It’s that time again. I’ve got three new questions, all Pro Tools related. (If you have a question, please submit it via the Ask Joe form.) Let’s dive in.
Martin R. wrote:
I have just recently installed Pro Tools 7.3 LE on to my Mac and I have an Iomega hard drive that I was going to use for recording however when I try to change the audio settings from ‘T’ to ‘R’ I get an error message which reads “IOMEGA cannot be designated as an Audio Record volume because it is not a valid audio volume.” Could you tell me what this means and if there is any way to use this hard drive for recording.
Many Thanks
Martin
Hi Martin. If Pro Tools won’t let you change the drive from “T” to “R,” it may be because your drive isn’t compatible. You didn’t mention if it was firewire or USB. USB drives (even USB 2.0) are not supported with Pro Tools. They sometimes work, but they’re not officially supported by Digidesign.
If it’s a firewire drive, it needs to meet the following requirements:
- Firewire 400
- 7200 rpm
- Oxford 911 chipset
Firewire 800 drives can work, but there are additional requirements. You can read all the details on Digidesign’s hard drive requirements pages for both Mac and PC.
Ismael R. wrote:
Hi Joe!
Ismael here. Just a question on ProTools. How do I get rid of all those plug ins popping up every time I start up ProTools?
Thanks!
Hello again, Ismael! What’s happening is that you installed certain “demo” plugins that have all expired. The plugin manufacturers are hoping you’ll buy the full copies. If that’s not the case, then you’ll need to delete these plugins from your system.
They’ll be inside the Digidesign folder on your hard drive. Just delete the ones you don’t want, and those windows will stop popping up every time you launch Pro Tools. I’m not sure exactly where these are on a PC, but here’s a shot of where to find them on a Mac. This is within the Applications folder.
Luis wrote:
Hey Joe I love your set up by the way. I was just wondering how much you spent on getting your whole studio together because am looking on getting something similar. I currently own an Mbox Mini, Rode NT2A etc..nothing big yet and as a sound engineer/artist I mostly focus on vocals and I wanna expand my studio. Im thinking on the Digi 003 maybe later on update to HD but for now is either the Digi 003, or do you think I should get the new Hypercontrol Axiom pro keyboard
which gives me access to faders and my whole Pro tools session (which i think would save me big bucks) and maybe update to a better audio interface like an Mbox 2 or MBox 2 Pro? Any advice???? HELP!!! Please!!! LOL and um I also wanted to ask you if you knew anything about the Avalon 737SP i know its for vocals but what exactly is it, and what exactly does it do??Hope I’m not asking for too much..but thanks anyways Joe. Your doing a great job keep it up.
Hi Luis. First of all, I would only upgrade to the 003 if you really need more inputs, or perhaps if you want to have the fully-functional control surface. I LOVE my 003, but I rarely utilize all of the inputs.
The control surface functionality is really nice, but if you’re working with a set budget, I would focus on things that will make a difference in sound quality before focusing on convenience items like a control surface. If you choose to not go with the 003, the Mbox2 Pro would be a nice alternative. Pair that up with the Axiom or even a Euphonix MC Mix as your control surface, and you’ll be in good shape.
I’m glad you asked about a preamp, because a good pre can make a huge difference in the sound quality of your setup. The Avalon 737SP is a “channel strip,” which means it has a tube preamp, compressor, and EQ onboard. It’s a great unit. Sounds great on vocals and bass. Something like the Focusrite Liquid Channel may be worth considering, though, since it will give you emulations of dozens of different high-quality preamps in one box.
If you get a really nice preamp, then upgrading your microphone would be the next thing I would look at. The Mojave MA200 is an excellent choice for a good all-around tube microphone.
As far as your question about how much to spend? Generally speaking, if you can set aside $5,000, you can get a stellar Mbox-based system.
Hope that helps!
Thanks to everyone for your questions. If you have additional questions or suggestions, leave a comment!
Hi joe I have 003factory conole and want to extend and update preamps I’m looking at focusrite liquid 56 but I’m running on newish iMac with only one FireWire port if I get hub for FireWire can I run 003 and 56 together so I can work in protools and access preamp software?
Hi Jon, no you can’t use any other firewire interfaces with the 003. You should look at something like a PreSonus Digimax.
Sorry but I think you will find that it can be dine I can connect through Adar to the 56 and use it in stand alone I just want to knowif I manage to get a FireWire bus routing both devices whether I can use it off standalone
You may be right, but Pro Tools doesn’t like to have any other firewire audio devices connected to the computer. The Liquid 56 just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s an audio interface, and you won’t be using it as an audio interface. Seems like you’d be paying for lots of features you wouldn’t use.
whats up. I am having trouble finding the virtual instruments ( boom and mini grand) in pro tool 8. I downloaded the program than when I go to multitrack its not there
Hi Kyle. I can’t really say what’s going on here. Are you trying to open them on a stereo instrument track? If you’re trying it on a mono track, they may not show up. If that doesn’t work, I’d contact Digidesign.
Hello joe.. I got a minor problem here.. I have pro tools 8.. The problem is when I cut a piece of an audio file and I want to add and fx just to that one part it simply just tells me that it cannot create a audio file in my hard drive.. What can be the problem
Hey I’ve been doing fine with my pro tools but all of a sudden now. when I want to open sessions my computor just shuts down and restarts. what could be the problem?
Joe,
Is it possible to track in one sample rate and mix in another in Pro tools? So i say, I track at 88.2 and then want the same session to be mixed at 44.1.
Regards,
Abhijit
You’d have to save a new copy of the session at the new sample rate. To be honest, I do everything at 44.1 kHz. The only difference I can notice at the higher sample rate is that it bogs down my CPU and fills up my hard drive. I would think about why you’re using the higher sample rate. Can you hear a difference?
Joe,
No i don’t hear any significance difference. The reason is very stupid, I use external AD converter(Lavry blue), through spdif to my digi 002. And for same strange reason it doesn’t work at 44.1/48, although it works fine at higher sample rates. I have done little troubleshooting and the problem is at digi 002 end, but i haven’t had any luck/success with digidesign guys on this issue, as they say that digidesign products do not warranty anything regarding external converters.
Regards,
Abhijit
Joe it is very strange, In PT 7.4 LE, i can’t seem to find the regions window as demonstrated in your latest video. What is wrong?
Abhijit
Joe,
Another question, do i need additional software for this feature? As i don’t see this option in my regions menu.
Abhijit
Hi Abhijit. This is a standard Pro Tools feature. Check out tomorrow’s video, that should help.
Thanks Joe
A pro tools question, i have heard there is a way to record and create a song without the “bounce” option? How do we do that?
Hi Abhijit. You basically have two options: bounced to disk (BTD) and record to disk (RTD). Record to disk simply involves routing all of the tracks to a single stereo track and actually recording the mix there. There is a lot of debate as to which one is better, but from what I’ve researched, there’s no sonic difference between the two.
Thanks for the question! I’ll probably do a video on this soon.
Thanks for the response. looking fwd to the video…
Joe,
After you record it on stereo track, do you still bounce it disk via the buses which were input of stereo? How do you bounce it?
Abhijit
Sorry Abhijit! I forgot to mention that. Once you’ve recorded to the stereo track, you simply export that audio file. Select the region, then from the Regions list on the right-hand side of the window, click on the menu at the top and select “Export Selected Region as File.” You’ll get a normal dialog box as if you’re doing a bounce, but it doesn’t require a bounce. It just takes a few seconds, and your file is exported.
One important thing to note is that Pro Tools automatically adds dither when you export, whereas you need to manually add it when you bounce.
Great Tips Joe, thanks a lot you really helped me. For upgrading the mic i was thinking about the Neumann TLM 103? what you think? hopefully it would be a good choice. You should make some videos on how to use plugins such as EQ, Compressors, Delays ect..how to use them and when, what would be the right amount and how to get the best results ect..it would be very helpful for beginners.
Great job Joe.
Your the Man!!!
Thanks a lot bro.
The Neumann TLM103 is a fantastic microphone in my opinion. Some engineers don’t think it has air in the high end, but perhaps that’s in contrast to a hotrodded U87. To me, the TLM103 sounded smooth and yet detailed, with more than adequate high end “air” for my taste. It’s expensive for the beginner but well worth the money. You won’t go wrong with it!
The TLM103 is great. I agree with KeyofGrey. It’s a good all-around microphone.
Hey Joe, thanks for the tip on deleting Plug-ins. I was able to get rid of all those obnoxious pop ups.
Great! I’m glad it worked.
I’m willing to bet that Martin’s drive was formatted Fat32 and not HFS or HFS+.
Which is good for compatibility with PCs, but PT won’t record to anything other than HFS/HFS+ on a mac and NTFS on a PC.
Use disk Utility (every mac user should have this often used app in their dock) to format the drive.
Great tips Joe. I’d like to throw the UA Solo 610 into the running for a good preamp that’s affordable. I use a UA 2-610 and I love it, but it’s a little expensive for the under 5g set up. In contrast, the Solo 610 can be had for around 800 dollars. I also use an M-Audio Sputnik tube, and it’s a fantastic mic for a very good price.
Yes! The 610 preamp rocks. I own the Sputnik, too! Great mic, lots of color.