David Franz is a songwriter, producer, engineer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, and educator. David’s production company, Underground Sun, writes, produces and engineers music for a wide range of clients. He teaches production courses online at Berkleemusic, the continuing education arm of Berklee College of Music, and performs with his touring rock band, midatlantic. He is author of Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (the first book about using Pro Tools, now in its third edition) and Recording and Producing in the Home Studio (Berklee Press).

 

Hello and welcome to the first installment of my Pro Tools blog on KnowTheMusicBiz.com. As you may know, Pro Tools is the industry standard music production software package and there are many affordable ways to get started using it. If you’re interested in purchasing and learning how to use Pro Tools, this blog should help you. Let’s start with the basics...

What is Pro Tools?

Pro Tools is a software application that enables digital audio and MIDI recording, editing, and mixing on your personal computer. It utilizes non-linear hard disk recording and non-destructive digital editing to help you create your musical masterpieces, with the help of DAE (Digidesign Audio Engine).

Non-linear recording means your audio files are recorded and stored in chunks on your hard drive, rather than linearly, as they would be recorded on tape. This facilitates immediate access to any location within a file. Non-destructive editing means that any cutting, pasting, trimming, separating, or clearing of audio data occurs virtually. The source audio files are not harmed in any way. Pro Tools only performs editing functions on a map of the actual audio data, never touching the recorded source data.

What is DAE?

DAE (Digidesign Audio Engine) is an operating system built into Pro Tools that enables audio playback, recording, processing, editing, and automation. Aside from a few adjustable parameters, you’ll rarely have to deal with the DAE because it runs behind the scenes of the Pro Tools interface.

Pro Tools Systems

There are three main versions of Pro Tools: Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered. Each of these versions works with different hardware configurations from Digidesign and M-Audio.

Pro Tools HD

Pro Tools HD works with Digidesign’s upscale professional audio interfaces, such as the 192 and 96. Of the different versions of Pro Tools, Pro Tools HD has the greatest input/output capabilities, track counts, sampling rates, and processing power, as well as some advanced features that aren’t included in the other Pro Tools versions, including multi-channel Beat Detective, various surround-sound mixing configurations, and advanced video and synchronization capabilities. It is also the most expensive by far. 

Fig. 1.1. Digidesigns 192 

Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools LE works with Digidesign’s home studio equipment, such as the Digi 003, Mbox2 Pro and Mbox2 Micro. It supports 32 audio tracks and 256 MIDI tracks, and has several features not in the M-powered version, including compatibility with DigiTranslator and the Music Production Toolkit.

Fig. 1.2. Mbox2

Pro Tools M-Powered

Pro Tools M-Powered works with numerous M-Audio devices such as the FireWire 1814, ProFire 2626, and Project Mix I/O. It also supports 32 audio tracks and 256 MIDI tracks. Check Digidesign’s or M-audio’s Web page for the latest list of Pro Tools-compatible M-Audio devices.

Fig. 1.3. M-Audio FireWire 1814

 

The Pro Tools Interface

If you’ve never used Pro Tools before, the interface may seem a bit daunting. However, it will soon become second nature to you. Here are some of the basic terms and elements you’ll use in Pro Tools.

Sessions

Every time you launch Pro Tools, you can create a new session or open a pre-existing session. A Pro Tools session is kind of like a word processing or spreadsheet file. It’s a document that contains information—maps (or arrangements) of all the data associated with a project, including audio files, MIDI data, edit and mix information, as well as comments and titles. You can only have one session open at a time, but as you work, you can save multiple versions of the session for backups and for trying new ideas. The user interface of a Pro Tools session consists mainly of two separate screens called the Edit and Mix windows. NOTE: A Pro Tools session document doesn’t actually contain audio files; instead, it references them from the hard drive. It is like a map, pointing the hard drive to retrieve the specific files needed for playback in the session.

The Edit and Mix Windows

The Edit window displays audio waveforms, MIDI data, timeline information, and all of the tools for editing the waveforms and data. All other pertinent track data (volume, panning, solo, mute, blocks, and automation data) can also be viewed in this window. Almost all editing tasks are performed here.

The Mix window is designed to look like a mixing console. Its primary function is for mixing multiple tracks down to a stereo (2-track) or surround sound (multi-channel) mix. There is a vertical channel strip for each track, with sections for inserts, sends, input/output routing, and volume faders, as well as automation, pan, solo, and mute controls. Switch quickly between the Edit and Mix window by pressing Control-= (Windows) or Command-= (Mac).

 

 

Fig. 1.4. Pro Tools Edit Window

 

Fig. 1.5. Pro Tools Mix Window

The tracks and groups listed on the left side of each screen (the Tracks and Groups lists) can be hidden on both the Mix and Edit screens to free up more room on your monitor. Click the double arrow on the bottom left of the window. The Regions list on the right side of the Edit window can be hidden in the same way by clicking the double arrow on the bottom right.

 

The Transport Window

The Transport window has controls like those on a cassette player or analog tape machine. It is used to play, stop, record, fast-forward, and rewind your recorded material, as well as some more advanced functions. You can use the buttons in this window to control playback, recording, and navigation in Pro Tools. To show all parts of the Transport window (as in figure 1.6), choose View > Transport and select all of the options. 

Fig. 1.6. Pro Tools Transport Window

 

Pro Tools Tour

Watch the video below for a quick tour of the main windows used in Pro Tools.

 

(This text is an edited excerpt from David Franz’s Producing in the Home Studio with Pro Tools (3^rd Edition), Berklee Press/Hal Leonard, 2008). Visit www.protoolsbook.com to learn more about the book and DVD. Feel free to contact David at dfranz@berkleemusic.com.