here's a weird one...

[jmorris]

Not to repeat but I am brand new to PT,been sonar for years. Bout mbox for laptop for shits and grins to check out protools and to have an easy protable setup if I need to go to someone house to track just 1 or 2 tracks at a time,quicker than packing up onyx 1640 board,anyways....PT works great on my laptop. Bought used 2004 mac g5,1.8 proc,4 gig ram. Loar PT on it fine. Now the weird part. I fireport a tune into it,transfer audio in new session. It seems that for example what was track 18 is not any longer track 18. Like if track 1 was kick...it now isnt and I have no kick drum! I also cant hear all the tracks playing..ay least I dont think I can.It almost like some transfers are repeated...doubled. This make sence?

 

[Joseph Hanna]

Kinda of confusing explanation.

I get tangled when you say "I fireport a tune into it,transfer audio in new session."

Perhaps clarify??

 

[jmorris]

Ha! opps, was in a hurryOk, I use an alesis fireport to import audio tracks into computer.Typically a folder on desktop. Then in pull them into Protools via import audio from dropdown menu in new session.Sorry,I was trying to post original message when firewood delivery guy was knocking on my door.

 

[Joseph Hanna]

Yikes..still very confusing

Are you saying you have a Sonar session that your exporting raw audio tracks to the desktop of another computer?? Then importing those raw files into a new Pro Tools session??

 

[jmorris]

NO no no, totally protools.I just mentioned that I am very experienced with sonar....so ya know that Im not a total knucklehead when working in a daw So, in new protools session,on my used mac g5,when I import audio I dont seem to get all the audio imported.Files being imported from alesis fireport that were recorded on my alesis hd24 hard disc recorder.Now, if I import say 18 tracks from folder stored on my desk top I see 18 tracks in my new session but I believe some are duplicates and when playing back it is like just a stereo mix of all tracks. Hope this explaines it better.

 

[Joseph Hanna]

I see. Well I read a bit about the Alesis Fireport. That's a pretty complex proprietary little system they've got going there.

I find it interesting but I can't find enough info to explain just how the Fireport "wraps" the audio files for export and recognition by other DAWs. Obviously you have "several" choices on the level and extent of export.

I'm sure the answer would be in just how and what you chose to export from the Fireport software as to how it was interpreted in Pro Tools. Really not much you could do in Pro Tools to address the Fireport it's either "import audio files" or "import session data"

Have you tried to drag and drop?

 

[jmorris]

Joseph, interesting. You think it may be an import issue with fireport? Conflict?

 

[Joseph Hanna]

Well....yes I think it's most likely an "export" setting from the Alesis software. It "appears" that the Alesis software consolidates audio upon export. In the case of a hard disk recorder like the Alesis I suspect it creates files with the same "starting" point so they can be imported time aligned in a DAW. Since there is no "meta data" (mixer settings, automation, eq, ect) I'd call that "raw audio files" Pro Tools would have no real way of knowing track 10 is drums or track 1 is vocals........I don't think?!?!

As to what you think might be a stereo composite file. I won't be surprised if the Alsesis software was capable of an export that was indeed a stereo interleaved file.

I give a close read to the manual..probably will shed some light.

I gotta say I am NO Alesis expert and have rarely worked with these things so a better source of info might appear here to correct my assumptions.

 

[jmorris]

Bingo Joseph! I tried importing audio from cd that was from another project and all imported fine, heard all tracks,all acted normal. Good advise. I will check out the fireport and see if there are settings incorrectly configured.Thanks for all your help! Oh, one more thing. When I import audio into a new project,is there a way to get the tracks to go where I want them to go when importing all tracks at once. Example, I can import one track at a time and have them sit where I want such as kick drum track one and snare track two bass gtr say track 8, but when I import all tracks at one time they seem to go where they want then I have to move them.When working in sonar, they go into new project in the order they are highlighted.There must be something Im doing wrong in protools!
Jim

 

[Joseph Hanna]

Well...if I understand the question you're asking about "track assignment" and not time stamping.

If there is a code "fork" that allows a DAW to recognize what track your bass guitar WAS on (bass WAS on track 10 and remains so in Pro Tools) it would have to be written into the files exported FROM the Alesis. In other words that would be up to the Alesis code guys to address what would make Pro Tools recognize that fork. It would NOT be Digi's job to bend to meet the Alesis product.

When working with TWO close ended proprietary systems you'll do well with looking into the way files, data and meta data are handled in both worlds. The key in your world is how well the Alesis software works.

When it relates to Pro Tools I'd wanna know exactly what is being exported and how and if this is a system your going to rely on in the future what exactly are your options.

It's expensive but if the Alesis can export OMFI files (which would include whatever meta data is available) I'd get a software pack called Digitranslator.

 

[jmorris]

I dont believe alesis can handle omf, its its own propreitary digital data. So, I think maybe your complicating the issue Joseph, or maybe Im too simple to understand it In sonar, the order I click on the tracks to be imported corresponds to the track order. In other words ,in sonar if I click on track 1 then track 2 then track 3 and so on, they go into track 1 in sonar, track 2 and then track 3 and so on.Its like the order I click on the tracks determines where they go.When I do the same in protools( having no real clue what Im doing) protools seems to just put the damn waves files in what ever order it pleases

 

[Joseph Hanna]

Import your tracks into the "regions bin" first and then drag them into the session from there OR create a session and drag and drop the files into Pro Tools.

 

[tnjazz]

Not to repeat but I am brand new to PT,been sonar for years. Bout mbox for laptop for shits and grins to check out protools and to have an easy protable setup if I need to go to someone house to track just 1 or 2 tracks at a time,quicker than packing up onyx 1640 board,anyways....PT works great on my laptop. Bought used 2004 mac g5,1.8 proc,4 gig ram. Loar PT on it fine. Now the weird part. I fireport a tune into it,transfer audio in new session. It seems that for example what was track 18 is not any longer track 18. Like if track 1 was kick...it now isnt and I have no kick drum! I also cant hear all the tracks playing..ay least I dont think I can.It almost like some transfers are repeated...doubled. This make sence?

Sometimes the Fireport "misfires". I've had instances where I brought in 24 channels and it turned out to be the same 4 channels repeated 6 times.

I rebooted the Fireport and ran it again, and most of the time it would do it correctly the second time around. For some weird reason it can hiccup from time to time though. I never could find a good reason for it though.

The Alesis software does not compile or interleave tracks. Everything it does is 1:1.

 

[jmorris]

tnjazz, yes that sems to be what mine has done.Repeats same tracks.