGION MENU OR BY PRESS ING #OMMAND #ONTROL /PTION -AC OR #ONTROL !LT 3TART 7INDOWS AND THEN TYPING A NUMBER BETWEEN AND
Figure 6.83 6IEWING A RATING IN A REGION
6.9 Compacting audio files 7HEN YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR EDITING SESSION YOU SHOULD CONSIDER COMPACT ING ANY EDITED AUDIO FILES TO REMOVE ANY UNUSED AUDIO THAT YOU ARE SURE YOU HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR 4HIS MAKES THE FILES SMALLER SO IT SAVES DISK SPACE FROM BEING USED UP UNNECESSARILY )F YOU HAVE RECORDED OR IMPORTED A LARGE NUMBER OF AUDIO FILES YET HAVE ONLY ACTUALLY USED A FRACTION OF THESE COMPACTING THE FILES CAN SAVE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF DISK SPACE MAKING BACKUPS MUCH LESS COSTLY BOTH IN TIME NEEDED TO MAKE THE BACKUPS AND FOR THE MEDIA USED 281
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4O COMPACT AN AUDIO FILE SELECT THE REGION OR REGIONS THAT YOU WANT TO COMPACT IN THE 2EGION ,IST AND CHOOSE #OMPACT FROM THE POP UP MENU AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE 2EGION ,IST )N THE DIALOG WINDOW THAT APPEARS YOU CAN pad THE REGIONS WITHIN THE COM PACTED FILE TO INCLUDE SOME OF THE ORIGINAL AUDIO IF THIS EXISTS AT EITHER SIDE OF THE BOUNDARIES OF THE SELECTED REGIONS 9OU MAY HAVE PLACED THE REGION BOUNDARIES TOO CLOSE TO THE EDIT POINTS n CUTTING OFF VERY QUIET SOUNDS AT THE BEGINNING OR END OF THE REGIONS "Y INCLUDING SOME OF THE AUDIO JUST BEFORE AND JUST AFTER THE REGION BOUNDARIES YOU ENSURE THAT THIS AUDIO EXISTS IN THE NEW FILE THAT YOU ARE CREATING n AND YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE MORE CAREFUL EDITS TO REMOVE THIS EXTRA AUDIO AT ANY TIME IN THE FUTURE 3O IT IS A WISE THING TO ENTER AN AMOUNT OF PADDING IN MILLISECONDS THAT YOU WANT TO LEAVE AROUND EACH REGION IN THE FILE 7HEN YOU CLICK #OMPACT THE FILE OR FILES ARE COMPACTED AND THE SESSION IS THEN AUTOMATICALLY SAVED
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"ECAUSE IT PERMANENTLY DELETES AUDIO DATA THE #OMPACT 3ELECTED COM MAND SHOULD ONLY BE USED AFTER YOU HAVE COMPLETELY FINISHED YOUR EDITING AND ARE SURE THAT YOU HAVE NO FURTHER USE FOR THE UNUSED AUDIO DATA
6.10 Summary 4HE BEST WAY TO LEARN HOW TO EDIT IN 0RO 4OOLS IS OF COURSE TO EDIT IN 0RO 4OOLS 4HERE IS JUST NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HANDS ON EXPERIENCE HERE 4HE BEST WAY TO USE THIS CHAPTER IS WHEN YOU ARE SITTING AT YOUR COMPUTER WITH 0RO 4OOLS RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU SO YOU CAN TRY EACH EDITING MOVE THAT ) HAVE DESCRIBED HERE FOR YOURSELF /BVIOUSLY YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LEARN EVERYTHING IN THIS CHAPTER OVERNIGHT AND YOU WONT NEED TO USE ALL THESE EDITING TECHNIQUES WITH EVERY SESSION THAT YOU WORK ON "UT IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS CHAPTER THOROUGHLY TRYING AS MANY OF THE EDITING COMMANDS AND TECHNIQUES AS POSSIBLE FOR YOURSELF THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT A PARTICULAR COMMAND OR TECHNIQUE EXISTS WHEN THE NEED FOR THIS ARISES 9OU CAN ALSO USE THIS BOOK AS A HANDBOOK TO KEEP AROUND WHENEVER YOU ARE USING 0RO 4OOLS SO THAT YOU CAN DIP IN AND REMIND YOURSELF OF HOW A PARTICULAR FEATURE WORKS WHEN YOU NEED TO USE THIS
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In this chapter )NTRODUCTION
7ORKING ON YOUR MIX SESSION
0REPARING FOR YOUR MIX SESSION 4HE 4OOLS OF THE TRADE
4HE FINAL MIX 3UMMARY
7 Mixing
7.1 Introduction 4HERE ARE MANY APPROACHES TO MIXING MUSIC THAT YOU WILL SEE RECOMMENDED IN BOOKS AND BY RESPECTED PUNDITS 4HIS CHAPTER WILL NOT PROVIDE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR HOW TO MIX YOUR MUSIC )NSTEAD THE FIRST SECTION REVEALS VARIOUS TECHNICAL ISSUES THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE CONSIDERATION TO WHILE PREPARING FOR YOUR MIX 4HIS IS FOLLOWED BY DISCUSSION OF THE VARIOUS hTOOLS OF THE TRADEv THAT YOU MAY USE DURING YOUR MIXING SES SIONS 4HE THIRD SECTION MAKES SUGGESTIONS ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT PROGRESS WHILE YOU ARE ORGANIZING YOUR MIX MARKING OUT THE SECTIONS ORDERING THE TRACKS GROUPING TRACKS TOGETHER SETTING UP 6#! GROUPS AND USING THE %DIT WINDOW TO AUTOMATE THE MIX &INALLY YOU GET TO THE MIX ITSELF 9OU MAY BE USING A HARDWARE CONTROLLER TOGETHER WITH THE REAL TIME -IX !UTOMATION FEA TURES OR YOU MAY MIX hMANUALLYv BY SETTING THE FADERS BY HAND OR BY DRAW ING IN AUTOMATION CURVES WITH THE MOUSE 5LTIMATELY YOU WILL ARRIVE AT A RESULT THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH !T THIS POINT YOU WILL MAKE YOUR hFINALv OR hMASTERv MIX WHICH IS THE ONE THAT YOU WILL SUPPLY TO THE MASTERING STUDIO THAT PRE PARES THE MIXES FOR RELEASE ON #$ AND IN OTHER FORMATS )F YOU ARE INTENDING TO MASTER THE MIXES YOURSELF YOU MAY STILL CHOOSE TO MAKE THESE FINAL MIXES AT THE END OF THE MUSIC PRODUCTION PROCESS AND HANDLE MASTERING AS A SEPARATE STAGE ONCE PRODUCTION IS FINISHED -IXING IS USUALLY CONSIDERED TO BE THE FINAL STAGE IN THE MUSIC PRODUCTION PROCESS THE END OF THE JOURNEY IN MANY CASES BUT NOT ALWAYS )N SOME GEN RES OF MUSIC REMIXES ARE MADE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS 4HE MOST BASIC REA SON WOULD BE THAT THE PRODUCER ARTIST OR RECORD LABEL FEELS THAT THE FIRST MIX WAS SIMPLY NOT GOOD ENOUGH !NOTHER REASON WOULD BE TO PROVIDE THE AUDI ENCES WITH ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS TO LISTEN TO WHEN THE MUSIC IS BROADCAST ON THE RADIO OR PLAYED BY A CLUB $* )T IS ALSO QUITE COMMON FOR ANOTHER PRODUCER TO
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
HEAR THE MUSIC POSSIBLY YEARS AFTER IT WAS FIRST RELEASED COMMERCIALLY AND BE ENTHUSED BY THE IDEA OF CREATING A NEW MIX n SOMETIMES EVEN A RADICALLY DIF FERENT MIX THAT JUST USES THE VOCAL AND REPLACES ALL THE MUSIC
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-ASTERING IS CONVENTIONALLY REGARDED AS A SEPARATE STAGE WHERE THE FIN ISHED MIXES ARE PROCESSED IN VARIOUS WAYS TO MAKE THEM MORE SUITABLE FOR COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTION ON VINYL ON #$ OR VIA DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AND WILL NOT BE COVERED IN THIS BOOK
7.2 Preparing for your mix session "EFORE YOU GET STARTED YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MONITORS ARE SET UP CORRECTLY CONSIDER WHAT MONITOR LEVELS TO MIX AT UNDERSTAND HOW YOUR METERS WORK AND LINE UP THE METERS ON ANY CONNECTED ANALOG EQUIPMENT 4O CHECK MONO COMPATIBILITY YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE THE 0HASE 3COPE AND IF YOU WANT TO AVOID DISTORTION PROBLEMS THAT CAN ARISE WITH hHOTv MIXES PRODUCING A hFATIGUINGv SOUND THAT CAN BE VERY UNPLEASANT FOR THE LISTENER THEN YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW AN OVERSAMPLING METER CAN BE USED TO AVOID SUCH PROBLEMS )F YOU ARE NOT USING AN EXTERNAL MIXER YOU WILL NEED A MONI TOR CONTROLLER TO PROVIDE A CONVENIENT VOLUME CONTROL FOR YOUR PLAYBACK LISTEN ING LEVEL AND IF YOU WANT TO ADD AN ANALOG hSOUND SIGNATUREv TO YOUR MIX ONE WAY TO GO IS TO USE A SUMMING MIXER
Check your monitoring /NE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO ATTEND TO IS YOUR MONITORING SYSTEM n YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO HEAR WHAT YOU ARE DOING PROPERLY WHEN YOU ARE MIX ING 4HIS MEANS MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE SITTING IN THE hSWEET SPOTv AT ONE OF THE THREE CORNERS OF AN EQUILATERAL TRIANGLE WITH THE LEFT AND RIGHT SPEAKERS POSITIONED AT THE OTHER CORNERS FACING YOU AND WITH THE TWEETERS AT ABOUT THE SAME HEIGHT AS YOUR EARS 9OU SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT THE AMPLIFIERS HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH POWER TO REPRODUCE SOUND AT THE HIGHEST LISTENING LEVELS YOU INTEND TO USE WITHOUT SIG NIFICANT DISTORTION AND THAT THE SPEAKERS HAVE AS hFLATv A RESPONSE AS POSSIBLE OVER AS WIDE A RANGE AS POSSIBLE 3O CALLED hNEARFIELDv MONITORS SUCH AS THE UBIQUITOUS 9AMAHA .3S THAT SIT ON STANDS ON DESKTOPS OR ON THE MIX ING CONSOLES METER BRIDGE CAN NEVER REPRODUCE THE FULL RANGE OF THE AUDIO SPECTRUM n BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO BE RELATIVELY SMALL 4HIS MEANS THAT THEY WILL 286
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NOT BE ABLE TO REPRODUCE THE BOTTOM OCTAVE PROPERLY AS THEIR RESPONSE WILL ROLL OFF SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW SAY OR (Z 4HIS IS WHY PROFESSIONAL STUDIOS USE LARGE FULL RANGE MONITORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE ENGINEERS AND PRODUCERS CAN HEAR ALL THE FREQUENCIES CORRECTLY 9OU ALSO NEED TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ACOUSTICS OF THE ROOM THAT YOU ARE LIS TENING IN &OR EXAMPLE CONSIDER THE SITUATION WHERE YOU ARE TRYING TO SET THE LEVEL OF A BASS DRUM CORRECTLY FOR YOUR MIX 4HE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY OF THIS INSTRUMENT MIGHT BE AROUND (Z OR EVEN LOWER 4HE LENGTH OF THE SOUND WAVE THAT IS PRODUCED AT THIS FREQUENCY THE WAVELENGTH CORRESPONDING TO THIS FREQUENCY WOULD BE SOMEWHERE AROUND M WHICH COULD EASILY CORRESPOND TO THE WIDTH OF THE ROOM THAT YOU ARE LISTENING IN ! hSTANDING WAVEv WOULD VERY LIKELY EXIST AT THIS FREQUENCY SITTING BETWEEN THE WALLS OF YOUR LISTENING ROOM )F YOU ARE SITTING AT A POINT WHERE THE AMPLITUDE OF THIS WAVE IS ZERO OR VERY LOW THE BASS DRUM WILL SOUND TOO QUIET AND YOU WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY COMPENSATE BY MAKING THIS TOO LOUD IN YOUR MIX #ONVERSELY IF YOU ARE SITTING AT A POSITION WITHIN THE STANDING WAVE WHERE THE AMPLITUDE OF THE WAVE IS AT A MAXIMUM YOU WILL THINK THAT THE BASS DRUM IS TOO LOUD n AND YOU ARE LIKELY TO COMPENSATE FOR THIS BY MAKING THE LEVEL OF THE BASS DRUM TOO QUIET IN YOUR MIX 2OOMS CAN BE DESIGNED OR MODIFIED TO MINIMIZE THESE EFFECTS AND MONITORING SYSTEMS CAN BE ADJUSTED TO COMPENSATE FOR THE ROOM ACOUSTICS 0ROFESSIONAL STUDIOS OFFER PROPERLY DESIGNED ROOMS AND MONITORING SYSTEMS n FOR HIRE AT PROFESSIONAL PRICES 3MALLER PROJECT STUDIOS AND HOME STUDIOS OFTEN OVERLOOK OR THE OWNERS CANNOT AFFORD SUCH NECESSITIES )F YOUR LISTENING ENVIRONMENT AND EQUIPMENT IS COMPROMISED PARTICULARLY AT THE LOW FREQUENCIES THEN YOU WILL HAVE TO LISTEN ON OTHER SYSTEMS THAT WILL REVEAL PROBLEMS AT THE LOW END OR ELSEWHERE IN THE FREQUENCY RANGES FOR THAT MATTER
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) ALWAYS CHECK MY MIXES ON THE STEREO SYSTEM IN MY CAR WHICH INSTANTLY REVEALS WHETHER ) HAVE MADE THE BASS DRUM AND BASS GUITAR TOO LOUD OR NOT WHEN COMPARED WITH TYPICAL COMMERCIAL ALBUMS 4HEN ) GO BACK AND ADJUST THE LEVELS ON MY MIXES MAKE ANOTHER TEST #$ AND CHECK THIS IN THE CAR UNTIL EVERYTHING SOUNDS CORRECT
)T IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO LISTEN TO YOUR MIXES ON THE KINDS OF SPEAKERS IN THE KINDS OF ENVIRONMENTS THAT WILL ULTIMATELY BE USED BY YOUR AUDIENCE 3O YOU MIGHT TAKE YOUR MIXES OUT TO A CLUB OR PLAY THEM IN YOUR CAR OR TRY THEM ON YOUR LIVING ROOM SYSTEM n YOU GET THE IDEA !LSO DONT FORGET TO CHECK YOUR MIXES IN MONO n ESPECIALLY IF YOU WANT THEM TO SOUND RIGHT ON RADIO 46 OR FILM WHERE MONO PLAYBACK IS STILL SOMETIMES ENCOUNTERED 287
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&IND A GREAT MASTERING STUDIO TO CHECK YOUR MIXES IN PROFESSIONAL MASTER ING STUDIOS TYPICALLY HAVE ROOMS DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE ACOUSTIC PROBLEMS WITH MONITORING SYSTEMS INSTALLED COSTING MANY THOUSANDS OF POUNDS -ANY SMALLER STUDIOS NOW PROVIDE hSTEMv MIXES TO MASTERING STUDIOS SO THAT THE LEVELS OF THE VOCALS BASS AND DRUMS AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS CAN BE SEPARATELY BALANCED IN A REVEALING ACOUSTIC ENVIRONMENT
A note on external mixing/monitoring )T IS POSSIBLE TO CONNECT A 0RO 4OOLS\($ AUDIO INTERFACE DIRECTLY TO YOUR MONI TORING SYSTEM BUT THIS IS NOT A GOOD WAY TO SET YOUR SYSTEM UP BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY TO CONVENIENTLY CONTROL THE VOLUME OF YOUR MONITORS WOULD BE TO LOWER THE -ASTER &ADER OR THE CHANNEL FADERS 4HERE MAY BE VOLUME CONTROLS ON SELF POWERED MONITORS OR ON THE POWER AMPLIFIER THAT IS DRIVING YOUR PAS sive monitors, but these controls are not normally going to be easy for you to REACH WHILE OPERATING THE SYSTEM !S MOST ENGINEERS WILL BE AWARE 0RO 4OOLS LIKE MOST $!7S IS DESIGNED TO GIVE BEST RESULTS WHEN THE -ASTER &ADER THAT CONTROLS THE SUMMED OUTPUT LEVEL IS KEPT AROUND UNITY GAIN THE D" FADER POSITION WHILE THE CHANNEL FAD ERS SET THE LEVELS OF THE INDIVIDUAL MIX ELEMENTS IN RELATION TO THIS !LTHOUGH 0RO 4OOLS DOES ALLOW YOU TO LOWER THE -ASTER &ADER SUBSTANTIALLY WITHOUT SIG NIFICANT LOSS OF RESOLUTION IT IS NOT GOOD WORKING PRACTICE TO DO SO &OR EXAM PLE IF THE CONVERTERS ARE OPERATING AT VERY LOW LEVELS ANY NONLINEARITY WILL BE MOST PRONOUNCED AT THESE LEVELS /NE SOLUTION IS TO USE SOME KIND OF EXTERNAL MONITORING CONTROL UNIT THAT ALLOWS YOU TO CONNECT THE OUTPUTS FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE AND PROVIDES A VOL UME CONTROL THAT CONTROLS ITS OUTPUTS TO YOUR MONITORS 3UCH UNITS MAY ALLOW YOU TO CONNECT TWO OR MORE SETS OF MONITORS AND SWITCH BETWEEN THESE AND MAY PROVIDE ADDITIONAL TALKBACK DIMMING OR FOLDBACKHEADPHONE FACILITIES !NOTHER SOLUTION IS TO USE SOME FORM OF EXTERNAL MIXER THAT INCORPORATES THESE FACILITIES 5SING AN EXTERNAL MIXER PROVIDES ANOTHER ADVANTAGE IT ALLOWS YOU TO COMPLETELY AVOID ANY LATENCY DUE TO YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM WHILE RECORDING FROM EXTERNAL SOURCES BECAUSE YOU CAN ROUTE THESE INTO THE EXTERNAL MIXER MONITOR THEM DIRECTLY FROM THE MIXER WITH NO LATENCY DELAY AND ROUTE THEM IN TURN INTO 0RO 4OOLS TO RECORD -OST PROFESSIONAL MIXERS ALSO INCORPORATE A NUMBER OF REASONABLY HIGH QUALITY MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS 4HESE CAN BE VERY USEFUL IF YOU ARE REGULARLY RECORD ING FROM hLIVEv SOURCES AND COST EFFECTIVE COMPARED WITH THE PRICE OF BUYING LOTS OF DEDICATED MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS 288
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Choose your monitoring levels 4HERE ARE NO STANDARD MONITORING LEVELS OBSERVED IN MUSIC RECORDING STUDIOS n UNLIKE IN FILM DUBBING THEATRES WHERE THE 3OCIETY OF -OTION 0ICTURE AND 4ELEVISION %NGINEERS HAS ESTABLISHED A SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL 30, OF D" AS A STANDARD 4HIS IS NORMALLY REFERENCED TO AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL LEVEL OF D"&3 6OLUME 5NITS 65 WHICH IS THE STANDARD OPERATING LEVEL RECOMMENDED FOR DIGITAL SYSTEMS BY THE !UDIO %NGINEERING 3OCIETY !%3 &OR THE SMALLER ROOMS TYPICALLY USED FOR MIXING MUSIC A LEVEL OF D" MAY BE MORE APPROPRIATE WITH A NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL OF D"&3 PROVIDING D" OF hHEADROOMv ABOVE THIS TO ACCOMMODATE SIGNAL PEAKS ) HAVE BEEN AT SESSIONS IN MUSIC STUDIOS THAT USE MONITORING LEVELS WELL UP INTO THE S OF DECIBELS OF 30, n OR EVEN MORE THAN D" %VEN RELATIVELY SHORT EXPOSURE TIMES TO SUCH HIGH LEVELS CAN MAKE YOUR EARS hSINGv DUE TO TEMPORARY THRESHOLD SHIFT .EVERTHELESS YOU MAY WISH TO CHECK OUT THE SOUND OF SOME LOUD INSTRUMENTS THAT YOU HAVE RECORDED AT SOMEWHERE NEAR TO THEIR ORIGINAL SOUND LEVELS !LSO INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS THE TRUMPET OR SNARE DRUM CAN EASILY REACH LEVELS OF OVER D" SO IT CAN BE USEFUL TO HAVE A MONITORING SYSTEM CAPABLE OF REPRODUCING SUCH REALISTIC LEVELS -ANY ENGINEERS LIKE TO MIX ON SMALL NEARFIELD MONITORS AT QUITE LOW LEV ELS AT SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SAY AND D" 30, 4HIS MAKES IT EASIER TO TELL WHETHER THE LEAD VOCAL OR LEAD INSTRUMENT CAN BE HEARD PROPERLY AT ALL TIMES AND WHETHER OTHER IMPORTANT ELEMENTS SUCH AS THE BASS GUITAR AND SNARE DRUM ARE AT THE RIGHT LEVELS IN RELATION TO THE LEAD )T ALSO MEANS THAT THE MIX SHOULD SOUND GREAT WHEN PLAYED BACK ON DOMESTIC SPEAKERS AFTER THE RECORD IS RELEASED TO THE PUBLIC /F COURSE YOU CAN ALWAYS CHECK HOW IT SOUNDS FROM TIME TO TIME AT MUCH LOUDER VOLUMES OR ON LARGER SPEAKERS
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) PERSONALLY MIX ON NEARFIELDS AT AROUND D" OR SOMETIMES A LITTLE HIGHER n CHECKING THIS LEVEL OCCASIONALLY USING A SMALL HAND HELD 30, METER 7HEN ) HAVE A BALANCE THAT IS SOUNDING GOOD ) HIT THE DIMMER SWITCH ON MY 9AMAHA $- MIXING CONSOLE TO DROP THE MONITORING LEVEL DOWN BY D" AND THEN CHECK THAT EVERYTHING ) WANT TO HEAR IS STILL AUDIBLE
Line up any connected analog equipment )F YOU CONNECT YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM TO ANY ANALOG DEVICES SUCH AS MIXERS TAPE RECORDERS OR EFFECTS DEVICES YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT THE LEVELS ON THE METERS LINE UP CORRECTLY ! K(Z TEST SIGNAL SENT FROM 0RO 4OOLS AT THE CHOSEN 289
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reference level, such as D" RELATIVE TO &ULL 3CALE SHOULD PRODUCE A READING OF 65 ON AN ANALOG 65 METER CONNECTED TO AN ANALOG OUTPUT FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE )F IT DOESNT MATCH EXACTLY YOU WILL NEED TO hTWEAKv THE CALI BRATION CONTROL ON THE 65 METER UNTIL IT DOES MATCH n THIS IS THE PROCEDURE FOR hLINING UPv METERS
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2EMEMBER THAT THE METERS IN 0RO 4OOLS READ SIGNAL PEAKS n THEY ARE NOT READING AN AVERAGE OF THE SIGNAL LIKE A 65 METER DOES n AND THERE IS NO h 65v NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL MARKED ON THE METERS IN 0RO 4OOLS
4O CHECK THAT CONNECTED EQUIPMENT IS LINED UP CORRECTLY YOU CAN INSERT THE 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR PLUG IN INTO ONE OF THE -ASTER &ADER )NSERTS GENERATE A K(Z SINE WAVE TEST hTONEv AT D" D" OR WHATEVER REFERENCE LEVEL IS BEING USED AND SEE WHETHER THE METERS ON CONNECTED EQUIPMENT MATCH THIS
Figure 7.1 5SING THE 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR PLUG IN TO GENERATE A TEST TONE
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)F YOU CONNECT YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM DIGITALLY TO EXTERNAL DIGITAL DEVICES SUCH AS MIXERS $!4 $IGITAL !UDIO 4APE RECORDERS OR EFFECTS UNITS THEN IF THESE USE THE SAME DIGITAL STANDARDS SIGNAL LEVELS SENT FROM 0RO 4OOLS WILL PRODUCE THE SAME METER READINGS ON THESE DESTINATION DEVICES AND VICE VERSA
2ECORDING A TEST TONE TO DISK 9OU CAN ALWAYS RECORD A TEST TONE TO DISK WHICH CAN BE USEFUL IF YOU WILL BE TRANSFERRING RECORDINGS TO OTHER SYSTEMS ESPECIALLY OLDER ANALOG SYSTEMS THAT NEED TO BE CALIBRATED WITH THEIR 65 METERS LINED UP CORRECTLY
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4O RECORD A TEST TONE TO DISK SIMPLY INSERT THE 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR ON AN !UXILIARY )NPUT AND BUS ITS OUTPUT TO THE INPUT OF AN !UDIO TRACK
Figure 7.2 2ECORDING A TEST TONE AT n D"&3 TO DISK IN MONO FROM A 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR PLUG IN INSERTED ON AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TO AN !UDIO TRACK
#REATING A TEST TONE USING !UDIO3UITE )F YOU PREFER YOU CAN USE THE 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR !UDIO3UITE PLUG IN TO GENER ATE A K(Z SINEWAVE AT A SUITABLE LEVEL TO USE AS A REFERENCE TONE SO THAT OTHER EQUIPMENT CAN BE ALIGNED TO IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE CORRECT VALUE FOR 65 -AKE AN EMPTY %DIT SELECTION IN AN !UDIO TRACK THAT LASTS FOR S OR HOW EVER LONG YOU WOULD LIKE THE TEST SIGNAL TO LAST FOR OPEN THE !UDIO3UITE 3IGNAL
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'ENERATOR PLUG IN AND CHOOSE THE SETTINGS THAT YOU REQUIRE SUCH AS THE LEVEL THEN PRESS 0ROCESS TO CREATE A FILE ON DISK CONTAINING THE TEST SIGNAL 9OU CAN SUPPLY THIS FILE ALONG WITH YOUR MIXES OR RECORD THE AUDIO FROM THIS IN REAL TIME ONTO TAPE IF YOU ARE TRANSFERRING TO TAPE
Figure 7.3 5SING the Signal Generator !UDIO3UITE 0LUG IN TO GENERATE A TEST TONE
VU meters, operating levels, and headroom 4HE 65 METERS USED IN ANALOG AUDIO SYSTEMS DISPLAY AN AVERAGE MEASURE OF THE SIGNAL LEVEL THAT CORRESPONDS REASONABLY WELL WITH THE WAY THE HUMAN EAR PERCEIVES THE VOLUME OF THE REPRODUCED AUDIO 4HEY DO NOT REVEAL THE PEAK LEVELS OF THE AUDIO SIGNALS WHICH MAY BE OR MORE D"S HIGHER THAN THE AVERAGE LEVELS "ECAUSE THESE PEAK LEVELS ARE TYPICALLY VERY SHORT IN DURATION THEY ARE OFTEN REFERRED TO AS hTRANSIENTS v MEANING THAT THEY PASS QUICKLY 4HE NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL OF AN ANALOG RECORDING OR MIXING SYSTEM IS THE 65 LEVEL THAT IS USED AS THE STANDARD INPUT AND OUTPUT REFERENCE LEVEL FOR SIGNALS ENTERING AND LEAVING THE SYSTEMS 4HIS hNOMINALv OPERATING LEVEL IS THE AVER AGE SIGNAL LEVEL THAT RECORDING ENGINEERS USING ANALOG EQUIPMENT AIM FOR WHEN USING 65 METERS KNOWING THAT THERE WILL BE HEADROOM ABOVE THIS TO ACCOM MODATE TRANSIENT PEAK LEVELS 4HE MAXIMUM PEAK LEVELS THAT THESE SYSTEMS CAN HANDLE WITHOUT DISTORTION WILL VARY BUT WOULD TYPICALLY BE AT LEAST D" HIGHER THAN 65 AS WITH TAPE RECORDERS FOR EXAMPLE 4HE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 65 LEVEL AND THE MAXIMUM PEAK LEVEL IS CALLED THE HEADROOM 4HIS OPERATING LEVEL MAY BE SET DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT AUDIO SYSTEMS AND IS TYPICALLY SET SOME WAY BELOW THE MAXIMUM LEVEL THAT THE SYSTEM CAN HANDLE 292
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TO ALLOW HEADROOM FOR TRANSIENT LEVEL PEAKS )F SIGNALS PASSING THROUGH THE SYSTEM ARE MUCH LOWER THAN 65 THEY MAY GET TOO CLOSE TO THE BACKGROUND hNOISE FLOORv THAT EXISTS IN ALL AUDIO SYSTEMS /N THE OTHER HAND IF AVERAGE SIGNAL LEVELS ARE MUCH HIGHER THAN 65 TRANSIENT PEAKS WITHIN THESE MAY ATTEMPT TO EXCEED THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE LEVEL IN THE SYSTEM RESULTING IN THE WAVEFORMS BECOMING hCLIPPEDv AND THE SOUND BECOMING DISTORTED )N PRACTICE YOU SHOULD SET LEVELS SO THAT THE LOUDEST SOUNDS AVERAGE OUT AROUND 65 WITHOUT GETTING TOO MUCH LOWER OR TOO MUCH HIGHER !LSO DONT FOR GET THAT MOST MUSIC WILL NORMALLY CONTAIN MANY QUIETER SOUNDS THAT MAY BE D" LESS OR EVEN LOWER IN LEVEL THAN THE LOUDEST SOUNDS /F COURSE YOU ARE NOT SEEING THE PEAK LEVELS ON 65 METERS ESPECIALLY TRAN SIENT PEAKS THAT ONLY OCCUR FOR A FRACTION OF A SECOND AND PEAK LEVELS CAN BE MUCH MUCH HIGHER THAN AVERAGE LEVELS 4O COMPLETELY AVOID DISTORTION WHEN RECORDING AUDIO TO ANALOG TAPE SYSTEMS PEAK LEVELS SHOULD NOT EXCEED D" ABOVE 65 ! CHARACTERISTIC OF ANALOG SYSTEMS SUCH AS TAPE RECORDERS IS THAT THE DISTORTION IS MILD AT FIRST n SO RELATIVELY HIGH LEVELS CAN BE USED BEFORE OBNOXIOUS DISTORTION IS HEARD 3OME RECORDING ENGINEERS EXPLOIT THIS SITUATION BY RECORD ING HIGHER LEVELS ONTO TAPE SO THAT SOME DISTORTION OF THE WAVEFORMS OCCURS n MAKING THE RECORDINGS SOUND hBIGGERv OR hFATTERv THAN PERFECTLY CLEAN UNDIS TORTED RECORDINGS !UDIO THAT IS BEING RECORDED TO A DIGITAL SYSTEM FROM AN ANALOG SYSTEM WITH 65 SET TO CORRESPOND TO D"&3 HAS D" OF HEADROOM TO ACCOMMODATE SIGNAL PEAKS (OWEVER IN DIGITAL SYSTEMS IF ANY SIGNALS EXCEED THE D" &ULL 3CALE LEVEL THEY WILL BE CLIPPED TO THIS LEVEL AS THEY PASS THROUGH THE SYSTEM n BADLY DISTORTING THE SIGNAL AND MAKING IT SOUND EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT 3O WITH DIGITAL SYSTEMS YOU SHOULD ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE LEVELS SET LOW ENOUGH TO AVOID CLIPPING n EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO USE COMPRESSORS OR LIMITERS TO ALLOW YOU TO INCREASE AVERAGE SIGNAL LEVELS 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING WITH DIGITAL SYSTEMS THE NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL FOR ANY CONNECTED ANALOG AUDIO EQUIPMENT IS SOMETIMES SET AT D" BELOW THE D" &ULL 3CALE D"&3 LEVEL THAT REPRESENTS THE MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE SIGNAL LEVEL IN THE DIGITAL SYSTEM 4HIS PROVIDES HEADROOM OF D" ABOVE THE 65 LEVEL ON THE ANALOG EQUIPMENT !NOTHER STANDARD THAT IS RECOMMENDED WHEN YOU ARE MIXING AUDIO IS TO SET THE NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL AT D"&3 4HIS ALLOWS D" OF HEADROOM FOR PEAK LEVELS ENCOURAGING THE MIX ENGINEER TO CREATE MIXES WITH GREATER CREST FACTORS PEAK TO AVERAGE RATIOS
"OMB &ACTORY METER CALIBRATION SIMULATION 4O SEE HOW THIS WORKS YOU CAN USE THE "OMB &ACTORY %SSENTIAL -ETER "RIDGE 4HIS SIMULATES AN ANALOG 65 -ETER AND HAS BUTTONS TO LET YOU SWITCH IT TO EMULATE DIFFERENT OPERATING LEVELS
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*UST AS AN EXERCISE ) PLAYED BACK A D"&3 K(Z SINE WAVE TEST TONE FROM A MONO FILE ON DISK USING AN !UDIO TRACK WITH ITS FADER SET TO UNITY GAIN VIA A -ONO -ASTER &ADER ALSO SET TO UNITY GAIN ) INSERTED THE "OMB &ACTORY -ETER "RIDGE ON THE -ASTER &ADER AND SWITCHED THIS TO READ THE SIGNAL PEAK WITH NO CALIBRATION ADJUSTMENT !S YOU WOULD EXPECT THIS SHOWED A PEAK LEVEL OF FULL SCALE .OTE THAT IN THIS MODE OF OPERATION THE -ETER "RIDGE IS NOT WORKING AS A 65 METER THAT WOULD AVERAGE THE INCOMING SIGNAL OVER TIME IN SOME WAY THEREBY PRODUCING A READING SOMEWHAT LOWER THAN FULL SCALE IT IS WORKING AS A PEAK METER JUST LIKE THE 0RO 4OOLS METERS
Figure 7.4 Playing back A D"&3 K(Z SINE WAVE test tone from a mono file ON DISK USING AN !UDIO TRACK WITH ITS FADER SET to unity gain via a Mono -ASTER &ADER ALSO SET TO UNITY GAIN WITH A "OMB &ACTORY -ETER "RIDGE INSERTED AND SWITCHED TO READING SIGNAL PEAK WITH NO CALIBRATION ADJUSTMENT
)F YOU CONNECTED A REAL ANALOG 65 METER TO AN ANALOG OUTPUT FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE YOU WOULD NEED TO CALIBRATE THIS METER TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN YOU SEND IT THE AGREED REFERENCE LEVEL FROM 0RO 4OOLS IT WOULD READ 65 /NE SUCH STANDARD REFERENCE LEVEL IS TO HAVE 65 CORRESPOND TO D"&3 4O SEE HOW THIS SHOULD LOOK ON AN ANALOG METER YOU CAN USE THE "OMB &ACTORY -ETER "RIDGE TO SIMULATE A 65 METER 3END A D"&3 REFERENCE TONE FROM 0RO 4OOLS TO THE 65 METER /N A REAL 65 METER YOU WOULD THEN ADJUST A POTENTIOMETER ON THE 65 METER UNTIL THE NEEDLE LINED UP EXACTLY WITH 65 4HIS IS CALLED THE hLINE UPv PROCEDURE BECAUSE YOU ARE LINING UP THE NEEDLE WITH THE MARK 294
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7ITH THE "OMB &ACTORY PLUG IN YOU CAN SWITCH THE -ETER #ALIBRATION SWITCH TO VARIOUS COMMONLY USED METER CALIBRATION LEVELS )N &IGURE ) AM USING D"&3 !S THIS IS MERELY A DIGITAL SIMULATION YOU WONT HAVE TO TWEAK ANY THING TO GET THE "OMB &ACTORY METER TO READ EXACTLY 65 n ASSUMING THAT YOU ARE SENDING IT EXACTLY THE REFERENCE LEVEL THAT YOU HAVE CHOSEN AND THAT YOU HAVE PUT THE METER CALIBRATION SWITCH IN THE CORRESPONDING POSITION 7ITH A REAL 65 METER YOU WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY NEED TO TWEAK THE LEVEL SHOWING ON THE METER AT LEAST SLIGHTLY TO GET IT TO LINE UP EXACTLY WITH THE 65 MARK
Figure 7.5 Calibrating a 65 METER TO n D"&3
"OMB &ACTORY 65 METER SIMULATION 4O USE THE "OMB &ACTORY PLUG IN TO METER AN AUDIO TRACK OR MIX IN 0RO 4OOLS IN 65 MODE YOU NEED TO SWITCH IT FROM 0EAK TO ROOT MEAN SQUARE 2-3 n WHICH SHOWS AN AVERAGE VALUE FOR THE SIGNAL n AND MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE -ETER #ALIBRATION BUTTON SELECTED TO CORRESPOND TO THE REFERENCE LEVEL THAT YOU WOULD BE USING WITH EXTERNAL ANALOG EQUIPMENT SUCH AS D"&3 4HEN YOU WILL SEE THE NEEDLE FALL BACK MORE SLOWLY THAN THE PEAK METERS IN 0RO 4OOLS AND IT WILL VARY ABOVE AND BELOW THE 65 MARK n MAKING USE OF THE D" OF AVAILABLE HEADROOM ABOVE 65 4HE AVERAGE LEVEL OF YOUR MIX SHOULD BE AROUND THE 65 MARK AND EXCURSIONS ABOVE THIS WILL NOT NORMALLY BE A PROBLEM BECAUSE 295
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65 REPRESENTS D"&3 LEAVING YOU A FURTHER D" OF HEADROOM ABOVE 65 TO ACCOMMODATE EXCURSIONS AND TRANSIENT PEAKS ABOVE THIS LEVEL
Figure 7.6 Playing back A MONO MIX THROUGH THE -ETER "RIDGE SET TO 2-3 AND CALIBRATED TO n D"&3 REVEALS HOW A 65 -ETER WOULD BEHAVE n SHOWING the metering varying ABOVE AND BELOW THE 65 MARK IN RESPONSE TO THE AUDIO IN THE MIX
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4HE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NOMINAL OPERATING LEVEL AND THE LEVEL OF BACKGROUND NOISE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM OFTEN CALLED THE NOISE FLOOR IS REFERRED TO AS THE hSIGNAL TO NOISE RATIOv 4YPICALLY DIGITAL SYSTEMS HAVE A MUCH LOWER NOISE FLOOR THAN ANALOG SYSTEMS !S A CONSEQUENCE YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO HEAR QUIET SOUNDS SUCH AS RATTLES OR SQUEAKS FROM MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OR DRUM KITS OR BREATHING OR OTHER SOUNDS MADE BY MUSICIANS THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED WITH ANALOG RECORDINGS WHERE THESE LOW LEVEL SOUNDS MAY HAVE BEEN MASKED BY THE GENERAL BACKGROUND NOISE TAPE HISS OR OTHER NOISE SIGNALS
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4HEORETICALLY THE DYNAMIC RANGE OF A BIT DIGITAL SYSTEM IS D" WHILE THAT OF A BIT SYSTEM IS D" 4HE DYNAMIC RANGE IS THE RANGE BETWEEN THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM SIGNAL LEVELS THAT THE SYSTEM CAN HANDLE
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Metering in Pro Tools %ACH 0RO 4OOLS TRACK HAS ITS OWN METERING RUNNING VERTICALLY NEXT TO THE TRACKS FADER 4HESE METERS LET YOU SEE THE SIGNAL LEVELS ON INDIVIDUAL FADERS OR WHAT THE SUMMED SIGNAL LEVELS ARE AT THE -ASTER &ADERS !UDIO TRACKS DEFAULT TO PREFADER METERING SO THE METERS ON !UDIO TRACKS SHOW THE LEVELS OF SIGNALS BEING PRESENTED AT THE TRACK INPUTS FROM THE AUDIO INTER FACE OR BEING PLAYED BACK FROM AUDIO FILES ON DISK /N !UXILIARY )NPUTS )NSTRUMENT TRACKS AND -ASTER &ADERS THE METERS INDICATE THE LEVEL OF THE SIGNAL BEING PLAYED THROUGH THE CHANNEL OUTPUT OR OUTPUTS 3IGNAL PRESENT IS INDICATED BY A GREEN COLOR THAT TURNS TO YELLOW FROM to D" AND TURNS TO ORANGE WHEN THE LEVEL REACHES D" OR LESS BELOW FULL SCALE %ACH METER ALSO HAS A CLIP INDICATOR AT THE TOP THAT LIGHTS UP RED IF CLIP PING OCCURS 4HE D" MARKINGS TO THE RIGHT OF EACH meter ARE PEAK LEVELS THAT SHOW D" &ULL 3CALE AT THE TOP OF THE RANGE 4HE D" MARKINGS TO THE RIGHT OF EACH fader SHOW A UNITY GAIN POSITION NO INCREASE OR DECREASE IN LEVEL MARKED hv :ERO 4HE FADER CONTROLS THE GAIN FOR THE CHANNEL AND THIS CAN BE INCREASED BY UP TO D" OR DECREASED BY D" OR MORE
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! FADER CONTROLS THE GAIN OR AMPLIFICATION APPLIED TO AN AUDIO SIGNAL )NCREASING THE GAIN ABOVE THE UNITY GAIN LEVEL BOOSTS OR AMPLIFIES THE SIG NAL $ECREASING THE GAIN BELOW THE UNITY GAIN LEVEL ATTENUATES THE SIGNAL REDUCING ITS LEVEL 4HE AMOUNT OF POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE GAIN APPLIED TO A SIG NAL IS SIMPLY EXPRESSED AS A RATIO IN DECIBELS OF THE OUTPUT LEVEL COMPARED WITH THE INPUT LEVEL
)F YOU SET THE FADER AT UNITY GAIN ON AN !UDIO TRACK ZERO ON THE SCALE THE PLAY BACK LEVEL OF THE AUDIO COMING FROM THE DISK IS NOT ALTERED 9OU CAN INCREASE THIS PLAYBACK LEVEL BY UP TO D" OR YOU CAN DECREASE IT UNTIL NO AUDIO IS PLAYING THROUGH THE CHANNEL n ALTHOUGH YOU WILL STILL SEE THE LEVEL BEING PRESENTED TO THE !UDIO TRACKS INPUT FROM THE AUDIO FILE ON DISK SHOWING UP UNALTERED IN THE 4RACK METER )F YOU HAVE AUDIO GENERATED BY A PLUG IN INSERTED INTO AN )NSTRUMENT OR !UXILIARY TRACK OR COMING INTO AN !UXILIARY CHANNEL FROM AN EXTERNAL SOURCE THE FADER CONTROLS THE GAIN FOR THIS IN THE SAME WAY 4HE METER SHOWS THE LEVEL BEING 297
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9OU CAN CHANGE THE METERING FOR ALL THE !UDIO TRACKS IN YOUR SESSION TO POSTFADER METERING BY DESELECTING THE OPTION FOR 0RE &ADER -ETERING IN THE /PTIONS MENU )N THIS CASE THE METERS SHOW THE OUTPUT LEVEL FROM THE TRACK AS CONTROLLED BY THE FADER 3O IF YOU PULL THE FADER DOWN THE LEVEL DISPLAYED ON THE METER WILL GO DOWN ACCORDINGLY 4HIS IS A LESS USEFUL OPTION BECAUSE IT DOES NOT REVEAL ANY CLIPPING THAT MIGHT BE PRESENT AT THE INPUT TO THE TRACK
RESENTED TO THE AUDIO INPUT OF THE )NSTRUMENT OR !UXILIARY TRACK FROM THE P EXTERNAL SOURCE OR FROM THE PLUG IN AND THE FADER CONTROLS HOW MUCH OF THIS SIG NAL IS PASSED THROUGH TO THE TRACK OUTPUT WHICH USUALLY FEEDS YOUR MIX BUS BUT COULD BE ROUTED WHEREVER ELSE YOU CHOOSE 3O IF YOU BRING DOWN THE LEVEL OF THE TRACK FADER THE SIGNAL LEVEL IN THE 4RACK METER DOES NOT ALTER "UT IF THIS TRACK IS ROUTED TO A -ASTER &ADER FOR EXAMPLE YOU WOULD SEE THE LEVEL IN ITS METER FALL IN AS YOU REDUCE THE GAIN ON EITHER THE TRACK FADER OR THE -ASTER &ADER
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.OTHING THAT YOU DO WITH AN !UDIO FADER THAT ONLY CONTROLS THE LEVEL OF SIGNALS PASSED TO THE OUTPUT OF THE TRACK WILL AFFECT THE AUDIO THAT IS IN A FILE ON DISK PLAYING BACK VIA THIS TRACK 3O IF THE AUDIO THAT WAS RECORDED INTO A FILE ON DISK IS CLIPPED FOR EXAMPLE REDUCING THE PLAYBACK LEVEL WILL NOT PREVENT IT FROM CLIPPING n IT WILL JUST PLAY BACK THE CLIPPED AUDIO AT A LOWER LEVEL n AND IF THE LEVEL OF AUDIO IN THE FILE ON DISK IS SUFFICIENTLY HIGH YOU WILL CONTINUE TO SEE THE CLIP INDICATOR LIGHT UP IN THE METER ON THE AUDIO TRACK
Phase Scope metering )N THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT THE $IGI2ACK 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR IS SHOWN PRO DUCING A K(Z SINE TONE AT D" &ULL 3CALE INSERTED ON A STEREO !UXILIARY )NPUT WITH THE FADER SET AT UNITY GAIN 4HE 0HASE 3COPE SHOWS A VERTICAL LINE AND THE 0HASE CORRELATION METER SHOWS INDICATING THAT THE AUDIO IN BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS IS IDENTICAL 4HE LEVEL SHOWN BOTH ON THE LEVEL METERS IN THE 0HASE 3COPE PLUG IN INSERTED ON THE -ASTER &ADER AND ON THE -ASTER &ADER METERS HAS BEEN REDUCED BY D" BY LOWERING THE -ASTER &ADER n JUST TO DEMONSTRATE HOW THIS WORKS )F YOU LOOK AT THE METER ON THE -ASTER &ADER YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS HAS DROPPED BY D" COMPARED TO THE D"&3 INPUT COMING FROM THE 3IGNAL
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'ENERATOR 9OU CAN SEE THIS BY READING THE MARKINGS TO THE RIGHT OF THE METER )F YOU LOOK AT THE -ASTER &ADER YOU WILL SEE THAT THIS HAS BEEN MOVED DOWN FROM THE UNITY GAIN D" POSITION TO THE D" POSITION 9OU CAN SEE THIS BY LOOKING AT THE D" MARKINGS TO THE RIGHT OF THE -ASTER &ADER
Figure 7.7 4HE $IGI2ACK 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR IS SHOWN PRODUCING A K(Z SINE TONE AT D" &ULL 3CALE INSERTED ON AN !UXILIARY )NPUT WITH THE FADER SET AT UNITY GAIN 4HE LEVEL PRESENTED TO OUTPUTS n VIA THE -ASTER &ADER HAS BEEN REDUCED BY D" BY LOWERING THE -ASTER &ADER
-ETERING DISCREPANCIES )T IS INTERESTING TO OBSERVE THE LEVELS WHEN YOU ROUTE A D" &ULL 3CALE K(Z TEST TONE TO A -ONO -ASTER &ADER AND SIMULTANEOUSLY ROUTE THIS TO A 3TEREO -ASTER &ADER WITH ALL THE FADERS SET TO UNITY GAIN 4HE LEVEL THAT YOU SEE ON THE MONO -ASTER &ADER AS YOU WOULD EXPECT IS D" &ULL 3CALE 4HE LEVEL ON THE 3TEREO &ADER IS DOWN BY ABOUT D" COMPARED WITH THIS )T IS ALSO INTERESTING TO NOTE THE SMALL DISCREPANCIES HERE THE CLIP LIGHT IS ON WHEN YOU PLAY THE D"&3 TONE BACK FROM DISK THROUGH THE MONO !UDIO TRACK AS IT WAS WHEN THIS TONE WAS CREATED USING THE 3IGNAL 'ENERATOR INSERTED ONTO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT CHANNEL "UT THE CLIP LIGHT IS NOT LIT ON THE -ONO -ASTER &ADER ASSIGNED TO THE MONO OUTPUT EVEN THOUGH THIS IS SET AT UNITY GAIN SO IT SHOULD NOT BE ATTENUATING THE LEVEL (OWEVER YOU CAN SEE THE FIRST ORANGE INDICATION JUST ABOVE THE D" MARKING ON THE 3TEREO -ASTER &ADER SUGGEST ING THAT THIS LEVEL IS D" BELOW THE LEVEL SHOWN ON THE MONO !UDIO TRACK 299
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Figure 7.8 D" 4ONE playing back from a FILE ON DISK AND ROUTED simultaneously to a Mono -ASTER &ADER AND TO A 3TEREO -ASTER &ADER
Fat meters 7HEN YOU ARE MIXING YOU MAY PREFER TO USE THE hFATv METERS INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL hTHINv METERS IN THE -IX AND %DIT WINDOWS 4O SWITCH BETWEEN NOR MAL AND FAT METERS HOLD THE #OMMAND 3TART /PTION !LT AND #ONTROL KEYS AND CLICK ON ANY OF THE METERS
Figure 7.9 h&ATv -ETERS
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Metering and loudness discussion 4O HELP YOU GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF SOME OF THE ISSUES INVOLVED HERE ARE SOME EXTRACTS FROM AN ARTICLE THAT ) WROTE FOR 0RO 3OUND .EWS %UROPE AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH 4HOMAS ,UND AT 4# %LECTRONIC AND MASTERING ENGINEER "OB +ATZ IN THE 5NITED 3TATES 4HOMAS ,UND HAS THIS ADVICE FOR MIXING ENGINEERS h)F YOU APPLY THE OLD SCHOOL SAMPLE PEAK DETECTION METHODS OF MEASURING LEVEL PEAKS NEED TO STAY BELOW D"&3 WHEN DELIVERY IS LINEAR IE VIA #$ AND BELOW D"&3 WHEN DELIVERY IS VIA -0 AT KBPS 4HATS NOT EVEN ALWAYS ENOUGH HEADROOM n BUT OF THE TIME IT WOULD BEv 3O THE MESSAGE IS THAT IF YOU MIX TO DIG ITAL DONT PEAK HIGHER THAN D"&3 ,UND ALSO SAYS h%NGINEERS SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THAT HIGHLY PROCESSED MIXES WITH CERTAIN HIGHER FREQUENCIES AND HIGH PEAK LEVELS OR CLIPPING ARE LIKELY TO LEAD TO LEVELS IN EXCESS OF D"&3 WHEN REPRODUCED AT THE OUTPUTS FROM TYPI CAL $! CONVERTERS WHICH CAN LEAD TO FURTHER DISTORTION IF THERE IS INSUFFICIENT HEADROOM IN THE CONVERTERS /R WHENEVER THE SIGNAL CROSSES DOMAINS SUCH AS IN CONVERSION TO MPv )NTERSAMPLE PEAK METERING TO VIEW AND PROTECT FROM THESE TYPES OF PEAKS IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM 4# %LECTRONIC IN THEIR 3YSTEM AND FROM 3ONNOX AND 030 IN THEIR PEAK LIMITERS .EW TOOLS ARE UNDOUBTEDLY NEEDED TO HELP PREVENT THE HYPERCOMPRESSION SQUASHED LOUD MIXES AND MASTERS ARISING AS A CONSEQUENCE OF SUPER HIGH AVERAGE LEVELS AND LOW PEAK TO AVERAGE RATIOS -ASTERING hGURUv "OB +ATZ HAS PLENTY TO SAY ON THIS SUBJECT h4HE INVENTION OF DIGITAL AUDIO STARTED THE ACCEL ERATED LOUDNESS RACE WHICH RAISED AVERAGE LEVELS ON COMMERCIAL #$ RELEASES ALMOST D" IN YEARS 4HIS WAS CAUSED BY THE NEW ABILITY IN DIGITAL AUDIO TO NORMALIZE TO THE PEAK LEVEL 7E NEED TO RETURN TO THE CONCEPT OF HEADROOM AND STANDARDIZE ON AN ENTIRELY NEW TYPE OF METER THAT IS CALIBRATED TO TRUE LOUDNESS AND WHICH ALLOWS FOR ADEQUATE HEADROOM WITH THE TRUE PEAK LEVEL HIDDEN FROM THE USERv 7HAT +ATZ IS REFERRING TO HERE IS THE SITUATION THAT PEAK ONLY METERING ESPE CIALLY IN SOFTWARE $!7S SUCH AS 0RO 4OOLS AND IN TYPICAL #$ PLAYERS AND OTHER DIGITAL EQUIPMENT IS NO LONGER hFIT FOR PURPOSEv +ATZS PROPOSED ALTERNA TIVE THE + 3YSTEM INCORPORATES 2-3 METERING AND IS COORDINATED TO A CALI BRATED MONITOR GAIN 2-3 METERING IS MORE ACCURATE THAN SIMPLE AVERAGING ALTHOUGH NOT AS ACCURATE AS A TRUE LOUDNESS METER WHICH REQUIRES MORE DIG ITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING $30 OR #05 POWER AND CAUSES MORE LATENCY + 3YSTEM 2-3 METERS ARE AVAILABLE FROM MANY MANUFACTURERS WHILE 4# %LECTRONICS EVEN MORE REVOLUTIONARY ,- TRUE LOUDNESS AND LOUDNESS HISTORY METER IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR 0RO 4OOLS\($ !CCORDING TO +ATZ MIXING ENGINEERS WOULD BE BETTER OFF DISPENSING WITH METERS ALTOGETHER AND USING THEIR EARS INSTEAD !S HE EXPLAINS hHAVING 301
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
CALIBRATED MONITOR GAIN IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS METERING PEAK TO AVERAGE RATIOS )T IS POSSIBLE TO MIX AN ENTIRE ALBUM @BLIND WITHOUT ANY METERING AT ALL YET NEVER OVERLOADING THE DIGITAL SYSTEM !LL YOU NEED TO DO IS SET A SUF FICIENTLY HIGH MONITOR GAIN EG D" AT D"&3 2-3 7HEN MIXING THIS WAY MIX ENGINEERS CAN MIX USING THEIR EARS WITHOUT THE ARBITRARY CONSTRAINTS OR INFLUENCE OF METERS 4HE MIXES WHICH RESULT WILL LIKELY HAVE A BETTER CREST FACTOR PEAK TO AVERAGE RATIO THAN TYPICAL MIXES MADE WHILE WATCHING METERS AND LATER ON IN MASTERING SHOULD PRODUCE LOUDER MASTERS WITH FAR LESS SONIC COMPROMISEv !S ) POINTED OUT h7ITH THE NEXT AND EVEN SOME CURRENT GENERATIONS OF DIG ITAL AUDIO BROADCAST AND CONSUMER REPLAY EQUIPMENT LISTENERS WILL BE GIVEN OPTIONS TO SELECT DYNAMIC RANGES FOR REPLAY #ONSEQUENTLY MUSIC THAT HAS BEEN SQUASHED DYNAMICALLY TO SOUND LOUDER WILL NOT SOUND LOUDER ANY MORE BUT WILL SOUND HARSHER IN COMPARISON WITH MUSIC THAT HAS NOT BEEN SO BADLY @MANGLEDv !N !%3 PAPER WRITTEN BY 4HOMAS ,UND THAT ADDRESSES THESE ISSUES CAN BE DOWN LOADED AT HTTPWWWTCELECTRONICCOMMEDIALUND??STOP?COUNTING?SAM PLES?AESPDf -ORE OF "OB +ATZS VIEWS ON METERING ARE EXPLAINED IN DOCUMENTATION FOR THE 4# %LECTRONIC &INALIZER WHICH CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT HTTPWWWTCELECTRONIC COMMEDIAKATZ??SECRET?MASTERINGPDf /THER ARTICLES OF INTEREST CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT HTTPWWWTCELECTRONICCOM 4ECH,IBRARYASp
TL MasterMeter oversampling metering )T HAS BECOME FASHIONABLE IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY FOR CLIENTS TO DEMAND THE LOUDEST POSSIBLE MIXES n THE THEORY BEING THAT THESE WILL STAND OUT AMONG THE CROWD 4HE PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN LEVELS ARE AT OR NEAR D" &ULL 3CALE FOR MUCH OR ALL OF THE TIME IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT WHEN THESE RECORDINGS ARE PLAYED BACK ON CONSUMER #$ PLAYERS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF FATIGUING DISTORTION WILL OCCUR WHEN THE DIGITAL AUDIO IS RECONSTRUCTED INTO ANALOG AUDIO 4HIS CAN HAPPEN EVEN WHEN THE HIGHEST SAMPLES ARE KEPT JUST BELOW D"&3 BECAUSE THE RECONSTRUCTED ANALOG WAVEFORMS CAN RISE HIGHER IN LEVEL IN BETWEEN THESE SAMPLE PEAK LEVELS n AND WILL THEN BE CLIPPED BY THE ANALOG PLAYBACK EQUIPMENT 4HE IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE HERE IS THAT THE SAMPLE VALUES IN DIGITAL AUDIO DO NOT REPRESENT THE PEAK LEVEL VALUES OF AN ANALOG WAVEFORM RECONSTRUCTED FROM THESE SAMPLES n PEAK LEVELS WILL FREQUENTLY EXCEED THESE VALUES !LSO IF YOU MAKE A TEST #$ AND PLAY IT BACK ON A HIGH QUALITY #$ PLAYER IN YOUR RECORDING
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STUDIO THIS MAY HAVE HIGH QUALITY ANALOG ELECTRONICS WITH SUFFICIENT HEADROOM TO SUCCESSFULLY PLAY BACK LEVELS THAT EXCEED D"&3 WITHOUT PRODUCING AUDIBLE DISTORTION OR FATIGUING EFFECTS n SO YOU MAY BE SEDUCED INTO BELIEVING THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH YOUR MIXES 4HE STANDARD METERS IN 0RO 4OOLS WILL NOT ALERT YOU TO THIS SITUATION n THEY JUST MEASURE SAMPLE PEAKS 7HAT YOU NEED IS A METER THAT SIMULATES WHAT HAP PENS DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE ANALOG WAVEFORM AND ALERTS YOU IF CLIP PING WOULD HAPPEN AFTER RECONSTRUCTION )F YOU KNOW WHERE THE CLIPPING TAKES PLACE AND BY HOW MUCH YOU CAN GO TO THESE PLACES IN YOUR MIX AND ADJUST LEVELS TO AVOID THIS CLIPPING 4HERE IS A PLUG IN THAT WILL DO ALL THIS $IGIDESIGN NOW INCLUDES THE 4, -ASTER-ETER 4IME $IVISION -ULTIPLEXING 4$- AND 2EAL 4IME !UDIO3UITE 24!3 PLUG IN WITH ALL 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS 4HIS ALLOWS ENGINEERS TO COMPARE REGULAR AND INTERSAMPLE PEAKS OVER TIME AND MAKE APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS TO COUNTERACT ANY CLIPPING DUE TO INTERSAMPLE PEAKS 5SING AN OVERSAMPLED PEAK METER LIKE THIS WHICH SIMULATES THE RECONSTRUCTION FILTERS USED IN DIGITAL TO ANALOG CONVERTERS IS AN ESSENTIAL TOOL TO USE ESPECIALLY WITH MIXES THAT HAVE BEEN PROCESSED TO BE PARTICULARLY LOUD OR HOT
5SING THE 4, -ASTER-ETER 4HE 4, -ASTER-ETER HAS TWO SEPARATE METERS ONE THAT SHOWS THE STAND ARD SIGNAL LEVEL AND ANOTHER THAT SHOWS THE OVERSAMPLED SIGNAL LEVEL !S THE OVERSAMPLING PROCESS CAN CREATE LEVELS ABOVE D" THIS METER SHOWS AN EXPANDED SCALE FROM D" TO D" )T IS EASY ENOUGH TO USE SIMPLY INSERT 4, -ASTER-ETER ON A -ASTER &ADER TRACK AND PLAY THE ENTIRE SESSION BACK FROM BEGINNING TO END TO CHECK YOUR FINAL MIX 9OU CAN EASILY KEEP AN EYE ON THESE METERS WHILE YOU PLAY THE MIX AND IF YOU SEE ANY CLIPPED SIGNALS JUST STOP PLAYING BACK IMMEDIATELY AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO FIX THE PROBLEM 4HIS IS FINE IF THERE ARE JUST ONE OR TWO hOVERSv DURING THE MIX "UT IF THERE ARE A LOT YOU WILL FIND IT QUICKER TO LET THE WHOLE MIX PLAY THROUGH THEN LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL LIST OF EVENTS THAT IS CREATED IN THE TWO hBROWSERSv PROVIDED FOR SIGNAL CLIPS AND OVERSAMPLED CLIPS "ECAUSE THE TIME CODE FOR EACH EVENT IS LISTED YOU CAN QUICKLY GO TO EACH LOCATION WHERE THERE IS A PROBLEM SO THAT YOU CAN FIX IT 4HE 3IGNAL #LIP %VENTS BROWSER DISPLAYS HISTORICAL CLIP EVENTS AND HAS COL UMNS THAT SHOW THE RELEVANT TIMECODE FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING OF EACH CLIP EVENT 7ITH STEREO TRACKS THE FIRST COLUMN SHOWS , OR 2 TO INDICATE IF THE LEFT OR RIGHT CHANNEL HAS CLIPPED 4HE -IN AND -AX VALUES IN THIS BROWSER WILL ALWAYS BE ZERO UNLESS THE #LIP LEVEL IS SET BELOW ZERO !T THE BOTTOM OF
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
THE BROWSER THE 0EAK FIELD DISPLAYS THE HIGHEST D" VALUE OF THE AUDIO SIGNAL RECEIVED SO FAR 4HE /VERSAMPLED #LIP %VENTS BROWSER DISPLAYS OVERSAMPLED CLIP EVENTS HISTOR ICALLY 4HE AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL CLIPPING IN EXCESS OF D" IS ALSO DISPLAYED 4HE COLUMNS SHOW THE TIMECODE FOR THE BEGINNING AND ENDING OF EACH CLIP EVENT AS WELL AS THE MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CLIP VALUES CREATED AFTER OVERSAMPLING 7ITH STEREO TRACKS THE FIRST COLUMN SHOWS , OR 2 TO INDICATE IF THE LEFT OR RIGHT CHANNEL HAS CLIPPED !T THE BOTTOM OF THE BROWSER THE 0EAK FIELD DISPLAYS THE HIGHEST D" VALUE OF THE OVERSAMPLED AUDIO RECEIVED SO FAR 4HE %VENTS FIELD BELOW THE BROWSER SHOWS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CLIP EVENTS IN THE OVERSAMPLED AUDIO SIGNAL )N THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT YOU CAN SEE WHAT WAS DISPLAYED WHEN ) INSERTED THE 4, -ASTER-ETER PLUG IN ON THE -ONO -ASTER &ADER USED IN THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLE !N !UDIO TRACK WAS PLAYING BACK A SHORT RECORDING OF A D"&3 K(Z TEST TONE VIA THIS MONO -ASTER &ADER 3O THE SIGNAL LEVEL METER
Figure 7.10 4, -ASTER-ETER PLUG IN INSERTED ON THE -ONO -ASTER &ADER USED IN THE PREVIOUS EXAMPLE 4HIS SHOWS AN hOVERv WITH EIGHT CONSECUTIVE OVERSAMPLED CLIP EVENTS hitting full scale – PROVIDING A POSSIBLE CLUE AS TO WHY THE CLIP LIGHT ON THE !UDIO TRACK THAT WAS PLAYING THE D"&3 TEST TONE WAS LIT
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SHOWS THE LEVEL TO BE D" (OWEVER THE CLIP LIGHT ON THE /VERSAMPLING ,EVEL METER LIT UP ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AND THERE WERE EIGHT CONSECUTIVE OVERSAM PLED CLIP EVENTS DISPLAYED IN THE /VERSAMPLED #LIP %VENTS BROWSER ALL HITTING &ULL 3CALE
Phase measurements 7HEN YOU ARE WORKING ON STEREO MIXES IT IS ALWAYS USEFUL TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE PHASE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE GOOD MONO COMPATIBILITY /F COURSE YOU SHOULD BE CHECK ING YOUR MIXES BY LISTENING IN MONO FROM TIME TO TIME AS WELL BUT HAVING A 0HASE 3COPE AND A PHASE CORRELATION METER CONVENIENTLY AVAILABLE IS DEFI NITELY A BONUS 4HE $IGI2ACK 0HASE 3COPE IS IDEAL FOR THIS PURPOSE PROVIDING SIGNAL LEVEL AND PHASE INFORMATION FOR STEREO TRACKS IN BOTH 4$- AND 24!3 FORMATS
,ISSAJOUS FIGURES /N A CONVENTIONAL OSCILLOSCOPE THE LEFT SIGNAL IS SENT TO THE VERTICAL 9 TRACE AND THE RIGHT SIGNAL IS SENT TO THE HORIZONTAL 8 TRACE INPUTS 4HIS PRODUCES CURVES KNOWN AS ,ISSAJOUS FIGURES ON THE GRAPH ! CURVE WITH A SLOPE THAT RISES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT AT A DEGREE ANGLE SHOWS THAT THE LEFT AND RIGHT INPUT SIGNALS ARE IN PHASE ! CURVE WITH A SLOPE THAT RISES FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AT A DEGREE ANGLE SHOWS THAT THE LEFT AND RIGHT INPUT SIGNALS ARE OUT OF PHASE
$IGI2ACK 0HASE 3COPE 4HE $IGIDESIGN 0HASE 3COPE IS ROTATED DEGREES TO THE LEFT SO THAT THE ,ISSAJOUS FIGURES RISE VERTICALLY TO INDICATE IN PHASE COMPONENTS AND HORIZON TALLY TO INDICATE OUT OF PHASE COMPONENTS )N OTHER WORDS WHEN THE CURVE TRACES VERTICALLY THIS SHOWS THAT THE COMBINED LEFT AND RIGHT INPUT SIGNAL IS IN PHASE AND WHEN IT TRACES HORIZONTALLY IT INDICATES THAT THE LEFT AND RIGHT INPUT SIGNALS ARE OUT OF PHASE 4YPICALLY STEREO RECORDINGS PRODUCE A RANDOM PATTERN THAT IS TALLER THAN IT IS WIDE ! VERTICALLY ORIENTED PATTERN PRODUCED BY STRONG CORRELATION BETWEEN THE RIGHT AND LEFT CHANNELS APPROACHING MONO WHICH WOULD PRODUCE A STRAIGHT VERTICAL LINE INDICATES GOOD MONO COMPATIBILITY )F THE PATTERN RUNS HORIZONTALLY THIS INDICATES A LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWO CHANNELS WHICH WOULD LEAD TO CANCELLATIONS BETWEEN OUT OF PHASE COMPONENTS IF THE LEFT AND RIGHT SIGNALS WERE COMBINED TO MONO AND SHOULD OBVIOUSLY BE AVOIDED IF GOOD MONO COMPATIBILITY IS REQUIRED
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Figure 7.11 Phase 3COPE
Phase Meter "ELOW THE 0HASE 3COPE THERE IS A 0HASE -ETER DISPLAY ! 0HASE -ETER ALSO KNOWN AS A CORRELATION METER INDICATES THE DEGREE OF SIMILARITY OR CORRELA TION BETWEEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS 7HEN THE AUDIO IN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS IS SIMILAR THE METER MOVES TOWARD THE RIGHT )F THE AUDIO IN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS WAS IDENTICAL THE CORRELATION WOULD BE AND THE METER WOULD BE POSITIONED ALL THE WAY TO THE RIGHT 7HEN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHAN NELS ARE UNCORRELATED WITH LOTS OF DIFFERENT AUDIO MATERIAL IN EACH CHANNEL THE METER MOVES TOWARD THE LEFT )F THE AUDIO IN THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS WAS EXACTLY OUT OF PHASE THE CORRELATION WOULD BE AND THE METER WOULD BE POSITIONED ALL THE WAY TO THE LEFT !T THE CENTER OR ZERO POSITION THE SIGNAL IS A PERFECT STEREO IMAGE -OST RECORDINGS HAVE PHASE CORRELATIONS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN AND 3HORT EXCURSIONS INTO THE NEGATIVE AREA AT THE LEFT ARE NOT NECESSARILY A PROBLEM BUT ANYTHING MORE THAN THIS COULD INDICATE MONO COM PATIBILITY PROBLEMS
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)F YOU WIDEN THE STEREO OR REVERB WIDTH FOR YOUR AUDIO THE PHASE CORRELA TION WILL MOVE TOWARD THE LEFT SIDE AS THE LEFT AND RIGHT CHANNELS BECOME hWIDER v THAT IS LESS SIMILAR
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Leq(A) Meter ,EQ! IS THE EQUIVALENT CONTINUOUS ! WEIGHTED 30, DETERMINED OVER A MEASURED TIME INTERVAL THAT TAKES ACCOUNT OF FLUCTUATIONS IN LEVEL WITHIN THIS TIME PERIOD TO PRODUCE AN AVERAGE VALUE 4HIS AVERAGE UNFLUCTUATING ,EQ! VALUE IS USED WHEN SPECIFYING LOUDNESS LEVELS THAT MUST NOT BE EXCEEDED IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH REGULATIONS FOR EXAMPLE OR WHEN RECOMMENDING MONITORING LEVELS 4HE ! WEIGHTING FILTER APPROXIMATES THE LOUDNESS SENSITIVITY OF THE HUMAN EAR 9OU CAN SWITCH THE 0HASE -ETER DISPLAY TO AN ,EQ! -ETER DISPLAY THAT SHOWS the true weighted average OF THE POWER LEVEL SENT TO EITHER OF THE TWO STEREO CHANNELS "Y DEFAULT BOTH CHANNELS ARE SELECTED FOR DISPLAY AND COLORED GREEN TO INDICATE THAT THEY ARE SELECTED 9OU CAN DESELECT THE LEFT OR RIGHT CHANNEL BY CLICKING ON THE , OR 2 BUTTONS AT THE CORNERS OF THE DISPLAY 4HE ,EQ! -ETER DISPLAY SHOWS A FLOATING AVERAGE FOR THE LEVEL OVER THE INTER VAL CHOSEN IN THE 7INDOW MENU &OR EXAMPLE WITH A SETTING OF S THE DISPLAY SHOWS THE AVERAGE VALUE FOR THE MOST RECENT S OF AUDIO PLAYBACK ! POP UP h7INDOWv MENU LETS YOU CHOOSE THE LENGTH OF TIME BETWEEN S AND MIN THAT THE SIGNAL IS MEASURED OVER BEFORE AN AVERAGE VALUE IS CALCULATED 9OU CAN ALSO CHOOSE INFINITE MODE WHICH CONSTANTLY AVERAGES THE SIGNAL INSTEAD %NABLING h!UTO 2ESETv CAUSES THE START TIME OF THE ,EQ! MEASUREMENT WIN DOW TO BE AUTOMATICALLY RESET WHENEVER PLAYBACK STARTS IN 0RO 4OOLS %NABLING h(OLD ON 3TOPv CAUSES THE ,EQ! MEASUREMENT WINDOW TIMER TO PAUSE WHEN PLAYBACK STOPS AND RESUME WHEN PLAYBACK BEGINS AGAIN
Figure 7.12 Deselecting THE ,EFT CHANNEL FOR ,EQ! METERING
Level Meters 4O THE LEFT OF THE 3COPE DISPLAY THERE ARE METERS FOR THE LEFT AND RIGHT INPUT SIGNALS 4HERE ARE TWO POP UP SELECTORS ABOVE THE METERS ONE FOR PEAK HOLD OPTIONS AND ANOTHER FOR THE METER TYPE -ETER TYPES INCLUDE 0EAK 2-3 AND 0EAK 2-3 0EAK $EFAULT METER TYPE USES THE SAME METERING SCALE THAT IS USED IN $IGI2ACK %1 ))) AND $YNAMICS
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
))) PLUG INS 2-3 USES A PROPRIETARY $IGIDESIGN hTRUEv 2-3 METERING SCALE 4HIS TRUE 2-3 METER SCALE IS NOT THE SAME AS THE !%3 2-3 SCALE &OR A SINE WAVE WITH A PEAK VALUE OF D"&3 THE TRUE 2-3 METER WILL SHOW A value of D"&3 4HE SAME SINE WAVE WILL SHOW A VALUE OF D"&3 ON AN !%3 2-3 METER 0EAK 2-3 USES A MULTICOLOR DISPLAY TO SHOW BOTH TYPES OF METERING WITH 0EAK METERING SHOWN IN GREEN AND 2-3 METERING SHOWN IN BLUE 65 METERING IS PROVIDED AS AN OPTION AND THIS USES !%3 STANDARDS TO INDI CATE SIGNAL LEVELS 6ARIOUS BROADCAST METERING STANDARDS ARE ALSO PROVIDED INCLUDING ""# )%# ))A .ORDIC )%# 4YPE ) AND $). )%# 4YPE ) WHICH ALL USE 2EFERENCE #ALIBRATIONS OF D"&3 4HERE IS ALSO A METER SCALE SPECIALLY DEVELOPED FOR $IGIDESIGNS 6%.5% SYSTEMS THAT USES A 2EFERENCE #ALIBRATION of D"&3
Audio track faders 7HEN YOU PLAY BACK AN !UDIO TRACK IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU ARE READING A FILE FROM A DISK DRIVE )F YOU SET THE FADER AT THE UNITY GAIN POSITION NEITHER BOOSTING NOR CUTTING THE SIGNAL LEVEL THE METER OR METERS ON STEREO OR MULTICHANNEL TRACKS SHOULD SHOW A RESPECTABLE SIGNAL LEVEL n NOT TOO LOW TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO AND NOT TOO HIGH TO CAUSE CLIPPING !SSUMING THAT THE AUDIO WAS RECORDED CORRECTLY THIS WILL BE THE CASE )F THE AUDIO WAS RECORDED AT TOO LOW A LEVEL THEN YOU WILL PROBABLY HEAR BACK GROUND NOISE IF YOU BOOST THE FADER A LOT AND THERE WILL BE LITTLE THAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS WHICH IS WHY IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO GET RECORDING LEVELS RIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE 9OU MAY FIND IT CONVENIENT TO APPLY A GAIN CHANGE USING !UDIO3UITE TO BRING UP THE LEVEL OF ANY TRACKS THAT ARE TOO LOW TO AVOID HAVING TO USE RIDICULOUSLY LARGE BOOSTS ON THESE TRACKS WITH THE FADERS 0RO 4OOLS\($ FADERS WILL ALLOW YOU TO BOOST LEVELS BY UP TO D" )F THE AUDIO CLIPPED WHILE IT WAS BEING RECORDED YOU WILL PROBABLY SEE THE TRACKS RED OVERLOAD INDICATOR LIGHT UP /BVIOUSLY IF THE AUDIO IS TOO BADLY CLIPPED IT WILL BE UNUSABLE "UT IF THERE IS JUST AN OCCASIONAL OVERLOAD ESPE CIALLY IF THIS IS INAUDIBLE THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH THIS IS TO INSERT A 4RIM PLUG IN AND DROP THE LEVEL COMING FROM THE AUDIO FILE ON DISK BY HALF A D" OR A D" OR WHATEVER IT TAKES UNTIL THE CLIP INDICATOR NO LONGER LIGHTS 4HEN YOU CAN CONCENTRATE ON MAKING SURE THAT NO ADDITIONAL CLIPPING IS TAKING PLACE DUE TO THE WAY YOU ARE OPERATING YOUR MIX SESSION WITHOUT YOUR ATTENTION BEING DIS TRACTED BY THIS CLIP INDICATOR LIGHTING 4HIS PROCEDURE DOES NOT FIX ANY CLIPPED AUDIO IT JUST HELPS TO ENSURE THAT YOU WONT MAKE THE PROBLEM WORSE BY ADD ING FURTHER CLIPPING TO THAT AUDIO DURING YOUR MIXING SESSION )F YOU DO ADD FURTHER CLIPPING PERHAPS WHEN USING A PLUG IN YOU WILL KNOW THAT THE RED CLIPPING INDICATOR IS NOW LIGHTING UP FOR A GOOD REASON n TO WARN YOU THAT YOU HAVE CLIPPED THE SIGNAL AGAIN
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Master Faders -ASTER &ADERS CONTROL THE OUTPUT LEVELS OF OUTPUT AND BUS PATHS 0OSTFADER INSERTS ARE PROVIDED SO YOU CAN ALSO APPLY EFFECTS PROCESSING ALONG WITH THE LEVEL CONTROL FOR YOUR MAIN MIX HEADPHONE OR CUE MIXES AND FOR ANY STEMS EFFECTS SENDS OR OTHER SIGNAL ROUTING APPLICATIONS -ASTER &ADERS CAN ALSO BE USED TO METER A BUS OR HARDWARE OUTPUT TO GUARD AGAINST CLIPPING
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5NLIKE INSERTS ON !UDIO TRACKS AND !UXILIARY )NPUTS -ASTER &ADER INSERTS ARE POSTFADER 3O IF YOU INSERT ANY PLUG INS YOU WILL AFFECT THE PROCESSING IF YOU ALTER THE -ASTER &ADER LEVEL BECAUSE CHANGING THE -ASTER &ADER LEVEL WILL CHANGE THE LEVEL BEING SENT TO THE PLUG IN !LSO DONT FORGET TO CHECK THAT THERE IS NO CLIPPING OCCURRING IN ANY PLUG INS THAT YOU HAVE INSERTED ONTO THE -ASTER &ADER !LTHOUGH YOU DO NOT HAVE TO USE -ASTER &ADERS IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU SHOULD NORMALLY CHOOSE TO USE THESE TO GET THE BEST RESULTS -ASTER &ADERS DO NOT USE ANY $30 SO YOU WONT SUFFER ANY PERFORMANCE hHITv BY USING THESE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY -ASTER &ADERS ALLOW YOU TO TRIM YOUR FINAL OUTPUT LEVEL TO AVOID CLIPPING THE $!# $IGITAL TO !NALOGUE #ONVERTER OR BIT DIGITAL OUTPUT WHEN YOUR MIXED SIGNALS LEAVE THE 0RO 4OOLS MIX ENVIRONMENT !LSO BY OBSERVING THE -ASTER &ADERS METERS YOU CAN SEE IF ANY CLIPPING IS TAKING PLACE DUE TO SUMMING THE INDIVIDUAL CHANNELS )F CLIPPING IS TAKING PLACE WHICH WILL CAUSE THE -ASTER &ADERS RED OVERLOAD INDICATORS TO LIGHT UP YOU COULD LOWER ALL THE INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL FADERS TO FIX THE PROBLEM BUT IT IS MUCH MORE CONVENIENT TO SIMPLY LOWER THE -ASTER &ADER AND PLAY YOUR MIX AGAIN UNTIL YOU ARE SURE THAT YOU HAVE CORRECTED THE PROB LEM 4HE IMPORTANT POINT HERE IS THAT YOU WILL NOT LOSE ANY QUALITY BY LOWERING THE -ASTER &ADER BY A FEW D"S TO ADJUST THE GAIN AT THE OUTPUT STAGE BECAUSE THERE IS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT DYNAMIC RANGE AVAILABLE WITHIN 0RO 4OOLS\($ WITH ITS BIT PROCESSING CAPABILITIES
Monitor controllers /F COURSE IF YOU KEEP LOWERING THE -ASTER &ADER YOU WILL REACH A POINT AT WHICH YOU DO AFFECT YOUR MIX ADVERSELY 3OME OF YOU MAY BE TEMPTED TO CON NECT THE OUTPUTS FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS HARDWARE INTERFACE DIRECTLY TO A PAIR OF POWERED MONITORS OR TO A STEREO AMPLIFIER DRIVING A PAIR OF PASSIVE MONITORS )N THIS CASE THE ONLY CONVENIENT WAY TO LOWER THE LISTENING LEVEL WOULD BE TO LOWER THE -ASTER &ADER LEVEL "UT THIS WOULD BE CRAZY BECAUSE YOU WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO GET YOUR MIX LEVELS CORRECT IF YOU ALWAYS HAD TO LOWER THE 309
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
-ASTER &ADER TO MAKE THE PLAYBACK VOLUME LOW ENOUGH TO AVOID DISCOMFORT OR DEAFNESS 4HE SOLUTION HERE IS TO USE A MONITOR CONTROLLER THAT PROVIDES A VOLUME CONTROL 0OPULAR MODELS SUCH AS THE -ACKIE "IG +NOB AND SIMILAR MODELS FROM 0RE3ONUS AND 30, ARE VERY AFFORDABLE AND USUALLY INCLUDE TALK BACK AND HEADPHONE MONITORING FEATURES AS WELL
-IXING PRECISION AND -ASTER &ADERS 4HE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER IS DESIGNED TO ALLOW THE FADERS TO BE LOWERED IN LEVEL WITHOUT ANY LOSS OF RESOLUTION .ORMALLY IN A BIT SYSTEM AS YOU LOWER THE FADER YOU ARE USING LESS THAN THE AVAILABLE BITS OF RESOLUTION (OWEVER THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER USES $30S ON THE AUDIO CARDS THAT TEMPORARILY USE BIT CAL CULATIONS WHEN MIXING SIGNALS TOGETHER 3O EVEN IF YOU LOWER A FADER ALMOST TO THE BOTTOM OF ITS TRAVEL YOU STILL HAVE BITS OF RESOLUTION AVAILABLE 5SING BITS FOR THE $30 WITH BIT REGISTERS TO HOLD INTERIM CALCULATIONS PROVIDES MORE HEADROOM AND FOOTROOM THAN YOU ARE EVER LIKELY TO NEED 4HIS MEANS THAT WHEN THE INPUT SIGNALS ARE SUMMED TOGETHER ONTO THE MIX BUS IN 0RO 4OOLS THESE SIGNALS CAN NEVER CLIP n EVEN WITH ALL THE CHANNEL FADERS set to the D" MAXIMUM GAIN n BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH BITS AND HEADROOM AVAILABLE INTERNALLY TO AVOID THIS 3IMILAR TO ANALOG MIXERS THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER IS COMPRISED OF INDIVIDUAL INPUT CHANNELS AND A SUMMING STAGE !T THE INPUT STAGE EACH CHANNELS BIT WORD IS MULTIPLIED BY BIT GAIN AND PAN COEFFICIENTS TO CREATE A BIT RESULT 4HE NEW BIT WORD CONTAINS THE ORIGINAL BITS hSHIFTEDv LOWER IN THE BIT REGISTER TO ALLOW FOR HEADROOM AND FOOTROOM BELOW UNITY GAIN ENABLING CHANNELS TO BE TURNED DOWN WITHOUT LOSING PRECISION 3PECIFICALLY ITS POSSIBLE TO PULL ANY CHANNEL FADER DOWN TO D" AND ITS SIGNAL STILL RETAINS BITS OF PRECISION !S CHANNEL FADERS ARE PULLED DOWN THERE IS A LOSS TO THE LOWER BITS OF THE NEWLY EXTENDED BIT WORD WHICH REPRESENT SIGNALS DOWN TO about D" n BUT A FULL BITS OF PRECISION IS MAINTAINED DOWN TO D" 4HE SITUATION AT THE OUTPUT SIDE OF THE SUMMING MIXER WHERE AUDIO IS SENT VIA A DIGITAL OUTPUT OR ONTO THE 4$- BUS OR WHEN YOU SUBMIX SIGNALS TO AN !UX )NPUT IS DIFFERENT n CLIPPING CAN OCCUR HERE "UT THATS WHAT -ASTER &ADERS ARE FOR n THEY ALLOW YOU TO TRIM YOUR FINAL OUTPUT LEVEL TO AVOID CLIPPING THE $!# OR BIT DIGITAL OUTPUT WHEN YOUR MIXED SIGNALS LEAVE THE 0RO 4OOLS MIX ENVIRONMENT 4HIS IS ANALOGOUS TO AN ANALOG CONSOLE MIX BUS WHERE YOU TRIM
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4HIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE USING A -ASTER &ADER TO SCALE THE OUTPUT LEVEL OF ANY MIX SUMMING POINT ONTO A BUS OR OUTPUT
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THE MASTER BUS WITH A -ASTER &ADER TO AVOID CLIPPING THE OUTPUT CIRCUITRY IN THE CONSOLE &OR A FULLER DISCUSSION OF THESE TOPICS DOWNLOAD THE h0RO 4OOLS "IT -IXERv $IGIDESIGN 4ECHNICAL 7HITE 0APER BY 'ANNON +ASHIWA FROM THE $IGIDESIGN 7EB SITE 4HIS PROVIDES DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE 0RO 4OOLS MIXER OPERATES AND DEMONSTRATES ITS SUMMING CHARACTERISTICS EXPLAINING HOW A BIT hCLEANv MIXER FUNCTIONS WITHIN THE BIT 4$- ENVIRONMENT )T PROVIDES hBEHIND THE SCENESv INFORMATION ABOUT MIXING AND SUMMING IN 0RO 4OOLS AND SHEDS LIGHT ON VARIOUS MYTHS ABOUT MIXING hIN THE BOXv WITH 0RO 4OOLS THAT WILL GIVE YOU A MUCH BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANICS OF SUMMING SIGNALS
5SING A -ASTER &ADER TO PREVENT CLIPPING ON A BUS ! -ASTER &ADER CAN BE USED TO CONTROL THE LEVEL OF THE AUDIO ON AN OUTPUT OR OUTPUTS )T CAN ALSO BE USED TO CONTROL THE LEVEL ON A BUS 4HIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY IMPORTANT APPLICATION OF -ASTER &ADERS THAT DESERVES TO BE MORE WIDELY USED &OR EXAMPLE IT IS VERY COMMON TO SUBMIX DRUMS ONTO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT CHAN NEL SO THAT YOU CAN CONTROL THE OVERALL LEVEL OF THE KIT USING ONE FADER AND SO THAT YOU CAN INSERT EFFECTS SUCH AS COMPRESSION OR REVERB ACROSS THE WHOLE KIT 4HE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT SOMETIMES THE COMBINED SIGNALS FROM ALL THE !UDIO
Figure 7.13 A typical SUBMIX OF DRUM TRACKS ONTO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT WITH A 3END USED TO ADD REVERB TO THE WHOLE KIT .OTE THAT THE CLIP LIGHTS ARE RED ON THE !UXILIARY )NPUT AND ON THE REVERB 3END
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TRACKS THAT ARE FEEDING THE !UXILIARY )NPUT CAN CAUSE THE LEVEL ON THE BUS TO CLIP EVEN THOUGH THE LEVELS OF INDIVIDUAL !UDIO TRACKS DO NOT CLIP !LSO YOU CANT USE THE FADER ON THE !UXILIARY )NPUT OR ON A 3END FROM THIS TO PREVENT THIS CLIPPING !S YOU CAN SEE IN THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT THE CLIP LIGHTS ARE RED ON THE !UX INPUT AND ON THE 3END TO THE REVERB ,OWERING THE !UXILIARY )NPUT FADER OR LOWERING THE 3END FADER WILL NOT PREVENT THIS CLIPPING AS THESE FADERS SIM PLY CONTROL THE AMOUNT OF THE CLIPPED AUDIO THAT IS SENT TO THE MIX BUS AND TO THE REVERB DEVICE )F YOU TRY DOING THIS THE METERS WILL STILL SHOW THAT THE AUDIO ON THE BUS IS CLIPPED 9OU COULD LOWER SOME OR ALL OF THE INDIVIDUAL FADERS UNTIL THE SUMMED LEVEL AT THE !UXILIARY )NPUT NO LONGER CLIPS BUT YOU RUN SOME RISK OF DISTURBING THE BALANCE THAT YOU HAVE CAREFULLY SET UP BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUAL TRACKS AND THIS IS NOT AS CONVENIENT AS LOWERING ONE FADER &ORTUNATELY THERE IS A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM n USING A -ASTER &ADER TO MON ITOR AND CONTROL THE BUS LEVELS 3IMPLY INSERT A -ASTER &ADER AND ASSIGN THIS TO THE BUS THAT YOU ARE USING TO ROUTE THE !UDIO TRACKS INTO THE !UXILIARY )NPUT TO FORM YOUR SUB GROUP
Figure 7.14 5SING A -ASTER &ADER TO MONITOR LEVELS ON THE BUS USED TO SUBMIX THE DRUMS ONTO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT .OTE THAT THE LEVELS ON THE BUS ARE CLIPPED AS REVEALED ON THE "US -ONITOR METERS AND ON THE !UXILIARY )NPUT METERS AND THE 3END METERS ,OWERING THE 3END LEVEL HAS NOT PREVENTED CLIPPING AND LOWERING THE !UX FADER LEVEL WOULD NOT EITHER
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7HENEVER YOU SEE THE CLIP LIGHT TURN RED ON A -ASTER &ADER THAT YOU ARE USING AS A "US -ONITOR YOU CAN LOWER THE LEVEL OF THE -ASTER &ADER TO REDUCE THE LEVEL ON THE BUS UNTIL IT STOPS CLIPPING 9OU COULD ALSO INSERT A COMPRESSOR OR LIMITER ON THIS -ASTER &ADER TO hTAMEv THE PEAKS IF YOU LIKE
Figure 7.15 9OU CAN LOWER THE -ASTER &ADER USED TO MONITOR LEVELS ON THE DRUMS SUBMIX BUS TO prevent clipping, as has BEEN DONE HERE
)NSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE BOX ! BIG DECISION FOR SOME IS WHETHER TO MIX COMPLETELY hINSIDE THE BOX v KEEP ING EVERYTHING DIGITAL INSIDE 0RO 4OOLS OR WHETHER TO MIX SOME OR ALL THE TRACKS hOUTSIDE THE BOXv 4HIS COULD INVOLVE USING A SMALL EXTERNAL MIXER OR A SPECIALIZED hSUMMING MIXERv WITH OR TRACKS TO TAKE THE MOST IMPORTANT TRACKS WITH THE REST MIXED INSIDE 0RO 4OOLS OR IT COULD MEAN ROUTING ALL THE TRACKS FROM 0RO 4OOLS INDIVIDUALLY INTO A LARGE FORMAT EXTERNAL CONSOLE SUCH AS AN 33, OR .EVE 4OP 5+ RECORDING ENGINEER PRODUCER *OHN ,ECKIE SAYS THAT HE FINDS SUMMING MIXERS USEFUL WITH 0RO 4OOLS RIGS TO PROVIDE HANDS ON FADERS TO ALLOW THE GUYS IN THE BANDS HE WORKS WITH TO TAKE PART IN THE MIXING SESSIONS (E ALSO VALUES THE ADDITIONAL FACILITIES THAT SOME OF THESE UNITS PROVIDE 313
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&OR ANOTHER OPINION ABOUT THIS ) ASKED 'EORGE -ASSENBURG WHO IS ONE OF THE LEADING RECORDING ENGINEER PRODUCERS IN THE 5NITED 3TATES (E TOLD ME h4HE ORIGINAL $!7 MIX ALWAYS SOUNDS BEST TO ME -IXING IN THE BOX HAS MORE DETAIL AND IS LESS COLOUREDv
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&OR MORE INFORMATION AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT SUMMING MIXERS READ THE !PPENDIX 4HIS CONTAINS AN ARTICLE THAT ) WROTE FOR 0RO 3OUND .EWS %UROPE ALL ABOUT SUMMING MIXERS CALLED h3UMMING TO TALK ABOUTv
7.3 The Tools of the trade -IXING PRIMARILY INVOLVES ADJUSTING THE LEVELS OF THE VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS VOICES AND OTHER MIX hELEMENTSv SUCH AS SOUND EFFECTS THAT MAKE UP YOUR MIX "EYOND SIMPLE LEVEL CONTROL THERE ARE MANY OTHER PROCESSES THAT MAY BE INVOLVED IN CREATING A FINISHED MIX 0RO 4OOLS PROVIDES YOU WITH OR LETS YOU ACCESS ALL THE TOOLS OF THE TRADE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE EVEN THE MOST COMPLEX MIXES 4HESE hTOOLSv INCLUDE THE WIDE SELECTION OF SIGNAL PROCESSING PLUG INS SUPPLIED WITH YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEM THIRD PARTY PLUG INS THAT YOU CAN BUY AND ANY EXTERNAL HARDWARE EFFECTS THAT YOU HOOK UP TO YOUR SYSTEM
Level balancing )F YOU COME ACROSS OLDER BOOKS ABOUT SOUND STUDIOS OR IF YOU WORK FOR THE ""# YOU WILL HEAR THE TERM hBALANCINGv USED TO DESCRIBE WHAT MOST PEOPLE CALL hMIXINGv "ALANCING IS ACTUALLY A VERY GOOD WAY OF DESCRIBING THE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT YOU WILL DO WHEN YOU ARE MIXING A MULTITRACK RECORDING 4HIS IS TO DECIDE HOW LOUD OR SOFT THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS OF THE MIX SHOULD BE WHICH YOU DO BY BALANCING THE LEVEL OF EACH INSTRUMENT OR SOUND AGAINST THE OTHERS MOVING EACH UP OR DOWN IN LEVEL UNTIL THE MIX SOUNDS THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO
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4HE BALANCE IN LEVELS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS MIX ELEMENTS IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF MOST MIXES 'ET THIS RIGHT AND YOU ARE A LONG WAY ALONG THE PATH TOWARD A GREAT MIX
/NE DECISION TO MAKE IS WHETHER TO KEEP THE LEVEL BALANCES SIMILAR TO THOSE THAT YOU WOULD EXPECT TO HEAR IN A LIVE SITUATION OR WHETHER TO BALANCE THE 314
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INSTRUMENTS IN SUCH A WAY AS TO CREATE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES THAT WOULD NOT NORMALLY BE HEARD IN LIVE PLAYING SITUATIONS )F YOU WERE RECORDING A STRING QUARTET PLAYING CONVENTIONAL REPERTOIRE FOR EXAMPLE YOU WOULD RECORD THIS IN A SUITABLE ROOM IN A RECORDING STU DIO OR AT A LIVE VENUE IN STEREO TO CAPTURE THE OVERALL EFFECT POSSIBLY WITH INDIVIDUAL MICROPHONES ON EACH INSTRUMENT SO THAT THE BALANCE BETWEEN THESE COULD BE FINE TUNED AT THE MIXING SESSION ! JAZZ GROUP COULD BE RECORDED IN A SIMILAR WAY WITH THE AIM OF DELIVERING THE MOST REALISTIC hBELIEVABLEv SOUNDS TO THE LISTENER 4HE RECORDING ENGINEER WOULD AIM TO CAPTURE THE SOUND OF THE INSTRUMENTS ARRANGED AS THEY TYPICALLY WOULD BE ONSTAGE AND AS HEARD BY A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE LOCATED CENTRALLY IN THE LISTENING AREA 7ITH MANY GENRES OF POPULAR MUSIC ON THE OTHER HAND IT IS MORE LIKELY THAT YOU WILL CREATE BALANCES BETWEEN THE INSTRUMENTS THAT YOU WOULD NOT NOR MALLY HEAR WHEN THESE INSTRUMENTS PLAY TOGETHER IN A ROOM &OR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT HAVE THE DRUMS VERY LOUD IN THE MIX WITH A BRASS SECTION PLAYING RIFFS MUCH MORE QUIETLY IN THE BACKGROUND /R YOU MIGHT HAVE A QUIET ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENT SUCH AS THE UKELELE TURNED UP LOUD ENOUGH IN THE MIX TO BE HEARD PLAYING A SOLO ABOVE A FULL ELECTRIC BAND WITH KEYBOARDS GUITARS BASS DRUMS AND SO FORTH ALL PLAYING AT THE SAME TIME /R MAYBE YOU COULD HAVE SOME percussion instruments such as a triangle or tambourine playing at a very LOW LEVEL IN THE MIX n BUT JUST SUFFICIENTLY LOUD TO BE HEARD AND HAVE A USEFUL EFFECT
Panorama (Pan) positions 0OSITIONING THE MIX ELEMENTS WITHIN THE STEREO hPANORAMAv IS ANOTHER IMPOR TANT PART OF THE hARTv OF MIXING 0ANNING IS THE SUBJECT OF MUCH DEBATE AND ULTIMATELY COMES DOWN TO YOUR OWN CREATIVE CHOICES 4O CREATE A SATISFYING MIX YOUR GOAL SHOULD BE TO ARRANGE THE POSITIONS OF THE MIX ELEMENTS WITHIN THE STEREO SOUND FIELD SUCH THAT THEY WORK WELL TOGETHER WITHOUT OBSCURING EACH OTHER )T IS ALSO A GOOD IDEA TO AIM FOR SOME KIND OF SYMMETRY SO THAT YOU DONT END UP WITH LOTS MORE GOING ON TO THE RIGHT OR TO THE LEFT 9OU MIGHT PAN ONE PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT TO THE LEFT AND ANOTHER TO THE RIGHT FOR EXAMPLE OR YOU MIGHT HAVE AN ACOUSTIC PIANO ON THE LEFT WITH ORGAN OR
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)F YOU DONT HAVE ANOTHER INSTRUMENT IN THE ARRANGEMENT THAT YOU CAN USE TO CREATE BALANCE YOU MIGHT PAN A DELAYED VERSION OF ONE OF THE MIX ELEMENTS TO THE OTHER SIDE 4HIS CAN BE VERY EFFECTIVE WITH GUITAR OR PERCUSSION PARTS FOR INSTANCE
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ELECTRIC PIANO ON THE RIGHT /F COURSE THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN THE WAY THE MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT DEVELOPS MEANS THAT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE BUT IT IS GENERALLY A GOOD GOAL TO AIM FOR 3OME EARLY STEREO MIXES USED RADICAL PAN POSITIONS SUCH AS BASS AND DRUMS HARD LEFT KEYBOARDS AND GUITARS BRASS OR PERCUSSION HARD RIGHT AND VOCALS IN THE CENTER 4HIS WAS SOMETIMES DUE TO TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS IN THE EQUIPMENT USED /N OTHER OCCASIONS THIS WAS DONE AS A RESULT OF THE CREATIVE CHOICES MADE BY THE ENGINEERS AND PRODUCERS -IXING THIS WAY HAS THE ADVANTAGE OF LEAVING LOTS OF ROOM FOR THE VOCAL TO BE THE ABSOLUTE CENTER OF ATTENTION WITH THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS VERY MUCH IN A SUPPORTING ROLE WHICH IS IDEAL IF YOU HAVE A GREAT SINGER AND A GREAT SONG ) HAVE RECENTLY BEEN LISTENING TO SOME EARLY STEREO MIXES OF LATE hS POP SOUL SONGS n HIT RECORDS SUCH AS h'OINv /UT OF MY (EAD BY ,ITTLE !NTHONY AND 4HE )MPERIALS AND h(EY 'IRLv BY &REDDIE 3COTT WHICH TYPICALLY MIGHT HAVE THE RHYTHM SECTION PANNED HARD LEFT BACKING VOCALS BRASS AND STRINGS PANNED HARD RIGHT AND LEAD VOCALS IN THE CENTER 4HIS WAY OF MIXING HAD THE ADVANTAGE THAT THE LEAD VOCAL WAS EASY TO HEAR n LOUD AND CLEAR AND WITH NO COMPETITION FROM OTHER INSTRUMENTS OCCUPYING THIS CENTRAL SPACE 4HIS TECH NIQUE IS STILL OCCASIONALLY USED TODAY /NE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS A SONG CALLED h%MPTYv ON 2AY ,AMONTAGNES ALBUM Till the Sun Turns Black WHICH HAS DRUMS PANNED LEFT AND ACOUSTIC GUITAR PANNED RIGHT WITH THE VOCALS IN THE CENTER .EVERTHELESS IT IS MUCH MORE USUAL TODAY TO HAVE THE LEAD VOCAL THE BASS GUITAR AND THE BASS DRUM ALL DEAD CENTER WITH THE SNARE SOMETIMES CENTER OR MAYBE AS WITH THE HI HAT PANNED LEFT OR RIGHT AND WITH THE KIT OVER HEADS CAPTURING A NATURAL STEREO SPREAD OF ALL THE DRUMS INCLUDING THE CYM BALS 4ALKING ABOUT PANNING THE DRUMS YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER WHETHER TO PAN THESE THE WAY THE AUDIENCE WOULD HEAR THEM OR AS THE DRUMMER WOULD HEAR THEM 4HERE ARE ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF BOTH WAYS )F YOU PAN FROM THE AUDIENCE PERSPECTIVE THIS IS OFTEN WHAT THE AUDIENCE EXPECTS AND PROBABLY SOUNDS THE MOST NATURAL WHEREAS PANNING FROM THE DRUMMERS PERSPECTIVE LETS YOU LISTEN FROM THE DRUMMERS SEAT ONSTAGE 'UITARS MIGHT TYPICALLY BE PANNED HALF LEFT OR RIGHT WITH KEYBOARDS SPREAD A LITTLE FURTHER OUT n BUT DONT BE AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT HERE )T CAN SOMETIMES BE VERY EFFECTIVE TO USE AN AUTOPANNER OR 0RO 4OOLS AUTOMATION TO MOVE INSTRU MENTS AROUND AS THE MUSIC PLAYS n LIKE A WANDERING PERCUSSIONIST OR ACOUSTIC GUITARIST MIGHT DO ONSTAGE )T IS ALSO WORTH KEEPING IN MIND WHERE THE MIXES ARE GOING TO BE PLAYED )F YOU ARE AIMING THEM AT THE AUDIOPHILE WITH A GREAT STEREO SYSTEM LISTENING IN THE SWEET SPOT THEN YOU CAN MAKE GOOD USE OF EXTREMES OF PANNING /N THE OTHER HAND IF THE MIXES ARE INTENDED FOR A DANCE CLUB EVEN IF THIS HAS SOME 316
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KIND OF STEREO SPEAKER SYSTEM INSTALLED YOU CANT COUNT ON DANCERS BEING IN ANY KIND OF SWEET SPOT FOR TOO LONG n SO YOU SHOULD KEEP THE IMPORTANT RHYTH MIC ELEMENTS OF YOUR MIX MUCH CLOSER TO THE CENTER !LTHOUGH THE STEREO PANORAMA THAT YOU CAN CREATE USING JUST TWO SPEAKERS BASICALLY ALLOWS YOU TO MOVE MIX ELEMENTS ALONG A HORIZONTAL PLANE RUNNING FROM FAR LEFT TO FAR RIGHT IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO CREATE A SENSE OF DEPTH AND EVEN OF HEIGHT USING CAREFUL CHOICES OF DELAYS AND REVERBERATION ! WORD OF WARN ING HERE YOU DO NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT YOUR CHOICES OF PAN POSITIONING IF YOU ARE AIMING FOR GOOD MONO COMPATIBILITY )F YOU HAVE TWO GUITAR PARTS PLAYING IN SIMILAR FREQUENCY RANGES FOR EXAMPLE YOU CAN MAKE THESE CLEARLY AUDIBLE AS INDIVIDUAL PARTS IN A STEREO MIX BY PANNING THEM HARD LEFT AND HARD RIGHT 5NFORTUNATELY WHEN YOU LISTEN IN MONO IT WILL OFTEN BE MUCH MORE DIF FICULT TO DISTINGUISH ONE PART FROM THE OTHER AS THEY WILL BOTH BE HEARD PLAYING IN THE SAME PLACE &OREWARNED ABOUT THIS BY HAVING CHECKED IN MONO YOU CAN TRY OTHER WAYS OF DISTINGUISHING THE TWO PARTS PERHAPS BY %1 ING THE TWO PARTS DIFFERENTLY AND THEN NARROWING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTS IN THE STEREO MIX SO THAT THERE WILL BE LESS OF A DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU hCOLLAPSEv FROM STEREO TO MONO BEFORE CHECKING AGAIN IN MONO TO SEE HOW WELL THIS WORKS
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)F YOU WANT TO CREATE A MIX WITH GOOD MONO COMPATIBILITY YOU SHOULD REG ULARLY CHECK HOW THE MIX SOUNDS IN MONO AND ADJUST THE MIX ACCORDINGLY
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)F YOU PAN MIX ELEMENTS WHILE MONITORING IN MONO YOU MAY BE ABLE TO FIND AN OPTIMUM PAN POSITION FOR EACH ELEMENT IN WHICH IT SOUNDS MORE AUDIBLE WHEN SUMMED TO MONO
/F COURSE IF YOU ARE WORKING IN SURROUND YOU WILL HAVE MANY MORE CHOICES WHEN IT COMES TO PANNING DEGREES AROUND THE LISTENING POSITION AND ALL POINTS WITHIN 4HIS IS WHY SURROUND MIXES CAN SOUND MUCH MORE NATURAL BECAUSE IT IS MUCH EASIER TO ACHIEVE SEPARATION BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT INSTRU MENTS IN THE MIX %VEN WITH STEREO MANY INTERESTING SPATIAL EFFECTS CAN BE ACHIEVED USING PANNING TECHNIQUES &OR EXAMPLE !UDIO %ASE HTTPWWWAUDIOEASECOm OFFERS A PLUG IN CALLED /RBIT THAT ) CAN RECOMMEND VERY HIGHLY 317
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Panning synthesized and sampled sounds "Y DEFAULT MOST SYNTHESIZER AND SAMPLER SOUNDS ARE SET UP TO WORK IN STEREO PANNED HARD LEFT AND HARD RIGHT /NE THING TO WATCH OUT FOR IS THE TRAP OF INCLUDING THESE SYNTHESIZER PARTS IN STEREO IN YOUR MIX n TYPICALLY WITH THE DRY SOUND PANNED HARD LEFT AND A CHORUSED VERSION PANNED HARD RIGHT ALTHOUGH SOMETIMES THE SECOND CHANNEL CONTAINS SYNTHESIZED SOUND COMPONENTS AS WELL 9OU SHOULD ALMOST ALWAYS REDUCE THE WIDTH OF THE PANNING AND PLACE THESE SOUNDS MORE APPROPRIATELY WITHIN YOUR MIX "ETTER STILL JUST USE THE ORIG INAL SYNTHESIZED OR SAMPLED SOUND IN MONO OR STEREO WITHOUT ITS REVERB OR OTHER EFFECTS SO THAT YOU CAN POSITION THIS EXACTLY AS YOU WISH IN YOUR MIX AND APPLY THE HIGHER QUALITY REVERB AND OTHER EFFECTS THAT YOU HAVE AVAILABLE IN 0RO 4OOLS 9OUR GOAL SHOULD BE TO FIND PAN POSITIONS FOR THE SYNTHESIZED INSTRU MENTS THAT WORK IN THE CONTEXT OF YOUR MIX AND THE SOUND DESIGNERS WHO SET THESE SOUNDS UP FOR YOUR SYNTHESIZER OR SAMPLER COULD NOT HAVE PANNED THESE SUITABLY EXCEPT BY LUCKY ACCIDENT 3O DONT GO WITH THE DEFAULTS n PAN THE SYN THESIZERS CAREFULLY YOURSELF
Pan laws 0RO 4OOLS IN COMMON WITH $IGITAL 0ERFORMER AND SOME HARDWARE MIXER DESIGNS USES A n D" hPAN LAWv 4HIS COMPENSATES FOR THE D" BOOST THAT HAPPENS WHEN PANNING SOUNDS FROM THE EXTREMES TO THE CENTER POSITION HELPING TO KEEP THE LEVEL OF THE PANNED ELEMENTS ABOUT THE SAME AS THEY ARE MOVED FROM THE EXTREMES TO THE CENTER POSITION 4HESE SOUNDS WILL BE D" LOUDER IN THE CENTER POSITION ACCORDING TO THE n D" PAN LAW 4HIS HELPS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE FACT THAT WHEN MOVED TO THE CENTER THESE SOUNDS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE MASKED BY THE MANY OTHER SOUNDS THAT ARE LIKELY TO BE POSI TIONED IN THE CENTER
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$IFFERENT PAN LAW SETTINGS SUCH AS n n OR n D" ARE AVAILABLE IN SOME OTHER $!7 AND HARDWARE MIXER DESIGNS
Using compressors to smooth out level changes /NCE YOU HAVE PANNED YOUR MIX ELEMENTS AND ACHIEVED A ROUGH BALANCE YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO THE WHOLE PIECE OF MUSIC FROM BEGINNING TO END )F YOU notice that any of your tracks are uneven in level throughout the piece, you CAN ALWAYS USE THE VOLUME AUTOMATION IN 0RO 4OOLS TO SMOOTH OUT THESE LEVEL CHANGES /F COURSE THIS CAN BECOME A VERY TIME CONSUMING TASK IF THE SINGER GUITAR IST BASS PLAYER OR WHOEVER IS NOT EXPERIENCED ENOUGH TO SING OR PLAY VERY 318
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EVENLY SO THAT THEIR LEVELS ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING THROUGHOUT THE PIECE 9OU CAN OFTEN GET QUICKER RESULTS BY USING COMPRESSION TO SMOOTH OUT THE LEVEL changes, then setting the overall level for the track using a combination of the MAKEUP GAIN IN THE COMPRESSOR AND THE FADER LEVEL IN THE MIX *UST TO REMIND YOU HERE A COMPRESSOR REDUCES THE HIGHEST PEAKS IN THE AUDIO MAKING THE SOUND MORE EVEN 7HEN THE PEAKS HAVE BEEN REDUCED YOU CAN THEN RAISE THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF THE AUDIO WITHOUT THE PEAKS EXCEEDING THE MAXIMUM LEVEL THAT THE SYSTEM CAN HANDLE WITHOUT DISTORTION
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9OU MAY NOT NEED TO USE COMPRESSION ON THE BASS GUITAR DRUMS OR OTHER INSTRUMENTS IF YOU ARE RECORDING EXPERIENCED STUDIO MUSICIANS ) HAVE OFTEN BEEN AMAZED AT HOW EVENLY THE TOP STUDIO MUSICIANS HERE IN ,ONDON ARE ABLE TO PLAY n WITH WONDERFUL CONTROL OVER THE DYNAMIC LEVELS THAT THEY ARE PRODUCING FROM THEIR INSTRUMENTS
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#OMPRESSION SHOULD ALWAYS BE APPLIED CAREFULLY IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO TAKE AWAY THE NATURAL hOPENNESSv OF A RECORDING WHEN YOU APPLY TOO MUCH COMPRESSION n hSQUEEZINGv THE hLIFEv OUT OF THE SOUND !LSO WHEN YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE COMPRESSION SETTINGS THAT YOU THINK ARE WORKING FOR YOU BE SURE TO COMPARE THE SOUND WITHOUT THE COMPRESSION AGAIN TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE REALLY HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS
Using the gain plug-in to smooth out level changes !NOTHER WAY TO SMOOTH OUT UNWANTED LEVEL CHANGES IS TO SELECT ANY AUDIO THAT IS TOO LOUD AND APPLY A GAIN CHANGE USING THE !UDIO3UITE 'AIN PLUG IN 4HIS WAY YOU AVOID ALL THE UNWANTED SIDE EFFECTS OF COMPRESSION SUCH AS THE hBREATHINGv EFFECT THAT YOU SOMETIMES HEAR WHEN THE COMPRESSOR KICKS IN AND THEN RELEASES )T IS VERY EASY TO DO THIS FOR JUST ONE OR TWO NOTES OR SOUNDS THAT ARE TOO LOUD AND THIS CAN BE A USEFUL TECHNIQUE TO USE IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR SMOOTHING OUT THE LEVELS
De-essing !NOTHER PROBLEM THAT OFTEN BECOMES APPARENT DURING A MIX SESSION IS SIBILANCE ON THE VOCALS THAT BECOMES EVEN MORE NOTICEABLE WHEN YOU RAISE THE LEVEL AND MAYBE BOOST THE MID AND UPPER FREQUENCIES USING %1 TO MAKE THE WORDS EAS IER TO HEAR )N THIS CASE IT IS JUST THE SO CALLED hSIBILANT F REQUENCIESv n HIGHER
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FREQUENCIES THAT ARE PROMINENT IN THE SYLLABLES hSv AND hFv n THAT NEED TO BE COMPRESSED BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO LOUD 4HE TRICK HERE IS TO USE A hDE ESSERv 4HIS IS A COMPRESSOR DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO ALLEVIATE PROBLEMS WITH 3S AND OTHER SIBILANT SOUNDS BY APPLYING FAST ACTING COMPRESSION JUST TO THE SIBILANT FREQUENCIES 3UCH A DEVICE USES %1 FILTERS IN A hSIDE CHAINv TO ISOLATE THE SIBILANT FREQUENCIES SO THAT THE COMPRESSOR WILL ONLY AFFECT THE LEVELS OF THE PROBLEMATIC FREQUENCIES LEAVING THE REST UNALTERED
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!S WHEN APPLYING LEVEL CHANGES TO BALANCE OVERALL TRACK VOLUME LEVELS IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO APPLY INDIVIDUAL GAIN CHANGES JUST TO THE SUNG NOTES THAT ARE SUFFERING FROM SIBILANCE PROBLEMS !LSO AGAIN YOU CAN APPLY THESE CHANGES IN REAL TIME USING 0RO 4OOLS VOLUME AUTOMATION OR AS AN hOFF LINEv PROCESS USING THE !UDIO3UITE 'AIN PLUG IN )F THERE ARE JUST A FEW SIBILANT NOTES THAT NEED ADJUSTING OR IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF PATIENCE THIS CAN BE A MORE EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE TO USE THAN USING A DE ESSER WHICH IS A MORE AUTOMATIC PROCESS THAT DOES NOT PAY SUCH DETAILED INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION TO EACH SIBILANT NOTE
Creating dynamics within the mix /FTEN YOU WILL REALIZE THAT SOME OF THE MIX ELEMENTS OUGHT TO GET SOFTER OR LOUDER DURING THE MIX TO CREATE AND MAINTAIN INTEREST &OR INSTANCE IF YOU HAVE A SOLO INSTRUMENT IN THE MIX SUCH AS A GUITAR PLAYER WHO IMPROVISES THROUGHOUT THE PIECE YOU COULD TURN THIS UP LOUDER WHEREVER NOTHING MUCH ELSE IS HAPPENING DURING THE MUSIC AND MAKE IT QUIETER WHENEVER THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER MIX ELEMENTS VYING FOR THE LISTENERS ATTENTION !LSO SOME OF THE CONSTANT MIX ELEMENTS COULD BE MUTED IN PARTICULAR SECTIONS SO THAT THEY MAKE THE SECTIONS WHERE THEY CAN BE HEARD STAND OUT BETTER 3O FOR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT RECORD A GUITAR OR KEYBOARD PLAYING A RHYTHMIC FIGURE
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$ONT HESITATE TO RECORD OR ADD NEW MATERIAL DURING THE MIX SESSION IF YOU FEEL THAT SOMETHING IS MISSING MUSICALLY FROM THE ARRANGEMENT 7HEN THE SINGER IS NOT SINGING FOR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT WANT A GUITAR OR SAX TO PLAY A SOLO THAT WAS NOT THOUGHT OF DURING THE TRACK LAYING SESSIONS BUT YOU NOW REALIZE THAT THIS WOULD BE THE hICING ON THE CAKEv TO COMPLETE THE RECORDING
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THROUGHOUT THE PIECE THEN TRY MUTING THIS IN THE VERSES n JUST USING IT IN THE CHORUSES
Frequency balancing 9OU CAN BALANCE THE FREQUENCIES IN A RECORDING EITHER BY THE CHOICES THAT ARE MADE IN THE MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT OR USING THE TOOLS AVAILABLE IN THE RECORDING EQUIPMENT THAT YOU ARE USING
Musically (AVING DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS PLAY IN DIFFERENT FREQUENCY RANGES IE IN DIFFER ENT OCTAVES USUALLY HELPS TO MAKE A MORE SATISFYING SOUND THAN IF SEVERAL ARE PLAYING IN THE SAME RANGE WHERE THEY MAY CLASH WITH EACH OTHER 4HIS CHOICE OF WHICH INSTRUMENT PLAYS WHERE AND WHEN MAY BE MADE BY THE MUSICIANS OR BANDLEADER OR IT MAY FALL TO THE SONGWRITER COMPOSER ARRANGER OR PRODUCER 9OU SHOULD ALWAYS AIM TO CREATE A GOOD FREQUENCY BALANCE IN THE MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT WHICH IS WHY IT CAN REALLY HELP TO EMPLOY THE SERVICES OF A GOOD MUSICAL ARRANGER TO WORK ON YOUR MUSIC PRODUCTION IF YOU DO NOT ALREADY HAVE SOMEONE WITH THESE SKILLS INVOLVED
Technically 9OU CAN ALSO USE %1 TO ADJUST THE FREQUENCY BALANCE OF ANY OF YOUR MIX ELE MENTS SO THAT YOU CREATE A MORE BALANCED RANGE OF FREQUENCIES WITHIN YOUR MIX &OR INSTANCE ELECTRIC OR ACOUSTIC GUITARS CAN HAVE QUITE A LOT OF LOW FREQUENCY CONTENT THAT CAN INTERFERE WITH THE BASS GUITAR OR OTHER LOW FREQUENCY INSTRUMENTS &ILTERING OUT THE LOWER FREQUENCIES OR REDUCING THE LEVEL OF THE LOW FREQUENCY CONTENT CAN MAKE THE GUITAR PARTS BLEND INTO THE MIX MUCH BETTER &OR EXAMPLE ) WANTED TO BLEND IN A RECORDING OF A -ARTIN ($ ACOUSTIC GUI TAR WITH A MIX THAT ALSO CONTAINED BASS GUITAR DRUMS ELECTRIC GUITAR TENOR BANJO MANDOLIN BANJO VIBES PERCUSSION AND VOCALS ) USED THE FOLLOWING %1 SETTINGS ON THE -ARTIN GUITAR TO ACHIEVE THE RESULT ) WAS SEEKING 3UBTRACTING D" AT Z TOOK SOME OF THE hMUDDINESSv AWAY FROM THE BOTTOM END ALLOWING THE BASS GUITAR AND BASS DRUM TO BE HEARD WITH LESS INTERFERENCE FROM THE ACOUSTIC GUITARS LOW FREQUENCIES !DDING D" AT (Z GAVE THE GUITAR MORE hBODYv OR hFULLNESS v HELPING THE SUSTAINING CHORDS TO ACT AS A hPADv SOUND !DDING D" AT K(Z hBRIGHTENED UPv THE CHORDS IN THE MID RANGE MAKING THE TONAL DETAIL AND THE PICK STROKES MUCH EASIER TO HEAR !DDING D" AT K(Z LET THE GUITAR hCUT THROUGHv THE MIX WITH MUCH MORE CLARITY
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2EMEMBER THAT THIS IS JUST AN EXAMPLE /THER THAN BY COINCIDENCE THESE SETTINGS ARE NOT GOING TO WORK FOR YOU BECAUSE THE GUITAR WILL BE DIFFERENT THE PLAYER AND PICK WILL BE DIFFERENT THE MICROPHONE AND PREAMPLIFIER WILL PROB ABLY BE DIFFERENT THE ROOM WILL BE DIFFERENT THE OTHER INSTRUMENTS IN THE MIX WILL BE DIFFERENT AND SO FORTH 3O YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN SET TINGS BY TRIAL AND ERROR n ALTHOUGH YOU COULD ALWAYS TRY THE ABOVE SETTINGS AS A STARTING POINT AND YOU JUST MIGHT GET LUCKY /NE WAY TO LOOK AT %1 IS TO REGARD THE BOOSTCUT CONTROLS FOR THE VARIOUS FREQUENCY BANDS SIMPLY AS VOLUME CONTROLS FOR THOSE BANDS n WHICH IS ESSEN TIALLY WHAT THEY ARE 7HEN YOU THINK OF %1 THIS WAY IT IS EASY TO SEE THAT LOWERING THE VOLUME OF PARTICULAR FREQUENCY BANDS ALLOWS THOSE THAT ARE NOT CUT TO STAND OUT MORE PROMINENTLY 3O INSTEAD OF BOOSTING THE MIDRANGE YOU COULD SIMPLY CUT THE HIGHS AND LOWS AND THE MIDRANGE WILL BE EMPHASIZED #ONVERSELY IF YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE HIGHS AND LOWS YOU CAN CUT THE MIDRANGE 4HIS APPROACH ALSO HELPS TO AVOID CAUSING CLIPPING WHICH CAN HAP PEN WHEN YOU RAISE LEVELS
Reverb 2EVERBERATION OCCURS NATURALLY IN ROOMS HALLS AND MOST OTHER ACOUSTIC SPACES AND IS COMPOSED OF MYRIADS OF REFLECTED SOUNDS BOUNCING AROUND THE ACOUS TIC SPACE REFLECTED BY WALLS FLOORS CEILINGS AND ANY OTHER HARD REFLECTIVE SUR FACES SUCH AS GLASS WINDOWS OR SCREENS WITHIN THE SPACE 3OUND IS ABSORBED BY SOFT FURNISHINGS CURTAINS CARPETS HUMAN BODIES AND SO FORTH SO IN REAL ROOMS THE REVERBERATION WILL CHANGE ACCORDING TO HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE PRESENT AND EVEN WHETHER THE CURTAINS ARE DRAWN OR NOT (ARDER SURFACES REFLECT SOUND AND IF THERE ARE MANY SMALL SURFACES THAT REFLECT THE SOUND IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS THESE WILL MAKE THE REVERBERANT SOUNDS MORE DIFFUSE 4O MAKE A SMALL ROOM SOUND LARGER THAN IT IS IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO USE SPECIAL DIFFUSERS )N CLASSICAL ORCHESTRAL AND SOME JAZZ AND OTHER RECORDINGS THE GOAL IS TO CAPTURE THE NATURAL REVERBERATION OF THE ROOM ALONG WITH THE SOUND OF THE INSTRUMENTS 3O CALLED hAMBIENCEv MICROPHONES CAN BE PLACED WHEREVER IS APPROPRIATE IN THE ROOM TO CAPTURE THIS SOUND AND BLEND IT IN WITH THE MIX !RTIFICIAL REVERBERATION IS OFTEN ADDED TO RECORDINGS TO ENHANCE THE NATURAL REVERBERATION THAT ALREADY EXISTS OR TO CREATE REVERBERATION AROUND DIRECTLY
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/N A VOCAL YOU MIGHT USE A LONG PREDELAY SETTING WITH THE REVERB SO THAT THE WORDS RETAIN LOTS OF PUNCH AND AUDIBILITY WHILE GAPS BETWEEN WORDS ARE ENHANCED BY THE SOUND OF THE REVERB KICKING IN
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INJECTED ELECTRIC OR ELECTRONIC INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS GUITARS OR ELECTRIC PIANOS OR AROUND SYNTHESIZED OR SAMPLED SOUNDS -Y FIRST CHOICE OF REVERB FOR 0RO 4OOLS\($ SYSTEMS HAS TO BE !LTIVERB FROM !UDIO %ASE 4HIS IS A CONVOLUTION REVERB THAT HAS THE LARGEST SET OF HIGH QUALITY IMPULSE RESPONSES TAKEN FROM MANY OF THE WORLDS FINEST ROOMS HALLS CHAM BERS STUDIOS AND SO FORTH GIVING YOU ACCESS TO SOME OF THE BEST ACOUSTIC SPACES FROM AROUND THE WORLD ) ALWAYS USE THIS AS MY PRIMARY REVERB ) HAVE COMPARED ALL THE OTHER REVERB PLUG INS FOR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS AND !LTIVERB IS WAY AHEAD OF EVERYTHING ELSE )T WAS THE FIRST CONVOLUTION REVERB AVAILABLE FOR 0RO 4OOLS SYSTEMS AND HAS REACHED A STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT NONE OF ITS COMPETITORS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MATCH
Delay effects $ELAYS CAN BE USED TO PRODUCE OBVIOUS EFFECTS SUCH AS ECHOES PLUS MANY OTHER EFFECTS &OR EXAMPLE YOU CAN CREATE A STEREO IMAGE FROM A MONO SOUND SOURCE USING A SHORT DELAY AND SET THE WIDTH OF THIS IMAGE BY PANNING THE DELAYED SOUND AWAY FROM THE SOURCE SOUND TO CREATE THE REQUIRED DISTANCE BETWEEN THEM )F THE DELAY IS SHORT ENOUGH THE TWO SOUNDS WILL BE HEARD AS ONE SOUND WITH A WIDER IMAGE THAN THE ORIGINAL SOURCE /NE OF MY FAVORITE DELAY EFFECTS FOR 0RO 4OOLS IS THE ,INE %CHO &ARM PLUG IN THAT SIMULATES CLASSIC DELAY UNITS SUCH AS THE -AESTRO %CHOPLEX n GREAT FOR GUI TARS KEYBOARDS TRUMPET AND OTHER INSTRUMENTS &OR LEAD VOCALS ) RECOMMEND 3OUND 4OYS %CHO "OY 4HIS GIVES YOU A WARM HIGH END TAPE ECHO SIMULATION MODELED AFTER THE !MPEX !42 AND EMU LATES DIFFERENT ECHO STYLES INCLUDING THE 2OLAND 3PACE %CHO AND POPULAR EFFECTS hPEDALSv SUCH AS THE -EMORY -AN AND THE $- /NE THING TO WATCH OUT FOR HERE IS THAT IF THE MIX IS SUMMED TO MONO FOR PLAYBACK ON AN OLD RADIO OR 46 OR WHATEVER THE IMAGE WIDENING EFFECT OF COURSE DISAP PEARS 3O IF YOU HAVE BEEN RELYING ON HAVING PARTICULAR INSTRUMENTS WIDELY PANNED TO PREVENT THEM FROM OBSCURING OTHER ELEMENTS WITHIN THE MIX THEN WHEN YOU SUM TO MONO YOUR MIX MAY SUFFER BADLY AS A RESULT 4O COUNTERACT THIS TENDENCY MAKE SURE THAT YOU DONT PAN THE MIX ELEMENTS TOO WIDELY /BVIOUSLY THE CLOSER YOU PAN MIX ELEMENTS TO THE CENTER THE BETTER THE TRANSFER TO MONO WILL BE
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9OU SHOULD NEVER BE AFRAID TO GET RID OF THINGS THAT CLASH IN THE MIX n RECORDING OR ADDING NEW MATERIAL INSTEAD IF NECESSARY !LSO ULTIMATELY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER A COMPLETE RERECORDING OF THE MUSIC WITH A NEW ARRANGEMENT IF THE MIX JUST WONT SEEM TO WORK AT ALL
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
Noise reduction 3OMETIMES WHEN YOU BRING THE LEVEL OF A PARTICULAR TRACK UP AS LOUD AS YOU WANT IT TO BE IN YOUR MIX YOU WILL HEAR SOME BACKGROUND HISS FROM A GUITAR AMPLIFIER FOR EXAMPLE THAT YOU DEFINITELY DONT WANT TO HEAR 4HIS IS WHERE YOU MIGHT WANT TO USE NOISE REDUCTION SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE TO GET RID OF THE HISS OR OTHER NOISES ) OFTEN RECORD A 7URLITZER ELECTRIC PIANO THAT HAS A VERY NOISY PREAMPLI FIER 4HIS PRODUCES LOTS OF HISS AND CYCLES MAINS HUM THAT CAN OFTEN BE VERY INTRUSIVE ESPECIALLY ON QUIET PASSAGES SO ) OFTEN FIND MYSELF DENOIS ING 7URLITZER TRACKS ) PERSONALLY RECOMMEND THE 3ONIC .O.OISE DENOIS ING 4$- PLUG INS THAT ARE DISTRIBUTED BY $IGIDESIGN FOR USE WITH 04\($ SYSTEMS
Noise gates and expanders !N EXPANDER EXPANDS DYNAMIC RANGE RATHER THAN COMPRESSING IT SO EXPANDERS CAN BE USED TO REDUCE SIGNAL LEVELS WHEN THE INPUT SIGNAL FALLS BELOW THE SELECTED THRESHOLD n MAKING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOFTEST AND LOUDEST SIGNALS GREATER 4HIS IS CALLED hDOWNWARD EXPANSIONv AND IS JUST WHAT YOU NEED TO PREVENT ANY LOW LEVEL NOISE THAT OCCURS BETWEEN hWANTEDv AUDIO WITH LEVELS ABOVE THE THRESH OLD FROM BEING HEARD 4HIS IS WHY AN EXPANDER CAN BE USED AS A SO CALLED hNOISE GATEv 7HEN THE INPUT SIGNAL FALLS BELOW THE THRESHOLD THE EXPANDER MAKES THE QUIET SOUNDS SO QUIET THAT THEY CANNOT BE HEARD THAT IS THE GATE CLOSES 7HEN THE AUDIO INPUT SIGNAL RISES ABOVE THE THRESHOLD AGAIN THE GATE OPENS
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%XPANDERS CAN ALSO BE USED TO INCREASE LOW SIGNAL LEVELS WHEN THE INPUT SIGNAL FALLS BELOW A SELECTED THRESHOLD 4HIS IS KNOWN AS hUPWARD EXPAN SIONv AND CAN BE USED TO BRING OUT QUIETER DETAILS IN A TRACK WITHOUT INCREASING THE SIGNAL LEVELS OF THE OTHER LOUDER PARTS
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) FIND MYSELF HARDLY EVER USING NOISE GATES WITHIN 0RO 4OOLS BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY TO DEFINE A hSILENCEv THRESHOLD AND STRIP OUT ANY AUDIO THAT FALLS BELOW THIS THRESHOLD $OING IT THIS WAY AVOIDS ANY POSSIBILITY OF FALSE TRIG GERING WHERE AN UNWANTED SOUND JUST ABOVE THE THRESHOLD OPENS THE GATE /F COURSE YOU STILL HAVE TO LISTEN AND CHECK CAREFULLY TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU HAVE DEFINED AS SILENCE HAS STRIPPED OUT EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO REMOVE CORRECTLY
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Pitch and time correction and manipulation )F THE VOCALS OR ANY INSTRUMENT THAT IS PLAYING SINGLE NOTES AS OPPOSED TO DOUBLE NOTES OR CHORDS ARE OUT OF TUNE THERE ARE LOTS OF SOFTWARE TOOLS AVAILABLE TO CORRECT THESE 3OUND 4OYS OFFERS THE FAIRLY BASIC BUT USEABLE 0ITCH $OCTOR PLUG IN WHICH OFFERS BOTH AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL PITCH CORREC TION !UTO 4UNE IS THE BEST KNOWN PITCH CORRECTION SOFTWARE FOR 0RO 4OOLS 4HIS HAS AN AUTOMATIC CORRECTION MODE THAT IS VERY EASY TO USE AND A MAN UAL GRAPHICAL MODE THAT IS MORE ADVANCED COMPARED FOR EXAMPLE WITH 0ITCH $OCTOR !UTO 4UNE ITSELF IS NOW BEING RIVALED BY -ELODYNE WHICH HAS A MORE COMPRE HENSIVE FEATURE SET THAN !UTO 4UNE AND CAN HANDLE MULTIPLE TRACKS OF AUDIO -ELODYNES NEW $IRECT .OTE !CCESS TECHNOLOGY WILL EVEN ALLOW YOU TO ACCESS INDIVIDUAL NOTES IN CHORDS AND POLYPHONIC AUDIO n LETTING YOU SEE THEM GRAB THEM AND EDIT THEM
(ARMONY PROCESSING 4HERE ARE SEVERAL PLUG INS AVAILABLE FROM 3OUND 4OYS 4# %LECTRONIC AND OTH ERS THAT WILL LET YOU CREATE HARMONIES FROM A SINGLE VOICE ) CAN PARTICULARLY RECOMMEND THE !NTARES (ARMONY %NGINE 4HIS LETS YOU PRODUCE VERY REALISTIC HARMONIES n YOU CAN EVEN VARY THE hTHROAT LENGTHv n AND CAN ALSO PRODUCE STUNNING ARTIFICIAL EFFECTS 4HIS IS PART OF !NTARES !6/8 6OCAL 4OOLKIT WHICH INCLUDES VOCAL PROCESSORS THAT WILL LET YOU CREATE JUST ABOUT ANY EFFECT YOU COULD WISH FOR FROM YOUR VOCAL TRACKS 4# %LECTRONIC OFFERS ITS (ELICON VOICE PROCESSOR WHICH INCORPORATES COMPRES SION %1 VOICE MODELING AND HARMONY PROCESSING PLUS EFFECTS LIKE CHORUS DELAY AND REVERB )TS VOICE MODELING TECHNIQUES ALLOW CHANGES TO BE MADE TO VIBRATOS OR TO GLOTTAL ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS BREATHINESS RASP OR GROWL AND CHANGES TO FORMANTS WARPING OR GENDER BENDING THAT CAN MAKE A MALE VOICE SOUND FEMALE ,IKE THE !NTARES PLUG IN (ELICONS HARMONY PROCESSING ALSO ALLOWS MULTIPLE HARMONIES TO BE CREATED WITH PITCH SHIFTS TO CREATE CHORAL EFFECTS 4HE ORIGINAL %VENTIDE (ARMONIZER IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A 4$- PLUG IN 4HIS LETS YOU CREATE A DELAYED AND PITCH SHIFTED COPY OF THE INPUT SIGNAL SO YOU CAN hBROADENv THE SOUND OF INSTRUMENTS SUCH AS THE &ENDER 2HODES USING SMALL AMOUNTS OF PITCH SHIFTING AND SHORT DELAYS OR CREATE MORE RADICAL EFFECTS USING GREATER PITCH SHIFTS AND TIME DELAYS THAT WILL BE HEARD AS SEPARATE HARMONIES TO THE ORIGINAL 3O WHETHER YOU NEED TO CORRECT OR CHANGE THE PITCH OF SOUNDS OR WHETHER YOU ARE MORE INTERESTED IN CREATING SPECIAL EFFECTS 0RO 4OOLS EITHER PROVIDES OR LETS YOU ACCESS A WIDE RANGE OF TOOLS THAT YOU CAN USE
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
"ASIC PITCH SHIFTING 0RO 4OOLS DOES PROVIDE A PAIR OF $IGI2ACK PLUG INS 0ITCH 3HIFT AND 4IME 3HIFT WHICH LET WILL YOU SELECT AN AUDIO FILE OR REGION AND CHANGE ITS PITCH OR ITS LENGTH OR CHANGE THE TEMPO &OR EXAMPLE THE GUITARIST MIGHT HAVE PLAYED JUST ONE WRONG NOTE SAY A SEMITONE LOWER THAN THE CORRECT NOTE 5SING A PITCH SHIFTER YOU CAN SELECT JUST THIS ONE NOTE AND MOVE IT TO THE CORRECT PITCH WITH OUT HAVING TO TROUBLE THE GUITARIST TO COME BACK AND CORRECT THIS OR MAYBE THE MANDOLIN PLAYER PLAYED AN EXTRA NOTE IN BETWEEN TWO IMPORTANT MELODY NOTES AND YOU HAVE EDITED OUT THE UNWANTED NOTE BUT THE FIRST NOTE NOW DOESNT SUSTAIN AS LONG AS IT OUGHT TO *UST SELECT THE SUSTAIN PORTION OF THIS NOTE AND TIME STRETCH IT TO FILL THE GAP FROM WHICH THE UNWANTED NOTE WAS REMOVED &OR SMALL SHIFTS OF JUST A FEW SEMITONES OR BEATS PER MINUTE THE STANDARD $IGI2ACK NONREAL TIME !UDIO3UITE PLUG INS WORK WELL ENOUGH &OR LARGER SHIFTS YOU WILL GET BETTER RESULTS WITH THIRD PARTY PLUG INS SUCH AS 3ERATOS 0ITCH hNv 4IME 0ITCH hNv 4IME LETS YOU ALTER PITCH AND TEMPO GRAPHICALLY OR NUMERICALLY AND HAS A 6ARISPEED -ODE WHERE ALTERING THE TEMPO ALSO ALTERS THE PITCH $IGIDESIGN CURRENTLY OFFERS THE HIGHEST QUALITY PITCH AND TIME SHIFTING ALGO RITHMS IN ITS 8 &ORM PLUG IN WHICH LETS YOU ALTER AUDIO FILES BY EVEN LARGER PERCENTAGES WITH EVEN FEWER UNDESIRABLE ARTIFACTS
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0RO 4OOLS ($ ALSO INCLUDES A REAL TIME 4$- PLUG IN CALLED 0ITCH WHICH CAN BE VERY USEFUL FOR CREATING SPECIAL EFFECTS
Other effects 4HERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU WILL WANT TO USE EFFECTS SUCH AS VOCODERS OR OTHER UNUSUAL EFFECTS PROCESSORS SUCH AS THE !PHEX !URAL %XCITER AND "IG "OTTOM ALL OF WHICH ARE AVAILABLE AS 0RO 4OOLS PLUG INS )N CASE YOU WERE WONDERING THE !URAL %XCITER PROCESSES AUDIO TO RECREATE AND RESTORE MISSING HARMONICS TO REVIVE THE NATURAL BRIGHTNESS CLARITY PRESENCE AND INTELLIGIBILITY OF AN ORIGINAL PERFORMANCE OR TO ENHANCE THE SOUND OF ANY RECORDED AUDIO "IG "OTTOM LETS YOU CREATE STRONGER MORE POWERFUL BASS SOUNDS WITH MORE BASS DENSITY AND SUSTAIN USING A DYNAMIC %1ING PROCESS /R YOU MIGHT LIKE TO WORK WITH A MULTIEFFECTS PROCESSOR WHICH AS THE NAME SUGGESTS INCLUDE LOTS OF DIFFERENT EFFECTS %ARLY EXAMPLES OF THESE WOULD INCLUDE 9AMAHAS 308 AND %VENTIDES ( WHICH INCLUDED REVERBS DELAYS TREMOLO CHORUS FLANGE AND SO FORTH 4HE %VENTIDE ( &ACTORY MULTIEFFECTS PROCESSOR ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PLUG IN FEATURES THE MOST COMPRE HENSIVE SET OF MODULATION EFFECTS THAT ) HAVE COME ACROSS /NE OF THE MOST 326
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USEFUL MULTIEFFECTS PROCESSORS THAT ) HAVE SEEN ALSO COMES FROM %VENTIDE THE 5LTRA #HANNEL INCORPORATES THREE DYNAMICS PROCESSORS AND A BAND PARAMET RIC %1 ALONG WITH 3TEREO $ELAYS AND -ICRO 0ITCH 3HIFT 3OUND 4OYS 0HASE -ISTRESS AND &ILTER &REAK PLUG INS PROVIDE TEMPO SYNCHRO NIZED MODULATION EFFECTS WITH LOTS OF GREAT PRESETS FOR RESPECTIVELY PHASE AND FILTER EFFECTS -Y FAVORITE MULTIEFFECTS PROCESSOR HAS TO BE 3OUND 4OYS #RYSTALLIZER !S IT SAYS ON THE 7EB SITE h)NSPIRED BY THE #RYSTAL %CHOES PRESET IN THE %VENTIDE ( #RYSTALLIZER COMBINES GRANULAR REVERSE ECHO SLICING AND RETRO PITCH PROCESSING TO CREATE A HUGE RANGE OF RADICAL SONIC MANIPULATIONS AND CLASSICS WITH A TWIST 5SE IT TO CREATE SYNTH LIKE TEXTURES FROM SIMPLE ACOUSTIC GUITAR RHYTHMS LUSH DETUNED ECHOES OR COMPLETELY PSYCHEDELIC PITCH SHIFTED REVERSE ECHO EFFECTS 'REAT FOR DRUMS GUITAR BASS SOUND DESIGN ELECTRONIC MUSIC AND JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE n #RYSTALLIZER IS A TRULY UNIQUE AND CREATIVE EFFECTS PROCESSORv !ND THESE ARE NOT IDLE CLAIMS n #RYSTALLIZER REALLY IS EXCELLENT
Reamping and amplifier simulators )F YOU HAVE THE EQUIPMENT AVAILABLE AND HAVE THE TIME AND ENERGY FOR THIS YOU CAN ALWAYS ROUTE YOUR GUITAR OR ANY OTHER TRACK OUT FROM YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE INTO A REAL GUITAR AMPLIFIER IN YOUR STUDIO PUT A MICROPHONE IN FRONT OF ITS LOUDSPEAKER CABINET AND RECORD THIS BACK INTO 0RO 4OOLS 4HIS IS CALLED hREAMPINGv FOR OBVIOUS REASONS 9OU CAN EVEN hGO NUTSv AND HIRE IN LOTS OF vTASTYv VINTAGE GEAR FOR THE SESSION WHICH COSTS A LOT LESS THAN OWNING ALL THE GEAR "UT THIS CAN STILL BE AN EXPENSIVE BUSINESS BOTH IN THE STUDIO TIME NEEDED AND THE COSTS OF HIRING IN THE GEAR 0LUG INS SUCH AS ,INE h!MP &ARMv SIMULATE AMPLIFIERS AND LOUDSPEAKER CABINETS VERY EFFECTIVELY AND HAVE LOTS OF PRESETS COVERING MOST POPULAR COMBINATIONS n AND WONT COST YOU A FORTUNE -ORE ADVANCED PLUG INS SUCH AS )+ -ULTIMEDIA h!MPLITUBEv OR .ATIVE )NSTRUMENTS h'UITAR 2IGv ALSO SIMULATE MICROPHONES BOARDS FULL OF FOOT OPERATED EFFECTS AND EVEN RACKS FULL OF STUDIO EFFECTS 4# %LECTRONIC OFFERS ITS 3OFTUBE 6INTAGE !MP 2OOM WHICH FAITHFULLY RECREATES JUST THREE GREAT GUITAR AMPS IN A COMPLETE STUDIO SET UP WITH SPEAKER CABINETS AND FULLY FLEXIBLE MICROPHONE POSITIONING 6INTAGE !MP 2OOM HAS NO EXTRA GADGETS OR WEIRD SOUNDING PRESETS n IT JUST ACCURATELY SIMULATES CLASSIC &ENDER -ARSHALL AND 6OX SETUPS 4HE LATEST hKID ON THE BLOCKv IS $IGIDESIGNS OWN REAMPING TOOL CALLED h%LEVENv 4HIS IS AVAILABLE AS A 4$- 24!3 !UDIO3UITE VERSION FOR ($ !CCEL SYSTEMS OR AS AN 24!3 AND !UDIO3UITE VERSION FOR ,% SYSTEMS %LEVEN HAS A GREAT SELECTION OF &ENDER 6OX -ARSHALL 3OLDANO AND -ESA "OOGIE AMP MOD ELS PLUS CONVOLUTION BASED SPEAKER COMBINATIONS AND MIC MODELING
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
!LL THESE PLUG INS ARE GREAT FOR REAMPING ELECTRIC GUITARS BASSES OR KEYBOARDS SO THAT YOU CAN CHANGE THE SOUND OF THESE DURING YOUR MIX SESSION 9OU CAN SIMPLY DIRECT INJECT YOUR ELECTRIC INSTRUMENTS INTO 0RO 4OOLS WHILE RECORDING THEN BUILD THE SOUND YOU WANT FOR YOUR MIX AT YOUR LEISURE LATER
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9OU CAN ALWAYS CHANGE THE SOUND OF AN INSTRUMENT THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED THROUGH AN AMPLIFIER OR EFFECTS BUT IT WORKS BEST IF YOU HAVE RECORDED A RELATIVELY CLEAN SOUND WITH MINIMAL EFFECTS IF YOU WANT TO GET THE BEST RESULTS WHEN REAMPING AND ADDING NEW EFFECTS )T IS ALWAYS BETTER IF THE GUITAR PLAYER PLAYS THROUGH THE AMP THAT WILL BE USED FOR THE TRACK SO THAT HE OR SHE CAN RESPOND AS A PLAYER TO THE SOUND OF THE AMP )F IT IS A CLEAN SOUND THE PLAYER WILL USUALLY ADJUST HIS OR HER PLAYING ACCORDING TO THE SOUNDS HE OR SHE IS HEARING FROM THE AMP 7ITH A DISTORTED SOUND THE PLAYER USUALLY PLAYS DIFFERENTLY n MAYBE HITTING MORE HARMONICS WITH THE PICK OR HOLDING THE NOTES LONGER BECAUSE THEY SUSTAIN LONGER WITH THE DISTORTED SOUND ON THE AMP !LSO THE WAY THE PLAYER DIGS INTO THE STRINGS WITH THE PICK HAS A BIG EFFECT ON THE WAY THE AMP RESPONDS )F THE PLAYER USES THUMB OR FINGERS THE SOUND CHANGES AGAIN WITH THE AMP RESPONDING DIFFER ENTLY TO THE WAY THE STRINGS ARE DRIVING THE INPUT
0ETERSON 3TROBO3TOMP 0EDAL )F THE GUITARIST IS USING AN AMP ON THE SESSION YOU CAN ALWAYS SET UP YOUR MICROPHONES AND RECORD THIS AS USUAL WHILE ALSO RECORDING A $) FEED INTO ANOTHER 0RO 4OOLS TRACK TO ALLOW YOU MORE FLEXIBILITY TO REAMP THE SOUND LATER 4HERE ARE LOTS OF $) BOXES AVAILABLE THAT HAVE TWO OUTPUTS ONE TO FEED TO THE RECORDER AND ONE TO FEED TO A GUITAR AMPLIFIER &OR EXAMPLE ) USE A 0ETERSON 3TROBO3TOMP ACTIVE $) THAT INCORPORATES A HANDY STROBE TUNER AS WELL The StroboStomp, available from HTTPWWWPETERSONTUNERSCOm HAS A RUGGED 0$4 4HREE 0OLE $OUBLE 4HROW SWITCH STOMP SWITCH THAT TOTALLY BYPASSES THE ELECTRONICS WHICH ALLOWS THE PLAYER TO MUTE BOTH REGULAR AND $) OUTPUTS TO ALLOW SILENT TUNING 4HE TUNER OFFERS EXTREMELY HIGH CENT ACCURACY ALONG WITH DROP AND CAPO TUNING TRANSPOSITIONS AND OPEN STRING "UZZ &EITEN SETTINGS FOR GUITAR BASS AND STRING
StroboSoft tuner 0ETERSON ALSO OFFERS TUNER SOFTWARE CALLED 3TROBO3OFT FOR -AC AND 0# 4HIS IS A STAND ALONE APPLICATION SO TO USE IT IN 0RO 4OOLS YOU NEED TO INSTALL A SOFTWARE PLUG IN CALLED S,).+ THAT LETS 3TROBO3OFT ACCESS AUDIO FROM YOUR $!7 4HE 328
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S,).+ PLUG IN IS SUPPLIED IN !UDIO 5NITS AND 634 FORMATS BUT CAN BE USED WITH 0RO 4OOLS IF YOU USE A 634 6IRTUAL 3TUDIO 4ECHNOLOGY TO 24!3 !DAPTOR SUCH AS the one available from HTTPWWWFXPANSIONCOm 3TROBO3OFT IS SIMPLE TO USE IN ITS CHROMATIC TUNE MODE AND ALSO HAS AN EXCLUSIVE INSTRUMENT MODE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO DEFINE YOUR INSTRUMENT TO 3TROBO3OFT AND STORE THOSE SETTINGS IN PRESETS TO BE QUICKLY RECALLED AT ANY TIME
Figure 7.16 StroboSoft TUNER PLUG IN
4O USE 3TROBO3OFT WITH 0RO 4OOLS INSERT THE S,).+ PLUG IN ON AN !UDIO TRACK AND ENABLE THE 4RACK )NPUT MONITOR BUTTON SO THAT THE INPUT TO THE TRACK WILL BE ROUTED THROUGH THE S,).+ PLUG IN INTO THE 3TROBO3OFT APPLICATION THEN PLACE THE 3TROBO3OFT APPLICATION IN FRONT OF YOUR 0RO 4OOLS WINDOWS WHILE YOU TUNE YOUR INSTRUMENT
Figure 7.17 StroboSoft S,).+ INSERTED ON AN !UDIO TRACK WITH )NPUT MONITORING ENABLED AND RECORD ENABLED
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
4HE -ILLENNIA 4$ 4WIN $IRECT 2ECORDING #HANNEL -ILLENNIA -USIC -EDIA 3YSTEMS MAKES AN EXTREMELY VERSATILE MIC PRE$) BOX THE 4$ 4WIN $IRECT 2ECORDING #HANNEL THAT HAS LOTS OF SPECIAL FEA TURES TO FACILITATE REAMPING 4HIS BOX INCLUDES -ILLENNIAS HIGHLY RATED (6 MIC PRE ALONG WITH %1 )NSTRUMENT $) AND h3PEAKER 3OAK v AND 2EAMPING FEATURES 4HE 3PEAKER 3OAK INPUT ALLOWS A GUITAR OR BASS PLAYER TO RUN A GUITAR OR BASS AMPLIFIERS POWER OUTPUT DIRECTLY INTO THE 4$ TO CAPTURE ALL THE CHARACTER OF THE POWER AMPLIFIER UNDER COMPLEX LOUDSPEAKER LOADING 4HE (6 SOLID STATE MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIER IS REGARDED AS A WORLD CLASS STANDARD FOR RECORDING ACOUSTIC MUSIC AND COMPARES VERY FAVORABLY WITH OTHER HIGH QUALITY MICROPHONE PREAMPLIFIERS FROM '-, ,ABS AND 'RACE $ESIGN 4HE 4$ OFFERS 4WIN 4OPOLOGY SELECTABLE TUBE AND SOLID STATE )NSTRUMENT INPUT STAGES THAT CAN BE SWITCHED BETWEEN A CIRCUIT THAT USES A !4 VAC UUM TUBE AND A COMPLETELY SEPARATE CIRCUIT THAT USES DISCRETE *UNCTION &IELD %FFECT 4RANSISTOR TRANSISTORS 4HE USER MAY SELECT LOW MEDIUM OR HIGH INPUT IMPEDANCE WITH EITHER OF THESE CIRCUIT TOPOLOGIES 4HE v JACK )NSTRUMENT INPUT ON THE FRONT PANEL WILL ACCEPT VIRTUALLY ANY $) INPUT SIGNAL FROM VERY LOW OUTPUT SOURCES UP TO HIGH OUTPUT SOURCES OF GREATER THAN VOLTS 2-3 AND THE 4$ HAS TWO BANDS OF PARAMETRIC %1 THAT ARE IDEAL FOR USE WITH INSTRU MENTS SUCH AS GUITAR BASS OR KEYBOARDS
Speaker Soak using the TD-1 4HE 4$ S )NSTRUMENT INPUT WILL ALSO ACCEPT A DIRECT FEED FROM A POWER AMPLI FIER SUCH AS THE OUTPUT FROM A GUITAR COMBO AMPLIFIERS SPEAKER FEED ! h$) 3PEAKER 3OAKv INPUT SWITCH IS PROVIDED ON THE FRONT PANEL TO SWITCH BETWEEN THESE TWO INPUT TYPES )N 3PEAKER 3OAK CONFIGURATION YOU CAN TAKE A PARALLEL FEED FROM YOUR GUITAR AMPLIFIERS POWER AMPLIFIER OR FROM THE SPEAKER CABINET AND ROUTE THIS DIRECTLY INTO THE 4$ 4HE POWER AMPLIFIER ALSO FEEDS THE SPEAK ERS IN THE NORMAL WAY SO THE OUTPUT BEHAVES EXACTLY AS YOU WOULD EXPECT )F YOU REALLY WANT FLEXIBILITY IN YOUR CHOICE OF SOUNDS YOU CAN ALSO RECORD THE SOUND FROM THE SPEAKERS AT THE SAME TIME ALTHOUGH YOU WILL NEED ANOTHER MIC PRE AND A SUITABLE MICROPHONE OR MULTIPLE MICROPHONES AND PREAM PLIFIERS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO hGET FANCYv ) OFTEN RECORD MY &ENDER "ASSMAN SPEAKERS IN STEREO USING A PAIR OF "EYER -- MICROPHONES IN A MID SIDE STEREO CONFIGURATION FOR EXAMPLE OR YOU MIGHT USE A 3HURE 3- CLOSE TO THE SPEAKER CABINET AND AN !%! 2 OR A 2OYER RIBBON MICROPHONE FURTHER AWAY FROM THE SPEAKER CABINET 4HE COMBINATION OF THE 3PEAKER 3OAK SIGNAL WITH ONE OR MORE MICROPHONE SIGNALS CAN PRODUCE VERY BIG GUITAR OR BASS SOUNDS
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Reamping using the TD-1 4HE 4$ ALSO HAS A PIN 8,2 INPUT ON THE FRONT PANEL THAT WILL ACCEPT ANY BALANCED OR UNBALANCED LINE LEVEL SIGNAL 4HIS INPUT USES A DISCRETE HYBRID SOLID STATE AMPLIFIER TOPOLOGY WITH FIXED HIGH INPUT IMPEDANCE 9OU CAN FEED A LINE LEVEL OUTPUT OF A GUITAR OR BASS RECORDING FROM 0RO 4OOLS STRAIGHT INTO THIS INPUT AND ROUTE THIS OUT FROM THE 4$ INTO A GUITAR OR BASS AMPLIFIER FOR REAMPING /N THE REAR PANEL OF THE 4$ THERE ARE TWO v JACK OUTPUTS LABELED 2%!-0 AND 2%!-0 )) 2%!-0 ) EMULATES THE OUTPUT CHARACTERISTICS OF A SINGLE COIL 3TRATOCASTER TYPE PICKUP WHILE 2%!-0 )) EMULATES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A DUAL COIL ,ES 0AUL TYPE PICKUP 4HE OUTPUT IMPEDANCE FROM A TYPICAL HARD DISC RECORDER AUDIO INTERFACE SUCH AS THE 0RO 4OOLS )/ IS ABOUT TIMES LOWER THAN THE OUTPUT IMPEDANCE OF TYPICAL PASSIVE ELECTRIC GUITAR PICKUPS 3O IF YOU CONNECT THE OUTPUT FROM SUCH A SOURCE DIRECTLY TO A GUITAR AMPLI FIER INPUT THE SOUND WILL BE VERY DIFFERENT n TYPICALLY SOUNDING TOO CLEAN n AND A LINE LEVEL OUTPUT IS NOT DESIGNED TO BE CONNECTED TO AN INSTRUMENT LEVEL INPUT EITHER 4HE 4$ REAMPING CIRCUITRY PROVIDES BOTH IMPEDANCE AND LEVEL MATCHING AND SUCCESSFULLY MIMICS THE TWO MOST POPULAR TYPES OF ELECTRIC GUI TAR PICKUPS NEATLY SOLVING THIS PROBLEM 4HE 2%!-0 )) OUTPUT ALSO WORKS WELL WITH BASS GUITARS /BVIOUSLY YOU WILL NEED ANOTHER $) OR MICROPHONEMIC PRE COMBINATION TO RERECORD THE REAMPED SOUND FROM THE AMPLIFIERSPEAKER COMBINATION THAT YOU ARE USING AND ANOTHER 4$ WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE HERE SO THAT YOU COULD USE ITS 3PEAKER 3OAK FEATURE 9OU COULD ALSO USE A STEREO MIC PRE AND A PAIR OF SUITABLE MICROPHONES AS WELL TO ALLOW FOR EVEN MORE CREA TIVE OPTIONS
Figure 7.18 The -ILLENNIA 4$ 4WIN $IRECT 2ECORDING #HANNEL
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Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
7.4 Working on your mix session )T CAN BE A GOOD IDEA TO LET SOME TIME PASS BETWEEN YOUR ORIGINAL TRACK LAYING SESSIONS AND THE MIX SESSION 7HEN YOU COME BACK TO IT WITH hFRESH EARS v YOU MAY HEAR THINGS FROM NEW PERSPECTIVES THAT CAN LEAD YOU TO MAKING A MUCH MORE INTERESTING MIX THAN YOU HAD AT FIRST IMAGINED "UT IT CAN GO THE OTHER WAY AS WELL YOU SOMETIMES GET THE BEST MIX BY BUILD ING EVERYTHING UP WHILE YOU ARE RECORDING MAKING EDITS OR ADDING EFFECTS AS YOU GO ALONG THEN TWEAKING AND BALANCING EVERYTHING TO MAKE THE FINAL MIX AS SOON AFTER THE RECORDING PHASE IS FINISHED AS YOU ARE READY
Housework /NE OF THE FIRST THINGS YOU WILL PROBABLY DO AT THE START OF A 0RO 4OOLS MIXING SESSION IS TO LISTEN THROUGH TO THE TRACKS TO SEE WHATS THERE n ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE MIXING MUSIC FOR A CLIENT THAT YOU HAVE NOT HEARD BEFORE OR IF IT IS SOME THING YOU ARE COMING BACK TO FROM SOME TIME AGO 4HIS IS A GOOD TIME TO BE DOING SOME hHOUSEWORKv 9OU COULD START BY MAK ING SURE THAT YOU HAVE A SEPARATE BACKUP COPY BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING SO THAT IF YOU MESS UP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN QUICKLY GET BACK TO THE ORIGINAL FILES 4HEN YOU SHOULD DELETE ANYTHING THAT YOU ARE CERTAIN THAT YOU WILL NOT NEED n SECURE IN THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS RESTORE THE SESSION FROM YOUR BACKUPS IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE 4HERE MIGHT BE LOTS OF -USICAL )NSTRUMENT $IGITAL )NTERFACE -)$) TRACKS THAT HAVE SINCE BEEN REPLACED BY REAL INSTRUMENTS OR VICE VERSA )T IS ALSO QUITE LIKELY THAT THERE MIGHT BE SEVERAL hTAKESv OF THE LEAD VOCAL OR OF A GUITAR OR SAX SOLO THAT MAY NEED TO BE hCOMPEDv TO MAKE ONE OR MORE COMPOSITE TRACKS CON TAINING THE BEST PHRASES 4HERE MIGHT BE VARIOUS LAYERS OF TRACKED UP BACKING VOCALS RHYTHM GUITARS OR BRASS PARTS THAT COULD BE MIXED DOWN TO STEREO TO FORM MORE MANAGEABLE SUBGROUPS OR STEMS 4HERE ARE PROBABLY LOTS OF UNUSED REGIONS THAT YOU COULD EASILY GET RID OF TO MAKE IT EASIER TO SEE THE ONES YOU DO WANT ALTHOUGH YOU WILL NEED TO TAKE CARE BEFORE DELETING ANY WHOLE REGIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT REGIONS WITHIN THESE ARE NOT NEEDED ANYWHERE IN THE SESSION !GAIN IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE YOU HAVE YOUR BAKUPS
Track ordering 9OU WILL PROBABLY WANT TO ESTABLISH THE ORDER OF THE TRACKS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS -IX AND %DIT WINDOWS THE WAY YOU PREFER THIS TO BE ) ALWAYS HAVE ANY -ASTER TRACKS AT THE RIGHT OF THE MIXER WITH A CLICK AT THE FAR LEFT DRUMS NEXT TO THIS FOLLOWED BY BASS KEYBOARDS GUITARS ANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS THEN VOCALS 332
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) KNOW OTHER PEOPLE WHO WOULD REVERSE THIS ORDER 4HE MAIN IDEA HERE IS TO HAVE SOME KIND OF LOGICAL ORDERING OF THE TRACKS THAT MAKES IT EASIER AND QUICKER FOR YOU TO WORK WITH THESE )T CAN ALSO BE HELPFUL TO NAME SOME OR EVEN ALL OF THE REGIONS TAKES OR TRACKS MORE APPROPRIATELY n ESPECIALLY IF THIS WILL MAKE THINGS EASIER AND MORE EFFICIENT FOR YOU WHEN YOU GET TO THE CREATIVE PART OF THE MIXING SESSION $ONT forget that you can easily save alternative versions of any Pro Tools session if YOU WANT TO KEEP OLDER VERSIONS IN CASE YOU NEED TO REVERT TO THESE
Removing unwanted sounds )T IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE NOTE OF AND THEN MUTE OR DELETE ANY ODD NOISES OR SOUNDS CLICKS OR POPS MICROPHONE STAND RUMBLE PEOPLE TALKING IN THE BACKGROUND IT HAPPENS EXCESSIVE BLEED BETWEEN MICROPHONES OR ANY SOUNDS THAT YOU DONT WANT TO APPEAR INADVERTENTLY IN YOUR MIXES 9OU MAY HAVE TO SOLO TRACKS ONE AT A TIME TO FIND THESE UNWANTED SOUNDS BUT THIS IS NOT REALLY TOO MUCH TIME WASTED AS LONG AS THERE IS NOT TOO MUCH OF THIS STUFF GOING ON IF YOU VIEW IT AS A USEFUL PART OF THE PROCESS OF FAMILIARIZATION THAT MOST PEOPLE NEED TO GO THROUGH BEFORE GETTING CREATIVE WITH THE MIX BECAUSE YOU GET TO HEAR WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING ON THE TRACKS THAT YOU SOLO .OISE GATES CAN BE USED TO REDUCE OR REMOVE BLEED OR OTHER UNWANTED SOUNDS IN BETWEEN WANTED SOUNDS BUT 0RO 4OOLS LIKE OTHER $!7S ALSO MAKES IT EASY TO CUT OUT OR MUTE REGIONS WHERE NO MUSIC IS PLAYING 4HERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DO THIS STARTING WITH THE MOST OBVIOUS WHICH WOULD BE TO SELECT THE UNWANTED REGION AND USE THE #UT COMMAND #OMMAND 8 ON -AC #ONTROL 8 ON 7INDOWS )F YOU WANT TO REMOVE EVERYTHING BETWEEN SAY A SERIES OF WOOD BLOCK OR CLAVE HITS YOU CAN USE THE 3EPARATE 2EGION AT 4RANSIENTS COMMAND AVAILABLE FROM THE %DIT -ENU WHICH WOULD BE A LOT FASTER THAN INDIVIDUALLY SELECTING AND DELETING THE REGIONS BETWEEN EACH OF THESE HITS /R YOU COULD INSERT A NOISE GATE PLUG IN ONTO THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO CLEAN UP AND USE DYNAMICS PROCESSING INSTEAD WHICH WOULD BE THE ANALOG ENGINEERS WAY OF DOING THINGS
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3OMETIMES IT IS BETTER TO LEAVE SOME OR EVEN ALL OF THE INCIDENTAL NOISES IN THE RECORDING IT CAN SOUND MORE NATURAL OR REAL THAT WAY AND THIS CAN ADD TO THE APPEAL OF THE MUSIC 2ECORDINGS MADE WITH ALL THE TRACKS TIGHTLY GATED OR WITH EVERYTHING CUT OUT OF THE TRACKS APART FROM THE FEA TURED VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL PHRASES CAN SOUND TOO hPROCESSEDv FOR SOME PEOPLE n ME INCLUDED )TS A BIT LIKE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WHOLESOME HOMEMADE BURGER AND THE -AC$UCK VARIETY
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Sorting the Tempos )T IS POSSIBLE THAT A CLIENT WILL BRING YOU A SESSION TO MIX THAT HAS NO TEMPO SET !LTHOUGH YOU CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND MIX WITHOUT ANY REFERENCE TO TEMPO OR BARS AND BEATS IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE A TEMPO FOR THE MUSIC OR A TEMPO MAP IF THE TEMPO CHANGES 4HIS WAY YOU CAN USE 'RID -ODE WHEN EVER YOU WOULD LIKE TO AND YOU CAN EASILY MAKE EDITS AT OBVIOUS PLACES SUCH AS THE BEGINNING OR END OF A PARTICULAR BAR OR BEAT 3O IT IS WORTH SPENDING SOME TIME WITH THE )DENTIFY "EAT COMMAND OR USING "EAT $ETECTIVE TO CREATE A TEMPO OR TEMPO MAP BEFORE YOU START MIXING
Marking the sections -ARKERS THAT SAY WHERE THE VERSE CHORUS MIDDLE OR WHATEVER SECTIONS START CAN BE INVALUABLE TIMESAVERS ON ANY MIX SESSION )F THERE ARE NO MARKERS TO DEFINE THE VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE MUSIC OR SONG THEN YOU SHOULD CREATE A SUITABLE SET OF MARKERS AT THE OUTSET OF YOUR MIX SESSION
Grouping tracks 9OU WILL NEED TO GROUP TRACKS TOGETHER FOR ALL SORTS OF REASONS DURING YOUR MIX SESSION -AYBE YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE FADER LEVELS OF ALL THE PERCUSSION TRACKS AT THE SAME TIME FOR EXAMPLE OR MAYBE YOU WANT TO APPLY A DELAY EFFECT TO ALL THE BACKING VOCALS 4HE MOST BASIC WAY OF GROUPING TRACKS TOGETHER SO THAT WHEN YOU MOVE ONE FADER ALL THE FADERS IN THE GROUP MOVE IS TO USE THE BASIC 4RACK 'ROUP FEATURE WHERE YOU SELECT TWO OR MORE TRACKS THAT YOU WANT TO GROUP IN THIS WAY AND PRESS #OMMAND ' -AC OR #ONTROL ' 7INDOWS 4HE NEXT STEP UP FROM THIS IS TO CREATE A SUBGROUP BY ROUTING THE OUTPUTS OF A GROUP OF !UDIO TRACKS TO THE INPUT OF AN !UXILIARY )NPUT CHANNEL SO THAT YOU CAN USE THAT CHANNELS FADER TO CONTROL THE LEVEL OF THE SUBGROUP "OTH OF THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE THEIR USES AND YOU WILL FIND MANY APPLICATIONS FOR THESE DURING YOUR MIXING SESSIONS
6#! 'ROUPS )F YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED MIXING ENGINEER WHO IS NEW TO 0RO 4OOLS YOU WILL PROBABLY KNOW ALL ABOUT 6#! 'ROUPS AND WILL BE PLEASED TO KNOW THAT THESE ARE AVAILABLE IN 0RO 4OOLS )F NOT YOU ARE PROBABLY WONDERING JUST WHAT A 6#! 'ROUP IS "RIEFLY 6#! 'ROUPS WERE ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED FOR ANALOG MIX ING CONSOLES AS A WAY OF CONTROLLING A GROUP OF FADERS USING A SPECIAL CONTROL FADER 0RO 4OOLS 6#! -ASTER &ADERS EMULATE THE BEHAVIOR OF THESE
#ONVENTIONAL 6#! 'ROUPS 4O UNDERSTAND 6#! 'ROUPS A LITTLE MORE THOROUGHLY YOU NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT HOW THESE WERE DEVELOPED &IRST 6#! IS THE ACRONYM FOR A 6OLTAGE #ONTROLLED !MPLIFIER -IXING CONSOLE DESIGNERS REALIZED THAT THEY 334
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COULD INCLUDE A SET OF FADERS ON AN ANALOG CONSOLE THAT COULD BE USED TO SEND VOLTAGES TO THE AMPLIFIERS IN SELECTED AUDIO CHANNELS SO THAT ONE OF THESE 6#! -ASTER &ADERS WOULD CONTROL THE AUDIO LEVELS FOR A GROUP OF MIXER CHANNELS ! GROUP OF MIXER CHANNELS BEING CONTROLLED IN THIS WAY BY A SINGLE 6#! -ASTER &ADER IS THEN REFERRED TO AS A 6#! 'ROUP .O AUDIO PASSES DIRECTLY THROUGH THE 6#! -ASTER &ADER THIS IS ONLY USED TO SET THE LEVEL OF THE $# CONTROL VOLT AGE THAT IS SENT TO CONTROL THE LEVELS OF THE FADERS IN THE GROUP 5SING JUST ONE SINGLE 6#! -ASTER &ADER TO CONTROL A NUMBER OF MIXER CHANNEL FADERS IS MUCH MORE EFFICIENT THAN CREATING A STEREO SUBGROUP USING A STEREO !UX CHANNEL WITH THE INDIVIDUAL MIXER CHANNEL OUTPUTS ROUTED TO THIS ! 6#! -ASTER IS MUCH EASIER AND CHEAPER TO IMPLEMENT THAN AN AUDIO CHANNEL BECAUSE IT ONLY HAS ONE FADER THAT SETS A VOLTAGE LEVEL AND SOME ROUTING AND SWITCHING CIR CUITRY n IT HAS NO RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE AMPLIFIER OR SIGNAL PROCESSING CIRCUITRY 7HEN YOU LOWER THE 6#! -ASTER &ADER YOU ARE EFFECTIVELY LOWERING THE MIXER CHANNEL FADERS IN THE GROUP THAT YOU ARE CONTROLLING 4HIS BRINGS THE ADVAN TAGE THAT ANY POSTFADER AUXILIARY 3END FEEDS ARE LOWERED IN TURN SO THE WET DRY BALANCE OF ANY EFFECTS THAT YOU ARE APPLYING TO THESE MIXER CHANNELS STAYS THE SAME 4HIS IS NORMALLY WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN AND IS NOT THE CASE WHEN YOU HAVE CREATED A SUBGROUP BY ROUTING MIXER CHANNEL OUTPUTS TO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT CHANNEL AND YOU USE THAT CHANNELS FADER TO LOWER THE LEVEL OF THE SUBGROUP
6#! -ASTER 4RACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS !S THE 0RO 4OOLS 2EFERENCE 'UIDE EXPLAINS 6#! -ASTER TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS EMULATE THE OPERATION OF VOLTAGE CONTROLLED AMPLIFIER CHANNELS ON ANALOG CON SOLES WHERE A 6#! CHANNEL FADER WOULD BE USED TO CONTROL GROUP OR OFFSET THE SIGNAL LEVELS OF OTHER CHANNELS ON THE CONSOLE 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IN 0RO 4OOLS IS THAT YOU GROUP A SELECTION OF TRACKS INTO A -IX GROUP AND THEN ASSIGN THIS 'ROUP TO A 6#! -ASTER TRACK 4HIS LETS YOU CONTROL THE OUTPUT LEVELS OF ALL THE 6#! GROUPS MEMBER TRACKS WITHOUT THE NEED TO BUS THEM TO AN !UXILIARY )NPUT TRACK OR TO THE SAME OUTPUT PATH 9OU CAN CREATE MULTIPLE NESTED 6#! GROUPS AND CONTROL THE OUTPUT LEVELS OF MULTIPLE SUBMIXES AT THE SAME TIME n AND YOU CAN CONVENIENTLY AUTOMATE A SUBMIX BY AUTOMATING ITS 6#! -ASTER TRACK !LSO A MAJOR ADVANTAGE OF USING 6#! -ASTER TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS IS THAT THEY DONT USE UP ANY OF YOUR PRECIOUS MIXER $30 RESOURCES "ECAUSE THEY DONT PASS AUDIO 6#! -ASTER TRACKS DONT HAVE INPUTS OUT PUTS INSERTS OR SENDS n BUT THEY DO HAVE A FADER ALONG WITH 3OLO -UTE 4RACK 2ECORD %NABLE AND 4RACK )NPUT -ONITOR BUTTONS 4HEY ALSO HAVE TWO POP UP SELECTORS n ONE FOR !UTOMATION AND ONE FOR 'ROUP !SSIGNMENT n TO LET YOU SELECT WHICH 'ROUP OF hSLAVEv TRACKS TO CONTROL .OTE THAT ON 6#! -ASTER TRACKS THE LEVEL METERS INDICATE THE HIGHEST LEVEL THAT HAS OCCURRED ON ANY OF ITS INDIVIDUAL TRACKS NOT THE SUMMED LEVEL OF ALL ITS SLAVE TRACKS
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Figure 7.19 3AX 'ROUP CONTROLLED BY A 6#!
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9OU CAN USE A SINGLE 6#! -ASTER TO CONTROL A SELECTION OF MIXER CHANNELS THAT ARE ROUTED TO DIFFERENT OUTPUTS WHICH YOU CANNOT DO BY CREATING SUB GROUPS USING !UXILIARY )NPUTS
+EEP IN MIND THAT UNLIKE 6#!S ON TRADITIONAL ANALOG CONSOLES 6#! -ASTER TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS DIRECTLY AFFECT THEIR SLAVE TRACKS SO THAT THE CONTROLS ON EACH SLAVE TRACK ALWAYS SHOW THEIR ACTUAL VALUES )N OTHER WORDS WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SLAVE TRACKS IS WHAT YOUVE GOT 4HE LEVELS OF THE FADERS SHOW THE ACTUAL LEVELS AS AFFECTED BY THE 6#! -ASTER %VEN IF A PARTICULAR SLAVE TRACK IS A MEM BER OF MORE THAN ONE 6#! CONTROLLED GROUP THE CONTRIBUTION OF ALL THE 6#! -ASTER 6OLUME FADERS IS SUMMED ON THE SLAVE TRACK "ECAUSE THE SLAVE TRACKS ARE GROUPED TOGETHER FIRST USING THE STANDARD 0RO 4OOLS 'ROUP COMMAND YOU WOULD EXPECT THAT CLICKING AN INDIVIDUAL -UTE OR 3OLO WOULD MUTE OR SOLO ALL THE 'ROUP TRACKS (OWEVER WHEN CONTROLLED BY
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A 6#! -ASTER THESE SLAVE TRACKS OPERATE INDIVIDUALLY SO CLICKING ON JUST ONE SLAVE TRACKS -UTE OR 3OLO BUTTON WILL ONLY AFFECT THAT TRACK
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9OU CAN OVERRIDE THIS BEHAVIOR AND MAKE THESE CONTROLS WORK AS THEY NOR MALLY WOULD BY DESELECTING THE h3TANDARD 6#! ,OGIC FOR 'ROUP !TTRIBUTESv OPTION IN THE -IXING SECTION OF THE 0RO 4OOLS PREFERENCES WINDOW !LSO THE SOLO MUTE RECORD ENABLE AND 4RACK )NPUT STATUS ON EACH SLAVE TRACK WILL CORRESPOND WITH HOW THESE CONTROLS HAVE BEEN SET ON THE 6#! -ASTER 3O FOR EXAMPLE WHEN YOU CLICK -UTE ON THE 6#! -ASTER THE INDIVIDUAL -UTE BUTTONS BECOME ENGAGED ON ALL SLAVE TRACKS BUT IN A PARTIALLY hGRAYED OUTv CONDITION VISUALLY AND YOU WILL HEAR NO SOUND 3LAVE TRACKS ARE SAID TO BE hIMPLICITLY MUTEDv WHEN YOU MUTE THE CONTROLLING 6#! -ASTER BECAUSE YOU ARE INTENDING OR IMPLYING THAT YOU WANT TO MUTE THESE SLAVE TRACKS )F ANY OF THE INDIVIDUAL SLAVE TRACKS WERE MUTED BEFORE YOU PRESS THE -UTE ON THE 6#! -ASTER THESE WILL REMAIN MUTED AND RETAIN THEIR NORMAL VISUAL APPEARANCE 4O SEE HOW THIS LOOKS TAKE A PEEK AT THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT
Figure 7.20 3AX WAS MUTED WITHIN THE SAX GROUP 4HEN THE 6#! WAS MUTED 4HE SCREENSHOT SHOWS THE APPEARANCE OF ALL THE MUTE BUTTONS 4HE MUTE BUTTON FOR 3AX HAS A DIFFERENT APPEARANCE TO INDICATE THAT IT IS MUTED ONLY AS A CONSEQUENCE OF MUTING THE 6#! -ASTER AND WILL NOT BE MUTED WHEN THE 6#! -ASTER IS UNMUTED
7HEN YOU CLICK 3OLO ON THE 6#! -ASTER THIS BUTTON WILL LIGHT UP YELLOW AND YOU WILL HEAR ALL ITS SLAVE TRACKS IN SOLO n BUT THE INDIVIDUAL SLAVE TRACK 3OLO BUT TONS WILL NOT LIGHT UP YELLOW 4HE WAY THIS WORKS IS THAT SOLOING A 6#! -ASTER WILL IMPLICITLY MUTE ALL TRACKS EXCEPT ITS SLAVE TRACKS THEREBY INDIRECTLY SOLOING 337
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THE SLAVE TRACKS !LSO ANY EXPLICIT SOLOS ON THE SLAVE TRACKS WILL BE CLEARED LEAVING THEM INDIRECTLY SOLOED AND EXPLICITLY SOLOING A SLAVE TRACK WHILE ITS 6#! -ASTER TRACK IS SOLOED WILL OVERRIDE THE 6#! -ASTER SOLO
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4HE WAY THAT THE 2ECORD ENABLE AND 4RACK )NPUT ENABLE BUTTONS WORK ON THE 6#! -ASTER IS AS FOLLOWS YOU CAN TOGGLE 2ECORD %NABLE OR INPUT MONI TOR STATUS ON AND OFF FOR ANY TRACKS THAT HAVE BEEN RECORD ENABLED USING THE 6#! -ASTER 2ECORD %NABLE OR THE 6#! -ASTER 4RACK )NPUT BUTTON
5SING 6#!S TO CONTROL OTHER 6#!S )T CAN BE VERY CONVENIENT TO USE 6#! -ASTER &ADERS TO CONTROL TWO OTHERWISE SEPARATE SUBGROUPS OR 6#! GROUPS FROM ONE FADER &OR EXAMPLE YOU MIGHT HAVE A SUBGROUP CONTAINING A BRASS SECTION AND ANOTHER CONTAINING A STRING SECTION 9OU MAY ALREADY BE CONTROLLING THESE SUBGROUPS USING TWO SEPARATE 6#! -ASTER &ADERS OR YOU MAY NOT 7HICHEVER THE CASE YOU CAN ASSIGN ALL THE MIXER CHANNEL FADERS TO ONE SINGLE 6#! -ASTER THAT WILL LET YOU RAISE OR LOWER THE BRASS AND STRINGS TOGETHER
Figure 7.21 A single -ASTER 6#! CONTROLS TWO INDIVIDUAL 6#! FADERS THAT in turn are controlling GROUPS OF SAXES AND GUITARS
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!NOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE WITH A CHOIR CONTAINING MALE VOICES AND FEMALE VOICES 9OU WOULD SUBGROUP THE MALE AND FEMALE VOICES SEPARATELY SET THE BALANCES BETWEEN THESE AND THEN USE A SINGLE 6#! -ASTER TO RAISE OR LOWER THE LEVEL OF THE WHOLE CHOIR 9ET ANOTHER EXAMPLE WOULD BE TO CREATE A SUB GROUP CONTAINING DRUMS THEN TO CREATE A 6#! -ASTER TO CONTROL THE DRUMS ALONG WITH THE BASS GUITAR SO THAT YOU COULD BALANCE THIS RHYTHM SECTION AGAINST THE REST OF THE MUSIC
Edit Window Mix Automation 4HE %DIT WINDOW LETS YOU VIEW AUTOMATION AND CONTROLLER DATA EITHER AS A 4RACK 6IEW TO SHOW ONE OR OTHER TYPE OF DATA OR IN SEPARATE LANES UNDER EACH TRACK IN WHICH CASE YOU CAN VIEW AS MANY TYPES OF AUTOMATION AND CONTROLLER DATA AS YOU WISH 4HIS LETS YOU KEEP YOUR PREFERRED TRACK VIEW SUCH AS 2EGION VIEW VISIBLE IN THE %DIT WINDOW FOR EACH TRACK READY FOR LAST MINUTE EDITS WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY VIEWING VOLUME AUTOMATION FOR EXAMPLE IN A LANE BELOW EACH TRACK 4HIS CAN BE VERY CONVENIENT DURING A MIXING SESSION WHEN YOU MIGHT WANT TO MAKE TWEAKS TO THE AUTOMATION GRAPHICALLY ONSCREEN IN THESE !UTOMATION AND #ONTROLLER LANES INSTEAD OF USING THE -IX WINDOWS REAL TIME AUTOMATION FEATURES
Figure 7.22 Automation AND #ONTROLLER LANES SHOWN BELOW TRACKS IN THE %DIT WINDOW
!UTOMATION AND #ONTROLLER LANES CAN BE SHOWN OR HIDDEN UNDER EACH TRACK IN THE %DIT WINDOW BY CLICKING ON THE SMALL ARROW TO THE LEFT OF THE 4RACK CONTROLS IN -EDIUM OR LARGER VIEWS
Figure 7.23 3HOW OR HIDE AUTOMATION LANES USING THE ARROW TO THE LEFT OF THE 4RACK CONTROLS
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)N VIEWS SMALLER THAN -EDIUM YOU CAN SHOW OR HIDE !UTOMATION LANES USING THE 4RACK OPTIONS POP UP SELECTOR Figure 7.24 A Track /PTIONS POP UP IS LOCATED at the top left of each 4RACKS CONTROLS AREA IN THE %DIT WINDOW
/N !UDIO TRACKS THAT ARE IN -EDIUM OR LARGER VIEW YOU CAN USE THE POP UP ,ANE VIEW SELECTOR IN EACH LANE TO CHANGE THE TYPE OF AUTOMATION SHOWN IN THE LANE
Figure 7.25 ,ANE VIEW SELECTOR
#HOICES INCLUDE VOLUME VOLUME TRIM MUTE AND PAN ALONG WITH AUTOMATION CONTROLS FOR ANY SENDS OR PLUG INS THAT ARE ACTIVE
Figure 7.26 ,ANE VIEW SELECTOR POP UP FOR AN !UDIO TRACK
)N THE EXAMPLE GIVEN IN THE ACCOMPANYING SCREENSHOT AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK IS SHOWN WITH A #ONTROLLER LANE OPEN FOR -)$) 6ELOCITY AND AN !UTOMATION LANE OPEN FOR !UDIO 6OLUME
Figure 7.27 An )NSTRUMENT TRACK WITH Controller lanes for -)$) 6ELOCITY AND !UDIO 6OLUME 9OU CAN CLICK on the BUTTON TO ADD ANOTHER AUTOMATION LANE
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)F YOU WANT TO ADD MORE LANES BELOW A TRACK YOU CAN CLICK ON THE button IN AN EXISTING LANE 4O REMOVE A LANE CLICK ON THE MINUS n BUTTON 4HE ,ANE VIEW SELECTOR FOR AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK LETS YOU SELECT FROM THE VARIOUS -)$) #ONTROLLERS AND !UDIO !UTOMATION TYPES 4HE ,ANE VIEW SELECTOR FOR A -)$) TRACK JUST LETS YOU SELECT FROM THE VARIOUS -)$) #ONTROLLERS
Figure 7.28 ,ANE VIEW POP UP SELECTOR FOR AN )NSTRUMENT TRACK SHOWS THE -)$) #ONTROLLERS AND !UDIO AUTOMATION TYPES THAT CAN BE SELECTED
4O REORDER LANES ONSCREEN DRAG THE LANE CONTROL SECTIONS TO NEW POSI TIONS IN THE %DIT WINDOW 9OU CAN RESIZE THE HEIGHTS OF ALL THE !UTOMATION AND #ONTROLLER LANES FOR A TRACK BY CLICKING AND DRAGGING THE BOTTOM LINE OF ANY ,ANE #ONTROLS COLUMN UP OR DOWN 4O RESIZE THE HEIGHT OF A SINGLE !UTOMATION OR #ONTROLLER LANE FOR A TRACK HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS WHILE YOU SELECT THE ,ANE (EIGHT SETTING 4O INCREASE OR DECREASE THE HEIGHT OF ANY LANE THAT CONTAINS THE %DIT CURSOR OR AN %DIT SELEC TION HOLD DOWN THE #ONTROL -AC OR 3TART KEY 7INDOWS AND CLICK THE 5P OR $OWN !RROW KEY
7.5 The final mix (AVING COMPLETED ALL YOUR PREPARATIONS THE FINAL BALANCING SESSION OFTEN BECOMES RELATIVELY EASY )N THE EARLY STAGES OF YOUR MIXING SESSION YOU WILL HAVE CHOSEN MOST OF THE ELEMENTS YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AND YOU WILL HAVE SET UP THE EFFECTS YOU WANT TO USE )T CAN TAKE SOME TIME TO SET UP SENDS TO EXTERNAL EFFECTS UNITS AND !UXILIARY TRACKS WITH CHAINS OF PLUG INS TO PROCESS THE DRUMS THE VOCALS AND THE VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS n ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THAT hSPECIALv REVERB SOUND OR COMBINATION OF DELAYS OR IF YOU ARE TRYING
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TO FIND THE RIGHT %1 SETTINGS AND PAN POSITIONS TO MAKE PARTICULAR INSTRUMENTS hSITv PROPERLY IN YOUR MIX OR STAND OUT AS FEATURES 7ITH A TYPICAL POP SONG YOU SHOULD ALLOW AT LEAST HALF A DAY TO GET EVERYTHING MORE OR LESS IN PLACE Then, you might take a break for half an hour or so before coming back to DO THE FINAL BALANCING OF LEVELS AND TWEAKING OF EFFECTS (ERE YOU SHOULD BE CONCENTRATING ON THE MOST IMPORTANT TRACKS n TYPICALLY THE LEAD VOCAL AND ANY FEATURED SOLO INSTRUMENTS -AKE SURE THAT ALL THE TRACKS YOU ARE NOT USING ARE EITHER REMOVED FROM THE SESSION OR MADE INACTIVE AND HIDDEN AND SET THE REST TO THE MINIMUM TRACK HEIGHT n JUST LEAVING THE LEAD VOCAL BACKING VOCAL AND PERHAPS SOME SOLO INSTRUMENTS AT MEDIUM TRACK HEIGHTS )T IS ALSO A GOOD IDEA TO DISPLAY THE VOL UME AUTOMATION CURVES IN THE CHOSEN TRACKS SO THAT YOU CAN SEE WHAT IS GOING ON AND SO THAT YOU CAN MANUALLY ADJUST THESE VOLUMES AT ANY STAGE DURING THE MIX SESSION !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN USE THE !UTOMATION LANES TO DISPLAY VOLUME OR OTHER AUTOMATION OR CONTROLLER DATA IN THE %DIT WINDOW
Figure 7.29 Pro Tools %DIT WINDOW DURING A MIXING SESSION WITH the volume automation CURVES FOR THE 3AX AND 'UITAR VISIBLE n READY FOR THE ENGINEER TO TWEAK
)F YOU ARE USING THE REAL TIME AUTOMATION FEATURES YOU WILL START OUT IN !UTO 7RITE MODE 9OU PROBABLY WONT GET ALL YOUR MOVES CORRECT DURING THE FIRST PASS SO YOU CAN USE !UTO 4OUCH MODE TO REFINE THE SECTIONS THAT NEED CHANG ING !S YOU GET CLOSER TO WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR YOU MIGHT USE THE 4RIM FEATURES TO FINE TUNE THE SETTINGS EVEN FURTHER &OR EXAMPLE IF YOU LIKE THE WAY THE GUITAR RHYTHM GETS SOFTER IN THE VERSE AND LOUDER IN THE CHORUSES BUT YOU DECIDE THAT OVERALL THE GUITAR IS TOO LOUD YOU CAN USE 4RIM MODE TO BRING THE OVERALL LEVEL DOWN ON THE GUITAR TRACK WHILE RETAINING THE RELATIVE AUTOMATION hMOVESv ) USUALLY END UP GOING INTO THE %DIT WINDOW TO MANUALLY EDIT THE AUTOMA TION BREAKPOINTS TO ACHIEVE EXACTLY THE RIGHT RESULT (ERE IT IS SO EASY TO SEE EXACTLY WHERE THE VOCAL AND INSTRUMENTAL PHRASES LIE AND TO EDIT THE AUTOMA TION CURVES TO DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT THEM TO DO 342
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To move all the automation breakpoints in a particular track or section of a TRACK UP OR DOWN WHILE PRESERVING RELATIVE LEVELS CHOOSE THE 3ELECTOR TOOL FIRST AND DRAG THE MOUSE TO HIGHLIGHT THE RANGE OF INTEREST 4HEN CHOOSE THE 4RIMMER TOOL POINT THE MOUSE ANYWHERE ALONG THE LINE OF BREAKPOINTS AND DRAG THE WHOLE LINE UPWARD OR DOWNWARD
Figure 7.30 Manually trimming a selection of AUTOMATION BREAKPOINTS
/NCE YOU HAVE YOUR MIX SOUNDING THE WAY YOU WANT IT YOU WILL USUALLY WANT TO RECORD THIS AS A STEREO MASTER MIX 9OU HAVE VARIOUS OPTIONS HERE 9OU CAN RECORD FROM THE MAIN STEREO OUTPUTS OF YOUR 0RO 4OOLS INTERFACE INTO A STEREO MASTERING RECORDER SUCH AS A #$ RECORDER OR A $!4 RECORDER OR EVEN TO A INCH OR INCH ANALOG TAPE RECORDER !LTERNATIVELY YOU CAN USE THE "OUNCE TO $ISK COMMAND IN 0RO 4OOLS TO DIRECTLY CREATE A STEREO FILE ON DISK 4O DO THIS YOU MUTE EVERYTHING BUT THE TRACKS YOU WANT TO BOUNCE MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE LEVELS PANS AND ANY EFFECTS AND AUTOMATION ARE THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO BE ASSIGN THE OUT PUTS FROM ALL THE TRACKS TO THE SAME PAIR OF OUTPUTS THEN SELECT THE "OUNCE COMMAND FROM THE &ILE MENU AND BOUNCE YOUR MIX FROM THIS OUTPUT PAIR TO DISK !LTHOUGH YOU CAN HEAR THE BOUNCE AS IT IS BEING CREATED YOU CANT ADJUST ANY CONTROLS DURING A h"OUNCE TO $ISKv 3O YOU SHOULD ONLY USE THIS METHOD IF YOU DONT NEED TO INTERACT WITH ANY MIXER CONTROLS DURING THE BOUNCE !LSO YOU CANNOT INCLUDE AUDIO COMING IN FROM EXTERNAL INPUTS DUR ING A BOUNCE TO DISK SO IF YOU NEED TO DO THIS YOU WILL NEED TO RECORD TO NEW AUDIO TRACKS )F YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO ADJUST THE MIXER CONTROLS IN REAL TIME WHILE AUDIO FILES ARE BEING WRITTEN TO DISK OR INCLUDE AUDIO COMING IN FROM EXTERNAL SOURCES YOU SHOULD RECORD YOUR MIX TO NEW TRACKS IN 0RO 4OOLS !LL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO ROUTE AN ADDITIONAL OUTPUT FROM YOUR -ASTER &ADER TO THE INPUT OF AN AVAILABLE STEREO !UDIO TRACK IN YOUR 0RO 4OOLS SESSION 4HEN MUTE THE TRACK YOU ARE RECORDING ONTO AND LISTEN TO THE MIX IN THE NORMAL WAY WHILE YOU RECORD YOUR MIX ONTO THIS TRACK 343
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
To Dither or not to Dither – that is the question! )F YOU ARE MASTERING FROM A BIT SESSION TO A BIT DIGITAL RECORDER OR TO ANALOG TAPE VIA BIT $! CONVERTERS THERE IS NO NEED TO APPLY DITHER /N THE OTHER HAND IF YOU ARE MASTERING TO A BIT MEDIUM n WHETHER THIS BE A FILE ON DISK OR AN EXTERNAL RECORDER n YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD APPLY DITHER BY INSERTING A DITHER PLUG IN ON THE -ASTER &ADER THAT CONTROLS THE STEREO OUTPUTS THAT YOU ARE MIXING OR BOUNCING TO /F COURSE IF YOU ARE MIXING TO ANALOG TAPE THERE IS NO NEED TO CONVERT SAM PLE RATES OR BIT DEPTHS OR TO ADD DITHER 4HE $! CONVERTERS IN THE 0RO 4OOLS ($ AUDIO INTERFACES WILL CONVERT THE DIGITAL AUDIO TO ANALOG AUDIO WITH VERY LITTLE LOSS OF QUALITY NO MATTER WHICH SAMPLE RATE OR BIT DEPTH YOU ARE USING ALTHOUGH YOU MAY PREFER TO USE !POGEE OR 0RISM3OUND CONVERTERS IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE VERY HIGHEST QUALITY .EVERTHELESS IF YOU DO MIX TO ANALOG IT IS WISE TO SIMULTANEOUSLY CREATE A DIGITAL MASTER SO YOU CAN MAKE LISTENING COP IES WITHOUT GENERATION LOSS /F COURSE YOU WONT HEAR THE hAUDIO SIGNATUREv OF THE ANALOG MASTER RECORDING UNLESS YOU MAKE COPIES FROM THISx
Mix bus compression 4HERE HAS BEEN A TREND SINCE THE LATE S TO ADD FAR TOO MUCH COMPRESSION AND LIMITING ON THE MIX BUS SO THAT THE MIXES SOUND AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE WHEN PLAYED BACK FROM #$ 3EVERAL MULTIBAND COMPRESSION AND LIMITING PLUG INS ARE AVAIL ABLE FOR 0RO 4OOLS\($ THAT CAN BE USED TO INCREASE THE AVERAGE LEVEL BY REDUCING PEAK LEVELS THEN RAISING THE hMAKE UPv GAIN 4HE DANGER HERE IS THAT IF THE PEAK TO AVERAGE RATIO IS REDUCED TOO MUCH THE MUSIC LOSES ITS LIFE AND JUST SOUNDS UNPLEASANT 9ES IT SOUNDS LOUDER WHEN PLAYED BACK FROM A #$ n IF YOU LEAVE THE VOLUME CONTROL IN THE SAME POSITION AS FOR A hQUIETERv #$ "UT MOST PEOPLE WILL MAKE THE VOLUME THE SAME BY TURNING THE KNOB TO THEIR PREFERRED LISTENING LEVEL SO ALL YOU WILL SUCCEED IN DOING IS TO SQUASH THE LIFE OUT OF YOUR MUSIC AND RUN THE RISK OF MAKING THE LISTENER GET TIRED OF LISTENING TO IT VERY QUICKLY -ASTERING ENGINEERS WILL ALWAYS TELL YOU THAT THEY PREFER THAT YOU SEND FINAL MIXES WITHOUT TOO MUCH COMPRESSION APPLIED AT THE FINAL MIX STAGE n PREFERABLY WITH NONE ON THE MIX BUS 4HEY USE SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT AND HIGH QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEMS AND THEY HAVE MUCH GREATER EXPERIENCE IN THIS AREA SO THEY WILL ALMOST ALWAYS ACHIEVE MUCH BETTER RESULTS THAN YOU WILL BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE YOURSELF !LSO IF YOU HAVE ALREADY APPLIED HEAVY COMPRESSION OR LIMITING TO YOUR MIX THERE IS NOT MUCH THAT THE MASTERING ENGINEER CAN DO WITH THIS
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly !S EXAMPLES OF QUALITY MIXING AND MASTERING TECHNIQUES JUST LISTEN TO THE PRISTINE AUDIO QUALITY WITH BAGS OF DYNAMIC RANGE ON 3HELBY ,YNNES Just A Little Lovin’ ALBUM OR $IDOS Safe Trip Home ALBUM 4HESE ALBUMS WILL NOT FATIGUE YOUR EAR IN ANY WAY AND WILL SOUND SWEET FOR YEARS TO COME 344
Mixing
)F YOU LISTEN TO MANY OF TODAYS COMMERCIAL #$ RELEASES EVEN THOSE REISSU ING OLDER MATERIAL YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THEY SOUND EXTREMELY TIRING AND TIRE SOME TO LISTEN TO ! GOOD OR SHOULD THAT BE hBADv EXAMPLE WOULD BE !MY 7INEHOUSES Back to Black ALBUM %VEN THOUGH THIS HAS SOLD OVER MILLION COPIES ) STILL CANNOT LISTEN TO IT FOR VERY LONG WITHOUT EXPERIENCING LISTENING FATIGUE DUE TO THE WAY THE MIXES HAVE BEEN COMPRESSED AND LIMITED DURING THE PRODUCTION PROCESS ! PARTICULARLY UGLY EXAMPLE WOULD BE THE 4OM *ONES ALBUM 24 Hours 4HE MAIN OFFENDER ON THIS ALBUM SEEMS TO BE THE DRUM SOUNDS WHICH JUST RUIN THE SOUND OF ALL THE MIXES DUE TO THIS EAR FATIGUING EFFECT ALONG WITH EXCES SIVE LIMITING AND COMPRESSION USED TO MAKE THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF THE MUSIC VERY HIGH COMPARED WITH THE PEAK LEVELS IN THE AUDIO n THUS DESTROYING THE NATURAL DYNAMICS IN THE SOUNDS
A Plea for Sanity ) HOPE THAT EVERY 0RO 4OOLS USER WHO READS THIS WILL JOIN ME IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE LOUDNESS WARS THAT ARE DESTROYING THE QUALITY OF MANY COMMERCIALLY RELEASED RECORDINGS TODAY )T DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY 0RACTICAL ADVICE FROM THE EXPERTS IS THAT ENGINEERS SHOULD MIX AND NORMALIZE TO n D"&3 ALWAYS AVOID DIGITAL CLIPPING USE LOW LEVEL DYNAMICS PROCESSING USE UP SAM PLED LIMITING OR PROCESS IN THE ANALOG DOMAIN AND USE UP SAMPLED PEAK METERING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY AVOID PROBLEMS DUE TO INTERSAMPLE PEAKS )T WOULD ALSO HELP TO USE LOUDNESS CALIBRATED MONITORING AND PROPER LOUDNESS METERING 5SING "OB +ATZS + SYSTEM OR A RETURN TO THE WAY MUSIC USED TO BE MIXED WITH ENGINEERS AIMING TO HAVE LEVELS AVERAGING AROUND THE 65 OPERATING LEVEL WITH UP TO D" OF HEADROOM ABOVE THIS WOULD ALLOW MUSIC TO SOUND MUCH BETTER THAN MOST OF TODAYS COMMERCIAL RELEASES !BOVE ALL REMEMBER TO USE YOUR EARS
7.6 Summary 3O HERE WE ARE AT LAST AT THE END OF THE MUSIC PRODUCTION PROCESS HOPEFULLY LISTENING BACK TO WONDERFUL MUSIC THAT WE HAVE RECORDED EDITED AND MIXED USING 0RO 4OOLS )F YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK COVER TO COVER YOUR HEAD IS PROBA BLY FULL OF THINGS THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO REMEMBER ABOUT HOW 0RO 4OOLS WORKS $ONT WORRY IT WILL ALL FALL INTO PLACE FOR YOU EVENTUALLY *UST EXPECT THAT IT WILL TAKE SOME TIME !FTER ALL h2OME WASNT BUILT IN A DAY v AS THEY SAY IN 6ENICE 4O LEARN 0RO 4OOLS THOROUGHLY YOU NEED TO WORK ON AS MANY DIFFERENT PROJECTS AS YOU CAN IDEALLY WITH OTHER PEOPLE ASKING YOU TO DO THINGS THAT YOU WOULD NOT NORMALLY DO YOURSELF *UST LIKE A MUSICIAN CAN FALL INTO THE TRAP OF PRAC TICING THE SAME FAMILIAR LICKS AND EXERCISES OVER AND OVER WITHOUT LEARNING
345
Pro Tools 8: Music Production, Recording, Editing, and Mixing
A NYTHING NEW A 0RO 4OOLS USER CAN FIND THAT THEY ARE ONLY WORKING ON ONE TYPE OF MUSICAL PROJECT FOR WHICH THEY ONLY NEED TO USE A RESTRICTED NUMBER OF THE FEATURES THAT 0RO 4OOLS HAS TO OFFER !S YOU START TO BUILD UP YOUR EXPERIENCE TAKE SOME TIME OUT TO REVIEW VARIOUS TOPICS IN THIS BOOK ,EARNING KEYBOARD COMMANDS AND SHORTCUTS IS ALWAYS VERY BENEFICIAL AND MAKING SURE THAT YOU ARE UP TO SPEED WITH ALL THE DIFFERENT ZOOMING AND NAVIGATION METHODS IS ESSENTIAL IF YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO WORK QUICKLY (AVING A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE METERS AND FADERS WORK AND HOW YOU CAN USE -ASTER &ADERS TO PREVENT CLIPPING ON OUTPUTS AND BUSES IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTION IN THIS CHAPTER !FTER ALL MIXING IS VERY MUCH ABOUT GETTING THE LEVELS OF THE MIX ELEMENTS BALANCED TO YOUR SATISFACTION n WITHOUT THE DIGITAL WAVEFORM CLIPPING THAT SO OFTEN PRODUCES SUCH HARSH SOUNDING MIXES ON COMMERCIALLY DISTRIBUTED MUSIC TODAY 3O ) WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THESE THOUGHTSx
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Appendix
Summing to talk about!
The rise of the analog summing mixer in a land of digital audio workstations 'O BACK JUST A FEW YEARS TO BEFORE 0RO 4OOLS BECAME THE LEADING $!7 USED IN PROFESSIONAL RECORDING AND IT IS UNLIKELY THAT YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD ANY THING ABOUT hSUMMING MIXERSv 4ODAY PERHAPS AS A RESPONSE TO THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH OF COMPUTER BASED DIGITAL AUDIO SYSTEMS BY THE ANALOG EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS YOU HEAR PLENTY ON THE SUBJECT %NGINEERS WHO ADVOCATE THE USE OF SUMMING MIXERS POINT OUT THAT WHEN YOU ARE SUMMING SIGNALS DIGITALLY INSIDE A $!7 YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE TO AVOID OVERLOADING THE INTERNAL DIGITAL MIX BUS LOWERING THE FADER FROM UNITY GAIN IS NECESSARY TO DO THIS 7HEN A TRACKS FADER IS LOWERED THEY SAY THIS CAN LEAD TO A LOSS OF DIGITAL RESOLUTION "Y FEEDING SOME COMBINATION OF STEMS ANDOR INDI VIDUAL TRACKS hOUT OF THE BOXv TO A HIGH QUALITY ANALOG SUMMING MIXER YOU CAN KEEP THE DIGITAL TRACK LEVELS hHOTTERv AND LET THE SUMMING MIXER TAKE CARE OF ADDING THESE TOGETHER WITHOUT THE LOSS OF RESOLUTION THAT WOULD OCCUR BY MIXING hINSIDE THE BOX v THUS ACHIEVING A BETTER SOUNDING MIX WITH INCREASED DEPTH IMAGE WIDTH AND HEADROOM AND LESS DISTORTION $IGIDESIGN HAS PUBLISHED TWO 4ECHNICAL 7HITE 0APERS THAT TOTALLY DEMOLISH THESE ARGUMENTS OR hMISCONCEPTIONSv !CCORDING TO $IGIDESIGN h#AREFUL LIS TENING TESTS HAVE SHOWN THAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MIXING INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY ARE INAUDIBLE TO EVERYONE WEVE YET ENCOUNTEREDv 4HIS STATEMENT IS BACKED UP BY WELL DEVELOPED TECHNICAL ARGUMENTS THAT EXPLAIN HOW DOUBLE PRECISION BIT INTERNAL OPERATION WORKS WITH THE BIT PROCESSOR REGISTER TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS SUFFICIENT HEADROOM AND hFOOTROOMv TO COMPLETELY AVOID INTERNAL CLIPPING AND UNWANTED TRUNCATION WHEN 0RO 4OOLS IS OPERATED COR RECTLY h3O THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SETTING ALL OF THE CHANNEL FADERS TO WITH THE MASTER AT UNITY AND SETTING THE MASTER TO WITH THE CHANNEL
349
Appendix
Summing to talk about!
FADERS AT UNITY n AS LONG AS YOURE NOT CLIPPING THE OUTPUT AND ARE SENDING THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE OUTPUT SIGNAL BEFORE CLIPPINGv "E THAT AS IT MAY THERE ARE SEVERAL ENGINEERS WHO MIX FROM 0RO 4OOLS USING SEPARATE OUTPUTS INTO A LARGE ANALOG CONSOLE PARTLY BECAUSE THEY ARE WORK ING IN LARGE PROFESSIONAL STUDIOS AND ARE MORE USED TO MIXING IN THIS WAY BUT PARTLY BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE GETTING BIGGER SOUNDING CLEARER AND MORE LIVELY MIXES THIS WAY 4HIS IS NOT AN OPTION FOR EVERYONE WHO USES 0RO 4OOLS BECAUSE OF THE OBVIOUS BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS WHICH IS WHERE THE IDEA OF USING THE MORE AFFORDABLE SUMMING MIXERS ENTERS THE PICTURE 9OU DO NEED TO CONSIDER YOUR WORKFLOW WITH EXTRA TIME NEEDED TO CONFIGURE THE ANALOG GEAR AND TO ADJUST THE SETTINGS MANUALLY WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF AUTOMATION AND YOU WONT BE ABLE TO USE PAN AUTOMATION FROM THE $!7 UNLESS YOU DEDI CATE TWO ANALOG CHANNELS TO HANDLE EACH MONO TRACK FROM THE $!7 )N PRACTICE YOU MIGHT FEED A INPUT SUMMING MIXER WITH INDIVIDUAL MONO TRACKS CONTAINING THE LEAD VOCAL BASS GUITAR BASS DRUM AND SNARE DRUM AND WITH STEREO STEM MIXES CONTAINING BACKING VOCALS GUITARS KEYBOARDS PERCUS SION THE REST OF THE DRUMS WITH THE FINAL PAIR USED FOR STEREO EFFECT RETURNS 4HERE ARE LOTS OF SUMMING MIXERS AVAILABLE !MONG THE MOST AFFORDABLE OF THESE PRICED AT UNDER a EUROS IS THE TOTALLY PASSIVE 2OLLS &OLCROM WHICH HAS NO GAIN OR LEVEL CONTROLS 0OSSIBLY THE MOST EXPENSIVE THE !0) $3- 2ACK 3YSTEM WILL SET YOU BACK WELL OVER a EUROS AND IS LIKE A MINI CONSOLE $ANGEROUS -USIC OFFERS THE $ANGEROUS BUS SUMMING MIXER 4HIS IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE &OLCROM DUE TO THE INCLUSION OF HIGH QUALITY LINE AMPLIFIERS AND AIMS TO PROVIDE A COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT SOUND 4HE #HANDLER -INI -IXER USES A PASSIVE SUMMING NETWORK WITH A #HANDLER LINE AMPLIFIER TO MAKE UP GAIN LOSS %ACH CHANNEL OF THIS MIXER IS TRANSFORMER BALANCED )T ALSO HAS A FULLY FEATURED hCONTROL ROOMv SECTION INCLUDING TALKBACK SPEAKER SWITCHING MUTE MONO AND EXTERNAL INPUT THAT CAN ALSO USED AS AN INSERT POINT AND SEPARATE CONTROL ROOM AND STEREO BUS OUTS 4HE !0) #HANNEL ,INE -IXER PRICED JUST UNDER a EUROS WORKS WITH THE !0) - -ASTER #ONTROL -ODULE WHICH PROVIDES EIGHT TRACK INPUTS SPEAKER CONTROLS DIM AND A STEREO OUTPUT !NOTHER OPTION IS THE !UDIENT 3UMO WITH ITS EIGHT FULLY BALANCED STEREO INPUTS SUMMING INTO A BALANCED STEREO MIX BUS THE STEREO MASTER COMPRESSOR FROM THE ACCLAIMED !30 RECORDING CONSOLE A PEAK LIMITER MONITOR CONTROLLER AND A K(Z DIGITAL OUTPUT OPTION -ANLEY ,ABS OFFERS VARIOUS RACKABLE CON FIGURATIONS OF THEIR 4UBE -IXERS TYPICALLY IN A CONFIGURATION PRICED AROUND n BUT YOU DO GET THE AUTHENTIC VALVE SOUND THAT SOME VALUE SO HIGHLY !ND THERE ARE LOTS MORE 4RIDENT !UDIOS 3 30, -IX$REAM 0HOENIX !UDIO .ICERIZER 4UBE 4ECH 33! ! TO NAME BUT FOUR 33, EVEN OFFERS THE 8 2ACK MODULAR PACKAGE THAT CAN BE CONFIGURED FOR SUMMING 350
Appendix
Summing to talk about
4HE .EVE 3UMMING -IXER PRICED AT LESS THAN a HAS hKICKED ALMOST ALL THE OTHERS INTO TOUCH v ACCORDING TO .IKI -ELVILLE 2OGERS AT HIGH END RETAILER +-2 !UDIO 4HE HAS INPUT CHANNELS WITH D" GAIN LEVEL PAN CUTSOLO AND CUE CONTROLS ALONG WITH A POSTINSERT MIX FUNCTION THAT CAN BE USED FOR MIXING IN A SEPARATE STEM OR BLENDING THE MIX WITH A SPECIAL EFFECT 7ITH FOUR MONITOR SOURCES TWO SETS OF SPEAKERS INDEPENDENT MONITOR LEVEL CONTROL TALKBACK MIC CUE SEND AND HEADPHONE OUTS THE EFFEC TIVELY UPGRADES A DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATION TO A PROFESSIONAL MIXING FACILITY 2OBIN 0ORTER DESIGNER OF THE REVEALS HE INTENDED HIS DESIGN TO ENHANCE NOT TO BE TRANSPARENT TO THE SOUND OF THE $!7 h) DECIDED TO DESIGN SOME THING SPECIAL THAT WOULD BRING BACK THE FLAVOUR OF THE @S CONSOLES WITH UP TO DATE TECHNOLOGY ) WANTED TO DESIGN A UNIT THAT HAS THE .EVE SOUND n WITH ITS MANY TONES AND TEXTURES THAT SO MANY PEOPLE LIKEv 3O THE .EVE 3UMMING -IXER IS NOT A hTRANSPARENTv DEVICE n IT IS 0ORTERS DESIGN PHILOSOPHY THAT IT WILL IMPART ITS OWN PARTICULAR hSOUNDv ONTO YOUR MIXES h7E USED NEWLY AVAILABLE COMPONENTS THAT KEEP THE PRICE DOWN WITHOUT COMPROMISING QUALITY AND WE FOUND METALWORK AND COMPONENT SUPPLIERS WHO WOULD SUPPLY US AT DECENT PRICES 7ITH LARGER CONSOLES THIS IS DIFFICULT BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT MAKING SO MANY 7ITH HIGHER VOLUMES YOU GET MUCH BETTER PRICES 7E WANTED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THE .EVE SOUND AFFORDABLE TO A NEWER GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT h! KEY FEATURE OF THE IS TRANSFORMER MIXING v CONTINUES 0ORTER h-ANUFACTURERS WENT TO BALANCED VIRTUAL EARTH MIXING FROM THE EARLY S ONWARDS FOR VARIOUS TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS ) WANTED TO GET BACK INTO TRANSFORMER MIX ING AS USED IN THE CLASSIC .EVE SERIES CONSOLES OF THE S AND S SO ) DECIDED TO USE BALANCED TRANSFORMER VOLTAGE MIXING WHICH ELIMINATES THE NOISE AND CROSSTALK n A BIG STEP FORWARD FROM THE EARLIER CONSOLES THAT WERE UNBALANCEDv 3O DOES 0ORTER BELIEVE THAT 0RO 4OOLS ($ SYSTEMS ARE SIMPLY NOT TECHNICALLY CAPABLE OF MIXING AUDIO SUCCESSFULLY WITHOUT LEADING TO DEGRADATION OF THE SOUND DUE TO DIGITAL SUMMING n DESPITE THE $IGIDESIGN 7HITE 0APERS SUGGEST ING OTHERWISE h!LL ) KNOW IS THAT YOU HEAR MIXES OUT OF 0RO 4OOLS THAT SOUND A BIT TWO DIMENSIONAL v HE OPINES h4HEY DONT HAVE VERY MUCH DEPTH TO THEM )N ANALOGUE MIXING YOU CAN JUST TWEAK A LEVEL BY A TINY AMOUNT AND IT WILL LEAP OUT AT YOU 9OU CAN MAKE THE SOUND MOVE AROUND AND COME BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS IN THE MIX 7ITH ANALOGUE YOU GET MUCH MORE DEPTHv Mike Collins © April 2007 A version of this article first appeared in Pro Sound News Europe April 2007 © UBMi Ltd. Reproduced by kind permission. www.prosoundnewseurope.com 351
Index
A Absolute grid mode, 244–245 Absolute reference markers, 76 Aeolian mode, 104 After Fader Listen (AFL) mode, solo level setting for, 66 After Playback scroll option, 57 Altiverb, 323 Amp Farm, 327 Amplifier simulator, 327–328 Amplitube, 327 Analog equipment, lining up connected, 289–290 Analog summing mixer, 349 Analog waveform, reconstruction of, 302 Antares Harmony Engine, 325 Aphex Aural Exciter, 326 Audio COMPACTING FILES n -)$) SETUP WINDOW CHANGING SAMPLE RATE IN SAMPLE BASED n TICK BASED n Audio Ease, 317, 323 Audio track, 89, 133 FADERS Audio Track RecordLock option, 224 AudioSuite Gain plug-in, 319–320 AudioSuite Signal Generator plug-in, 291–292 Auditioning audio, 14–16 Auditioning loops, 132, 274 Auto low latency, 223 Auto reset, 307 Automatic delay compensation, 10, 45–46, 123–125, 189 IN 0LAYBACK %NGINE $IALOG Automation lanes, 141–142 AND CONTROLLER LANES IN -)$) EDITOR WINDOWS n Autopanner, 316
Auto-Tune, 325 Auto-update active configuration option, 20 Auxiliary input channel, 299, 311, 334–335 Auxiliary input fader, 312
B Bars and beats, 73, 134, 138 Bar/beat markers, 76, 94 BUILDING TEMPO MAP BY INSERTING n RE POSITIONING n Batch Fades window, 230 Beat clock LATENCY MEASURING n -)$) OFFSETS n Beat detective, 73 BeyerDynamic DT100 models, 182 Big Bottom, 326 Block view, 247 Bomb Factory METER CALIBRATION SIMULATION n PLUG IN 65 METER SIMULATION n Breathing effect, 319 Bus monitor, 313
C Center Playhead scroll option, 58 Channel faders, 14, 288, 309–310, 335, 349 Channels, 61 Chord change dialog, 49 Chord symbols, 75 Chords ruler, 48–49, 75 Chromatic scale vs. diatonic scale, 104 Clear Special commands, 137 Clef setting, 167 Click track, 77–79 Clip events browser, oversampled, 304–305
353
Index
Color Palette, 18 Commands keyboard focus, 60 Compact layout window configuration, 22 Compressors, 318–319 Conductor rulers, 48, 74–77 Continuous scroll option, 57–58 Controller chasing, 142–143 Convolution reverb, 323 Copy Selection commands, 279–280 Copy Special commands, 137 Correlation meter, 298, 305–306 Crest factors (Peak-to-average ratios), 293, 302 Crystallizer, 327 Cubase software, 53 Cue mixes. See Headphone mixes Cursor values display, 45 Cut Special commands, 137 Cut Time dialog, 99
D D/A converters, 301, 344 De-essing, 319–320 Default solo mode, 64 Delay compensation, 189–193 AND $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH MODE n WITH -)$) n VIEW n Delay compensation engine, 10, 125, 190, 192 Delay effects, 323 Delay indicator, 124–125 Destructive Record mode, 199, 203, 206–207 DestructivePunch mode, 200, 211, 218 DELAY COMPENSATION AND n PREPARING FOR n USING n Diatonic scale vs. chromatic scale, 104 Diatonic transposition, 103, 105–108 Digidesign, 74, 303, 308, 311, 326, 349 DigiRack Phase Scope, 305 DigiRack plug-ins, 326 DigiRack Signal Generator, 298–299 Digital signal processing (DSP) delays, 123, 188–190, 212 Display quantization, 174–176 GLOBAL ATTRIBUTES INDIVIDUAL ATTRIBUTES n Display settings EDIT WINDOW MIX WINDOW SCORE EDITOR WINDOW
354
TARGETED -)$) EDITOR WINDOW TRANSPORT WINDOW Dither, 344 Drum notation, 168 Duplicate notes, 135 Duplicate region, 262 Dynamic transport mode, 270 AUDITIONING LOOPS IN ENABLING KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR PREFERENCES FOR RECORDING IN SETTING SELECTION START AND END IN USING Dynamically allocated voicing, 63
E Echoes, 323, 327 Edit Insertion Follows Scrub/Shuttle option, 29 Edit lock region, 264–265 Edit menu commands, 227–239 CONSOLIDATING REGIONS #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR FOR EDITING AUTOMATION PLAYLISTS )NSERT 3ILENCE 2EPEAT TO &ILL 3ELECTION n 2ESTORE ,AST 3ELECTION 3PECIAL #UT #OPY 0ASTE AND #LEAR 3TRIP 3ILENCE See Strip Silence 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 5NDO AND 5NDO (ISTORY n Edit modes, 37–47, 239–245 GRID n SHUFFLE n SLIP SPOT n Edit selection, 42–43, 54–55 AND 4IMELINE SELECTION ZOOM TOGGLE FOLLOWS Edit window, 36–37, 332, 339–342 BREAKPOINTS DISPLAY SETTINGS EDITING IN n FINDING TRACKS IN n FITTING TRACKS IN GRAPHIC EDITING n INDICATORS n -)$) EDITING CONTROLS n POP UP SELECTORS n REGION IN TRACK VIEWS n SWITCHING n
Index
ZOOM BUTTONS n AUDIO AND -)$) HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL Elastic audio, 107–108 EQ filters, 320 Events field, 304 Expanders, 324 External mixing, 288 External monitoring, 288
I/O setup dialog, 12–14 NAMING INPUT IN Insert Silence command, in shuffle mode, 236 Insert Time dialog, 99 Insertion Follows Playback, 26, 43 Inserts, 33 Instrument tracks, 126–131 4RACK 6IEW SELECTOR FOR Ionian mode, 104
F Fast Forward/Rewind, 26 Fat meters, 300 Fender Rhodes, 325 Frequency balancing MUSICALLY TECHNICALLY n
G Gain plug-in, 319–320 Grabber tool, 40, 138, 141, 154, 156, 171 Graphic tempo editor, 85 Grid command, 145 Grid control, 46 Grid display, 46 Grid mode, 37, 243 ABSOLUTE n RELATIVE n Grid size, 243 Grid values, 46, 135, 145 Group list keyboard focus, 61 Group settings pop-up selector, 32–33 Grouping regions, 266 Grouping tracks, 334 Guitar amplifier, 327–328, 330–331 Guitar Rig, 327
H H3000 Factory, 326 Hardware buffer size, 8–9, 189 Hardware setup dialog, 11–12 OPTICAL 30 $)& FORMAT IN Harmonizer, 325 Harmony process, 325 Headphone mixes, 184–187 Headroom, 292–293, 301, 310 Heal Separation command, 256 Helicon voice processor, 325
K Key Change dialog, 102–103 Key signature editor, 48 Key signature ruler, 48, 101–102 Key signatures, 101–108 Keyboard commands CONSOLIDATING REGIONS FOR DYNAMIC TRANSPORT MODE FOR EDITING n GRID SIZE NUDGE VALUE 2ESTORE ,AST 3ELECTION 4#% %DIT TO 4IMELINE 3ELECTION 4IMELINE OR %DIT SELECTIONS FOR TRACK VIEWS 5NDO COMMAND K-System RMS meters, 301
L Latch forward/rewind, 26 Leq(A) meter, 307 Level meters, 307–308 Line6 Echo Farm plug-in, 323 Linearity Display Mode, 91–96 Link timeline, 42 Link track, 43 Lissajous figures, 305 Location indicators, 43–44 Locking regions, 264 Loop playback mode, 274 Loop record mode, 199 Loop recording audio, 207–209 SELECTING TAKES AFTER USING n Loop recording MIDI, 131–132 DRUM MACHINE STYLE Loudness, 301, 345
M I I/O controls, in edit window, 24 I/O selectors, 34
Mackie Big Knob, 310 Maestro Echoplex, 323 Manual delay compensation, 11–12
355
Index
Markers, 76 ABSOLUTE REFERENCE BARBEAT n CHOOSING Markers ruler, 48 Martin HD28 acoustic guitar, 321 Master faders, 288, 290, 294, 297–299, 309 INSIDE OR OUTSIDE BOX n MIXING PRECISION AND MONITOR CONTROLLERS n MONO n STEREO n TO PREVENT CLIPPING ON BUS n 6#! n Master views, 247 Melodyne, 325 Meter ruler, 48 Meter value, 79 Metering, 297, 301 DISCREPANCIES 0HASE SCOPE n 2-3 Microphone preamplifier, 288, 330 MIDI BARS BEAT CLOCK n COMPENSATING FOR TRIGGERING DELAYS n COMPUTER SETUP CONTROL BUTTONS CONTROLLING n DATA DELAY COMPENSATION FOR EDITING n EDIT MENU COMMANDS EVENT LIST n GRID AND NUDGE VALUES AND INSTRUMENT CONTROLS AND TRACK HEIGHTS n MIRRORED EDITING PREFERENCES n REAL TIME PROPERTIES n RECORDING n n CANCELING OR UNDOING LOOP n SAMPLE BASED AUDIO AND n SETUP n SETUP DATA n TICK BASED AUDIO AND n MIDI editors, 150–163 AUTOMATION LANES IN n EDITING CONTROLS n
356
EDIT TOOLS n HIDING TRACKS TO INSERT NOTES n MUTE AND SOLO BUTTONS n NOTATION VIEW n SUPERIMPOSED NOTES VIEW n TIMEBASE AND CONDUCTOR RULERS TOOLBAR n TRACKS AND GROUPS IN WORK n ZOOM CONTROLS n MIDI notes COPYING n DUPLICATE WITH MINI KEYBOARD MOVING STUCK n TRIMMING n VELOCITIES FOR MIDI tracks EXPORTING n HEIGHT VIEW Millennia TD-1 Twin Direct Recording Channel. See TD-1 Mirrored MIDI editing, 42, 136 Mix bus compression, 344 Mix session, 332 marking sections, 334 PREPARING FOR REMOVING UNWANTED SOUNDS RESTORING sorting tempos, 334 TRACK ORDERING n Mix window, 32 DISPLAY SETTINGS FINDING TRACKS IN n Mixing, 341–342 CREATING DYNAMICS WITHIN FINAL BALANCING SESSION LEVEL BALANCING n PRECISION AND MASTER FADERS QUALITY TOOLS Mode buttons, 41–43 Monitoring levels, 289 Monitoring system, checking for, 286–287 Multieffects processor, 326–327 Multiple assignments FOR SENDS AUDIO OUTPUT PATH FOR TRACKS AUDIO OUTPUT PATH Multiple track outputs, assigning, 34–35
Index
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. See MIDI Mute buttons, 155–156, 337 Mute frees assigned voice, 64 Mute region, 265
N Nearfield monitors, 286, 289 Neve 8816 Summing Mixer, 351 Noise gates, 324, 333 Noise reduction, 324 Notation tools, 169 Note chasing, 142–143 Nudge control, 46 Nudge display, 46 Nudge values, 46, 135 Numeric keypad, 28–32 SHUTTLE MODE n SHUTTLE LOCK MODE
O Object grabber tool, 40 Operating levels, nominal, 289–290, 292–293, 296 Optical S/P DIF format, 14
P Page scroll option, 57 Pan laws, 318 Panning, 315–317 SYNTHESIZED AND SAMPLED SOUNDS Panorama (Pan) positions, 315 Paste Special submenu commands, 137 Peak field, 304 Pencil Tool, 41 Phase correlation, 305–306 Phase measurements, 305 Phase meter, 306–307 Phase scope metering, 298–299 Pitch “n” time, 326 Pitch correction AND MANIPULATION SOFTWARE Pitch doctor plug-in, 325 Pitch shifting, 108, 326 Pitch transposition, elastic audio region-based, 107–108 Pitched tracks, 104 Play Start Marker, 26–27, 271–273 POSITIONING REPOSITIONING Play Start Marker Follows Playback, 26, 43
Play Start Marker Follows Timeline Selection, 27 Playback cursor locator, 58–59 Playback engine, 8–10 AUTOMATIC DELAY COMPENSATION IN HARDWARE BUFFER SIZE SETTING NUMBER OF VOICES Playlists, 276–277 #OPY 3ELECTION COMMANDS n FILTERING RECORDING NEW TAKES USING n PREROLL AND POSTROLL n Playlists Track View, 278–279 Plug-ins, opening sessions with, 18 Pop-up selectors, 12 GROUP SETTINGS )/ SETUP DIALOG SHOWING Pre Fader Listen (PFL), 14 SOLO LEVEL SETTING FOR CHANNELS Pro Tools 48-Bit Mixer, 311 Pro Tools ($ SYSTEMS n ,% SOFTWARE MIXER n VOLUME AUTOMATION Pulses per quarter note (PPQN), 91, 134 Punch recording AFTER n CROSSFADE FOR n SETTING LEVELS FOR VOICE REQUIREMENTS FOR n Punch-in and punch-out AUTOMATIC n MANUAL n
Q Quantize to Grid command, 265 QuickPunch mode, 200, 210–211, 213 PREPARING FOR USING QuickStart dialog, 17–18
R Real Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plug-in, 8, 188, 303 hHEALTHv WARNING n AND 4$- Reamping, 327–328 %LEVEN USING 4$
357
Index
Record mode, 129–130, 199–200 AUTOMATIC PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT n DESTRUCTIVE n $ESTRUCTIVE0UNCH n LOOP MANUAL PUNCH IN AND PUNCH OUT n 1UICK0UNCH n 4RACK0UNCH n Record safe mode, 200 Recording and playback HALF SPEED n SETTING MONITOR LEVELS FOR VOICES n Recording audio, 197–201 AUTO INPUT AND INPUT ONLY MONITORING n DELAY COMPENSATION n DISK SPACE n ENABLING n HEADPHONE MIXES SETTING UP n MONITORING LATENCY n NEW TAKES USING PLAYLISTS n WITH OR WITHOUT EFFECTS WITH PLUG IN EFFECTS PREPARING 0RO 4OOLS FOR n Region Editing commands, 261–270 Region List Keyboard Focus, 60 Regions, 252 CAPTURING CREATING EDITING HEALING SEPARATED NUDGING n OVERLAPPING SEPARATING SYNC POINTS FOR n USING 3EPARATION 'RABBER Regions List, 253 4IME 3TAMP 3ELECTED COMMAND IN 5SER 4IME 3TAMP IN n Relative grid mode, 244 Repeat region, 263 Repeat to Fill Selection command, 230 Reserve voices, 27 Restore Last Selection command, 229 Reverb, 322 ARTIFICIAL CONVOLUTION RMS metering, 301, 308 Roland MKS80, 111, 114 Room acoustics, 287 Ruler and tickbased time, 74
358
S Sample-based audio, 89–90 Sample-based time, 74 Score editor, 163–178 DISPLAY OPTIONS SPACING AND LAYOUT DISPLAY QUANTIZATION EXPORTING TO 3IBELIUS HANDLES TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS n POP UP MENU n PREPARING SCORE FOR MUSICIAN PRINTING SCORE USING n WINDOW DISPLAY SETTINGS Scrolling behavior, 58 Scrolling windows, 57–58 Scrub tool, 41 Scrub/shuttle mode, 30 Scrubbing, 28 BY DRAGGING BETWEEN ADJACENT TRACKS BY DRAGGING WITHIN SINGLE TRACK WITH CENTER PLAYHEAD SCROLLING ENABLED Selector tool, 39–40 Sends, 33–34 ASSIGNING n Separate Region command, 254–255 Separation Grabber tool, 255 Shift region, 261 Shuffle mode, 37, 239–240 )NSERT 3ILENCE COMMAND IN Shuttle lock mode, 30–31 NUMERIC KEYPAD Sibilant frequencies, 319–320 Slave track, 335–338 Slip mode, 37, 239 Smart tool, 40–41 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), 74, 84, 240–241 Softube Vintage Amp Room, 327 Solo buttons, 155–156, 337 Solo in Place (SIP), 64 Solo mode, 64, 66 Sound pressure level (SPL), 289 Sounds DISTORTION REMOVING UNWANTED Speaker Soak WITH MICROPHONE SIGNALS USING 4$ Spot mode, 37, 240–243 SSL AWS 900 series, 182 Stereo mastering recorder, 343 Stereo mixes, 305, 316–317 Stereo panorama, 315, 317
Index
Stop keys, 28 Strip Silence, 231 %XTRACT BUTTON -INIMUM 3TRIP $URATION PARAMETER 2EGION 3TART 0AD PARAMETER 2ENAME BUTTON 3EPARATE BUTTON SLIDING CONTROLS IN 3TRIP BUTTON 3TRIP 4HRESHOLD PARAMETER StroboSoft tuner, 328–329 StroboStomp Pedal, 328 Sub counter time scale, 77 Summing mixer, 286, 310, 313–314, 349–351 ANALOG Surround sound, 4 Sync points, 258 Synchronization controls, 25 System Exclusive (SysEx) data, 116
T Tab to transients button, 42 TCE Edit to Timeline Selection, 237 TD-1, 330 features, 330 REAMPING USING Speaker Soak using, 330 4WIN 4OPOLOGY )NSTRUMENT INPUT stage, 330 Tempo edit density (Dens) selector, 88 Tempo, 81 BUILDING MAP EDITING EVENTS EVENTS GRAPHIC EDITOR n MIX SESSION OPERATIONS SETTING TAPPING n Tempo ruler, 48 Test tone CREATING USING !UDIO3UITE n RECORDING TO DISK Tick-based audio, 90–91 Time lock region, 264 Time operations, 97–101 Time scales, 77 SETTING TICK BASED AND TICK RESOLUTION Time signature, 79 Time Stamp Selected command, 241
Timebase rulers, 74–77 Time-division multiplexing (TDM) plug-ins, 191, 193, 325–326 AND 24!3 PLUG INS Timeline Insertion Follows Playback, 58 Timeline selection, 27, 270, 272 AND %DIT SELECTION TL MasterMeter, oversampling metering, 302–303 Toolbar display and controls, rearranging, 36–37 Toolbar zoom buttons, 38 Track compensation indicator, 124, 126 Track compositing, 275–281 Track position numbers, 68 Track timebase, changing, 88 TrackPunch mode, 200, 211, 214–218 PREPARING FOR n USING n Tracks, 61 grouping, 334 HEIGHTS n INACTIVE n input selector, 34 MUTING NAVIGATING BY NUMBER n output selector, 34 SOLOING n Transformer mixing, 351 Transient peak levels, 292 Transport RecordLock option, 224 Transport window, 64–67 DISPLAY SETTINGS Transposing instruments, 172–173 SCORE EDITOR HANDLING n Trimmer tool, 39, 156, 169
U Ultra-Channel, 326 Unity gain level, 297 Universe view, 23–24 Use separate play, 28 User interface, 17–24 User Time Stamp, 241–242
V VCA channel fader, 335 VCA Groups, 334 CONVENTIONAL n VCA Master tracks, 335 CONTROLLING MUTE ON SOLO
359
Index
Virtual instrument, recording audio from, 132–133 Voice borrowing, 62 Voice limits, 62 Voice modeling techniques, 325 Voiceable tracks, 61–64 Voices, playback and recording, 61–64 Voltage controlled amplifier. See VCA Volume automation view, 246 Volume controls, on self-powered monitors, 288 VU meters, 292, 308
360
SCORE AND -)$) EDITING MEMORY SLOT NUMBERS Window display settings, 22–23 Window layout configuration, 23
X X-Form plug-in, 237, 326
Y Yamaha DX7, 111, 119 Yamaha DX7II, 111, 114 Yamaha KX88, 111, 114 Yamaha TX816, 114, 118
W
Z
Waveform view, 246–247 Window configuration list, 19 Window configurations, 18–20 COMPACT LAYOUT CREATING n
Zoom presets, 38 Zoom Toggle, 41–42, 54–57 PREFERENCES n Zoom Toggle Follows Edit selection, 56 Zoomer tool, 39
