To quote Steve Jobs’ favorite songwriter: “The times they are a changing…”

If anyone is working on hardware upgrades and has any wisdom or warnings, please let us know. This will affect a lot of long time Pro Tools setups in smaller studios for sure.
–Damon

Most of the time, if you are experiencing a “it used to work and all of a sudden it doesn’t!” situation with Pro Tools, this is the fix.  These files are a reference for Pro Tools to see your most recent setup choices and preferences (among other things).  By deleting them, you are forcing Pro Tools to start from scratch on those prefs (basically setting it back to Default).

On the Mac side, you can just download this program and call it a day - Pro Tools Preferences and Database Helper. 

There are similar programs out there, both on the Mac and Windows side of things, but that is my favorite.  Also, you can easily delete these files manually.

On Windows:

• C:\Documents and Settings\”User Folder”\Application Data\Digidesign (folder)
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Digidesign\DAE\DAE Prefs (folder)

Delete the bolded folders, empty the recycle bin.

On Macs

• Users > “Your Name” > Library > Preferences
• In here, you’ll see com.digidesign.protoolsLE.plist (or something similar), Digisetup.OSX, and two folders: DAE Prefs and Pro Tools Preferences
• Delete them and empty the trash

And now you know how to trash your Pro Tools prefs and databases!

Connor

The Studio Files

Get the DEET out – we’ve got a bug.

I found this bug yesterday… I haven’t gotten a response back from Avid on a patch to fix it, but I have confirmed that other people are having the same problem.  Luckily, I’ve also figured out a workaround.  I’ve confirmed this bug on Apple Snow Leopard OSX 10.6.6 with Core Audio, but apparently it’s happening across all versions.  I’m not sure on Windows XP or Windows 7 based systems, but I’ll update this post if I get more information. 

So, the bug:

• Have a session of Pro Tools open playing through your Avid hardware (or other non-onboard sound card)
• Close Pro Tools
• Open up a Core Audio application (i.e. iTunes, Quicktime, etc.) and play some songs
• Close the CoreAudio application and make sure Digi CoreAudio Manager has quit as well.
• Reopen Pro Tools session
• BUG = Pro Tools will not recognize your hardware, other than the CoreAudio aggregate device…

Bah.

As of now, my fix is to trash your databases and preferences (a restart usually won’t do it).  I haven’t confirmed this happening across all systems, but I have seen it happening with TDM, HD Native, and native setups.

I’ll keep you posted!

Update: I’ve opened up an ASC call/email thread with Avid Tech Support.  No solution yet, but they are working on it.  Additionally, (not worth a whole post, so I’ll talk about it here) anyone having a problem with the release knob on the Bomb Factory MC77 plug-in (where it doesn’t recall correctly when you open a session, even though the GUI looks correct) – they are looking into this too.

Update 2 (The Fix):  Problem solved.  Apparently this problem is attributed to some corrupt preference files that don’t go away when you normally trash preferences.  The way to fix it is to make a new administrative user (System Preferences > Accounts > Add a new user).  It worked great for me – just make sure you give that user Read/Write permissions on all your hard drives.  Regarding the MC77 release knob problem, this is a known bug that they are working on.  Let’s hope they fix it soon – it’s a pain!

Connor

The Studio Files

Pro Tools Compatibility

Whether you are having problems on Windows XP, Windows 7, Leopard, Snow Leopard… with Pro Tools 7, Pro Tools 8, or Pro Tools 9 – this is where you need to look to find out whether your computer/OS/plug-ins/software are compatible.

What? A technical book written in 1987 (last updated in 1990) is a necessity??

Answer – yes!  This book is chock full o’ great information.  Although it is technically a “live sound” handbook, it covers a huge range of topics that are also relevant to the studio engineer.  Best of all, the book sells for just over $20 on Amazon.com (which is significantly less expensive than my other favorite, Handbook for Sound Engineers).

The authors, Gary Davis and Ralph Jones, have an excellent style – the very technical information is presented in such a way that even a novice engineer can grasp.  That being said, this book is a great reference for even the most experienced engineers.  I noticed when reading even the basics chapters that I learned a few new tidbits.  There are great charts/graphs/illustrations in every chapter (which, in part, is why the book is such a great reference manual).

Here’s a list of selected chapter subjects -

• What is a Sound System
• Frequency Response
• The Decibel, Sound Level, and Related Items
• Dynamic Range
• Sound Outdoors (also a Sound Indoors Chapter)
• Block Diagrams
• Preamplifiers, Mixers, and Mixing Consoles
• Microphones
• Electronics
• Cabling

The chapters on microphones, amps, mixers (etc.) all contain technical drawings and/or block diagrams to help with the explanation.  For anyone not comfortable with reading those types of drawings, there are chapters and sub-sections on how to read them (as well as charts with what standard symbols look like).  This book will help you better understand the principles of audio and acoustics, the inner-workings of your gear, and will help you troubleshoot (non-computer or software) problems more efficiently and effectively.

This is an excellent book.

C

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.

C

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)

C

The Studio Files

It’s the end of a long mixing day, and the mix is sounding awesome in the control room.  We burn off a quick mix and take in the car on a CD for the drive home…

YUCK! It sounds terrible!  Why does it sound bad in the car (or in headphones/boombox/etc) but awesome in the control room??

Here are some tips and techniques to help improve your mix translation.

Take Breaks

Yes, the first suggestion has nothing to do with fancy gear, extra speakers, or even mixing experience (but it is definitely one of the most important!).  As you listen through the course of the day, a few things happen.  For starters, your ears begin to tire, which can affect (especially high) frequency response.  The longer you are working, the greater the chance your ears will not be responding as you’d ideally like.

Additionally, without breaks, your ears will get used to the sound of certain elements (even if they are “wrong”).  The longer you listen to that overly-bright snare drum, the more your ears will get used to it.  By taking a break, you give your ears a chance to remember what “normal” is.  Grab some food, ride your bike, go for a walk… just get out of the control room and clear your head/ears.

Listen through multiple speakers/headphones

As you progress in your mixes, switch to another set of speakers or headphones.  Think of someone in a studio switching down to NS10s from the big (SLS, custom, etc.)  mains).  In this case, the NS10s are obviously not nearly as accurate as the mains, but they give the mixing engineer a new perspective.  While the kick drum may sound awesome through the 15″ drivers of large speakers, it is causing the NS10s (with their much smaller drivers, narrower frequency response, and smaller power handling capabilities) to distort.

Obviously your studio monitors are going to be where you do the majority of your mixing, but switching to another pair, headphones, or running it out to your car can be a great idea.  (Personally, I like running it out to my car, because then I get a break out of it too, giving my ears a chance to reset).

Learn Your Gear!

Spend some time listening to commerical mixes on your system.  (Not passive listening while you are browsing the web/shopping/etc…)  Grab some CDs (not compressed formats!!! no mp3, AAC, etc…) and pop in some of your favorite tunes.  Listen to the relationships between the bass and kick drum, the vocals and guitars, etc.  Hear what these mixes sound like so that you have a reference point when doing your mixes.  If you know what great (commerical) music sounds like with your gear in your room, you can use it as a comparison (even dragging it into your session for direct A/B comparison while mixing).  While all rooms can’t be as accurate as the best pro rooms, by listening to these “pro mixes” in your environment, you can learn a lot about the sound of your space.

There are lots of other tricks that mix engineers swear by.  For me , I like running a mix out to my car.  I also like walking out of my control room, half closing the door, and listening to the balances from a distance.  Feel free to experiment, just find something that puts your listening environment in a new context.  Another great thing to do is to send mixes to friends (even non-musicians/non-engineers) and ask for their opinions.

(As a side note, always feel free to send me an mp3 via email for some feedback)

C

The Studio Files

If you have a multi-core machine, especially if you have a quad-core or dual quad-core, Digidesign recommends that you:

1. (In your session) Go to Setup>Playback Engine
2. Under RTAS Processors, choose the number equal to 1 less than your total number of processors (i.e. if you are running an 8-core machine, choose “7 processors”)

Rather than simply turning the phone off or chucking it across the room, my good buddy and cell phone guru Jake recommended that I switch my phone to “Airplane Mode”  whenever I’m in the studio.  Viola!   Worked like a charm, thanks Jake.

Note: Airplane Mode disables all calls, EDGE and Wifi activity.

So this post is for any iPhone user that is tired of the buzzing and popping in your speakers or headphones – just flip it to Airplane mode and you’re done!

-PJ

You are tracking a great band and they are really grooving this take (the best one of the day).  Halfway through the song, the sound glitches, recording stops, and the dreaded “H/W BUFFER ERROR” message appears… which is the equivalent of a big middle finger.

What is a H/W buffer (sometimes also called audio buffer)? Why do you need to change it? What’s the difference between a 1024 sample buffer and a 32 sample buffer?  How do buffers affect latency?

H/W buffer stands for hardware buffer.  When using a computer based recording system (other than TDM systems and the like) the computer processor is handling all the processing, playback, etc…  To keep things accurate (time) and steady, a buffer is employed.  The computer needs to fill the buffer with data before it can send it.  A smaller buffer (say 32 samples) takes less time to fill, whereas a larger buffer (say 1024 samples) takes longer.  However, if you have 2048 samples of audio that need to pass through the buffer, the large buffer only needs to be sent twice, whereas the small buffer needs to be sent 64 times.  Some general rules of thumb:

• Small buffers provide lower latency for monitoring, but require a lot more processing power from the computer.  Use small buffers when you are tracking (so the players can hear themselves without latency)
• Large buffers require a lot less processing from the computer, but induce a much higher latency for monitoring.  When you are tracking, this is a problem.  However, during mixing (where you aren’t directly monitoring sources while they are played) this presents no problem.  Plus, using a large buffer will free up room in your processor to add more plug-ins and instruments.

A hardware (H/W) buffer error occurs when the computer can’t send all the data fast enough, given the chosen buffer size.  Larger buffers don’t have to be sent as often (since they contain more data), so the chance of H/W buffer errors is lower.

Let’s relate it to real life:

You have a large room full of garbage (aka audio files).  You need to get that garbage out to the dumpster (playback on your speakers).  You have different choices of garbage cans to transport the garbage in, ranging from really big to really small (large buffer, 1024, to small buffer, 32).  If you use a large garbage can, it will take longer to fill it up, but you won’t have to make as many trips to the dumpster.  If you use a small garbage can, it will fill up quickly, but you will be running to the dumpster many more times.

Make sense?

Be aware of your buffer size.  Always check it at the beginning of a session.

To change the H/W buffer size in Cubase, go to the Devices>Device Setup

To change the H/W buffer size in Pro Tools, go to Setup>Playback Engine

To change the H/W buffer size in Logic Studio Pro, go to Logic Pro>Preferences>Audio

If you need more specific information about the H/W buffer in your DAW, post in the comments.

C

The Studio Files

I’ll go on the record as saying: Everyone who works in pro audio should have a YouSendIt.com account.

YouSendIt.com is a great website that replaces FTP services (allowing you to quickly send large files across the internet without clogging up email boxes).

Even the free registration version is invaluable. This will let you send one file at a time, up to 100MB. This is a lot better than the average email (with a limit of around 10MB). However, the 10$ a month service is much better. You can send up to 5 files at a time, each with a size of up to 2GB. For anyone sick of paying UPS fees to send master CDs to clients (or mix files to an engineer), this is a great solution.

Now, of course, I am in no way affiliated with YouSendIt.com, but I have been using their services literally almost every day for the past few months during this busy time, and the service payed for itself in a few days.

This is also good when you need to send mixes out to clients/potential clients. Rather than sending them a compressed mp3, you can send them the full quality WAV or AIFF without problems. The client will just receive a link in their email box, which they can click on to download the file.

YouSendIt.com

C

The Studio Files

Needless to say, Joe was devastated when he went to record a few weeks ago and the recorder stalled on “Now Checking” followed by a “HDD Read Error” meaning that the 20GB internal hard drive had finally bit the dust. Imagine losing 5 years worth of recordings!! PJ’s Tip of the Day: Do not smoke around any electronic device, especially one containing a hard drive.

So me being the type of person who can’t wait to take apart electronics (I was a Lego kid) and Joe being on a budget and out-of-warranty, I gladly accepted his request to fix the recorder. There’s almost no information on the web about repairing this thing, so I’m posting this guide to replacing a hard drive in the BR-1180. (Note: this procedure will work the same for both the CD and non-CD models)

Let’s get started…

Things you will need:

Phillips head screwdriver

IDE Hard Drive (formatted FAT32)

USB-to-IDE adapter (or an open slot for an IDE hard drive in your tower)

I would also recommend a can of duster to clean out any dust while the case is open and a couple of zip-lock bags to separate the different sizes of case screws.

Approx. time of repair: 1 hour

1. Taking apart the case

Unplug everything from the recorder and find some space on a table or desk with plenty of light to set up shop. Turn the recorder over and locate the screws to remove on the bottom panel. The picture below shows each one labeled with the different colors representing the different size screws. Remove all the screws and set them aside by the color groups (this will help keep everything organized and saves time).

The bottom panel has two parts, one covering the CD-RW drive and one covering the bottom. Lift the CD panel straight up and pull out to remove and then carefully lift the larger bottom panel. Be careful not to pull out the CD drive while doing this.

2. Removing the old hard drive

Now the culprit is exposed and you can begin removing the old hard drive. The drive is fitted into two brackets and then mounted on the interior casing with 4 longer screws. First, unplug the IDE and power cable from the hard drive and then remove from the case and then remove the brackets from the hard drive.

Now there are a few things you can do with the drive at this point. If you have an IDE to USB adapter you can try plugging it in to you computer and see if anything is recognized. You can also try the infamous “freezer trick.” The trick is to put a dead hard drive in sealed bag and put in your freezer overnight. Then in the morning, quickly hook it back up and retrieve the data you need before it quits again. (Believe me this occasionally does work!) The best case scenario is to copy all the data from the old drive onto the new drive. Essentially, you could do this to simply upgrade your drive or as preventative maintenance.

Unfortunately, the drive in Joe’s recorder had no signs of life at all, not even a click or spin. Luckily, I had a spare 40GB Samsung drive that would work for a suitable replacement. The stock hard drive is a Maxtor 20GB ATA-100 5400rpm. Any FAT32 formatted ATA-100 IDE hard drive should work in this recorder.

3. Preparing and installing the new hard drive

There’s a couple of ways to do this. I have a USB to IDE adapter, but you can also plug this into an empty IDE slot in your tower (make sure to set the jumpers on the back of the hard drive to slave or cable select for this). After Windows (or OSX) recognizes the new drive go to Admin Tools – Computer Management – Disk Management (or Disk Utility in OSX), find the new drive and format it using the FAT32 file system. MAKE SURE that you format the new drive and not your computers! Now unhook the drive and set the jumpers to either Master or Cable Select.

OK, so now you have a new drive freshly formatted ready to install in the recorder (if you were able to recover any data from the old drive, this is where you would copy that onto the new one). Find your screws and hook up the brackets to the sides of the new drive and mount it back in the case the same way you removed the old drive. Hook up the IDE and power cable to the drive and then replace the two bottom panels on the recorder. Almost done!

4. Initializing the new drive

Finally, after everything is screwed in and plugged in press the power switch and cross your fingers. If you did everything right, you should see a message to the effect “New drive, Initialize now?” Select yes and your back in business. With the new 40GB hard drive installed, there is now approximately 67 hours of available recording time to work with.

So now the newly repaired recorder is back in Joe’s hands, with a valuable lessoned learned – always back up your work! Hopefully, it will last him many more years of great music.



Questions or comments? Email me or leave or comment below.

-PJ

First off, thanks a bunch for all the great discussions and input (and the traffic) you’ve given The Studio Files.  This community doesn’t happen without everyone’s contributions.

I’ve been getting a lot of emails lately, and I find that often I need to send 1-2 back and forth before actually getting to the “help” part.  We like to answer everyone’s questions and fix as many problems as we possibly can to get us all making music as fast as humanly possible.  Here are some things you can include in your questions that will help for an even faster response (and hopefully a solution!). :

1.  Please let me know what computer (model, speed, RAM, etc.), what operating system (aka Leopard 10.5.2), DAW version (Pro Tools LE 7.4cs2 etc….), and interface (Digi 003R) that you are using.

2.  Detail as many specifics as you can about what is going wrong.  (So, rather than, “Pro Tools doesn’t work”, say “Pro Tools stalls while loading when it gets to ReWire.dpm”) This way, I can compare it to the database of problems other people are having, and hopefully give you a very specific answer.
3.  Also include what you’ve tried already (and what went wrong).  For example, if you are trying to get PT LE to work on your Leopard computer, let me know if you’ve tried installing it (which worked), but then Pro Tools stalls on launch, or you get kernel panics… etc…

Thanks!

Hopefully pigs will fly and we will all see Pro Tools compatibility with Leopard in the very near future…

C

The Studio Files

How can you make your sounds shine on YouTube? Here are some things to check in your mixes to guarantee better youtube results. (And there are videos at the end …)

1. Check your mix in mono. Ever notice videos on YouTube that sound like the guitars have just disappeared? Its probably because of phase issues between the left and right channels. Thus, when summed to mono for YouTube, they cancel out and disappear. A lot of mixing engineers (and especially many “old school” guys) always always check their mixes in mono (or even mix a lot while in mono). Personally, I also think mono is a great tool for mixes. Yes, the argument comes out “Well, who listens in mono anymore….”. Answer: Youtube, some cell phones, other streaming media, etc. Even if you aren’t intending to put the mixes on youtube, I would suggest that you listen to your mixes quietly in mono. That is a great time to set vocal, bass, and drum levels.

2. Don’t slam the mix bus! Distortion is present enough on uncompressed wavs, but slam it to mp3, or youtube streaming audio, and the artifacts get worse and worse (plus the additional problems from the conversion itself). The conversion process will have a hard time chomping on the mix if it is a super compressed “square wave” mix.

3. Really pay attention to your low mids. Clarity is often a problem on YouTube videos. Obviously some of this comes from the conversion itself, but excessive low mid energy will just add fuel to the fire. At the same time, make sure you have carefully mixed the high end of the spectrum. Too much will add more of that unmistakable “internet streaming high-end garbage” (that will inevitably happen n places regardless).

Now I will show you an example here. I’ll be using some live videos of an artist named Chip Christy. (I am actually playing piano on these too). We recorded everything to a laptop with a MOTU 896. Piano is mic’ed in stereo with u87′s, vocals are on an AKG 414, guitar was taken DI as well as an SM81 out front.

First, check out this audio. This is an mp3 bounce of the piano for the beginning of the “Hit the Ground” video. Compare this to how the piano sounds in the embedded video below. It is much different, but it definitely doesn’t sound bad on YouTube.

Hit the Ground piano intro (mp3)

When I mixed these songs down, I mixed mostly in mono at low volume, since I knew these were being done specifically for YouTube. If you are mixing a band’s studio CD, you may even consider doing two different mixes if they will be making youtube videos.

Chip Christy – Hit the Ground (Live Acoustic) <- this one has the piano audio I referenced above

::This is basically the end of the article, but to thank Chip for letting us use him as an example, here is another video and a link to his myspace if you are interested::

This is Chip’s cover of Tupac’s “Thugz Mansion”

Chip’s Myspace Page

C

The Studio Files