Avid has decided to retire the Digidesign name. No big surprise really. Read more here:

[EDIT: Looks like they took down the announcement--maybe a little premature since the Digi brand is so strongly embedded. Especially with DUC, etc. --Damon]

This is a short introduction to the different ways to zoom in Pro Tools LE

Those buttons (located at different parts of both the edit and mix window) turn on/off keyboard focus, which is an editing mode that greatly reduces the need for modifier keys (like ctrl, option, and command).  Each editing command is set to a single keystroke.

Try checking out this page for an article explaining keyboard focus

or

Click here for a few more related articles and videos

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The Studio Files

Its not much, but DigiTechSupport (after an 80+ page thread at the DUC) posted:

“You should, however, start to see some fruits of this labor over the next few months, but from a slightly different angle than you may suspect.”

Hmm… now we can all prod and speculate on what that angle may be… 

On a side note – I’d like to thank Digidesign for at least having presence in the forums and answering what questions they can.

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The Studio Files

While this article is aimed mostly at Pro Tools users, the general troubleshooting concepts apply to any other DAW out there.

So, when your computer suddenly bugs out (inevitably right in the middle of a critical session)– what do you do???

First things first – know your setup.

You should know exactly what version of your operating system and what version of Pro Tools you are using.  Keep a list of all plug-ins and virtual instruments that you have installed.  Hopefully your computer with Pro Tools is an “audio-only” computer, meaning a minimal amount of other programs/apps installed.  Know which pieces of hardware you are using, and keep track of when each device’s firmware received its latest update.  This may sound like a lot, but the initial compiling of the list should only take a few minutes and will save you a bundle of time when troubleshooting.  (You can also check out this post – the information I mention there holds the same relevance when troubleshooting your own problems).

There are two other things you should do initially.  First – check Digidesign.com for OS/PT compatibility confirmation.  There are lists of which version of Pro Tools is happy with a certain operating system version.  If you are using versions that are incompatible with each other, switch over to a working pair.  Typically this is as quick as downloading either a PT or OS patch and installing.  Second – trash your Pro Tools preferences (see this article for instructions).  Trashing PT preferences fixes a large percentage of problems, so go there first.

Now that those things are out of the way, its time to ask yourself some questions:

Question 1 – Has this problem happened before?

This is a very important question to answer.  If it’s a problem that hasn’t happened before, it likely means that a recent change in your setup brought this bug to life.  If this is a recurring bug that is just getting more annoying as of late, its time to look at your system as a whole (see above) and track down the problem.

Question 2 – Has anything in my setup recently changed?

…and by “anything”, I do mean anything.  For example, this isn’t just limited to new software updates.  Anything from installing new hardware to changing the order of gear in your rack to the type and length of Firewire cable connecting your interface is considered a change.  If you reorganized your rack, perhaps something got unplugged.  If you are using a longer Firewire cable, perhaps your interface doesn’t like it.  Everything holds significance.  However, 95% of the time, it’s the software changes that cause the biggest problem.  Whether you are on a Mac or PC, when the automatic software updater asks you if you want to install new items, say NO!  If you system is currently working, don’t change anything.

If something did change recently (say a plug-in install or OS “dot” upgrade), you will want to backtrack and see if that squishes the proverbial bug.  Since you know that its critical to back up your system before an OS upgrade (J), you will have a backup to revert to should a problem arise.  If you suspect a plug-in is causing a problem, move it to the “Unused Plug-in Folder” and try again.  If you installed multiple plug-ins, drag all plug-ins that aren’t the standard DigiRack plug-ins into the “Unused Plug-in Folder”.  Then, assuming everything works in that state, drag plug-ins back one at a time (restarting PT each time) to find the offender.  Of all the Pro Tools troubleshooting questions we receive on TheStudioFiles.com, about half are fixed by preference-trashing, about half are fixed by uninstalling offending plug-ins, and the last few percentage points are actual hardware/software/OS problems.

Question 3 – Does this problem happen in every session?

If you take a situation that is causing a bug in your session and try it in a blank session, does the bug follow along?  For example, imagine you are working in an orchestral scoring project (lots of virtual instruments), and every time you bounce to disk, your computer bugs out.  I would close that session, and make a new session, adding a small number of Vis.  Try to bounce files in that session.  Figuring out whether or not the problem is global or only appearing in one session will help narrow down the potential instigators.

Question 4 – Have you been keeping consistent backups?

This may seem excessive – but I recommend cloning your system drive every week in addition to cloning it before any software/OS changes.  I also backup my media drives (drives where project files are contained) in the middle and at the end of every work day.  It really only takes a few minutes, and this will save you from debilitating system/HDD crashes and random DAW bugs.

Of course, The Studio Files team is happy to help any and everyone with their troubleshooting problems.  We usually respond quickly, but having some basic skills in troubleshooting your rig can save you time (and money!), especially for the small bugs.

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The Studio Files

Here’s a page from Sweetwater offering the trade-ins

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=ptle_pthd_exchange

Unfortunately I must have deleted my original email from Sweetwater, but I remember a 002R/003R trade-in (for an HD2 system with free 192 i/0) came in around $6k…  That’s an astonishingly low price.  To my knowledge, a company offers ridiculously low prices on their flagship product when one of two things in happening:  either they are about to release a new product, or their company is about to fold.

Honestly, I really don’t think that Digidesign as a corporation is in trouble at all.  However, they did create quite a buzz at this years AES (Audio Engineer’s Society) convention in New York City.  How? By not being there. Digidesign did release statements long before AES stating that they weren’t coming but that it wasn’t because of financial reasons.  Unfortunately that didn’t instill a lot of confidence in attendees.  In my experience, most of the chit-chat going on at AES was all about “Why isn’t Digidesign here?!”.

(This is all speculation, but) What is much more likely is that Digidesign is getting ready to release a new flagship system.  Current Pro Tools HD systems are powerful professional solutions, but they are also almost a 10-year-old technology.  Since Pro Tools HD’s initial release, the Native market (that is – powered by your host computer’s processor) has grown exponentially.  While this doesn’t negate the need for processing cards, it does force Digidesign to step it up in the Native market share.

We’ve had a bit of foreshadowing over the last year, with the release of the Complete Production Toolkit and the revitalized version 8.0 software.  I want Digidesign to release a Native system that is capable of 24 i/o with the track and bus counts of the Complete Production Toolkit.  That will attract a large number of project and home studio owners (including myself) to make the jump to a bigger Digidesign system without plunging into the often-near $10,000 (or more) Pro Tools HD pool.

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The Studio Files

• Pro Tools LE and M-Powered only work with Digidesign LE or approved M-Audio interfaces (respectively).  Additionally, both LE and M-Powered can only communicate with one interface (so, for example, you cannot chain two 003R’s together).  You cannot use one interface as a dongle and utilize another interface for I/O, whether it is a Digidesign interface or not.
• If Pro Tools was working on your machine, and suddenly is now giving you grief – start by trashing your preferences and databases on all drives.  Also, did you recently install any new plug-ins?  Make upgrades/changes to your operating system?  Install new hard drives?
• If you are upgrading (especially from a previous version of Pro Tools to Pro Tools 8), do a clean install.  This means you need to uninstall the previous version of Pro Tools (and I would also trash any PT-related files such as prefs and databases).  Once your computer is clean of the old version, then install the new version.  I would also recommend that when installing extra plug-ins or virtual instruments, you do them one at a time and check to see that they both work with Pro Tools and are properly authorized.
• There is no way to not bounce (or record to disk) in real time in Pro Tools.  The program works on RTAS (real-time audio suite), so there is no offline bounce.  You should be listening through while bouncing anyway!
• If you do have a problem and would like to get some help from us, PLEASE read this post and provide this information.  http://thestudiofiles.com/?p=848
• If you get your setup working well on a particular version of Pro Tools/your OS, leave it!  Don’t upgrade either until you have to (or a big new release comes with lots of desirable features).  Personally, I am still running PT LE 8.0 on Mac OSX 10.5.5.  Once I got everything installed, it worked really well.  I want it to remain working well, so until something big comes out, I am staying put.

I’ll probably update and bump this post as I think of some more common problems/directions (or if you have questions or suggestions, post them in the comments here)

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The Studio Files

…patience.

Some users have reported waiting over 30 minutes at this stage.  Apparently a long install is normal, so take a break and let your computer go for it.

Now – if you are waiting an hour or more, and its still stalled, then I would start to think that something is wrong.  Send me an email/comment here, and we will try our best to get your setup working.

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The Studio Files

It looks like the release is just a small “fix a few bugs” update.

If you need to change the sample rate of your Pro Tools session or need to save a session in an earlier version of Pro Tools, this video will show you how. Both actions are done from the same file menu option.

This video will show you how to quickly access your favorite plug-ins in Pro Tools. By selecting default dynamics and EQ, these plug-ins will show up in the first drop down insert menu (saving you lots of time searching through menus)

Names!

When working in a studio, its likely you have new musicians coming in almost every day.  Remembering everyone’s name can be really hard.  But, calling clients by name rather than “Hey You!” is a good business practice.  When I am working with a new group of musicians, I often write their names in the sum track associated with their instrument.  For example, in the picture below, I write “Brian” in the aux track notes into which I am summing the drums -

As simple as it seems, this is a useful trick.

Mics/Signal Path

In the heat of a busy overdub session, its good to have a reference of how things are being recorded.  For example, if you hit acoustic guitars at the beginning of the day, but by the evening realize you need a few more punches, it would be nice to use the same signal chain.  Writing a few quick notes on the mic, preamp, and gain setting (etc.) can help you keep things consistent through a session.

Track Names

Now, if you are using narrow mix view (View > Narrow Mix), sometimes you may even want to write the track name again in the notes section.  For example, if you have lots of drum tracks (say a top snare mic, a bottom snare mic, and a sample), it may be beneficial to write this in the notes.  

More tips to come!

If you have suggestions on what to put in your notes, let us know in the comments.

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The Studio Files

We all have our favorite plug-ins (the ones that inevitably end up on a LOT of tracks in most mixes).  Even if you are just using the stock Pro Tools plug-ins, changing this preference will make inserting these plug-ins a little faster.

Typically, when inserting (let’s say) a dynamics plug-in onto a track, you’d have to click the insert, scroll through a few menus and pick the one you want.

Plug-in selection menu in Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools will let you pre-select a favorite EQ and compressor, putting these two plug-ins in the top menu of of the insert selection.  Here’s how you do it.

Go to Pro Tools > Preferences

Pro Tools > Preferences

Now go to the “Mixing” tab. In the Setup section, you will see two drop-down menus for “Default EQ” and “Default Dynamics”.  Choose your favorite (or most used) plug-ins for these two categories.

Choose your favorite plug-ins here

Now, if you go back into the mixer window and insert a plug-in, those two plug-ins will be available on the first menu.

Convenience!

Yes, this is a minor tweak, but over the course of a mix, it can save you a lot of time.  Fishing through menus full of plug-ins can be a killer in the middle of a critical section of the song, so having your most-used plug-ins conveniently placed in their own place can help out.  (Also, if you are using a control surface with the capability of inserting default EQ and Compression, this is how you set that up as well)

I would highly recommend everyone do this – time=money!

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The Studio Files

For a small $30 upgrade fee, you get the following plug-ins for your MBox or MBox 2 (pro) Factory:

• Bomb Factory Moogerfooger 12-Stage Phaser
• Bomb Factory Moogerfooger Lowpass Filter
• Bomb Factory Moogerfooger Ring Modulator

If you own the 002 or 003 Factory Bundles, you get those plug-ins, plus the following:

• Bomb Factory BF-2A
• Bomb Factory BF-3A
• Bomb Factory Purple Audio MC77 (as well as the 1176 if you don’t have it)
• Bomb Factory Fairchild 660
• Bomb Factory Fairchild 670
• Digidesign SoundReplacer
• Trillium Lane Labs TL EveryPhase

This is a REALLY good deal.  The Bomb Factory Classic Compressors bundle (all of which are included here) retails for around $600 by itself…  I would highly recommend everyone do this.

You will get a link in your email if you have registered your Factory bundle on Digidesign.com

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The Studio Files

This quick video will show you how to import audio using Pro Tools LE (version 8).  I show how to import audio into your session timeline (edit window) as well as add imported audio to the region list.