DigiZine Winter 2009 by Vudhina Chuchom

9300-61024-00 Rev. A

DIGIZINE Seventeen

Winter/Spring 2009

Editor in Chief Dusty DiMercurio Contributing Editor Elise Malmberg Contributing WRITERS Dan Daley, Joe Gore, Daniel Keller, Rob Kelly, Bill Murphy, James Santiago, Rich Tozzoli, David E. Weiss CREATIVE Director Jason Lakis DESIGN Director Van Chuchom Staff photographerS Gabe Echeverria, Anthony Gordon ADVERTISING MANAGER Amy Strickland artist Relations Anthony Gordon PUBLISHER Paul Foeckler

EDITOR’S NOTE Tag… You’re It The impact that the MP3 and similar Internet-friendly audio file formats have had on the music business is massive. On the distribution side they’ve wreaked total havoc, making it difficult—if not impossible—for artists and labels to continue existing as they once had. At the same time, their simplicity and accessibility has helped artists reach out to a much wider potential fan base. Paid or stolen, good music or bad, crappy sound or not, the MP3 has also helped expose listeners to a broader range of music… music that they might not have ever had access to before. Likewise, musicians today have a more versatile set of influences affecting their sound, making it increasingly difficult for their music to fit within traditionally defined music genres (e.g. rock, pop, funk, soul, blues, jazz, alternative, hip-hop, etc.). This issue’s cover artist, TV On The Radio, is one such example of a band that truly defies categorization. Their super-heavy guitar riffs suggest they lean toward the rockin’ side. But their stompin’ beats make them downright danceable. Arguably, their melodies are catchy enough to hint at being poppy. On their latest album, Dear Science, they’ve even incorporated some bounce and funk into their wall of sound. Yet on their current MySpace Music page, TV On The Radio describe themselves as “A’capella, Surf, Rap.” Go figure. Every artist has been confronted with having to explain what their music sounds like to someone who has not heard it… and often they struggle for an answer. More likely their response will involve picking a few bands who they feel are comparable in style, or who have more heavily influenced their sound. With innumerable artists producing music in their bedrooms these days, listeners have more and more music to sift through to find what suits them. So are traditional music genres as we know them on their way out? If so, how will listeners find music they like? On the flip side, how will you reach your fans? Simple: put yourself in their shoes. Where will they find your music? How might they search for you? What else do they listen to? With more music retail happening online, along with cool Internet radio stations like Pandora and Last.fm, proper tagging—by style and/or similar artist—becomes critical to reaching new ears. The more proactive and smart you are in seeking out your fans, the more likely they’ll be to find you. Then all that you have to worry about is making sure they like what they find.

Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Use of the enclosed software is subject to a related license agreement. Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Sibelius, AudioSuite, Beat Detective, Bomb Factory, Command|8, Control|24, C|24, Cosmonaut Voice, D-Command, D-Control, D-Fi, 003, 003 Rack, 003 Rack+, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, DigiRack, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Show, DV Toolkit, Eleven, Hybrid, Maxim, Mbox 2, Mbox 2 Mini, Mbox 2 Micro, Mbox 2 Pro, Musition, OMF, PhotoScore, Pinnacle, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools Ignition Pack, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools Method One, Pulsar II, QuickPunch, Reel Tape Suite, RTAS, Scorch, SignalTools, Smack!, Solaris, SoundReplacer, Sputnik, Strike, Structure, Studiophile, Surroundscope, Synchronic, TAMPA, Tel-Ray, TL Space, Torq, Transfuser, Transit, Velvet, X-Form, and Xpand! are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

www.digidesign.com

DAVE’S DIRT Ch-Ch-Changes There’s a lot of change in the air—on this planet, in this country, and in this company. I’ve moved my role within Avid to become Chief Technology Officer. I’m still involved in the heart of audio activities, but now I’m also working on video group activities as well, and trying to help set the right strategic direction for the overall company. Avid (and thus Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius) is going through a lot of changes to try to serve you— our customers—better. Some of these shifts have to do with how we’re organized across the board; stay tuned for company announcements on our website and on user forums. Within our audio mini-universe, we’ve introduced Pro Tools 8. It’s a major update with lots of new features and an entirely new look to the user interface—plus some new tricked-out functionality, including a separate MIDI Editor window that can dock, and a notation Score editor using Sibelius’ technology. The track count has increased on Pro Tools LE and M-Powered, and we’ve upped the ante with some exciting new Toolkit options. For the post world, Pro Tools 8 offers Video Satellite and Satellite Link options that let you link up Avid Media Composer systems or multiple Pro Tools systems via Ethernet for HD video, or monster tracking and mixing systems. We’ve also rounded out the “elastic” possibilities with Elastic Pitch. The A.I.R. group came through with the Pro Tools Creative Collection, a boatload of new virtual instruments and effects that are included with Pro Tools 8. One of my favorite new features in Pro Tools 8 is the new track comping workflow, which is really simple and elegant—a valuable addition for those of us in post or music that need to cut final takes together from many performances (and they’re all great ones, too, right?!). Talk about change… due to my new role and changes in how we’ll be communicating with you in the future, this will be my last column. But one way or another, I’m sure I’ll be chatting with many of you in the coming months. Thanks for all the input and insights you’ve given us—and keep the ideas coming. It’s how we can make the best tools for you, and keep things creative and exciting.

Dave Lebolt Avid Chief Technology Officer DIGIZINE 03

DIGIZINE Seventeen

Winter/Spring 2009

www.digidesign.com

Dave Lebolt Avid Chief Technology Officer DIGIZINE 03

DIGIZINE Winter/Spring 2009 Seventeen

Tools 8 06 Pro Meet Pro Tools 8: The Most Advanced Music

Creation and Production Software on the Planet

With Pro Tools 14 Posting Hear from Experts How Pro Tools Has Transformed

the Art of Audio Post Production

at a Glance 24 Gear Pro Tools Personal Studio Systems

TV On The Radio When Dave Sitek and his bandmates in TV On The Radio returned to their Brooklyn-based Stay Gold Studios for the follow-up to their breakthrough 2006 album, Return to Cookie Mountain, they were hell-bent on creating something completely different. With the help of Pro Tools and their unique sonic ingenuity, Dear Science was born.

WORKSHOPS 48

Guitar Tools: Achieving Classic Guitar Tones

MIDI Ditty: Scoring Big with Pro Tools 8

Groundwork: The Evolution of Comping

Guitar Heroes 32 Unsung Behind the Music of Guitar Hero with

Eleven and ICON

Recording Through 36 Remote Virtual Glass

Learn How a New Breed of Online Services

Enable Pro Tools Users to Collaborate Over the Internet—in Real Time!

DEPARTMENTS 12

Developers News: The Latest Digidesign Development Partner News

Plug-in Centerfold: Breverb, M-Tron Pro, Omnisphere, and Transfuser

M-Audio M-Pulse: M-Audio and Digidesign Co-Develop New DSM High-Definition Studio Monitors

DIGIZINE 04

Eight is Enough Record the Band with Digidesign’s New 003 Rack+ Factory

DIGIZINE Winter/Spring 2009 Seventeen

Tools 8 06 Pro Meet Pro Tools 8: The Most Advanced Music

Creation and Production Software on the Planet

With Pro Tools 14 Posting Hear from Experts How Pro Tools Has Transformed

the Art of Audio Post Production

at a Glance 24 Gear Pro Tools Personal Studio Systems

WORKSHOPS 48

Guitar Tools: Achieving Classic Guitar Tones

MIDI Ditty: Scoring Big with Pro Tools 8

Groundwork: The Evolution of Comping

Guitar Heroes 32 Unsung Behind the Music of Guitar Hero with

Eleven and ICON

Recording Through 36 Remote Virtual Glass

Learn How a New Breed of Online Services

Enable Pro Tools Users to Collaborate Over the Internet—in Real Time!

DEPARTMENTS 12

Developers News: The Latest Digidesign Development Partner News

Plug-in Centerfold: Breverb, M-Tron Pro, Omnisphere, and Transfuser

M-Audio M-Pulse: M-Audio and Digidesign Co-Develop New DSM High-Definition Studio Monitors

DIGIZINE 04

Eight is Enough Record the Band with Digidesign’s New 003 Rack+ Factory

By Rob Kelly

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Evolution of

Pro Tools Meet Version 8

Pro Tools 8 is perhaps Digidesign’s most significant software release to date. It’s stuffed full of new features, new plug-ins, new virtual instruments, new interoperability and post production capabilities, workflow enhancements, shortcut improvements, massively more powerful Toolkit bundles for LE and M-Powered users, under-the-hood performance improvements, and a completely overhauled appearance. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) has been totally redesigned. While it still looks and feels like Pro Tools, every aspect has been thoroughly updated to give it a clean and modern feel—and users now have much greater control over how Pro Tools looks. Whether

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The MIDI-based composition features in Pro Tools 8 have been transformed. The MIDI Editor window (see figure 2) and the Score Editor are particularly powerful and intuitive, especially in regard to editing numerous tracks simultaneously. The simplicity and speed with which you can now view and edit any combination of tracks in an arrangement is impressive. One cool feature: The MIDI Editor and Score Editor windows link to show updates to MIDI or Instrument track selections within the main Edit window.

In keeping with today’s operating systems, the new Pro Tools 8 interface provides better visual feedback no matter what you’re doing. The layout of tools can be customized and reordered in the main Edit window toolbar, and in the new MIDI and Score Editors as well. (We’ll come back to these later.) You can drag and drop parts of the GUI to rearrange, reveal, or hide the tools that are most relevant for the way you work, and dock both the MIDI and Score Editors to the main Edit window. These link to the Edit window cursor, so what you see in the docked Editor remains in sync with the main Timeline.

There are lots of nice graphical enhancements throughout the interface that improve usability, such as the new Group display in the Mixer window, which shows and color-codes which tracks belong to which groups. The bit depth with which Pro Tools displays waveforms has increased from eight bits to 16, so waveforms are much clearer and more detailed. This is particularly helpful for editing low-level audio, and a real bonus for music and dialog editors and mastering engineers.

The new MIDI Editor is dynamite for those who work extensively with MIDI. MIDI note insertions and velocity changes can now be auditioned in real time (great for adjusting drum dynamics), and the Smart Tool has been enhanced to perform almost every MIDI editing function without requiring access to the keyboard. You can now add or delete a note by doubleclicking. The new Velocity Trim mode for the Smart Tool is especially useful: just hold down Control (Win) or Command (Mac) and you can directly trim note velocity by dragging the Smart Tool up and down. The Play MIDI Notes When Editing and Default Note On Velocity functions have moved from Preferences to the Edit, MIDI Editor, and Score Editor windows, which makes for far more convenient access to these functions. And the useful but often misunderstood Edit Selection Follows Timeline Playback preference (toggled by the “n” key, but previously with no visual indication of the fact) is now a nice big fat button at the top left of the Edit page (under the Pencil tool), so it’s obvious which playback mode you are in.

you’re composing with MIDI, editing audio, or doing sound design, Pro Tools 8 offers a more creative environment that’s easier to look at for long periods of time.

The color palette has been updated with new saturation and brightness sliders, which allow considerable control from dark and “contrasty” to very bright. The Universe bar has been redesigned to form part of the Edit window, and can be shown or hidden to appear above the Timeline rulers—it’s a great way to quickly navigate a session.

Figure 1: The New UI.

Making Music Pro Tools 8 is a ground-up creative environment for writers and arrangers—it has all the tools you need for serious composition, and it feels designed to write music fluidly and easily.

Figure 2: The MIDI Editor window.

The sense of Pro Tools 8 as a more “compositional” environment is due to a combination of many changes and improvements. Two of the most significant developments are the new MIDI Editor window (which includes both piano roll and notation views—see figure 3) and the fully featured Score Editor, which enables you to lay out and print notation for individual parts or a full score (see figure 4). And you can now export your score directly to Sibelius as a .sib file for more advanced score editing and layout operations.

The Custom Note Duration option has been moved from the bottom of the Pencil tool menu to the Editor menu, so it’s easier to set note durations. When Follow Grid is selected, the keyboard commands that change Grid value can also be used to change the default length of notes inserted via the Pencil, Grabber, or Smart Tool. You can snap the heads or tails of individual MIDI notes to the cursor, allowing you to quickly align notes, or snap them to a video frame or other event. MIDI note color-coding features have been added; two buttons at the top left of the MIDI Editor window (see figure 2) display notes by either velocity (changing saturation from low to high) or by track, so it’s obvious which notes belong to which part when you’re viewing and editing multiple MIDI or Instrument tracks simultaneously.

The track list down the left side of the MIDI Editor window allows you to superimpose MIDI, Instrument, and Aux tracks for editing, and the Pencil checkbox in the Track Edit selector column lets you chose which tracks are enabled for Pencil editing operations, such as adding notes. (You can Pencil-enable several tracks simultaneously to insert notes on several different MIDI or Instrument tracks at once—a useful way to build up pad sounds that combine several instruments.) Controller and automation lanes at the bottom of the MIDI Editor allow simultaneous viewing and editing of note velocity, MIDI continuous controller data, and automation data of any of the tracks viewed in the Editor. These lanes can be shown or hidden by toggling the “e” key— it’s a fast way to compare and edit controller information for pretty much any parameter across several tracks.

Figure 3: Notation view with controller lanes in the MIDI Editor window.

DIGIZINE 07

By Rob Kelly

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Evolution of

Pro Tools Meet Version 8

DIGIZINE 06

you’re composing with MIDI, editing audio, or doing sound design, Pro Tools 8 offers a more creative environment that’s easier to look at for long periods of time.

Figure 1: The New UI.

Figure 2: The MIDI Editor window.

Figure 3: Notation view with controller lanes in the MIDI Editor window.

DIGIZINE 07

SPECIAL FEATURE

MIDI scrub and shuttle have also been added (a long-requested feature by many), and MIDI notes can now be made to sound by tabbing through them. All of these small features add up to a much faster and more powerful MIDI editing environment. The new MIDI Editor is dynamite for those who work extensively with MIDI—but if you prefer a simpler two-window interface with just the main Edit and Mix windows, you’re also in luck: Most of these new

Any edits you make in the Score Editor are also reflected in real time within the MIDI Editor and the main Edit page. functions (including the improved Smart Tool MIDI editing options and the ability to work with multiple controller lanes) are now directly accessible via MIDI and Instrument tracks in the main Edit window. Functions accessed by right-clicking your mouse have also been enhanced throughout Pro Tools 8—particularly in the MIDI Editor, where the right-click menu provides access to numerous new features, including the ability to separate, heal, and mute individual MIDI notes. Right-click also gives direct access to editing tools throughout Pro Tools (see figure 2). Like the main Edit screen in Pro Tools 8, the MIDI Editor window toolbar is customizable, allowing you to show, hide, and rearrange the tools to suit your editing style. Another MIDI and composition-related feature: Both MIDI regions and MIDI region Groups can now be dragged from the Timeline to certain instrument plug-ins, such as Digidesign’s Transfuser. So you can program

a sequence or pattern and then drop it straight into a plug-in for playback and loop-based performance.

The Score Editor In addition to the notation view of the MIDI Editor window, Pro Tools 8 offers a separate Score Editor that allows you to view, edit, arrange, and print your music as a score (see figure 4). You can insert notes using the Pencil tool, via step input, or Figure 5: Inserting Chord Change symbols. by recording directly into the Score Editor for real-time transcription—a very cool feature. Any edits you make in the Score Editor are also reflected in real time within the MIDI Editor and the main Edit page. The Score Setup page allows you to print-format your score in terms of spacing and layout, as well as adding the title, composer, and other information. Each stave within the score can be adjusted with the Notation Display Track settings (accessed by double-clicking on the clef), where you can specify quantization, real-time transposition, automatic or manual stave split points (for grand staff instruments), and other functions. Notation Display Track settings are also available when using the Notation view in the MIDI Editor window—and in both Editors, staff attributes can be set globally for the entire score, or locally (for example, staff-specific settings, or clef changes between Grand Staff, Treble, Alto, Tenor, and Bass).

Figure 6: The Session Template Select window.

Pro Tools 8 has new Quick Start options, and far better session template management—you can now easily open a new session from scratch, open existing sessions from a list of the most recent files, or open a template (see figure 6). Pro Tools now comes pre-supplied with session templates suited to a variety of purposes and musical genres. Your own sessions can also be saved as templates directly from Pro Tools.

For Pro Tools|HD users, a really useful new feature is that sessions now load much faster. Any TDM plug-in or mixer DSP usage is now cached on the HD cards, and this cache is maintained when sessions are opened and closed. While this does not change the time it takes to first open a session, all subsequent session openings refer to this cached DSP and open much faster, particularly when you revert to a saved session or open similar sessions.

New Instruments, New Plug-ins Pro Tools 8 comes with an amazing collection of new virtual instruments and effects plug-ins. The suite of new A.I.R. virtual instruments is included with all versions of Pro Tools 8, and comprises four completely new instruments plus Xpand!2 (see figure 7), an updated, fully multitimbral version of the original Xpand! synth with double the sound library and an updated UI (and with full backwards compatibility). Nice.

New A.I.R. virtual instruments are included with all versions of Pro Tools 8, and comprises four completely new instruments plus Xpand!2. In addition to this new, more powerful Xpand!2 synth/sample workstation there are four additional new virtual instruments: • Vacuum, a monophonic synthesizer featuring Vacuum Tube Synthesis • Boom, a classic drum machine with a pattern-programming matrix and ten analog drum machine kits • Mini Grand, an eminently playable piano with built-in room simulation and seven different piano models • DB33, a great-sounding model of a classic Hammond/ Leslie combination Pro Tools 8 also includes a generous helping of new effects plug-ins from the A.I.R. group pulled from algorithms included in their virtual instruments. In there you’ll find 20 great-sounding, flexible processors, including some excellent simulations of analog filters and vintage gear, like spring reverbs and talk-boxes. There’s also a “light” version of the excellent Eleven guitar amp simulator, along with Bomb Factory’s SansAmp guitar amp emulator, Digidesign’s Maxim peak limiter/volume maximizer, D-Fi’s collection of four plug-ins to capture those rad retro sounds we all love, and Trillium Lane’s Metro, InTune, and MasterMeter utility plug-ins. (Metro is particularly useful as a flexible click-track option.)

You can insert changes in key signatures and meters via right-click in the Score Editor, and edit them in the Score Editor. You can also see and edit chord symbols in the Score Editor. Another first for Pro Tools 8: There is now a Chord Symbol/Guitar Tab chooser that allows you to see any permutation of a chord as guitar tablature, and insert it on a Chord Ruler (see figure 5). Obviously this is of great use to songwriters, arrangers, and guitarists of all flavors. For more in-depth information on the new Scoring features in Pro Tools 8 software, make sure to check out Rich Tozzoli’s “Scoring Big with Pro Tools 8” workshop on page 52 of this issue of DigiZine.

Organizational Improvements In Pro Tools 8, both new Editors can be accessed via the Windows menu, via right-click in the Edit window, or by double-clicking according to your Preferences setup—and you can have as many Edit windows of each type open simultaneously as you wish. In addition to the screen-set management tools introduced in Pro Tools 7.3, version 8 allows you to tile, cascade, hide, or bring any or all windows to the front. Figure 4: The Score Editor.

Figure 7: New virtual instruments from the A.I.R. group. DIGIZINE 08

DIGIZINE 09

SPECIAL FEATURE

a sequence or pattern and then drop it straight into a plug-in for playback and loop-based performance.

Figure 6: The Session Template Select window.

Figure 7: New virtual instruments from the A.I.R. group. DIGIZINE 08

DIGIZINE 09

SPECIAL FEATURE

The Music Production Toolkit 2 comes with Digidesign Eleven LE, Hybrid 1.5, Smack! LE, Digidesign Structure LE, TL Space Native Edition plug-ins, Multi-track Beat Detective functionality, and the Pro Tools MP3 Option. The DV Toolkit 2 includes DINR LE, TL Space Native Edition, X-Form, DigiBase Pro, DigiTranslator 2.0, Time Code and Feet + Frames functions, powerful editing and sessionmanagement features, and the Pro Tools MP3 Option.

Figure 8: Several simultaneous automation parameters displayed for one track.

Elastic Audio Enhancements The TEC award-winning Elastic Time functionality introduced in Pro Tools 7.4 has been a huge advancement for Pro Tools users around the world… and now Elastic Pitch has also been added. As the name suggests, this covers up to two octaves of pitch up and down, in semitones and cents, on a region-by-region basis. It’s very useful for experimenting with new melodies, correcting performance pitch problems, and generating harmonies. Elastic Pitch can be applied via the Event Operations Transpose function or the pitch controls in the Elastic Audio Region Properties window. As you work with automation, velocity, or MIDI controllers, the Edit window in Pro Tools 8 lets you see multiple automation or controller lanes per track, allowing you to compare or edit several automation or controller parameters simultaneously without changing track views. You can add or subtract as many lanes as you like (see figure 8) and reorganize them by dragging them up and down—a particularly useful method for editing surround panning information!

More Tracks, New Toolkits Out of the box, Pro Tools 8 increases the track count for LE and M-Powered users to 48 mono or stereo audio tracks, regardless of hardware. And to provide even more power, the popular Toolkit bundles have been overhauled, including the new Music Production Toolkit 2 and an updated DV Toolkit 2, for complete post production functions (DV Toolkit 2 supports Pro Tools LE only). Both of the updated Toolkits provide up to 64 mono or stereo audio tracks.

Pro Tools 8 increases the track count for LE and M-Powered users to 48 mono or stereo audio tracks.

DIGIZINE 10

A new Toolkit has also been introduced along with Pro Tools 8: the Complete Production Toolkit (also Pro Tools LE only; see figure 9), combining both of the above Toolkits and their associated plug-ins, and giving LE users up to 128 audio tracks and up to 7.1 surround mixing capabilities. The Complete Production Toolkit also comes with the Neyrinck SoundCode Stereo downmixing plug-in. These powerful add-ons make it easier than ever to collaborate with Pro Tools|HD users, and transform a Pro Tools LE system into a comprehensive music and post production powerhouse. Digidesign is also offering owners of existing Music Production Toolkit and DV Toolkit products special, limited-time offers to update your Toolkit to the new version, or trade up to the new Complete Production Toolkit. Pretty cool.

Post Production Power Some great new post production and interoperability options are now available with Pro Tools 8. A new version of Video Satellite enables the ubiquitous Avid Media Composer software to sync to Pro Tools via Ethernet, and is qualified for use with new Avid HD hardware. The Mojo DX and Nitris DX provide a very snappy uncompressed or DNx HD picture-playback solution over HD SDI or HDMI for Avid media, while still allowing full track-count and performance on the Pro Tools workstation. Video Satellite integrates into Avid’s shared storage and media management products, and Windows Vista support is now available for Avid Interplay. The Video Satellite LE software option lets you connect a Pro Tools LE Mbox 2 Micro-based system to a Pro Tools|HD system via Ethernet for use as a QuickTime HD video satellite. The picture is output via two newly qualified QuickTime HD cards from Black Magic, Decklink Extreme, or the highly affordable and HDMI-based Intensit card. These can also be used in Pro Tools|HD systems. Finally, the new Satellite Link option allows up to five Pro Tools|HD systems or four Pro Tools|HD systems and one Media Composer HD system to network their transports together. This allows you to cue, play, and stop the transport; make play selections; and solo tracks across any of the systems from any linked workstation. The lock-up is very fast, and combined with destructive punch-recording features introduced in Pro Tools 7.2, this provides an extremely powerful multiworkstation solution for Pro Tools users who dub feature films or large-scale TV projects. It also provides a much nicer working method

for high-end music projects where several Pro Tools systems are slaved together to record large track counts at 192 kHz sample rates.

Many of the new features in Pro Tools 8 are directly accessible from ICON, Digidesign, and M-Audio control surfaces.

Easier, Better, Faster There are some excellent new track compositing functions in Pro Tools 8. A new preference enables automatic generation of new playlists when loop record is selected, and a new Playlists view for audio tracks displays each Playlist as a track lane underneath the main track. Playlist lanes can be soloed to audition a take, and buttons in the UI or keyboard shortcuts can be used to copy or “promote” a selection on a Playlist lane to the main comp track. This makes it much quicker and easier to build the “perfect take,” and is obviously very handy for recording engineers. But it should also be useful to VO and ADR recordists and dialog editors, particularly when combined with the new region rating system, which lets you assign each audio region a 1 to 5 rating, then filter and select which audio segments you want to work with. There’s also a new “match criteria” window that allows speedy adjustment of which regions in a track qualify as valid matches, so similar regions can be searched, replaced, or swapped. Make sure to check out David E. Weiss’ “The Evolution of Comping” article for more on the new track comping features in Pro Tools 8 (page 56). There are many other small but significant features in Pro Tools 8 that improve day-to-day studio life, including a new Software Update Manager that checks online for new Pro Tools or Digidesign plug-in updates. Other cool features: An option to open sessions with plugins deactivated; improved Strip Silence; and an increased file-size limit for individual audio files, meaning longer recording times. RTAS hardware buffer options are smaller, allowing negligible latency when virtual instruments are played live (great for drum and percussion work). MIDI Beat Clock Sample Offset can be set on a port-by-port basis to sync external MIDI devices with differing lock delays. Also Automatic Delay Compensation has been improved in Pro Tools|HD systems.

resize all track heights to fit vertically into your Edit window, and a keyboard shortcut to bring back your Edit selection if you accidentally lose it. You can combine Edit modes for new simultaneous editing behaviors in both the main Edit window and the MIDI Editor window. For example, when you drag a region, Grid mode applies, but Slip mode applies for any editing function. And you can lock a region to edit it freely without breaking sync by changing its position on the Timeline. You get the idea: There are a lot of small but really useful features that add up to a much better overall environment to work in.

Control Surface Access Pro Tools users who use the ICON console, Digidesign control surfaces, or M-Audio controllers will find many of the new features in Pro Tools 8 are directly accessible from their control surfaces. New ICON-specific features have also been introduced in version 8, such as improved functionality to the Soft Keys; a local assign mode for assigning Inserts, Sends, Inputs, and Outputs; a new I/O view; and the option to expand a D-Command console to 40 faders with an additional Fader Module. So there we have it—a beast of a software release that will completely change how many perceive and use Pro Tools. It will be fantastic for songwriters and composers, not to mention post production users, and once again massively increases the creative possibilities of the Pro Tools software platform.

Rob Kelly is a director of AIR and Strongroom Studios, and is a composer and Pro Tools engineer for Strongroom Productions Ltd.

Another great change: there are now ten plug-in inserts per track, which really eases operations such as mastering, when you might need to insert several metering plug-ins as well as your audio processing. AudioSuite previews are faster, and there’s volume control and metering in all AudioSuite plug-ins. Pro Tools 8 also includes keyboard shortcuts to let you solo, mute, record, and input-enable any track over which the cursor is placed—a seriously useful workflow speed-up. There are shortcuts to Figure 9: The new Complete Production Toolkit supports 128 tracks and adds surround mixing capabilities to Pro Tools LE.

DIGIZINE 11

SPECIAL FEATURE

Figure 8: Several simultaneous automation parameters displayed for one track.

Pro Tools 8 increases the track count for LE and M-Powered users to 48 mono or stereo audio tracks.

DIGIZINE 10

for high-end music projects where several Pro Tools systems are slaved together to record large track counts at 192 kHz sample rates.

Many of the new features in Pro Tools 8 are directly accessible from ICON, Digidesign, and M-Audio control surfaces.

Rob Kelly is a director of AIR and Strongroom Studios, and is a composer and Pro Tools engineer for Strongroom Productions Ltd.

DIGIZINE 11

DEVELOPERS NEWS

Antares Auto-Tune Evo

Line 6 Pod Farm Platinum

Samplebase Satellite

SPL Analog Code Plug-ins

TDM, RTAS, AudioSuite

RTAS

Auto-Tune Evo, the newest version of the worldwide standard in professional pitch correction, represents the most substantial advancement in power and ease-of-use since Auto-Tune’s original introduction in 1997.

POD Farm Platinum plug-in features the sounds of sought-after vintage essentials and must-have modern monsters. It includes 78 immortal guitar amps, 24 guitar cabs, 28 bass amps and 22 bass cabs, 97 essential stompbox and studio effects, and six crucial mic preamps.

Pro Tools users can log on to Samplebase.com, download a wide variety of high quality loops, multi-sampled instruments, and one-shot samples, and load them into the Satellite sample-synth player for use in their sessions.

Modeled on their world-renowned hardware, SPL’s first two Analog Code plug-ins are the Transient Designer and the Ranger set of three EQs (Vox Ranger, Bass Ranger, and Full Ranger).

www.samplebase.com

www.soundperformancelab.com

Softube Spring Reverb

Univers Sons UVI Workstation

RTAS

Sonalksis

Spring Reverb is an authentic spring reverb re-creation that adds vintage character and grit to any audio track. It includes a Shake control to shake the virtual strings for thunderous effects and a Tension control that tightens or loosens the springs for a wide range of sounds.

Designed to work seamlessly with sounds and loops available from uvisoundsource.com, UVI Workstation is a free multitimbral instrument that provides unlimited parts, integrated effects, live performance features, and a smooth real-time workflow.

Mastering Suite

www.softube.com

www.uvisoundsource.com

Native Instruments Traktor Pro and Traktor Scratch Pro

Sonalksis Mastering Suite

URS Saturation v2.0

RTAS

The Sonalksis Mastering Suite consists of MultiLimit, a multiband mastering limiter; MaxLimit, a maximizing mastering limiter; StereoTools, a stereo imaging processor; and Ultimate-D for ultimate dithering.

RTAS

These Traktor products are the newest versions of NI’s groundbreaking digital DJ solutions. They offer superior creative workflow, an extremely functional user interface, powerful sound shaping features, advanced syncing and control functions, and more.

www.antarestech.com

Arturia Analog Factory Experience RTAS

Analog Factory Experience is a unique combination of a software synthesizer with 3,500 sounds and a high-quality dedicated hardware controller.

www.arturia.com

www.line6.com

Minnetonka Audio Software SurCode for Dolby E Decoder Antares

RTAS

The SurCode for Dolby E Decoder plug-in offers the unique ability to decode Dolby E files back to discrete PCM in a convenient RTAS plug-in format. ®

Auto-Tune Evo

wwww.minnetonkaaudio.com

FabFilter Volcano 2 RTAS

FabFilter Volcano 2 is a versatile filter effect plug-in with state-of-the-art filter technology and endless modulation and tweaking possibilities.

www.fabfilter.com

Flux Alchemist

www.sonalksis.com

www.native-instruments.com

Sonnox Elite Collection

RTAS

Alchemist is a sophisticated multiband dynamics processor designed for mastering and re-mastering applications. It can also be used as a regular dynamic processor for absolute control.

www.fluxhome.com

Focusrite Liquid Mix HD

Nomad Factory British Bundle RTAS

Nomad Factory has recreated the EQ and Master Bus Compressor/Limiter that are part of a well-known British mixing console. The plug-ins have a vintage-style interface and low CPU consumption for lightning-fast processing.

TDM, RTAS, AudioSuite

Flux

Alchemist

Spectrasonics

Omnisphere

Sonnox Elite offers the ultimate Oxford plug-ins collection at a great value. The bundle includes Oxford EQ, Oxford Dynamics, Oxford Inflator, Oxford Transient Modulator, Oxford Reverb, Oxford Limiter, and Oxford SuprEsser.

www.nomadfactory.com

www.sonnoxplugins.com

RNDigital Finis 3

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

RTAS

Finis 3 is a three-band peak limiter that offers a new approach to multiband peak limiting due to RNDigital’s superb FIR filter technology, which provides an excellent separation of three bands without phase shift on the crossover frequencies.

This flagship virtual instrument combines a wide variety of hybrid real-time synthesis techniques, an epic library of remarkable “psychoacoustic” sounds, and many innovative features that have never been seen before in any hardware or software synthesizer.

www.rndigital.org

www.spectrasonics.net

TDM

Providing the same pool of classic EQ and Compressor emulations as the Liquid Mix range, Liquid Mix HD brings the sound of priceless and historically significant compressors and EQs exclusively to Pro Tools|HD.

www.focusrite.com

IK Multimedia T-RackS 3 RTAS, AudioSuite

T-RackS 3, the newest version of IK’s mastering and mixing plug-in, has a suite of nine analog-modeled and digital Dynamics/EQ processors, unmatched audio quality, and scores of new and unique features.

Nomad Factory

SPL

www.ikmultimedia.com

British Bundle

Analog Code Plug-ins

URS Saturation v2.0 features nine unique algorithms that add vintage analog harmonics and saturation to your individual tracks and mixes.

www.ursplugins.com

Waves Silver Bundle RTAS

Waves’ newest bundle introduces an affordable collection designed for personal production studios. Silver features 16 essential plug-ins including reverb, compression, equalization, level maximization, and more to take your music to the pro level.

www.waves.com For more information about Development Partner products, visit www.digidesign.com.

Digidesign does not provide support for, or test the performance specifications of, any non-Digidesign products. Please contact the relevant developer for additional information or support. All features and specifications are subject to change without notice.

now shipping from

digidesign development partners DIGIZINE 12

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DEVELOPERS NEWS

Antares Auto-Tune Evo

Line 6 Pod Farm Platinum

Samplebase Satellite

SPL Analog Code Plug-ins

TDM, RTAS, AudioSuite

RTAS

Modeled on their world-renowned hardware, SPL’s first two Analog Code plug-ins are the Transient Designer and the Ranger set of three EQs (Vox Ranger, Bass Ranger, and Full Ranger).

www.samplebase.com

www.soundperformancelab.com

Softube Spring Reverb

Univers Sons UVI Workstation

RTAS

Sonalksis

Mastering Suite

www.softube.com

www.uvisoundsource.com

Native Instruments Traktor Pro and Traktor Scratch Pro

Sonalksis Mastering Suite

URS Saturation v2.0

RTAS

www.antarestech.com

Arturia Analog Factory Experience RTAS

Analog Factory Experience is a unique combination of a software synthesizer with 3,500 sounds and a high-quality dedicated hardware controller.

www.arturia.com

www.line6.com

Minnetonka Audio Software SurCode for Dolby E Decoder Antares

RTAS

The SurCode for Dolby E Decoder plug-in offers the unique ability to decode Dolby E files back to discrete PCM in a convenient RTAS plug-in format. ®

Auto-Tune Evo

wwww.minnetonkaaudio.com

FabFilter Volcano 2 RTAS

FabFilter Volcano 2 is a versatile filter effect plug-in with state-of-the-art filter technology and endless modulation and tweaking possibilities.

www.fabfilter.com

Flux Alchemist

www.sonalksis.com

www.native-instruments.com

Sonnox Elite Collection

RTAS

Alchemist is a sophisticated multiband dynamics processor designed for mastering and re-mastering applications. It can also be used as a regular dynamic processor for absolute control.

www.fluxhome.com

Focusrite Liquid Mix HD

Nomad Factory British Bundle RTAS

TDM, RTAS, AudioSuite

Flux

Alchemist

Spectrasonics

Omnisphere

www.nomadfactory.com

www.sonnoxplugins.com

RNDigital Finis 3

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

RTAS

www.rndigital.org

www.spectrasonics.net

TDM

www.focusrite.com

IK Multimedia T-RackS 3 RTAS, AudioSuite

Nomad Factory

SPL

www.ikmultimedia.com

British Bundle

Analog Code Plug-ins

URS Saturation v2.0 features nine unique algorithms that add vintage analog harmonics and saturation to your individual tracks and mixes.

www.ursplugins.com

Waves Silver Bundle RTAS

www.waves.com For more information about Development Partner products, visit www.digidesign.com.

now shipping from

digidesign development partners DIGIZINE 12

DIGIZINE 13

By Dan Daley

SPECIAL FEATURE

Posting With Pro Tools Audio post production for film and video is under the gun—and not just the one in Lethal Weapon XXIII. Budgets are on the line at movie studios and post facilities, which need to maximize their workflow, increase productivity, and still maintain the highest quality. In response to these high-pressure conditions, Pro Tools has become an even more integral part of the audio post process. Pro Tools systems are found in every stage of the post production signal chain, from music scoring to sound editing, Foley, sound effects, and the final mix. DigiZine asked some of the best in the business for tips on how they use Pro Tools to create better sound for picture.

Knowing the Score Scoring was once film sound’s least technology-driven arena, and the mention of scoring still evokes John Williams or Dmitri Tiomkin, baton in hand, conducting a huge orchestra on a soundstage. But today, film scoring and technology are utterly intertwined.

Brian Tyler conducting.

“To score films today, you need to know your way around the process of recording and mixing,” says Brian Tyler, whose credits include The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Rambo, and last year’s Steven Spielberg hit Eagle Eye. “The whole idea of the film score is to be the voice of the emotion the director wants you to feel. Technology dramatically enhances your ability to do that.”

After importing a QuickTime file of a scene into the Pro Tools|HD 3 system in his Los Angeles studio, multi-instrumentalist Tyler combines an assortment of live instruments—from piano to guitar to percussion—with samples and MIDI instruments. “The ability to mock up an entire orchestra before recording it live not only saves time, but also gives the director the exact idea you’re trying to communicate,” he says. But sometimes more radical approaches are needed. On both Tyler’s 2008 Rambo reprise and Eagle Eye, there were late re-edits of scenes for which he had already recorded the live orchestra. His challenge: make the music that was already recorded fit the new picture edit without sounding choppy and patched-together. Fortunately, Tyler was able to accomplish just that using the Elastic Audio feature in Pro Tools across all the orchestral tracks and the 170 other acoustic, MIDI, and sample tracks in the score. “I looked for particular sections of the score in the scene where I could globally speed the tempo up without affecting the pitch,” he explains. “Then I would seamlessly blend these sections with the rest of the score track. So instead of sounding edited, it sounds like I conducted the orchestra rubato, making the

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“Pro Tools 8 has an amazing feature that further integrates the D-Control worksurface, so I have everything I need exactly where I want it.” – Andy Kris tempo ebb and flow in a very natural way. There was no sacrifice of musicality involved; in fact, being able to make the score breathe like that actually enhanced its musicality, all while still hitting every beat in the scene.”

Walking The Wire Andy Kris has mixed sound effects for films such as The Reader, and for the critically acclaimed television series The Wire. Kris says that sound-effects mixing is a perfect example of how budget considerations affect workflow. Working at Sound One in New York City, Kris uses SFX elements from both sound libraries and Foley artists; he says a key task is getting all of these disparate elements to sound like they belong in the same film or show. “I’ll listen to the effects and Foley against the dialog and ADR premixes, and balance them out with EQ and processing,” he explains. “For instance, if the dialog is taking place in a large, reverberant room, I make sure any effects that happen during that scene have the same ambience.” This complex process is expedited by starting with all the sound effects in Pro Tools sessions. All the dialog, Foley, ADR, and SFX files arrive on external hard drives. Kris imports the files and preps them using some basic templates he’s created for various broad categories—such as water sounds, crowd sounds, and traffic noises—before fine-tuning each effect, then grouping them in Pro Tools using virtual VCA master faders. As a film goes through various preview screenings and picture changes, all the mixing work done in Pro Tools can be conformed to these changes while still keeping the processing virtual. “This makes for a very organic mixing process, as all elements can be easily manipulated until the final print master,” Kris explains. “Each effect is mixed, but can be tweaked at any point— because if I need a little bit more of an individual sound effect, I can drill down and find it in Pro Tools. You have the ability to mix effects as though they were live.”

Foley Man Foley artistry, named for the remarkable early film maven Jack Foley, is the use of real props (as opposed to pre-recorded, sampled, or synthesized sound clips) to create sound effects. Good Foley artists are prized in Hollywood, both for their ingenuity and their speed. At Todd AO Studios West in Hollywood, Foley mixer Brett Voss keeps up with the flow thanks to his Pro Tools|HD rig. “Before Pro Tools, they were always waiting for me. But now I’m always ready for them,” he says. Foley involves working with many short clips of sound, and each Foley effect may be made up of several individual effects. “The scene might call for a metal door and a sliding lock closing at the same time,” Voss says. “If you tried to record them together, you wouldn’t get the same detail that you would by doing each sound separately and then blending them together. Foley is all about detail and realism.” Voss records Foley effects using three basic microphones: a Neumann U-87, a Neumann KMR 81, and a Soundelux microphone. He runs them through GML and Aphex mic preamps. In Pro Tools, he creates dummy regions tagged with the name of each particular cue. There can be as many as 200 to 300 individual Foley effects per reel of film, with most Hollywood movies running between five and seven reels. Brett Voss “So Command Focus in Pro Tools is a must,” he says. “Any commands I have to use, often I’m able to put right at hand.” The same goes for the Pro Tools Universe view, which offers a global overview of an entire session and lets Voss click to sections quickly without scrolling or zooming. For such complex, detailed projects, Voss says, “It’s great to be able to get a quick overview of how much work we’ve accomplished, and what remains.” This kind of speed is critical—what was once budgeted for more than two weeks of studio time now must routinely be done in a single week. “We can do that because we can cruise in Pro Tools,” he says.

Commercials are a special proposition within the post business. Rather than the three-position mixes or the slew of editors found on blockbuster films, 30-second television spots often involve one person doing it all. At POP Sound in Los Angeles, Stephen Dickson gets his elements from multiple sources: production dialog from an OMF file and music score splits as .wav or .aiff files. He generates the rest by recording and editing voiceover (VO) and ADR as well as spotting SFX and creating sound design. “Some of the spots I have mixed had a track count of up to seventy-five tracks for a 30-second spot,” Dickson says. “I never have to be concerned about file types, or the amount of tracks my clients bring in, because Pro Tools can handle it.”

Stephen Dickson

Stephen Dickson The URS Pro channel strip plug-in is Dickson’s default choice for laying trim, filters, compression, and EQ across every channel. “It’s not a DSP hog, and it handles most situations,” he says. By designing a template session with his default settings for VO, dialog, music, and SFX, he has everything he needs to get started quickly. “I just decide how many of each type of track I need for the job, and duplicate my template tracks accordingly,” he explains. “They store all of my specific routing configurations and plug-ins for each type of track. This is less cumbersome, faster, and uses a much smaller amount of DSP than just having a huge one-size-fits-all template.” All of this efficiency is necessary in the fast-paced world of TV spots. For the 2008 World Series, Dickson worked on a Taco Bell spot that was not only created around the Series, but for a specific game. The spot aired in the bottom of the fifth inning, right after Tampa Bay Rays’ shortstop Jason Bartlett stole second base, and the announcer told America that they had just won a free taco. The picture edit was running late, and Dickson had to do a discrete 5.1 mix with a stereo downmix. “An hour and five minutes after it left the studio, it was on the air,” he marvels. “That’s fast. There’s no way that would have happened without Pro Tools.”

Pro Tools 8:

New Power for Audio Post

Going Commercial

A typical project has as many as 70 SFX tracks, 50 Foley tracks, and 20 ADR tracks. “It’s a lot to wrangle,” Kris acknowledges. But Pro Tools keeps making it easier: “Pro Tools 8 has an amazing feature that further integrates the D-Control worksurface. With a few button pushes, for instance, I can have an EQ show up on the channel strip with my user settings. I can map those to specific knobs, so I have everything I need exactly where I want it. The less I have to move around, the faster the process can move.”

“I never have to be concerned about f ile types, or the amount of tracks my clients bring in, because Pro Tools can handle it.”

The ICON console also helps speed the process along. “I can quickly bring anything I want into the Focus section, so I’m not constantly sliding around in my chair,” says Dickson. “I can stay in the sweet spot while simultaneously editing and mixing, which is a must for me.”

Pro Tools 8 is the most advanced audio creation and production software Digidesign has ever produced. It features a gorgeous new interface; dozens of new plug-ins; five new virtual instruments; exciting new scoring, MIDI, editing, and mixing capabilities; deeper controller integration; improved ease of installation and use; and enhanced performance. With Pro Tools 8, audio post production users will find loads of features that will make their work more efficient and more creative. Here are a few highlights: • Quick Start dialog lets ADR recordists jump right into an existing session, quickly create a new session from scratch, or start from one of the new session templates. • Scoring to picture has never been simpler or more dynamic, thanks to groundbreaking new virtual instruments such as the Mini Grand piano, Boom drum machine, DB-33 tonewheel organ, and Vacuum and Xpand!2 synths. Guitarists can dial up awesome tones with Eleven Free and SansAmp. Anyone can add character to tracks with 20 new A.I.R. effects. And the Score Editor lets users write parts on a single staff or grand staff, place and edit notes, edit meters and key signatures at will, transcribe MIDI parts in real time, and even export sessions as Sibelius (.sib) files for further finessing. • Fast, accurate editing is crucial in audio post, and Pro Tools 8 delivers. Now you can lock regions to the timeline to prevent them from being in- advertently moved or edited, and use the Automation and Controller lanes to view and edit track automation and MIDI continuous controller (CC) data without changing track views.

DIGIZINE 15

By Dan Daley

SPECIAL FEATURE

Brian Tyler conducting.

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Stephen Dickson

Pro Tools 8:

New Power for Audio Post

Going Commercial

“I never have to be concerned about f ile types, or the amount of tracks my clients bring in, because Pro Tools can handle it.”

DIGIZINE 15

“I view Pro Tools as another instrument.” –Dave Sitek, TVOTR

By Bill Murphy

When Dave Sitek and his bandmates in TV On The Radio returned to their Brooklyn studio for the follow-up to their breakthrough 2006 album, Return to Cookie Mountain, they were hell-bent on creating something completely different. “We didn’t want to make the same record twice,” Sitek explains, “I knew that we didn’t need to make a giant midrange explosion with reverb all over it, like we did on Cookie Mountain. So I bypassed the mixing board and recorded everything direct.” The resulting album, Dear Science, is more mature, complex, grandiose, and way-out Cover/full band photos: Michael Lavine

than anything the band has done to date—

Live feature photos: Anthony Gordon

and it was all done in Pro Tools.

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“I view Pro Tools as another instrument.” –Dave Sitek, TVOTR

By Bill Murphy

than anything the band has done to date—

Live feature photos: Anthony Gordon

and it was all done in Pro Tools.

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“We’d exchanged discs of what we’d been working on, and then everyone reinterpreted each other’s music before we started recording. The fact that we’re all familiar with Pro Tools streamlines the process.” — Dave Sitek, TVOTR

The jury is still out on whether TV On The Radio will establish itself as the new art-rock juggernaut of the 21st century, but Dear Science makes a convincing case. From the keening guitar drones of the opening cut, “Halfway Home,” to the brash horns, lushly layered strings, and oddball falsetto vocals (courtesy of guitarist Kyp Malone) of the infectious first single, “Golden Age,” the album is a triumph of fully realized songs, tightly rendered and flawlessly arranged, with Sitek’s keen ear for audio dynamics—as well as his tireless yen for experimentation— leading the way. A relative newcomer to CPU-based recording, Sitek initially learned Pro Tools by producing the band’s 2003 Young Liars EP in his bedroom. “I got a full-blown TDM system FedExed to my apartment,” he recalls, “and I had to learn how to use it before I recorded [Brooklyn band] the Liars. We solved the problem by experimenting with TV On The Radio. It was like, ‘Alright, I gotta figure out how to use this, so let’s make a bunch of songs and see how it comes out.’ That’s how tracks like ‘Staring at the Sun’ and ‘Satellite’ came together.”

Pieces of the Puzzle Five years later, both songs are staples in the band’s blistering live set, as seen in a recent three-night stand at Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple. From the get-go, it’s clear that TVOTR’s five core members—Sitek, Malone, lead singer Tunde Adebimpe, bassist/keyboardist Gerard Smith, and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Jaleel Bunton—are on a unique wavelength, with each seeming to feed off the others’ ideas.

So it’s no surprise to learn that with Sitek as the creative anchor (aside from producing, he also plays a mean, multi-effected Telecaster and programs drums like riding a bike), the music on Dear Science was built up from elements brought by various band members to their Stay Gold Studio in Brooklyn. “We exchanged discs of what we’d been working on,” Sitek explains, “and then everyone reinterpreted each other’s music before we started recording.” Each band member has his own Mbox 2 Pro, allowing these collaborative ideas to flow without technological barriers. TVOTR are avowed fans of the analog era, as shown by their collaboration with David Bowie on Cookie Mountain’s epic standout, “Province,” and other clear ’70s influences, such as Brian Eno and Roxy Music. But while Sitek still owns a Studer A80 two-inch tape machine, these days there’s no separating him from his Pro Tools|HD system and his three 192 I/Os. “The fact that we’re all familiar with Pro Tools streamlines the process, in the sense that there’s no resistance to it,” Sitek says. “The whole tape fiasco that happened a few years ago was a blessing in disguise, because there was still this battle raging within me. I bought 100 reels of twoinch tape, and then I wound up selling them off, because I just couldn’t be bothered with it. At that point I’d been working with Pro Tools so much, and the fidelity jump between MIX and HD was so tremendous, that I wanted to be on the exploring end of things, rather than on the repeating end. Tape had been fully explored by then.”

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Messing with the System True to form, Sitek approaches his use of Pro Tools with a rebel mentality—a freewheeling outlook that has prompted multiple discoveries along the way. “I view Pro Tools as another instrument,” he says. “I think it’s a wildly possible fidelity maker. You have all these options, so I’ve just learned as a default to try six or seven different things simultaneously, and whichever one really catches me, I go with it.” Once again he traces his methodology to that first Liars album, produced shortly after he completed TVOTR’s Young Liars EP. “Everyone I knew who worked with Pro Tools back then was telling me not to let it red-line,” Sitek says. “The Liars will try absolutely anything, so once they heard that nobody records in the red, they were like, ‘Let’s go all red.’ To this day, I think there’s something intrinsically punk rock about 16-bit red-lined Pro Tools summed in the system. I love it, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it was my first experience with it, but I’m really attached to that brash sound. I don’t think Pro Tools had really been used in a punk rock way before that point.” These days, Sitek still takes full advantage of the headroom afforded by Pro Tools|HD, but he’s more conscious of how he crafts the sound of a particular instrument at the front of the signal path. All the instruments were tracked direct on Dear Science, with varying chains of outboard units lined up to add some vintage warmth. “We used no amplifiers,” Sitek says. “I recorded at 88.2 kHz, and I basically wanted the electronics and the metals in the preamps and the outboard gear to do the work. I wanted the HD system to be an accurate recorder of those events, so everything that you hear—all the guitars on “Crying” and “Golden Age,” for example—are just a Telecaster plugged into an 1176 right into the 192s.” Sitek even found himself delving into the arcane science of sample rates, and the question of which ones are appropriate for which instruments. “I conducted a couple of experiments,” he says. “I knew we were gonna be using horns and strings, and I recorded some horns at 88.2 and some at 96. Now, this is probably only noticeable to me and George Massenburg, but I’ve found that the lower sampling rate, when it comes to incorporating all these older-sounding elements in there, forces the high end to work with the sound more. I think 96k is a little too clear. I didn’t want it to sound clinical, and I’ve had this battle with so many people. I think 88.2 lends itself to being more performance-oriented, and I think that 96 is more instrument-oriented. There’s just something at 88.2 that forces the instruments to work together. It pushes them through a different funnel.”

Blood Editing While Sitek raves about Pro Tools|HD’s ability to record everything exactly as he hears it, he draws even more inspiration from the endless possibilities of digital editing. Dear Science was clearly labor-intensive when it came to piecing together its various parts—in fact, the level of editing was so deep that in some instances, like the drum-heavy “Stork & Owl,” the track sounds like a live performance even though all the rhythm tracks were meticulously programmed. It starts with Sitek programming his drum tracks—some of the sounds are comprised of live hits from Jaleel Bunton’s drum kit, but most of the sounds come from his vast library of vintage drum machines. Sitek runs the drum sounds through various preamps and EQs. He brings his drum sounds into Pro Tools, then moves them around according to what feels right within the beat.

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“When you listen to the sheer number of drums and events in that song, they don’t necessarily happen the same way each time,” he says. “This is where Pro Tools is really like an editing piano, because when you get into meta-editing, or what I call blood editing, it’s like you’re using your own pulse. If it’s not making you feel right or making your eyes water, you can slide it this way or that way. Even if you’re taking a snare drum that repeats on a quarter note throughout the whole song, sliding different snare hits around gives it this completely identifiable feel. The reason I get turned off by most electronic music is because it doesn’t have that.” In the mixing phase, Sitek got even further into the raw numbers of automation. For songs like “Love Dog,” which pivots on a Fender Rhodes riff that vies for varying degrees of attention in the mix as more and more instruments are introduced and taken away, there was no way to get the overall sound Sitek was striving for without doing a lot of pre-mix EQing first. “I had to fight with math,” he says. “For example, when you have a lo-res delay on the drum set, as the resolution sweeps down, you’re basically given the opportunity to brighten up the higher-frequency stuff or raise the volume of those elements. So as the drums distort and the filter closes on them, the brightness of the Rhodes is there. Especially towards the end of the song, it’s super clear. The trick is to push the higher spectrum of the Rhodes before that event happens, and then pull back on it as the filter sweeps happen. I just used the Pro Tools EQ plug-ins on that song, and automated everything.” If this process sounds painstaking and time-consuming, it is. “It’s a lot of wrestling and drawing that’s real tedious,” Sitek admits, “but I was fortunate to be working with [mix engineer] Matty Green on that. He’s probably the most patient person on earth, and he really got into the nitty-gritty of it. It’s a lot of automating and a lot of hands-on work, which I think is the most fun part, but it can get really aggravating, especially when you have songs that are 112 tracks deep. It’s like, what am I gonna do about this? And it’s all with the mouse. I feel like my next step is to get a control surface… but I spend so much money on instruments already!”

“Transfuser is awesome. I could sit there for six years and play with it.” — Dave Sitek, TVOTR

For now, Sitek continues to enjoy the more experimental aspects of TV On The Radio, a band that can basically try anything without worrying about alleged “consequences” from their fans, their label, or anyone else, simply because they’ve already made a career out of exploiting the unexpected. “Just to give you an example,” he says, “when most people talk about TV On The Radio, they’re talking about synthesizers, but what they actually mean are guitars. What we’re doing with the sound of those guitars is part of what makes us who we are. And there are whole buckets of guesswork—basically winging it—involved in us making records. Sound is the most flexible medium in the world, and I know a lot of bands get paralyzed in the studio because they see the red light come on and they think, ‘Oh my God, this is forever.’ Whereas TV On The Radio has personally watched me change a song 750 f@#king times! So no one freaks out. We’d rather just see what happens.”

Fast-Forward The building that housed TVOTR’s Stay Gold Studios is being torn down, so for now, Sitek is operating out of a secret location while he and the band figure out where they’ll move next. After four albums with TV On The Radio, and many more as a producer with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Dragons of Zynth, and a slew of indie acts—along with a high-profile stint behind the desk for Scarlett Johansson’s solo record—Sitek is constantly looking for new sonic opportunities. He hopes to update soon to Pro Tools 8 if he can find the downtime to reconfigure—when he isn’t working in the studio, he’s on the road. He also gets a kick out of Digidesign’s new Transfuser virtual instrument. “Transfuser is awesome,” he says. “I haven’t used it on a track yet, but I could sit there for six years and play with it. I pretty much went from Dear Science right out on tour, so I haven’t really had time to explore it. To me it’s a combination of Acid and Fruity Loops and all these things I really like, but all in one package. If I get smarter—or more disciplined—I’ll definitely use it on a record.”

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“Transfuser is awesome. I could sit there for six years and play with it.” — Dave Sitek, TVOTR

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PRO TOOLS

PERSONAL STUDIO SYSTEMS

Pro Tools personal studio systems offer everything you need to create and produce music with professional results—at affordable prices. Whether you’re looking for an all-in-one audio/MIDI solution with an integrated control surface or a highly portable system, there’s a powerful Pro Tools solution designed to satisfy your creative needs.

MBOX 2 MICRO: $279 (U.S.) Mbox 2 Micro is an ultra-small USB Pro Tools LE editing and mixing solution for Pro Tools users on the go. It’s also ideal for loop-based and virtual instrument composition, or for use as a Pro Tools playback solution in a live setting.

• • • •

Includes Pro Tools LE software and over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Ultra-portable, anodized aluminum design for on-the-go editing, mixing, and music creation High-quality sound up to 24-bit, 48 kHz 1/8-inch stereo output jack for headphone or speaker monitoring (no audio inputs)

• •

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Compact, rugged design Highly portable: powered by USB Professional sonic performance

• Zero-latency monitoring • 2 simultaneous inputs; 2 simultaneous outputs • 1 mic, 2 instrument/line analog inputs

Convenient volume wheel for quick headphone adjustments Powered by USB (USB 1.1 connection, includes USB extension cable)

MBOX 2 MINI: $329 (U.S.) Mbox 2 Mini is the smallest, most affordable Pro Tools LE recording system ever. But don’t let its size fool you; this little box packs the power of a professional Pro Tools LE studio into the palm of your hand.

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Highly portable: powered by USB Professional sonic performance Zero-latency monitoring

• 4 simultaneous inputs; 2 simultaneous outputs • Mic, instrument, and line analog inputs • Integrated S/PDIF digital I/O and MIDI I/O

MBOX 2 FACTORY: $595 (U.S.)

MBOX 2 PRO: $799 (U.S.)

MBOX 2 PRO FACTORY: $899 (U.S.) For only $100 more, Mbox 2 Pro Factory includes the Mbox 2 Pro along with over $1,000 in additional professional Bomb Factory and Digidesign plug-ins, plus an iLok USB Smart Key to manage plug-in authorizations.

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• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments 18 simultaneous inputs/outputs Up to 96 kHz sample rate support Multiple mic, instrument, and line analog inputs

• Integrated ADAT, S/PDIF digital I/O, and MIDI I/O • Fast FireWire connection • 2U rackmountable design

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments 8 premium microphone and instrument preamps 18 simultaneous inputs/outputs Up to 96 kHz sample rate support

• • • •

• • • • • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Integrated control surface 18 simultaneous inputs/outputs Up to 96 kHz sample rate support Multiple mic, instrument, and line analog inputs Integrated ADAT, S/PDIF digital I/O, and MIDI I/O Includes over $3,000 in additional plug-ins (003 Factory bundle)

003 RACK FACTORY: $1,495 (U.S.) For only $400 more, 003 Rack Factory includes the 003 Rack along with over $3,000 in additional professional Bomb Factory and Digidesign plug-ins, plus an iLok USB Smart Key to manage plug-in authorizations.

Record the entire band in your home/project studio, garage, or even live with the 003 Rack+ Factory! With best-in-class sound quality, eight premium mic preamps, a wide variety of I/O to connect instruments, MIDI gear, and other analog and digital devices, and the powerful 003 Factory plug-in bundle, 003 Rack+ Factory is the ideal solution for the recording engineer and producer.

Integrated ADAT, S/PDIF digital I/O, and MIDI I/O Fast FireWire connection 2U rackmountable design Includes over $3,000 in additional plug-ins (003 Factory bundle)

003 FACTORY: $2,495 (U.S.)

For only $100 more, Mbox 2 Factory includes the Mbox 2 along with over $1,000 in additional professional Bomb Factory and Digidesign plugins, plus an iLok USB Smart Key to manage plug-in authorizations.

Mbox 2 Pro is the ultimate highdefinition portable Pro Tools LE system, packing a wide range of analog and digital I/O connections into a mobile audio workstation. Take it wherever inspiration strikes.

Designed with both recording and performing musicians in mind, 003 Rack is an affordable FireWirebased Pro Tools solution that packs a powerful pro recording and production system into a 2U rackmountable interface.

003 RACK+ FACTORY: $1,695 (U.S.)

MBOX 2: $495 (U.S.) Mbox 2 is a next-generation USBpowered audio/MIDI production system that builds on the performance and simplicity of the original Mbox— Digidesign’s most popular personal studio ever.

003 RACK: $1,295 (U.S.)

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments 6 simultaneous inputs; 8 simultaneous outputs Up to 96 kHz sample rate support* Powered by FireWire** or included power supply

• • •

Built-in phono preamp and BNC connectors for Word Clock I/O MIDI I/O with MIDI Time Stamping support Integrated S/PDIF digital I/O

The 003 Factory system combines a FireWire audio/MIDI interface with an integrated control surface, providing an ideal, finger-friendly music production environment. Record, edit, process, mix, and master your projects with hands-on ease and efficiency while taking advantage of the included 003 Factory plug-in bundle. 003 also features a standalone MIDI mode, allowing it to be used to control your favorite MIDI-compatible instruments and applications.

M-AUDIO HARDWARE PERIPHERALS M-Audio offers a variety of hardware peripherals that are compatible with Pro Tools M-Powered software, allowing you to choose the interface that best suits your needs. For detailed information on M-Audio peripherals that work with Pro Tools M-Powered software, visit www.m-audio.com.

* Mbox 2 Pro does not support external sync at 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates. ** Requires 6-pin connection for power via FireWire.

DIGIZINE 25

PRO TOOLS

PERSONAL STUDIO SYSTEMS

• • • •

• •

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Compact, rugged design Highly portable: powered by USB Professional sonic performance

• Zero-latency monitoring • 2 simultaneous inputs; 2 simultaneous outputs • 1 mic, 2 instrument/line analog inputs

Convenient volume wheel for quick headphone adjustments Powered by USB (USB 1.1 connection, includes USB extension cable)

• • • • •

Includes award-winning Pro Tools LE software Over 75 pro effects plug-ins and virtual instruments Highly portable: powered by USB Professional sonic performance Zero-latency monitoring

• 4 simultaneous inputs; 2 simultaneous outputs • Mic, instrument, and line analog inputs • Integrated S/PDIF digital I/O and MIDI I/O

MBOX 2 FACTORY: $595 (U.S.)

MBOX 2 PRO: $799 (U.S.)

DIGIZINE 24

• • • • •

• Integrated ADAT, S/PDIF digital I/O, and MIDI I/O • Fast FireWire connection • 2U rackmountable design

• • • • •

• • • •

• • • • • • • •

Integrated ADAT, S/PDIF digital I/O, and MIDI I/O Fast FireWire connection 2U rackmountable design Includes over $3,000 in additional plug-ins (003 Factory bundle)

003 FACTORY: $2,495 (U.S.)

003 RACK+ FACTORY: $1,695 (U.S.)

003 RACK: $1,295 (U.S.)

• • • • •

• • •

Built-in phono preamp and BNC connectors for Word Clock I/O MIDI I/O with MIDI Time Stamping support Integrated S/PDIF digital I/O

* Mbox 2 Pro does not support external sync at 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates. ** Requires 6-pin connection for power via FireWire.

DIGIZINE 25

PRO TOOLS

SOFTWARE

EXPANSION OPTIONS There are a number of different ways to expand the power of your Pro Tools LE or Pro Tools M-Powered system. In addition to the wide variety of Digidesign Development Partner hardware and software products available for Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered systems, Digidesign also offers the Command|8 control surface as well as several software expansion options, including Music Production Toolkit 2, DV Toolkit 2, and the Complete Production Toolkit.

COMMAND|8: $1,295 (U.S.) Command|8 puts integrated, tactile manipulation of Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered systems at your fingertips. This space-efficient, full-featured control surface option is suited equally well for space-challenged, multi-room music and post facilities as well as home and project studios.

• • • • •

Designed specifically for Pro Tools 8 touch-sensitive faders, 8 rotary encoders Focusrite onboard monitoring section Big, bright backlit LCD display Simple USB connection

MUSIC PRODUCTION TOOLKIT 2: $395 (U.S.) Create massive music mixes and get an amazing collection of instruments and plug-ins at an unbelievable steal with the Music Production Toolkit 2.

• Create and mix up to 64 mono or stereo audio tracks • Comes with over $1,600 worth of professional plug-ins, including: – Digidesign Eleven LE hyper-realistic, vintage guitar amp emulator – Digidesign Hybrid 1.5 high-definition synthesizer – Digidesign Smack! LE foolproof compressor and limiter – Digidesign Structure LE advanced sample player

– Digidesign TL Space — Native Edition convolution reverb • Multitrack Beat Detective rhythm analysis, extraction, and correction tool • Pro Tools MP3 Option for exporting MP3 files

• Edit and mix up to 64 mono or stereo audio tracks • Comes with over $1,480 worth of professional plug-ins, including: – Digidesign DINR LE intelligent noise reduction – Digidesign TL Space — Native Edition convolution reverb – Digidesign X-Form time compression/expansion and pitch shifter

• • • • •

DV TOOLKIT 2: $1,295 (U.S.) DV Toolkit 2 empowers you to edit, mix, and deliver sound for picture on your Pro Tools LE system using many of the same specialized post-production features and tools previously only available on Pro Tools|HD.

COMPLETE PRODUCTION TOOLKIT: $1,995 (U.S.)

PRO TOOLS LE AND PRO TOOLS M-POWERED SOFTWARE In addition to M-Audio Torq LE DJ software, an incredible 8 GB collection of pro-quality loops from industry sound heavyweights Big Fish Audio, and the Pro Tools Instructional Video DVD, studio-standard Pro Tools software includes a comprehensive bundle of amazing virtual instruments, effects, and utility plug-ins. • • • • • •

Award-winning Pro Tools recording, editing, and mixing Mix 48 simultaneous stereo audio tracks (expandable with Toolkit options) Includes more than 75 virtual instruments, effects processing, and utility plug-ins Professional MIDI sequencing with dedicated MIDI Editor window Integrated Score Editor based on award-winning Sibelius notation software Full Elastic Time and Elastic Pitch functionality to easily adjust timing and pitch on your tracks

DIGIZINE 26

DigiBase Pro full-featured file management tool DigiTranslator 2.0 for import/export of OMF, AAF, and MXF files Time Code and Feet + Frames functions Powerful editing and session management features Pro Tools MP3 Option for exporting MP3 files

• • • • • • •

Unique Beat Detective LE automatic groove analysis and correction tool ReWire support for streaming you favorite applications right into Pro Tools Support for select Digidesign and M-Audio control surfaces and controllers Huge selection of compatible third-party plug-ins and software options Includes over 8 GB of pro-quality audio loops from Big Fish Audio Pro Tools Instructional Video DVD makes getting started creating a cinch Works on Windows and Mac computers

Get full 7.1 surround mixing power with up to 128 audio tracks in your own personal studio. The Complete Production Toolkit is the most powerful expansion option for Pro Tools LE, greatly expanding your system’s creative power and capabilities, and offering the ultimate in post-production and music creation versatility.

• Edit and mix up to 128 simultaneous audio tracks • Mix in up to 7.1 surround sound • Double your Instrument tracks from 32 to up to 64 simultaneous tracks • Comes with over $2,650 worth of groundbreaking virtual instruments and professional plug-ins, including: – Digidesign Eleven LE hyper-realistic, vintage guitar amp emulator – Digidesign Hybrid 1.5 high-definition synthesizer – Digidesign Smack! LE foolproof compressor and limiter – Digidesign Structure LE advanced sample player – Digidesign DINR LE intelligent noise reduction

– Digidesign TL Space — Native Edition convolution reverb – Digidesign X-Form time compression/expansion and pitch shifter – Neyrinck SoundCode Stereo surround-to-stereo down-mixer • Multitrack Beat Detective rhythm analysis, extraction, and correction tool • DigiBase Pro full-featured file management tool • DigiTranslator 2.0 for import/export of OMF, AAF, and MXF files • Time Code and Feet + Frames functions • Powerful editing and session management features • Pro Tools MP3 Option for exporting MP3 files

DIGIZINE 27

PRO TOOLS

SOFTWARE

• • • • •

Designed specifically for Pro Tools 8 touch-sensitive faders, 8 rotary encoders Focusrite onboard monitoring section Big, bright backlit LCD display Simple USB connection

MUSIC PRODUCTION TOOLKIT 2: $395 (U.S.) Create massive music mixes and get an amazing collection of instruments and plug-ins at an unbelievable steal with the Music Production Toolkit 2.

– Digidesign TL Space — Native Edition convolution reverb • Multitrack Beat Detective rhythm analysis, extraction, and correction tool • Pro Tools MP3 Option for exporting MP3 files

• • • • •

COMPLETE PRODUCTION TOOLKIT: $1,995 (U.S.)

DIGIZINE 26

• • • • • • •

DIGIZINE 27

PRO TOOLS LE

SYSTEMS AT A GLANCE

Mbox 2 Micro

Mbox 2 Mini

0/1

2/2

4/2*

6/8*

0/1 (stereo output)

2/2

# of mic preamps

N/A

# of instrument DIs

N/A

Phono preamp

003 Rack+

003 Factory

18/18*

4/6

8/8

Yes

48V phantom power

Yes

Maximum resolution

24-bit/ 48 kHz

24-bit/ 96 kHz†

24-bit/ 96 kHz

Alternate source inputs

Yes

Digital I/O

Total simultaneous channels of I/O # of analog inputs/outputs

Mbox 2

Mbox 2 Pro

003 Rack

(stereo output)

24-bit/ 96 kHz Yes

S/PDIF

S/PDIF (2 channels)

ADAT (8 channels)

(2 channels)

S/PDIF (2 channels)

1-in/2-out

Yes

2 (1/4”)

Yes

FireWire

Power source USB 1.1 USB 1.1 USB 1.1 FireWire (requires 6-pin cable) or included power supply

Internal power supply

Integrated control surface

No; supports Command|8 & Control|24

Yes; supports Command|8 & Control|24

MIDI I/O ports

1-in/1-out

Word Clock I/O

Yes

1 (1/8”)

1 (1/4”)

2 (1/4”)

Yes

USB 1.1

FireWire

# of stereo headphone outputs Foot switch input Connection

Yes 2 (1/4”) Yes

No; supports Command|8 & Control|24

Standalone MIDI mixer mode

Yes

Rackmountable

Yes

Software included

Pro Tools LE software 7 virtual instruments 70 pro effects/utility plug-ins

Everything listed on the left plus 003 Factory plug-in bundle (valued at over $3,000)

M-Audio Torq LE software

Additional included tools

Pro Tools Instructional Video DVD

8 GB of audio loops from Big Fish Audio

iLok USB Smart Key

For information on Pro Tools M-Powered software and compatible M-Audio hardware peripherals, visit www.m-audio.com. † Mbox 2 Pro does not support external sync at 88.2 and 96 kHz sample rates. * Total simultaneous I/O channels requires use of both analog and digital I/O.

DIGIZINE 29

PRO TOOLS LE

SYSTEMS AT A GLANCE

Mbox 2 Micro

Mbox 2 Mini

0/1

2/2

4/2*

6/8*

0/1 (stereo output)

2/2

# of mic preamps

N/A

# of instrument DIs

N/A

Phono preamp

003 Rack+

003 Factory

18/18*

4/6

8/8

Yes

48V phantom power

Yes

Maximum resolution

24-bit/ 48 kHz

24-bit/ 96 kHz†

24-bit/ 96 kHz

Alternate source inputs

Yes

Digital I/O

Total simultaneous channels of I/O # of analog inputs/outputs

Mbox 2

Mbox 2 Pro

003 Rack

(stereo output)

24-bit/ 96 kHz Yes

S/PDIF

S/PDIF (2 channels)

ADAT (8 channels)

(2 channels)

S/PDIF (2 channels)

1-in/2-out

Yes

2 (1/4”)

Yes

FireWire

Power source USB 1.1 USB 1.1 USB 1.1 FireWire (requires 6-pin cable) or included power supply

Internal power supply

Integrated control surface

No; supports Command|8 & Control|24

Yes; supports Command|8 & Control|24

MIDI I/O ports

1-in/1-out

Word Clock I/O

Yes

1 (1/8”)

1 (1/4”)

2 (1/4”)

Yes

USB 1.1

FireWire

# of stereo headphone outputs Foot switch input Connection

Yes 2 (1/4”) Yes

No; supports Command|8 & Control|24

Standalone MIDI mixer mode

Yes

Rackmountable

Yes

Software included

Pro Tools LE software 7 virtual instruments 70 pro effects/utility plug-ins

Everything listed on the left plus 003 Factory plug-in bundle (valued at over $3,000)

M-Audio Torq LE software

Additional included tools

Pro Tools Instructional Video DVD

8 GB of audio loops from Big Fish Audio

iLok USB Smart Key

DIGIZINE 29

By Joe Gore

PLUG-IN CENTERFOLD

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

Overloud Breverb company’s popular Atmosphere. Like Atmosphere, it’s a hybrid synth/sample playback instrument that excels at generating complex, evolving textures. It even includes the original Atmosphere sounds as part of its whopping 42 GB library. Likewise, Atmosphere users will feel at home with Omnisphere’s refined update of the original plug-in’s lucid interface. With its intelligently tabbed options and attractively simple layouts, Omnisphere make the plug-in’s vast options understandable and accessible. It’s a master class in user-friendly UI design. Particularly nice is the handsome browser, which lets you search and tag patches using keywords.

Spectrasonics Omnisphere is a master class in lucid UI design.

Conveying the richness and depth of Omnisphere is near impossible in a brief write-up. On its simplest level, the new flagship plug-in from Spectrasonics is the long-awaited update to the

Each Omnisphere patch consists of two layers—really, two independent synths/ samplers. The deceptively simple synths let you tweak the oscillators via wicked wave-shaping and ring modulation. When you click over to sample mode, you get a helpful “Soundsource Browser”

that mirrors the main patch browser. These synths/ samplers can be collected into multi-timbral “Multis” of up to eight patches. There’s a powerful mixer which lets you assign stellar-sounding effects, either patch-by-patch or via sends. There’s even an elaborate, step-sequencerstyle arpeggiator. While the original Atmosphere sounds are included, Omnisphere in no way feels like a mere repackaging. There’s an astonishing amount of brilliant new sound design here. A key attribute of any Spectrasonics product is the sonic palette of Spectrasonics kingpin Eric Persing, arguably the most respected name in the field. Every Persing patch is sinfully rich in color and character.

Overloud’s Breverb falls firmly into the latter category. Sonically and visually, it draws inspiration from today’s highest-end hardware units—the $20,000 gizmos you encounter in some top-flight studios. The Breverb UI even evokes the hardware controllers that accompany those large rackmount units, with large knobs and faders for key parameters.

“Too much character?” you might ask. Can you create patches that don’t sound like they were crafted in Persing’s mad scientist lab? A few minutes of fiddling confirms that these lush, complex ambiences are just one option to choose from. Thanks to Omnisphere’s crystal-clear interface, you can easily veer in less opulent-sounding directions. You could use Omnisphere’s prefab Multis to score a nature documentary in an afternoon, or spend months refining wild new sounds in exquisite detail. Omnisphere runs as an RTAS plug-in on all current Pro Tools systems. It lists for $499.

www.spectrasonics.net

Digidesign Transfuser

Breverb delivers an astonishingly realistic rendition of a high-end hardware reverb unit.

These parameters are disarmingly simple. You choose between four basic algorithms: Hall, Room, Plate, and Inverse, each with six or fewer basic controls, such as time, diffusion, and pre-delay. In addition, there are two bands of full-frequency parametric EQ plus a gate section.

Between the straightforward controls and the 100+ factory presets, it’s easy to nail your target tone. (One handy feature: Breverb “remembers” the last-used parameter settings for each algorithm. You can, for example, A/B between a Hall setting with one set of parameters and a Plate setting with another set.) And the sounds? To my ear, these are the densest, richest, and most detailed reverbs available in a plug-in. It’s more than a matter of rich, naturalistic decays devoid of unwanted artifacts. Left to right, front to back, the results are astonishingly immersive. These are sounds you want to soak in, hot-tub style. I can’t think of any other plug-in that makes your mixes sound so expensive. Of course, “bling-verb” doesn’t suit all situations. If your aims are edgy or quirky, you may be better off with a convolution reverb. Breverb’s ego-stroking sounds are more the stuff of pampered platinum divas, or big rock drums recorded in the chateau’s grand ballroom. Breverb doesn’t do scruffy. Breverb runs as an RTAS plug-in on all current Pro Tools systems. It lists for $400 and sells for around $300.

www.overloud.com

GForce M-Tron Pro Those days are gone. Transfuser, Digidesign’s new looporiented virtual instrument, sports loop-processing pants of unsurpassed fanciness. Transfuser offers everything you need to perform radical reconstructive loop surgery, with an emphasis on remixing and live performance. You’ll encounter capabilities reminiscent of ReCycle, Reaktor, and Live (plus a few new tricks), all melded in a single, powerful interface.

Practically a DAW within a DAW, Transfuser lets you arrange, process, and mix loops directly within the plug-in. You can add loops from its integrated browser, or just drag regions directly from your Pro Tools sessions. You can also resample pro Digidesign’s Transfuser, a powerful loop-manipulation tool, cessed Transfuser loops and comes with almost 2 GB of loopable beats and phrases. deposit them onto regular Pro Tools tracks. In short: Integration is seamless. In the past, if you wanted to get down and dirty Once you load your files, Transfuser automates all with loop-based composition and performance in the dirty work, beat-matching your loops, timePro Tools, you needed some fancy-pants thirdslicing them, and converting them to MIDI-based party software.

DIGIZINE 30

Current reverb plug-ins chiefly fall into two categories: convolution reverbs such as TL Space and Altiverb, which use impulse response recordings to mimic specific acoustics, and general digital reverbs that imitate hardware reverb units. Neither type is “better”—convolution excels at replicating distinctive spaces, while non-convolution ’verbs tend to be more editable and CPU-efficient.

“drum kits.” You can use Transfuser’s sequencers to alter the pitch, amplitude, and order of the loop slices, or use the synth sections to tweak the envelopes and filter properties of each slice. And if that’s not enough to get you in trouble, there are 20 built-in effects, with an emphasis on dance/ electronic flavors.

sample-playback instruments: the Chamberlin and the Mellotron. Each key of these cumbersome 1960s instruments triggered a tapelooped recording of a single note performed by a real instrument. The results, immortalized on recordings by the Beatles, Stones, Moody Blues, and many others, could be sublime, cheesy, or both.

Since you can do most of these things in real time without halting playback, Transfuser is a natural for improv and live performance. It’s a blast using your controller to pilot Transfuser’s onscreen keyboard and drum pads. But my favorite Transfuser feature is the randomizer, nicknamed M.A.R.I.O. (for—heh—“Musically Advanced Random Intelligence Operation”). Its savvy algorithms excel at generating cool and useful pattern variations. You can even specify the amount of variation, or to what extent the new loops resemble their parent patterns. Transfuser comes with almost 2 GB of beats and phrases, though the real fun starts when you stir in your own ingredients. Happily, Transfuser speaks WAV, AIFF, REX, ACID, and Apple Loop.

GForce’s M-Tron Pro updates a plug-in classic with many new sounds

and features.

Transfuser—which costs a mere $295—runs as an RTAS plug-in on all current Pro Tools systems, and you can download a 14-day demo on the Digidesign website.

One of the coolest plug-in instruments just got cooler. M-Tron Pro, GForce’s update of their popular M-Tron, adds many new sounds and features—without compromising the glorious lo-fi funkiness of the original.

www.digidesign.com

The story so far: The M-Tron was a sampleplayback virtual instrument based on the original

GForce totally understands that paradoxical appeal. They didn’t “improve” those wheezy, wobbly sounds. They didn’t even loop the recordings, which can only sustain for nine seconds. They did, however, assemble every extant Melotron/ Chamberlin tape set, unearthing many forgotten ones in the process.

The new M-Tron Pro adds many useful new features without smoothing over those signature cracks. Now you can layer or split two parallel sound banks, each with its own upgraded mixer. (The architecture resembles that of GForce’s other recent retro-savvy instrument, the Virtual Strong Machine.) You can choose between the traditional dry/direct sound, or modify the filter and amplitude envelopes, add retro-flavored chorus and delay, modulate sounds via LFOs, and even assign velocity and aftertouch control. There are also buttons for reverse and half-speed playback. And incredibly, GForce has unearthed still more sounds, including ones from the eight-track-based Birotron and the Roland VP-330, comprising a 3.5 GB library. This includes remastered versions of 19 of the most popular Mellotron sounds. (Don’t worry—these sound louder and fatter, but no less quirky, and the originals are included as well. These refurbished sounds also appear in looped versions in case you find tones that die after nine seconds a little too realistic.) Best of all, the developers have assembled over 700 patches that exploit the new features, yet are fully attuned to the qualities that make tape-based samplers so appealing. The M-Tron Pro runs as an RTAS plug-in on all current Pro Tools systems. It lists for $200 and sells for around $150.

www.gforcesoftware.com

DIGIZINE 31

By Joe Gore

PLUG-IN CENTERFOLD

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

Spectrasonics Omnisphere is a master class in lucid UI design.

Conveying the richness and depth of Omnisphere is near impossible in a brief write-up. On its simplest level, the new flagship plug-in from Spectrasonics is the long-awaited update to the

www.spectrasonics.net

Digidesign Transfuser

Breverb delivers an astonishingly realistic rendition of a high-end hardware reverb unit.

www.overloud.com

DIGIZINE 30

GForce’s M-Tron Pro updates a plug-in classic with many new sounds

and features.

Transfuser—which costs a mere $295—runs as an RTAS plug-in on all current Pro Tools systems, and you can download a 14-day demo on the Digidesign website.

www.digidesign.com

The story so far: The M-Tron was a sampleplayback virtual instrument based on the original

www.gforcesoftware.com

DIGIZINE 31

By Daniel Keller

Unsung Guitar Heroes Behind the music of Guitar Hero with Eleven and ICON

very day, in living rooms around the world, Steve Ouimette’s killer riffs inspire thousands to unleash their inner air guitarists. But despite receiving arguably more airtime than many top 40 artists, Ouimette can still happily walk down the streets of Scottsdale, Arizona without being mobbed. A 17-year veteran of the video gaming industry, Ouimette and partner Ryan Greene are responsible for the sounds behind the wildly successful Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero III games, currently in heavy rotation on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Wii systems. Working on their ICON system at Greene’s Crush Studios in Scottsdale, the duo have also produced more than 50 songs for Konami’s recently released Rock Revolution, as well as soundtracks for Microsoft, HBO, and AOL. Ouimette’s background may sound familiar to many musicians. A record deal in the early 1990s led to disappointment, followed by a series of day jobs to support both a family and his ongoing music habit. But the nature of those day jobs ultimately led to his current gig. “I grew up around computers, and I was working at companies like Creative Labs and Microsoft during the ‘90s,” he explains. “There was an amazing evolution going on in both computer recording and gaming technologies, and I could see the potential for those worlds to converge. Gaming was becoming increasingly sophisticated, and obviously we weren’t going to be using eight-bit audio files and MIDI forever.” A combination of inspiration and good timing changed the course of Ouimette’s career. “I was at a game developers’ conference,” he recalls, “and I saw a sign saying that Activision (makers of Guitar Hero) was hiring programmers. I figured

DIGIZINE 32

they might be looking for content creators too, so I went up and talked to them, and they were open to it. I put together a demo of School’s Out for them, and that led to a bunch of other stuff. I quit my day job and haven’t looked back.” Ouimette tapped longtime friend and colleague Ryan Greene to work with him on the project. Greene, whose resume includes eight years as chief engineer for EMI Music, was a major force behind the southern California pop-punk sound of the late 1990s, mixing seminal albums by bands like Bad Religion, Dishwalla, and NoFX. His Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale is outfitted with a Pro Tools|HD system and ICON integrated mixing environment; most of the Guitar Hero projects originate either here or in Ouimette’s home Pro Tools|HD setup. Recreating vintage tracks for Guitar Hero is a painstaking process, and Pro Tools Beat Detective is an invaluable tool in helping to streamline the impossible. “I take the original track and use Beat Detective to make a sub-bar click track,” says Ouimette. “Beat Detective enables me to match

on the original recording, and try to get as close as possible.” For Greene, the process is equally detail-intensive. “I’ll solo up the left side of the mix and start by really focusing on the tone of the kick,” he says. “In most of those old recordings, the phasing changes from left to right, and those artifacts are a big

“I absolutely love the amp modeling in Eleven. It’s realistic enough to really use, without having to bury it in the mix.” –Steve Ouimette the performance with a tight tempo map. That becomes the foundation for the whole song.” The partners then track live drums on Greene’s ICON system. “We work with several different drummers, and try out different drum kits and different mics,” says Ouimette. “I do a lot of research on the tracks—I find out as much as I can about what was used

part of the sound. It’s easy to create tape hiss—it’s the rest of the stuff that’s the hard part. I’ll go through my plug-ins looking to find something that most closely emulates the original. Then I’ll do it all over again for the right channel.” Ouimette lays down bass and guitar tracks, all the while using Pro Tools to edit and compile the ideal takes.

(He’s gained particular notoriety for his shredding electric guitar version of the Charlie Daniels classic, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”) “When we first started, I’d try to get the tracks in one performance, which is great from my perspective as an artist,” he says. “But I realized pretty quickly that I needed to approach these tracks a bit more scientifically. You’re being scrutinized not on how good of a player you are, but on how close it sounds to the original. Using Pro Tools allows me to focus on a lot more fine detail, and then compile the most authentic performance.” Though more and more of his guitars are recorded direct these days, Ouimette admits to many years of big-room, high-decibel guitar tracking. “I’m a vintage gear fanatic,” he says. “I spend lots of time restoring vintage amps, and I’m pretty obsessive about getting the right sound. Until very recently, I haven’t found any kind of emulation technology that worked for me.”

But recently he’s started working with Eleven, Digidesign’s amp emulation plug-in. “I absolutely love the amp modeling in Eleven,” he says. “It’s realistic enough to really use, without having to bury it in the mix. Plus, I now have the option of changing a track when we’re mixing. That’s just not possible using real amps.” A handful of other plug-ins also figure prominently in achieving authenticsounding vintage sounds. For example, Digidesign Real Tape Suite is one of Ouimette’s go-to plug-ins. “No one wants to actually work with tape anymore, but that tape saturation sound is a lifesaver for us,” he says. “We use that on almost every session.” Greene, a self-acknowledged perfectionist, also relies on some of the Waves plug-ins. But he’s quick to observe that it all comes down to using your ears. “I feel very fortunate to have grown up when I did,” he says. “I used the original gear in the ‘80s, so I know what it really sounds like. I can take the sound of the original gear, A/B it against my plug-ins, and play with the

sound until I get what I’m looking for. Once you’re in the box, the possibilities are endless, and the plug-ins are way more consistently dependable. With all this power at your fingertips, there’s no excuse for things not to sound exactly as you want them to.” Once the basic tracks are laid out, a stable of talented singers is standing

While Ouimette tracks guitars and does minor editing on his home Pro Tools|HD setup, most of the serious editing and mixing is done on Greene’s 24-fader ICON D-Command system. The ICON, which only recently replaced Crush’s long-standing largeformat analog console, has marked a sea change in the duo’s workflow.

“Since we put the ICON in, we’ve been working exclusively in the box. The difference in our productivity is just incredible.” –Ryan Greene by, waiting to add their parts. “We take the Pro Tools session, bounce it to stems, and send it out to a few different vocalists,” says Ouimette. “All of them have an Mbox, 002, or 003 system. Some of them have full HD rigs. They record a vocal and send it back by email. The session files we get back are all nicely laid out, and we do some quick edits and lay them into the track.”

“Since we put the ICON in, we’ve been working exclusively in the box,” says Greene. “The difference in our productivity is just incredible. We’re usually working on many different projects at the same time, because I no longer have to spend time flipping the console back and forth. Now I just open the files, make my changes, and when I come back to it later it’s all there. It feels like a real console, and it sounds great.”

“The ICON is great for moving projects between our setups,” Ouimette agrees. “It’s really increased the amount of work we can crank out, and having true total recall is just priceless.” “The bottom line is, this is the way people make records now,” Greene observes. “This is how people need to work in order to stay competitive in today’s industry, and the ICON gives us the power to do that. If I never saw an analog mixer again, I’d be one hundred percent fine with it!”

DIGIZINE 33

By Daniel Keller

Unsung Guitar Heroes Behind the music of Guitar Hero with Eleven and ICON

DIGIZINE 32

DIGIZINE 33

By David E. Weiss

SPECIAL FEATURE

Remote Recording

Virtual Recording Through Virtual Glass

The Virtual Glass plug-in from eSession is one of the most interesting new tools available for online collaboration.

The Web offers dozens of ways to find other musicians, such as social networks, online classified ads, and forums. But a new breed of online services and sites, including digitalmusician.net, eSession.com, and SessionPlayers.com, provide ways for musicians and producers to streamline the process of sharing audio files, and even allow remote collaborators to record audio in real time via the Internet.

basic “screen test” steps to prepare for a video chat. Make sure there’s no strong backlighting behind you, and there’s sufficient light on your face (unless you like the mysterious shadow look), so your collaborator can see your responses.

Musicians perform the same setup steps as the producer, with these key exceptions: In Audio Settings, Latency Compensation should be off. Both parties politely waiting around for the other to catch up would be a bad thing. And under ReWire Sync Settings, you should choose Receive rather than Send.

Setting Up Sessions

Ready, Set, Record

The Virtual Glass plug-in from eSession is one of the most interesting new tools available for online collaboration. It enables remote audio recording, with support for ReWire Sync. Virtual Glass is quite a versatile plug-in; it’s available in RTAS, VST, and AU formats on Mac and Windows, and allows any of those versions and platforms to record with any other version and platform.

To get started using Virtual Glass with Pro Tools, just insert the RTAS version of Virtual Glass on a stereo Master Fader track (select multichannel plug-in > Other), and bingo: all the output from your session is sent to your partner as well.

Before recording, let’s switch to the producer hat once again. Highlight your musician’s name in the Virtual Glass Buddies list. When the musician accepts, you’re connected. Ask the musician to set his or her Pro Tools session to the same tempo as yours, and have them record-enable the appropriate tracks. Send your transport to the spot in the project that you want to work on, and the musician’s transport jumps to the same spot.

eSession provides extensive search features to help its 7,000+ musicians and producers to find each other. You can search just for experienced pros, dubbed “eTalent,” or you can search among those without this distinction, who have a range of experience, may or may not be pros, and may or may not charge for their services.

You will see the Virtual Glass interface, which represents a control room, with your face in the lower right corner (see figure 1). Click on the “masking tape” illustration that says Audio Settings, and choose your talkback mic under TB Mic Source (see figure 2). Turn on Latency Compensation, which delays your playback slightly so that it is in sync with your partner. Under the ReWire Sync Settings, select Send to establish that you are the boss where ReWire Sync is concerned.

To use Virtual Glass, one person is designated the producer on a session. This person provides some pre-recorded material or at the very least a click track or an idea that the other person, the musician, can accompany in a chat-enabled remote recording session.

Next, add a mono Auxiliary track and insert the Virtual Glass ReWire plug-in (located in the Instrument section). In the plug-in’s Output menu, choose Virtual Glass Sync (see figure 3), and you’re set to begin a session with your musician.

Let’s say you’re the producer. Before connecting with your musician counterpart, turn off any external monitors (that is, use headphones). You need to be able to isolate the music from the “talkback,” or the conversation between you and your collaborator that is not recorded. You’ll also want to go through a few

Now let’s switch hats and look at Virtual Glass from the musician’s perspective. Whether you’re a pro or just want to get more or different gigs, a service like eSession seems like a boon—imagine doing sessions in your own home studio, instead of having to travel for every gig.

Finding Partners

As a subtle twist, it’s the musician who does the actual recording. (Later, outside of Virtual Glass but still using eSession, the musician will provide you with the final audio files.) But you direct the musician, give feedback, ask for new takes, and so forth, as producers do. You can also back up and play back recorded sections to hear the musician’s tracks with yours, without waiting for final files. Via “You” and “Me” faders, both parties can adjust their own playback mixes. Virtual Glass is free with eSession memberships, which start at $19.99 per month—but until 2009, eSession is offering free introductory memberships that allow you to experiment with the service and collaborate on small projects using a modest amount of storage space (250MB). Give it a whirl!

David E. Weiss is a San Francisco Bay Area-based songwriter, self-producer, and music technology writer.

Figure 1: The producer shares a rhythm guitar part in a Pro Tools M-Powered session while the musician, Raziel Panic (www.youshriek.com), plays bass in Ableton Live.

A new breed of online services and sites provide ways for musicians and producers to streamline the process of sharing audio files, and even allow remote collaborators to record audio in real time via the Internet. DIGIZINE 36

Figure 2: Use the Audio Settings panel to set Latency Compensation, specify a talkback mic, control the talkback level, and more.

Figure 3: The Virtual Glass ReWire plug-in has one parameter—output—and one setting, Virtual Glass Sync, which aligns your transport with your partner’s.

DIGIZINE 37

By David E. Weiss

SPECIAL FEATURE

Remote Recording

Virtual Recording Through Virtual Glass

The Virtual Glass plug-in from eSession is one of the most interesting new tools available for online collaboration.

Setting Up Sessions

Ready, Set, Record

Finding Partners

David E. Weiss is a San Francisco Bay Area-based songwriter, self-producer, and music technology writer.

Figure 1: The producer shares a rhythm guitar part in a Pro Tools M-Powered session while the musician, Raziel Panic (www.youshriek.com), plays bass in Ableton Live.

Figure 2: Use the Audio Settings panel to set Latency Compensation, specify a talkback mic, control the talkback level, and more.

Figure 3: The Virtual Glass ReWire plug-in has one parameter—output—and one setting, Virtual Glass Sync, which aligns your transport with your partner’s.

DIGIZINE 37

Eight is Enough

DIGIZINE 38

You asked for it... and now it’s here! The Digidesign 003 Rack+ Factory—the all-new, highresolution integrated Pro Tools recording solution featuring eight premium mic preamps built in—is just begging to record your projects. It’s time to get crackin’ on your trackin’...

Record the entire band in your home/project studio, garage, or even live. The 003 Rack+ Factory is ideal for musicians, recording engineers, and producers looking for a pro-quality, integrated Pro Tools recording and production solution—all without breaking the bank. 003 Rack+ will rock your recordings thanks to its eight built-in premium-grade mic preamps, ensuring your recordings are captured and treated with the utmost fidelity. It also features a wide variety of other inputs and outputs to easily interface with your favorite instruments and studio gear. And, with Pro Tools 8 software and over 80 professional effects plug-ins and seven inspiring virtual instruments included, 003 Rack+ Factory includes everything you need to compose, record, sequence, edit, mix, and master your music—quickly, easily, and professionally.

The Hub of Your Personal Studio With its extensive array of mic/line/DI inputs, as well as a slew of other analog, digital, and MIDI I/O connections—003 Rack+ is the ultimate hub of any home or project studio, or a powerful complement to an existing studio setup. Connect just about any instrument found in your studio to 003 Rack+ for direct recording, including mics, guitars, bass, synths, samplers, drum machines, and MIDI gear. With its studio-grade 24-bit/96 kHz audio resolution, you can be sure 003 Rack+ will capture your creativity in stunning sound quality—every time.

003 Rack+ also includes all the I/O you need to connect optical devices (such as ADAT gear) and S/PDIF digital equipment. Plus, 003 Rack+ features built-in BNC Word Clock I/O, allowing it to easily interface and sync up with other equipment in your studio. With its lightening-fast and simple FireWire connection, you’ve got plenty of bandwidth to record up to 18 channels simultaneously!

Everything You Need 003 Rack+ Factory comes with a powerful and comprehensive software bundle, providing everything you need to create music, perform a composition, record audio, sequence MIDI, edit sounds, fix problems, mix tracks, enhance audio, and master projects. At the core is award-winning Pro Tools LE software, which offers the ultimate in composing, recording, editing, and mixing power and flexibility. And to help you get started, the indispensable Pro Tools Instructional Video DVD teaches you Pro Tools system essentials, from setting up sessions and recording audio to editing MIDI, working with loops and plug-ins, automating mixes, and more. In addition, 003 Rack+ Factory comes bundled a huge collection of studio-quality sound processing and effects plug-ins, virtual instruments, and over 8 GB of loops from Big Fish Audio. Plus, the additional included Factory collection of professional plug-ins (worth over $3,000!) will help you enhance tracks and achieve impeccable, polished mixes quickly and easily. (See “Gear Galore!” section of this article for more details.)

DIGIZINE 39

Eight is Enough

DIGIZINE 38

DIGIZINE 39

Listen With Options

Record the Band Today

003 Rack+ features multiple options for monitoring your sessions as well as other external devices. Dedicated stereo studio monitor outputs allow you to always have reference monitors connected without sacrificing audio outputs, while a stereo pair of alternate control room outputs let you hook up a second set of speakers to ensure easy switching between two studio monitor sources for quick reference. Two headphone outputs, each with its own level control, enable you to run two discrete monitor headphone mixes separately from your main mix. And an alternate source input allows you to monitor signals from a connected external device.

If you’re looking for a professional recording solution that will allow you to easily track multiple musicians or sources simultaneously, all the while using the most popular, powerful, and elegant software in the world (that’d be Pro Tools), look no further than 003 Rack+ Factory. For more information on it, or other members of the Pro Tools LE family of personal studio solutions from Digidesign, visit www.digidesign.com/protoolsle.

Gear Galore! In addition to Pro Tools LE 8 software, M-Audio Torq LE DJ software, and an incredible 8 GB collection of pro-quality loops from industry sound heavyweights Big Fish Audio, 003 Rack+ Factory includes the following bundle of professional virtual instruments, effects, and utility plug-ins. 003 Factory Plug-in Bundle

Effects and Utility Plug-ins

• • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • •

Bomb Factory BF-2A Bomb Factory BF-3A Fairchild 660 and 670 Purple Audio MC77 Cosmonaut Voice JOEMEEK SC2 Photo Optical Compressor JOEMEEK VC5 Meequalizer Moogerfooger 12-Stage Phaser Moogerfooger Analog Delay Moogerfooger Lowpass Filter Moogerfooger Ring Modulator SoundReplacer TL EveryPhase Tel-Ray Variable Delay Voce Chorus/Vibrato Voce Spin

Virtual Instruments • Boom drum machine and sequencer • DB-33 tonewheel organ emulator with rotating speaker simulation • Mini Grand acoustic grand piano • Vacuum monophonic vacuum tube synthesizer • Xpand!2 multitimbral synth and sample workstation • Structure Free sample player • FXpansion BFD Lite acoustic drum module

1-Band EQ III 4-Band EQ III 7-Band EQ III AIR Chorus AIR Decimator AIR Distortion AIR Dynamic Delay AIR Enhancer AIR Ensemble AIR Flanger AIR Frequency Shifter AIR FuzzWah AIR KillEQ AIR Maximizer AIR MultiChorus AIR MultiTap Delay AIR Nonlinear Reverb AIR Phaser AIR Reverb AIR Spring Reverb AIR StereoWidth AIR Talkbox AIR TranceGate BF76 Compressor BF Essential Clip Remover BF Essential Correlation Meter BF Essential Meter Bridge BF Essential Noise Meter Celemony Melodyne Essential Chorus Click Compressor/Limiter D-Verb DC Offset Removal De-Esser

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Delay DigiReWire Dither Duplicate Eleven Free Expander/Gate Extra Long Delay II Flanger Gain Invert Lo-Fi Long Delay II Maxim Medium Delay II Multi-Tap Delay Normalize Ping-Pong Delay Pitch Pitch Shift POWr Dither Recti-Fi Reverse SansAmp Sci-Fi Signal Generator Short Delay II Slap Delay II Time Compression Expansion Time Shift TL AutoPan TL InTune TL MasterMeter TL Metro Trim Vari-Fi

DIGIZINE 41

Listen With Options

Record the Band Today

Effects and Utility Plug-ins

• • • • • •

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

DIGIZINE 41

M-AUDIO | M-PULSE

M-Audio and Digidesign Co-Develop the New

DSM

Designing the DSMs with two engineering teams was an ambitious project. How did M-Audio and Digidesign collaborate?

High-Definition Studio Monitors

As part of Avid Technology, Inc.,

Dave Lebolt: The two business units worked very closely on this project— Digidesign brought expertise in developing products for the highend professional, post-production, and broadcast markets, and M-Audio brought a strong foundation in studio monitor design. Strategically, M-Audio has grown its monitor business tremendously over time. A couple of years ago when the EX66 came out, it blew people away with its tremendous performance and affordability. Now we’re upping the ante with the DSM line, extending M-Audio’s reach on the very high end of the professional market.

M-Audio and Digidesign have the unique advantage of sharing a diverse range of industry-leading technologies—from M-Audio’s best-selling studio monitor design to Digidesign’s legacy of DSP

Niels Larsen: The Digidesign team brought listening ears that have been working in diverse recording environments such as elite pro studios, post, and broadcast. This simply raised the bar of what this product would be.

excellence. Recently, the two powerhouses joined forces to co-develop the Studiophile DSM series, which represent a new paradigm in studio monitor design. To get the inside scoop, we sat down with some of the project’s key contributors: Avid chief technology officer Dave Lebolt; M-Audio general manager Niels Larsen; John Bastianelli, M-Audio director of product management; and Greg Westall, manager of hardware product development at Digidesign.

DIGIZINE 42

“The two business units worked very closely on this project—- Digidesign brought expertise in developing products for the high-end professional, post-production, and broadcast markets, and M-Audio brought a strong foundation in studio monitor design.”— Dave Lebolt

DIGIZINE 43

M-AUDIO | M-PULSE

M-Audio and Digidesign Co-Develop the New

DSM

Designing the DSMs with two engineering teams was an ambitious project. How did M-Audio and Digidesign collaborate?

High-Definition Studio Monitors

As part of Avid Technology, Inc.,

M-Audio and Digidesign have the unique advantage of sharing a diverse range of industry-leading technologies—from M-Audio’s best-selling studio monitor design to Digidesign’s legacy of DSP

DIGIZINE 42

DIGIZINE 43

M-AUDIO | M-PULSE

Let’s discuss the technology itself. John Bastianelli: For starters, we designed both the low- and highfrequency drivers from the ground up. In the low-frequency design, we decided to go with an anodized aluminum cone. That’s important so you don’t have that carved-out frequency response where the other driver picks up for the higher frequencies. In the high-frequency design, we used a soft fabric dome driver made of Teteron to minimize distortion while maintaining an accurate high-frequency response all the way out to 27 kHz.

And where does the digital technology come into play? Greg Westall: The fourth-order digital crossover produces 24 dB per octave of separation between the high- and low-frequency drivers, delivering better phase coherency, way better stereo imaging and depth, and less smear—especially for tracks that live in and around the crossover frequency, like vocals. Then we carefully matched the high-resolution audio engine

and digital crossover with a Class D power amplifier, so signals from the digital inputs can go straight into the power amplifier while remaining in the digital domain. That gives the DSMs incredibly low distortion, low noise, and very high dynamic range.

Is digital time alignment also a factor? Greg Westall: Absolutely. We were able to time align the high- and lowfrequency drivers accurately to within one sample. As a result, the DSMs have an incredibly smooth and accurate frequency response through the entire range.

Digidesign helped start the digital audio recording phenomenon, and has been developing DSP products for as long as anyone else in the business. What role does DSP play in the DSM line? Greg Westall: The DSM line is a fully integrated digital studio monitor series, starting with the customdesigned digital crossover, which allows us to manage the signal flow with exceptional precision. These are incredibly accurate studio monitors but your room may not be. So the

DSP provides six bands of precision digital EQ to compensate for room anomalies. For example, if you place the DSMs on the meter bridge of a console, you might use one of the six bands to compensate for the coupling between the speakers and the board, which would normally cause bass boominess. You might use another band to compensate for standing waves or bass buildup in the room. You could use another band to compensate for high-frequency reflection. The onboard DSP really gives you incredible flexibility.

The DSM monitors sound like they incorporate the best of all worlds. John Bastianelli: There’s a lot of technology between M-Audio and Digidesign. We’ve been extremely successful in blending those technologies into the design of the DSMs—from the drivers to the DSP to the enclosure. The result is simply a superior studio monitor. Niels Larsen: From concept on, we took great measures to design a complete system that, in my estimation, is going to become a classic.

The stunning sound of the new DSM studio monitors owes to a confluence of technologies from M-Audio and Digidesign: acoustically inert cabinets with dualflared ports for high efficiency and extended bass response, Teteron HF drivers accurate to 27 kHz, aluminum LF drivers, a 24-bit/192 kHz audio engine, digital crossover, Class D digital bi-amplification, and both analog and digital inputs.

DIGIZINE 45

M-AUDIO | M-PULSE

DIGIZINE 45

workshop

By James Santiago

guitar tools With Pro Tools 8 and its collection of included effects-especially Eleven Free and effects from Digidesign’s A.I.R. group-I can replicate some of my favorite classic guitar tones.

Achieving Classic Guitar Tones Vintage amp and effect junkie that I am, just the smell of burning tubes from a Marshall stack or the mechanical noise from an Echoplex tape make me downright giddy. But then reality kicks in, and I remember that with vintage gear, I spend more time fixing and maintaining it than actually creating music. While I still love using 40-year-old tube amps with the volume cranked all the way up, they’re just not practical for some projects. But with Pro Tools 8 and its collection of included effects—especially Eleven Free, a scaled-down version of Digidesign’s Eleven amp plug-in, and effects from Digidesign’s A.I.R. (Advanced Instrument Research) group—I can replicate some of my favorite classic guitar tones. Here are some of the tricks I’ve discovered to create amazing vintage-sounding guitars with Digidesign’s latest software tools.

I Heart Delays My love of delay effects started back in the early ’80s, when I heard Andy Summers of the Police create huge atmospheric sounds with just a guitar, Echoplex, and flanger. Then in 1984, U2’s The Edge started using delay

units with onboard modulation instead of using a separate chorus/flanger, which added a bit of swirl to his echoes. On the U2 record The Unforgettable Fire, The Edge used multiple Vox AC30 combos with different delays on each amp. For the title track, he used a dry amp on the right, and a Deluxe Memory Man analog delay with heavy, vibrato-style modulation on the left. He even ran the electric piano through a Deluxe Memory Man. Let’s try to replicate some of these sounds. Start by creating an audio track in Pro Tools 8, and place Eleven Free as your first plug-in. We’ll use the Vintage Crunch model with the 25-watt speaker cab. Vox AC30 amps are famous for their high-end glassiness and chime, so we’ll crank up the Presence control and turn on the Bright switch. We’ll also pull the Gain control back until the amp just starts to break up. The Edge also used an LA-2A compressor after the mic preamp to even out the transients. To get a similar sound, place the DigiRack Compressor/Limiter Dyn 3 plug-in after Eleven Free in the signal chain, set to a 6:1 ratio with a quick release. Now that the basic tone is there, we’ll bus the signal out to a mono Aux track for our Deluxe Memory Man sound. I created a preset using the Mod Delay II plug-in that sounds extremely close to my real unit. The main thing to notice is that I’m using the LPF (low pass filter) to shave off the treble past 1 kHz. This gives us the same general frequency response as the original’s analog circuit, which is extremely dark-sounding when compared to a digital delay. There’s another important step to achieving the “3D” echo sound favored by The Edge: modulation on the repeats. On a Deluxe Memory Man, a single Chorus-Vibrato knob controls the speed and depth. By setting the Depth at 30% and the Rate at 2.14 Hz, you get extremely close to the nine o’clock setting on the real unit. Set the Feedback at around 50% for a nice, lush decay on your chords and single-note melody lines. To get closer to the sound of the track “The Unforgettable Fire,” pan the Aux delay hard right, and the guitar track hard left.

Virtual Digital Delays Since we’re on a roll with delays, let’s take a look a The Edge’s unique use of digital delays. By 1987, he had mostly ditched the Digidesign’s Eleven

DIGIZINE 48

For the full effect, play some palm-muted staccato rhythms and watch out. Oh dude, I think you just stepped in hit!

Old School Plug-ins

DigiRack Dyn 3 Compressor/Limiter analog units and switched to rackmount digital delays like the Korg SDD3000 and TC Electronic 2290. Unlike the Deluxe Memory Man’s muted high-end, these rackmount units have a pristine echo quality that makes it nearly impossible to tell the original note from the repeated one. With his penchant for stacking two, three, and even four of these units together, he could play a single palm-muted note and sound like a wall of rhythmic, stereo-panned lusciousness.

Before the pedal-effect gold rush of the ‘70s and the refrigerator-sized racks of the ‘80s, the biggest tone-changer was to simply plug in a different guitar. Most of the guitar elite of the ‘60s either played a Fender with single-coil pickups or a Gibson with humbuckers. Back then, you were on the cutting edge if you were lucky enough to have a wah or fuzz pedal. While it’s common now to play one guitar and flip through hundreds of presets, the classic method still works the best: Find a great amp tone and get different flavors by changing guitar types. If you’re looking for a thick lead tone with some growl to it, play a guitar with a humbucker. If you need more twang or sparkle, grab something with single coils.

A great example of The Edge’s multi delay rig is the track “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” To recreate this sound, we need at least two discrete delay lines. Create a stereo Aux bus and use the same amp and compression settings from the previous setup. But instead of using Mod Delay II, insert the new A.I.R. Multi-Delay. Now we can set up three different delay lines and pan them across the stereo field. On the Multi-Delay, start by turning the Sync off so it doesn’t follow the song’s tempo. Type in 1.23 seconds as the main delay time, and we get three different delay taps of 308 ms, 462 ms, and 758 ms. (For this sound we don’t need tap four or five, so you can just turn them off.) On Tap One, place the Pan knob hard right (R 100). Tap Two goes hard left (L 100), and Tap Three is mono in the center (<C>). Place the Feedback to 10%, then set From to 1 and the To setting to Input. Now when you play a single note, it bounces in a circle from right to left and back to center again. DigiRack Mod Delay II

DIGIZINE 49

workshop

By James Santiago

guitar tools With Pro Tools 8 and its collection of included effects-especially Eleven Free and effects from Digidesign’s A.I.R. group-I can replicate some of my favorite classic guitar tones.

Virtual Digital Delays Since we’re on a roll with delays, let’s take a look a The Edge’s unique use of digital delays. By 1987, he had mostly ditched the Digidesign’s Eleven

DIGIZINE 48

For the full effect, play some palm-muted staccato rhythms and watch out. Oh dude, I think you just stepped in hit!

Old School Plug-ins

DIGIZINE 49

workshop

guitar tools clear, record a straight direct feed of your favorite guitars. Remember to set the input of your hardware to the loudest pickup you have. You don’t want to move the input gain every time you change guitars. Don’t touch it. If you do, it will be impossible to tell how different the output is on each pickup when you listen to the files. For my pickup template, I recorded the bridge humbucker from a 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez. I find it works best to strum a simple open E chord three times. Strum once near the neck, then the middle, and then close to the bridge. (If you play a bunch of fast licks, you won’t give your ears a chance to “learn” the frequency response.) Then I created another audio track and repeated the same strumming pattern using the bridge single-coil from my favorite Stratocaster. Next I added Kill EQ to the single-coil track, looped those two bars, and tweaked the EQ until it sounded like the humbucker track. While this can be a bit painful to do, it’s a great exercise for learning what your guitars REALLY sound like before they get dressed up. You can download all the presets and Pro Tools 8 project files for this article at www.voodoolab.com/digizine.

Stereo Pan Multi Delay But what if you don’t have 20 different guitars lying around? Or, like me, you gravitate towards a particular guitar? Right now, I’m into an old Stratocaster with single-coil pickups. It has a lot of high-end, and sounds great for punchy rhythm tracks. But it’s not so great for trying to get warm lead tones, and no amount of amp EQ will fix that. But there is a solution! We’ll use the A.I.R. Kill EQ plug-in before Eleven Free to turn our bright single-coil into a humbucker!

James Santiago is the VP of Marketing & Product Development for Voodoo Lab. As a guitarist/composer, he’s created music for ABC/ Disney, NBC, Showtime, Discovery Channel, and various national commercials. He also recreated tracks by Eric Johnson and Santana for the Guitar Hero III video game.

For an easy fix, you can just use the High Cut button, add a couple of dB on the output, and call it a day. But that’s too easy. Let’s start from scratch. First, start by cutting the high-end by 8 dB at 4 kHz. This should get rid of all the clangy pick attack, which isn’t there in most humbuckers. To add some girth to skinny sounding single-coils, I like to add about 3 dB in the 300 Hz to 400 Hz range. This gives us a subtle bump in the lower midrange, and adds some body to the pickup’s tone. That should do it. Using software, you’ve just made your own custom pickup without ever grabbing a screwdriver—or in my case, burning my fingers with the soldering iron as I try to change the pickups myself. You can make some of these EQ pickup templates yourself for fun. But be warned—you’re going to listen to the same two-bar loop for 15 minutes straight, or possibly longer. So you might want to send any innocent bystanders out of the room to avoid collateral damage. Now that the room is Single Humbucker

DIGIZINE 51

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DIGIZINE 51

workshop

By Rich Tozzoli

midi ditty Scoring Big with Pro Tools 8 Whether you’re recording, editing, mixing, or composing, Pro Tools 8 simplifies every aspect of recording and production, from initial inspiration to final output. With five awesome new virtual instruments, 20 hot new A.I.R. effects, new MIDI and Score Editor windows, more tracks, and even a fresh new look, the new version of Pro Tools is a one-stop production shop.

Imagine calling up a MIDI patch on your new Mini Grand piano or DB-33 tonewheel organ virtual instruments (included with Pro Tools 8), playing a few chords, and watching the musical notes appear in real time as you perform. Or grabbing some of the tools you’re already familiar with (like the Pencil, Grabber, and Selector tools) and “writing” your own tune right on the screen. You can even add the notes via step input, if that’s what you’re used to. Of course, all the changes you make in the Score Editor are also reflected in real time within the MIDI Editor, and also on the main Edit page.

The Score Editor lets you easily view, edit, arrange, and print MIDI data as music notation. be turned on or off in the Score Setup). Note that you can also choose from more than 20 different inversions of that particular chord! This new feature makes it easier than ever to read music—and it’s especially useful for those without extensive music notation experience.

Pencil Me In To create a note using the Pencil tool, select it from the Toolbar and just click on the stave of music you’d like to work with. The note drops in exactly where you place it. Want to make it a quarter-note, eighth-note, or thirty-second-note? Easy—just select the note and choose that value from the MIDI Note Duration drop-down menu, and your desired duration is assigned to that note. You can even choose Follow Grid from the MIDI Note Duration menu, and that note instantly follows the Grid value setting. When it’s set to Follow Grid, you can hold down Alt-Start (Win) or Control-Option (Mac) and the plus (+) or minus (-) sign on the numeric keypad to quickly cycle through note values. What if you place the note incorrectly? No problem—just select the Grabber tool and use it to change the pitch, or move it earlier or later

Show and Hide Figure 3: Chord changes dialog. in time (just like a MIDI note). With the Grabber tool, you can enter notes simply by double-clicking on the stave—or you can use it to select multiple notes. The Trimmer tool also works just as you’d expect within the MIDI Editor. To change the length of a note, select the Trimmer tool and click-drag out or in. The value of the note changes according to the selected Grid value.

Pro Tools 8 makes viewing individual parts (or the entire score) effortless. As with the MIDI Editor in the Edit window, you can just click on the tracks in the Track Show/Hide area, and they immediately appear in the Score. This allows you to look at a single track, a few tracks at a time, or all of them at once. Changing the order is just as simple: If you want that synth pad to sit below the cello part, just move them in the Track Show/Hide window, and the new order is reflected in the Score Editor… beautiful!

There are several different ways to zoom in or out within the Score Editor. The Zoomer tool lets you zoom in on the music notation by clicking or click-dragging. Holding down the Alt (Win) or Option (Mac) key zooms you out—or you can use the plus (+) and minus (-) buttons in the scrollbar at the bottom of the screen to move in or out.

Look and Listen Once you’ve composed a piece of music, just press Play to hear (and watch!) your musical performance. Of course, you can always swap out different virtual instruments in order to test the parts with other sounds. Go ahead, change that piano to a choir pad and give it a listen!

Figure 1: The Score Editor and Score Setup views. In this article, we’ll focus on the new Pro Tools 8 Score Editor. Based on Sibelius, the most beautiful and powerful scoring application on the market, the Score Editor lets you easily view, edit, arrange, and print MIDI data as music notation. Don’t worry if you’ve never tried scoring onscreen before—it’s not only easy, but also amazingly fun and creative.

Another useful new feature in Pro Tools 8 is the ability to view chord symbols and diagrams. For example, if you want to display a C-minor chord, first locate the cursor, then click the plus (+) sign on the Chords ruler and choose the chord symbol of choice. Alternately, you can use the Grabber tool and hold down the Control key to display a chord change list. From there, you’d select C as the chord, and then “minor” from the drop-down menu next to “chord.” Like a marker, the chord is listed in the Ruler. And if you open the Score Editor, there’s a chord diagram displayed exactly where you created it on the Ruler (this can

To open the Pro Tools 8 Score Editor, choose Score Editor under the Window menu, or type Alt-Start (Win) or Control-Option (Mac) plus the equal (=) sign. You can also simply right-click on a selection and choose “Open in Score Editor” from the drop-down menu that appears. Figure 2: The Grabber tool selects MIDI notes and data.

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Figure 4: Notation display track settings.

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By Rich Tozzoli

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Figure 4: Notation display track settings.

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midi ditty You can also change the notation settings for all of your tracks. From the Tracks List pop-up menu, select Notation Display Track Setting, or just double-click on the selected tracks clef. This opens the Notation Display Track Settings dialog box. Here you can choose from various kinds of clefs (Grand, Treble, Bass, Alto, or Tenor), as well as transpositions with the Display Transposition menu. For example, you can create notation that allows your alto sax player to read the notes in that instrument’s natural key while still hearing your MIDI instrument in the original key. While they read differently in the score, the actual notes played by the sequencer are not affected. The Notation Display Track Settings window also lets you choose global or individual track-based display quantization. For example, you might use this if you’d like to quantize that cello part to sixteenth-notes, but have all the other tracks read as eighth-notes. The choice is yours.

Available on the Tracks List menu, the Score Setup page allows you to format your score for printing. You can control variables such as spacing and layout, or make changes to the title, composer, and other information. You can also choose what to print and display onscreen in the Display area of the Score Setup window. Simply check or uncheck items such as Title and Composer, Chord Symbols, and Bar Numbers.

It’s a Wrap With the new Score Editor window, you can go deep—or just keep it simple. Of course, you can still export your masterpiece directly to Sibelius for even more in-depth tweaking. Whichever you choose, you’ll achieve amazing results that will enhance both your productions and your productivity. So check out all the new features, virtual instruments, and MIDI options available in the new Pro Tools 8 software. But be warned—thanks to these new scoring features, there is one new piece of hardware you might want to add to your studio: a printer!

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By David E. Weiss

groundwork The Evolution of Comping One of the greatest luxuries most artists and producers have in the studio —whether it’s the corner of a bedroom or a state-of-the-art facility—is the ability to record numerous takes of the same part. But this same luxury can feel like a burden when it’s time to evaluate and combine these takes in a “comp” (composite) track. Fortunately, Pro Tools 8 introduces a new set of tools designed to simplify the process of working with multiple takes. These tools allow producers to quickly choose the best material from a multitude of regions without breaking the production flow, and build a comp track that meets their highest standards.

Take 37, Take 38, Take 39…

breath and the initial attack of the first note. To make it easier for the vocalist to jump in on the right note with the right feel, try copying the measure that precedes the next similar verse, and temporarily place it before the first verse begins as a kind of musical “shim” (see figure 1).

Depending on the complexity of the music and the number of takes you’re working with, you may want to jot down some notes about each of your takes, with an eye towards combining the best parts into one track. Some people use a copy of the lyrics that incorporates a matrix of the different takes, and work syllable by syllable. You need to balance your sense of perfection with your willingness to spend time getting the edits right. Also, if you stop and start recording a few times, your playlists might get out of numerical order; I find it easier on the brain to drag them into order so that my notes can be sequential.

Now it’s time to record a few vocal takes. Keep in mind that only completed loops are placed into new playlists, so be sure to let the last loop completely cycle through to the beginning again. Then just delete the snippet of white noise that remains, and you’ll have a nice “blank canvas” track to work on.

A New View In this workshop, we’ll go through the steps for setting up a vocal comp to accompany a guitar part. (Feel free to mentally substitute the instruments of your choice whenever I use the words “guitar” and “voice.”) Many of these techniques can also be applied to much more complex projects.

Pro Tools 8 introduces a new set of tools designed to simplify the process of working with multiple takes.

Change the vocal track’s Track View Selector to Playlists (new in Pro Tools 8), and you will see a waveform view of each of your takes, now in lanes, running underneath your vocal track. Playlist lanes are similar to the new Volume, Mute, and Pan automation lanes, which you can reveal by clicking the small triangle at the bottom of your track. (And if you do, your track and all its playlist lanes can stay in waveform view. Pretty cool, huh?)

From the Top Before recording, go to the Operations tab in Preferences (Application or Setup menu) and enable a new preference in Pro Tools 8 called “Automatically Create New Playlists While Loop Recording.” This is an incredible timesaver—you can record take after take in Loop Record mode, and instead of recording over the previous takes, each pass is saved as a new take. Each recorded region is automatically numbered and filed away in its own playlist.

If you hit the Solo button in a playlist lane, Pro Tools solos the take, but not the track. This is a great feature, because it lets you quickly hear each take in the context of the rest of the music. You can edit audio in playlist lanes to your heart’s content (see figure 2), and you can also press the Shift key to select and edit across several (or all) of your takes—something you could never do before, unless the takes were on separate tracks.

Record a good reference track of the whole song on guitar using a click track. If you’re mic’ing the guitar, it’s helpful to silently mouth the words as you play, so you can easily keep your place in the song and crank out the whole piece with minimal edits.

The beauty of Pro Tools playlists is that they are simply alternate layers of music for the same track. Each playlist shares all of the properties of its parent track, such as its tempo, time base, counter, fader position, memory locations, sends, inserts, and so on. This makes working with playlists a natural way to manage multiple takes, as opposed to working with multiple tracks.

Pro Tools 8 offers another new feature that comes in handy when it’s time to evaluate takes. You can rate each take or region in a session on a scale of 1 to 5—and you can even filter them by these ratings. For

After you’ve recorded the vocals, you can take out the “shim” (the copied measure from later in the song that you pasted at the beginning) and select as much or little of the initial breath and attack as you need (see figure 3).

Next, select Enable Loop Record under the Options menu and choose a section of the vocal to start recording. For a fast-paced song with short lines, you might want to start with the first verse, and for slower, more difficult ones you might want to choose the first line.

There are several different methods of working with playlists in Pro Tools 8, so you can choose the one that works best for you. You don’t have to use loop recording to end up with multiple takes that are simultaneously accessible in Playlist view. You can also manually create a playlist for every new take, if you prefer to work that way—or drag regions from the Regions List into their own Playlist lanes. Alternately, you can right-click on Regions and choose Copy Selection to New Playlist.

Even if the vocal starts right at the beginning of the song, be sure to set the region to start recording a bit earlier. If you don’t, the recorded region will cut off the incoming Figure 1: A one-measure copy, or “musical shim,” at the beginning of the loop helps the vocalist enter in the right place with the right feel.

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Figure 2: Playlist View: All takes are in plain view, fully editable, and easy to audition.

Figure 3: With the “shim” removed, the new vocal takes are ready to edit.

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By David E. Weiss

Take 37, Take 38, Take 39…

Pro Tools 8 introduces a new set of tools designed to simplify the process of working with multiple takes.

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Figure 2: Playlist View: All takes are in plain view, fully editable, and easy to audition.

Figure 3: With the “shim” removed, the new vocal takes are ready to edit.

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groundwork There are several different methods of working with playlists in Pro Tools 8, so you can choose the one that works best for you. example, you may choose to work only with the ones you’ve given the top rating. To rate a region, highlight it and choose Rating from the Region menu. Deep listeners can rate regions with their eyes closed by selecting Control-Alt-Start (Windows) or Command-Option-Control (Mac) and typing a number from 1 to 5 on the numeric keypad.

Under the Hood Let’s say you’ve settled on three takes that you’ve rated 5 for “excellent.” To focus exclusively on these, right-click on the name of your track, scroll down to Filter Lanes, and choose Show Only Lanes With > Regions Rated

Figure 4: The ever-handy Filter Lanes command.

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1-5 > 5 (see figure 4). The takes rated 1 to 4 are hidden, but not gone forever; you can recall any or all of them by filtering for other ratings, or by choosing Show All Lanes. But filtering is only the beginning of what you can do by right-clicking in Pro Tools 8. Rightclick on any region in any lane or on any track, and you can swap it out for any other region in your session. You can choose the criteria that Pro Tools uses for offering “matches,” or regions that match the region you’ve right-clicked, enabling you to instantly swap in alternate takes or punches (see figure 5).

Figure 5: With the Matching Criteria dialog, you can right-click on any region to swap in any other region in your session that matches your chosen criteria.

This even works across multiple tracks—so if you’ve loop-recorded your vocals using two mics on separate tracks, you can swap out the takes across both channels at once. With filtering and matching, the possibilities for arranging regions are pretty staggering. You don’t even have to confine yourself to regions that share the same time stamp, or even the same instrument.

Figure 7: With one click, you can select the best parts of your takes and promote them to the comp track.

All Together Now Pro Tools 8 provides some useful tools for managing takes even if you’re not creating a comp. If you already know which take you want to use, just highlight the take and click the lane’s Copy Selection to Main Playlist button Figure 6: The Copy Selection to (see figure 6). A copy is inserted Main Playlist button. into the track, and you’re done! You can also use this move to quickly pull out a good take to use for the rest of the recording session, knowing that later you’re going to go back and review them again for the final mix and possibly choose another one. No more running with the last take just because it’s easier!

If the track already has audio in it when you promote material from your takes, regardless of the mode you’re in (Slip, Grid, etc.), your promoted material will replace whatever is there (see figure 7). You’ll find that this workflow is much simpler and faster than copying and pasting between playlists.

If you want to mix and match sections of your best takes to make a comp track, Pro Tools 8 gets you there in style. Select pieces of a take with the Selector tool, select Copy Selection to Main Playlist in the playlist lane, and your selection pops up to the track. Pro Tools keeps the copied regions the same color as the original take, so you can see at a glance where the new regions came from. Since they’re a different length than the original take, Pro Tools renumbers the new regions.

Once your comp is completed, select all the material in the comp track and choose Edit > Consolidate to unify your edits into a single region. And now that you know the moves, comp away!

I find it most useful to work in Grid mode when comping, using a highresolution grid such as 1/64 note, and then go in and fine-tune the edit points once you’re happy with the overall comp. Zoom in tight and use the Trim tool in Slip mode to close the gap between regions at a good zero-crossing point (between a waveform’s trough and a peak), and then add a small crossfade to mask any inconsistencies between the adjoining regions. (For a workshop on crossfades, see the Winter 2008 issue of DigiZine.)

David E. Weiss is a San Francisco Bay Area based songwriter, self-producer, and music technology writer.

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Figure 4: The ever-handy Filter Lanes command.

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Figure 5: With the Matching Criteria dialog, you can right-click on any region to swap in any other region in your session that matches your chosen criteria.

Figure 7: With one click, you can select the best parts of your takes and promote them to the comp track.

Once your comp is completed, select all the material in the comp track and choose Edit > Consolidate to unify your edits into a single region. And now that you know the moves, comp away!

David E. Weiss is a San Francisco Bay Area based songwriter, self-producer, and music technology writer.

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