Demystifying Pro Tools Preference Settings part 3/3

OK today let's first go over the Editing tab. There's really only one item I want to make sure you know about. At the bottom of the page is 'Levels of Undo'.  This preference sets the maximum number of actions that can be undone. The maximum is 32 levels of undo! That's a lot! You can "back up" 32 times. Sometimes I use this to my advantage - I may try something knowing that I can go back and undo whatever it is I'm trying. For instance, in editing I might try to edit two different sections together a certain way not knowing if it's going to work or not. And then if it doesn't work I can just back up until I see my two sections as they were in the beginning before I did any editing at all.

NOTE: The one thing to keep in mind is that setting this to a lower number can speed up the performance of slower computers.

The next tab in the preferences setup is Mixing. Under the Setup section I like to use the Default EQ and Default Dynamics windows. Here I set the EQ and Dynamics processors that I use most often. After setting them, they will show up when you're in the mix window and you click on an insert. The plugin appears at the top of the insert selector pop-up menu.

Next under Automation be sure 'Smooth and Thin Data After Pass' is selected. Pro Tools will automatically smooth and thin the automation data created in an automation pass if this is set. Be sure to set the 'Degree of Thinning' also. I have mine set to "more". I would leave this higher - either 'more' or 'most'.

And finally, notice 'After Write Pass, Switch To'. This determines what happens after you write the first pass of automation. Touch mode writes automation only while a fader or switch is touched or clicked with a mouse. When the fader is released, the writing of automation stops and the fader returns to any previously automated position. Latch mode works in the same way but continues to write automation until you stop playback.

So that's it for the Preference settings in the Setup menu! I hoped this helps. I hope this lessens any intimidation you might have felt while looking through this particular menu item!

Until next time -

And HEY! make it a great day!

Tim

Demystifying Pro Tools Preference Settings part 2/3

In the last blog post I covered the first tab under pro tools preferences - Display. Today I will cover Operation Preferences. First section is Transport: The very first selection 'Timeline Insertion/Play Start Marker Follows Playback' is important and I use it all the time. When selected, the Timeline Insertion and the Play Start Marker both move to the point in the timeline where playback stops. When deselected, the Timeline Insertion and Play Start Marker do not follow playback, but return to the point in time where playback began. Many times I leave this deselected because I want to play a section of my song and I want playback to start from the same place every time. This way I can listen to the same section over and over for whatever reason. If you select it, then when you are in playback mode, wherever you stop and then restart, playback continues from wherever you stopped.
**This can also be selected/deselected from the Edit window - underneath the Edit Tools - the farthest right icon (looks like a rt. arrow with vertical line and play button).

The Numeric Keypad mode determines how the numeric keypad functions. The main thing I set this for is memory locations. Whether you have it set for Classic or Transport will determine how you recall different memory locations using the numeric keypad. This will be a personal preference for you. I use Transport setting, just because that is how I prefer to move to my memory locations when using the numeric keypad.

The really BIG ONE is Auto Backup. You DEFINITELY want to have this selected! This determines if pro tools automatically backs up your sessions! If hard drive space is limited you may only want to keep the last 3 backups and backup every hour. I think I normally keep the last 5 or 10 sessions and backup every 20 minutes. Ask yourself how much work and time you are ready to lose and have to re-do? Sometimes when I am working on an intense session or one with heavy work changes or with a client where a lot is happening, I will keep more back ups and back up at more frequent intervals. Other times it's not that critical so I decrease the number of backups and frequency. But every backup takes up hard drive space, so keep that in mind! As terabyte hard drives continue to come down in price, this becomes less of an issue!

On the right side is the Record preferences. The default settings here should be adequate for most people most of the time. I believe the default settings are Latch Record Enable Buttons (selected) and Link Record and Play Faders (selected). Also make sure Open-Ended Record Allocation is set to 'Use All Available Space'.

That's it for the Operation preference! We'll cover some others preference settings next time, so until then . . . .

HEY! Make it a Great Day!!

Tim