Pro Tools All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies^®

by Jeff Strong

• ISBN13: 9780764557149
• ISBN10: 0764557149
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: For Dummies
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Shows musicians and home recording enthusiasts how to get up and running with Pro Tools, the leading software for professional music recording Features minibooks on recording basics, PC and recording hardware, MIDI, editing, mixing, mastering, synchronization, and advanced Pro Tools use Offers information on the hot-selling Digi002, Digi001, and Mbox packages for home recording buffs Provides more complete information than other books, including basic tips on the recording process Written by a professional musician who has been a touring and studio drummer as well as a sound and recording engineer

Author Biography

Jeff Strong has been a professional musician and recording engineer for thirty years

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 1
Not-So-Foolish Assumptions	p. 2
How This Book Is Organized	p. 2
Icons Used in This Book	p. 5
Where to Go from Here	p. 5
Home Recording Basics	p. 7
Discovering What You Need	p. 9
Eyeing the Big Picture	p. 9
Focusing on the Details	p. 9
Meeting the Mixer	p. 14
Recognizing the Recorder	p. 16
Signing On to Signal Processors	p. 21
Mastering Media	p. 28
Getting Connected: Setting Up Your Studio	p. 31
Making Connections	p. 31
Working Efficiently	p. 38
Optimizing Your Room	p. 41
Meeting the Mixing Board	p. 51
Meeting the Many Mixer Types	p. 51
Understanding Mixer Basics	p. 55
Routing/Busing	p. 61
Output Jacks	p. 65
Patch Bay	p. 67
MIDI and Electronic Instruments	p. 69
Meeting MIDI	p. 70
Getting Started with MIDI	p. 76
Understanding Microphones	p. 85
Meeting the Many Microphone Types	p. 85
Buying the Right Microphone for You	p. 94
Caring for Your Microphones	p. 103
Getting Started Using Pro Tools	p. 107
Configuring Your Computer	p. 109
Using Pro Tools on a Mac	p. 109
Using Pro Tools on a PC	p. 115
Keeping Bugs at Bay: Good Habits To Get Into	p. 123
Setting Up Your Hardware	p. 127
Mbox	p. 128
Digi 001	p. 132
Digi 002 Rack	p. 135
Digi 002	p. 138
Examining Software Basics	p. 145
Keeping Software Straight	p. 145
Getting Set Up	p. 147
Dealing with Sessions	p. 152
Getting to know Audio and MIDI Files	p. 159
Understanding the Pro Tools Windows	p. 163
Tackling the Transport Window	p. 163
Examining the Edit Window	p. 171
Managing the Mix Window	p. 187
Importing and Exporting Files	p. 197
Importing into a Session	p. 197
Exporting from a Session	p. 208
Managing Files	p. 213
Recording Audio	p. 217
Taking Care of Tracks	p. 219
Understanding Tracks in Pro Tools	p. 219
Setting Up Tracks	p. 220
Altering Your View of Tracks	p. 223
Grouping Tracks	p. 228
Soloing and Muting	p. 233
Managing Track Voices	p. 233
Miking: Getting a Great Source Sound	p. 237
Tracing Typical Microphone Techniques	p. 237
Taming Transients	p. 245
Setting Up Your Mics: Some Suggestions	p. 248
Preparing to Record	p. 267
Recognizing Record Modes	p. 267
Dealing with Disk Allocation	p. 270
Enabling Recording	p. 272
Setting Levels	p. 275
Setting a Record Range	p. 276
Monitoring Your Tracks	p. 277
Creating a Click Track	p. 281
Recording Audio	p. 289
Recording Tracks	p. 289
Playing Back Your Tracks	p. 295
Doing Additional Takes	p. 299
Getting Rid of Unwanted Takes	p. 311
Editing Audio	p. 315
Audio Editing Basics	p. 317
Understanding Pro Tools Editing	p. 317
Getting to Know Region types	p. 318
Viewing Regions	p. 320
Understanding Edit Modes	p. 327
Working (Okay, Playing) with Playlists	p. 331
Using the Audio Regions list	p. 333
Managing undos	p. 336
Selecting Material to Edit	p. 339
Selecting Track Material	p. 339
Making Changes to Your Selection	p. 345
Managing Memory Locations	p. 350
Playing Selected Material	p. 362
Getting into Editing	p. 365
Editing Regions	p. 365
Examining Edit Commands	p. 387
Adding to Your Editing Palette	p. 393
Signing On to the Smart Tool	p. 393
Perusing the Pencil Tool	p. 398
Silencing Selections	p. 400
Performing Fades and Crossfades	p. 404
Cleaning Up Your Session	p. 414
Managing MIDI	p. 417
Preparing to Record MIDI	p. 419
Setting Up Your MIDI Devices	p. 419
Getting Ready to Record	p. 428
Recording MIDI	p. 435
Recording MIDI performances	p. 435
Playing Back Your Tracks	p. 438
Getting Rid of Unwanted Takes	p. 440
Overdubbing MIDI Performances	p. 442
Recording System-Exclusive Data	p. 449
Editing MIDI Data	p. 451
Working with MIDI Tracks	p. 451
Dealing with Note Chasing	p. 456
Editing MIDI in the Edit Window	p. 457
Exploring MIDI Events	p. 470
Performing MIDI Operations	p. 479
Getting Used to the MIDI Operations Menu	p. 479
Performing MIDI Operations	p. 480
Mixing in Pro Tools	p. 493
Mixing Basics	p. 495
Understanding Mixing	p. 495
Managing Levels as You Work	p. 496
Getting Started Mixing Your Song	p. 497
Mixing In Pro Tools	p. 498
Using the Stereo Field	p. 500
Adjusting Levels: Enhancing the Emotion of the Song	p. 503
Tuning Your Ears	p. 506
Setting Up Your Mix	p. 509
Revisiting the Mix Window	p. 509
Getting to Know Signal Flow	p. 511
Rounding Out Your Routing	p. 512
Accessing Output Windows	p. 520
Playing with Plug-ins	p. 524
Processing with External Effects	p. 530
Using Equalization	p. 535
Exploring Equalization	p. 535
Dialing in EQ	p. 536
Equalizing Your Tracks	p. 540
Digging into Dynamics Processors	p. 547
Connecting Dynamics Processors	p. 547
Introducing Compressors	p. 548
Looking into Limiters	p. 554
Introducing Gates	p. 556
Examining the Expander	p. 557
Keying into External Keys	p. 559
Singling out Signal Processors	p. 563
Routing Your Effects	p. 564
Rolling out the Reverb	p. 566
Detailing Delay	p. 569
Creating Chorus Effects	p. 571
Automating Your Mix	p. 573
Understanding Automation	p. 573
Accessing Automation Modes	p. 574
Setting Automation Preferences	p. 576
Enabling Automation	p. 578
Writing Automation	p. 580
Viewing Automation	p. 583
Drawing Automation	p. 583
Thinning Automation	p. 585
Editing Automation Data	p. 586
Making Your Mix	p. 591
Submixing by Recording to Tracks	p. 591
Mixing In-the-Box	p. 593
Using an External Master Deck	p. 596
Mastering with Pro Tools	p. 597
Mastering Basics	p. 599
Demystifying Mastering	p. 599
Getting Ready to Master	p. 601
Paying a Pro or Doing It Yourself	p. 602
Hiring a Professional Mastering Engineer	p. 603
Mastering Your Music	p. 605
Considering General Guidelines	p. 605
Setting up a Mastering Session	p. 606
Optimizing Dynamics	p. 608
Perfecting Tonal Balance	p. 610
Balancing Levels	p. 612
Mastering Your Mix	p. 613
Sequencing Your Songs	p. 617
Getting Your Music out to the Masses	p. 619
Putting Your Music on CD	p. 621
Getting into CD Burning	p. 621
Purchasing CD-Rs	p. 622
Recording Your Music to CD-R	p. 622
Making Multiple Copies	p. 626
Promoting Your Music	p. 630
Getting Your Music on the Internet	p. 633
Understanding MP3	p. 633
Creating MP3 Files	p. 638
Hosting Your Music	p. 641
Providing Your Music Online	p. 645
Selling Your CDs	p. 647
Promoting Your Music	p. 648
Index	p. 651
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