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Digidesign
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard
Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA
tel: 650·731·6300
fax: 650·731·6399
International Offices
Visit the Digidesign Web site
for contact information
Web Site
www.digidesign.com
Copyright If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the
This guide is copyrighted ©2003 by Digidesign, a division of equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try and correct
Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights the interference by one or more of the following measures:
reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be • Reorient or locate the receiving antenna.
duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of • Increase the separation between the equipment and
Digidesign. receiver.
DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or • Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology, from that to which the receiver is connected.
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective • Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician
owners. for help.
All features and specifications subject to change without Any modifications to the unit, unless expressly approved by
notice. Digidesign, could void the user's authority to operate the
PN 932011595-00 REV A 06/03 equipment.
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
Canadian Compliance Statement:
We Digidesign,
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 200 This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-
003.
Daly City, CA 94014 USA
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme
tel: 650-731-6300 NMB-003 du Canada.
declare under our sole responsibility that the product
Mbox
Australian Compliance
complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules.
Current Consumption 500mA
Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device
must accept any interference received, including interference
that may cause undesired operation.
Contents iii
Making Signal Connections to Mbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Connecting a Recorder for Mixdowns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
MIDI Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
iv Getting Started with Mbox
chapter 1
Welcome to Mbox
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and Although Pro Tools LE will let you record to
provide support for hardware and software it your system drive, this is generally not recom-
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesign- mended. Recording and playback on system
qualified computers, operating systems, hard hard drives results in lower track counts and
drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest fewer plug-ins.
compatibility information on the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato). Hard Drive Storage Space
Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolu-
Hard Drive Configuration and tion at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approxi-
Maintenance mately 5 MB of hard disk space per minute.
It is recommended that you start with a newly The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution
initialized audio drive. You should also periodi- require about 7.5 MB per minute. Table 2 lists
cally defragment your audio drive to ensure the required drive space for certain track num-
continued system performance. bers and track lengths, to help you estimate
your hard disk usage.
Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks
Windows Configuration
3 Under System Tools, choose Device Manager. 2 In Classic View, double-click the Power Op-
4 In the Device Manager window, double-click tions Control Panel, then click the Power
IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click Schemes tab.
the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard – or –
drive.
In Category view, click Performance and Main-
5 Click the Advanced Settings tab. tenance, then click Power Options, then click
6 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to the Power Scheme tab.
“DMA if available,” and click OK. 3 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select
Always On.
In most cases, this will already be set correctly as
Windows XP will detect and activate DMA 4 Click OK.
mode by default.
This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
7 Repeat steps 4–6 for any additional IDE Chan- and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.
nels.
4 Click Effects.
9 Click Quit when prompted to install Quick- If your computer won’t startup after install-
Time (you will install QuickTime later). ing QuickTime, use Add/Remove Programs
to remove Pro Tools LE and QuickTime,
10 Restart your computer. then repeat the installation process in “In-
stalling Pro Tools LE and Mbox” on
If the USB LED on the front panel of the
page 10.
Mbox does not illuminate after installation,
try unplugging the USB cable from the
Mbox USB port, and plugging it back in. If Updating Mbox Firmware
the USB LED still does not illuminate, shut Firmware version 2.0 or later is required to use
down the computer, disconnect Mbox and Mbox on Windows XP.
start the computer. Once the computer has
fully restarted, reconnect Mbox. Before you update Mbox firmware,
Pro Tools LE software must be installed
Installing QuickTime and Mbox connected to your computer.
QuickTime 5 or later is required for video play- To Update the firmware on Mbox:
back with Pro Tools LE if you plan to include
1 Make sure Pro Tools is installed and the Mbox
movie files in your sessions. Installing the latest
is connected to the computer.
version of QuickTime for Windows is highly rec-
ommended (available from www.apple.com). Be 2 Double-click on MboxFirmwareUpdater.exe.
sure to install the “Recommended” install of In Local Disk (C):\ Program Files\Digidesign\
QuickTime or Pro Tools will not handle Quick- Pro Tools\Pro Tools Utilities.)
Time video correctly.
3 To check the firmware version currently on
Mbox, click the Start button in the Mbox Firm-
To install QuickTime: ware Update window.
1 Locate the QuickTime Installer on your
4 To update the firmware version on the Mbox,
Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM (located in the
click the Start button in the Mbox Firmware Up-
Additional Files folder). Follow the on-screen in-
date window.
structions to complete the QuickTime installa-
tion process.
6 Click OK to quit the MacOpener Driver Pref- 6 Click OK to remove Pro Tools LE.
erences.
3 Click OK.
In most cases, the default settings for your sys-
tem provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large CPU Usage Limit
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro-
Hardware Buffer Size cessing tasks.
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) con- ◆ Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-
trols the size of the hardware cache used to han- fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-inten-
dle host processing tasks such as Real-Time Au- sive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
dioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins. when you are experiencing slow system re-
sponse, or when running other applications at
◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce
the same time as Pro Tools.
monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input. ◆ Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate
more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more audio processing and effects, and are use-
more real-time plug-ins.
ful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen responses on slower computers.
In addition to causing slower screen re-
sponse and monitoring latency, higher ◆ With Pro Tools 6.x, the maximum CPU Usage
Hardware Buffer Size settings can affect the Limit is 85 percent for single-processor comput-
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data, ers, and 99 percent for multi-processor comput-
and timing for MIDI tracks. ers. (The 99 percent setting dedicates one entire
processor to Pro Tools.)
3 Click OK.
Default Sample Rate
DAE Playback Buffer Size The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the (This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk dialog only when no session is open.)
buffers, which affects system performance.
◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can You can change the sample rate when creat-
improve playback and recording initiation ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
speed. However, a lower setting can make it dif- different sample rate in the New Session di-
ficult for slower hard drives to play or record alog. (Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide
tracks reliably. for details.)
◆ Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can To change the default Sample Rate:
allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
1 Make sure that no Pro Tools is session open.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can 2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
also cause a time lag to occur when you are ed-
iting during playback.
4 Click OK.
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you Your digital input device must be connected
to configure the two inputs on Mbox to receive and powered on for Pro Tools to synchro-
analog or digital signals. nize to it. If your input device is not powered
on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal.
To select the Channel 1–2 input format for Mbox:
Configuring I/O Setup
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
Using the I/O Setup dialog, you can label
2 Choose the Channel 1–2 Input format by do-
Pro Tools LE input, output, insert, and bus sig-
ing one of the following:
nal paths. The I/O Setup dialog provides a graph-
• Choose Analog if you are sending a micro-
ical representation of the inputs, outputs, and
phone, line, or instrument signal through
signal routing of the Mbox.
the 1/4” TRS or XLR connectors on Mbox.
– or – Pro Tools LE has default I/O Setup settings that
will get you started. Use the I/O Setup dialog
• Choose S/PDIF if you are sending signal
only if you want to rename the default I/O
from a digital device to the S/PDIF input on
paths.
Mbox. T
Macintosh Configuration
The following settings ensure optimum perfor- “Pro Tools,” and click OK.
mance and compatibility for systems running 7 Click Restart to restart your computer.
Mac OS 9.
8 Proceed to “Installing Pro Tools on Mac OS 9”
1 In the Memory Control Panel, do the follow- Be sure to create your Pro Tools extension
ing: set before installing Pro Tools LE. After you
• Set Virtual Memory to Off. install Pro Tools, a number of Digidesign
• Set the RAM Disk to Off. extensions will be added to the new
“Pro Tools” Extension Set. Be sure this
• Set the Disk Cache to a Custom Setting of
“Pro Tools” Extension Set is activated
512K.
whenever you use Pro Tools.
2 In the Energy Saver Control Panel, set the “in-
active” time to Never.
3 If you are installing Pro Tools on a Macintosh Hard Drive Configuration and
PowerBook, click the Advanced Settings tab in Maintenance
the Energy Saver Control Panel, and turn off
It is recommended that you start with a newly
Processor Cycling.
initialized audio drive. You should also periodi-
4 In the Appearance Control Panel, do the fol- cally defragment your audio drive to ensure
lowing: continued system performance.
• Click the Fonts tab and set the Large Sys-
If you are using a SCSI hard drive, you can ini-
tem Font to Chicago. In addition, deselect
tialize your drive with the utility software
“Smooth all fonts on screen.”
named ExpressStripe (Mac OS X) or ExpressPro-
• Click the Sound tab and select None from
Tools (Mac OS 9) from ATTO, included on the
the Sound Track pop-up menu.
Pro Tools LE Installer CD-ROM. If you are using
an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard drive, initialize
your drive with the utility named Disk Utility
(Mac OS X) or Drive Setup (Mac OS 9), included
with your Apple System software.
5 When installation is complete, do one of the 2 Open the OMS Installer folder and double-
following: click the OMS installer.
• Click Quit and install OMS (see “Installing
3 At the Install window, select the Easy Install
OMS” on page 20) if it is not already in-
option, and set the Install Location to your
stalled on your system.
Startup hard drive. Click Install.
– or –
4 Follow the on-screen installation instructions.
• Click Restart.
5 When installation is complete, click Restart.
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
the audio buffer size, in samples. down screen responses on slower computers.
To change the CPU Usage Limit: 2 Choose File > Set Playback Buffer Size.
3 Click OK.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size in The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
Pro Tools 6.x: sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
dialog only when no session is open.)
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. You can change the sample rate when creat-
ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
3 Click OK. different sample rate in the New Session di-
alog. (See “Starting a Session” on page 37.)
3 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate Internal If you are recording an analog signal di-
pop-up menu. rectly into Mbox, you will usually use the
4 Click OK. Pro Tools Internal clock source. The Clock
Source automatically changes to Internal when
you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to Analog.
3 Click OK.
This chapter explains how to connect your Mbox to a monitoring system, a digital recorder, and to
audio sources for recording.
Your studio setup will differ depending on the equipment in your studio. The following illustrations
show two possible setups.
monitor
outputs
mixer
microphone
USB
cable
Mbox
FireWire instrument
drive
headphones
computer
display
Figure 1. Mbox micro studio configuration running Pro Tools LE on a desktop computer
Mbox
instrument
FireWire
drive
p
to
Laptop
lap headphones
Figure 2. Mbox micro studio configuration running Pro Tools LE on a laptop computer
48V LED
48V LED
This LED, when lit, indicates that 48V phantom
Source
Selector power is active on the Mic/Line inputs. These
CH 1
inputs provide phantom power for micro-
Peak
Gain
LED phones that require it to operate. Phantom
power is activated by the switch labeled 48V on
Source the top of the rear panel of Mbox.
Selector
CH 2
Peak About Phantom Power
LED
Gain
Dynamic microphones (such as a Shure SM57)
S/PDIF USB do not require phantom power to operate, but
LED LED
are not harmed by it. Most condenser micro-
Mix (Ratio) phones (like an AKG C3000) do require phan-
tom power to operate.
Mono
Although phantom power can be used
Headphone safely with most microphones, it is possible
Gain
to damage some ribbon microphones with
Headphone it. Always turn off phantom power and
Output
wait at least ten seconds before connecting
or disconnecting a ribbon microphone.
Figure 3. Mbox front panel
If you are not sure about the phantom power re-
quirements for your microphone, consult your
microphone’s documentation or contact the
manufacturer.
Source Selector
These switches select among three types of in-
puts:
• Mic (microphone) for XLR inputs
• Line for line level signals on TRS or TS inputs
• Inst (instrument) for other 1/4=inch TRS or TS
connections
USB LED
Mono Switch
The USB LED indicates that the Mbox driver has
The Mono switch sums and centers the input
initiated the unit for playback. Once the USB
signals being monitored, but has no effect on
light is on, audio can pass in or out of the sys-
Pro Tools playback monitoring or on the main
tem.
outputs. This is useful when you are recording a
mono input while listening to stereo playback,
S/PDIF LED or for checking the phase relationship of stereo
inputs.
This LED indicates that channels 1 and 2 are set
to receive digital input rather than analog input.
Monitoring while Overdubbing
See “The S/PDIF in and out ports are unbalanced
two-conductor phono (RCA) connectors that By centering input signals, as opposed to pan-
utilize a full 24-bit, two-channel digital data ning them hard left and right in the Headphone
stream.” on page 32. outputs, you can create a more focused monitor
mix to help minimize distractions while over-
dubbing.
Mix (Ratio) Control
Mbox gives you the ability to monitor your an- In situations where you are monitoring stereo
alog input signals while recording, without the microphones, stereo synthesizers, or any source
delay incurred by A/D/A converters and host- pairs with a comfortable balance, you will prob-
based processing. ably not want to use the Mono switch.
placement.
Inserts
Headphone Gain
The headphone gain control adjusts the output
level of the front and rear Headphone ports,
Source 2
which output the signal that is routed to Out- (analog
input 2)
puts 1–2 in Pro Tools LE, and mirrors the Line
Outputs.
Source 1
(analog
Front Panel Headphone Output input 1)
The connectors are TRS ports; unbalanced TS puts on the back of Mbox to the appropriate in-
connectors are also supported. puts on your mixer, power amp, or powered
speakers.
You cannot monitor Pro Tools audio
through speakers connected to your com-
puter. To monitor audio, connect head-
phones, powered speakers, or an external
amplifier to your Mbox.
To connect headphones:
1 Connect headphones to the Headphone port
on the Mbox. The Headphone output on the
front accepts a 1/8-inch connector, and the
Headphone output on the rear panel accepts a
stereo 1/4-inch TRS connector.
Session Basics
Pro Tools LE projects are created and saved as
sessions. Sessions store all tracks, audio, MIDI,
and other session information. Audio and fade
files are stored in folders within the session
folder.
New Session dialog
Transport Provides standard transport controls of the Edit window (Bars:Beats, Minutes:Sec-
for Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and onds, or Samples).
Record. The Transport window can also show
Counter and MIDI Control displays.
Rulers
Tracks
Click plug-in
Click Parameters
Tempo/Meter Change window
MIDI In LED Illuminates each time the Click
3 Enter the BPM value you will use for the ses-
plug-in receives a click message from the
sion and set the Location to 1|1|000 (so the in- Pro Tools application, indicating the click
serted tempo event replaces the default tempo). tempo.
4 To base the BPM value on a different note
Accented Controls the output level of the ac-
value (such as an eighth-note rather than the
cent beat (beat 1 of each bar) of the audio click.
default quarter-note), select a note value.
The Note, Velocity, Duration, and Output 3 Select the desired MIDI sound source from the
options in this dialog are for use with MIDI Output pop-up menu and click OK.
instrument-based clicks and do not affect 4 During recording or playback, you can turn
the Click plug-in. the Click on or off with the Metronome button
in the MIDI Controls display of the Transport
window.
Metronome
Tempo Controls
Click and Tempo Controls in the Transport window
Saving Sessions
As you build a session by adding tracks and
changing session controls, you will want to save
your work. Pro Tools provides three ways to save
Click Options dialog sessions.
To save a session:
Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
more information on configuring Click op- ■ Choose File > Save Session, Save Session As, or
5 Begin playback. A click is generated according Save Session Saves the currently open session
to the tempo and meter of the current session file, leaving it open for you to continue work-
and the settings in the Click Options dialog. ing.
The System Usage window displays information and select view options.
on CPU load, DSP usage, and (on Macintosh sys-
tems only) overall disk performance, so you can In standard view, the Transport window pro-
gauge your system’s processing capacity. vides Play, Stop, and other standard transport
controls. The Expanded Transport window pro-
vides pre- and post-roll, start, end, and length
indicators for Timeline selection, as well as the
Transport Master selector.
Selector tool
Conductor Meter
2 Choose settings for the memory location and track height from the pop-up menu.
click OK.
You can apply many commands, including
track height selection, to more than just a
single track. Hold down the Alt key (Win-
dows) or Option key (Macintosh) while per-
forming an operation to apply it to all
tracks. Hold down both the Shift and Alt
keys (Windows) or Shift and Option keys
(Macintosh) while performing an operation
to apply it to all selected tracks.
Inserts
Sends
Input
Output
Automation mode
Pan sliders
Solo Mute
Record Voice Selector
Enable
Open Output window
Level meter
Audio Aux MIDI Master
track Input track Fader
Audio Tracks
Audio Track
Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Fad-
ers share many identical controls. Master Faders
Timeline Rulers and a stereo audio track in the Edit provide all the same features as audio tracks and
window Auxiliary Inputs, with the following exceptions:
MIDI Tracks
Importing Audio
MIDI tracks provide volume, solo, and mute, in
addition to MIDI input, output, channel, and Pro Tools LE lets you import existing audio files
program (patch) controls. MIDI volume, mute, from disk. On Macintosh systems, you can also
and pan can also be automated using Pro Tools import tracks from an audio CD. This is very
automation features (see “Mix Automation” on useful if you have audio files already recorded to
page 57 for more information). disk or if you are working with CD-based sample
libraries that you want to use in a new session.
All regions that are recorded, imported, or cre- files and regions to new audio tracks (they will
ated by editing appear in the Audio and MIDI also appear as regions in the Audio Regions List).
Regions Lists. Regions can be dragged from ei-
– or –
ther list to tracks and arranged in any order. Au-
dio regions can also be auditioned from the Re- ■ Choose Import Audio from the Audio Regions
gions Lists by Option-clicking the audio region List pop-up menu to import files and regions to
name. The Regions List pop-up menus provide the Audio Regions List only.
features for managing regions and files (such as
sorting, selecting, importing, or exporting files). For more information on importing audio
into sessions, refer to the Pro Tools Refer-
Drag border to resize Click list names ence Guide.
width of Regions Lists for pop-up menus
To import a CD audio track (Pro Tools 6.x):
1 Insert an audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.
Click to hide Regions Lists Pro Tools converts the CD audio track to the ses-
Audio and MIDI Regions Lists sion’s audio file format, bit depth, and sample
rate, and saves it on your hard drive.
4 In the Save dialog, click Options. Pro Tools converts the audio track to your ses-
sion’s sample rate and bit resolution and im-
5 In the Options dialog, select the sample rate, ports the selected audio tracks into the Audio
bit resolution, and channel format (mono or Regions List. From there you can drag the re-
stereo) for the imported audio. gions to existing tracks.
Basic Recording
This section describes how to record audio and
MIDI into Pro Tools LE.
6 At the bottom of the Options dialog, set the 2 Create a new track to record on by choosing
range of the CD track to be imported by adjust- File > New Track. Specify 1 Mono Audio Track
ing the Start and End times. and click Create.
4 You can assign a default program change to 5 Play your MIDI instrument.
the track by clicking on the Program button in 6 When you have finished recording, click Stop
the Mix window and making the necessary se- in the Transport window, or press the Spacebar.
lections for program and bank select, and then The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
clicking Done. Default program changes are region on the track in the Edit window, as well
sent when playing a track. as in the MIDI Regions List.
5 In the Mix Window, record-enable the MIDI
track. To play back a recorded MIDI track:
6 Make sure MIDI > MIDI Thru is selected, then 1 Click the Record Enable button to take the
play some notes on your MIDI controller. The MIDI track out of Record mode.
MIDI instrument assigned to the track should 2 In the Transport window, click Return To Zero
sound, and the track’s meters should register to play back from the beginning of the track.
MIDI activity. You can also play back according to a selection
or from the cursor location in the Edit window.
To configure an Auxiliary Input for MIDI • Create final tracks using selections from mul-
monitoring: tiple takes (also known as comp tracks).
2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono Pro Tools LE has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot,
or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create. Slip, and Grid. The Edit mode is selected by
clicking the corresponding button in the upper
3 Click the Input selector of the Auxiliary Input left of the Edit window.
channel and choose the input to which your
MIDI instrument is connected.
Pro Tools LE has seven Edit tools: Zoomer, Trim- After recording an audio track, you will have an
mer, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, Pencil, and audio region on that track. If there is some si-
Smart Tool. Select an Edit tool by clicking it in lence at the beginning of the region, or there is
the Edit window. The Zoomer, Trimmer, Grab- some extra audio at the end of the region, you
ber, and Pencil tools have multiple modes, can use the Trimmer tool in Slip mode to
which you can select from a pop-up menu when shorten the beginning or end of the region.
you click the tool.
Trimmer Grabber
Selector Scrubber
Audio region
2 Specify the session meter (MIDI > Change Dragging a selection with the Separation Grabber tool
Meter) and tempo (MIDI > Change Tempo).
10 With the new region still selected, choose
3 Select Grid mode. Edit > Repeat.
2 From the Playlist Selector pop-up menu, Pan Pan a track left or right in the mix by drag-
choose Duplicate. ging its Pan slider left or right.
Duplicating a playlist
Signal routing is accomplished by assigning Pro Tools LE provides up to five sends per audio
track inputs and outputs. Audio track inputs can track. A send can be mono or stereo, routing to
be from any hardware input or bus path. Once an output or one of 16 internal bus paths.
recorded, an audio track’s input is its audio file
on disk. Auxiliary Inputs can be any hardware To assign a send on a track:
input or internal bus path. For all types of audio 1 Make sure Sends View is enabled in the Mix
tracks, outputs can be routed to any hardware window (Display > Mix Window Shows > Sends
output or internal bus path. View).
Together, these signal routing features let you 2 Click the Sends button on an audio track and
set up virtually any mixer architecture for your choose a path from the pop-up menu.
projects, including sends and returns for effects
processing and submixing.
Aux Input
input from bus 9–10
To create a return:
Master Fader controlling main outputs
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono
To create a Master Fader:
or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create.
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono
2 Click the Input Selector of the Auxiliary Input
or stereo Master Fader track, then click Create.
and set it to the bus path you assigned to the
sends on the source tracks. 2 In the Mix window, click the Master Fader’s
Output Selector and choose the output path
3 Click the Output Selector of the Auxiliary In-
that you want to control. You can choose either
put and choose an output path.
outputs or internal busses.
Plug-Ins
Plug-ins provide EQ, dynamics, delays, and
many other types of effects processing. Plug-ins
function either in real time or in non-real time.
RTAS plug-ins are nondestructive effects, which
are inserted on tracks to process audio in real Compressor plug-in
time—just like an external hardware processor
(during playback). AudioSuite plug-ins, on the To insert a real-time plug-in on a track:
other hand, are destructive effects that process 1 Make sure the Inserts View is shown in the
and create new audio files on disk in non-real- Mix or Edit window.
time. (AudioSuite plug-ins can also be used non-
destructively, leaving the original, unprocessed 2 Click the Insert Selector on the track and se-
audio file on disk.) lect the plug-in that you want to use.
4 Click Bounce.
structions in “Installing Pro Tools LE and Network adapters, then double-click the Net-
Mbox” on page 10. work Adapter card you want to disable.
– or – • Event log
• Cryptographic services
In Category View, click Performance and Main-
tenance, then click System. • DHCP Client, TCP/IP Net BIOS, and other net-
working-related items (unless the computer
3 Click the Advanced tab.
has no network or internet connection, in
4 Under the Performance section, click the Set- which case these items can be disabled)
tings button.
Norton Ghost is highly recommended, as it
5 Select the Advanced tab. lets you save your system in a working state
and easily revert to that state should you ac-
6 Under the Processor scheduling section, select
cidentally disable anything that your com-
the “Adjust for best performance of background
puter needs.
services” option.
7 Under the Memory Usage section, select the To Disable System Startup Items:
System cache option. 1 From the Start menu, choose Run.
8 Click OK twice. You will need to restart your 2 Type “msconfig” and click OK. The System
computer for the changes to take effect. Configuration Utility opens.
Some startup applications may be consuming 5 Click Restart to restart the computer.
unnecessary CPU resources, and should be
turned off. 6 After restarting your computer, a System Con-
figuration message dialog is displayed. Try
Pro Tools to see if performance has increased be-
fore you uncheck the don't show this message
again box. If performance has not changed, run
“msconfig” and return your computer Selective
Startup back to Normal Startup. Alternatively,
try disabling start up items and non-essential
processes individually.
Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI in- 3 For any MIDI devices connected to the MIDI
terface as generic ports. With Mac OS X, you use interface, click Add Device. A new external de-
Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility to iden- vice icon with the default MIDI keyboard image
tify external MIDI devices connected to your will appear.
MIDI interface and configure your MIDI studio
4 Drag the new device icon to a convenient lo-
for use with Pro Tools.
cation within the window.
To configure your MIDI studio in AMS: 5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI inter-
face by clicking the arrow for the appropriate
1 Launch Audio MIDI Setup (located in Applica-
output port of the device and dragging a con-
tions/Utilities).
nection or “cable” to the input arrow of the cor-
– or – responding port of the MIDI interface.
5 Click OK.
Full-duplex recording and playback of 24- and 2 Double-click the Add or Remove Programs
16-bit audio are supported at sample rates sup- icon.
ported by the hardware and ASIO client soft-
ware used. 3 From the Currently installed programs list, se-
lect your version of Pro Tools.
Device
The Device Type is always set to your installed
Pro Tools hardware.
Advanced Button
The Advanced button opens the Hardware Setup
dialog for your Digidesign system.
Pro Tools LE on Mac OS 9 requires Open Music To configure a New Studio Setup in OMS:
System (OMS), which is included on the
1 Launch the OMS Setup application. If OMS
Pro Tools Installer CD.
has not yet been configured, you’ll be prompted
OMS has the following capabilities: to configure a New Studio Setup. Click OK.
• Keeps track of which MIDI devices you are us- 2 OMS prompts you to select the Modem or
ing, how they are connected, and which Printer port to search for OMS drivers. If you are
patches they are using using a USB-based MIDI Interface, leave both
ports unchecked. Click Search.
• Enables MIDI hardware to communicate with
your music applications
• Provides timing services and inter-application
communication
The following sections provide basic instruc- Options for OMS Driver Search
tions for configuring OMS. For more detailed in-
OMS searches for and displays any detected
formation, refer to the electronic PDF version of
OMS drivers and interfaces. If your interface is
the OMS Guide installed with Pro Tools.
not detected, click Troubleshoot. Once your in-
terface is detected, you are prompted to search
Configuring a New Studio Setup for MIDI instruments connected to it.
Before configuring OMS, make sure that your 3 Click OK to search for MIDI devices connected
MIDI interfaces are connected to the computer, to your MIDI interface. To be detected, the de-
and that all devices connected to its MIDI ports vice must be turned on with both of its MIDI
are turned on. ports connected to your MIDI interface.
If you are running Mac OS 9 and plan to use To use your Digidesign hardware with Apple Sound
your Digidesign hardware with Apple Sound Manager:
Manager-compatible applications, you will need 1 From the Apple menu, choose Control
to install the Digidesign Control Panel. Panels > Sound.
■ Run the Pro Tools LE Installer and select the 3 Select Digidesign, and close the Sound Con-
Digidesign Control Panel option. (See “Install- trol Panel.
ing Pro Tools LE” on page 19.) 4 When you plan to use Pro Tools again, change
the Output back to “Built-In” before you launch
the Pro Tools application.
Numerics C
32K clusters 9 channel strip controls
Mute 53
A Pan 53
Solo 53
AMS (Audio MIDI Setup) 61
Volume 53
configuring MIDI devices in 62
click 40
Apple Sound Manager 71
Click plug-in
ASIO driver 12, 65
Accented parameter 39
audio Unaccented parameter 39
analog 34
Clock Source 16, 24
editing 50
importing 46, 47 cluster size 9
monitoring 33 CPU Usage Limit 22
routing 47, 54
audio connections D
headphones 33 DAE Playback Buffer Size 23
home stereo 33 defragment
self-powered monitors 33 Windows 10
Audio Regions List 46 Digidesign Control Panel 71
audio tracks 44, 45 configuring 71
authorization code installing 71
Windows 13 Disk Cleanup 10
authorizing Pro Tools 21 DMA 7
automation 57
creating 57 E
Auxiliary Inputs 44, 45, 50, 54 Edit mode buttons 50
Edit modes 50
B Grid 50
Bounce to Disk command 57 selecting 50
Shuffle 50
Slip 50
Spot 50
Index 73
Edit tools 51 I
Grabber 51 I/O Setup
Pencil 51 Macintosh configuration 16, 25
Scrubber 51 Windows configuration 16
Selector 51 importing audio 46, 47
Smart Tool 51
indicators
Trimmer 51
peak level 30
Zoomer 51
phantom power 29
Edit window 38 S/PDIF input 30
editing 50 USB connection 30
editing regions 51 Input Format 24
input gain 30
F setting 48
fade files 37 inputs
FAT32 9 analog 32
firmware 11 digital 32
inserts 32
analog on Mbox 34
G
plug-ins 56
gain
headphones 31
input 30 K
Grabber tool 51 key commands 4
Grid mode 50
L
H latency
hard drive see monitoring
and Macintosh system drive 19
and Windows system drive 10 M
hard drives MacOpener 12
cluster size 9 Master Faders 44, 45, 55
formatting 18 creating 55
maintenance 10 Mbox
space requirements 3 features 1
Windows maintenance 10 front panel 29
Hardware Buffer Size 22 rear panel 31
hardware installation 7 memory locations 43, 44
USB 10 defining 43
headphones recalling 43
connecting 33 MIDI
gain control 31 connections 35
output editing 50
front panel 31 monitoring 50
rear panel 31 MIDI click 40
HFS 12 MIDI controls 39, 40, 42
Hibernate 8 MIDI Regions List 46
MIDI tracks 44, 46
Index 75
Solo button 53 U
sources USB 10
analog 32, 34 connection indicator 30
connecting 34, 35 port 21
instrument 29
line 29
V
microphone 29
selecting 29 validating Pro Tools 21
Spot mode 50 validating Pro Tools software
Windows configuration 13
submixing 54
Volume fader 53
system requirements
MIDI 35
System settings W
for Windows 7 Windows
system settings 41 required System settings 7
Clock Source 16, 24 System Standby 8
CPU Usage Limit 22 windows 38
DAE Playback Buffer Size 23 Edit window 38
Hardware Buffer Size 22 Mix window 38, 53
I/O Setup 16, 25 Transport window 38, 41
Input Format 24 Windows System Standby 8
Sample Rate 15, 23 Windows XP
System Usage window 41 maintenance 10
Workspace 38
T
tempo 39 Z
setting 39 Zoom presets 44
tempo events 39 recalling 44
track height storing 44
changing 43 Zoomer tool 51
tracks 44 Zooming 43
audio 44, 45
Auxiliary Inputs 44, 45, 54
creating 44
Master Faders 44, 45, 55
MIDI 44, 46
playing back audio 48
playing back MIDI 49
recording audio 48
recording MIDI 49
types 44
Transport
MIDI controls 42
Transport window 38, 41
Trimmer tool 51