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Gina
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1 – 200 of 360 Newer› Newest»Hi gina,
I have your book and love it but itsays on pg 169 that there is an excel file for download that shows delay times. That part of the site doesn't seem to work. You can select bonus file link but nothing happens
You are absoluety correct. I am fixing that as we speak. Shoud be fixed by 5/11/06 - You can email me directly and I will send you this excel file.
email me at gfs@eSession.com.
Sorry about that.
Gina
Your book has saved me from many a gray hair though it doesn't say (as ar as I can tell) how to deal with temperamental midi.
Midi only seems to work about 50% of the time with my 002.
Have you any tip's on dealing with this or am I better off getting a 3rd party midi interface?
Cheers
A
Thank you for your kind words!
Regarding your MIDI problems, can you be more specific about what you have plugged into the MIDI port of the 002 and how you're using MIDI? Is it just a controller? If so, which one? You can email me directly at gfs@eSession.com.
Thanks,
Gina
Well - this is a bit out of my element since I don't user outboard recorders- if you had a laptop and something like a Digi 002 or M-Audio Project Mix or a Firewire 1814, you could stay in Pro Tools, rehearse and record in Pro Tools without the hassle of transferring back and forth...
I would think you may not have a laptop using Pro Tools - and this is why you want an external mixer.
The Korg D-888 looks pretty cool as does the TASCAM DP-01FXC. The main thing you want is a USB port that mounts the hard drive of your external recorded on your Pro Tools computer. I know for sure that the Korg does do this and will mount on a mac and pc. It looks like the Tascam does too - but it doesn't look the BR9000 does... Mounting the drive, you will simply copy the wav files from the external recorders drive to your Audio Hard Drive and import those files into Pro Tools.
You can also sync up these two units together by connecting a MIDI cable from the Korg (or whatever you buy) to your Pro Tools interface and set Pro Tools to receive MIDI Time Code - then you have to put Pro Tools in Sync Mode. Feel free to email me directly - if you need help with sync. gfs@eSession.com
I would go to a Guitar Center and sit with these and play with them. Call a few stores and get feedback before you buy anything. Don't make a spontaneous purchase... But again, an ideal solution would be to take a laptop and portable interface to your rehearsals and keep everything in Pro Tools.
Most of these external recording units don't record 24 bit - it looks like all of them are 44.1 16 bit only... and another bummer about them is that they only have 40 gig hard drives which will fill up fast if you record alot.... (250 gig hard drives are $100 or cheaper these days and I don't know why all these units skimp on disc space)
Good luck. Hope this was somewhat helpful.
Gina
You should definitely upgrade to 7... it's a huge improvement - are you adding the click onto an audio track or Aux track?? This could be the problem
Things to check for - of course, make sure the fader witht the click plug-in is turned up and the metronome icon in the Control Bar is highlighted... make sure Pro Tools is set to bars and beats.
you can email me personally at gfs@eSession.com if this doens't fix it. i would guess it's a simple fix - no worries.
Warm regards,
Gina
Hi Gina,
I have a digi001 and am running LE 6.4. Is your book still applicable to this older platform? Thanks, Doug.
Hi Gina,
I have a digi001 and am running LE 6.4. Is your book still applicable to this older platform? Thanks, Doug.
Doug,
The book should be about 90% applicaple to earlier versions of Pro Tools. The only differences are a few new features in Pro Tools 7 and some changes in the main menu - for example - The "New Session" command used to be found under the file menu. Now, there is a new menu called "Track" and all functions like creating and deleting tracks are done there. However, I teach users to rely on the keyboard shortcuts throughout the book and those are the same from version 6 to 7 - for example Command, Shift N - is still New Track.
Feel free to contact me if you run into discrepancies and need some help.
Thanks,
Gina
Gina, thanks for all of the great tips. I'm wondering how I keep ProTools from prompting me to authorize certain plug-ins upon opening the application. I remember being able to solve this with ProTools 6, but can't remember what to do now that I've updated.
Thanks!
To remove demo versions of plug-ins you have to go to the plug-in folder and manually put them in the trash. Which plug-ins are you specifically talking about? Most plug-ins are found here: Your Main Hard Drive/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-ins.
I am assuming you are on a mac?
Feel free to email me at gfs@eSession.com.
Hope this helps.
Gina
To remove demo versions of plug-ins you have to go to the plug-in folder and manually put them in the trash. Which plug-ins are you specifically talking about? Most plug-ins are found here: Your Main Hard Drive/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-ins.
I am assuming you are on a mac?
Feel free to email me at gfs@eSession.com.
Hope this helps.
Gina
Hi Gina,
I love your book!!! My question is this: I highlight a couple of measures, then play with loop playback. When I press stop, it unhighlights my measures, and if I want to playback those measures again, I have to drap and highlight them all over again. Can I stop playback without unselecting the highlighted portion?
Hi gina,
Great Book!
Starting Chapter 3 and having problems with the Region Groups.
I cannot find the region group listing in the edit window. I am using PT 7.1 on Windows. The files seem to Import properly and are in the Region Folder in the project folder but I cannot find anyway to see them in the edit window. Please help.
Thanks!!!
Can I stop playback without unselecting the highlighted portion?
Greetings and thanks for the compliment.
I would guess that you have somehow turned on a setting called "Insertion Follows Playback" - what that means is - when you stop playing back, playback will start from where you stopped... This is great when you're mixing - but not for 90% of the time you use Pro Tools - so lets turn it off. Go to the Setup menu and choose Preferences (I'm out of the country and not in front of Pro Tools right now - I think Preferences is also found under the Pro Tools menu) -Once in Preferences, click on the Editing Tab - and there should be a box checked that says, "Insertion Follows Playback" - uncheck that box and all should be good. If not - email me - gfs@eSession.com.
Hope this helps.
Gina
Question:
"Starting Chapter 3 and having problems with the Region Groups."
Answer:
Ok - I am not in front Pro Tools because I am out of the country - but I would guess that you do not have the Region List open on the right side of the Edit Window. There is a small Arrow on the bottom right corner of the Edit Window that expands this window to show you your Regions - both Audio and Region Groups - I would guess you simply have it closed. This can be confusing. To expand the window to show your Regions, click on the Arrows at the bottom of the Edit WIndow.
Open the Pro Tools Reference Guide and go to page 321 - that shows you an illustration of what it should look like.
If this doesn't fix it, please email me at gfs@eSession.com.
Good luck. Gina
Dennis Redman wrote:
I understand using the "tick" setting when adding a new rhythm track for editing. When adding a vocal track you use the "sample" setting. I could see this by looking at the icons in the photos.I thought all my tracks would be in "beats,bars & ticks", can you clarify this for me. Thanks!
My answer:
Dennis,
Good question and good of you to catch this. I did catch this as well while writing the book, but I wasn't quite sure if I could explain it without confusing readers, so I didn't. I'm so glad you're paying such close attention. This is kinda hard to explain, so bear with me.
The actual Pro Tools session (not individual tracks) is created using Bars Beats and Ticks, giving you a grid to edit to, right? Well, when you create a single track in Ticks Vs. Samples, using ticks as a timebase for a track makes any region within this track to move IF you change the tempo of the entire session. Ticks are used as the timebase of a track when that track consists of audio regions that are used as rhythmic elements or contains MIDI data- such as the drum samples like we used in the book. Each audio region starts and ends on an exact beat - so if a track such as this is created in ticks, and then you change the tempo, the regions would move to the next correct beat and keep the session in time...
However, a typical vocal track is not created in equal regions that fall on exact beats like drum samples, right? Most vocal tracks are fluid and there are breaths before beats and syllables that are far less exact than drum samples... So, if you changed the tempo of the session, you would NOT want each region of a vocal track to move because each vocal region would not be on an exact beat and if it did move, the track would be off tempo. This is why I used Samples.
When you edit a vocal track, you will most likely edit using slip mode. Grid Mode for editing vocals is used more for copying and pasting a vocal arrangement around the session - not really for editing words and phrases because most words and phrases and syllables don't usually fall on exact beats... So again, an edited vocal track, will consists of many edited regions, that are not perfectly aligned to the Grid like a drum sample or a MIDI track.
To change the tempo of a vocal or instrument track like a guitar, you would use the Time Compression/Expansion Tool or Use Time Compression/Expansion under the Audiosuite menu. This allows you to change the tempo of a whole track or vocal phrase. (Of course, you would duplicate your playlist before you did this to create a safety copy)
I hope this makes sense and that I explained it clearly.
Feel free to email me back if you're confused.
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I was out of the country this past week and was checking email infrequently.
Thanks and warmest regards,
Gina
Hi Gina,
Your book is definitely one of the more easily understandable ones out there. I'm never sure which is more frustrating, not being able to get things to work or have 5 different books and none of which tells me how to fix the problem.
I use both Pro Tools 6.9.2 with an MBox/ibook G4 and 5.1.1 (or is it 5.2) and a Digi 001 with a G4 Mac. I also have Reason (2.5 and 3.0) and I go crazy trying to get things to work. Actually the Digi 001 set up is fine except a hum I can't seem to get rid of when recording.
But I am on the road with my day job and take the MBox and am having problems recording the Dr Rex loops into Protools. Would copying the audio/rex file directly work as with SampleTank? It is the changing the loop to the right tempo that concerns me. Unless you know how to get this to work from Reaso? I can't even hear the files before I copy them. It is getting frustrating.
Also, I work with someone else who has a Digi 001/5.1.2 set up, and I am concerned about upgrading to ProTools 7. Will they be compatible?
Thanks,
Mary
Hi Gina,
I've been making great progress! I'm up to page 327. I'm at Chap. 10 Exercise 10. In step 3: I can't rename my regions like you did. And, in step 4: I can't Ctrl+F to open the crossfade window. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Phil
Mary,
Sorry for the delay in responding - Can you be more specific about how you are using the Dr. Rex loops? Why not use a Loop plug-in like Stylus RMX instead?
If you upgrade to Pro Tools 7, you would have to use Save Copy In - and save as a Pro Tools 5 session to open that on your 001. Upgrades to Pro Tools 7 such as the ability to import Rex files and use Audio Instruments will not translate into version 5.
The best thing would be to have both systems on PT 7 which means replacing your 001....
Feel free to email me directly at gfs@eSession.com
All the best,
Gina
Phil,
Are you on a mac or a PC?
If you're on a Mac - use Command + F for fades and if you're on a PC - it's Control + F.
Regarding renaming regions, are you sure you have one region highlighted? I would think it would be the way you are highlighting the region. The best way is to use th Selector Tool and double click on a region.
Email me directly if this doesn't work. gfs@eSession.com
Gina
Eddy,
I definitely mean to play your Axiom keyboard - not the computer keyboard. You want to make sure that the input of the Midi or Instrument track that you created is set to Midi Channel 1 of SampleTank. You have to tell a MIDI track what MIDI device or instrument you want it to play - just as you have to set the input to an audio track to where you have your microphone plugged in. So, on the actual MIDI track, the top setting above the fader (the same place you set the audio input) is your MIDI input setting. Set that to SampleTank Channel 1 and put the MIDI track in record and play your Axiom keyboard - and all should be good. I hope this makes sense. My guess is that the MIDI track you created is not set to play SampleTank.
Good luck and thanks for the compliments on the book.
Gina
anthrocks,
i sincerely appreciate your amazing compliments. thank you for that.
Re Question 1: your friend gave you VERY great advice. I LOVE Stylus RMX and the Backbeat Expander is the best source for more acoustic, less processed drums in Stylus. You drag the file from Stylus to your timeline and they give you these great tutorial movies to teach you how to use it. Spectrasonics makes my favorite plug-ins. I just did an article on Plug-ins for Musicians and Songwriters if you want to read it:
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html
The ACID Loop pops and clicks sound like file corruption - Are these files from the actual CD or copiued to your drive. You may try re-copying them or importing from the CD to test things. If that doesn't work, i would actually post something on the Digi User Conference and see what other users say.
Another great investment would be a CD of rex files that you can just drag from the Workspace into your session without using a plug-in.
Something like this: http://www.soundsonline.com/Total-Rex-pr-ZG134.html
Re Question 2: You can print a vocal with compression if you do this - Create a mono Aux for your vocal, put a compressor plug-in on the Aux track and then create a Mono Audio Track and bus that Aux with compression to the track you are recording.
You could also create TWO audio tracks and put compressor on the first one as a plug-in (this comprression would not be recorded - just heard) but then BUS this track while it's being recorded to another audio track and record two tracks - one with compression and one without - and then when you mix you can pick and choose...
But - the real answer is - you should get a decent vocal mic pre with compression. your choice is going to be all about your budget....
I love this Universal Audio LA-610:http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LA610/
but it's expensive...
I haven't heard this but i would try before you buy:http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/528E/
this new m-audio box looks promising and budget conscious: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Tampa/
Feel free to email me more questions tp gfs@eSession.com - and if you have a moment and want to give my book a thumbs up at Amazon, that would be awesome.
thanks again - make fabulous music
warmest regards,
gina
Hi Gina!
I was searching for Plug-In reviews and I ran across your article on The Top 20 Plugins for Musicians and Songwriters. We agree on all of your choices! Although I am a guitar player and don't have much experience with the Keyboard PI's, I have heard the samples and they sound great.
On to my question. I am a Pro Tools fanatic! I am in my studio daily for hours on end. I have M-Box w/ Pro Tools LE in Windows XP. When I have Stylus and Trilogy activated as active Plug-Ins I get the "Hardware buffer" error or the "Increase CPU" error. Is this a lack of RAM problem or something else?
Also, I have some current mixes here: http://www.myspace.com/sonicvelvet Could you please take a listen and give me some feedback when you have a moment? I am constantly looking to improve my producer/engineering skills.
One more... Does your book cover mastering? My mixes seem to be so much lower in volume than the mixes from the Pro mixes I use for reference.
I am in Austin as well!
Thank you sooo much!
- Mike
Mike,
What speed is your computer and how much RAM?? This is usually both processor and RAM related - the faster the machine (dual is better) and the more RAM, the better...
My book doesn't really go into mastering -very little - you should make an appointment with a mastering house here in Austin that uses Pro Tools and pick their brains for 15 mins... or post something on the Digi User Conference. I have my mixes going through an outboard compressor before printing back into Pro Tools.
Pop out and see us anytime neighbor. thanks for the kind words.
gina
gfs@eSession.com
Just started with the book. Very well done! When I added the chapter 2 tracks to the edit window, the drum tracks are not in sync with the click. I am using PT LE 7.1 on a Mac G5 with the Command 8 control surface.
Thanks
Regarding being out of sync - hate to say - i think it's user error - my guess is that you did not change the tempo of the session and imported the tracks - you MUST open the transport window, turn off the conductor and manually enter the correct tempo to the same tempo of the loops - i bet that's the problem...
email if you need more help: gfs@eSession.com
All the best!!!
Gina
Unfortunately, Pro Tools doesn't come with any audio instruments built in like Garage Band or Logic. There is a new free instrument called Xpand - that now comes with new systems. But - you have to buy instruments to add into Pro Tools as Plug-ins.
In the MIDI chapter, we download Sampletank Free which does give you a few free instruments.
I recently wrote an article called Top 20 Plug-ins for Musicians and Songwriters:
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html
Thanks for the kind words about the book. I hope it helps.
Make fabulous music,
Gina
Hey Gina,
Thank you for the response.
I did some research after I posted and the simple fact is that I need more RAM and a dual processor setup. Guess I will have to save up.
Do you have any suggestions for a good Mastering House in Austin?
And yes! I would love to come out and see the studio. I will call to make an appt.
Thank you very much!
- Mike
Hello Gina,
Your book is incredibly empowering! I have learned so much about Pro Tools from your book that I feel very grateful to have discovered it at my local Barnes & Noble. I've searched all over the place to find some good instruction, and the other Pro Tools books just don't compare. For a technical book, yours is so easy to follow and fun to read and learn from. You cover virtually everything I need and want to know, and I love that the book is in COLOR which makes every screen shot in the book so easy to follow. In every chapter I've read so far, there are pearls of wisdom that you offer that the other books just don't seem to cover. The bottom line is this: "I'M DOING MIDI!!!" Being a guitar player, I never truly thought I could understand & utilize MIDI on my own. You've demystified it for me through a book!! I can't say enough about your book. Thank you so much!
I record both music & voice over stuff. I want to get a good thick, convincing vocal track, so I do a lot of double-tracking & triple-tracking, and I'm thinking about getting Waves "Doubler" or "VocAlign". Do you know which would be better for me? OR are they totally different from each other? Do you know a quality reverb that won't drain my bank account? Is D-Verb good enough for a professional recording? Do you know of any free spectrum analyzer plugins that are good to use?
Thanks!
AntMan
Antman,
you get the biggest virtual hug of all time for your amazing compliments. you really made my day.
I am a HUGE VocAlign Fan. They have a demo you can try. I'm happy to help you if you have any problems.
Regarding a Spectrum Analyzer - it's not something I use - but I did find this:
http://www.protoolsusers.com/0204plugin%20centre.htm
Thanks again for th very very kind words.
Feel free to email me at gfs@eSession.com if you have any other questions or problems.
All the best,
Gina
Hi Gina,
Thank you for your advice! I'm going to try out the VocAlign demo. Also, I checked into that spectrum analyzer but found out that it's not free anymore, actually it is very expensive. But thanks for the thought anyway!
Take care,
Antman
Hi Gina - I am just getting into recording for the first time. From what I've been reading here, it seems that it's not just enough to have ProTools, that if you want a MIDI keyboard, you need a program like Reason, if you want drums, you need a program like Stylus RMX, better vocals - VocAlign.....just how many extra programs do you need?? Why doesn't ProTools do it all?
I know in your book you have a list of the basic elements one needs but is there a complete list of all the programs you should be prepared to buy should you want to create a professional-quality, full studio recording?
Zanne
Well Zanne,
You can think of Pro Tools like PhotoShop or video editing programs - they can do ALOT on their own, but the more plug-ins you add to them, the cooler your projects will end up.
You could also think of Pro Tools as buying a new car. Do you want the heated seats and navigation system? Then, prepare to pay...
Sorry - but that's the way it works....
Pro Tools can do it all and now comes with a free Virtual Instrument called Xpand - which is kinda cool - but 3rd party plug-ins are what makes many applications much more creative and gives you more and more functionality.
You don't need VocAlign for better vocals. It's just a plug-in I use for doubling. Auto-tune is the plug-in for correcting pitch.
You don't need Reason or Stylus RMX - it's all up to you. Again, if you want the heated seats and nav system, then you gotta upgrade.
I don't know of any application that actually "does it all"....
I did write an article recently where I wrote about my favorite plug-ins... Here is the link:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html?CMP=ILC-FV7511446129&ATT=2478
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Gina
Will a new Digi002 with bundled ProTools work on my G4 667MHz machine? Don't snicker. I know it's old. I know that DigiDesign doesn't recommend it, but will it work without being ridiculously slow with, say, 16 tracks and a few plugins?
John,
you may be able to get a few tracks and a few plug-ins on your mac. it may be more frustrating than anything. if it's just to get you up and running and learning - it might be ok.
i would call Digidesign and talk to someone in person before and confirm that PT7 will run on it - i know you need at least a gig of RAM as well...
good luck!!
Gina
Hi Gina, I am new to your site.Thank you for all your expertise I am enjoying the learning. My question is can I set a default for my Digi i/o 96's to 96 bits. In stead of chaging it from 48 every time I start a new session in proo tools. I am using a tmd hd 2 card system with a 2002 G4.
Chris
Hi Gina, I am using Pro-tools LE on a Mac laptop. I backed up my session files on to an external hard drive. After doing so the Audio for each session file (whether accessed by Mac or hard drive) is missing. A strange gurgling sound can be heard when I press play. Any thoughts on how to retrieve audio would be helpful. Thank you very much for your time- Dean
I am new to pro tools, and am currently looking to buy the m-powered version. I have the axiom 49 by M-Audio, and was wondering if i can use it with pro tools m-powered?
Chris,
Sorry for the delay - was a bit busy this week - ok here's the deal - Pro Tools will default to the sample rate and bit depth of the last session that was opened.
If your last session was at 96k and you created a new session directy after that session - the new session should default to 96k
let me know if this works for you.
thanks,
Gina
Dean,
I guess you haven't read the book - it teaches very clearly how not to lose your audio and where Pro Tools audio goes when you record it - when you create a Pro Tools session, it creates a folder with the name of your session and also creates an Audio Files folder inside of that folder and this is where all of your recorded audio for that song go into -
You should NEVER separate a Pro Tools session file from the Audio File folder that goes with that song. It sounds like you moved your session file somewhere else and your audio got separated from your session... so who knows where your audio was recorded to....
You can go to the Setup menu and choose Disc Allocation and see what drive that Pro Tools was putting that audio into....
Also - Do you know the actual name of any audio files you're using? Did you name your tracks before recording? This is something else I teach in the book - ALWAYS name your tracks before recording, otherwise ALL your audio files will be named generically as AUDIO FILE - and this makes it next to impossible to find in a case such as this...
If there's anyway you can find out the name of a specific audio file and then do a Search using your operating system like the Finder int he Mac or Windows Explorer on PC (not a search in Pro Tools) to search for specific file names on all of your drives.... that's your best bet
My advice is to read the book, even the first chapter and understand how and where Pro Tools puts it's audio files so this doesn't happen in the future.
Sorry for the kick in the butt - and sorry for the problems you're having
All the best,
Gina
yes you can use the MAudio Axiom 49 with Pro Tools 7....
Good luck,
Gina
Hi Gina,
I am a total newbie to all of this and your book has saved me from going completely insane. I'm about half way through the book and I'm messing around with MIDI. I've own EWQL Silver XP, and was wondering if you can recommend any books and/or articles that explain how to programm 'realistic' sounding strings with Pro Tools?
Thanks
Oliver,
I am so glad the book has maintained your sanity!! Please contact me anytime if it's ever in question again.
About your question - well, me personally, I don't do much sequencing of string arrangements - I am more of a pop songwriter and a bit less of a composer to be honest - however - I have lots of brilliant composer friends if you want me to hook you up to have a one-on-one conversation with one. Just emial me at gfs@eSession.com.
There is a guy I know of, Jerry Gerrber, who is known as THE string sequencing guru. I don't know him personally. But I did find some articles on his site. This snippet is from an article called "The Unreal Orchestra" - and he may be the guy to contact.... His number is 415.242.4003 and he may charge $60 an hour but he is well worth your time and money.
Here is a small example of what he says in this great article:
"For a really massive string sound, I usually double the cellos and basses in octaves and leave the melody for just the violins, in octaves as well. I fill in harmonies in violas. Where synth players often go wrong is when they put in too much harmony in the middle; this tends to make things sound muddy. For brass I like to interweave voices, so I don’t have each section by themselves. I might take a chord and alternate notes between horns and trombones for a more beautiful sound. It blends better. You need to be careful to not let low brass like the trombones get too close together — no interval smaller than a fifth between voices in the lower register. With a synth orchestra, I do a lot less doubling than I would with the real thing. For example, I don’t double violins with winds on melodies, or it starts to sound very synthy."
Once your parts have been written and sequenced following the laws of orchestral physics, the next step is to add expression and dynamics into your work. This is typically accomplished using expression pedals, mod wheels, or MIDI sliders to control MIDI continuous controllers. "I’m a big advocate of capturing a real-time performance with MIDI," says Price. "I try to use controllers that are as expressive as possible. I use a Roland EV-7 foot pedal for volume. Since I play saxophone, it was easy for me to pick up the Yamaha WX-7 wind controller to play in wind and brass parts, or at least to add expression. I also use the Roland Handsonic to play in percussion parts in real time — it’s an incredibly sensitive hand drum MIDI pad. The idea is that if you capture real-time performances, the result will sound musical. I play in every line of the score. If the strings are sustaining a chord, I play in each line separately, rather than play all the notes of the chord in one pass."
This URL to this article and his site is: http://www.jerrygerber.com/unrealorchestra.htm
For software - the MOTO Symphonic Instruments is good if you're on a budget. If you've got a great budget - apparently the Vienna String Libraries are exceptional - also heard great things about Garritan...
All the best and stay sane.
Warm regards,
Gina
hello i'm a musician with a mmac pro that has pro tools Le 7.1 and have a Digi 002 rack.
I wanna know if I can use my motif piano with midi output as a keyboard controller for such things as drums or expand instruments
Hi Gina-
Thanks for an informative and user-friendly book about Pro Tools!
On page 257 it says that due to a problem with Sampletank there should be both a Win and a Mac download of your song UnderwaterGFS, but I only found one download available on your site. I downloaded that version, but when I tried to open the song it wasn't seeing Sampletank. Please advise.
Hi Gina,
I just got Protools 7.3 and I don't see a metronome icon or any others on the far-right side of the transport window. Where is it?
However, when i chose my instrument (click), a box did pop up. Is this where I can find it?
-Jennifer
smoulderman,
email me directly and I will send you the PC version via ftp.
gfs@eSession.com
Jennifer,
You don't have all the Views of your Transport Window open. Do this - go to View Menu, choose Transport - and make sure that MIDI Controls and Expanded are checked.
That's it - then open your Transport Window and voila!! Should see the Metronome and Conductor.
Rock on!!
Gina
I seem to remember reading somewhere (I thought your book, which I have) that you can use a small mixer with the MBox2 to solve latency problems. It was a kind of trick, but heard it works. Is this true?
Thanks,
Arlon
Arlon,
Well, yes, you could do that....But before I say how, I'm curious what you are recording that gives you problems with latency? I find, with the buffer size set to 128, that latency is easy to work around and not worth the hassle factor of adding a mixer into the equation. I get alot of emails about latency with vocals - but sincerely, I have recorded some amazing vocalists in my day and even with a Pro Tools HD system with no latency, I rarely monitor myself or have a vocalist monitor themselves in the headphones. Many times, I simply have my vocal track muted and I use the headphones (on one ear) to maintain pitch and tempo. I listen to my vocals outside the headphone in the room where I am singing. If you sound ok in a room with no effects - then you KNOW when you playback the track un-muted with effects, you're going to sound even better.
In the beginning of my career using tape (i am showing my age) I used to love to add lots of effects and record my vocals with the headphones on and I thought I sounded SOO great. But then I would play back what I recorded and it was terrible. So, for me, eliminating the effects and fun of monitoring yourself while performing was worth having a better vocal in the end. That is my advice. If you're talking about vocals - before you go add a mixer, try recording with the vocal track muted and monitor yourself, not in the headphones, but in the room. A tip, is to keep headphone volume as low as you can to prevent bleed.
Ok - now about the mixer - if you're doing demos a mic-pre built into something like a Mackie mixer will be OK. Personally, I wouldn't use a Mic pre for something important like a vocal from a small mixer. I would for an electric guitar or external keyboard. If you go with a mixer, you would simply plug your mic into the mixer and monitor your input from the headphone jack of the mixer and NOT from your Pro Tools interface. You would Mute your vocal track in Pro Tools and plug the output your Pro Tools interface into two channels of the mixer. That's it...
Hope this helps... It's my personal advice to try to work around the latency in other ways by changing the buffer size and using one ear whenever possible.
If you give me more details, what are you recording? What computer? What interface? What is your buffer size? What in particular is giving you the most problems, I'll continue to troubleshooot with you.
All the best,
Gina
Please Help!!!!
I have an actualization of protools in the 7.3 versión but I can´t install, because it say that i have to erase my old versión 7.1. but my old version has 800 mega bytes and the 7.3 is only an actualization. how can i do to install it?
thanks...
Paul.
Paul,
Never heard the term "Actualization" - Do you mean a Disc Image? A CD? Here's the deal - Pro Tools 7.2 was a paid upgrade - so if you had 7.2 on your computer and installed 7.3 - it would do an upgrade of the Application. Since you are going from 7.1 to 7.3 - it wants to install a fresh install version of the software - which is why it may want you to delete... But - I just upgraded from 7.1 to 7.3 on a Mac without a problem? Are you on a PC. I would call Digidesign Tech Support if you're scared of losing something and since you have paid for the upgrade you get free support for 90 days. 650.731.6100 is Digi's Support Line...
The upgrade of your Pro Tools software does NOT affect any Pro Tools Sessions you have saved elsewhere. Think of it exactly like Microsoft Word. You may have 10 Word Documents Saved on your Computer - and just because you upgrade from MS Word 2004 to MS Word 2006 - you won't lose any of your Documents.
Your Pro Tools sessions are saved on another drive correct??
The Pro Tools Application is not attached to your Pro Tools Sessions - when you upgrade to 7.3 - your existing sessions will simply open using the new version of Pro Tools...
I hope that makes sense.
I would upgrade and don't worry about losing a Pro Tools session - but you may want to call tech support for some additional guidance.
Good luck,
Gina
Leonardo,
I am SOOO sorry - Somehow I skipped over your question.
The answer is YES - You can use your Motif as the controller for any other MIDI instruments. You would connect it to the MIDI in and Out of your 002. And then on a Mac, You open the Audio/MIDI setup (in your Utilities folder) and add the Motif connected to the 002. Feel free to email me if you need help: gfs@eSession.com
A tip is to make sure you have what is called "Local Control" turned off - on the Motif - What that means is that you will only hear the Motif sounds IF you have that chosen the Motif as a MIDI instrument in Pro Tools. This will prevent you from having to turn the volume down on the Motif when you are using the keyboard as a controller.
Yell if you need help.
Warm regards,
Gina
Gina:
I'm so glad I found your book - wish I had seen it sooner!
Question:
When I try to use SampleTank sounds they are 1/2 step above the key that the midi track is playing/ I don't see a transpose control on Sampletank, and when I transpose the midi track nothing changes.
Also, I'm not sure how to install 3rd-party plugins. I installed the 4FrontBassModule and it put a .vst file in my plugins folder but it does not show up in protools as an instrument.
Thanks much!
I don't know how or why, but now I am unable to select a region in the edit window and play / bounce only that region. There are some blue arrow markers up on the timeline bar and I can't get rid of them ~ the audio will bounce or play only from where those blue arrows are located and will continue for all of the audio in the window. I just want to be able to play only the length of the selected audio again and I can't find a way to change it back from ANY of the menus. Help!! Thank you.
Doug,
Thanks for the compliment. Much appreciated.
First - you need RTAS plug-ins NOT VST plug-ins to work with Pro Tools. I am hoping that Pro Tools will support VST someday - but not now...
The SampleTank pitch thing is hard to troubleshoot without more info. Mac or PC? What is your MIDI controller? Do you have any other virtual instruments like Xpand? Do they do the same thing?
Gimme more info and I'll see if I can help.
Thanks,
Gina
Stephan,
I would bet you accidentally turned off "Link Timeline and Edit Selection" At the top left of the Edit Window, just below the Magnifying Glass - to the right of the A-Z (keyboard focus) is the button that enables that. It should be highlighted in blue... I would bet you turned that off.... Has happened to all of us at one point or another and made us all feel frustrated and stooopid.... so I hope that's it.
If not - write back and we'll figure it out.
Rock on!!
Gina
Hi Gina, you saved my life with this book, i can't afford to go to audio engineering school to learn this stuff (dream), so i decided to try a book. I read many book descriptions on amazon, therefore bought this one.
ok, ready, i have a couple questions...
1) I am a dj and want make club beats, hip hop & house stuff...I would like to buy Battery 3 for drums and ??? for piano/keyboard. Do you have any suggestions on sample pluggins? i need 1 drums and 1 piano, and later a guitar i guess.
2) in my edit window, in grid mode, i do not see the grid lines, or anything when i switch modes?is there a reason or something I need to fix?
3) When I make a mixtape, (from vynil/mbox) I would like to seperate the songs, so that on a cd player it does not show 1 whole song of 80 min when I bounce it. How can i seperate/ regions? but still let the cd be heard mixed w no pauses but able to skip to a particular song.
4)When I select a region and add loop playback, it simply doesn't work??? It keeps going...Can I fix that somehow?
I know its alot of questions, but I have no teacher and am trying to learn everything by myself...Thanks!
Btw, i have the 6.4 version, and i can follow fine...I learnt all the basics so far, the rest are simply put in different places. Also a quick suggestion. I am in Paris and well worldwide DJ's are now all becoming producers and making beats/remixes. You should intergrate a little section for us...Cause we tend to encounter different kind of issues...Thanks...
Yvon,
so glad to have saved your life... thanks
ok here are my answers to your questions:
1. I wrote an article for Oreilly called Plug-ins for Musicians and Songwriters: go here: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html?CMP=ILC-FV7511446129&ATT=2478
2. Make sure your Main Counter is set to View Bars and Beats and then, I think the problem is that your Grid is not set to Bars and Beats. Below the Main Counter is your Grid. If you click on the white triangle - you get a pulldown menu - Make sure that is set to Bars and Beats. And then you prob want 1/4 note or 1/8 note grid.
3. Here's how you make a mix tape or how i would do it - In the giant long audio file I would hit "Command E" which is the Command to Separate Region. That will create an edit in the audio file between songs. Then you hlighlght each edited song region - and hit Command Shit K - which is the command for Export Region as Files. Export that file as a 16 bit, 44.1 k STEREO-INTERLEAVED file and SAVE IT SOMEWHERE YOU KNOW WHERE THE FILE IS GOING!!!!!! So, You are making a stereo file of each song.
Note: It will take the name of edited region - so you may want to highlight and rename the Region by the actual Song Title BEFORE you Export. So - you would highlight the edited region, Hit Command Shift R to Rename - Rename it the actual Song Title - then hit Command Shift K to Export as a CD.
Then you would use a program like Toast or Easy CD Creator and drag those exported audio files into the correct order and burn a CD.
4. Loop Playback is NOT something you "add" to a region. It's how you tell Pro Tools to Playback. First - no track can be in record for Loop Playback to work. So take all tracks out of record - AND second, you want to make sure you have LINK TIMELINE AND EDIT SELECTION turned on. What that means is - you're telling Pro Tools - "whatever I have highlighted on my screen is what I want to playback" - In the Edit window - the button below the magifying glass - that button should be BLUE...
Hope all that is somewhat helpful.
I haven't had many questions from DJ's but I welcome them - and I LOVE Paris!!! Thanks for the kind words and make fabulous music!!
Gina
I recently Bought an Mbox 2 and when i load up pro tools everything works fine but when i arm a track and hit record nothing happens and the R light and the record light just flash. Pro tools is picking up the sound of my guitar though.
Wayde,
Do you have the book? It explains how to record.
You have to hit play and record together - the keyboard shorcut is Command (Mac) or Control (PC) + Spacebr.
gina
Gina,
What is the most efficient way to run delay and reverb effects on a vocal track? (or any plugin for that matter) My MBox2 crashes often because it can't handle the plugins I have on each track (I think that's the reason). I did up the memory alloted to the playback engine under settings to the maximum allowed.
Powerbook G4
1.67 GHz
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM
Chandler,
My book explains all of that in Chapter 6 - which is creating Auxes for effects - not using them as inserts, which is what you're doing wrong...
Sorry but this blog is just for readers of my book.
Buy it at Amazon and then pop in any time for help.
Thanks,
Gina
Gina it would be amazing if you can write a continuation of your book, where you can explain tips of your experience, recording, mixing, importing new styles etc...
Paul.
the last time I wrote in the blog a asked about how to create a rallentando in protools if it is possible to make the music going slowly in a particular time, because I record a lot of classical music. Thanks...
Paul.
Gina:
>The SampleTank pitch thing is hard to troubleshoot without more info. Mac or PC? What is your MIDI controller? Do you have any other virtual instruments like Xpand? Do they do the same thing?
Thanks for your help on this. I'm on a Mac 1.8 G5 w/1G RAM using Pro Tools LE7 w/an M-box. I just received my Xpand! disk, and I am getting the same result - it plays back about 1 step above the key of the song. My midi controller is a Yamaha Clavinova, and I have other midi tracks routed to an external JV-1010.
The issue seems to be related to the hardware set up. Every time I reopen the song, I need to set the hardware setup to SPDIF in order for it to play at the right tempo and key. If I set it back to analog, then the xpand is in the correct key but the rest of the song is off. It does not maintain my setting when I save the song.
Doug,
What is your SPDIF port connected to? It sounds like a digital clocking issue... Let me know what is connected to the Mbox and how it's connected and what sample rate any digital outboard gear is set to.
Also - what is the sample rate of your session?
Thanks,
Gina
Gina: The M-Box SPDIF is connected to a Focusrite TwinTrak Pro Preamp/Compressor. There are buttons on the back Labeled Digital output 44k/48k, 88k/96k, but none are pressed. The songs Sample rate is 44.1, 16 bit.
Hi Gina, I´m reading the chapter 7, learning to use midi controls. I´ve downloded the SampleTank free, but I can´t use my keabord (yamaha psr 550) with this sample tank. I have my Xpand and this is no problem for me, but i would like to use the sample tank with the keabord for the next lessons of the chapter 7 and 8. I use a firewire 1814 and my computer is a PC. thanks...
Paul
Doug,
I am on the focusrite site looking at the back panel of the Twin Pak Pro and the ADC card - here's the deal - with no buttons pressed - you are at 48k on the focusrite - hence the problem of the session speed and pitch - push the left hand button that says 44.1 and make sure that is pressed in - without that being pressed, your mic pre has been at 48k - not 44.1
let me know if this fixes things..
Gina
Paul,
If you can use one keyboard with Xpand, it should work for SampleTank as well - a controller is a controller in Pro Tools - it's not contingent on the plug-in chosen - do you have the sampletank track in record?
can you create an empty midi track with no plug-in and put it in record and see MIDI level when you play the keyboard?
If so - it's not your controller - you may want to give your SampleTank track an audio input - there is a bug sometimes with audio instrument tracks and you need to simply give them an audio input (even though they are not even using an audio input) so try that and put the audio instrument track in record and lemme know if that fixes.
Thanks,
Gina
Hello Gina
I´ve already test midi and it´s normal, and I put the instrument track in record, without success. How can I give an input to my instrument track Sample tank?
thanks
Paul,
you know on an audio track where you choose what input? It's that exact same place on an audio instrument - it's just above the output
you can give me a call at my studio if it's still not working - 512.264.3308.
thanks,
Gina
Dearest Gina,
SIGH...THANK YOU!!!! Your book is THE BEST BOOK ON PRO-TOOLS!!!
I'm so green to recording on my own. I'm actually embarrassed to ask this question, because it could be the easist answer, but I don't know it!
In the first excercise where we save a file to the external audio drive. As soon as I press "save" a box comes up and says
"Session must be on an audio record volume."
My friend thinks that it's because it's a usb hard drive (thinking I need firewire) and that I have a new imac.
Where do I go to fix this situation?
Thanks again!
L
Greetings L,
No embrassment required - we were all beginners at one point....
Here's what you need to do, go to the Windows Menu of Pro Tools and and choose Workspace - In the window, you will see your audio hard drive - there should be an R in both columns - meaning a Record drive - my guess is that the drive has a "P".
Sometimes you can fix this by changing it to R - sometimes it's a hardware issue. Did you reformat the drive immediately after getting it? If not, you should do that right now and don't even think twice about it. If you need help with that, let me know.
Hope this is an easy fix.
You should really use firewire drives though...
hope you make amazing music.
gina
Hi Gina, I currently own your book and have been using it to work with Pro Tools in the recording studio here at my school. It's fantastic. I am currently in the market for a new computer that I can use together with an MBox 2 and Pro Tools LE. I was wondering about your personal preference, MAV vs. PC for using pro tools.
I have heard different people tell me that both will work just fine, as long as you have the required/desired hardware to go along with it. What is your take on this? As long as I build a PC with a fast enough processor, lots of memory and hard drive space, would I be fine? Or does it go deeper than that?
I apologize if this is not a question you can or desire to answer, you just seem very helpful so I figured I would try.
Thanks much
Regarding Mac vs. PC,
Running an internet business, I have both and i must have both for testing - If I was just doing music - I would absolutely, hands down, no second thoughts, always always always go with Macs and never touch another PC.
I know both Mac and PC very well. i use both. But there is no comparison. Mac owners will corroborate this. The ONLY people that say go PC, are people who have never used Macs. I have converted so many friends and colleagues to Macs over the years - I tell everyone, "if you don't like your Mac in one week, I will buy it from you" - I have never paid for a friend's Mac. The difference and the level of simplicity and creativity a Mac provides is night and day, heads and shoulders above the PC. Give it one week...
Again - the only people who will debate this, are people who have never owned or worked on a Mac. More specifically, the new Macs and OSX.
In the professional music industry, it's an 85% Mac market. These are people who have the experience and the budge to choose anything they want - they choose Mac. Sincerely, as stupid as this sounds, the Mac will change your life.
Can you tell, I'm a HUGE Mac fan??
So - if you want a desktop unit, get a Dual or Quad processor G5 or if you want to go portable, get a MacBook Pro - if you're on a budget, go iMac. - Yes Macs cost more. Anything of true quality costs more in life... This is your music, so it;s your call... but if you do buy a Mac and hate it, I'll buy it from you... just email me gfs@eSession.com
All the best and thank you for your very kind words about the book - yell if you ever need help.
Gina
Hello Gina!
I'm the one that had that box come up when I tried to save to "Audio Drive" that said
"session must be on an audio record volume."
I did what you said
"go to the Windows Menu of Pro Tools and and choose Workspace - In the window, you will see your audio hard drive - there should be an R in both columns - meaning a Record drive - my guess is that the drive has a "P"."
Well, there was a T instead of P or R. I tried to change the T and a box came up that said
"Audio Drive cannot be designated as an audio record volume because it is not a valid audio volume".
What do I do now?
As far as the Audio Drive being formatted....I'm not sure how to do that.
Firewire. I have a brand new Mbox 2....it doesn't have firewire only USB. What to do? Am I crazy to ask if there is a converter? LOL! What if I'm just doing a demo? Is it that horrible for now?
Thank you for your time and patience!!!
-L
hi gina.... my name is cesar i´m from ecuador.. i have a digi002 rack and i bougth a mixer because i want to control the 4 other channels uncontrolled... so, i connect the those four uncontrolled channels in the inserts channel of my mixer but i cannot hear anything and i cannot see any signal of audio.. please canyou help me''
L,
You need to format your drive. Are you on a Mac or PC? Let me know and I'll tell you how to do this. It's a piece of cake. No worries.
Gina
Cesar,
You don't need a mixer. Take it back to the store. What I always tell people is that Pro Tools IS a mixer. The 002 has 16 inputs - you shouldn't need more. Take the gear you are trying to hear and plug the output of that gear into the input of the analog inputs on the back of the 002. Then create Aux inputs in Pro Tools and set the input of those Aux channels to the inputs that correspond to what is plugged into the 002 rear inputs.
Do you have my book?
Thanks,
Gina
Just finsished the book last night. the excersices were great and I learned a ton.
when I got my mbox I watched the DVD that came with pro tools and bought the 101 book. I was getting pretty good at recording and tracking and ok at mixing, but whenever I ventured into the realm of editing the results were usually a disaster, so my abailty to fix things and make adjustments to my tracks was very limited.
Now I feel confident that I can really start to take advatage of the power of the software and use it like it was meant to be used without fear of killing my sessions. thanks!
BTW I never could get the waves bundle to work. it installed with no errors but the plugins never showed up in pro tools. I went to the waves web site, but it looked like they were only interested in helping if I was a paying customer. Oh well. I have a windows xp sp2 system with an mbox2 and protools le 7.1
have a good one!
-steve
Just finsished the book last night. The exercises and emphasis on practical application were a huge help, especially when it comes to editing. the excercies on playlists alone were worth the price of the book. Thanks!
BTW, I never could get the waves bundle to work. it installed with no errors, but the plugins never showed up in pro tools. i went to the waves site for help, but pretty much every link i clicked on told me to beat it if I wasn't already a paying customer. oh well. I'm using windows xp with an mbox2 and pro tools le 7.1.
take care and thanks again,
-s
Lost in Daylight,
your post made my day. thank u for taking the time to be so thoughful.
I have a fix for your waves from another reader who had the same problem on a PC - he says this:
"Here's what you have to do: Download the copy from the Waves site, then find the Waves folder on your system that was created. Click on the Waveshells folder and find the file called WaveShell-DAE which you need to copy into the CommonFiles/Digidesign/DAE/PlugIns file. Then the thing will work. The instructions say to hold the shift key when you load PT to get the pop-up screen, but I never saw it. Anyhow, when I bring up the session and click to add a plug-in, they are all there."
All the best to you- yell if you ever get stuck or have questions.
Gina
Gina,
In your book it states that the pre-amps in the m-box are good, but if you are at all serious about recording you should upgrade to a better pre-amp. Unfortunetly for me all the pre-amp companys you list in your book make pre-amps that are over $1000 dollars.
No can afford!
I can afford something like this; http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product/buy_maudio_tampa_professional_preampcompressor?full_sku=241100.
Will a lower-end pre-amp make a noticable difference, or is it just a waste of money unless I plan to go with the more expensive model.
Thanks, the book is great by the way.
About the M-Audio Tampa Pre-amp - I would actually try it -I've heard good things about it but haven't personally worked with one. Just make sure when you buy something, you know the return policy where you're buying it - so you're not stuck with something that sounds like &^$$!&^% that you can't return... thanks for the very kind words about the book- cheers, gina
Hola Gina. Me again I have a Question,in chapter 7 you said that you have in the blog or in your page recomendations about sofware compatible for protools, where can i find this information?
thanks.
Paul
Paul,
I guess you're talking about Plug-ins - you should go to Digidesign.com - click on Products, click on Plug-ins and look at all plug-ins avalailable for Pro Tools LE and M-Powered.
Also - I wrote an article about my favorite plug-ins on Oreilly. You may want to check that out. Here is the URL:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html?CMP=ILC-FV7511446129&ATT=2478
All the best,
Gina
Hey Gina,
Love the book. It made getting on my feet with Pro Tools an easier experience than I would have otherwise had.
I took your advice and sent away for Xpand, and installed it. Alas, it seems I was spoiled by the sampler sounds of my QS8, because the Xpand sounds are of a remarkably lower quality. So my question to you is: is there a way to trigger my QS8's superior sounds through the MIDI interface? The synth is about nine years old, and any drivers it might have once had are not anywhere on the web, that I could find.
Would updated drivers even enable that ability? Or am I limited to treating the synth as an audio instrument and just recording line in to get the synth's superior sounds?
At this point, through the setup in the Midi utility that comes with Mac OS X, I've gotten the system to recognize at the very least the QS8 itself, and all the patches appear in a big list when I make a MIDI track and click on the patch name, but I hear nothing. I see level, and the notes get recorded, but nothing plays back.
Thanks for your time in advance, and thanks for writing such a wonderful book.
-Mike McA.
Mike,
What Pro Tools interface are you using and what is your current MIDI controller? Mac or PC? As soon as I know that, I can tell you how or if you can use your QS8.
My 2 cents: With Free plug-ins, usually, you get what you pay for... Don't give up on plug-ins. You just have to start buying a few. They are MUCH easier to use than external MIDI devices. So, In the meantime, check out this article I wrote on my favorite plug-ins:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/2006/08/03/top-20-plugins-for-musicians-and-songwriters.html?CMP=ILC-FV7511446129&ATT=2478
Thanks,
Gina
Gina,
Thanks for the amazingly quick response!
You're right, I should save up and buy some plug-ins! I'm using Pro Tools LE 7.1.1 on a Mac Pro tower running OS 10.4.8. I have the Mbox 2; is that what you meant by which MIDI controller? Other than that, I just have the QS8 hooked up right to the Mbox through the MIDI-in port.
The QS8 works fine as a controller for Xpand sounds, but I was wondering if there was a way to have the beautiful MIDI piano sounds that play internally on the QS8 somehow triggered through Pro Tools.
Thanks again for the quick response, and I'll check out that article.
Regards,
Mike McA.
Mike,
Cool - here's what you do - create a MIDI track for the QS8 - then you take the outputs of your QS8 and plug that into the inputs of your Mbox. You should create a Stereo Aux input and set the input of that Aux to the inputs of your Mbox where the QS8 is plugged in... just think of it like you're connecting your QS8 to a mixer - and Pro Tools is the mixer... You can create a Stereo Audio track as well and then you can record your parts... but - try to avoid that as much as possible and use an Aux just to monitor the QS8 because you will probably be editing your MIDI track alot and if you use Audio tracks - you have to keep re-recording parts as you edit your midi...
hope this makes sense...
all the best,
Gina
Gina,
That works perfectly.
Thanks so much!
-Mike
Gina:
Thanks for your help earlier on the sample rate issue. You pointed out that I had my mic pre at 48k - and my session at 44.1.
If I now set the mic pre to 44.1, the song plays at the wrong speed. If I do a Save Copy In and set to 44.1 16bit wav, I still have the same issue. If I bounce to disk, the song plays at the wrong speed. Is there a way to salvage this session without recording all the audio tracks over with the mic pre at the correct setting? Thanks!
Hi Gina,
Love the book so far. I think I followed all the instructions in ch 7 downloading SampleTank. The install was successful and my apps SampleTank 2 Free folders look just like your last example on page 189. When I get to ex 4. and create an instrument track/insert- a/multi-channel or multi-mono/instrument or other, I don't have SampleTank as one of the options. (iMac OSX 10.4.8 Intel Core 2 Duo) I went ahead and ordered Xpand!, but I'd like to work through your midi examples and "arranging a song" in Ch9. Have you started a chapter w/ examples using Xpand!?
Thanks for any help you can give.
Jim
Jim,
Unfortunately Sampletank Free is not working with Intel Macs - If anyone wants a session working with Xpand - I can send that. The bummer is that Xpand is NOT multitimbral and unless you have a dual processor Mac, you will probably bog down the processor after a few Xpand instruments... My suggestion, get MOTU Mach Five or NI Kontakt or maybe the new Digidesign Sampler being released soon...
Gina
Hello Gina, I was reading your suggestions about plug-ins and virtual instruments in the article you wrote (ref. chapter 7)... call me atention you didn´t write about some virtual instruments or plug-ins like: Reason, live, xpand, digidesing hibrid, m-audio virtual instruments, sample tank, plug ins of music production toolkit of digidesing ???
what are you think about these applications? or is a waste of money?
Right now I´m reading chapter 8, and after learn to use sample tank free, I want to buy a great Virtual Instrument, and a great packege of good plug-ins. Thanks for your suggestions..
Paul
Paul,
Well - to me Reason and Live are audio applications, not plug-ins. Reason and Live have their own instruments - but they don't work in the same seamless way that plug-ins work.
I'm not a Reason fan. I LOVE Ableton Live, but I don't use that with Pro Tools as a plug-in - but rather as a separate application.
Xpand is NOT multi-timbral which really IRKS me. After using it 3 to 4 times on different tracks, it kills all your CPU power. I really am bugging Digi to fix that...
The M-Audio Key Rig and Bass Rig are good for $99... but they don't blow me away either.
When I wrote the article, the Digi plug-ins weren't out yet - In hindsight, I would choose Velvet and Hybrid as contenders.
I am really anxious to see Digi's new sampler called Structure which is coming soon.
What instruments or functionality is most important to you and I'll try and suggest something? Also - let me know your platform and budget.
thanks for the note.
Gina
Well, as you know I´m from Guatemala, and i´m a singer...
I want to create very good Rock-Pop Music, Ballads and latin music,like salsa...
If you can suggest me some plug in´s or a good virtual instrument i´ll apreciated....
thanks, for the answer It gona help me a lot...
Paul.
Paul,
You have read my article on plug-ins so you should understand how very many plug-ins there are. I also create mostly pop music - I would start with a sampler so you have a variety of sounds. I like MOTU Mach Five but I am anxious to try the new Digi Sampler called Structure. I would also get Stylus RMX for pop drum loops. As you know from my article, all of the Spectrasonics stuff is AMAZING for pop music.
For Latin, there is an amazing plug-in called Latigo. It used to be by a company called Wizoo - but I think M-Audio bought that. Latigo has some amazing Latin loops. There is another one called Darbuka which is more world oriented but also really amazing.
But - a good sampler would be a great place to start - if you can wait until Structure comes out, it might be worth the wait... You should check out the tutorial video they have about it at Digidesign.com - you should actually check out all the videos they have about their plug-ins - they are very informative.
All the best,
Gina
hi gina,
i bought your book as it was highly recommended. Unfortunately I can't get by exercise 3 step 5 in chapter 1.
something dramatic must have changed in PTLE 7.3.1 interface vs 7.0??
there is no metronome or conductor on the transport window. matter of fact the whole right hand side of the transport window as illustrated on bottom right of pg 13 doesn't exist. (if it does i can't find how to get it to display).
can you help?
thanks
george
Hi Gina,
I have your book, and I'm doing Chapter 3 and the instructions are not correct, can you help. Has the options changed? I appreciate your help.
T,
Please be more clear...
I have no idea what you're talking about...
Thanks,
Gina
I'm sorry on Chapter 3 - exercise 1 Importing audio a new way, the section says choose import audio to region list, that option does not exist in protools 7.3. Also the steps in the book may work for 7.0 etc, do not work for protools 7.3. It is very confusing, especially for a new comer to protools. Section 7 on exercise 1 does not appear also, which is the region bin.
I'm not sure if these directions only work for the mac, and not windows or its the version incompatibility. It just would help to have a update of book instructions for protools 7.3 where the steps are different.
T,
You are absolutely right. Importing has changed from 7.0 to 7.3, They have consolidated ALL importing into the File Menu and when you choose to Import Audio - after choosing the Audio you want to import, Pro Tools ask, "ok now what do you want to do with it?" Do you want to add to a track or put in the region list?"
So there is no longer importing from the Region Bin....
I should post the changes between 7 and 7.3 up here or at the book's site - but quite honestly, and a lame excuse it is, there are not enough hours in a day lately. I am just about to launch eSession.com that I have been developing for two years and it is consuming my life right now.
Perhaps in a few weeks I'll sit down and post some obvious changes between 7 and 7.3. I will also alert my publisher and ask about updating the book.
I am so VERY sorry for the confusion. I have had very little time in front of Pro Tools lately to even compare the book to the new updates.
Feel free to post here on the blog and I will answer ASAP if there are any discrepancies you get confused by.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Gina
Doug,
Somehow your question got missed by me. I am so sorry.
Oh boy, I remember when I first started recording digital audio many years ago. I did a very similar thing. Instead of a Mic pre set to the wrong Sample Rate - it was a Dat Machine (remember those?) And I nearly tore my frickin hair out trying to get it fixed.
If you want me to fix it - give me a call and I'll tell you how to put the session on my server. 512.264.3308.
Again - sorry for the delay in my response. I just didn't see the question...
Thanks,
Gina
Gina in the midi chapter, you explain how to increse velocity to the track in the transport window, but only for mac, I have a PC, how can I increse the velocity to a midi track using windows? it´s explained in chapter 8? Well thanks...
Paul.
Paul,
I think you're a teeny bit confused - the transport window is where you play the song and turn the conductor on or off and change the tempo and meter for manual settings...
You edit volume and velocity in the Edit window.
In a MIDI track, the track view default is set to show you Notes. In an Audio track, the default view is set to show you the Waveform.
So - make a track Large size and then click where it says "Notes" in the Edit Window - When you click on Note, you will see a Pulldown menu of other options - in that list, you will see Velocity. That will show you your notes with Velocity Stems below each one. You can move them with Grabber tool OR highlight a group of Velocity Stems with Selector then use the Trimmer Tool to move the highlighted group up or down.
Hope this makes sense.
All the best,
Gina
Thanks for your quick responses Gina, much appreciated. I'm working my way through your book.
By the way, it's really a great book, easy reading, and it makes sense, could be the best book on protools I've seen.
I just wish digidesign didn't go and change up things.
Thanks Again,
T
Sorry I was talking about changing th tempo of the loop, using the trasport window. how can I change the tempo in windows using the sample tank?
thanks...
Paul
Paul,
Mac & PC tempo changes are exactly the same.
Go to the top of Page 14 and it shows how to turn off the Condcutor and change the tempo. If you don't see Tempo in the Transport Window, go to the View Menu and make sure that MIDI Controls and Counters is checked. This is all covered in the book.
And, again changing the tempo is exactly the same on Windows as the Mac.
In the Transport window, you turn off the conductor and enter the tempo you want in the bottom right corner of the transport window. Later in the book, I explain another way to change the tempo as well.... Changing the session's tempo will chnage the tempo of the loop in Sample Tank.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Gina
Hi Gina,
I have a question. There are two things in pro-tools I can't figure out. There actually annoyances more than anything else.
1) The Window doesn't scroll in my protools, when I'm playing a song in the edit window, i know there must be a way of doing this
2) The song doesn't end when the audio is done.
These things are confusing to us protools newbies, i appreciate your help.
T,
Under the options menu, you will see Scrolling - and you will see a few different options to choose from. You probably want Page Scrolling.
I don't mind answering at all, but as an FYI for future features, you can go to the Help Menu, choose the Pro Tools Reference Guide and click on "Search" and type in Scrolling. It would expain in detail all the different scrolling options. The Digi Manual is really great for quick questions like this.
And regarding your second question, Pro Tools plays what is hightlighted. If you play form the beginning with nothing highlighted, it wil keep playing. All audio software works like this. Simply highlight any track in the song from beginnning to end and it will either Stop at the end or Loop - if Loop Playback is turned on. (Also, found under the options menu)
Don't be bashful to look under the menus for features you are looking for.
All the best,
Gina
Gina, add my name to the greatful crowd of musicians who have been GREATLY helped by your excellent book. I am having a problem using SampleTank where there is no audio output form the plug-in. I'm using ProTools v7.3 Academic M-Audio on a PC. I'm having the identical problem "Paul" described in an earlier posting here. The answer to Paul's problem was not published here.
Xpand! works fine for me and I have MIDI green output from the controller at the top of the instrument track (in the instrument view). When I insert SampleTank in the instrument track, (selected from the plug-in "other" menu, SampleTank is not listed in the "instrument" menu), I get no sound. Nor do I get sound when I mouse-click the SampleTank keyboard.
You have said in other posts here that SampleTank should be selected using the Instrument track's input button (just above the output routing at mid channel strip). In the input tab there, I have "interface" and "bus" menu choices, and there is also a "plug-in" menu choice but it is grayed out.
I also notice that the channel number at the far left og the sampletank disply is not "lit up" and there is no level number.
Any ideas would be MUCH appreciated.
thanks in advance,
Mark
Mark,
Give me a call and i'll try to help.
512.264.3308.
Thanks,
Gina
Gina,
Question: I'm considering getting my Protools Operator 101 Certification. I love the book, and am learning more and more as I go thru it. I'm not even into chapter 9 yet (on chapter 8) and I've made leaps and bounds from where I was before reading your book. The Tutorials and photos are clear, and great. I hope you make many more books in the future.
Back to my question though, I was wondering whether I should take a class with Berklee School of Music online or if the book would suffice for taking the exam. I also have the approved digidesign courseware book as well.
TIA
T
Hi Gina
I LOVE your book. It is so detailed and easy to understand. It was smooth sailing until I got to the midi part. I am learning off of a demo version at this time. Anyhow, the problem is that when I put Xpand in an instrument track and then assign busses for output to record the recorded midi as an audio track, the record enable on the audio track grays out and does not accept the buss. I did find an article on the internet about there being an I/O bug with Pro Tools M-Powered. The way around the problem is to manually set the I/O's up for busses??... Have you heard of such a thing? I want to buy Pro Tools, however am worried that it will be buggy and it will be a frustrating mess. Currently I own Cubase SL.
Pentium 4
2 gigs ram
Dual processor
I am a bit confused - if you use Cubase - how are you learning Pro Tools if you don't own it.
I have not experienced the issue you are talking about - i am happy to help you work it out.
What version of Pro Tools? What OS?
Have you posted this issue or searched for this issue at the DIgidesign User Conference?
Yell if I can help.
Gina
T,
Sorry for the delay - your question go lost in my emails - so sorry -
I am actually taking a Berklee class in a few weeks in Ableton Live - so I'll let you know how that goes.
I have the deepest respect for the classes and teachers at Berklee - so I would say yes, the more Pro Tools exposure you get, the better to make it 2nd nature for you. Also, since there are so many different ways to do things in Pro Tools, I learn something new everytime I work with someone different.
So rock on and thanks for the kind words.
Gina
Hi Gina My name is Juan , And i just finished reading and practicing your book i have only one word for you...THANKS for your book is excellent, i learned a lot and i am encouraged to read it again. please if you can write about reason i will be glad to buy you a book
Juan - you rock!!
Wow- a big thank you for your kindness!!!
Make fabulous music!!
Gina
(I think if there is a next book it will be Logic for Musicians and Songwriters)
Hi Gina,
I have made it to Chapter 10, though I had to stumble through MIDI with my new INTEL Mac.
Mac OS X 10.4.9
Projectmix I/O
Pro Tolls M-powered 7.3.1
Guitar Rig 2.2.2
Questions:
1- GR does not record through. If I bypass I hear/see clean signal - without bypass - buzzz. This is probably a card thing, but I am not sophisticated enough to figure this out. Help?
2- If I get this working, what is the best way to direct record through a plugin (i.e., GR)? I know it is an effect and hence not recording when laying down the track. I'd actually like it to record the final signal so I don't have to mirror it (though I have not gotten this to work right yet either).
Praise:
Thanks for the book. I wrote a similar how to for environmental consulting (www.trammgroup.com), and appreciate all the effort and care you spent here. I better get back to my lessons.
kt in Keller, TX
kt - thanks so much for the compliments - answers are below your question
1- GR does not record through. If I bypass I hear/see clean signal - without bypass - buzzz. This is probably a card thing, but I am not sophisticated enough to figure this out. Help?
ANSWER: In Pro Tools HD - I have to do this to record with GR. I make a stereo Aux with Guitar Rig and i assign the input to any unusued bus. I create a mono track with my guitar input and put that in record and make sure I have level - then I have the output of my guitar track routed to the GR Aux input bus.
From there you should hear it. Hopefully...
So if you wan to further print that as an audio track - rather than just monitor GR - then create a Stereo Audio Track and make that input another unused bus - then make the output of the GR Aux track go to the input of the new Audio track.
2- If I get this working, what is the best way to direct record through a plugin (i.e., GR)? I know it is an effect and hence not recording when laying down the track. I'd actually like it to record the final signal so I don't have to mirror it (though I have not gotten this to work right yet either).
ANSWER - Same as above - to print a plug-FX - Make the output of the track you want to record any unusued Bus Output - then create a new Audio track and make the input that same bus you just assigned - then record.
Hopefullly this fixes everything. Yell if you need more help.
Thanks again,
Gina
Hey Gina! Your book is fantastic. I have spent years messing about with ProTools and found ways of working around but your book gave me solid answers like: How do I copy a plugin to another track? Et cetera. LOTS of time savers. I reccomend your book to all my musician friends who use Protools. Anyway, I got a weird issue:
I installed some new plugs and it may be related but I don't know for sure. I am running OSX on a G5 tower.
So when I hit play, I hear the song but the cursor doesn't start moving until about a bar and a half into the song. So the cursor is lagging behind the sound coming out of my speakers. Also, sometimes when I hit play only one beat plays and than playback stops. Basically a click and than nothing. I have had no problems with Protools in 2 years and these two issues popped up when I installed some new plugs.
Thanks! ,Jason
Jason,
I am so glad the book has been helpful and i so very much appreciate the kudos!!
I would drag those new plug-ins out of the Plug-in folder and restart Pro Tools and do a bit of troubleshooting about which one is causing this issue. What plug-ins are they?
Are you on a Mac or PC? Do you know where the plug-in folder is??
Let me know how I can help.
All the best,
Gina
Hi Gina:
First off, love your book. It's great for learning and also works as a good reference point for looking up things I might've forgotten. I had a hardward question for you, I know your book relates to the software but this is indirectly related and I'd like your professional opinion:
I am planning on doing a little upgrade and purchasing a Digi 002 Control Surface for my home. Initially I'll be using it solely to mix sessions that I recorded on another system, but will eventually use it to record.
My question is about a computer. I'm looking to get a Mac Desktop. Now keep in mind I'm not trying for a professional system that I can run Pro Tools HD and a Control 24 on.... Just something that will allow me to fully mix tunes without any lag, and eventually mix. Furthermore this computer will be used solely for recording and mixing, meaning getting rid of some of the core mac programs might also free up some space.
Hope this question isn't out of the ballpark for you.
Thanks very much,
Chris
Gina,
I'm taking the protools class at berklee, and liking it. I must thank you for your excellent book, which has definetly helped me understand stuff, that'd I'd be utterly lost with.It's like the protools bible, next to my protools manual. I've got to the end and learned so much. I hope you do a sequel when protools 8 etc comes out or better yet, give me the email address to your publishers so I can beg them :)
Chris,
Not out of the ballpark at all.
The answer is a question: how much do you want to spend. If possible I would definitely go with a new G5. The bottom number for a G5 is a bit over 2k - whereas an iMac (which would do the job) starts around 1k.... so it's a budget decision.
The G5 will give you something to grow into and the iMac will definitely do the job but not give you as much processing power.
Yell if I can help further. And thanks for the compliments.
Gina
Thank you for the prompt response! I think I am leaning towards the iMac but you're right it might end up being more economical to just go for the G5 and not have to replace later down the road. As far as either the iMac or a G5... what would you suggest as far as memory, HD space, and processor/processing speed. Minimum and maximum operating ammounts would be helpful
thanks so much,
Chris
Gina,
I know that in Chapter 11 we mixed the underwater mix, and you said make sure it doesn't peak. done. but before we burn it to disc should we import it in say soundforge and normalize it. I realize it limits the dynamic range of the music, but when I took a look at the final .wav file it was very hot near 0db. but it didn't clip. Just curious.
T,
I'm not a big believer in optimizing and processing audio files. If I can bring up a level without optimizing, i do that. i create a master fader and bring up the global level that way or put a compressor on the whole mix and bring up levels that way.
you can optimize in pro tools - without exporting to Sound Forge - you simply print your mix back into Pro Tools and highlight the mix and go to the Audiosuite menu and normalize. But I would definitely not do that.. some people may disagree.
If I did normalize - I ALWAYS make a copy of my playlist before processing....
I don't really master my demos - i will sometimes run my final mix through a compressor - but with just VERY subtle settings - if you do master - talk to some real talented mastering folks and get their advice - nothing is worse than taking a decent clean demo and over-processing the file and squashing the heck out of it trying to master it.
sorry i am not more help with mastering -
all the very best,
gina
Hi Gina,
first off let my start by thanking you for writing this informative book. Just got it today and am on Chapter 4. Quick Question. I can't see my grid lines for some reason, and was wondering if you could tell me how to have them show? thanks again.
essom
Hi Gina,
I just started working with protolls se 7, and every time i'm testing my voice to setup the level so i can record, i always get delay on my voice and even when i'm recording i always got that little delay at the back witch get's confused when i'm singing... How can i get it out?
On page 38 of the book - I talk about this - it's called Latency and the book tells how to make it better. You will never get rid of the delay completely - but there are workarounds...
thanks,
Gina
Thank you, for the quick answer, i've just ordered a copy of your book...
All the best...
Hi Gina - I would like to change the tempo of the downloaded drum sounds of the Chapter 2 download (KkSnr100, etc.). I made sure the conductor was off in the transport window, yet when I type in a different speed and press Enter, the tempo does not change. Am I missing something?
Hi Gina - I cannot find a Rename command in the Region menu (or anywhere else). I have PTLE 7.1. How do I rename a region?
Good question.
You can't change the tempo of audio by changing the tempo in the Transport Window unfortunately. If this was MIDI, then you could. But - it's not MIDI - these are audio files and require you to use the Time Comression/Expansion Tool which is part of the Trimmer Tool.
This is covered in Exercise 3 of Chapter 10.
All the best,
Gina
etaoin,
hmm.... i think you might be looking in the wrong place. See Page 86. There is a screenshot of the Region List of Pro Tools 7.1.
I always highlght the region I want to rename with the Hand Tool and then use the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift +R.
Hope this helps,
Gina
Hi Gina - I do not have that screen shot on p. 86 for my Region menu. Mine contains mute/unmute, group/ungroup, loop/unloop, etc. I have another Region submenu, under the View menu, but it doesn't have 'rename' either, just a Name for toggling on/off. I will use the keyboard shortcut.
I would like to start recording with my MIDI keyboard....can I skip ahead to chapter 8, or would you recommend going in order?
etaoin,
Are you sure you're on version 7.1? Are you looking in the Region Bin Menu?? Not the menu at the top.... Can you capture a screenshot and email that to me at gfs@eSession.com? Are you on a Mac or PC?
And you will miss quite a few things by skipping forward but you might be able to get by.
Feel free to contact me if you need help.
Is Command + Shift + R working for renaming?
thanks,
Gina
Hi Gina,
Thanks for writing a great book! I have come to the chapter on midi, and I'm having trouble getting either the "XPand!" or the Sampletank to load. I connected my MicroKorg properly, got a signal, etc. But when I go through the steps to activate either of the plugins, it isn't there in the pulldown! I thought maybe something wasn't loaded properly, so I even reinstalled "XPand!" but still nothing. What could I be doing wrong? Also, how come my MicroKorg isn't playing out of the monitors when I connect it as an instrument? I can only hear it through headphones. I looked through the MicroKorg manual and couldn't find this particular issue addressed. Thanks!
Hi Gina - Yes, the keyboard shortcut for Rename works perfectly. Thank you.
I am on p. 99 where you say 'open the chapter 4 session. I don't have a chapter4tutorial and I don't see one on your website. Where do I find it?
Hi Gina,
Thank you for providing so much help and inspiration to me and many others.
I have recorded a session with unmatching sample rates, like Doug. The session sample rate In PT was 48K but the Big Ben was set to 44.1k. I recorded this session onto my drive a few days ago at a studio. Realized it when I opened it up at my place this morning to start editing. And all the tracks played back too fast, like they had been through TC/E processing... Bummer!
So this is what Ive done but Im not sure if Im correcting the problem the right way.
I started a new session and set it to 44.1k.
Since the wrongly recorded audio files all say 48k in the workspace, I decided I'd try importing them into my new 44.1K session. Using the import audio command, I navigated to the 48k audio files and added them on by one (instead of converting them).
It worked, PT played the (48k) files back slower in my new (44.1k) session....and they sounded a lot more like what I captured that day at the studio. They also appear to be 23 seconds longer in duration.
Ultimately, I am pretty satisfied and I haven't heard any audible degradation, pops or clicks, or artifacts.... so I'll go ahead and edit and bounce from home and go from there. But Im kinda new to all the word clock stuff... do you think this a reliable "fix" for audio recorded with unmatched software clock and external clock settings?
You rock! Many thanks!
-Emily
Emily,
Word clock issues after 15 years still confuse the heck out of me and I could tell you horror stories about paying jobs where I screwed up the sample rate due to my overlooking my word clock source - so don't feel alone.
It sounds like what you did was absolutely correct. You created a new session at the correct sample rate and imported the 48k files which converted them to 44.1 files... perfect and brilliant - kudos to you!!! And probably a good lesson you won't forget....
Yell if i can help in any way and I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful words.
Warmest regards,
Gina
If ANYONE has posted comments that I never resonded to - please re-post - I think I inadveratntly deleted some postings that were never answered by accident.
Anyone can also email me anytime at gfs@eSession.com.
Thanks,
Gina
Hi Gina - I am having similar problems as Lorraine (a few blog questions back). I get a signal from my keyboard before I download Sampletank, but not once I do. Plus, there's no icon for Sampletank once I've downloaded it. I have all the other files (instruments, etc.) but nothing to click on in subsequent sessions to get the program running again. The only way is to download it again each time. Do you have any suggestions for why these phenomena are occurring?
etaoin,
Are you on Mac or Pc and what operating system, also what version of Pro Tools.
Sampletank apparently does not have a version that works Intel Mac and I have not tested Vista...
You may need to contact the Sampletank folks who are unfortunately not very responsive.
I pleaded with my publisher let me use any other virtual instrument other than Sampletank Free. Quite honestly, I hate it and it has been nothing but trouble....
I am SOOOO very sorry. I will do what I can to help you.
Gina
>Are you on Mac or Pc and what operating system, also what version of Pro Tools.<
Hi Gina - I have a Mac OSX, with ProTools LE 7.1. I'd happily ditch Sampletank if there was another program that was easier to work with. My controller is gathering dust...
Is there another program you would recommend instead of SampleTank?
And what do you think of Band-In-The-Box as far as providing a fully established drum kit (for those of us who don't know anything about creating drum tracks)? BIAB now has real drum sounds and could be imported into PT as a MIDI file. Worthwhile for a songwriter to invest in?
Hi Gina
Firstly, thanks so much for writing such an informative, but easy to work with manual. I have several books on PTLE, but this has been my favorite by far.
Anyway,I have a small query here. I'd like to use PTLE live on gigs to play soft synths and VSTi's, by assigning the various instruments to different midi channels, with the ability to change midi channels from my midi controller (RD700SX)I would not be recording...just need to be able to quickly select my soft synths via the controller's performance buttons.
For example...
Track1 (midi channel 1) Velvet
Track 2 (midi channel 2) Xpand
Track 3 (midi channel 3) B4
Track 4 (midi channel 4) GVI(Giga virtual Instrument)
Track 5 (Midi channel 5) Ivory
I realise I could use a program like V-Stack, or Forte, but I would love to be able to use Velvet and Xpand(RTAS only) in a live situation, hence me wanting to use Pro Tools.
I have searched lots of documentation without being able to find the answer, so do you know if it is possible to change soft synths from a midi controller? Obviously this can be done with a mouse, but this is not practical in a live situation
any advice appreciated
Mal
Mal,
So very glad you like the book.
You mentioned using VSTi's - do you know Pro Tools LE does not read VST plug-ins - only RTAS...
This is a great question though. Quite honesly, I don't see Pro Tools used for live situations very often at all. I would consider Ableton Live - but that doesn't read RTAS... I do not know a way to change instruments in Pro Tools - I will ask my friends at Digidesign - if I find out that it can, I wil post it here with instructions and if I don't post anything, you can assume it doesn't change instruments on the fly... I'll ask around about what people use in Live shows...
All the very very best.
Gina
Thanks Gina...I expected as much. Pity though as I'd love to use Velvet live on gigs (jazz funk band) It is a very cool Rhodes emulation :-)
One other question. I know you recommend Waves plug ins in your book, but do you have any opinion on Wavearts Power suite. I have tried the demo, and it seems really good...particularly track plug and final plug.
keep up the good work
Mal
Hi Gina, how was the live 6 course in berklee???
Well I´m working right now at chapter 9 of your book, but i have a problem with the sistem, always I try to hear all the song it displays to me an error, it says: "the audio device buffer is underflowed(overflowed), try decresing or incresing the H/W buffer size in playback engine, or remove devices from audio firewire bus"
I was trying decresing and incresin de size of the buffer like you explain in the first chapter but always displays the same error.
I´m using right now a digi003 firewire conected to laptop, I use windows XP home, sp2, 700 ram, 2.64 ghz speed.
How do you think i can fix this?
thank you gina.
regads
Paul.
Hi Gina,
I just got your book and it's great. I'm a bit worried because it's June 2007 now. Is there a new edition coming out? I have a digi 002 and pro tools 7.3. I followed your directions on page 198 regarding sample tank. I am using a roland fantom as a controller but I get no sound. When I hit the controller I see the sample tank keyboard lighting up, but no signal or sound on pro tools. What to try?
Thanks, Phil
Hi Gina,
Received your book today and I allready like the book after chapter 1! Love your style of writing. I'm completely new in recording.
I am a bassplayer and I use M-Audio FireWire 410 and ProTools M Powered 7.3.
Hope to learn a lot.
greetz Philip Platt
Hi Gina. 1. I am in the middle of chapter 10 of the book and I took my set-up out to record but when I booted up protools, attempting to save in my external hard drive, I was told that my file was not an audio playback volume. When I try to open a session, it now tells me that the session was set to "transfer" only adn that I need a valid playback volume. 2. When trying to record to a mono audio track, my inputs say: (1) API-A1(mono), (2)API-A2 (mono). I just want it to pick up my mic from my interface.
I have Protools Academic with the M-Audio Ozone interface/controller. The book is great and i have learned so much. It's really refreshing to have your perspective on these excercises. Thank you so much, Alexis
Hi gina,
I wrote to you but the message never display here.
I have a problem, a have a digi 003 factory, but i don´t know what to do with de latency, I tried your advices in chapter 1, to stop it, changin the buffer size, de CPU de DAE but the latency still there when I play to here the exercises or when i want to record. Can you help me with this,
thank you.
Paul
Paul,
regarding latency - well, the bad news is, you're never going to get rid of it.
changing the buffer size is the best bet -setting the HW buffer to 128 or 256 should really make the latency bearable and workable...
i'm sorry I don't have better news for you...
All the best,
Gina
Alexis,
We spoke on the phone - and just to reiterate that if you get that message - go the workspace window and change your drive to make sure an R is in the the column - I don't know why, but this sometimes gets reset and drives show up as target drives rather than recording drives... it has happened to me too.
So, in the session where you see API - those are actually my i/o labels from my studio - a quick fix is to go to the Setup window and go to I/O Setup and click to reset it to your default. I/O labels are just you're own way to label all of your inputs and outputs - for example - if your microphone is always on Input 1 and your guitar is always input 2 - you might want to rename those I/O labels so when you create new tracks in Pro Tools, you see those names on your input settings. I hope that makes sense.
Let me know if you resolved any other issues. I'll try and be more attentive to this blog now...
Warmest regards,
Gina
Phillip Platt,
Your words are so very very much apprecaited.
All the very best!!
Gina
Paul with the 003,
I would definitely increase your RAM to at least 1meg - preferably 2.
Your RAM is way low...
I would bet this is causing your issues....
Hope this helps,
Gina
Paul with the Sampletank problem,
Are you on a Mac or PC? If Mac, Intel or Power PC?
Did you install Xpand and get that to work? Are you able to hear any other virtual instruments?
I'm just trying to isolate whether this is a Sampletank issue only - I personally am not a fan of Sampletank AT ALL - and was kinda forced to use it for the book because it was free...
So I apologize for your problems.
Let me know how I can help.
Gina
Hi Gina -
Yet another enthusiastic reader of your book with SampleTank problems. I've followed all the installation steps, but Sampletank still isn't showing up as a plug-in option on my new track's insert. I've tried installing twice, and restarted my computer after the second attempt, but still no sign of SampleTank. Any suggestions? I've got Xpand!, but I'd prefer going through your Chapter 7 tutorial as written if this is possible. I'm using Windows XP SP2. Thanks for your help -- I really do love the book!
Hi Gina -
I'm in Chapter 7, finally figured out how to get SampleTank up and running, but now I've run into a peculiar problem. I got Channel 1 and Channel 2 going fine (although volume (especially) and tone are somewhat different between the MIDI keyboard and the SampleTank keyboard), as well as Channels 4-8. But I get no sound at all out of Channel 3, either from my MIDI keyboard (Oxygen8) or from the keyboard in SampleTank. When I play the Oxygen, the right keys in SampleTank light up, as does the 3 in the "Part" column. But there's no response on the level meter, either in the "Level" column in SampleTank or on the Instrument track in Pro Tools (though I do get a reaction in the "MIDI Meter" at the top of the Instrument Track. Could this channel have been inadvertantly muted somehow, and if so, is there a way to unmute it?
Guys,
it would be great if you could sign your postings with your names. I am confused about the last two postings. Since they are from Anonymous, I am wondering if they are from the same person?
Did someone have Sampletank problems and then fix them and then have a problem with MIDI channel 3?
Let me know and then I will try to help.
Thanks all - So sorry Sampletank is such a HUGE pain!!!!!!
Gina
Hi Gina -
Love your book, though I'm finding the MIDI chapters a struggle. On p. 234, we duplicate a region group, then transpose one of 4-bar region passages. When I do this transposition, the transposed region group reverts back to 2 tracks (called bass.01 and elec piano.01).
Also, step 2 on p. 236 suggests that there is some sort of difference between the highlighting capability of a region vs. a track. I don't see any difference - I can highlight either track within a region or outside the region, and it doesn't seem to make any difference whether I start inside the region or outside it.
I'm not sure if either of these issues make any real difference, though they do leave me wondering about the value of having regions at all.
Hi Gina -
One further comment on this ungrouping that I'm getting when I transpose. On p.239, you say "Notice that the tracks both went back to the original playlists in the original key." Again, once the transposition causes my Bass/Keys group to ungroup, the two tracks stop working together, so changing the playlist for bass doesn't do anything to the playlist for EP.
Don in Chicago,
To be honest, I never use Regions myself. I just thought it should be covered in the book.
If it's driving you nuts, I am happy to help you through this - I have not been doing much MIDI lately but I could look further into the issue you're having. but otherwise, there is no reason to use Regions unless you really want to and feel free to skip this.
Feel free to email me at gfs@eSession.com or post here.
warmest regards,
gina
Thanks, Gina. Seems like Regions might be something I'll want to figure out sometime down the line, but I can get away without it for the time being. Good -- now I can move on to Chapter 9!
I am on lesson 1 and you tell me to create an audio track and rename my fader to be "click". With my Pro Tools M-Powered 7.3, the click track is automatically there when I start a new project. Just to be clear, I should just skip this step in the book and keep chuggin' along?
Thanks and it was nice to meet you at the Grammy Career Day!
~C
Hi Gina -
I have both a general and a specific question. The general question is: when I'm installing plug-ins, where should they be installed? I'm using a Windows XP SP2, and my computer's internal hard drive is partitioned into a relatively small C drive (primarily for the oprating system) and a D drive (which is where I installed Pro Tools -- although a number of Pro Tools files got placed on the C drive anyway). I also have a separate audio drive for my Pro Tools sessions.
I raise this question specifically because I had a lot of problems getting SampleTank up and running which I think were due to installing in the wrong place. I installed SampleTank on my D drive, I eventually got it going by making sure that the plug-ins went into the right folder in the C drive (C: Program Files/ Common Files / Digidesign / DAE / Plug-Ins). Now I've run into the same problem with the Waves bundle. I've installed and uninstalled 2x now, but have yet to succeed in getting Super Tap to show up as an option in Pro Tools' delay plug-ins. During the installation, I'm asked to give a location for the Waves Musicans 2 5.0, and I'm placing this just in D: Program Files (same place I put SampleTank and Pro Tools). But I'm also asked for a location for WaveShellVST, and I have no idea where to install this. Waves "default" would put it in the D-drive plug-ins folder for a completely different piece of software (n-Track) but this obviously makes no sense at all. Help!
Cathy,
Sorry for the delay - a busy time right now -
So - In Pro Tools 7.3 - under the Track Menu, as you know, there is a Create Click track function now - that creates the Click Track for you - but I haven't seen where Pro Tools creates an Automatic click track... but I have been away from Pro Tools for a while - I think even with this new functionality, I would have showed users how to create a Click track manually anyway - so they would know how to do it.... and then show them the new shortcut method...
but as long as it's working for you - rock on!!
Gina
One additional comment on my last post. According to the Waves website:
"WaveShell-VST 5.0.dll – It should be installed or copied to the VST Plug-Ins directory of your VST host application."
As far as I can see, there is no VST Plug-Ins directory in Pro Tools.
Don from Chicago,
I am not a partition fan at all... I don't believe in partitioning for most situations and especially not on a system hard drive....
I hate to say this - but you're going to have to call Waves - their Tech Support is actually pretty cool and responsive - let them know you have the Musicians 2 Bundle Demo and that you are considering buying it - but you are having trouble installing it...
If this was on a Mac - I could fix it blindfolded - but a partitioned PC drive is a little out of my element....
SORRRRRY
Good luck,
Thanks,
Gina
Don,
About VST plug-ins - Pro Tools only reads RTAS plug-ins - most other PC Audio Apps use VST -
There should be a path on your C Drive: Program Files/Steinberg/VST plug-ins
The VST should go in there - but the Waves installer should be able to put things in the correct place -
Have you done a search for a folder called "VSTPlugins"
Good luck - sorry for the trouble,
Gina
Gina -
I think I have VST plug-in folders for n-Track (this is the default folder that the Waves installer wants to install to) and (I think) Finale. Should I just go ahead and let Waves install where it wants to? It sounds like all this isn't really relevant to getting Waves to run in Pro Tools. Unfortunately, this also leaves me wondering why I'm not able to find the Waves plug-ins in Pro Tools. Maybe I'll just try letting Waves install to wherever it wants to and see if that works?
Don,
As a rule, I always let installers do what they are supposed to do...
I would bet that is the problem. Waves is a complicated installation unlike any other plug-in - so let the installer do its job.... i would bet all will work fine after that - I would remove everything waves, delete and re-install...
Gina
Hi Gina -
Finally got the Waves bundle running. Problem was a variation on the issue you mention at the bottom of p. 185. I copied and pasted a number of files from the Waves default install location into the correct RTAS folder and this did the trick.
Hi Gina -
A quick clarification question. On p. 412, you write: "So play back the whole song and watch the Mix Bus meters. If there's an over, you'll see one or both red clipping lights at the top of the meters." I'm not sure what you mean by "Mix Bus meters." If you mean the Output meter on the compressor, that seems to have only a single light at the top (it stretches over both channels), and if frequently blinks yellow as I play back (but not red).
Hi Gina -
Another dumb question. When I bounced "Underwater" to disk, I did highlight the Master fader track to the end of the fade-out per your instructions, which I assume was meant to limit the bounce just to those 102 bars. But instead the bounce still covered the full 6+ minutes of tracks (i.e., 2 minutes past the fade-out). Any way to fix this short of deleting all the bars of the song after 102?
Gina-
I'm about to buy a virtual instrument or two, and wondered if much has changed since your O'Reilly article. Based on that article I am looking at
Synthogy Ivory, MOTU Symphonic Instrument, and Spectrasonics Trilogy. Are these still the VIs of choice for keys, strings, and bass? Or would the MachFive sampler come close in sound quality? Also I am hearing good things about Strike as a drum module. Thanks for your help!
Gina -
P. 426, Item 3: "Use the shortcut Ctrl + Tab to highlight to the end of the UnderwaterMix region." Don't you mean Shift + Tab? Ctrl + Tab just takes me back to the beginning of the mix.
Don,
A busy week - sorry for the delay - by mix bus meters - I do mean the master fader that has the compressor on it. - And regarding the highlight issue, you must have unselected something - when you highlight from a starting bar to an ending bar in the edit window and bounce, by default, it should ONLY bounce the duration you have highlighted. Somehow, I think, you turned off "Link Timeline and Edit Selection". Directly below the Zoomer tool (Magnifying glass) in the Edit window is a small rectangle, below that is a small funky little Arrow thing that MUST be highlighted in Blue to turn this back on. I bet you turned it off.
I'm sure this will fix your bounces to they bounce the length you have hightlighted.
There are no stupid questions. Contact me anytime and if I don't respond in time, send me a personal email at gfs@eSession.com.
Rock on!!!
Gina
And to the Anonymous user who caught the typo regarding Shift + Tab - THANK YOU - Ooooops!!
Please feel free to point out any typos at all.
You are definitely right.
Thanks again,
Gina
Gina -
P. 452, Item 2: "When you get to this window: unselect Pro Tools and select either . . . " You're using the Mac system for your example here, but Windows XP users would be well advised NOT to unselect Pro Tools in the equivalent window, as doing so will result in Pro Tools itself being uninstalled.
Hi Gina,
I just found your book on Amazon and, based on the rave reviews, I ordered it. Thanks for having this blog as I'm sure I'll need it once I've delved into your book. As a starving musician, I have to be extremely judicious regarding how I spend my money. Do you feel it's necessary for a singer/songwriter/guitarist (like myself) to spend thousands on Pro Tools classes to get the most out of the program? Or, will your book, and others like it, be sufficient for those of us not aspiring to become professional recording engineers?
Best,
James
Hello Gina,
Your book has been a great help!
When I duplicate playlists, the original playlist will take on all aspects of the duplicated playlist including the transposing of keys and the deleting/moving of notes.
How can I fix this so they stay independant of each other?
I am using Protools 7 with an M-Box on a PC.
Hello Gina,
No need to answer my last question about my playlists be duplicated.
You answered it in the section 7 - Exercise 7 - Mirror Midi Editing. I unknowingly had it on the whole time.
Thanks,
Mike
hello Gina !!
my case is as follow ..
i bought from a friend a mbox 2 with pro tools pack and plug ins stuff (he is registering in these days the product in my name )
but i install the pro tools cd in my macbook pro and doesnt work just turn the screen black and ask me to restart the mac evreytime i launch it!
any idea how to get these piece working on my mac?
thanks for your help
ahh sorry here is my e mail
eldaro13@gmail.com
Daro,
you need the latest version of Pro Tools for the new Intel Macs - the CD you have is old and outdated...
As a rule, you should never install old software on a new computer...
You need to upgrade to Pro Tools LE 7.3 and install that.
All the best,
Gina
Gina,
I just wanted to thank you once again for an outstanding book. Your book was my bible, and helped me excel in my protools 101 class. By the way, I passed the exam, received my certificate, and got an A in the Berklee class. I couldn't have made it thru the challenging material without your helpful insight. I really hope you publish some more books. I'll be the first one in line to get them! They don't call you the martha stewart of digital audio for nothing.
All the best,
T. Williamson
T,
you made my whole night with your email. thank you so very much for your kindness.
contact me anytime with any questions.
warmest regards,
gina
i have a digioo2 rack with a g4 imac as studio equipment.it worked perfectly until i had to move my equipment around.when i plugged everything back in i couldn't go into my pro tools program.it will come up on the monitor and load half way then stop and say unable to connect to for some reason.i even changed the firewire cable.can you help please.
Hi Gina,
Great Book - It's been perfect so far but I'm on the midi chapter now and after messing with it forever, finally coming to your blog and seeing sampletank isn't going to work with my intel mac pro I'm pretty bummed because I bought a midi keyboard just so I could go through the exercises. You mentioned in a previous post addressing this issue:
"If anyone wants a session working with Xpand - I can send that."
I would LOVE that :)
My gmail address is edward.gordon
(leaving off the at to try and avoid getting spammed)
Thanks
Hello Gina,
You're book is excellent. I bought Pro Tools a few weeks ago and feel very comfortable with portions of it after working through the exercises in your book. I have recommended it to others.
My question goes like this..I am recording drums while listening to a track made up of a wav file with a drumless demo of a song which was recorded at 130 bpm. I use a click at 130 bpm to record the drums. When I playback the recorded drum part and the drumless track together, I find that the drums are slightly ahead of the music (and the click). By delaying the drum part by about 30 clicks by sliding my drums regions to the right, everything sounds fine. I know it is not my playing. Any idea what could be going on? I use low-latency monitoring and hear no noticable latency while recording.
Thanks very much.
My 002 Rack Keeps Clicking..The Sample Rate Light Is Suppost To Pop Up After 3 Clicks??? Does That Mean My Rack Is Dieing On Me??? Any Help Would Be Great Witth This Problem..It Rarely Ever Happens But When It Does Its Very Annoying..
Clicking interfaces usually means a digital clocking problem. What hardware is connected to the 002?
If hardware is connected, are they set to the same sample rate as the Pro Tools session?
Is your Clock set to Internal?
Are you a reader of my book?
Thanks,
Gina
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