Getting Started

Pro Tools M-Powered

Version 7.0

Copyright
2005 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the express written consent of Digidesign. Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, and Pro Tools are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the US and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. PN 9320-17748-00 REV A 11/05

contents

Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered. 1
Pro Tools M-Powered Package. 1 Pro Tools M-Powered Capabilities. 2 How Pro Tools M-Powered Differs from Pro Tools LE. 2 System Requirements. 2 Digidesign Registration. 5 About the Pro Tools Guides. 5 About www.digidesign.com. 6
Chapter 2. Windows Configuration. 7
Installation Overview. 7 Windows System Optimization. 7 Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance. 10 Installing Your M-Audio Interface. 11 Installing M-Audio Drivers. 11 Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software. 12 Optional Software on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD. 13 Launching Pro Tools M-Powered. 14 Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered. 14 Removing Pro Tools M-Powered. 18

Contents

Chapter 3. Macintosh Configuration. 19
Installation Overview. 19 Macintosh System Optimization. 19 Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance. 21 Installing Your M-Audio Interface. 21 Installing M-Audio Drivers. 21 Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software. 22 Optional Software on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD. 23 Launching Pro Tools M-Powered. 23 Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered. 23 Removing Pro Tools M-Powered. 28
Chapter 4. Working with Pro Tools M-Powered. 29
Session Basics. 29 Transport Controls. 35 Tracks. 36 Region List. 39 Navigating in a Session. 40 Importing Data into Pro Tools Sessions. 43 Basic Recording. 45 Editing. 49 Mixing. 52 Plug-Ins. 55 Mix Automation. 56 Final Mixdown. 56
Appendix A. Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only). 59
MIDI Studio Setup. 59 MIDI Patch Name Support. 61
Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only). 63
Audio MIDI Setup. 63 MIDI Patch Name Support. 66

Index. 67

iv Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started

chapter 1

Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered. This guide documents how to install and configure Pro Tools M-Powered software on M-Powered systems. The basic components of an M-Powered system are as follows: Digidesign-qualied M-Audio interface (not included) Digidesign-qualied Windows or Macintosh computer (not included) Pro Tools M-Powered software (included)
Pro Tools M-Powered Package
The Pro Tools M-Powered software package includes the following: Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD, which contains Pro Tools M-Powered software, updated M-Audio drivers, DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) and AudioSuite plug-ins, and electronic PDF guides Pre-authorized iLok for running Pro Tools M-Powered This Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started Guide, covering installation, conguration, and basic tutorials for M-Powered systems The M-Powered Basics Guide, designed to give new users specic methods for accomplishing common tasks (such as getting sound in and out of your M-Audio interface, connecting a microphone or instrument, and recording a session) Digidesign registration card
For a list of Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interfaces and computers, refer to the compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
Pro Tools M-Powered Capabilities
Pro Tools M-Powered software provides the following capabilities: Playback of up to 32 mono digital audio tracks, or a combination of playing back and recording up to 32 mono digital audio tracks, depending on your M-Audio interface and computers capabilities Up to 128 audio tracks (with 32 voiceable tracks maximum), 128 Auxiliary Input tracks, 64 Master Fader tracks, 256 MIDI tracks, and 32 instrument tracks per session. 16-bit or 24-bit audio resolution, at sample rates up to the sample rates supported by your M-Audio interface Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix automation Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plugins per track, depending on your computers capabilities Up to 5 inserts per track Up to 10 sends per track Up to 32 internal mix busses
How Pro Tools M-Powered Differs from Pro Tools LE
Pro Tools M-Powered does not support the following Pro Tools LE options: DigiTranslator DV Toolkit Digidesign Ethernet-based control surfaces (such as Control|24) Avid video peripherals Some Pro Tools M-Powered configuration dialogs differ from the Pro Tools LE configuration dialogs that are presented in the Pro Tools Reference Guide. For specific Pro Tools M-Powered configuration dialogs, see Chapter 2, Windows Configuration or Chapter 3, Macintosh Configuration.

Digidesign does not recommend recording to the system drive. Record to a system drive only when necessary.

Hard Disk Storage Space

Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately 5 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about 7.5 MB per minute. Stereo audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately 10 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about 15 MB per minute. Table 2 lists the required disk space for certain track numbers and track lengths, to help you estimate your hard disk usage.
Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks (44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sessions shown)
Number of tracks and length

16-bit at 44.1 kHz

5 MB 50 MB

16-bit at 48 kHz

5.5 MB 55 MB

24-bit at 44.1 kHz

7.5 MB 75 MB

24-bit at 48 kHz

8.2 MB 83 MB
1 mono track, 1 minute 1 stereo track (or two mono tracks), 5 minutes 1 stereo track (or two mono tracks), 60 minutes 24 mono tracks, 5 minutes 24 mono tracks, 60 minutes 32 mono tracks, 5 minutes 32 mono tracks, 60 minutes

600 MB

662 MB

900 MB

991 MB
600 MB 7 GB 800 MB 9.4 GB
662 MB 7.8 GB 883 MB 10.4 GB
900 MB 10.5 GB 1.2 GB 14 GB
991 MB 11.6 GB 1.3 GB 15.4 GB

Digidesign Registration

Review the enclosed registration information card and follow the instructions on it to quickly register your purchase online. Registering your purchase is the only way you can be eligible to receive complimentary technical support and future upgrade offers. It is one of the most important steps you can take as a new user.
For additional information, see the following online (.pdf) guides: Pro Tools Reference Guide explains Pro Tools software in detail. Pro Tools Menus Guide covers all the Pro Tools on-screen menus. DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included with Pro Tools. Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use optional Digidesign plug-ins. DigiBase Guide provides details on using Pro Tools DigiBase databasing and browsers for data and media management. Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts lists keyboard shortcuts for Pro Tools. PDF versions of the Pro Tools guides are installed automatically with Pro Tools M-Powered, and are accessible from the Pro Tools Help menu. To view or print the PDF guides, you can use Acrobat Reader or Apple Preview.

Convention

File > Save

Action

Choose Save from the File menu Hold down the Control key and press the N key Hold down the Control key and click the mouse button Click with the right mouse button

Control+N

Control-click

Right-click (Windows)

The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from your Pro Tools system. Important Notices include information that could affect your data or the performance of your system. Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts. Cross References point to related sections in other Digidesign guides.

chapter 2

Windows Conguration
This chapter contains information for Windows systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools M-Powered on a Macintosh computer, see Chapter 3, Macintosh Conguration.
Windows System Optimization
Before configuring your computer, make sure you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
Before installing this version of Pro Tools, refer to the Read Me information included on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD.

Required Optimizations

Installation Overview
Installing Pro Tools M-Powered on a Windows computer includes the following steps:
1 Windows System Optimization on page 7. 2 Installing Your M-Audio Interface on
To ensure optimum performance with Pro Tools M-Powered, configure the following settings before you install Pro Tools software.
When you are finished changing Windows system settings, restart your computer.

page 11.

3 Installing M-Audio Drivers on page 11. 4 Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software on

Enabling DMA

Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so the computer can do other Pro Tools tasks. In most cases the DMA option will already be set correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates DMA mode by default. To enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 In Classic View, launch System. 3 Click the Hardware tab.

page 12.

5 Launching Pro Tools M-Powered on
page 14. (This step includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok into an available USB port on your computer.)
6 Conguring Pro Tools M-Powered on

page 14.

Adjusting Processor Scheduling
To Adjust Processor Scheduling Performance:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 In Classic View, double-click System. 3 Click the Advanced tab. 4 Under the Performance section, click the Set-
Disabling System Startup Items
The fewer items in use by your computer, the more resources are available for Pro Tools. Some startup applications may be consuming unnecessary CPU resources, and should be turned off.

tings button.

5 In the Performance Options window, click the

Advanced tab.

If you disable any of the following startup items, do so carefully: Portable media serial number (required for applications that utilize a copy protection key) Plug and play Event log Cryptographic services DHCP Client, TCP/IP Net BIOS, and other networking-related items (unless the computer has no network or internet connection, in which case these items can be disabled) To Disable System Startup Items:
1 From the Start menu, choose Run. 2 Type mscong and click OK. The System
Hard Drive Conguration and Maintenance
It is recommended that you start with a newly initialized audio drive. You should also periodically defragment your audio drive to ensure continued system performance.
Always back up any important data on your drive before initializing it, as it will erase all data on the drive.
Recording to your system drive is not recommended. Recording and playback on a system drive may result in lower track counts or fewer plug-ins.
Conguration Utility opens.
3 Under the General tab, choose Selective Star-
Formatting an Audio Drive
For optimum performance, audio drives should be formatted as FAT32 or NTFS. To format an audio drive:
4 Deselect Load Startup Items and click OK. 5 Click Restart to restart the computer. 6 After restarting, the computer displays a Sys-
2 Under Storage, choose Disk Management.
tem Conguration message. Check to see if Pro Tools performance has increased before you deselect the Don't show this message again option. If performance has not changed, run mscong and return your computer Selective Startup back to Normal Startup. Alternatively, try disabling Startup items and non-essential processes individually.
Disk Management window (Windows XP)
3 In the Disk Management window, right-click

If you are prompted to run the Found New Hardware Wizard a second time, run it again. In your M-Audio Control Panel, make sure that output channels 1 and 2 are not set to Infinity ().
folder, and double-click the driver for your interface type, as follows: For M-Audio FireWire interfaces, doubleclick the le starting with FW_WDM For M-Audio PCI interfaces, double-click the le starting with Delta_WDM For M-Audio BlackBox, double-click the le starting with BB_WDM For M-Audio Transit, double-click the le staring with Transit_WDM For M-Audio MobilePre, double-click the le starting with MP_WDM For M-Audio FastTrack, double-click the le starting with FastTrack_WDM For M-Audio Ozone, double-click the le starting with Ozone_WDM
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install the driver.
Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software
To install Pro Tools M-Powered:
1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation. 2 Insert the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
for Windows in your CD-ROM drive. Locate and open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and doubleclick the Setup icon.
3 Click Next to begin installation. 4 Select the components you want to install and
If you get a warning dialog about the driver not passing Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
5 When installation is complete, shut down your computer. 6 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-

click Next.

5 Wait for the installer to nish installing all software components, drivers, and PACE System les before proceeding to the next step. 6 When installation is complete, click Finish.
face, do the following: Once your computer has shut down completely, connect your FireWire interface and power it on.

7 Turn on your computer.

Installing QuickTime
QuickTime 6.5 or later is required for Pro Tools if you plan to include movie files, or import MP3 or MP4 (AAC) files in your sessions. QuickTime for Windows XP is available as a free download from the Apple Web site (www.apple.com). To install QuickTime:
1 Visit www.apple.com and go to the QuickTime page. 2 Download the QuickTime installer applica-
2 From your CD-ROM drive, locate and doubleclick the Pro Tools M-Powered Demo installer icon. 3 Set the install location to your audio drive and

click Install.

4 When installation is complete, click OK.

MacDrive

The MacDrive utility lets you mount Macintoshbased HFS+ drives on a Windows-based Pro Tools system and use them as Transfer drives.

tion to your computer.

3 Double-click the QuickTime installer applica-
tion and follow the on-screen installation instructions.

lect the percentage of CPU processing you want to allocate to Pro Tools.

3 Click OK.

the number of processors you want to allocate for RTAS plug-in processing.

DAE Playback Buffer Size

The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the amount of memory DAE allocates for disk buffers. The optimum DAE Playback Buffer Size for most disk operations is Level 2.
DAE Playback Buffer Size settings lower than Level 2 may improve playback and recording initiation speed, but may make it difcult to play or record tracks reliably with sessions containing a large number of tracks or a high density of edits, or with systems that have slower or heavily fragmented hard drives.

CPU Usage Limit

The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks are carried out by the system.
Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the effect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-intensive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful when you are experiencing slow system response, or when running other applications at the same time as Pro Tools.
DAE Playback Buffer Size settings higher than Level 2 will allow for a higher density of edits in a session or a higher track count when using slower hard drives. However, a higher setting can also cause a time lag to occur when starting playback or recording, or longer audible time lag while editing during playback.
To change M-Audio Control Panel settings:
1 If Pro Tools M-Powered is running, exit

Pro Tools.

2 Choose Start > Control Panel. 3 Launch the M-Audio Control Panel as follows:
Using a larger DAE Playback Buffer Size leaves less system memory for other tasks. The default setting of Level 2 is recommended unless you are encountering -9073 (Disk too slow or fragmented) errors.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. 2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu, select a buffer size. 3 Click OK.

Pro Tools also lets you use an external MIDI device to play the click. This feature can be turned on and off in the Transport window, and is configured from the Click/Countoff Options dialog. To congure and enable an external MIDI click:
1 Choose Setup > Click.
4 During recording or playback, you can turn
the Click on or off with the Metronome Click button in the MIDI Controls display of the Transport window.

Saving Sessions

As you build a session by adding tracks and changing session controls, you will want to save your work. Pro Tools provides three ways to save sessions. To save a session:
Choose File > Save, File > Save As, or File > Save Copy In.
Click/Countoff Options dialog
2 Congure the click parameters as needed for your MIDI sound source.
Save Saves the currently open session file, leaving it open for you to continue working. Save As Creates a duplicate session file with the name you choose, and leaves the duplicate open for you to continue working. This can be useful if you want to experiment with different arrangements in the session without affecting the original session. Save Copy In Saves a copy of the session file and lets you save copies of all audio files that are used in the session. This can be useful for archiving a session, preparing a session for transfer to another system, saving to older Pro Tools session formats, or saving a session at another sample rate.
See Appendix A, Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only) or Appendix B, Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) for information on configuring your MIDI studio for use with Pro Tools.
3 Choose a MIDI sound source from the Output
pop-up menu and click OK.
System Resources and Settings
You can change specific Pro Tools system settings to optimize system performance.

Transport Controls

The Transport window provides access to all Pro Tools transport commands. Different transport controls can be displayed or hidden in this window. To show the Transport window:

Playback Engine Dialog

The Playback Engine dialog lets you adjust system buffer sizes and allocate CPU processing power in Pro Tools.
Choose Window > Transport.
Return to Zero Rewind Online Stop Fast Forward Play Go to End Record Enable
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools M-Powered system
To congure system resources:
Transport window (Expanded view shown)
Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
To congure the Transport window:
Choose View > Transport and select from the available view options.
See the configuration chapter for your platform for details on configuring system settings.

System Usage Window

The System Usage window displays approximate information on CPU load and overall disk performance, so you can gauge your systems processing capacity.
The Transport window provides Play, Stop, and other standard transport controls. The Expanded view of the Transport window provides pre- and post-roll, start, end, and length indicators for Timeline selection, as well as the Transport Master selector.
Meters in the System Usage window
To view system resources and usage:
Choose Window > System Usage.
The Transport window can also display the following MIDI controls: Wait for Note, Click, Countoff, MIDI Merge, Conductor, Meter, and Tempo.
Metronome Click Wait for Note Countoff

Tracks

Pro Tools lets you create tracks for audio and MIDI recording, submixing, routing, automating, and editing. Pro Tools provides five types of tracks: audio tracks, Auxiliary Input tracks, Master Faders, MIDI tracks, and Instrument tracks. Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Instrument tracks, and Master Faders can be mono or stereo. Audio Tracks Record and play back audio to and from hard disk, monitor audio input when record-enabled, and edit audio regions Auxiliary Inputs Audio mixer channels, used for input, routing, and submixing Master Faders Provide master channel controls and options for any output or bus path MIDI Tracks Record, play back, and edit MIDI data Instrument Tracks Combine the functions of MIDI and Auxiliary Input tracks, letting you control and monitor instrument plug-ins or external MIDI devices in a single channel strip. To create a new track:

1 Choose Track > New.

MIDI Merge Meter and Tempo controls
Tempo Ruler Enable Transport window (MIDI Controls)
To start and stop playback:
1 Click Play in the Transport window to begin playback. 2 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop playback.

Press the Spacebar on your computer keyboard to start and stop playback. Pro Tools starts playing from the location of the cursor, or from the beginning of the current selection. The current setting of the Link Edit and Timeline Selections command in the Options menu also affects playback. See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for more information.

New Track dialog

2 Specify the number of tracks, track type, and
mono or stereo (for all types except MIDI).
To create multiple new track types in one step, click the + button in the New Tracks dialog. Specify the number of tracks, track type, and track format for each additional row of new tracks you want to create.

3 Click Create.

In the Edit window, tracks are displayed horizontally along the Timeline. The area in which audio appears for each track is the playlist.

Timeline

In the Mix window, audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Instrument tracks, Master Faders, and MIDI tracks appear as vertical channel strips. Track type is indicated by the Track Type icons just below the faders, and by the track colors.
Playlist Timeline rulers and an audio track in the Edit window
Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, MIDI tracks, and Instrument tracks can all be automated. See Mix Automation on page 56 for more information.

Audio Tracks

Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Faders share many identical controls. Figure 4 shows the controls found in audio or Auxiliary Input tracks. Master Faders provide all the same features as audio tracks and Auxiliary Input tracks, with the following exceptions: Input Selector A Master Faders output assignment determines its input, or source. Inserts Inserts on Master Faders are post-fader only. (Audio track and Aux Input track inserts are all pre-fader.)
Auxiliary Input track MIDI track Instrument track Master Fader

Audio track

Sends Master Faders do not provide sends. To send an output to another destination, use an Auxiliary Input.

Tracks in the Mix window

MIDI Tracks
MIDI tracks provide volume, solo, and mute, in addition to MIDI input, output, channel, and program (patch) controls. Figure 5 shows the controls found in MIDI tracks.
MIDI Input selector MIDI Output selector Input Path selector Output Path selector Pan slider Automation mode selector Pan sliders Pan indicator Record Enable button Solo button Record Enable button Solo button Volume fader Mute button Pan indicator Automation Mode selector

To zoom in or out on any area of a track in the Edit window:
1 Click to select the Zoomer tool. 2 Click or drag with the Zoomer tool to zoom in

Zoom Toggle

The Zoom Toggle button lets you store a zoom state and toggle between it and the current zoom state. When Zoom Toggle is enabled, the Edit window displays the stored zoom state. When Zoom Toggle is disabled, the Edit window reverts to the last zoom state. To store a zoom state using Zoom Toggle:
1 Make an Edit selection. 2 Click the Zoom Toggle button so that it is
horizontally for a track or ruler. or Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) and click with the Zoomer tool to zoom out horizontally for a track or ruler. To zoom in or out incrementally:
Click the appropriate Zoom button: Zoom Out button (Left Arrow) Zoom In button (Right Arrow) Audio or MIDI Zoom buttons, to increase or decrease vertical zoom of the corresponding track type

highlighted.

Zoom Toggle button Zoom Toggle button in the Tool bar
To zoom in or out continuously:
1 Select the Zoom tool. 2 Hold the Start key (Windows) or Control (Macintosh) and drag in a track as follows:
3 Adjust Track Height, Vertical Zoom, Track
view, and the Grid setting.
4 Make any desired edits. 5 Click the lit Zoom Toggle button again to re-
Drag up to zoom in vertically Drag down to zoom out vertically Drag to the right to zoom in horizontally Drag to the left to zoom out horizontally
vert to the last zoom state.
6 Make another edit selection and click the
Zoom Toggle button to recall the stored zoom state, and continue editing.

Zoom Presets

Pro Tools provides five Zoom Preset buttons. You can use these to immediately return to established zoom levels. You can define the magnification level for each preset, on a session-bysession basis. To store a new Zoom preset denition:
1 Use the Zoom tool to establish a Zoom setting. 2 Click a Zoom Preset button (15) and choose
Importing Data into Pro Tools Sessions
Pro Tools lets you import audio, MIDI, and a wide range of Pro Tools session data into your current session.

Importing Audio

Pro Tools lets you import audio files from your hard drive or from CD. This is very useful if you have audio files already recorded to disk or if you are working with CD-based sample libraries that you want to use in a session. To import audio les or regions from disk:

Mixing

The Pro Tools mix environment provides many familiar channel strip controls for setting volume, pan, solo, and mute. Mixer and I/O controls can be shown in both the Mix and Edit windows. To view the Mix window:

Select Window > Mix.

Dragging a selection with the Separation Grabber tool
10 With the new region still selected, choose

Region > Loop.

Press Control+Equals (=) (Windows) or Command+Equals (=) (Macintosh) to switch between the Edit and Mix windows.
Using Channel Strip Controls
The following controls are common to Audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instrument tracks. Volume Fader Increase or decrease the track level by dragging its Volume fader up or down.

Region Looping dialog

11 In the Region Looping dialog, enter the number times you want to loop the region, and click OK.
Pan Slider Pan a track left or right in the mix by dragging its Pan slider left or right. Solo Button Solo a track (muting all other tracks) by clicking its Solo button. Mute Button Mute a track by clicking its Mute button.
You now have a new rhythm track with a looped (repeated) phrase. You can use these editing tools and Beat Detective to do much more advanced editing of regions.

Grouping Regions

The Region Groups feature in Pro Tools lets you group regions on multiple adjacent audio, MIDI, and Instrument tracks. Region Groups are useful for groove and tempo manipulation, editing, and arranging.
For more information on Region Groups, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
52 Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started

Basic Signal Routing

Signal routing is accomplished by assigning track inputs and outputs. Audio track inputs can be from any hardware input or bus path. Once recorded, an audio tracks input is its audio file on disk. Auxiliary Inputs can be any hardware input or internal bus path. For all types of audio tracks, outputs can be routed to any hardware output or internal bus path. You can use these signal routing features to set up virtually any mixer architecture for your projects, including sends and returns for effects processing and submixing.
To assign a send on a track:
1 Make sure the Sends you want to use are visi-
ble in the Mix window (View > Mix Window > Sends AE or Sends FJ).
2 In the Mix window, click a Send selector on an

audio track and choose a path from the pop-up menu.
Send and Return Submixing for Effects Processing
When you are submixing for reverb, delay, and similar effects processing, you can use sends and Auxiliary Inputs to achieve traditional send/return bussing. You can use a real-time plug-in (see Plug-Ins on page 55) as a shared resource for all tracks included in a submix. The wet/dry balance in the mix can be controlled using the track faders (dry level) and Auxiliary Input fader (wet, or effect return level).
Assigning a send to a stereo bus path

Creating a Send

3 Set the output level of the send. You can set
Pro Tools provides up to ten sends per audio track. A send can be mono or stereo, routing to an output or one of 32 internal bus paths.
the send level to zero by Alt-clicking (Windows) or Option-clicking (Macintosh) the Send fader.
You can configure the default level for new sends to be or at unity gain (0 dB) by enabling or disabling the Sends Default To INF option in the Operation Preferences page.

Creating a Return

Auxiliary Input tracks can be created to act as return channels for busses, as well as for inputs from hardware sources.
Send window Send Real-time plug-in to bus 12

Master Faders

Master Faders are used as output and bus masters, and can control any mono or stereo output or bus path in a session. You can then use the controls on the Master Fader to control the volume, solo and mute, or apply inserts to those paths.
Aux track input from bus 12
Output assigned to control main mix
Audio tracks Aux Input track Audio and Auxiliary Input tracks congured for a send and return
Master Fader controlling main output path

To create a return:

1 Choose Track > New and specify 1 Mono or Stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create. 2 Click the Input selector of the Auxiliary Input
and set it to the bus path you assigned to the sends on the source tracks.
3 Click the Output selector of the Auxiliary Input and choose an output path.
To create a Master Fader:
1 Choose Track > New and specify 1 Mono or
Stereo Master Fader track, then click Create.
2 In the Mix window, click the Master Faders
Real-time plug-ins are assigned to tracks from the Inserts view in the Mix or Edit windows. Once assigned to a track, plug-ins appear in the tracks Inserts view, and can be opened by clicking the Insert button.
Insert button Plug-In window
Output selector and choose the output path that you want to control. You can choose either outputs or internal busses. To use a Master Fader as a master stereo volume control for all tracks in a session:
1 Choose Track > New and specify 1 stereo Mas-
ter Fader track, then click Create.
2 Set the outputs of all audio tracks in the ses-

sion to Outputs 12 and set the panning of each track.
3 Set the output of the Master Fader to your
main output path (Outputs 12).

Plug-Ins

Plug-ins provide EQ, dynamics, delay, and many other types of effects processing, and function either in real time (RTAS) or in nonreal time (AudioSuite). RTAS plug-ins are nondestructive effects, which are inserted on tracks to process audio in real time, during playbackjust like an external hardware processor. AudioSuite plug-ins are used to process and modify audio files on disk, rather than nondestructively in real time. Depending on how you configure a non-real-time AudioSuite plug-in, it will either create an entirely new audio file, or alter the original source audio file.

Compressor plug-in

To insert a real-time plug-in on a track:
1 Make sure the Inserts View is shown in the

Mix or Edit window.

2 Click the Insert selector on the track and select the plug-in that you want to use.
Pro Tools comes with a complete set of DigiRack plug-ins, and many more are available from Digidesign and our Development Partners.
For more information about plug-ins included with Pro Tools, see the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide.

Mix Automation

Mix automation lets you record, or automate, changes to track and send levels, mutes, pan, and plug-in parameters. To write automation:
1 Choose Window > Automation Enable. 2 In the Automation Enable window, enable an automation type (volume, pan, mute, send level, send pan, send mute, or any plug-in automation) by clicking its button so that it is highlighted.
Once written, automation can be re-written or displayed and edited graphically in the Edit window.

Track View

Volume breakpoint automation
Volume automation in a track in the Edit window
For more information on using automation, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Final Mixdown

The Bounce to Disk command lets you write a final mix to disk, create a new loop, print effects, or bounce any submix. Once you have bounced your final mix to disk, you can use another program to burn the resulting file to CD. When you bounce a track to disk, the bounced mix includes the following: Audible Tracks All audible tracks are included in the bounce. Any muted tracks do not appear in the bounce. If you solo a track or region, only the soloed elements appear in the bounced mix. Automation All read-enabled automation is played back and incorporated in the bounced mix. Inserts and Sends All active inserts, including real-time plug-ins and hardware inserts, are applied to the bounced mix. Selection or Track Length If you make a selection in a track, the bounced mix will be the length of the selection. If there is no selection in any track, the bounce will continue until it reaches the end of the session.