Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording. Avid Technology Pro Tools HD 6.4, Pro Tools LE 6.4, PRO TOOLS MIX 51

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording

Recording an Audio Track

When recording from a mono source, record to a single, mono audio track in Pro Tools. A single, mono audio file is written to disk; the region appears in the playlist and in the Audio Regions

List.

To record a stereo audio source in Pro Tools, record to a single, stereo audio track. A single, mono audio file is written to disk for each channel of a stereo track; one for the left channel, and one for the right channel; regions appear in the playlists for both channels. In addition, a multichannel (stereo) region appears in the Audio Regions List.

Recording multichannel tracks (Pro Tools TDM systems only) is very similar to recording stereo audio tracks. A single, mono audio file is written for each channel in the track, and regions appear in the playlists for each channel. In addition, a multichannel region for each track appears in the Audio Regions List.

For more information on multichannel

tracks, see “Multichannel Audio Tracks” on page 514.

To configure an audio track for recording:

1 Connect a mono or stereo sound source to the appropriate input of your audio hardware.

2 If you want to start a new session with a different sample rate or Fader gain value, choose

File > New Session, and select the sample rate.

Click Save.

3 Make sure to specify the format (analog or digital) of the inputs of the audio interface you will be using. Choose Setups > Hardware Setup, choose the audio interface, and select the format for the channel pair.

Some Digidesign I/O units (such as Mbox), have only two channels that can be set for analog or digital.

4 If a track doesn’t already exist, choose File >

New Track and specify 1 Mono or Stereo Audio

Track, then click Create.

New Track dialog

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.

To auto-scroll the Track Formats pop-up in the New Track dialog, press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Left/Right Arrow keys.

Chapter 12: Basic Audio Recording 157

5 Rename the track. Track names are used to auto-name recorded audio files and regions. For

more information, see “Default Track Names” on page 144.

6 In the Mix window, use the track’s Input Selector to assign a hardware input.

7 In the Mix window, click the track’s Output

Selector and assign a hardware output.

Input Selector, Mix window

– or –

In the Edit window, with I/O view enabled, use the track’s Input Selector to assign a hardware input.

Output Selector, Mix window

– or –

In the Edit window, with I/O view enabled, use the track’s Output Selector to assign a hardware output.

Output Selector, Edit window

Input Selector, Edit window

158 Pro Tools Reference Guide

8 In the Mix window, click the audio track’s

Record Enable button to record enable the track.

The Record Enable buttons and volume faders for record-enabled tracks turn red.

Record

Enable

Record Enable button (Mix window)

– or –

In the Edit window, click the audio track’s

Record Enable button to record enable the track.

Record

Enable

Record Enable button (Edit window)

9 Adjust the output level of your sound source

(instrument, mixer, or preamp). Monitor the track’s meter levels in Pro Tools to ensure that you get the highest possible signal without clipping.

10 In the Mix window, adjust the track’s volume and pan faders. These settings are for monitoring purposes only and do not affect the recorded material.

– or –

In the Output window for the track, adjust the track’s volume fader and pan controls. These settings are for monitoring purposes only and do not affect the recorded material.

To record to an audio track:

1 For HD systems (with Pro Tools 6.4), make sure that Use Delay Compensation is deselected in the Operations menu.

Digidesign recommends recording without

Delay Compensation in most cases. For

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

2 In the Operations menu, deselect Destructive

Record, Loop Record, QuickPunch and Track-

Punch.

3 Enable Click and Countoff in the Transport window if you want to use these features. For de-

tails, see “Recording with a Click” on page 151.

4 If you are using meter and tempo information, specify the session’s default meter and

tempo. For details, see “Setting the Default

Meter and Tempo” on page 153.

5 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero so the start and end times are cleared. This ensures that you’ll start recording from the beginning of the track.

6 Click Record in the Transport window to enter

Record Ready mode. The Record button flashes.

7 When you are ready to begin recording, click

Play. If using Countoff, Pro Tools counts off the specified number of measures and then begins recording.


8 When you have finished recording, click Stop in the Transport window.

The newly recorded audio is written to disk and appears as an audio region in the track’s playlist.

The new audio region also appears in the Audio

Regions List.

To play back the audio track:

1 Click the Record Enable button for the audio track so that it is no longer record enabled. Track volume faders now function as playback level controls.

If Auto Input Monitoring is enabled, you can click the Record button in the Transport window to exit Record Ready mode, then press Play, leaving the track record enabled.

The track automatically switches to Playback mode when you press play, then back

to Input mode when you stop. See “Auto Input Monitoring” on page 140.

2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero to start playback from the beginning of the session.

3 Click Play in the Transport window to start playback. Adjust the track’s volume and pan faders.

Undo or Cancel Audio Recording

Once you've recorded an audio track and the transport is stopped, you can undo the previous record take.

To undo an audio recording:

■

Once the Transport has been stopped, choose

Edit > Undo Record Audio.

The track’s playlist is restored to its previous state, and the following material is discarded:

◆ When in Loop Record mode, all takes from each record pass are discarded.

◆ When using TrackPunch or QuickPunch mode, all punches from the last recording pass are discarded.

If you undo a record pass during recording,

Pro Tools will remove any previously undone record pass from the session, and gives you the option of deleting the previous record pass from your hard drive.

Canceling a Record Take

While recording, it is possible to discard the current record take. This removes the audio (recorded up to that point) from your hard drive and deletes the region from the track’s playlist.

This capability is not available in Destructive

Record mode.

To cancel a record take while recording:

■

Press Control+period (Windows) or Command+period (Macintosh) before the Transport is stopped.

When using Loop Record mode, all takes from each record pass are discarded.


Recording Multiple Audio Tracks

Pro Tools can record multiple audio tracks simultaneously, up to the track recording limits of your system. To record to multiple tracks, configure and record enable each track, then record.

Follow the same steps as in “Recording an Audio

Track” on page 157.

For each record-enabled track, a new audio file is written to disk and a new region is created and appears in the playlist. The new audio regions appear in the Audio Regions List.

To record from Record Pause mode:

1 Click Record in the Transport window. The

Record button flashes.

2 Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) Play in the Transport window to put

Pro Tools in Record Pause mode. The Play and

Record buttons flash.

3 To begin recording instantaneously, click Play.

When you have finished recording, click Stop in the Transport window.

Use Pause mode when recording or playing large numbers of tracks to speed up lock-up time when synchronizing to time code.

Record Shortcuts

In addition to clicking the Record button in the

Transport window, you can also begin recording with the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Press F12 to start recording immediately.

• Press Control+Spacebar (Windows) or Command+Spacebar (Macintosh) to start recording.

• Press 3 on the Numeric Keypad (when the Numeric Keypad Mode is set to Transport) to start recording.

To initiate recording at half-speed, press

Control+Shift+Spacebar (Windows) or

Command+Shift+Spacebar (Macintosh).

For details, see “Half-Speed Recording and

Playback” on page 174.

Record Pause Mode

When recording a large number of tracks or channels, or playing back a large number of tracks while recording, Pro Tools may take a little longer to begin recording. To avoid this delay, put Pro Tools in Record Pause mode before beginning to record.

Recording Additional Takes

After recording to an audio track, you can record additional takes to the same track. However, if you record these additional takes in Destructive

Record mode, the audio residing on your hard drive from the previous takes will be permanently lost.

To keep the audio from previous takes, record the new takes nondestructively in Nondestructive Record mode.

For details on audio file and region names

for new takes, see “Default Track Names” on page 144.

To nondestructively record a new take on the same track:

1 Put Pro Tools in Nondestructive Record mode.

In the Operations menu, deselect Destructive

Record, Loop Record, QuickPunch or Track-

Punch if selected.

2 Make sure the track containing the previous take is still record enabled.


3 To record from the beginning of the track, click Return to Zero in the Transport window.

– or –

If Operations > Link Edit and Timeline Selection is enabled, click anywhere in the track’s playlist to begin recording from that point.

To record a specific track range, with precise

start and end points, see “Punch Recording

Audio” on page 163.

4 Click Record in the Transport window. When you are ready to begin recording, click Play.


An audio file for the new take is written to disk and appears as an audio region in the track’s playlist. The new audio region appears in the

Audio Regions List.

The audio from the original take remains on your hard drive, and is still available as a region in the Audio Regions List.

To destructively record over a previous take:

1 Select Operations > Destructive Record. When using Destructive Record mode, a “D” appears in the Record button.

Destructive

Record

Destructive Record mode enabled

2 Make sure the track containing the previous take is still record enabled.


3 To record from the beginning of the track, click Return to Zero in the Transport window.

– or –


To record a specific track range, with precise

start and end points, see “Punch Recording

Audio” on page 163.



The audio for the new take is written to disk, permanently overwriting the original. The new material replaces the original material within the existing region and the region is not renamed.

Appending New Material to the End of a

Track

You can also append new material to the end of a track. To do this, locate to the end of the track with the Go to End button in the Transport window (this will locate the end of the session), or tab to the end point of the last region on the track. From there, begin recording and Pro Tools will add the new material to the end of the track.

If using Destructive Record mode, the new audio is appended to the audio file and region from the first take. In Nondestructive Record mode, a new file and region are created.


Recording to a New Playlist

Instead of recording over existing audio regions, there is another way to nondestructively record new takes to the same track. Do this by creating a new playlist for the track, then record just as before.

Tracks can have multiple edit playlists, each of which stores a list of regions strung together in a particular order. Also, since playlists follow groups, duplicating or selecting alternate playlists for a track in a focused group will affect all tracks in the group.

To record to a new playlist for a track:

1 From the track’s Playlist Selector pop-up, choose New. Enter a name for the new playlist and click OK.

An audio file for the new take is written to disk and appears as an audio region in the track’s playlist. The new audio region appears in the

Audio Regions List.

6 To audition the new take, click Play in the

Transport window.

7 To go back to a previous playlist to compare it to the new take, select the playlist from the track’s Playlist Selector.

Selecting a playlist recalls its regions as they previously appeared in the track. At any time, all regions from all playlists are available in the Regions List, and can be mixed and matched between playlists and tracks.

For more information on playlists and play-

list editing, see “Playlists” on page 217.

Playlist Selector

When a new playlist is created, its name replaces the track name. With this playlist active, names for new audio files and regions are based on its name.

2 Make sure the track is still record enabled.

3 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero.



Punch Recording Audio

To define a record range in the playlist, or replace a portion of a recorded track, you can

punch in by specifying the record range before recording.

To manually punch in and out on recordenabled audio tracks during playback, refer

to “QuickPunch Audio Recording” on page 191, or “TrackPunch Audio Record-

ing” on page 194.

Though there are several ways to set record and

play ranges (see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 168), perhaps the easiest is to select within

the track’s playlist the range for recording.

To set a record or play range by selecting within a playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections must be linked (select Operations >

Link Edit and Timeline Selection).


During the recording process, playback begins at the pre-roll time (if enabled) and proceeds to the start time (the punch-in point), where recording begins. When the end time (the punchout point) is reached, Pro Tools automatically switches out of Record mode and continues playing through the specified amount of postroll. This automated punch-in/out feature is a powerful and precise way of recording or re-recording a portion of a track.

To punch record on an audio track:

1 To record nondestructively, make sure that

Operations > Destructive Record is not selected.

– or –

If you do want to permanently record over the specified record range, select Operations > Destructive Record.

If you are recording in any mode other than

Destructive Record mode, punches do not permanently replace the previously recorded material. If you

do

want to permanently record over the specified record range (and keep only the last, or most recent take), select Operations > Destructive Record.

2 Make sure the track to which you want to record is record enabled.

3 Make sure to select Operations > Link Edit and

Timeline Selection.

4 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist until the selection encompasses the punch range. For other methods of setting the record

range, see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 168.

5 To hear any existing track material up to the start point, or after the end point, enable and set

pre- and post-roll times. For details, see “Setting

Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 170.


When the punch-in (start) point is reached,

Pro Tools begins recording. Recording continues until the punch-out (end) point is reached, unless Stop is clicked in the Transport window.

If post-roll is enabled, playback continues for the specified post-roll amount.

If recording nondestructively, a new audio file is written to your hard drive and a new audio region appears in the record track and Audio Regions List.

If recording in Destructive Record mode, the new audio overwrites the previous material in the existing audio file and region.

Monitoring During Punch-Ins

Pro Tools provides two monitoring modes for recording: Auto Input monitoring and Input

Only monitoring. For details, see “Auto Input

Monitoring” on page 140.


Loop Recording Audio

Pro Tools provides a loop recording feature that allows you to record take after take while the same section of audio repeats over and over.

This is a convenient technique for quickly recording multiple takes of a part without losing spontaneity.

When loop recording, you must first specify the start and end points for the loop. Though there are several ways to set record and play ranges

(see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 168),

perhaps the easiest is to select within the track’s playlist the material to be looped.

To set a record or play range by selecting within a playlist, the Edit and Timeline selections must be linked (select Operations >

Link Edit and Timeline Selection).

You can listen to track material up to and after the loop record range by enabling pre- and postroll.

The pre-roll setting, if enabled, is used only during the first record pass, and the post-roll setting, if enabled, is used only on the last pass.

Pre- and post-roll times are ignored on each successive loop. To compensate for this, you may want to make the loop range slightly longer.

Later, you can trim back the recorded takes to the proper length with the Trimmer tool (see

“The Trimmer Tool” on page 267).

When loop recording audio, Pro Tools creates a single audio file that comprises all takes. Takes appear as individual regions in the Audio Regions List and are numbered sequentially. Once you stop recording, you can audition any of the recorded takes.

To loop record an audio track:

1 Select Operations > Loop Record. When Loop

Record mode is enabled, a loop symbol appears in the Record button.

Loop Recording enabled

2 Record enable the audio track by clicking its

Record Enable button.


Timeline Selection.

4 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist until the selection encompasses the loop range.

For other methods of setting the record range,

see “Setting Punch/Loop Points” on page 168.

5 To hear track material up to the start point of the loop, enable and set the pre-roll time. For

details, see “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 170.


The Record button flashes during the pre-roll.

When the start point is reached, Pro Tools begins recording. When the end point is reached,

Pro Tools loops back to the start time and continues playing and recording.

7 To cancel all recorded takes while loop recording, press Control+period (Windows) or Command+period (Macintosh).


If you stop recording before you reach the midpoint of the loop, Pro Tools discards that take. If you record more than half of the looped take,

Pro Tools will leave the take in the track when you stop recording.


The recorded takes appear as regions in the Audio Regions List and are numbered sequentially.

The most recently recorded take is left in the record track. For details on auditioning the var-

ious takes, see “Auditioning Record Takes” on page 166.

Loop Playback and Audio Recording

Pro Tools ignores “loop playback” when recording. The only way to loop while recording is to enable Loop Record mode.

Auditioning Record Takes

After recording multiple takes with loop or punch recording, you can replace the take currently residing in the track with previous takes to audition them. (Takes must have the same start time to be available.) Takes can also be auditioned from the Regions List, or from the

Takes List pop-up menu.

All takes are numbered sequentially.

Auditioning from the Takes List

Pop-up Menu

Each region resulting from a punch or loop record pass has an identical start time (the User

Time Stamp). This allows you to easily select and audition takes from the Takes List pop-up menu—even while the session plays or loops.

To select a take from the Takes List pop-up:

1 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Macintosh) with the Selector at the precise beginning of the loop or punch range.

– or –

If the take currently residing in the track is selected, Control-click (Windows) or Commandclick (Macintosh) it with the Selector.

Auditioning from the Regions List

To select a take from the Regions List:

1 In the Edit window, select the current take with the Grabber.

2 Control-drag (Windows) or Command-drag

(Macintosh) another take from the Audio Regions List into the playlist.

The region replaces the previous take and snaps precisely to the correct location.

3 Repeat the above steps to audition other takes.

Takes List pop-up

A pop-up menu appears containing a list of regions that share the same User Time Stamp.

2 Choose a region from the Takes List pop-up menu. The region replaces the previous take and snaps precisely to the correct location.

3 Repeat the above steps to audition other takes.

One way to ensure that future takes have the same User Time Stamp (and appear in the Takes

List pop-up) is to store punch and loop record selections as Memory Locations. Then if you later need to record additional takes, simply recall the Memory Location. For more informa-

tion, see “Memory Locations” on page 169.


To change the User Time Stamp of other regions so that they appear in the Takes List pop-up for a certain location, use the Time Stamp Selected command in the Regions List pop-up menu. For

more information, see “Time Stamping” on page 570.

Takes List and Multiple Tracks

If you have recorded multiple tracks, and each contains takes with identical User Time Stamps, you can use the Takes List pop-up menu to replace all takes simultaneously.

To replace the takes for multiple tracks:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences, click the Editing tab, and enable the following options:

• Take Region Name(s) That Match Track

Names

• Take Regions Lengths That Match

2 Click Done to close the Preferences dialog.

3 With the Selector, select the take range for each track you want to replace.

4 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Macintosh) any of the select takes with the Selector.

A pop-up menu appears containing a list of regions that share the same User Time Stamp for that track.

5 Choose a region from the Takes List pop-up menu. The region replaces the previous take and snaps precisely to the correct location. The same take numbers for the other selected tracks are also automatically selected.

Editing Preferences for Takes

In addition to having the same User Time

Stamp, regions that appear in the Takes List pop-up are also restricted according to options in the Preferences dialog.

To set editing preferences for takes:

■

Choose Setups > Preferences, click the Editing tab, and enable or disable the following options in the “Matching Start Time” Take List section:

Take Region Name(s) That Match Track

Names When selected, only regions that share the same root name with the track/playlist appear in the Takes List pop-up menu. For example, the Takes List for a track named “Gtr.L” would show the regions “Gtr.L_01” and

“Gtr.L_02-01,” but not “Guitar.L_01.”

Take Region Lengths That Match When selected, only regions that match the length of the current

selection (even if it is not an entire region) appear in the Takes List pop-up menu. If there is no selection, all takes with the same User Time Stamp are displayed.

“Separate Region” Operates On All Related

Takes When selected, editing a region with the

Separate Region command also affects all other related takes with the same User Time Stamp.

This option helps you compare different sections from a group of related takes. For example, you can quickly separate an entire group of related vocal takes into sections, then audition and select the best material from each section independently.

If this option is selected, make sure the “Take

Region Names That Match Track Name(s)” and

“Take Region Lengths That Match” options are also selected. If they are not, all regions in the session that have the same User Time Stamp will be affected.


In most instances, you’ll want to deselect the

“Separate Region Operates On All Related

Takes” option, to prevent a large number of regions from being created when you use the Separate Region command.

Setting Punch/Loop Points

The start and end points of a record range for punch and loop recording can be set by the following methods:

• Select a range in a track’s playlist

• Select a range in a Timebase Ruler

• Drag the Playback Markers in the Ruler

• Enter start and end times in the Transport window

• Recall a Memory Location

To set the record range in a track’s playlist:

1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.


Timeline Selection.

3 With the Selector, drag in a track’s playlist until the selection encompasses the record range.

You can also enter start and end point during playback. Press the Down Arrow to set the start point, and press the Up Arrow to set the end point. Note that when in Grid mode, entering start and end point in this manner will not snap to the grid.

To set the record range in a Timebase Ruler:

1 If you want to constrain the selection to the current grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid.

2 Drag with the Selector in any Timebase Ruler until the selection encompasses the record range.

Timeline selection

If the Selector is not active, you do not need to manually select it. Other Edit tools (such as the Grabber) automatically turn into the

Selector when used in the Timebase Ruler.

Playback Markers

When tracks are record enabled, Playback Markers for start and end times appear as red up/down arrows in the Ruler. If no tracks are record enabled, the Playback Markers are blue.

Playlist selection

– or –

If a region’s start and end points define the record range, click the region with the Grabber.

Playback Markers in Ruler

The Playback Markers can be moved, either separately or at the same time, to set record and play ranges.


To set the record range by dragging the Playback

Markers:

1 If you want the dragged Playback Markers to snap to the current grid value, set the Edit mode to Grid

2 Drag the first Playback Marker (down arrow) to the start point of the range.

Dragging a Playback Marker (start time) in Ruler

3 Drag the second Playback Marker (up arrow) to the end point of the range.

If the current record range is already the right length and the range needs only to be moved, Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag

(Macintosh) either Playback Marker to move both to a new location (while keeping the same length).

Start, End, and Length Fields

The Transport window can be resized to display start, end, and length times, and pre- and postroll settings (choose Display Transport Window

Shows > Expanded). When setting a record or play range, it is reflected in these fields.

Transport window with Start, End, and Length fields displayed

You can enter locations in the start and end fields to set the record or play range. The Playback Markers in the Ruler are updated accordingly.

To set the record range by entering start and end times in the Transport window:

1 Select Display > Transport Shows > Expanded.

2 In the Transport window, click in the start field.

– or –

Press Alt+slash (Windows) or Option+slash

(Macintosh) on the numeric keypad to select the start field in the Transport window.

3 Type in the start location and press slash on the numeric keypad to enter the value and automatically move to the end field.

4 Type in the end location and press Enter to accept the value.

Use the period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys to move through the different time fields for start/end. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease the numerical values.

Memory Locations

You can store Edit selections as Memory Locations, which can include current pre- and postroll values.

For more information on Memory Locations,

see “Memory Locations and Markers” on page 324.

To save an Edit selection with a Memory Location:


Timeline Selection.

2 Set the record range by making a playlist or

Ruler selection, or by entering start and end times in the Transport window.


3 To save the pre- and post-roll values, enable and set the pre- and post-roll amounts by entering them in the Transport window, or by dragging the Pre- and Post-Roll Flags in the Ruler.

(For details, see “Setting Pre- and Post-Roll” on page 170.)

4 Press Enter on the numeric keypad.

5 In the New Memory Location dialog, set Time

Properties to Selection, and if saving pre- and post-roll values, select the General Properties option for Pre/Post Roll Times.

2 Choose Windows > Show Memory Locations.

Memory Locations window

3 In the Memory Locations window, click the name or number of the Memory Location.

– or –

Recall the Memory Location by typing period, the Memory Location number, and period again

on the Numeric Keypad. (See “Numeric Keypad

Modes” on page 31).

The start and end times and pre- and post-roll settings stored with the Memory Location are recalled.

New Memory Location dialog

6 Enter a name for the new Memory Location and click OK to save it.

To recall an Edit selection with a Memory

Location:


Timeline Selection.

Setting Pre- and Post-Roll

Pre- and post-roll times appear as flags in the

Ruler. When pre- and post-roll are enabled, the flags are green, otherwise they are gray.

Green Pre- and Post-Roll Flags (enabled) in the Ruler

Pre- and post-roll amounts can be entered in the

Transport window, set from a track’s playlist or

Timebase Ruler, or by recalling a Memory Location.


Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in the

Transport Window

Pre- and post-roll can be enabled and set from the fields in the Transport window.

To set and enable the pre- and post-roll times in the Transport window:

1 Select Display > Transport Shows > Expanded.

2 In the Transport window, click in the pre-roll field.

3 Type in the pre-roll amount and press slash on the numeric keypad to enter the value and automatically move to the post-roll field.

4 Type in the post-roll amount and press Enter to accept the new value.

5 To enable either pre- or post-roll, click the appropriate button so it becomes highlighted.

Use the period (.) or Left/Right Arrow keys to move through the different time fields for pre and post-roll. Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease the numerical values.

Setting Pre- and Post-Roll in a Playlist

You can use the Selector to enable and disable pre- and post-roll by clicking in a track’s playlist.

To set and enable the pre- and post-roll by clicking in a playlist:

1 Make sure that Operations > Link Edit and

Timeline Selection is enabled.

2 With the Selector, drag in the track’s playlist until the selection encompasses the record range.

3 With the Selector, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) in the track’s playlist before the selection to enable the pre-roll at that location.

4 With the Selector, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) in the track’s playlist after the selection to enable the post-roll at that location.

To disable the pre- and post-roll by clicking in a playlist:

1 With the Selector, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) within a track selection near the start to disable the pre-roll.

2 With the Selector, Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) within a track selection near the end to disable the pre-roll.

In the timeline, you can reset the pre- and post-roll to zero. First, drag the Pre-Roll Flag to the Playback Marker at the start point of the range, then drag the Post-Roll Flag to the Playback Marker at the end point of the range

3 Drag the Pre-Roll Flag to the Playback Marker at the start point of the range.

4 Drag the Post-Roll Flag to the Playback Marker at the end point of the range.

Enabling Pre- and Post-Roll from the

Operations Menu

Pre- and post-roll (as a pair) can be enabled and disabled from the Operations menu.

To enable both pre- and post-roll from the

Operations menu:

■

Select Operations > Pre/Post Roll Playback.

Dragging Pre- and Post-Roll Flags in the

Timebase Ruler

The Pre- and Post-Roll Flags can be moved in the

Ruler, either separately or at the same time, to set their location.


To 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 value, set the Edit mode to Grid.

2 Drag the Pre-Roll Flag to a location in the

Ruler.

Dragging a Pre-Roll Flag in Ruler

3 Drag the Post-Roll Flag to a location in the

Ruler.

To set pre- and post-roll values to the same amount, Alt-drag (Windows) or Optiondrag (Macintosh) either the Pre- or the Post-

Roll Flag in the Ruler. The deselected flag will immediately reset to the same value, and will adjust accordingly as you drag the selected flag.

Recording from a Digital

Source

If you plan to use a DAT player, digital-output

CD recorder, or other digital input and output device with your Pro Tools system, make sure it supports the correct digital format. For example, your interface’s AES/EBU inputs and outputs should only be connected to another AES/EBU device.

Pro Tools|HD Systems

The 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, and 96 I/O include

AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and ADAT digital options. Additionally, the 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O include TDIF digital I/O options. The 96i I/O includes only the S/PDIF digital option.

On a 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O,

Pro Tools can receive digital audio from the factory-installed Optical (ADAT) I/O at any time (if it is not set to S/PDIF). However, Pro Tools can only receive digital audio from one of its enclosure [Encl] digital sources—AES, S/PDIF or Optical (S/PDIF) at a time.

Enclosure digital sources come standard with

HD I/Os and are labelled on-screen as [Encl] versions, to differentiate them from digital inputs and outputs available on the 192’s Digital I/O card. For example, the AES/EBU inputs and outputs that come standard in the 192 I/O enclosure are identified as AES/EBU [Encl].

The additional digital ports on the 192 I/O and

192 Digital I/O are TDIF, AES/EBU, and ADAT.

Pro Tools can only receive digital audio from one of these ports at a time.

However, inputs on both the 192 I/O enclosure

I/O and Digital card can be used simultaneously.

For example, on a 192 I/O, it is possible to clock off a source from one of the enclosure inputs and have another digital input from the digital ports doing a sample rate conversion, thus having two digital sources.

Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems

On the 888|24 I/O, 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O, and the original ADAT Bridge I/O, both AES/EBU and S/PDIF outputs are active at all times, so you can actually send digital audio to two different digital devices simultaneously at mix time.

However, Pro Tools can only receive digital audio from one digital source (AES or S/PDIF) at a time.

In addition, although the 888|24 I/O has four stereo AES input pairs, only input pair 1–2 on the master audio interface, (the first audio interface connected to your main DSP card), can accept an external digital clock source.


Pro Tools LE Systems

The Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, and Digi 001 include S/PDIF and ADAT digital options.

The Mbox includes only the S/PDIF digital option.

All digital outputs are active at all times, so you can actually send digital audio to different digital devices simultaneously at mix time.

Recording from Digital Sources

To record from a digital source with Pro Tools (in this example, from a DAT recorder):

1 Connect the digital output of the DAT recorder to the appropriate digital input of your audio hardware.

2 If you want to start a new session with a different sample rate, choose File > New Session, and select the sample rate. Click Save.

3 Make sure to specify the format (digital) of the inputs of the audio interface you will be using.

Choose Setups > Hardware Setup, choose the audio interface, and select the format for the appropriate channel pair. Some Digidesign I/O units, such as Digi 001, only have two channels

(Ch 1–2) that can be set for analog or digital.

Also, if your audio hardware supports different digital formats (such as AES/EBU and S/PDIF), select the digital format you will use.

4 For HD systems, choose Setups > Hardware

Setup and select the appropriate Clock Source connected to the appropriate I/O audio interface; or use the Session Setup window to select the appropriate Clock Source.

5 Click OK to close the Hardware Setup dialog.

6 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 Stereo

Audio Track, then click Create.

7 Assign the Input Selectors for the track to the appropriate inputs. Since this is a digital-domain transfer, you don’t need to worry about input levels.

8 In the Mix window, click the track’s Output

Selector and assign a stereo hardware output.

– or –

In the Edit window, with I/O view enabled, use the track’s Output Selector to assign a hardware output.

9 In the Operations menu, deselect Destructive

Record, Loop Record, QuickPunch and Track-

Punch.

10 In the Transport window, click Return to

Zero so the start and end times are cleared. This ensures that you’ll start recording from the beginning of the track.

11 In the Mix or Edit window, record enable the new audio track by clicking its Record Enable button.


13 Start playback on the DAT deck.

14 When the material from the DAT has finished, click Stop in the Transport window.

For more information on configuring your particular Pro Tools system for recording from a digital source, see your Getting

Started Guide.

After a Digital Transfer

After you have finished recording digitally, set the Clock Source pop-up menu in the Session

Setup window back to Internal. Otherwise,

Pro Tools will not switch back to its own internal clock and will not record or play audio properly. Failure to switch back to Internal sync typically results in pitch problems (fast or slow


playback) or DAE errors, since a DAT recorder or

CD Recorder that is idle can default to a different sample rate or stop outputting a sample rate clock altogether.

Half-Speed Recording and

Playback

Pro Tools lets you play and record at half-speed.

This capability is similar to that of a tape deck where you can record material at half-speed and then play it back at normal speed (up an octave) for special effects.

To record at half-speed:

1 Press Shift+Control+Spacebar (Windows) or

Shift+Command+Spacebar (Macintosh). Recording begins and all existing track material plays at half-speed.

2 When you have finished recording, click Stop.

When played at normal speed, the material recorded at half-speed plays twice as fast (up an octave).

Use half-speed recording to record difficult to play MIDI tracks or to record complex automation moves.

To play at half-speed

1 Press Shift+Spacebar. Playback begins and track material plays at half-speed. Any audio tracks recorded at normal speed will sound half as fast and an octave lower, and any audio tracks playing back that were recorded at half-speed will sound like they are playing back at normal speed.

You can also play at half-speed by Shiftclicking the Play button.

2 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop playback.

Use half-speed playback to learn or transcribe difficult passages in recorded tracks.


No results