beginner Pro Tools (Free) user question

[pchorman]

Can anyone kindly tell me how to create a mixed down stereo wav file with this tool? According to the manual, an Audio Regions List pop-up menu will allow me to do this; but what do I have to do to see that pop-up menu? The only way I've found around this is to bounce the tracks to a file, which requires me to wait for the whole song to play through. Please tell me there's a better way and tell me how!

By the way, how do you guys tolerate that delay in monitoring? Is it a fact of life, or is there a work-around? I'm using no fancy soundcard, just an SB.

thanks

[VOXVENDOR]

When im done a mix, I just bounce it to disc as a stereo wav...... Probably your best bet....

When im tracking I run the system in Low latency mode.... then I get no "delay"

Joe
(Pro Tools User)

[cordura21]

there's a box in the right of the edit window. When you click on that box title ( I think it is 'Audio') you'll have the popup menu there. There you have the "Export Selected as Files" command.
This will let you export what is recorder, meaning that if you have any realtime effect that is not printed in the track, it won't appear.
Protools doesn't have an option to Bounce to Disk faster than realtime. I talked about this with the guys at Digidesign and they say it's because the quality and some procedures that can't be done in less than real-time. I agree with them that you can't record outboard gear faster than realtime, but for all the rest you can. Digital Performer does, and even Protools Free did, when it was called PowerMix (although at that time there were no real time effects).

On the latency, you can do as Voxvendor said (Select Operations > Low Latency Moni-toring) , or you can decrease the Hardware Buffer Size (Setups->Playback Engine). Lower buffers mean less latency and less processing power. Ar 128 samples it's not a problem for tracking. At higher ones I find it a little annoying whern you track vocals, unless you're Elvis (in that case, where are you living these days?).

Another trick is to have a stero track (2 tracks) where you keep recording the main outputs. That way you 'll have a 'master' inside the session, and you can export it.

Cheers, Andrés

[pchorman]

Thanks to both of you for the tips. Will try those later today.

Let me sneak another question in: is that little VU meter to the left of the tracks the only indication we have of recording level? It's unlabeled, and doesn't even allow me to read the noise floor. Couldn't find any other options - is that all we have to go by?

[cordura21]

yes, and it's the same one that you find in the mix window, only smaller. If you click the number that keeps showing the db's it will reset to the lowest level.

There are plugins that are meters, like the PAZ Analyzers.

The best way to check the noise floor is to record something and then see the recorded wave (you can select to see it smaller or larger if you click on the are on the right of the meter). If you move your mouse around the recorded wave there will be a number changing, which I guess is the number of bits used in that part of the recording, hence it can show you the noise floor.

Another option is to select the recorded wave, and then select the gain plugin from the AudioSuite menu. This plugin has a show peak function. If you select a quiet part and use that function it'll get you somehing similar to the noise floor. Although I don't know if PT Free has this menu.

Cheers, Andrés