Chapter 8: Tracks. Avid Pro Tools HD 6.9, Pro Tools LE 6.9

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.

For information, refer to the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).

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 TDM 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 448.

Chapter 8: Tracks 87

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 TDM 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

(Pro Tools TDM Only)”

• Chapter 32, “Multichannel Tracks and

Signal Routing (Pro Tools TDM Only)”

• Chapter 33, “Surround Panning and Mixing

(Pro Tools TDM Only)”

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.

88 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

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


Track Controls

Input/Output Selectors

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

Input Selector

Output Selector

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 Slider

Pan Indicator

Inputs/Outputs View

To show the I/O View:

■

Select Display > Edit Window Shows (or Mix

Windows Shows) > I/O View.

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 99.

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 when you create a session.


When you open an existing session, fader gain settings work as follows:

Opening Sessions In Pro Tools 6.4 and

Higher When opening a session created in

Pro Tools 6.4 and higher, the session is opened with your previously saved fader gain settings.

When opening a session created in Pro Tools

6.3.x and lower, you are given the choice of staying at +6 dB or updating to +12 dB.

Opening a +12 dB Session In Pro Tools 6.3.x and

Lower Sessions created and saved with a +12 dB fader gain level can be opened in Pro Tools 6.3.x and lower. Breakpoints for volume automation above +6 dB will be lowered to +6 dB.

MIDI Volume Fader

If your MIDI sound module supports volume, the volume fader on a MIDI track can send a value of 0–127 to the MIDI volume controller.

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 and click the

Display tab.

2 Select a Peak Hold option.

3 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 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:


Display tab.

2 Select a Clip Indication option.

3 Click Done.

To clear a clip indicator:

■

Click anywhere on the meter.


To clear all clip indicators:

■

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

To clear all clip indicators, do one of the following:

■

Choose Operations > Clear All Clips.

– or –

■

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

Wide Meters View

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:

■

Press Control-Start-Alt (Windows) or Command-Option-Control (Macintosh), and click the track level meters in either the Mix or Edit window.

Wide Meters View, Mix and Edit windows

To disable Wide Meters View:

■

Press Control-Start-Alt (Windows) or Command-Option-Control (Macintosh), and click the track level meters a second time in either the

Mix or the Edit window.

Delay Compensation View

(Pro Tools TDM Systems 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 page.

For more information, see “Delay Compensation” on page 469.

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 94.

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 TDM systems, you can create multichannel tracks.

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

◆ To insert new tracks next to a specific track in a session, select that track by clicking the track’s name in the Mix or Edit window before opening the New Tracks dialog. The new tracks are added immediately after the selected track.

◆ To insert new tracks after the last tracks in a session, make sure that no track names are selected on-screen before opening the New Tracks dialog.

To create new tracks:

1 Choose File > New Tracks.

Add/Delete Track

Number of new tracks

Track Format

Track Type

Track Timebase

New Tracks dialog (Pro Tools 6.9 shown)

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

To auto-scroll the Track Type pop-up menu in the New Tracks dialog, press Control

(Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys.

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 TDM systems.

To auto-scroll the Track Format pop-up menu, press Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh) and use the Left/Right

Arrow keys.

4 Select the timebase (samples or ticks) from the

Track Timebase pop-up menu.

To auto-scroll the Track Timebase pop-up menu, press Control-Alt (Windows) or

Command-Option (Macintosh) and use the

Up/Down Arrow keys.

5 Enter the number of new tracks.

6 In Pro Tools 6.7 or higher, do the following, if desired:

• If you wish to add more tracks, click the

Add Track button.

– or –

• If you wish to remove the previous track, click the Delete Track button.

To add or delete a new track, press Control-

Shift (Windows) or Command-Shift (Macintosh) and use the Up/Down Arrow keys.

7 Click Create.

8 To configure which track controls appear in the Mix 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 152).

Track Name/Comments dialog

To rename a track:

1 In the Mix or Edit window, double-click 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 or Mix window, double-click 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 QWERTY keyboard.


Track Position Numbering

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

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

Selecting Tracks

Tracks need to be selected for operations such as duplicating tracks or adding tracks to a group.

One or more tracks can be selected at a time.

In Pro Tools 6.8.x and lower, tracks are selected or deselected using Shift-click.

To select a track:

■

Click the name of an unhighlighted track in its track channel strip.

To select a range of tracks (Pro Tools 6.9 only):

1 Click the name of an unhighlighted track in its track channel strip.

2 Shift-click an additional track name.

All tracks between the first track selected and the additional track will also be selected.

To select or deselect non-contiguous tracks, do the following (Pro Tools 6.9 only):

■


(Macintosh) track names that are unhighlighted to select them.

– or –

■


(Macintosh) track names that are highlighted to deselect them.

In Pro Tools 6.8.x and lower, non-contiguous tracks are selected or deselected using

Shift-click.

To select all tracks:

■

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) any track name that is unhighlighted.

To deselect all tracks:

■

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Macintosh) any track name that is highlighted.


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 in Pro Tools 6.9,

Control-click (Windows) or Commandclick (Macintosh)

additional track names.

In Pro Tools 6.8.x and lower, tracks are selected using Shift-click.

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.

In Pro Tools 6.9, to select multiple tracks,



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

Track

Color

Coding

Show/Hide Tracks pop-up menu

Track Name

Track Number

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

Mix or Edit 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 “Voice Borrowing” on page 102 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.

To show a range of tracks (Pro Tools 6.9 only):

1 Click the name of an unhighlighted track name in the Show/Hide Track List.

2 Shift-click an additional track name.

All track names that occur between the first track name selected and the additional track name will also be selected.

You can also select a range of tracks by moving the cursor to the left of the track names, so the Marquee appears, and dragging around the track names you want to select.


To show or hide a range of tracks in the

Show/Hide List with the Marquee (Pro Tools 6.9 only):

1 Press and hold Control (Windows) or Command (Macintosh).

2 Move the cursor to the left of a track name until the Marquee with a small “+” symbol appears.

• To show tracks, the Marquee should be to the left of an unhighlighted track name.

• To hide tracks, the Marquee should be to the left of a highlighted track name.

3 Click on the track name and drag up or down

(to show or hide the track and the tracks immediately above or below it).

To show or hide non-contiguous tracks, do the following (Pro Tools 6.9 only):

■


(Macintosh) track names that are unhighlighted to select them.

– or –

■


(Macintosh) track names that are highlighted to deselect them.

In Pro Tools 6.8.x and lower, non-contiguous track names are selected or deselected using Shift-click.

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

(Pro Tools TDM Systems 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.

• Numbers are only assigned to tracks that are shown (when Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden Tracks is not enabled in the Display Preferences page). In this case, active tracks are then numbered sequentially. Hidden tracks are un-numbered.

– or –

• Tracks keep their track position numbers even when hidden (when Track Position Numbers

Stay With Hidden Tracks is enabled in the Display Preferences page).


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

Bus 2

Track set to

No Input

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.

Input/output assignments for three mono audio tracks

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 New Track Default

Output defined in the I/O Setup dialog.

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.

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.

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.

Audio track Output Selector

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.

Track Priority

While your Pro Tools hardware allows a fixed number of voices, Pro Tools software allows for additional audio tracks beyond that fixed number of voices. While all of these tracks can be recorded to or imported, arranged, and cued for playback, not all of them can be played back simultaneously.

When the number of tracks exceeds the number of available voice s, 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. See “Changing a

Track’s Playback Priority” on page 101 and

“Freeing up Voices on a Track” on page 101.

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

To set multiple tracks to the same voice, see

“Setting Voice Assignment” on page 101. For

additional information on voice borrowing,

see“Voice Borrowing” on page 102).

Freeing up Voices on a Track

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. See “Setting Voice Assignment” on page 101.

■

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 108).

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 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 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.

■

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.

Setting 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 be dynamically allocated, 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 and support voice borrowing (see

“Voice Borrowing” on page 102). To ensure a

track is heard, or that it is available for Quick-

Punch or TrackPunch recording, assign a voice number to that track.

Pro Tools LE 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, Off, or (on TDM systems) select a voice number.

Voice Selector for stereo audio track

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 far left of the Mix window, or at the top of the Edit 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 Control-clicking

(Windows) or Command-clicking (Macintosh) their names.

In Pro Tools 6.9, to select multiple tracks,



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

Voice Borrowing

(TDM Systems Only)

Pro Tools TDM systems feature voice borrowing , 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:

“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.

Setting MIDI Input and Output

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 MIDI Output 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 Output Selector and assign a device and channel from the pop-up menu. Channels already assigned to another track appear bold in this menu.

MIDI Output Selector

To assign multiple destinations to a single MIDI track:

■

Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Macintosh) the MIDI Output 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 Automation

Preferences page, you can disable this behavior.

To disable group muting of tracks:


Automation tab.

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:


Automation tab.

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 normally mutes other tracks so that the chosen track can be auditioned alone.

In Pro Tools TDM 6.9, this behavior is selected as a Solo mode, called “Solo In Place.” Additional Solo modes are provided to change how the Solo button works. See

“Solo Modes” on page 105

.

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.

Solo Modes

(Pro Tools TDM 6.9)

In Pro Tools 6.9, the Solo button can be used to:

• Mute other tracks so that the chosen track can be auditioned alone.

– or –

• Route a chosen track to a separate output.

Solo button behavior is defined by the Solo mode, as follows:

SIP (Solo In Place) This is how the Solo button worked in previous versions of Pro Tools. The

Solo button mutes other tracks. When this mode is enabled, tracks can be solo safed (see

“Solo Safe Mode” on page 108).

AFL (After Fader Listen) The Solo button routes the track’s post-fader/post-pan signal to the

AFL/PFL Path output. The AFL/PFL Path is configured in the Output page of the I/O Setup dia-

log (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 84).

With AFL, the level you hear is dependent on the fader level for that track. Additionally, there is a separate master level setting for AFL that affects the output of any or all tracks you solo in

AFL mode (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 84). This

level setting is independent of the PFL level setting.

AFL and PFL Solo modes require the Surround Mixer plug-in (see the Pro Tools Reference Guide for installation information).

PFL (Pre-Fader Listen) The Solo button routes the track’s pre-fader/pre-pan signal to the

AFL/PFL Path output. The AFL/PFL Path is configured in the Output page of the I/O Setup dia-

log (see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 84).

With PFL, the fader level and pan are ignored, and the level you hear is dependent on the signal’s recorded level. Additionally, there is a separate master level setting for PFL that affects the output of any or all tracks you solo in PFL mode

(see “AFL/PFL Path” on page 84). This level set-

ting is independent of the AFL level setting.

AFL and PFL Solo modes require the Surround Mixer plug-in (see the Pro Tools Reference Guide for installation information).

If Mutes Frees Assigned Voice is enabled, muted tracks will not be audible in PFL mode.


To select a Solo mode:

1 Choose Operations > Solo Mode, and select

SIP, AFL, or PFL.

The Solo mode for all soloed tracks can be changed “on-the-fly” from any Solo mode to either SIP or AFL. Previously soloed tracks will switch their solo behavior to the new mode.

Switching the Solo mode for all soloed tracks “on-the-fly” to PFL will clear all previously soloed tracks before entering PFL mode. This will prevent potentially large boosts in level.

DSP Usage when Using AFL or PFL Mode

AFL and PFL are accomplished by Pro Tools creating a “behind the scenes” mixer to route the signal to the chosen AFL/PFL Path. Depending on the size of your main mixer, Pro Tools will devote a substantial portion of its available DSP when using AFL/PFL mode.

Un-declaring the AFL/PFL Path will free up all

DSP resources previously used for AFL/PFL mode.

Using AFL/PFL on Pro Tools Systems with a

D-Control or D-Command

AFL/PFL is optimized for Pro Tools systems using a D-Command or D-Control control surface, where the XMON automatically switches its monitor source between the main output and the AFL/PFL output from Pro Tools.

For more information on using XMON and

AFL/PFL, see your control surface guide.

Using AFL/PFL on Pro Tools Systems without D-

Control or D-Command

If you are not using a D-Control or D-Command control surface, your regular Pro Tools output path is not necessarily muted when you send a signal to the AFL/PFL Path. If you need the main signal to automatically mute when an AFL/PFL signal is invoked, you need to do the following:

1 Configure the output path for AFL or PFL soloed tracks.

2 Select the main output path that will mute when you solo a track in AFL or PFL mode (see

“AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path) Selector” on page 84).

3 Set up your hardware to monitor both the main and AFL/PFL paths simultaneously.

When AFL or PFL is selected as a Solo mode and a track is soloed, the main output path will mute and the AFL/PFL signal will appear at the

AFL/PFL Path for monitoring.


Solo Latch Options

Solos can be latched (where pressing subsequent buttons adds them to the soloed mix of tracks), unlatched, or temporarily latched (Pro Tools

TDM only). Solo latching is set in the Operation

Preferences page.

To select a Solo Latch option (Pro Tools 6.9):


Operation tab.

2 Select a Solo Latch option.

Latch When this option is selected, pressing subsequent Solo buttons adds them to the soloed mix of tracks.

X–OR (Cancels Previous Solos) When this option is selected, pressing subsequent Solo buttons cancels previous solos.

To override X–OR mode and solo more than one track at a time, press and hold the Solo button on the first track. Subsequently pressed Solo buttons will latch.

Momentary (Pro Tools TDM Only with Supported

Control Surfaces Only) When this option is selected, the Solo button is not sticky. When the

Solo button is held down, the track is soloed.

Additional tracks can be soloed by touching their Solo buttons (as long as at least one Solo button is held down). When no Solo button is held down, all soloed tracks will unsolo.

To unlatch solo buttons (Pro Tools 6.8.x and

Lower):


Operation tab.

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.

Using Momentary Solo Latch

(Pro Tools TDM 6.9 Only)

To temporarily latch solos:


Operation tab.

2 In the Solo Latch section, select Momentary, and click Done.

3 Press and hold the Solo button on the first track that will be soloed.

4 While still holding the first Solo button, press additional Solo buttons. Solo buttons will remain soloed as long as one Solo button is held.

As long as at least one Solo button is held down, all the solos will remain latched.


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.

AFL or PFL soloed tracks (Pro Tools TDM

6.9 only) cannot be solo safed.

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 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.

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.


Making Tracks Inactive

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.

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

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 217,

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).

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.

To select multiple tracks in Pro Tools 6.9,




2 Choose File > Make Selected Tracks Inactive.


Color Coding for Tracks,

Regions, Markers and Groups

(Pro Tools 6.7 and Higher Only)

Separate colors can be assigned to audio and

MIDI regions, tracks, markers, and groups.

Regions shown in waveform and block views in the Edit window are drawn in color. Tracks shown in the Show/Hide list, in the Groups list, and in the Mix and Edit windows have associated color bars.

Color Bars

Color Coding at the track level is displayed using color bars.

Mix Window Track colors are displayed in horizontal color bars that appear above each channel strip, and below the track name.

Edit Window Track colors are displayed in vertical color bars that appear to the left of each track.

Show/Hide Tracks List Track colors are displayed in vertical color bars that appear to the left of each track name.

Groups List Track colors are displayed in vertical color bars that appear to the left of each group name.

Default colors are automatically assigned to tracks, but you can override those colors by choosing from a color palette of 96 possible col-

ors. For more information, see “Color Palette” on page 112.

Display Page Preferences for

Color Coding

Color coding options determine how colors are assigned to the display of tracks and regions.

To change color coding options:

1 Choose Setups > Preferences.

2 Click Display.

Display Preferences page

3 Select a Default Track Color Coding option.

4 Select a Default Region Color Coding option.

5 Select or deselect the Always Display Marker

Colors option.

6 Click Done.

Always Display Marker Colors

(Pro Tools 6.7 and Higher Only)

This setting lets you choose to view Marker colors in the Marker ruler, regardless of the settings you choose for Default Region Color Coding.


Default Track Color Coding Default Region Color Coding

(Pro Tools 6.7 and Higher) or Edit

Window Color Coding (Pro Tools 6.6.x and Lower)

These color coding options determine how colors are assigned to the display of regions.

Track Color Coding Choices

None Turns off default color assignment for tracks.

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

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

Groups Assigns a color to each track according to its group ID. If groups are suspended using the

Suspend Groups command, the tracks color bars are not shown.

Track Type Assigns a color to each track according to its type (audio, MIDI, Auxiliary Input, or

Master Fader).

Region Color Coding Choices (Pro Tools 6.9 shown)

None Turns off default color assignment for regions. Regions are drawn as black waveforms or black MIDI notes on a light gray background.

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

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

Groups Assigns a color to each region according to the group ID of its track. If groups are suspended (using the Suspend Groups command) all regions display black waveforms or MIDI notes on a light gray background.

Track Color (Pro Tools 6.7 and Higher Only) Assigns a region color based on the color assigned

to the track. (See “Color Palette” on page 112.)

Marker Locations (Pro Tools 6.7 and Higher Only)

Assigns a color to data across all tracks based on the nearest preceding marker.


Color Palette

The Color palette lets you make color selections for tracks, regions, groups and markers.

None Turns off color assignment. Affected regions are drawn with black waveform or MIDI notes on light gray background. Affected tracks and groups no longer show their color bars.

Color Palette

To apply a color from the Color Palette:

1 Select a region, track, marker, or group by doing one of the following:

• To select a region, click the region with the

Grabber tool.

• To select a track, click the name of the track in its track channel strip.

• To select a marker, click the marker in the

Markers window.

• To select a group, click to the left of the group letter in the group bin. A black dot shows that the group is selected.

The Apply to Selected popup menu displays the type of item you have selected: region, track, marker, or group.

If selecting a marker does not display the

Marker option in the Apply to Selected popup menu, then the Always Display

Marker Colors option in the Display Prefer-

ences page is deselected. See “Always Display Marker Colors” on page 110 for more

information.

2 Choose Windows > Show Color Palette.

3 Select a color from the palette, or select one of the following:

Default Removes any custom coloring and restores the color to the default color orientation.

See “Display Page Preferences for Color Coding” on page 110 for more information.


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:

• Track Timebase

• 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

Group Symbols

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

Filled In Circle

Hollow Circle

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 Mix or Edit 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

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.

Groups List

Colors

Group IDs

Click to hide

Groups List

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:

Creating Groups

To create a group:

1 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click the Track Names for the tracks you want to include in the group to select them.

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.

Selecting tracks to be grouped


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

3 Enter a name for the group.

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 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Macintosh) 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.

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:


Operation tab.

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.

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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