ASIO Interface and Windows/PC Audio

This video will show you how to disable your ASIO interface from being the Default Audio Device for Windows, and conversely, how to enable your ASIO interface to be the Default Audio Device for Windows.

I usually suggest that you keep your ASIO interface from being the default sound device for your computer. Meaning, you should only use the ASIO interface to hear sounds coming from your DAW, like Pro Tools, and use the integrated sound system for your PC sounds, like YouTube, SoundCloud, Windows Media Player, ect....

The reason for this is Windows can hold the ASIO driver hostage and prevent you from changing sample rates when creating a new Pro Tools session. This is because Windows needs a defined sample rate to playback audio, and if you are using the same interface/driver for your DAW, then it too will need a defined sample rate for your session, but since Windows has already defined it, you are stuck on the current sample rate.

This video will give you some ideas to try if your interface is not working properly for your DAW. I'm not saying you can't use your ASIO interface for Windows, but in my 9+ years of experience, it's usually best to avoid using your ASIO interface as the default audio device for Windows. There are other ways to use your ASIO device as your Windows sound device that cause less possible problems, such as routing a cable from your PC to an input of your interface.

Of course all ASIO interfaces are different and some ASIO drivers work better than others, but these are steps you will need to know if you are operating an ASIO interface on a Windows PC.

PRO TOOLS - HOW TO COLOR GROUPS AND DEFAULT COLOR COLOR SETTINGS

In this video I'll show you how to color Groups and then we'll look deeper at the Default Color settings.

First open the color palette. Either double-click on a color strip of a track, or go to WINDOW - COLOR PALETTE.

Choose GROUPS from the drop down, select your Group by selecting the radio button next to the name, and choose your color.

To create a Group, select your tracks and press Control+G (WIN) or Command+G (MAC)

Press Control/Command + Shift + G to quickly turn Groups on/off.

Color your Groups to help differentiate between them and speed editing.

Default Color Settings 

In SETUP - PREFERENCES - DISPLAY, you will find the Default Color settings for Tracks and Clips. By setting the default, you could, for example, have tracks, clips, and groups default to the same color. Or, default to different colors. The default settings can help you color a session just the way you want.

Be sure to make use of the DEFAULT and HOLD buttons in the color palette.

When you trash preferences you will need to reset your color options.

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PRO TOOLS - HOW TO COLOR MARKERS AND HOW TO ADD MARKERS

In this video I'll show you how to color markers in Pro Tools. And, if you don’t know how, I'll also show you how to add markers.

First open the color palette. Either double-click on a color strip of a track, or go to WINDOW - COLOR PALETTE.

Choose MARKERS from the drop down, select your Marker, and choose your color.

In SETUP - PREFERENCES - DISPLAY, you will find an option to ALWAYS SHOW MARKER COLORS, make sure that option is selected.

Be sure to make use of the DEFAULT and HOLD buttons in the color palette.

Color your Markers to quickly recognize the sections of your song/session.

When you trash preferences you will need to reset your color options.

Of course, in order to see your Markers and add color, you must have the Marker bar showing.

Add Markers 

To add a Marker, use the ENTER KEY on the NUM Pad keyboard. Or, press the "+" button on the Marker bar. Or, hold START (WIN), CONTROL (MAC), and hover over the Marker bar. You should see a hand with a "+", click the Marker bar to add your marker.

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PRO TOOLS - HOW TO COLOR CLIPS

In this video I'll show you how to color clips in Pro Tools, look at how the color palette works, and go over how our default settings effect clip color in Pro Tools.

First open the color palette. Either double-click on a color strip of a track, or go to WINDOW - COLOR PALETTE.

Choose CLIPS IN TRACKS from the drop down, select your clip, and choose your color. Select contiguous tracks by holding SHIFT. We also take a quick look at how to color CLIPS IN CLIP LIST.

In SETUP - PREFERENCES - DISPLAY, you will find the Default color settings for clips. I go into this option in this video, and expand upon it in another video.

Be sure to make use of the DEFAULT and HOLD buttons in the color palette.

Color your clips to quickly recognize the kind of content you are working on.

When you trash preferences you will need to reset your color options.

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PRO TOOLS - HOW TO COLOR TRACKS

In this video we look at how to color tracks in Pro Tools, and take a look at how the color palette works and how default track color settings effect our default track colors.

First open the color palette. Either double-click on a color strip of a track, or go to WINDOW - COLOR PALETTE.
Choose TRACKS from the drop down, select your tracks, and choose your color. Be sure to active the Color Tracks button in you want to apply the color to the whole track, otherwise the color will just effect the strips at the top and bottom of the track. Adjust saturation and brightness to taste. Select contiguous tracks by holding SHIFT. Select non-contiguous tracks by holding CONTROL (WIN), COMMAND (Mac). Hold ALT to select/deselect all tracks.

In SETUP - PREFERENCES - DISPLAY, you will find the Default color settings for tracks. I go into this option in this video, and expand upon it in other videos.

Be sure to make use of the DEFAULT and HOLD buttons in the color palette.

Color your tracks to quickly recognize the type of tracks you want to work on.

When you trash preferences you will need to reset your color options.

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Pro Studio Basics - Backing up your DAW, Plugins, and Serials

Since everything today is readily available in the cloud, many people fail to backup the installers they need for their DAW, NLE, plugins, ect... While most of the time it's not an issue to re-download an installer, at other times, it is. I have seen many people wanting certain versions of Pro Tools or a plugin that is no longer being hosted by the company. An easy way around this is to always have a backup on-site. This video will give you tips of a backup strategy you may want to employ.

Pro Tools 12 - Set Session Location

Quick video showing how to set where your Session will be recorded to in Pro Tools 12.

PRO TOOLS | FIRST - AAE ERROR -6117 FIX

This video will show you how to fix error -6117 when trying to launch Pro Tools | First on Windows.
This video assumes you already have an ASIO interface or ASIO4ALL.

Behringer B-Control BCF2000 w/Pro Tools 12

The Behringer BCF2000 is a very old control board, but it actually works great with Pro Tools 12. This video will show you how it works!

Pro Tools - How To Change a SESSION (Local) into a PROJECT (Cloud)

This video will show you have to change a SESSION into a PROJECT when using Pro Tools 12.5 and higher.

Change Where Project Files Are Saved On Your Computer

This video will show you how to change where Project files are saved on your computer when using Pro Tools 12.5 and higher.

Pro Tools 12 - Where Are Project (Cloud) Files Saved On Your Computer?

This video will show you where the files are saved when you select a PROJECT (Cloud) in Pro Tools 12.5 and higher.

Pro Tools 12.5 Dashboard - Project or Session

This video goes over the new options in the Dashboard of Pro Tools 12.5

A Cool Trick To Edit Frozen Files in Pro Tools (Track Freeze)

Once you freeze a track in Pro Tools 12.4 (or higher), it creates rendered files of audio. You cannot edit these (much) within the Frozen track in Pro Tools, BUT there is a little trick you can use...

Drag the frozen audio files from your Session Folder>Rendered Files Folder into Pro Tools and now you can edit those tracks/files just like any other audio file in Pro Tools.

Pro Tools 12.4 Track FREEZE Explained

In this video we look at TRACK FREEZE in Pro Tools 12.4 and go over what you can and cannot do to a frozen track. Also, we look at how to freeze/unfreeze tracks, using freeze with Audio Tracks, using freeze with Aux Tracks, and using freeze with Instrument Tracks. We will also go over using Multiple Output Stems from plugins like BFD3 and Kontakt, and how that effects freeze.

http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/Download/Pro-Tools-12-4-Downloads

By using FREEZE we can render all audio/MIDI through all plugins on a track (or up to a certain insert) in order to save resources. Once frozen, the plugins that were included in the freeze will be deactivated/frozen - meaning they will no longer consume resources. You can add more plugins on a frozen track, but you cannot make any changes to frozen plugins unless you unfreeze the track first.

Pro Tools - Fade In/Out with MIDI and Other Automation Tips

This video shows how to make a Fade In or Fade Out on MIDI/Instrument tracks in Pro Tools, plus I cover a bunch of other automation tips.

Drawing a Fade is simple with Audio, but different when using MIDI. Your first option is to Commit or Record your VI to an Audio track and draw your fade in that way.

If you want to stay in the MIDI realm, then you will want to draw in your fade with the Pencil Tool on the Audio Volume automation lane of your Instrument Track or Volume Lane of your AUX Track (depending on how you are hosting your VI's).

You also have the option to Write In the Fade by controlling the fader on your track with WRITE mode enabled.

Pro Tools - Creative Uses for Pan and Volume Automation w/the Pencil Tool

In this video we look at some basic ideas you need to know about automation with the pencil tool in Pro Tools and how we can use these ideas in a creative way.

Pro Tools COMMIT TRACK WITH MIDI - New in PT 12.3

In this video we take a quick look at the new COMMIT feature in Pro Tools 12.3

COMMIT will allow you to quickly render effects/instruments to audio in a fast and efficient way. COMMIT works with Audio and MIDI tracks, however, in this video we focus on the MIDI aspect.

I find this feature to be indispensable and I've only been using 12.3 for 2 days! It's a huge time saver and it works flawlessly. When you are running several virtual instruments in a session, your computer can start to slow down and throw errors. This is a huge problem when you still have much more work to do and you need to add more virtual instruments. In the past when you started getting clicks and pops and you had already maxed out your buffer, you would need to bus your VI's to an audio track and record the audio and then make the VI tracks inactive.

With COMMIT, you can make Pro Tools do all the heavy lifting for you, and it can do it in faster than real time. So this means when your audio starts glitching out on you - simply COMMIT a few tracks and make those VI's INACTIVE, and quickly get back to being creative. As long as you do not delete the Source Tracks, you can always go back later on and make any changes you want to your Virtual Instrument and then COMMIT it again. Or use COMMIT for other types of workflows, like for sampling, backup, session sharing, or if you just like working with audio instead of MIDI.

Pro Tools - Trash Preferences

The very first troubleshooting step in almost every Pro Tools problem is Trashing Preferences. In this video I walk you through the steps on Windows, and then talk about some of the changes that are made when you trash preferences.

Pro Tools - How to create a click track

In this video you learn the basics about creating a click track (metronome) in Pro Tools.

The best way to create a click track is to have Pro Tools auto create one when you create a new session (as shown in the video). Also, we dive a little deeper and look at how to turn ON the click, and discuss the "Count Off" function.