Chapter 8: Tracks. Avid Technology Pro Tools HD 6.4, Pro Tools LE 6.4, PRO TOOLS MIX 51

Chapter 8: Tracks

This chapter covers basic track management tasks such as creating and deleting tracks, assigning voices and output channels, and grouping tracks.

Track Types

In a Pro Tools session, you can have several different types of tracks. These can include audio tracks, Auxiliary Input tracks, MIDI tracks, Master Fader tracks, and Avid or QuickTime Movie tracks. AVoption|V10 Movie tracks are supported on Pro Tools 6.4 and higher.

AVoption|XL Movie tracks are supported on

Pro Tools 5.3.3 and higher (Windows), and

Pro Tools 6.1 and higher (Macintosh).

QuickTime Movie track features are de-

scribed in Chapter 36, “Working with

QuickTime Movies.”

Audio Tracks, Auxiliary Input Tracks, and Master Fader Tracks

Pro Tools provides mono, stereo, and greaterthan-stereo multichannel format audio tracks,

Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Faders.

Audio Tracks

Audio tracks contain arrangements of recorded

(or imported) audio files. Audio tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel format (multichannel tracks are supported on Pro Tools HDseries and MIX-series systems only).

Auxiliary Input Tracks

Auxiliary Input tracks can be used as effects sends, destinations for submixes, as a bounce destination, as inputs to monitor or process audio (such as audio from MIDI sources), and for many other audio routing tasks.

Master Fader Tracks

Master Fader tracks control the overall level of the audio tracks that are routed to the session’s main output paths. For example, you could have 24 tracks in a session with channels 1–8 routed to Analog Output 1–2, channels 9–16 to

Analog Output 3–4, and channels 17–24 to Analog Output 5–6. You could then create three master faders, one to control each of these output pairs.

Master Fader tracks have additional uses (such as controlling submix levels). For more informa-

tion, see “Master Faders” on page 406

Chapter 8: Tracks 85

MIDI Tracks

MIDI tracks store MIDI note, instrument, and controller data. You cannot select a track format when you create a MIDI track, because audio does not pass through it.

Track Formats

Mono Tracks

A mono audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master

Fader track controls volume, and, in some cases, panning, for a single channel of audio. A mono track uses a single voice.

Stereo Tracks

A stereo audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master

Fader track is a single channel strip that plays two channels of audio as a stereo pair. Stereo tracks use two voices.

Multichannel Tracks (Pro Tools HD-Series and

MIX-Series Systems Only)

A multichannel track is a single channel strip that plays multiple channels of audio (from 3–8 channels at a time). This allows Pro Tools to support multichannel mixing formats including

LCRS, 5.1, 6.1, and others.

For more information on surround mixing with

Pro Tools, see the following chapters:

• Chapter 31, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround”

• Chapter 32, “Multichannel Tracks and

Signal Routing”

• Chapter 33, “Surround Panning and Mixing”

Audio Track Channel Strips

Each audio track has its own set of controls for volume, pan, output window, record enable, automation mode, solo, mute, and voice assignment. Audio tracks also have a Comments View to enter and display comments.

With slight variations, audio track channel strips in the Mix window look like the tracks shown in the following figures.

Audio tracks can be added to a session with the

New Track command.

86 Pro Tools Reference Guide

Inserts

Sends

Input/Output selectors

Automation Mode selector

Pan Sliders

Pan Indicators

Record Enable button

TrackInput Enable button

Solo/Mute buttons

Open Output window

Volume Fader

Level Meters

Voice Selector

Group ID

Track Type indicator

Volume/Peak/Delay indicator

Delay Compensation View

Track Name

Track Comment

Track Position Number

Stereo audio track channel strip (Pro Tools 6.4)

MIDI Track Channel Strips

Each MIDI track has its own set of controls for volume, pan, record enable, automation mode, solo, mute, MIDI patch assignment, and MIDI channel assignment. MIDI tracks also have a

Comments View to enter and display comments.

MIDI tracks can be added to a session with the

New Track command.

MIDI Input selector

MIDI Output selector

Automation Mode selector

MIDI Pan slider

MIDI Pan indicator

Record Enable

Solo/Mute buttons

MIDI Volume Fader

MIDI Velocity Meter

Patch Select

Group ID

Track Type indicator

MIDI Volume indicator

Track Position Number

Track Name

Track Comment

MIDI channel strip (Pro Tools 6.4)


Track Controls

Input/Output Selectors

The I/O View shows Input and Output Selectors on audio and MIDI tracks.

Input Selector

Output Selector

(or MIDI Device/Channel Selector)

Pan Slider

Pan Indicator

Inputs/Outputs View

To show the I/O View:

■

Select Display > Edit Window Shows (or Mix

Windows Shows) > I/O View.

In Pro Tools 6.x, channel strips in the Mix window always display Input and Output

Selectors as well as volume and pan values, so there is no I/O View display option for the

Mix window.

For details on Input and Output Selectors, see

“Assigning Inputs and Outputs to Tracks” on page 95.

Volume Indicator Shows the current volume, or input level of a track as set by the track Volume fader.

Peak Indicator Functions as a headroom indicator based on the last peak playback level. To reset the peak counter, click anywhere in the meter. Values range from –

∞

(no signal) to 0 dB.

Channel Delay Indicator Shows the total delay, in samples, incurred on the track from the use of any TDM plug-ins on that channel.

Pan Indicator

The Pan Indicator displays the current pan setting of a track. Pan values range from <100 (full left) to 100> (full right). Pan controls are only available for stereo tracks or for mono tracks routed to a stereo output.

Pan Slider

The Pan slider controls the balance of a track between the assigned output pair. It only appears if you are using stereo tracks or mono tracks routed to a stereo output.

The Pan slider on a MIDI track is effective only if you are controlling a sound module that supports MIDI panning.

Volume/Peak/Channel Delay

Indicator

The Volume indicator on an audio track has three display modes: Volume, Peak, and Channel Delay.

To toggle the Volume indicator display:

■

Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Macintosh) the indicator to toggle it between the following modes:

Volume Fader

The Volume fader controls the volume of a track when it is in playback, and the monitor level of the track when it is in record. You can link the record and monitor levels by enabling the Operation Preference for “Link Record and Play Faders.”

The maximum fader gain for volume faders can be set to either +6 dB or +12 dB for Pro Tools 6.4 or higher. Earlier versions of Pro Tools have a maximum fader gain of +6 dB.


Selecting Fader Gain when Opening a Previously

Recorded Session

When opening a session created in a previous version of Pro Tools, you are given the choice of staying at +6 dB or updating to +12 dB.

When opening a session created in Pro Tools

6.4, the session is opened with your previously saved fader gain settings.

Opening a +12 dB session in a previous version of

Pro Tools Sessions created and saved with a

+12 dB fader gain level can be opened in previous versions of Pro Tools. Breakpoints for volume automation above +6 dB will be lowered to

+6 dB.

The volume fader on a MIDI track is effective only if you are controlling a sound module that supports MIDI volume.

Track Level Meter

On audio tracks, level meters indicate the level of the signal being recorded or played back from the hard drive. Green indicates nominal levels;

Yellow indicates pre-clipping (–6 dB below full scale); and Red indicates clipping. When a track is record-enabled, these meters indicate record levels.

On MIDI tracks, the level meter shows the MIDI velocity of the most recent MIDI event.

Pre- and Post-Fader Metering

You can globally set audio track level meters to indicate pre-or post-fader levels by selecting or de-selecting Operations > Pre-Fader Metering.

When pre-fader metering is selected, the level meters show levels independent of fader position. With post-fader metering, the level meters respond to fader position.

Peak Hold

Pro Tools meters provide a Peak Hold feature with three options: 3 Second, Infinite, or None.

To choose a Peak Hold setting:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences.

2 Click display.

3 Select a Peak Hold option.

4 Click Done.

To clear a meter:

■

Click anywhere on the meter.

To clear all meters do one of the following:

■

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) any meter.

■

Choose Operations > Clear All Clips.

■

Press Alt-C (Windows) or Option-C (Macintosh).

Clip Indication (Pro Tools 6.4)

Pro Tools 6.4 meters provide Clip Indication with three options: 3 Second, Infinite, or None.

If clipping occurs, the topmost LED will stay lit

(red).

Clip indicators appear in plug-in, send, and track windows.

To choose a Clip Indication setting:

To choose a clip setting:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences.

2 Click display.

3 Select a Clip Indication option.

4 Click Done.


To clear a clipping meter:

■

Click anywhere on the meter.

To clear all clips:

■

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) any meter.

To clear all clips (Pro Tools 6.4 and higher):

■

Choose Operations > Clear All Clips.

■

Press Alt-C (Windows) or Option-C (Macintosh).

Wide Meters View

(Pro Tools 6.x Only)

Wide Meters View expands the width of the level meters for tracks in both the Mix and Edit windows, to make the track level meters easier to read. Wide Meters View also supports Narrow

Mix View.

To enable Wide Meters View:

■

Command-Option-Control-click the track level meters in either the Mix window or the

Edit window.

Wide Meters View, Mix and Edit windows

To disable Wide Meters View:

■

Command-Option-Control-click the track level meters a second time in either the Mix window or the Edit window.

Delay Compensation View

(HD-series Systems with Pro Tools 6.4 Only)

The Delay Compensation View displays the total amount of plug-in delay on each track, lets you apply a user offset of track delay, and displays the total amount of delay that Pro Tools applies to each track. The Delay Compensation

View can be shown in the Mix Window.

Plug-in

Delay indicator

User Offset

Track Compensation indicator

Delay Compensation view

To view Delay Compensation information:

■

Choose Display > Mix Window Shows > Delay

Compensation View.

Delay values can be specified in either samples or milliseconds, as set in Display Preferences.

For more information, see “Delay Compensation” on page 428.

Track Comments View

Comments View shows any comments entered in the Track Name/Comments dialog. You can also type directly in the Track Comment area for each track when it is displayed. For details, see

“Naming Tracks” on page 91.

To display the Comments View:

■

Select Display > Mix Window Shows (or Edit

Window Shows) > Comments.


Creating Tracks

On all systems, you can create mono and stereo tracks. In addition, on Pro Tools HD-series and

MIX-series systems, you can create multichannel tracks.

When new tracks are created, they are given a default name which can be changed at any time.

◆ For new tracks to appear next to a specific track in a session, select that track by clicking its name (in its track channel strip). The new tracks are added immediately after the selected track.

◆ For new tracks to appear as the last tracks in a session, make sure that no track names are selected on-screen.

To create a new track:

1 Choose File > New Track.

3 Select the track format (mono, stereo, or one of the multichannel surround formats) from the

Track Format pop-up menu. Surround formats are available only on Pro Tools HD-series and

MIX-series systems.

To auto-scroll the format selector, press

Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Left/Right Arrow keys.

4 Enter the number of new tracks, then click

Create.

5 To configure which track controls appear in the Mix window or Edit window, select from

Display > Mix Window Shows and Display >

Edit Window Shows.

Naming Tracks

Track names are used to auto-name recorded au-

dio files and regions (see “Default Track Names” on page 144).

Number of new tracks

Track Format

Track Type

New Track dialog

2 Select the type of track you want to add from the Track Type pop-up menu. For explanation of

track types, see “Track Types” on page 85.

To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up in the

New Track dialog, press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys.

Track Name/Comments dialog

To rename a track:

1 In the Edit window or Mix window, doubleclick the Track Name button for the track you want to rename.

2 In the Track Name/Comments dialog, type a new track name.


3 Click Previous or Next to rename other displayed tracks.

To move to the previous or next track in the

Track Name/Comments dialog, you can press Control (Windows) or Command

(Macintosh) and use the Up/Down or

Left/Right Arrows.

4 Click OK.

Adding Comments to Tracks

To enter comments for a track:

■

From the track channel strip, click directly in the Comments area, type any comments for the track, and press Enter (Windows) or Return

(Macintosh).

– or –

■

In the Edit window or Mix window, doubleclick the Track Name button for a track. Then click directly in the Comments area, type any comments for the track, and press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh).

To enter a carriage return in the Comments text box, press Shift+Enter (Windows) or

Shift+Return (Macintosh) on the alpha keyboard.

Track Position Numbering

(Pro Tools 6.4 Only)

Track Position Numbering assigns each track a number corresponding to its position in the Mix and Edit Windows. When tracks are reordered, they are renumbered to maintain positional sequence.

To use track position numbering:

■

Choose Display > Display Track Position

Numbers

To navigate directly to any track:

1 Choose Operations > Scroll To Track Number

– or –

Press Control+Alt+G (Windows) or Command+Option+G (Macintosh).

Scroll To Track dialog

2 In the Scroll To Track dialog, enter the track position number.

3 Click OK.

The track is selected, and the windows scroll as follows:

• The Edit window tracks scroll to bring the selected track as close to the top as possible.

• The Mix window tracks scroll to bring the selected track as close to the left as possible.


Deleting Tracks

When you delete tracks, your audio or MIDI region data will remain in the Regions List, but your arrangement of the regions on the deleted track (the track’s playlist) will be lost.

The Delete Selected Tracks command cannot be undone.

To delete a track:

1 Click the name of the track in its track channel strip to select it.

To select multiple tracks, Shift-click additional track names.

2 Choose File > Delete Selected Tracks.

3 Click OK to remove the selected tracks from the session.

Duplicating Tracks

The Duplicate Selected Tracks command allows you to duplicate one or more tracks, including their audio or MIDI data, playlists, automation, and other attributes.

To duplicate a track:

1 Click the name of the track (in its track channel strip) to select it.


2 Choose File > Duplicate Selected Tracks. Each duplicate track is created to the right of its original track.

Hiding Tracks

The Show/Hide Tracks List (at the left of both the Mix and Edit windows) lists all tracks in the session. It allows you to show or hide a track in the Mix and Edit windows, by selecting or deselecting its name. Even though a track is hidden, the material on the track will still play as part of the session. Inactive tracks appear in italics in the Show/Hide Tracks List.

Track

Type icon

Show/Hide Tracks pop-up menu

Track Name

Show/Hide Tracks List

The pop-up menu at the top of the Show/Hide

Tracks List provides commands that allow you to show or hide all tracks, tracks currently selected on-screen, or specific types of tracks (audio, MIDI, Auxiliary Input or Master Fader).

Show Only option


The Sort Tracks By command allows you to set the track order according to Name, Type, Edit

Group, Mix Group or Voice. The sort order will be reflected in the Show/Hide Tracks List in the

Edit Window and the Mix Window.

To show all tracks:

1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of the

Show/Hide Tracks List.

2 From the pop-up menu, choose Show All

Tracks.

You can also show all tracks by Alt-clicking

(Windows) or Option-clicking (Macintosh) the name of any track that is unhighlighted.

To hide all tracks:

1 Click the Show/Hide button at the top of the


2 From the pop-up menu, choose Hide All

Tracks.

You can also hide all tracks by Alt-clicking

(Windows) or Option-clicking (Macintosh) the name of any track that is highlighted.

Sort Tracks By option

When a track that is a member of an active group is hidden from view, editing operations performed on other members of the group in the Edit window will not affect the hidden track.

In the Mix window, however, all operations other than record-enable will affect a hidden track that is a member of an active group.

On TDM systems, even if a track is hidden from view, its position relative to other tracks still affects its voiceable track play-

back priority (see “Voiceable Tracks and

Track Priority” on page 98 for details).

To hide a track:

■

Click the highlighted name of the track in the


To show a track that is currently hidden:

■

Click the unhighlighted name of the track in the Show/Hide Tracks List.

To reorder tracks on-screen, drag the track names to new positions within the

Show/Hide Tracks List.

About Groups and Show/Hide Tracks

Even if a track is hidden, if it is a member of an enabled group, all Mix window operations performed on other members of the group will also

affect the hidden track—with the exception of audio or MIDI record-enabling. If you solo, mute, or automation write-enable a grouped track, any group members that are hidden will be soloed, muted, or automation write-enabled as well.

In the Edit window, however, editing operations performed on members of an enabled group will

not affect hidden tracks that are also members of the enabled group.


About 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 List displays the track’s name in red.

Both shown and hidden tracks display clipping indication.

About Track Numbering and Show/Hide

Tracks

There are two ways to display track position numbers when tracks are hidden.

• By default, numbers are only assigned to tracks that are shown. Active tracks are then numbered sequentially. Hidden tracks are unnumbered.

• When Track Numbers Stay With Hidden

Tracks is enabled in the Display Page of the

Preferences, tracks keep their track position numbers even when hidden.

For stereo and multichannel surround tracks, inputs and outputs appear as stereo pairs and multichannel groups. The available inputs, outputs, and busses are defined as paths in the I/O Setup

dialog (see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup”).

Automatic Input and Output

Assignments

When adding tracks to a new session, inputs are automatically assigned in ascending order. For example, if you have an audio interface with eight inputs, creating four new mono audio tracks will automatically add four audio tracks with inputs assigned to the first four paths defined in the I/O Setup dialog. When creating stereo tracks, inputs are automatically assigned to ascending input pairs.

The outputs automatically assigned to new tracks are determined by the Default Output defined in the I/O Setup dialog.

Assigning Inputs and Outputs to Tracks

Inputs for audio tracks and Auxiliary Input tracks can be assigned to audio interface channels or busses. Outputs for audio tracks, Auxiliary Input tracks, and Master Fader tracks can be assigned to audio interface channels or busses.

Track set to

Audio Input 2

Track set to

No Input

Track set to

Bus 2

Input/output assignments for three mono audio tracks

Assigning Audio Track Inputs

(Audio and Auxiliary Input Tracks)

To assign an audio track input:

1 In order to assign audio track inputs in the

Edit window, select Display > Edit Window

Show > I/O View.

2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the track Input Selector and choose from the available audio interface channels and busses. Stereo and multichannel surround tracks have inputs available as pairs and multichannel groups.

The Input Selector allows you to route any audio input or any of the Pro Tools internal busses to an audio track or an Auxiliary Input track. The choices available in this pop-up menu are determined by the I/O Setup configuration. Inputs in use by another track appear as bold in the Input

Selector.


‘

Audio track Input Selector

To remove an input assignment:

■

Select No Input from the Input Selector.

Assigning Audio Track Outputs

(Audio Tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master

Faders)

To assign an audio track output:

1 In order to assign audio track outputs in the

Edit window, select Display > Edit Window

Show > I/O View.

2 In the Mix or Edit window, click the track Output Selector and choose from the available audio interface channels and busses. Stereo and multichannel surround tracks have outputs available as pairs and multichannel groups.

The Output Selector allows you to route a track to any configured audio output or internal bus.

The choices available in this pop-up menu are determined by the I/O Setup configuration.

Outputs in use by another track appear as bold in the Input Selector.

If you want to auto-assign all visible tracks to unique mono sub-path outputs in ascending order, Control-Alt-click (Windows) or Command-

Option-click (Macintosh) the Output Selector of the left-most track and assign it to the sub-path for Output #1. All visible tracks will be auto-assigned to unique mono sub-path outputs in ascending order.

To remove an output assignment:

■

Select No Output from the Output Selector.

Playlists become dimmed for tracks with no output assignment.

Assigning an audio track, Auxiliary Input, or Master Fader to “No Output” will cause its automation data for pan and plug-in controls to be lost.

Audio track Output Selector

Track Priority and Voice

Assignment

Pro Tools TDM systems provide a certain number of voices (simultaneous channels of audio playback and recording), depending on the system. For example, a Pro Tools|HD 1 system can provide up to 96 voices of audio playback and recording, at 44.1 or 48 kHz. For details on TDM

system capabilities, see Table 3 on page 7.

Pro Tools LE systems provide up to 32 voices of simultaneous audio playback and recording, depending on the system. For details on LE system

capabilities, see Table 5 on page 10.


Track Priority

While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed number of voices, Pro Tools TDM software (and

Pro Tools LE 6.x software) allow for additional audio tracks beyond that fixed number of voices. While all of these tracks can be recorded or imported, arranged, and cued for playback, not all of them can be played back simultaneously.

On TDM systems, you can also assign specific voices to tracks so that those voices are shared by more than one track. This combination of playback/record tracks and shared voiced tracks comprises the total number of voiceable tracks on

a TDM system. See “Voiceable Tracks and Track

Priority” on page 98.

When the number of tracks exceeds the number of available voices, tracks with lower priority may not be heard. For these situations,

Pro Tools assigns priorities to tracks that compete for the available voices. Because there can be more tracks than available voices, Pro Tools provides multiple ways of adjusting the playback priority of audio tracks.

■

In the Mix window, drag the Track Name button to the left of other tracks in the session.

Tracks at the left of the Mix window have higher priority than those on the right.

■

In the Show/Hide Tracks List, drag the track name to a higher position in the list. Tracks at the top of this list have higher priority than those below.

You can also adjust the relative priority of tracks by freeing up the voices of individual tracks, making them available to other tracks in the session.

To free up the voice of a track, do one of the following:

■

Click the Voice selector of the track and set it to Off.

■

Deactivate the track by Control-Start-clicking

(Windows) or Command-Control-clicking

(Macintosh) its track type icon in the Mix window.

■

Make sure the track does not have an output or send assignment.

■

On TDM systems, you can temporarily free a track’s voice during playback by muting it (see

“Mute Frees Assigned Voice” on page 102).

Changing a Track’s Playback Priority

Tracks with higher positions (leftmost in the

Mix window or topmost in the Edit window) have priority over tracks in lower positions in a session.

To increase a track’s priority, do any of the following:

■

In the Edit window, drag the Track Name button above other tracks in the session. Tracks at the top of the Edit window have higher priority than those below.

Voice Assignment

A track’s voice assignment can be turned off or set to be dynamically allocated, and on TDM systems, can also be assigned to a specific voice number. When the tracks in a session are set to

Dyn (called Auto in Pro Tools 6.3 and below),

Pro Tools automatically takes care of voice management in the background, assigning voices not in use by other tracks.


On TDM systems, tracks assigned to a specific voice number take priority over dynamically allocated tracks. To ensure a track is heard, or that it is available for QuickPunch or TrackPunch recording, assign a voice number to that track.

Pro Tools LE 6.x supports auto voicing only; it does not support individual voice assignments.

For stereo and multichannel tracks, voices appear in pairs and multichannel groups. Voices already assigned to another track appear in bold in the Voice Selector pop-up menu.

To set the voice assignment for a track:

■

Click the Voice Selector and set the track to

Dyn (Auto in Pro Tools 6.3 and below), Off, or

(on TDM systems) select a voice number.

Voice Selector for stereo audio track (Pro Tools 6.4)

Automatic Assignment of Ascending

Voices

(TDM Systems Only)

You can automatically assign all tracks or all selected tracks to successive voices. For example, you may want to select eight audio tracks and reassign them to voices 9–16.

To assign all audio tracks to successive voices:

■

While pressing Control+Alt (Windows) or

Command+Option (Macintosh), select the starting voice number from the Voice Selector for the track at the top of the Edit window, or at the far left of the Mix window.

The voice is assigned to the first track, with successive voices assigned to tracks (with the same format) of lower priority.

To assign all selected audio tracks to successive voices:

1 Select the audio tracks by Shift-clicking their names.

2 While pressing Control+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Macintosh), select the starting voice number from the Voice Selector for the top (Edit window) or left (Mix window) selected track.

The voice is assigned to the starting track, with successive voices assigned to currently selected tracks (with the same format) of lower priority.

Voiceable Tracks and Track Priority

(TDM Systems Only)

Pro Tools TDM systems feature voice borrowing,

(called dynamic voice allocation in Pro Tools 6.3 and below) which allows you to assign more than one track to the same voice. The track with the highest priority takes over that voice, but when a hole opens up in the higher-priority track, its shared voice is temporarily available, and the track with the next highest priority

“pops through” and begins to play. When the original track returns, the track that had popped through relinquishes the shared voice to the higher priority track.


The following example demonstrates the concept of voice borrowing:

Setting MIDI Input and Output

“Rhythm” regions play when there is no “Lead” region

In the above illustration, the two visible tracks are assigned to the same voice. There is an open area in the top track where no region appears. At this point, the voice is free since it is not being used, and the next highest priority track assigned to that voice (the bottom track) pops through the open area and plays.

By experimenting with track priority, voice assignment, and arranging regions so that they are positioned to “pop through” holes in higher priority tracks, you can find many useful ways to share voiceable tracks in your TDM system.

Assigning MIDI Track Input

This MIDI Input Selector allows you to choose which MIDI device and channel a MIDI track is receiving input from. This allows you to set up

Pro Tools to record multiple MIDI tracks in the same record pass. Channels in use by another track input appear as bold in the MIDI Input Selector.

To assign a MIDI track input:

1 In the Edit window, select Display > Edit Window Show > I/O View.

2 In the Mix window, click the track’s MIDI Input Selector and assign the device and channel that will be recorded.

MIDI Input Selector


Assigning MIDI Track Output

MIDI tracks can be assigned to one or more

MIDI device channels with the Device/Channel

Selector. When assigned to multiple channels, all material in the track is sent to all assigned channels.

MIDI tracks in Pro Tools cannot contain multiple channels of MIDI data.

To assign a MIDI track (and all its regions) to a specific MIDI device channel:

■

Click the track’s MIDI Device/Channel Selector and assign a device and channel from the pop-up menu. Channels already assigned to another track appear bold in this menu.

MIDI Device/Channel Selector

To assign multiple destinations to a single MIDI track:

■

Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the MIDI Device/Channel Selector and select additional channels from any device.

For details on recording and importing MIDI

data, see Chapter 13, “MIDI Recording.”


Soloing and Muting Tracks

The Solo and Mute buttons can be engaged at any time during playback. The Solo and Mute buttons affect MIDI as well as audio tracks. It is possible to have more than one track soloed or muted at the same time in a session.

Grouping affects mute and solo behavior as well. Normally, muting or soloing a track that is a member of an active mix group will mute or solo all other tracks that are a member of that active mix group as well. However, by changing the Mute and Solo settings in the Pro Tools Preferences dialog, you can disable this behavior.

To disable group muting of tracks:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Automation.

2 Deselect the Mutes Follow Groups option, and click Done.

With this option deselected, muting a track that is a member of an active group does not affect other members of the group.

You can also mute or solo individual members of a group by holding down the Start key (Windows) or Control key (Macintosh) while selecting the track’s Mute or Solo button.

To disable group soloing of tracks:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences, and click Automation.

2 Deselect the Solos Follow Groups option, and click Done.

With this option deselected, soloing a track that is a member of an active group does not affect other members of the group.

Solo Button

The Solo button mutes other tracks so that the chosen track can be auditioned alone. Normally solos are latched, that is, pressing subsequent solo buttons adds them to the soloed mix of tracks. Pro Tools lets you unlatch solos, so that pressing an additional Solo button un-solos any previously soloed tracks.

To solo tracks:

1 Click the Solo button on a track. The button is highlighted and all other tracks are muted.

2 Click the Solo button on another track. The buttons for both tracks are highlighted and all other tracks are muted.

To un-solo tracks:

■

Click the Solo button on soloed tracks.

To unlatch solo buttons:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Operation.

2 Deselect the Latch Solo Buttons option and click Done. With this option disabled, pressing an additional Solo button un-solos any previously soloed tracks.

Solo Safe Mode

Pro Tools also allows you to solo safe a track.

This prevents the track from being muted even if you solo other tracks. This feature is useful for tracks such as Auxiliary Inputs that are being used as a submix of audio tracks, or effects returns, allowing the audio or effects track to remain in a mix even when other tracks are soloed. It is also useful to solo safe MIDI tracks so that their playback is not affected when you solo audio tracks.

To solo safe a track:

■


(Macintosh) the Solo button on the track. This prevents the track from being muted even if you solo other tracks. The Solo button changes to a transparent color in Solo Safe mode.

To return a solo safe track to normal:

■


(Macintosh) the Solo button on the track again.

Mute Button

The Mute button silences a chosen track. More than one track can be muted at one time. If Operations > Mute Frees Assigned Voice (TDM systems only) is enabled, muting a track will allocate its voice to the next highest priority voiceable track (assigned to the same voice).

To mute a track:

■

Click the Mute button on the track. The track is grayed-out and muted.

To unmute a track:

■

Click the Mute button again.


Mute Frees Assigned Voice

(TDM Systems Only)

Selecting Operations > Mute Frees Assigned

Voice and muting a track disables playback of that track, and surrenders control of its voice to the next highest priority track with the same voice assignment.

With this option enabled, there may be a delay

(ranging in length from one to several seconds depending on the processing power of your system) between the time you mute or unmute a track and when you hear the effect on playback.

To avoid this delay, make sure that the Mute

Frees Assigned Voice option is disabled. Another factor that can cause delays is your DAE Playback Buffer Size setting. Playback Buffer Size is set in the Playback Engine dialog. The larger the playback buffer you choose, the longer the potential lag time between the time you click the

Mute button and the onset of muting.

Muting a track with Mute Frees Assigned

Voice enabled does not free up the voice for

QuickPunch recording.

To toggle a track active/inactive:

■

Control-Start-click (Windows) or Command-

Control-click (Macintosh) the Track Type Indicator in the Mix window.

Track Type Indicator

Toggling a track active/inactive

Playlists for inactive tracks are dimmed and track controls are grayed out.

To make one or more tracks inactive:

1 Click the name of the track (in its track channel strip) to select it.


2 Choose File > Make Selected Tracks Inactive.

Making Tracks Inactive

(All TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE 6.x Only)

Audio, Auxiliary Input, and Master Fader tracks can be made inactive. Inactive tracks use no DSP or voices. Plug-ins, sends, voices, and automation on inactive tracks are all disabled. Tracks may also be automatically made inactive if a session is opened on a system with less DSP power than the system that it was created on.

MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.

Adjusting Track Width

Mix Window

The Narrow Mix Window command allows you to view all tracks/channels in the Mix window at a reduced width to conserve screen space in a

large session. (See “Track Height” on page 210,

to adjust track height in the Edit Window.)

To reduce the width of tracks in the Mix window:

■

Select Display > Narrow Mix Window.

To display tracks at normal width:

■

Deselect Display > Narrow Mix Window.

You can toggle track width by pressing Control-Alt+M (Windows) or Command+Option+M (Macintosh).


Color Coding Tracks

The Display Preference for Edit Window Color

Coding determines how colors are assigned to waveforms and MIDI data in the Edit window.

Colors can be based on groups, voice assignment for audio tracks, and channels or devices for MIDi tracks.

Color coding of voices is especially useful when working with tracks assigned to the same voice.

Since tracks assigned to the same voice share the same color, you can easily identify and arrange regions so that they do not overlap or conflict with other regions on tracks assigned to the same voice.

To configure Edit Window Color Coding:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click the Display tab.

2 Select one of the following color coding options:

None Turns off color assignment for tracks in the Edit window.

Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to each track in the Edit window according to its voice and MIDI channel assignment.

Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each track in the Edit window according to its voice and MIDI device assignment.

Groups Assigns a color to each track in the Edit window according to its group ID. If groups are suspended using the Suspend Groups command, all waveforms are displayed in black.

3 Click Done to close the Preferences dialog.

Grouping Tracks

Pro Tools provides a relative grouping function for linking tracks and their controls. Groups can be applied to either the Mix or Edit window, or both.

Groups are useful for editing several tracks in exactly the same way, or for mixing several tracks

(such as a pair of stereo tracks or a submix) while keeping them at the same relative volume level.

Pro Tools provides the following grouping features:

• Up to 26 different groups

• Nested groups (subgroups within groups)

• Grouped faders or controllers preserve their levels relative to each other

Grouping can affect the following track parameters:

• Volume levels

• Solos

• Mutes

• Automation modes

• Send levels

• Send mutes

• Track view

• Track height

• Editing functions

Grouping does not affect these parameters:

• Record enables

• Panning

• Send panning

• Voice assignment

• Output assignment

• Inserting plug-ins


Using the Groups List

The Pro Tools grouping functions are located at the left side of the Mix or Edit window in the

Groups List. This scrolling window contains the names of all the groups in your session, as well as a pop-up menu for accessing grouping commands. From this menu, you can select and enable groups.

By default, every session has a group named All, which includes every track in the session. The

All group cannot be edited or deleted.

To the left of each name in the Groups List is a letter denoting its Group ID (“a” through “z”), and to the left of that, a symbol indicating whether that group is selected in the current window (either the Edit or Mix window).

Group pop-up menu

Click to select group members on-screen

Click to select a group by typing its letter

Click to activate a group

Click to deactivate a group

Group IDs

Click to hide

Groups List

Groups List

Group Symbols

There are three types of Group symbols, as shown in the following figure:

Filled In Circle

Hollow Circle

Circle with a Dot

Groups Symbols

The Group symbols indicate the following:

Filled-in Circle Indicates that all members of the group are currently selected, and no members from outside the group are selected.

Hollow Circle Indicates that only some members of the group are currently selected.

Circle with a Dot Indicates that all members of the group are currently selected, plus additional members outside the group.

Show/Hide Groups Pop-up Menu

The Show/Hide Groups pop-up menu allows you to show or hide the tracks in a group, or show only the tracks in a group. Click and hold directly on the group name to display the popup menu, then select the Show/Hide option.

Show/Hide Groups pop-up menu


Groups Pop-up Menu

The Groups pop-up menu contains commands that allow you to create, delete and suspend groups, as follows:

3 Enter a name for the group.

Groups pop-up menu

New Group This command lets you create a new group. You must first select two or more tracks/channel strips on-screen to do this.

Display This command lets you toggle the

Groups List display to either Mix Groups or Edit

Groups. If all of your groups apply to both Editing and Mixing, the Groups List will be the same for both.

Suspend All Groups This command allows you to temporarily toggle all active groups off.

Delete Group This command lets you permanently remove a group from the Groups List.

You must first select a Group Name in the

Groups List to do this.

Creating Groups

To create a group:

1 Shift-click the Track Names for the tracks you want to include in the group to select them.

New Group dialog

4 Choose the type of group to create: Edit

Group, Mix Group, or Edit and Mix Group.

5 Choose a Group ID (“a”–“z”).

6 Click OK to add the new group to the Groups

List.

Editing Groups

Changing the Members of a Group

You can add or remove members from a group at any time.

To change the members of a group:

1 Shift-click the Track Names for the tracks you want to include in the group to select them.

2 Choose File > Group Selected Tracks from the

Group pop-up menu.

3 In the dialog that appears, select the Group ID that you want to update.

4 Click OK.

Selecting tracks to be grouped

2 Choose New Group from the Group pop-up menu, or choose File > Group Selected Tracks.


Renaming a Group

You can rename a group at any time.

To rename a group:

1 In the Groups List, double-click to the left of the group’s name (in the area with the circular symbols).

2 In the dialog that appears, enter a new name for the group. (You can also change the group’s type.)

3 Click OK.

Deleting a Group

A group can be deleted at any time. You cannot undo this action.

To delete a group:

1 In the Groups List, select the name of the group (or groups) you want to delete.

2 Click the Group pop-up menu and choose Delete Group.

Linking Mix and Edit Groupings

The “Link Mix and Edit Group Enables” option links group enabling between the Mix and Edit windows.

Pro Tools allows you to create groups that are

both Mix and Edit groups, but in some cases you may prefer not to link enabling of Mix and Edit groups. For example, when you are using the

Mix window for mixing, you may prefer to work with large, nested groups. However, in the Edit window, you may want to perform editing tasks within a smaller group. You could disable the

Link Mix and Edit Group Enables preference.

This would allow you to work with different groups in the two windows.

To unlink Mix and Edit groups:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences and click Operation.

2 Deselect the “Link Mix and Edit Group Enables” option and click Done.


Enabling Groups

Editing operations are not applied to members of a group that are hidden with the Show/Hide

Tracks List. Mix operations (with the exception of record-enabling of tracks) are applied to hidden tracks.

Pro Tools allows you to create separate groups for editing and mixing. You set this option when you use the New Group command.

Groups that apply to both editing and mixing can be decoupled.

To enable a group:

■

In the Groups List, click the name of the group you want to enable. The group name is highlighted to indicate that it is enabled.

To enable additional groups, click their names in the Groups List. It is not necessary to Shiftclick to enable or disable multiple groups.

Moving a fader of a group member will cause all other group members to move relative to it. If a fader belongs to multiple groups, and the groups conflict when faders are moved, the fader will follow the topmost or “parent” group that it belongs to.

To disable a group:

■

In the Groups List, click the name of the group you want to disable. The group name is unhighlighted to indicate that it is not enabled.

Keyboard Selection of Groups

The Groups List Key Focus allows you to type a

Group ID letter to automatically toggle that group’s enable status.

◆ In the Mix window, the Groups List Key Focus is always enabled.

◆ In the Edit window, you need to enable the

Groups List Key Focus to use it.

To enable the Edit Groups List Key Focus:

■

Click the a–z button in upper right of the Edit

Groups List.

– or –

■

Press Control+Alt+4 (Windows) or Command+Option+4 (Macintosh).

Groups List Key Focus enabled

To enable and disable groups using the Edit and

Mix Groups List Key Focus:

■

With Group List Key Focus enabled, type the

Group ID letter (a–z) to automatically enable or disable the corresponding group.



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