Avid Technology PRO TOOLS MIX 51 Specifications

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Pro Tools Reference GuidexChapter 28. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pro Tools Reference Guide88Track ControlsInput/Output SelectorsThe I/O View shows Input and Output Selectors on audio and MIDI tracks. To show the I/O

Chapter 8: Tracks 89Selecting Fader Gain when Opening a Previously Recorded Session When opening a session created in a previous version of Pro Tools,

Pro Tools Reference Guide90To clear a clipping meter: Click anywhere on the meter. To clear all clips: Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macin-to

Chapter 8: Tracks 91Creating TracksOn all systems, you can create mono and stereo tracks. In addition, on Pro Tools HD-series and MIX-series systems,

Pro Tools Reference Guide923 Click Previous or Next to rename other dis-played tracks.4 Click OK.Adding Comments to TracksTo enter comments for a tr

Chapter 8: Tracks 93Deleting TracksWhen you delete tracks, your audio or MIDI re-gion data will remain in the Regions List, but your arrangement of th

Pro Tools Reference Guide94The Sort Tracks By command allows you to set the track order according to Name, Type, Edit Group, Mix Group or Voice. The s

Chapter 8: Tracks 95About Clipping and Show/Hide Tracks(HD-series Systems with Pro Tools 6.4 Only)When a track, send, or plug-in clips, the Show/Hide

Pro Tools Reference Guide96To remove an input assignment: Select No Input from the Input Selector.Assigning Audio Track Outputs(Audio Tracks, Auxilia

Chapter 8: Tracks 97Track PriorityWhile your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed number of voices, Pro Tools TDM software (and Pro Tools LE 6.x software

Contents xiChapter 32. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513Multichannel Quick Start

Pro Tools Reference Guide98On TDM systems, tracks assigned to a specific voice number take priority over dynamically al-located tracks. To ensure a tr

Chapter 8: Tracks 99The following example demonstrates the con-cept of voice borrowing:In the above illustration, the two visible tracks are assigned

Pro Tools Reference Guide100Assigning MIDI Track OutputMIDI tracks can be assigned to one or more MIDI device channels with the Device/Channel Selecto

Chapter 8: Tracks 101Solo ButtonThe Solo button mutes other tracks so that the chosen track can be auditioned alone. Normally solos are latched, that

Pro Tools Reference Guide102Mute Frees Assigned Voice(TDM Systems Only)Selecting Operations > Mute Frees Assigned Voice and muting a track disables

Chapter 8: Tracks 103Color Coding TracksThe Display Preference for Edit Window Color Coding determines how colors are assigned to waveforms and MIDI d

Pro Tools Reference Guide104Using the Groups ListThe Pro Tools grouping functions are located at the left side of the Mix or Edit window in the Groups

Chapter 8: Tracks 105Groups Pop-up MenuThe Groups pop-up menu contains commands that allow you to create, delete and suspend groups, as follows:New Gr

Pro Tools Reference Guide106Renaming a GroupYou can rename a group at any time. To rename a group:1 In the Groups List, double-click to the left of t

Chapter 8: Tracks 107Enabling GroupsEditing operations are not applied to members of a group that are hidden with the Show/Hide Tracks List. Mix opera

Pro Tools Reference GuidexiiChapter 36. Working with QuickTime Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575Abo

Pro Tools Reference Guide108

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 109Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session DataPro Tools allows you to import a variety of data int

Pro Tools Reference Guide110Copying, Adding, and Converting AudioDepending on the properties of the audio files you are importing, you can add, copy,

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 111Conversion QualityThe Conversion Quality Preference determines the quality of sample rate conversio

Pro Tools Reference Guide1122 At the top of the Import Audio dialog, select an audio file to display its properties and associ-ated regions. You can c

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 113To import audio files into a session, using the Pro Tools application icon or alias:1 Open or creat

Pro Tools Reference Guide114Importing Audio from an Audio CD(Macintosh Only)Pro Tools lets you import tracks from an audio CD using the DigiBase drag

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 1154 Select the tracks to import by clicking the track names in the Source Tracks list. (If the cur-r

Pro Tools Reference Guide116Import Session Data DialogThe Import Session Data dialog lets you view the properties of the source session, select which

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 117When you choose this option, you can also choose the size of the handle (in milliseconds) applied t

1Part I: Introduction

Pro Tools Reference Guide118sate for pull-up, pull-down, and NTSC or PAL frame rates. This setting allows you to choose the sample rate from which you

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 119Replacing Track AttributesWhen you import an attribute of the source track into an existing track i

Pro Tools Reference Guide120Hardware Insert Assignments Imports the source track’s hardware Insert assignments. Any Insert assignments in the destinat

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 121Do Not Import Main Playlists — Leaving destination playlists intactDoes not import the main playlis

Pro Tools Reference Guide1223 In the Export Selected dialog, set the file type, format, bit resolution, and sample rate. In addi-tion, specify the Con

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 123To export region definitions for an audio file:1 In the Audio Regions List, select any regions for w

Pro Tools Reference Guide124Include File List/Region ListYou can choose to export a list of the session’s audio files and regions. The File List provi

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 125To export a session as text:1 Choose File > Export Session As Text.2 Select whether to include

Pro Tools Reference Guide1264 Click Open (Windows) or Import (Macin-tosh). If prompted, specify whether you want to Keep or Discard existing MIDI tra

Chapter 9: Importing and Exporting Session Data 127The SMPTE start time for the session is also ex-ported. This ensures that the exported tracks, when

2

Pro Tools Reference Guide128

Chapter 10: File Management and Compatibility 129Chapter 10: File Management and CompatibilityWhen you work with Pro Tools, you will en-counter severa

Pro Tools Reference Guide130Transfer FilesTransfer files reside on volumes unsuitable for playback, such as CD-ROMs or network drives.To open a sessio

Chapter 10: File Management and Compatibility 131WAV File CompatibilityConvert Imported WAV files to AES31/BroadcastWavePro Tools always creates AES31/

Pro Tools Reference Guide132The following characters cannot be used in PC or in Mac/PC compatible sessions:/ (slash)\ (backslash): (colon)* (asterisk)

Chapter 10: File Management and Compatibility 133Moving Sessions Between Platforms with MacOpener (Using HFS/HFS+ Drives)MacOpener 6.0.5 and higher le

Pro Tools Reference Guide134

135Part III: Recording

136

Chapter 11: Record Setup 137Chapter 11: Record SetupBefore you start recording, make sure your Pro Tools system is connected and configured properly. F

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro ToolsWelcome to Pro Tools®. Pro Tools integrates powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI

Pro Tools Reference Guide138Digital ClippingClipping occurs when you feed a signal to a re-corder or mixer that is louder or “hotter” than the device

Chapter 11: Record Setup 139To record enable an audio or MIDI track: From either the Edit or Mix window, click the track’s Record Enable button to to

Pro Tools Reference Guide140Latch Record PreferenceWhen the Latch Record Enable Buttons prefer-ence is selected, you can record enable addi-tional aud

Chapter 11: Record Setup 141When Auto Input monitoring is enabled, both the TrackInput button and the lower LED next to the Transport window appear gr

Pro Tools Reference Guide142To toggle the monitoring mode of audio tracks do one of the following: To toggle individual tracks, click the TrackIn-put

Chapter 11: Record Setup 143You can reduce the amount of monitoring la-tency for Pro Tools LE systems by reducing the H/W Buffer Size. However, even a

Pro Tools Reference Guide144Low Latency Monitoring During Recording(HD-series Systems with Pro Tools 6.4 Only)If you choose to record with Delay Compe

Chapter 11: Record Setup 145Names for Multichannel Tracks (TDM Systems Only)When recording to multichannel surround tracks, audio file and region name

Pro Tools Reference Guide146•To make a non-contiguous selection, Con-trol-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) a track name in the Track col-u

Chapter 11: Record Setup 147Reallocating TracksWhen opening a session where some of the pre-viously assigned hard drives are no longer avail-able (or

Pro Tools Reference Guide4Conventions Used in These GuidesThe Pro Tools guides use the following conven-tions to indicate menu choices and key com-man

Pro Tools Reference Guide148In general, the Use All Available Space prefer-ence makes hard drives work harder. In addition to record and punch lag tim

Chapter 11: Record Setup 149In Nondestructive Record mode, the record range can be defined by selecting a range in the Ruler or in a track’s playlist,

Pro Tools Reference Guide150Though you can punch record in the other record modes by manually specifying the record range, only QuickPunch provides in

Chapter 11: Record Setup 151Recording with a ClickIf you intend to work with MIDI tracks in your session, or if the audio you’re working with is bar a

Pro Tools Reference Guide152When listening to the click in your Pro Tools sessions, the accented note sounds on the first beat of each measure and the

Chapter 11: Record Setup 153Setting the Default Meter and TempoSetting the Default MeterWhen opening a new session in Pro Tools, the meter defaults to

Pro Tools Reference Guide154To insert a default tempo event:1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.– or –Double-click the Meter button in the Transpo

Chapter 11: Record Setup 155– or –Click in the Tempo field so it becomes high-lighted and tap in the tempo by playing a note repeatedly at the new tem

Pro Tools Reference Guide156

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 157Chapter 12: Basic Audio RecordingRecording an Audio TrackWhen recording from a mono source, record to a single, m

Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 5Chapter 2: Pro Tools System ConfigurationsThere are two types of Pro Tools systems: TDM and LE. These refer

Pro Tools Reference Guide1585 Rename the track. Track names are used to auto-name recorded audio files and regions. For more information, see “Default

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 1598 In the Mix window, click the audio track’s Record Enable button to record enable the track. The Record Enable

Pro Tools Reference Guide1608 When you have finished recording, click Stop in the Transport window.The newly recorded audio is written to disk and app

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 161Recording Multiple Audio TracksPro Tools can record multiple audio tracks si-multaneously, up to the track record

Pro Tools Reference Guide1623 To record from the beginning of the track, click Return to Zero in the Transport window.– or –If Operations > Link E

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 163Recording to a New PlaylistInstead of recording over existing audio regions, there is another way to nondestructi

Pro Tools Reference Guide164During the recording process, playback begins at the pre-roll time (if enabled) and proceeds to the start time (the punch-

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 165Loop Recording AudioPro Tools provides a loop recording feature that allows you to record take after take while t

Pro Tools Reference Guide166The recorded takes appear as regions in the Au-dio Regions List and are numbered sequentially. The most recently recorded

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 167To change the User Time Stamp of other regions so that they appear in the Takes List pop-up for a certain locatio

Pro Tools Reference Guide6Pro Tools|HD 3Includes:• HD Core card•Two HD Process cards• Pro Tools TDM softwareMIX-Series SystemsPro Tools|24 MIXIncludes

Pro Tools Reference Guide168In most instances, you’ll want to deselect the “Separate Region Operates On All Related Takes” option, to prevent a large

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 169To set the record range by dragging the Playback Markers:1 If you want the dragged Playback Markers to snap to t

Pro Tools Reference Guide1703 To save the pre- and post-roll values, enable and set the pre- and post-roll amounts by enter-ing them in the Transport

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 171Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in the Transport WindowPre- and post-roll can be enabled and set from the fields in th

Pro Tools Reference Guide172To set the pre- and post-roll amounts by dragging in the Ruler:1 If you want the dragged flags to snap to the current grid

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 173Pro Tools LE SystemsThe Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, and Digi 001 in-clude S/PDIF and ADAT digital options. The Mbox

Pro Tools Reference Guide174playback) or DAE errors, since a DAT recorder or CD Recorder that is idle can default to a differ-ent sample rate or stop

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 175Chapter 13: MIDI RecordingAlthough recording MIDI in Pro Tools is similar to recording audio, there are some important d

Pro Tools Reference Guide176In addition, the following options affect how MIDI data is recorded in Pro Tools.◆ The MIDI Input Filter can filter out MID

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 177nize to MIDI Time Code generated from another supported software application, or record MIDI data from another MIDI sequ

Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 7TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice LimitsThe following table lists the audio playback, recording, and

Pro Tools Reference Guide178MIDI Input FilterUse the MIDI Input Filter to prevent certain MIDI messages from being recorded. The MIDI Input Filter can

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 179Wait for NoteThe Wait for Note button, located in the Trans-port window, determines how Pro Tools begins recording. When

Pro Tools Reference Guide180Configuring MIDI Tracks for RecordingTo configure one or more MIDI tracks for recording:1 If you do not have a MIDI track t

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 1814 In the Mix window, click the track’s MIDI Out-put Selector and assign a device and channel from the pop-up menu. Chan

Pro Tools Reference Guide18213 In either the Mix or Edit window, click the MIDI track’s Record Enable button to record en-able the track.14 Make sur

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 183To play back recorded MIDI tracks:1 Click the Record Enable button on each MIDI track so that they are no longer record

Pro Tools Reference Guide184If pre-roll is enabled, the track material leading up to the punch-in point plays. You can start playing during the pre-ro

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 185Regions and Punch RecordingDepending on the record range, new regions may be created after punch recording. For exam-ple

Pro Tools Reference Guide1862 Put Pro Tools in normal Nondestructive Record mode. In the Operations menu, deselect Destructive Record, Loop Record, a

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 187Loop Recording Multiple TakesWhen recording MIDI in Loop Record mode, new regions are created each time new material is

Copyright This guide is copyrighted ©2004 by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights reserved. Unde

Pro Tools Reference Guide8Audio Interfaces for TDM SystemsTable 4 lists the input and output capabilities of the various audio interfaces for Pro Tool

Pro Tools Reference Guide188To audition the various record takes:1 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) with the Selector at the prec

Chapter 13: MIDI Recording 189The Record, Play, and Wait for Note buttons flash, indicating that Pro Tools is waiting for MIDI data.9 Initiate the Sy

Pro Tools Reference Guide190

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 191Chapter 14: Advanced RecordingThere are two advanced recording methods that differ from basic recording, QuickPunch

Pro Tools Reference Guide192To set the QuickPunch Crossfade Length:1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and select the Editing tab.2 Enter a new value

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 193example, for a 128-voice configured Pro Tools|HD system, auto-voice distributes voices evenly across four sets of vo

Pro Tools Reference Guide194QuickPunch with an Edit SelectionIf you make an Edit selection and use Quick-Punch, the following rules apply:◆ If the Tra

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 195Voice Requirements for TrackPunch RecordingTrackPunch requires two voices for each record enabled, mono track. This

Pro Tools Reference Guide1965 Configure monitoring for record enabled tracks by selecting the appropriate mode from the Operations menu, as appropriat

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 197Transport and Track Record SettingsThe TrackPunch preferences appear on the Op-eration page of the Pro Tools Prefere

Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 9Pro Tools LE SystemsPro Tools LE-based systems are available in the following configurations:Digi 002A Digi

Pro Tools Reference Guide198To record online using TrackPunch and TrackInput switching:1 Choose Setup > Peripherals, and make sure the SYNC I/O is

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 199Transport Display of TrackPunch StatusTransport Record ButtonThe Transport Record button indicates Track-Punch and R

Pro Tools Reference Guide200To TrackPunch enable or disable all selected audio tracks: Start-Alt-Shift-click (Windows) or Control-Option-Shift-click

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 201Punching In on Multiple TracksTo punch in on multiple tracks simultaneously:1 Put Pro Tools in TrackPunch mode.2 C

Pro Tools Reference Guide202•Toggle Pro Tools audio tracks between input and disk monitoring. Track input switching can be controlled remotely by supp

Chapter 14: Advanced Recording 203To configure RecordLock for loading:1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click to show the Operations pane. 2 Sele

Pro Tools Reference Guide204

205Part IV: Editing

206

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 207Chapter 15: Editing BasicsPro Tools EditingThe Edit window in Pro Tools provides a power-ful collection of tools for edi

Pro Tools Reference Guide10Pro Tools LE System CapabilitiesTable 5 lists the playback, recording, and input and output capabilities of each Pro Tools

Pro Tools Reference Guide208Track MaterialEach time you record or import audio and MIDI, Pro Tools creates regions for the new track data, which not o

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 209Track ViewThe Track View determines which data is dis-played and edited in the track’s playlist area. Track View data ca

Pro Tools Reference Guide210To set the Track View: Click the Track View Selector for the track and choose the format from the pop-up menu.The track d

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 211To set the Track Height: Click the small arrow next to the Track View Selector to get the Track Height pop-up menu.– or

Pro Tools Reference Guide212When the Track Height is set to Mini, only con-trols for Record, Solo and Mute appear, and the menus for Playlist, Track H

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 213Different types of sounds produce different types of waveforms. Drums, for example, gener-ally produce waveforms with sh

Pro Tools Reference Guide214center line of the track’s waveform display). If necessary, use the zooming tools in the Edit window (see “Zooming” on pag

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 215Notes View for MIDI TracksWhen a MIDI track’s Track View is set to Notes, MIDI notes are displayed in a “piano roll” for

Pro Tools Reference Guide216Regions View for MIDI TracksMIDI tracks can also be viewed as Regions, which is similar to Waveform View for audio tracks.

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 217Nondestructive MIDI EditingWhile editing audio regions is usually nonde-structive, this is not always the case for MIDI

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 11Chapter 3: Pro Tools ConceptsThis chapter explains the principles and con-cepts that form the foundation of Pro Tools

Pro Tools Reference Guide218Playlists and GroupsPlaylist functions affect all tracks within an Edit Group (if the group is active). This is useful whe

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 219Deleting a PlaylistYou can delete a playlist from a session entirely. However, since playlists take almost no disk space

Pro Tools Reference Guide220Operations that Clear the Undo QueuePro Tools will not warn you of operations that clear the Undo Queue. Operations that c

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 221If the Editing Preference for “Region List Selec-tion Follows Track Selection” is enabled, click-ing a region in the Reg

Pro Tools Reference Guide222Finding RegionsUse the Find command to display all regions in a list whose names contain a particular word or phrase.To fin

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 223Keyboard Selection of RegionsIf the Audio Regions Key Focus or MIDI Regions Key Focus is enabled, you can type the first

Pro Tools Reference Guide224Edit ModesPro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot, Slip, and Grid. (With Pro Tools 6.x, Grid mode provides two modes o

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 225GridIn Grid mode, regions and MIDI notes that are moved, trimmed or inserted “snap” to the cur-rently selected grid valu

Pro Tools Reference Guide226To display the Grid lines in the Edit window: Choose Setups > Preferences > Display then enable Draw Grids in Edit

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 227To zoom in vertically for all audio tracks: Click the (top) Vertical Zoom button with the audio waveform. To zoom out,

Pro Tools Reference Guide12Playback Engine DialogPro Tools takes advantage of your computer’s host processor for certain tasks and optional host-based

Pro Tools Reference Guide228Zoomer ToolUse the Zoomer tool to zoom in and out around a particular area within a track. The Zoomer tool offers two mode

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 229Single Zoom Mode Single Zoom mode returns you to the previously selected tool after a zoom has been performed.For exampl

Pro Tools Reference Guide230To recall a zoom preset, do one of the following: Click the Zoom Preset button. While pressing the Start key (Windows) o

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 231Zooming with a Scroll WheelIf you have a mouse with a scroll wheel, you can use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out of t

Pro Tools Reference Guide232To move the highlighted area in the Universe window:1 Choose Windows > Show Universe.2 To affect which tracks are dis

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 233To display all Rulers: Select Display > Ruler View Shows > All.To remove a Ruler from the display: Option-click

Pro Tools Reference Guide234Time Code (All TDM Systems and Pro Tools Sys-tems with DV Toolkit Only) Displays the Time Scale in SMPTE frames. The Timec

Chapter 15: Editing Basics 235Setting the Sub Time ScaleThere is also a Sub Location Indicator displayed below the Main Location Indicator, and below

Pro Tools Reference Guide236When creating Markers and Selection Memory Locations, you can specify whether they have an Absolute (sample-based) or Bar|

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 237Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track MaterialPlaying TracksAfter recording or importing to trac

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 13TracksPro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, and au-tomation data are recorded and edited. Audio and MIDI tracks can

Pro Tools Reference Guide238With the Edit and Timeline selections linked, you can click a region or MIDI note with the Grabber to automatically update

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 239The Main Location Indicator displays the play-back location in the time format for the Main Time S

Pro Tools Reference Guide240Edit window. If the playback cursor is located before the time visible in the Edit window, the Playback Cursor Locator wil

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 241To navigate directly to any track using track position numbers:1 Choose Display > Display Trac

Pro Tools Reference Guide242The Playhead indicates where playback begins when clicking Play in the Transport window.To move the Playhead to a particul

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 243To scrub a single audio track:1 With the Scrubber selected, drag within the track—left for revers

Pro Tools Reference Guide244To play one or two tracks with the shuttle lock: 1 For TDM systems, make sure the Operation Preference for Numeric Keypad

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 2453 With the Selector, click in the track where you want playback to begin. To shuttle on two track

Pro Tools Reference Guide246While you could theoretically do this with the Edit and Timeline selections linked, as soon as playback is stopped, the pl

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 247Selections in Multiple TracksTo make a selection in multiple tracks: With the Selector, click and

Pro Tools Reference Guide14ChannelThe term channel is used to describe several re-lated components of a Pro Tools system. The first example of channel

Pro Tools Reference Guide248To select all material in all tracks, along with Conductor events:1 Make sure the Edit and Timeline selections are linked

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 249The Object Grabber ignores Edit Groups when making selections. For instance, selecting a re-gion o

Pro Tools Reference Guide250Changing a Selection LengthThe selection range can be shortened or length-ened; this does not affect the material within t

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 251Extending SelectionsYou can extend selections to region start and end points, to include an adjace

Pro Tools Reference Guide252Numeric Entry Shortcuts for Selection IndicatorsYou can use the following shortcuts for entering values in the Selection I

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 253To select across all tracks: Enable the All Edit Group and make a selec-tion in any track.– or –

Pro Tools Reference Guide254To make a selection with the Scrubber:1 Choose Setups > Preferences. In the Operation page of the Preferences dialog,

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 2555 Press Shift+Tab until the cursor locates to the end of the material you want to select.To move

Pro Tools Reference Guide256To audition a selection start point with pre-roll: Press Control+Alt+Left Arrow (Windows) or Command+Option+Left Arrow (M

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 257Timeline SelectionsWith the Edit and Timeline selections unlinked, selections can be made in the T

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 15Signal Routing Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and signal routing controls. The Mix window is where these con

Pro Tools Reference Guide258Sliding a Timeline SelectionLike Edit selections, Timeline selections can be slid in the Ruler.To move a Timeline selectio

Chapter 16: Playing and Selecting Track Material 259Moving the PlayheadWhen Continuous Scroll With Playhead is en-abled, the Playhead can be moved for

Pro Tools Reference Guide260

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 261Chapter 17: Working with Regions and SelectionsBecause regions are the basic building block of audi

Pro Tools Reference Guide262Separate Region CommandThe Separate Region command defines a selec-tion within an existing region, or a partially se-lected

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 263Separation GrabberYou can use the Separation Grabber to automat-ically separate an edit selection a

Pro Tools Reference Guide264Healing a SeparationThe Heal Separation command returns sepa-rated regions to their original state—provided the regions ar

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 265• In Slip mode, the regions are placed freely anywhere in the destination track.Defining Region Sync

Pro Tools Reference Guide2662 While pressing the Start key (Windows) or Control (Macintosh), drag the region from the Regions List, or from another t

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 2673 With the Grabber, Control-Start-click (Win-dows) or Command-Control-click (Macintosh) the region

Pro Tools Reference Guide16Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders Auxiliary In-puts are tracks that can be used as returns, sub-mixers and bus masters. Ma

Pro Tools Reference Guide268Use of the Trimmer is affected by the current Edit mode: Shuffle, Slip, Spot, or Grid. See “Edit Modes” on page 224 for mo

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 269Time Compression/Expansion Plug-In PreferencesYou can select settings for the Time Compres-sion/Exp

Pro Tools Reference Guide2703 Click the region near its start or end point. The Spot Dialog opens. Using any Time Scale, enter a new start or end tim

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 271To trim from an end point to insertion:1 With the Selector, click inside the region or note where

Pro Tools Reference Guide272To shuffle regions:1 Set the Edit mode to Shuffle by clicking its button in the upper left of the Edit window.2 Drag a mon

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 273To slip regions:1 Set the Edit mode to Slip by clicking its button in the upper left of the Edit w

Pro Tools Reference Guide2745 Click in the field for Start, Sync Point, or End and type in a new location. Changing one of these locate points automat

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 275Setting Up the GridWhen the Display Preference for “Draw Grid in Edit Window” is enabled, vertical

Pro Tools Reference Guide276Absolute and Relative Grid ModeGrid mode can be applied in Absolute or Rela-tive mode. ◆ In Absolute Grid mode, moving any

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 2772 From the Nudge pop-up menu in the Edit win-dow, select the Nudge value.To specify a Nudge value

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 17Active and Inactive ItemsPro Tools lets you set certain items (such as tracks and inserts) as inactive, in order to fr

Pro Tools Reference Guide278Nudging a Region’s ContentsOften a region’s start point will reside at the cor-rect location, perhaps at a SMPTE frame or

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 279The Shift command works the same regardless of the Edit mode. Adjacent regions are over-lapped in S

Pro Tools Reference Guide280Muting/Unmuting RegionsChoosing the Mute/Unmute Region command mutes playback of a selected region. Choosing the command a

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 281If tracks are grouped, copying and pasting on any of the tracks affects each of the other tracks in

Pro Tools Reference Guide282To cut or copy a selection or region:1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current grid value, set the Edit mod

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 283If pasting into a selection in Shuffle mode, the selection is replaced by the Clipboard’s contents

Pro Tools Reference Guide284To duplicate a selection or region:1 If working with material that is bar- and beat-based, such as loops, set the Main Ti

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 2854 Choose Edit > Repeat. In the Repeat dialog, enter the number of times you want the mate-rial

Pro Tools Reference Guide286To split a stereo or multichannel track:1 Select the track you want to split by clicking its name in the Edit or Mix wind

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 287Waveform Repair with the Pencil ToolThe Pencil tool allows you to destructively “re-draw” waveform

Contents iii Contents Part I Introduction Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pro Tools Reference Guide18Display of Inactive ItemsWhen items are inactive, their names appear in italics, and their background becomes dark grey. Wh

Pro Tools Reference Guide288The Smart ToolWith the Smart Tool you can instantly access the Selector, Grabber, and Trimmer, and you can also perform fa

Chapter 17: Working with Regions and Selections 289To get the Marquee so you can select a group of notes, position the cursor so it doesn’t cover any

Pro Tools Reference Guide290

Chapter 18: Advanced Editing (TDM Systems Only) 291Chapter 18: Advanced Editing (TDM Systems Only)Replacing Audio Regions(TDM Systems Only)You can use

Pro Tools Reference Guide292Match: End Position Replaces all regions that have the same original end time as the selected region. This includes region

Chapter 18: Advanced Editing (TDM Systems Only) 293Replace Region and Multichannel TracksThe Replace Region command supports drag-ging multichannel re

Pro Tools Reference Guide294Compress/Expand Edit to Play on Multiple Tracks and ChannelsThe Compress/Expand Edit to Play command can be used on multic

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 295Chapter 19: Fades and CrossfadesUsing CrossfadesYou can quickly and easily crossfade between two adjacent audio re

Pro Tools Reference Guide296Standard Crossfade (Centered)This type of selection creates a crossfade on both sides of the splice point, which affects t

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 297The Fades DialogWhen choosing the Edit > Fades command you can use the Fades dialog to select, view, and pre-vi

Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 19You can apply Active or Inactive modes to all or all selected tracks using standard Pro Tools mod-ifiers (Alt and Alt+

Pro Tools Reference Guide298Zoom In Click this button to scale the view of the wave-form’s amplitude upwards. Control-click (Win-dows) or Command-clic

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 299◆ Preset Curve 6 drops the volume of region 1 even more quickly at the beginning of the cross-fade.◆ Preset Curve

Pro Tools Reference Guide300Fade In Shape SettingsThe In Shape setting allows you to choose the shape of the fade-in to region 2.Standard Selects a si

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 301Typical Curve CombinationsFollowing are the available combinations of fade-out and fade-in curves.Linear Crossfade

Pro Tools Reference Guide302Creating a CrossfadeTo create a crossfade between two regions:1 With the Selector, click at the point where you want the

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 303Pre and Post Crossfade SelectionsBy making a selection that begins or ends pre-cisely on the border of two regions

Pro Tools Reference Guide304To create a fade-in:1 Select the beginning of the region that you want to fade in. The selection must extend to the exact

Chapter 19: Fades and Crossfades 305Using AutoFades(Pro Tools TDM Only)On Pro Tools TDM systems, you can choose to have Pro Tools automatically apply

Pro Tools Reference Guide3064 Select whether you want to Create New Fades, Create New Fade-Ins & Outs, Adjust Existing Fades, or a combination of

Chapter 20: Managing Regions 307Chapter 20: Managing RegionsManaging the regions in a session lets you keep system and storage requirements to a minim

Pro Tools Reference Guide20Multi-Timbral The capability of playing several different instrument sounds (such as piano, bass, and drums) simultaneously

Pro Tools Reference Guide308Auto-Naming for Strip SilenceThe Rename button in the Strip Silence window opens the Rename Selected Regions dialog, which

Chapter 20: Managing Regions 3097 Once the Strip Silence rectangles encompass the audio that you want to keep, press the Strip button.The material de

Pro Tools Reference Guide310Consolidate Selection CommandDuring the course of normal edit operations, a track may eventually contain many regions. How

Chapter 20: Managing Regions 311To compact an audio file:1 Choose Select Unused > Regions from the Au-dio Regions List pop-up menu. All regions tha

Pro Tools Reference Guide3125 Click OK to rename the region. If renaming multiple regions, you are prompted, succes-sively, to rename each region.Aut

Chapter 20: Managing Regions 313When auto-created regions are hidden, Pro Tools warns you if the number of auto-cre-ated regions exceeds a certain thr

Pro Tools Reference Guide314

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 315Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory LocationsTempo EventsTempo events, which are displayed in

Pro Tools Reference Guide3162 In the Tempo Change window, enter the Lo-cation and BPM value for the tempo change. Select the Snap To Bar option to pl

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 317If an existing tempo event is near the beginning of the selection, press Control (Windows) or Com

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 21Chapter 4: Pro Tools WindowsPro Tools provides two complementary ways of viewing a session: the Mix window and the Edi

Pro Tools Reference Guide318Default TempoNew sessions open with a default tempo of 120 BPM. This tempo can be changed by inserting a tempo event at 1|

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 3194 In the Bar|Beat Markers dialog, specify the start and end locations for the inserted Bar|Beat

Pro Tools Reference Guide320Dragging Bar|Beat MarkersBar|Beat Markers can be dragged to new loca-tions so they can align with audio regions that have

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 321Meter EventsMeter events can be inserted at the beginning of a session to replace the default met

Pro Tools Reference Guide3224 Click Apply to insert the new meter event. The new meter event is inserted and appears in the Meter Ruler.Each meter ev

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 323To clear a range of selected meter events:1 If you want to constrain the selection to the curren

Pro Tools Reference Guide324Memory Locations and MarkersEach session can save up to 200 Memory Loca-tions that can be used to recall:• Markers to impo

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 325Markers appear in the Markers Ruler with a thin yellow line extending down through all tracks in

Pro Tools Reference Guide326Creating Memory LocationsMemory Locations can be created in different ways, based on the type of Memory Location.When crea

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 327To create a General Properties Memory Location:1 Configure any session settings you will save wit

Pro Tools Reference Guide22Figure 3. Pro Tools Mix window (Pro Tools 6.4)Inserts View (page 88)Show/HideTracks List (page 93)ChannelVolume (page 88)C

Pro Tools Reference Guide328Recalling Memory LocationsMemory Locations can be recalled from the Memory Locations window and from the nu-meric keypad.

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 329To change a Memory Location from one type to another:1 In the Memory Locations window, double-cl

Pro Tools Reference Guide330To delete a Marker from the Markers Ruler: While pressing Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh), move the cursor over the M

Chapter 21: Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations 331Memory Locations Commands and OptionsShow Markers Only When selected, only Marker Memory Location

Pro Tools Reference Guide332Default To Marker When selected, new Memory Locations default to Markers, though in the New Memory Location dialog you can

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 333Chapter 22: Beat DetectiveBeat Detective (TDM systems only) is a powerful tool for analyzing, editing, and manipulating

Pro Tools Reference Guide334Creating DigiGrooves (Pro Tools 6.x Only) Beat Detective can extract groove templates, called DigiGrooves, from an audio s

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 335The Beat Detective WindowThe Beat Detective window appears as shown in Figure 18, below. To open the Beat Detective wind

Pro Tools Reference Guide336Defining a Beat Detective SelectionWhether you will be generating Bar|Beat Mark-ers, extracting a DigiGroove template, or s

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 337• If the selection’s tempo and meter match the session tempo and meter (see “Calcu-lating Tempo with Beat Detective” on

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 23Figure 4. Pro Tools Edit window (Pro Tools 6.4)Rulers (page 232)AudioRegionsList (page 220)MIDI Regions List (page 22

Pro Tools Reference Guide338Generating Beat TriggersOnce you’ve accurately defined the selection range, Beat Detective can generate beat triggers base

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 339Tips for Getting Useful Beat TriggersUse the following tips to verify beat triggers:◆ To focus on a particular area in t

Pro Tools Reference Guide340To move a beat trigger:1 With the Beat Detective window open, choose the Grabber tool in the Edit window.2 Locate the be

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 341beat. If you then separate and conform the re-gion containing this note, it will be moved to the wrong location. Subsequ

Pro Tools Reference Guide342Bar|Beat Markers are generated, based on the beat triggers, and appear in the Tempo Ruler.Working with Sub-BeatsTempo is d

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 343To extract a Groove Template:1 In the Edit window, make an audio selection. The selection should consist of one or more

Pro Tools Reference Guide344Groove ExtrapolationBeat Detective’s ability to extract tempo data from a wide range of material is enhanced by its powerf

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 345 When conforming separated regions, the region sync point, not the region start point, deter-mines where the region is

Pro Tools Reference Guide 346 Conforming Regions with Beat Detective After regions have been separated with Beat De-tective, the regions can then be

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 347 7 To achieve a swing feel for the conformed re-gions, select the Swing option and whether the swing is based on eigh

Pro Tools Reference Guide24Track ControlsEdit ToolsEvent Edit AreaThe Event Edit Area provides time, pitch, and other information for the currently se

Pro Tools Reference Guide 348 6 To see comments about the selected template, click Show Info. 7 To affect how strongly the regions are con-forme

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 349• Select Fill Gaps to trim region end points so that the gaps between regions are filled.• Select Fill And Crossfade to t

Pro Tools Reference Guide350DigiGroove templates, or separate new regions. Collection mode is the only way to analyze and create beat triggers on one

Chapter 22: Beat Detective 3513 Define or capture the selection as described in “Defining a Beat Detective Selection” on page 336.4 Configure the Detec

Pro Tools Reference Guide35210 In the Detection (Collection Mode) section, click Add Unique Triggers to add only the unique triggers from the track t

353Part V: MIDI Editing

354

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 355Chapter 23: MIDI EditingPro Tools provides powerful MIDI editing tools. You can create and edit individual MIDI notes and

Pro Tools Reference Guide356LineWhen in Note view, the Line shape inserts a se-ries of MIDI notes on a single pitch whose veloc-ities are defined by t

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 3573 Click the note icon for the Custom Note Du-ration pop-up menu, and select a note duration.The note icon changes to show

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 25The Transport WindowThe Transport window can be set to show basic transport controls, counters, and MIDI controls. The

Pro Tools Reference Guide3585 When you reach the pitch and time location you want, click to insert the note.The velocity for inserted notes is determ

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 359To insert a series of notes with random velocities:1 Set the MIDI track to Notes view.2 Select the Pencil tool and make

Pro Tools Reference Guide360To select a single pitch for the entire length of a track: On the mini-keyboard, regardless of the cur-rently selected ed

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 361Trimming Note Start and End TimesLike regions, start and end points for MIDI notes can be adjusted with the Trimmer tool.

Pro Tools Reference Guide3623 Drag the top (diamond) of the velocity stalk up or down.– or –If two notes have the same start time (with ve-locity sta

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 363Typing in Note AttributesWhen an individual note is selected with the Grabber or Pencil, its attributes are displayed in t

Pro Tools Reference Guide3642 Choose Edit > Clear to delete the selected notes. The track’s underlying controller data re-mains intact.– or –Press

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 365To avoid overwriting existing MIDI volume and pan automation data, record in MIDI Merge mode. In Pro Tools 6.x, when recor

Pro Tools Reference Guide366Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes)Each MIDI track can have a default program change that is sent each time the track

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 367• If you are using patch name files (Mac OS X only), choose a bank from the pop-up menu in the upper right of the Patch Se

Pro Tools Reference Guide26You can also initiate playback with the follow-ing shortcuts:• Press the Spacebar.•With the Numeric Keypad Mode set to Tran

Pro Tools Reference Guide368To clear patch names: In the Patch Select dialog, click the Clear but-ton.Inserting and Editing Program ChangesProgram ch

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 369Auditioning ProgramsWhen the Patch Select dialog is open, you can have Pro Tools automatically scroll through the differen

Pro Tools Reference Guide370To delete one or more Sysex events:1 With the track to Sysex view, click the Sysex event with the Grabber to select it.–

Chapter 23: MIDI Editing 371Default Controller Values and ChasingThough new MIDI tracks appear to have default values for continuous controller playli

Pro Tools Reference Guide372vice, you may need to use a MIDI offset. In this example, it will usually take at least 5 ms to trig-ger the MIDI notes, a

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 373Chapter 24: MIDI OperationsMIDI Operations WindowThe MIDI Operations window opens when choosing any of the following co

Pro Tools Reference Guide374To undo the command in the MIDI Operations window: Choose Edit > Undo.Using the MIDI Operations WindowUse the followin

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 3753 Select the Notes Between option with the note range set to F#1 and F#1 (if the MIDI Note Dis-play preference is set

Pro Tools Reference Guide376When either of the Pitch fields are selected, you can play a pitch on your MIDI controller to au-tomatically enter it.4 S

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 377Change Smoothly by Percentage Allows veloci-ties to change smoothly from one percentage value to another over time. The

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Windows 27to previously recorded material. To set the post-roll amount, enter a new value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll f

Pro Tools Reference Guide378Change DurationThe Change Duration command adjusts dura-tions for selected MIDI notes. Use it to make melodies and phrases

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 3793 Select the option for Scale By with a percent-age value of 50.4 Click Apply. The durations for the selected notes a

Pro Tools Reference Guide380One of the more common uses for Transpose is to change the key for your MIDI tracks. You can define an Edit Group for MIDI

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 381To open the Quantize window: Choose MIDI > Quantize. What to QuantizeThe options under “What to Quantize” deter-min

Pro Tools Reference Guide382Offset Grid By Offsets the Quantize Grid forward or back in time by a specified number of ticks. Use this option to achiev

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 383Quantize ExamplesThe following examples illustrate some of the more common uses for the Quantize command.If you intend

Pro Tools Reference Guide384Quantizing with SwingIf you’re working with hi-hats or bass lines, you may want to apply more of a swing feel to the track

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 385Input QuantizeWhen Input Quantize is enabled, all recorded MIDI notes are quantized automatically. To pre-serve the ori

Pro Tools Reference Guide386Groove TemplateGroove templates (such as DigiGroove tem-plates) are “quantization maps” derived from real musical performa

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 387OptionsPre-Process Using Quantize Enable to hard quantize the selected MIDI notes according to the Quantize command’s s

Pro Tools Reference Guide iv Part II Sessions & Tracks Chapter 6. Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pro Tools Reference Guide28Countoff When selected, Pro Tools counts off a specified number of measures (indicated in the button) before playback or re

Pro Tools Reference Guide3882 Enter or edit any comments you want to save with the template.3 Click the Save button to save the groove tem-plate wit

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 389Template Mapping for Equal Meters And Even BarsIf a selection starts on an even bar, only the ap-propriate portion of t

Pro Tools Reference Guide390downbeat of the Groove Template will be aligned with the downbeats in the selection and only the appropriate number of bea

Chapter 24: MIDI Operations 391Any changes made through the standard Quan-tize, Groove Quantize, Change Duration, Change Velocity, or Change Pitch com

Pro Tools Reference Guide392

Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 393Chapter 25: MIDI Event ListThe MIDI Event ListThe MIDI Event List displays a detailed list of all events in a single MI

Pro Tools Reference Guide394Menus in the MIDI Event ListAt the top of the MIDI Event List are three pop-up menus:MIDI Track Selector Indicates the MID

Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 3952 In the MIDI Event List View Filter dialog, se-lect the All Except option.3 Select the options for Mono Aftertouch,

Pro Tools Reference Guide3963 Enter the location you want to go to, then click OK.The following items from the Options menu af-fect navigating in the

Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 397To insert a controller event in the MIDI Event List:1 Click the Insert button and choose Controller from the pop-up me

Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts 29Chapter 5: Keyboard ShortcutsGlobal Key CommandsThis section shows keyboard shortcuts that ap-ply to many functions in

Pro Tools Reference Guide3984 To insert the program change and remain in Event Entry mode, press Enter on the numeric keypad.– or –To insert the prog

Chapter 25: MIDI Event List 399Selecting in the MIDI Event ListTo select a range of events in the MIDI Event List: Click the event at the beginning o

Pro Tools Reference Guide4004 Choose Edit > Paste. The events from the Clip-board are pasted, replacing any existing events already there.MIDI Eve

401Part VI: Mixing

402

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 403Chapter 26: Basic MixingIn addition to the final mixdown, mixing tasks can occur any time during a recording session. This

Pro Tools Reference Guide404Audio Signal FlowPro Tools provides three different types of audio tracks: •Audio tracks• Auxiliary Inputs• Master Faders

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 405To create an audio track1 Choose File > New Track.2 In the New Track dialog, specify the number of tracks.3 From the

Pro Tools Reference Guide406Common Uses for Auxiliary InputsBy bussing tracks to the Auxiliary Input, you can:• Apply real-time plug-ins or an externa

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 407Master Faders provide up to five post-fader in-serts and no sends. Also, Master Fader tracks do not have Pan controls, or

Pro Tools Reference Guide30Keyboard FocusThe Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines how the alpha keys function. Depending on which Keyboard Focus is

Pro Tools Reference Guide408InsertsPro Tools lets you insert up to five inserts on each audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master Fader. Each insert can

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 409The Delay Compensation view is only available in the Mix window. To show or hide available views in the Mix and Edit windo

Pro Tools Reference Guide410Mic Preamps View Shows controls in each track for the Digidesign PRE. Deselect to hide. For de-tailed information, see the

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 411To assign multiple tracks to the same input: Alt-select (Windows) or Option-select (Macin-tosh) a track input to assign a

Pro Tools Reference Guide412To assign multiple tracks to unique outputs (ascending, incrementing): Control-Alt-click (Windows) or Command-Option-clic

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 413You can also define what physical ports are routed to Pro Tools output ports in the “Main” page of the Hardware Setup dial

Pro Tools Reference Guide414SendsPro Tools lets you insert up to five sends on each audio track or Auxiliary Input. Sends provide the following featur

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 4153 Set the output level of the send in the Send window:• Adjust the send level fader.– or –• Set the send level to unity g

Pro Tools Reference Guide416Configuring Sends View in the Mix and Edit WindowsSends are displayed in the Mix and Edit window according to the Sends Vie

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 417Editing Sends in the Mix and Edit Windows (Send A–E Views)Send A–E Views display all the controls of an in-dividual send i

Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts 31Numeric Keypad ModesThe Operation preference for Numeric Keypad Mode determines how the numeric keypad functions for T

Pro Tools Reference Guide418Inactive Sends Sends can be made inactive. Inactive sends free their DSP and mixer resources, while retaining their positi

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 419To open a Send window: Click the send in the Mix or Edit window. To view a different track Output or Send window: Click

Pro Tools Reference Guide420Panner LinkingStereo outputs provide two panning controls, one for each side of the left/right pair. Multi-channel outputs

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 421Standard Selector Controls in Output WindowsAll Output windows provide standard selectors for path, automation, and other

Pro Tools Reference Guide422Meter View opens the path Meter View. These meters display levels of the selected path (not the levels of the track or sen

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 423To display the controls for a different send on the same track: Click the Send Selector button and select the send.To add

Pro Tools Reference Guide424• Control and automate any submix from a sin-gle fader and channel strip.• Apply real-time plug-ins or an external pro-ces

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 425sends) to assign tracks to a bus path for discrete submixing. In this arrangement, the balance of processed and unprocesse

Pro Tools Reference Guide4268 From the Auxiliary Input track’s Output Selec-tor, select an output path (main outputs).Adjust the individual track fad

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 427Creating a Master Send Level Control A Master Fader can control the overall level of bus and output paths. To create a Mas

Pro Tools Reference Guide32Transport ModeThis mode allows you to set a number of record and play functions, and also operate the Trans-port from the n

Pro Tools Reference Guide428Delay Compensation(HD-series Systems with Pro Tools 6.4 Only)Pro Tools provides Delay Compensation for managing DSP delays

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 429Plug-In Delay (dly) IndicatorThis indicator shows the total plug-in and hard-ware insert delay on the track. This delay to

Pro Tools Reference Guide430Low Latency Monitoring During RecordingFor recording, Pro Tools automatically suspends delay compensation to provide a low

Chapter 26: Basic Mixing 431Dither Mixer Plug-Ins (Pro Tools|HD Systems Only) There are two Mixer plug-ins that feature dither with noise shaping: Ste

Pro Tools Reference Guide432Noise ShapingNoise is an integral part of the dithering process. Noise shaping can further improve audio perfor-mance and

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 433Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware InsertsPro Tools provides up to five unity-gain inserts on each audio tra

Pro Tools Reference Guide434General InformationWhen more than one insert is used on a track, they are processed in series. Each effect is added to tha

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 435TDM and RTAS Plug-InsThere are three plug-in formats supported by Pro Tools (TDM, RTAS, and AudioSuite), t

Pro Tools Reference Guide436Display of Plug-In Window StatusIn the Mix and Edit window, the plug-in button and selector display the currently inserted

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 437Inactive Plug-In Inserts Inactive plug-in inserts retain all associated au-tomation playlists. In addition

Chapter 5: Keyboard Shortcuts 33Shuttle Mode(TDM Systems Only)Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, dif-ferent from that of the two Shuttle Lock

Pro Tools Reference Guide438Plug-In Menu Organization(Pro Tools 6.4)In Pro Tools 6.4, plug-ins are automatically or-ganized by category (effect type).

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 439Inserting Plug-Ins During PlaybackPlug-ins can be inserted or removed during play-back, with the following

Pro Tools Reference Guide440The Plug-In WindowThe Plug-In window appears whenever you click a plug-in’s Insert button on a track. This floating window

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 441Safe When enabled, prevents existing plug-in automation from being overwritten.Convert Plug-In Lets you co

Pro Tools Reference Guide442To open Plug-In windows for each channel of a multi-mono plug-in: Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macin-tosh) the Ch

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 443Bypassing Plug-InsPlug-ins can be bypassed from their Plug-In win-dow, or from the Mix and Edit window Ins

Pro Tools Reference Guide444Editing Plug-In ControlsYou can adjust plug-in controls by dragging the control’s slider or knob, or by typing a value int

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 445Using a Key Input for Side-Chain ProcessingSome plug-ins (such as the DigiRack Compres-sor, Limiter, Gate,

Pro Tools Reference Guide446Using Hardware InsertsYou can connect external devices, such as reverb or effects processors, to your Pro Tools system and

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 447Connecting and Integrating External DevicesPro Tools TDM and LE systems can create dedi-cated connections

Pro Tools Reference Guide34

Pro Tools Reference Guide448To set up a digital send to an external device from a Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, or Digi 001 system:1 Choose Setups > Pl

Chapter 27: Plug-In and Hardware Inserts 4496 Click OK to close Hardware Setup.Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, and Digi 001 SystemsPro Tools can receive ext

Pro Tools Reference Guide450

Chapter 28: Automation 451Chapter 28: AutomationPro Tools features dynamic automation of vol-ume, pan, and mute controls for audio tracks and sends, M

Pro Tools Reference Guide452Automation PlaylistsEach Pro Tools track contains a single automa-tion playlist for each automatable parameter.On audio tr

Chapter 28: Automation 453from, its associated audio regions. (MIDI auto-mation data always follows region editing, with the exception of mute. See “M

Pro Tools Reference Guide454Auto TouchAuto Touch mode writes automation only while a fader or switch is touched or clicked with the mouse. When the fa

Chapter 28: Automation 455When this mode is enabled, non-trimmable controls (all controls other than track volume and send level) behave as if they ar

Pro Tools Reference Guide456Automation PreferencesPro Tools gives you several options for control-ling the writing and playback of automation data.To

Chapter 28: Automation 457the EQ type in the 1-band EQ plug-in) that pro-vide more than two discrete steps over their op-erational range. AutoMatch ha

35Part II: Sessions & Tracks

Pro Tools Reference Guide458To reduce processing load, try the following: Deselect the Faders Move During Playback op-tion in the Automation Preferen

Chapter 28: Automation 459Writing AutomationYou can write automation for all automatable controls by moving those controls during play-back. To write

Pro Tools Reference Guide460In this initial state, only a single automation breakpoint appears at the beginning of each au-tomation playlist. If you m

Chapter 28: Automation 461Copying Track Automation to Sends(TDM Systems Only)There may be times where you want a track’s send automation to mirror aut

Pro Tools Reference Guide4622 Click the Automation Enable button in the Plug-In window.– or –Control-Alt-Start-click (Windows) or Com-mand-Option-Con

Chapter 28: Automation 463Enabling and Suspending AutomationFrom the Automation Enable window, you can enable or suspend writing for the following typ

Pro Tools Reference Guide464Automation Enable GuidelinesThe following rules determine whether automa-tion is written or played back for a track:◆ Alth

Chapter 28: Automation 465Thinning AutomationPro Tools writes a maximum density of automa-tion data during an automation pass, in the form of breakpoi

Pro Tools Reference Guide466Free Hand Draws freely according to the move-ment of the mouse. In audio tracks, the shape has the number of breakpoints n

Chapter 28: Automation 467For better performance, consider selecting a smaller value for MIDI controls that need higher resolution (such as MIDI volum

36

Pro Tools Reference Guide468Editing Pan AutomationDrag a breakpoint down to pan right, and up to pan left. Drag a breakpoint to the left or right to a

Chapter 28: Automation 469To edit all breakpoint values in a region: Click in the region with the Trimmer and drag the breakpoints up or down.Editing

Pro Tools Reference Guide470Editing Automation on Grouped TracksWhen you edit automation on an audio track that is a member of an active Edit Group, t

Chapter 28: Automation 471Cutting, Copying, and Pasting AutomationCutting automation data is different from delet-ing it, and yields different results

Pro Tools Reference Guide472The main view formats are:• Audio tracks: Blocks and Waveform• MIDI tracks: Blocks, Regions, and NotesFor example, when an

Chapter 28: Automation 473To paste data into a different automation playlist: Press the Start key (Windows) or Control (Macintosh) when choosing Edit

Pro Tools Reference Guide4744 Make sure you are actively writing on the ap-propriate track if you are in Latch or Touch mode.5 When you reach a poin

Chapter 28: Automation 475Trimming Automation(TDM Systems Only)If you have already written automation, you can modify automation data for track volume

Pro Tools Reference Guide4763 Select an area in the track’s playlist (or within multiple tracks) where you want to apply the au-tomation. – or –Place

Chapter 28: Automation 4775 Choose Edit > Write Automation and select one of the following from the submenu:•To write the current value to only th

Chapter 6: Sessions 37Chapter 6: SessionsThis chapter covers the basics of starting a project in Pro Tools, including how to set up and save a Pro Too

Pro Tools Reference Guide4783 Move the controls for the parameter up or down by the amount you want to change the data. 4 Choose Edit > Trim Auto

Chapter 29: Mixdown 479Chapter 29: MixdownPro Tools lets you record and bounce tracks to disk. The Bounce to Disk command lets you write a final mix t

Pro Tools Reference Guide480Dither and Bounce to DiskDithering can significantly improve audio qual-ity. Generally, dithering is necessary when re-duc

Chapter 29: Mixdown 481When you Bounce to Disk you can convert the file to the appropriate resolution. Before being converted by the Bounce to Disk co

Pro Tools Reference Guide48210 Click Play in the Transport window to begin recording the submix.11 If recording a selection of audio, recording will

Chapter 29: Mixdown 483Bounce OptionsWhen you use the Bounce to Disk command, you can configure several file options. Default SettingsAvailable option

Pro Tools Reference Guide484To set the bounce source: Select an output or bus path from the Source Selector.File TypeSelects the (creator) type for t

Chapter 29: Mixdown 485Windows Media (Windows Only)Windows Media formatted files can contain au-dio, video, or script data stored in Windows Me-dia Fo

Pro Tools Reference Guide486Select the “Include RealPlayer 5.0 Compatible Stream” option to include a backward compati-ble stream that can be played o

Chapter 29: Mixdown 487• Constant Bit Rate (CBR) encodes the file at a single bit rate that you choose from the CBR pop-up menu. Because the bit rate i

Contents v Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Expor

Pro Tools Reference Guide38Hardware Buffer SizeThe Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) con-trols the size of the hardware cache used to han-dle hos

Pro Tools Reference Guide488Write CRC Checksums This option adds error-detection data to the MP3 file. This data is not necessary for most computer an

Chapter 29: Mixdown 489Pro Tools also lets you create multichannel in-terleaved files of any supported file type. This can simplify file management of

Pro Tools Reference Guide49088200 You may want to work at a sample rate of 88.2 kHz if the final delivery will be at 44.1 kHz (such as compact disc).

Chapter 29: Mixdown 491The Import Into Session After Bounce option is only available if the target bit depth for the bounce is the same or less as the

Pro Tools Reference Guide492To bring bounced files back into tracks:1 Do one of the following:• If the newly bounced audio was automati-cally imported

Chapter 29: Mixdown 493MasteringIn the final mastering process, you might record directly to disk, DAT, DVD, CD, stereo master-ing recorder, or a mult

Pro Tools Reference Guide494To configure Pro Tools for direct digital stereo mastering:1 Connect your digital recorder to your system’s digital output

495Part VII: Surround

496

Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 497Chapter 30: Surround ConceptsPro Tools HD-series and MIX-series systems sup-port multichannel mixing for surround sou

Chapter 6: Sessions 39To change the number of voices and DSP to allocate for voicing:1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.2 Select the number of voi

Pro Tools Reference Guide498Pro Tools Mixing FormatsSpeaker LayoutsFigure 33 on page 499 illustrates the speaker arrangements of each surround format.

Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 499Figure 33. Speaker arrangement of surround formatsMono Stereo LCRLRLr RrLCRSLCRS3+1for Dolby SurroundQuad2+2Quadraph

Pro Tools Reference Guide500Surround Monitoring In order to monitor your current multichannel mix in a given surround format (such as DTS or Dolby Dig

Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 501Calibrated Surround MonitoringOne of the most important things you can do is to calibrate not only Pro Tools, but als

Pro Tools Reference Guide502LCRS for Dolby Surround Dolby Surround (Pro Logic) is a four-channel format that is one of the most widely installed consu

Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 503LFEWhen a decimal such as “.1” is present in the name of a surround format, it indicates the pres-ence of an LFE chan

Pro Tools Reference Guide504Unlike the typical living room, movie theaters are large spaces with speakers placed widely apart. Due to distance, sounds

Chapter 30: Surround Concepts 505Surround Formats and Delivery MediumsSurround mixes are tailored for their specific de-livery medium. Most often, thi

Pro Tools Reference Guide506Bass ManagementBass management is a function of the playback system. Bass management refers to a number of processes by wh

Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 507Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for SurroundThis chapter explains how to set up and config-ure Pro Tools sessio

Pro Tools Reference Guide40Delay Compensation Engine(Pro Tools 6.4 for Pro Tools|HD Systems Only)The Delay Compensation Engine lets you en-able Delay

Pro Tools Reference Guide508To connect your audio interfaces for 5.1 format mixing and monitoring:1 Determine the 5.1 format and track layout you wan

Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 509To create a new session for multichannel mixing:1 Choose File > New Session.2 Select one of the avail

Pro Tools Reference Guide510Importing Multichannel I/O SetupsThe I/O Setup dialog can import and export set-tings files. Importing I/O Setup settings fi

Chapter 31: Pro Tools Setup for Surround 511You can remap paths to any required configura-tion, limited only by your systems resources, and the I/O Se

Pro Tools Reference Guide512Default I/O Selectors in I/O SetupThe Output tab of the I/O Setup dialog provides the following default settings for multi

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 513 Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing Surround sessions typically include a combi

Pro Tools Reference Guide 514 Multichannel Audio Tracks Multichannel audio tracks contain an individ-ual channel for each signal in the track (for ex

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 515 For discrete control of signals, multichannel tracks can be converted into individual mono tra

Pro Tools Reference Guide 516 Multiple Output Assignments and Track Format When a track is assigned to more than one path of differing formats, the m

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 517 Additional output assignments can be added by Start-clicking (Windows) or Control-clicking (Ma

Chapter 6: Sessions 41System Memory Allocation(Pro Tools 6.x for TDM Systems Only)When you start your computer, Pro Tools auto-matically reserves a po

Pro Tools Reference Guide 518 Multi-Mono Plug-Ins Are designed for use on ste-reo or greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks. Multi-mono plug-ins ar

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 519 To link the controls of specific channels: 1 Deselect the Master Link button if it is not al-

Pro Tools Reference Guide 520 Extending Stereo Mixing Conventions to Surround Mixing Stereo mixing sets the precedent for active and static panning,

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 521 Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix The examples that follow show how Auxiliar

Pro Tools Reference Guide 522 Signal Routing Examples The following examples show how main and sub-paths can be used, using an example session con-si

Chapter 32: Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing 523 Figure 42 shows a routing configuration for music tracks.Most of the music tracks in this exam

Pro Tools Reference Guide 524 Multiple output assignments make it possible to configure a number of multi-format mixes. For example, you can assign a

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 525 Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing This chapter explains how to pan and mix in surround with Pro Too

Pro Tools Reference Guide526To pan from the Mix or Edit window:1 For Pro Tools 5.x, make sure I/O View is being shown for the Mix or Edit windows (Di

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 527To open an Output window: Click the Output icon in the track in the Mix or Edit window (I/O View).Standard

Pro Tools Reference Guide42Additional pages are available to configure other controls for each audio interface (such as setting operating levels). For

Pro Tools Reference Guide528Surround Panner ControlsWhen assigned to tracks or paths with four or more channels, the Output window provides an X/Y Gri

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 529The X/Y Grid and Pan CursorThe X/Y Grid is where multichannel panning information is input and displayed. Y

Pro Tools Reference Guide530Divergence ControlsDivergence determines the width of the panned signal with respect to neighboring speakers. (For more in

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 5312 Drag the pan cursor, or click anywhere in the Grid and drag to pan the track. The location of the pan cu

Pro Tools Reference Guide5323-Knob PanningPro Tools provides 3-Knob mode as an addi-tional way to input pan moves. 3-Knob mode lets you:• Pan in strai

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 533To change the 3-Knob trajectory angles: Drag either endpoint (Front or Rear) of the trajectory line. – or

Pro Tools Reference Guide534DivergenceIn the Panner Grid, the current divergence val-ues are displayed using a purple outline. By default, Pro Tools s

Chapter 33: Surround Panning and Mixing 535Center % (Percentage)Center Percentage controls whether there is a discrete center channel for the track or

Pro Tools Reference Guide536SurroundScope Metering Plug-InThe SurroundScope Metering plug-in provides a 360° meter for metering multichannel paths dur

537Part VIII: Synchronization

Chapter 6: Sessions 43• On the 96 I/O, configuring the operating levels of analog inputs and outputs (+4 dBu or –10 dBV).• On the 96i I/O, configuring t

538

Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 539Chapter 34: Synchronization ConceptsThis section is designed to give you a basic un-derstanding of synchroniza

Pro Tools Reference Guide540of these references; for example, a black burst generator provides only a clock reference. Some peripherals, such as the D

Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 541SMPTE and ISO/EBU Time CodeThe “Where are we?” question refers to relative position. To describe position, man

Pro Tools Reference Guide542“Frame rate” is the rate of speed that the time code is ascending through the frames. For exam-ple, when someone refers to

Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 543called phase-quadrature, while Tach encodes rate on one signal and direction on the other. For more informatio

Pro Tools Reference Guide54425 fps Frame FormatThis format is used with the European PAL video standard, which runs at a 25 fps frame rate. This forma

Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 545 If we use the black and white NTSC video stan-dard (30 fps) instead of 29.97 fps, the process of converting

Pro Tools Reference Guide 546 Frame Rates and Relative Playback Speeds The following diagram illustrates the relative playback speeds of SMPTE format

Chapter 34: Synchronization Concepts 547 Rate Conversion option on the 192 I/O, to record the audio into Pro Tools at the proper sample rate. Or you

Pro Tools Reference Guide449 Repeat the above steps for each additional Legacy I/O.Configuring I/O SetupThe I/O Setup dialog provides a graphical repr

Pro Tools Reference Guide 548 Final Audio Destination: Video If you are working with video that was trans-ferred from film, your audio source is at f

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 549 Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization Synchronization allows one system to output time code and the o

Pro Tools Reference Guide550SMPTE Trigger while Locking to an Unresolved Source(TDM Systems Only)SMPTE Trigger can be used with the optional SYNC I/O

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 551Session Setup WindowThe Session Setup window lets you configure various time code-related settings on your

Pro Tools Reference Guide552To show Time Code Settings section: Click the Time Code Settings Expand/Col-lapse icon.The controls in this section provi

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 553Session StartUse this field to specify a SMPTE start frame lo-cation for your session. See “Setting a SMPTE

Pro Tools Reference Guide554Refer to the SYNC I/O Guide for instructions on using VSO to varispeed Pro Tools playback. Locked Indicatorhe Locked indic

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 555Time Code SettingsThe Time Code Settings section provides gener-ator, freewheel, and pull up/down options.

Pro Tools Reference Guide556Time Code Reader Offset (Sync Offset)This field lets you set a trigger offset for incoming MIDI Time Code (anywhere from –1

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 557Setting a SMPTE Session Start Time (Start Frame)The Session Setup window also allows you to set a SMPTE St

Chapter 6: Sessions 45Creating a New SessionThe first step in beginning a Pro Tools project is creating a new session. When you do this, Pro Tools aut

Pro Tools Reference Guide558Redefining a Feet+Frame PositionThe Redefine Current Feet+Frame Position com-mand lets you define a Feet+Frame number for t

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 559Configuring Pull Up and Pull DownTo pull up or pull down audio or video:1 (Pro Tools 6.3 and below) If you

Pro Tools Reference Guide560Auto Match Pull Factors is enabled, Pro Tools adjusts audio and video playback rates as needed to match any changes to the

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 561Audio Rates and Pull Up/Down OptionsThe following table lists actual sample rates of each pull up and pull

Pro Tools Reference Guide562The choices available in the Video Rate Pull Up/Down menu depend on the file format of the video clip, as well as its fram

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 563The Online button flashes while Pro Tools waits for a SMPTE frame to trigger playback. When time code is r

Pro Tools Reference Guide5646 Choose a clock reference from the Clock Ref-erence selector. Not all clock choices are avail-able at all sample rates.

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 5654 Click the Machine Control tab in the Periph-erals dialog.5 In the MIDI Machine Control section, enable

Pro Tools Reference Guide566Machine Chases Memory Location With this op-tion enabled, navigating to a specific location in a session with a Memory Loc

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 567MIDI Beat ClockSome MIDI devices such as drum machines, hardware sequencers, and arpeggiators can only syn

Pro Tools Reference Guide464 Select the audio file format for the session.For optimum compatibility between Windows and Macintosh sessions, set the fi

Pro Tools Reference Guide568Information in these fields is displayed in SMPTE Time Code, Minutes:Seconds, Feet.Frames, Samples, or Bars & Beats, d

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 569The SYNC I/O can read VITC. With Machine-Control and SYNC I/O, you can also read serial time code.To spot

Pro Tools Reference Guide5703 Click the region with the Grabber. The region will be automatically spotted to the current time code location (or machi

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 571Creating a User Time Stamp If you want to create a separate user-defined SMPTE time stamp, you can use the

Pro Tools Reference Guide5723 From the Audio Regions List pop-up menu, choose Export Selected As Files.4 From the Export Selected dialog, configure e

Chapter 35: Working with Synchronization 573Troubleshooting SynchronizationGetting SMPTE synchronization to work prop-erly can seem like a formidable

Pro Tools Reference Guide57429.97 fps Non-Drop Rate Not Recognized29.97 fps Non-Drop is a slightly slower version of 30 fps Non-Drop time code. When u

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 575Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime MoviesYou can use Pro Tools to import QuickTime movies and audio (such

Pro Tools Reference Guide576With Pro Tools, you can:◆ Import a QuickTime movie into a session◆ Import audio from a QuickTime movie ◆ Import audio files

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 577Video Compatibility If you are not digitizing the video material yourself (if the material is already on

Chapter 6: Sessions 47Opening a SessionWhen you open a session, Pro Tools looks in the session folder for audio and fade files linked to the session.T

Pro Tools Reference Guide578Importing a QuickTime MovieBefore you import a movie, you should digitize your video material and know the correct frame r

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 579Only one QuickTime movie can be associated with a session at a time. If you want to import a different mo

Pro Tools Reference Guide580Delay Between Video & AudioThere can be a considerable delay between video and audio playback when using this feature.

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 581About the Movie WindowThe Movie window displays the movie playback or the current frame if playback is pa

Pro Tools Reference Guide582◆ Reduce the size of the Edit window to the smallest possible size.◆ Close unnecessary windows.◆ Reduce the overall length

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 5836 Choose Edit > Identify Sync Point to place a Sync Point at the current cursor location.7 Enable Sp

Pro Tools Reference Guide584To spot audio to a movie:1 Click the Grid button at the upper left corner of the Edit window. This ensures that the audio

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 585Because the Best and Tweak Head settings take significantly longer than the others, we recom-mend that yo

Pro Tools Reference Guide586Bouncing to a New MovieWhen you have finished your final mix and syn-chronized your audio events to the movie, you can use

Chapter 36: Working with QuickTime Movies 5878 Select the Sample Rate for the movie audio (click the Convert after Bounce option, then the Settings b

Pro Tools Reference Guide vi Chapter 13. MIDI Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Pro Tools Reference Guide48With Pro Tools LE 6.x only:◆ Any tracks beyond the maximum number of available voices on the current system are set to voic

Pro Tools Reference Guide588

Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only) 589Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only)This appendix provides an overview of DSP-in

Pro Tools Reference Guide590In simple terms, DSP-induced delay can cause channels to arrive at the main output (or a sub-mix output) at different time

Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only) 591To use Delay Compensation to compensate for DSP-induced delays:1 Choose Setup > Playback En

Pro Tools Reference Guide5923 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Macintosh) the track’s Volume Indicator until the Channel Delay value is disp

Appendix A: DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only) 593Using Plug-In InsertsUsing plug-in inserts on a track causes addi-tional delay. Channel Delay I

Pro Tools Reference Guide594The tables below list the delay incurred by each type of analog and digital output available in Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 595Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP UsageBenefits of TDM IIDigidesign’s TDM (or time division multiplexing) technolo

Pro Tools Reference Guide596TDM (or TDM I)The TDM I architecture has a single bus where every DSP within the entire TDM system shares a single pool of

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 597Another example of how TDM II is more effi-cient than TDM I is to imagine a single HD Core card with one Engin

Chapter 6: Sessions 49Saving a Copy of the SessionTo save a copy of the current session along with its audio files and fade files, you can use the Sav

Pro Tools Reference Guide598Each chip on a card can only power a certain number of processing functions. If you have a single HD card, MIX card or DSP

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 599With these indicators as your guide, you can try different mixer setups and different arrange-ments of plug-in

Pro Tools Reference Guide600with audio tracks, then add sends and Auxiliary Inputs, and finally add plug-ins as available DSP allows. Master Faders do

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 601Mixing with Sends and BussesEach send will add an input to the destination output pair. For example, a send to

Pro Tools Reference Guide602In Pro Tools HD-series systems, additional mix-ers are available, based on session sample rate.HD Accel Card, Standard mix

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 603I/O(Pro Tools MIX-Series and Pro Tools|24 Only)If the DSP is also being used for I/O processing, then some of

Pro Tools Reference Guide604Mixer plug-ins provided with Pro Tools HD-se-ries systems provide 48-bit precision with 48 dB of headroom. This means that

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 605Trimming Input Summing LevelsWith many inputs that contain high-level sig-nals, it is possible to clip the inp

Pro Tools Reference Guide606There is dissension in the audio community as to whether or not artifacts that fall within this area are actually audible

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 607Plug-In FeaturesStandard Surround and Stereo Mixers(Pro Tools HD-Series Only)Both the Surround and Stereo Mixe

Pro Tools Reference Guide50Session ParametersAudio File TypeYou can save the session to reference BWF (.WAV) or AIFF audio files. On the Macintosh, you

Pro Tools Reference Guide608Mixer Usage GuidelinesThe following conditions apply to mixing with Pro Tools TDM systems.◆ One DSP chip is automatically

Appendix B: TDM Mixing and DSP Usage 609DSP Usage and I/O AllocationOn TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems with a sin-gle audio interface, at least one DSP

Pro Tools Reference Guide610

Appendix C: Troubleshooting 611Appendix C: TroubleshootingBacking Up Your WorkIt is highly recommended that you back up your work on a regular basis,

Pro Tools Reference Guide612◆ (Mac OS 9 Only) Make sure the default set of Mac OS System Extensions is enabled, along with the Open Music System, Digi

Appendix C: Troubleshooting 613Performance FactorsThere are several conditions that may adversely affect the performance of Pro Tools. These in-clude:

Pro Tools Reference Guide614Gather Important InformationDigidesign wants to help you resolve problems as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you h

Glossary 615Glossary9-pin (Sony 9-pin; DB-9) Industry standard for se-rial machine control of professional video and audio transports, made by Sony an

Pro Tools Reference Guide616auto-created region Automatically created re-gions are a by product of editing and punch re-cording over existing regions.

Glossary 617Control|24 Digidesign-dedicated controller for Pro Tools systems. Includes 16 premium micro-phone preamps, a control room monitoring sec-t

Chapter 6: Sessions 51Don’t Copy Fade FilesWhen this option is selected, Fade Files are not copied to the new session Fade Files folder. When the sess

Pro Tools Reference Guide618Edit insertion point Location within a track where you click (without dragging); also loca-tion at which a region’s start,

Glossary 619indexing Used by databases to obtain and main-tain the data displayed in browsers. Indexing creates and updates a database with the latest

Pro Tools Reference Guide620MIX Core PCI core card, which connects to au-dio interfaces and contains the DSP for a Pro Tools|24 Mix TDM system.MIX Far

Glossary 621post-roll Adjustable time for playback to con-tinue beyond the current playback or recording of a selection.PRE Digidesign’s remote contro

Pro Tools Reference Guide622SCSI HBA (Small Computer System Interface and Host Bus Adapter) Digidesign’s conformed ter-minology for SCSI cards. SCSI i

Glossary 623TDM plug-in Digidesign’s proprietary real-time, nondestructive plug-in format for Pro Tools TDM systems. time code address See address.tim

Pro Tools Reference Guide624whole-file audio regions Created when recording or importing audio, consolidating existing re-gions, and when processing wi

Index 625IndexSymbols.1 (in surround mixing) 502Numerics1622 I/O 616-bitBounce to Disk 48916-bit Optimized Mixer 604plug-in features 607176.4 kHzand p

Pro Tools Reference Guide626audio filescompacting 311concepts 12default names 144formats 484importing 109mixed file types 50mixed formats 110audio for

Index 627automation modesAuto Latch 454Auto Off 453Auto Read 453Auto Touch 454Auto Write 453Trim/Auto Latch 455Trim/Auto Off 454Trim/Auto Read 454Trim

Pro Tools Reference Guide524 Close the session.5 Locate the session file that you just saved.6 Right-click the file and choose Properties.7 Under At

Pro Tools Reference Guide628cancelling record takes 160, 183Capture Region command 261capturing time code 568Center % (Percentage) 533Center % in Outp

Index 629equal gain 299equal power 299, 301Fades dialog 297in batches 305linear 301overlap 301pre/post 303removing 302trimming 302types 295with dither

Pro Tools Reference Guide630Tempo Ruler 315User Time Stamps 571ditherand Bounce to Disk 480and fades 299, 431AudioSuite 431on Master Faders 480prefere

Index 631Slip 224Spot 224, 567edit playlists 217Edit selectionsauditioning with Playhead enabled 258copied from Timeline selection 258copied to Timeli

Pro Tools Reference Guide632Fades command 297Fades dialog 297In Shape 300Link option 299Out Shape 298Use Dither option 299Fast Forwardincrementally 23

Index 633Hardware Buffer Size 38hardware I/O inserts 433hardware I/O sends 415Hardware Setup 41Analog In 42Analog Out 42Clock Source 42Digital Format

Pro Tools Reference Guide634program changes 368tempo events 315inserts 408, 433as a shared bus 434duplicating 439for hardware I/O 433for plug-ins 433l

Index 635Manually Find and Relink 130mapping paths in I/O Setup 76Markers 324creating 326creating on the fly 327deleting 329editing 328extending selec

Pro Tools Reference Guide636MIDI notesattributes for 363chasing 370deleting 363duplicating selected 284editing 359durations 378pitch 360velocities 361

Index 637Import Audio From Current Movie command 585Import Movie command 578Medium Priority Playback option 577Normal Priority Playback option 577Set

Chapter 6: Sessions 53To use this template, double-click it or open it with the Open Session command if you are al-ready running Pro Tools. You can cr

Pro Tools Reference Guide638Operation Preferences 56Audio During Fast Forward/Rewind option 238Auto Regions Fade In/Out Length option 305Edit Insertio

Index 639transposing 360transposing with Transpose command 379Play button 25Play DV Movie Out FireWire Port 579Play Edit Selection command 258Play MID

Pro Tools Reference Guide640Progressive Scan 562ProLogic 498pull up and pull downand plug-ins 562and rulers 562audio 559video 559Pull Up/Down 5463:2 P

Index 641conforming with Beat Detective 346consolidating 310copying 282creating 261crossfading between 302cutting 282default names 144displaying all 2

Pro Tools Reference Guide642scroll wheeland MIDI track’s Note display 215, 231scrolling a Pro Tools window 239zooming in the Edit window 231zooming in

Index 643sample rate 39, 46, 552saving 48start frame 553transfers and Delay Compensation considerations 591Set Movie Sync Offset 580Set Movie Sync Off

Pro Tools Reference Guide644Sub Time Scale 235, 558subframes 568submixesapplying an insert to 425bouncing to 491bouncing to disk 481soloing tracks in

Index 645Manual Tempo mode 154tapping in 154tempo events 315and Bar|Beat Markers 320editing 316inserting 315tempo mapfrom Identify Beat command 318imp

Pro Tools Reference Guide646Transferfiles 130Transfer Volumedefined 623transientsdetecting with Beat Detective 338tabbing to 254TransportInput LED 199

Index 647writingautomation 459automation on stop 474automation to start, end, or all 473snapshot automation 475XXML (Extensible Markup Language) 367Zz

Pro Tools Reference Guide54Opening a TDM Session in Pro Tools LEWhen opening a TDM session in Pro Tools LE, the following rules apply:•With Pro Tools

Chapter 6: Sessions 55Organize Plug-Ins Menus by Category (Pro Tools 6.4) When enabled, plug-ins are automatically organized by category (effect type)

Pro Tools Reference Guide56Edit Window Color CodingEdit Window Color Coding determines how col-ors are assigned to the waveform display in the Edit wi

Chapter 6: Sessions 57Support Background Record Applications (Pro Tools 6.0.x and Lower Only) Allows other audio recording applications to run in the

Contents viiPlaying Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255Timelin

Pro Tools Reference Guide58Use F11 Key for Wait for Note When this option is selected, pressing the F11 Function key puts MIDI recording in Wait for N

Chapter 6: Sessions 59speeds are available in both forward and reverse. You can also recall Memory Locations by typing period (.), the Memory Location

Pro Tools Reference Guide60Editing PreferencesRecall Original Track Selections When this op-tion is selected, Memory Locations that recall a selection

Chapter 6: Sessions 61Take Region Lengths That Match When this op-tion is selected, only regions that match the length of the current selection appear

Pro Tools Reference Guide62Mutes Follow Groups When this option is se-lected, muting a track that belongs to a Mix group mutes all members of the grou

Chapter 6: Sessions 63Processing PreferencesAudioSuite DitherUse AudioSuite Dither When selected, applies dither to specific AudioSuite processing tas

Pro Tools Reference Guide64Compatibility Preferences(Pro Tools 6.0.x and Lower Only)Convert Imported “WAV” Files To AES31/Broad-castWave When selected

Chapter 6: Sessions 65Default Thru Instrument Sets the default MIDI Thru instrument from your available MIDI in-struments.Machine Control Preferences(

Pro Tools Reference Guide66

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 67Chapter 7: I/O SetupThe I/O Setup dialog provides tools to label, for-mat, and map Pro Tools input, output, insert, or bus sign

Pro Tools Reference GuideviiiChapter 21. Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Tempo Eve

Pro Tools Reference Guide68Paths comprise the lists of available signal rout-ing choices in track input, output, insert and send selectors.Paths and I

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 69Main Paths and Sub-PathsPaths in the I/O Setup dialog include main paths and sub-paths.Main PathsMain paths are logical groupin

Pro Tools Reference Guide70The I/O Setup DialogThe I/O Setup dialog defines Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus paths. Routing I/O ports to Pro To

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 71I/O Setup Dialog ControlsThis section provides an overview of the con-trols in the I/O Setup dialog.Path Type Tabs Select the t

Pro Tools Reference Guide72To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup:1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the corres

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 73Creating and Editing Paths The I/O Setup dialog lets you create and custom-ize signal path definitions. Paths can be:• Renamed,

Pro Tools Reference Guide744 Double-click in the Name field and enter a name for the path. 5 Press Tab to set the new path name and move to the next

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 75Resetting PathsThe Default button in the I/O Setup dialog pro-vides two primary functions: •Creates new, default paths up to th

Pro Tools Reference Guide76Channel MappingOnce a path has been created and formatted, it can be mapped to specific audio interface, or bus channels in

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 77Channel ShufflingMoving a signal from right to left results in a shuffle of other signals after the new destination channel. Mov

Contents ixTranspose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379Quanti

Pro Tools Reference Guide78Active and Inactive PathsPro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive (off, or unavailable). You can manually switch path

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 79Session-Wide Path Assignments(I/O Setup Dialog)Paths can be globally configured for Active or Inactive status in the I/O Setup

Pro Tools Reference Guide80face (a 16-channel I/O unit) and a 1622 I/O (with its 16 analog inputs) connected to its Leg-acy Port. When the session is

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 81Importing and Exporting I/O Settings FilesYou can export and import I/O Setup configura-tions as I/O Settings files. This lets yo

Pro Tools Reference Guide82Factory I/O Settings FilesPro Tools provides I/O Settings files for Stereo and Surround mixing. These files provide ge-neri

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 83Using the Default Audition PathWhen you audition a file or region in the Re-gions List, Pro Tools routes the audio output throu

Pro Tools Reference Guide84Default Path Order(TDM Systems Only)The Default Path Order Selector lets you select the default track layout you want Pro T

Chapter 8: Tracks 85Chapter 8: TracksThis chapter covers basic track management tasks such as creating and deleting tracks, as-signing voices and outp

Pro Tools Reference Guide86MIDI TracksMIDI tracks store MIDI note, instrument, and controller data. You cannot select a track format when you create a

Chapter 8: Tracks 87MIDI Track Channel StripsEach MIDI track has its own set of controls for volume, pan, record enable, automation mode, solo, mute,