Getting Started with Mbox Version 6.7 for LE Systems on Windows or Macintosh Digidesign 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA tel: 650·731·6300 fax: 650·731·6399 Technical Support (USA) tel: 650·731·6100 fax: 650·731·6384 Product Information (USA) tel: 650·731·6102 tel: 800·333·2137 International Offices Visit the Digidesign Web site for contact information Web Site www.digidesign.
Copyright This guide is copyrighted ©2004 by Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Digidesign. DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
contents Chapter 1. Welcome to Mbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mbox Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mbox Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Pro Tools LE Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 4. Mbox Hardware and Connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Mbox Front Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Mbox Back Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Making Signal Connections to Mbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix C. Digidesign WaveDriver (Windows Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Installing the WaveDriver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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chapter 1 Welcome to Mbox Welcome to Mbox, Digidesign’s portable Pro Tools micro-studio, designed in collaboration with Focusrite. Mbox provides your USB-equipped computer with two channels of analog and digital audio input and output, employing professional-quality mic preamps and 24-bit analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters.
Pro Tools LE Capabilities System Requirements Pro Tools LE software provides the following capabilities with Mbox: Mbox can be used with a Digidesign-qualified Windows or Macintosh computer running Pro Tools LE software. • Playback up to 32 mono digital audio tracks, and playback up to 30 tracks while recording up to 2 tracks, depending on your computer’s capabilities.
Hard Drive Considerations Avoid Recording to System Drives Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance It is recommended that you start with a newly initialized audio drive. You should also periodically defragment your audio drive to ensure continued system performance. For a list of qualified hard drives, see our Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).
Digidesign Registration Complete and return the registration card included with your Pro Tools Mbox system. Registered users will receive periodic software update and upgrade notices. Refer to the registration card for information on technical support. About the Pro Tools Guides The Getting Started with Mbox Guide explains how to install and use Mbox to record, edit, and mix audio and MIDI tracks in Pro Tools LE.
Conventions Used in This Guide Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands: : Convention Action File > Save Session Choose Save Session from the File menu Control+N Hold down the Control key and press the N key Control-click Hold down the Control key and click the mouse button Right-click (Windows) Click with the right mouse button The following symbols are used to highlight important information: User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from
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chapter 2 Windows Configuration This chapter contains information for Windows systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a Macintosh computer, see Chapter 3, “Macintosh Configuration.” Before installing this version of Pro Tools, please refer to the Read Me information included on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM. Installation Overview Installing the Mbox on a Windows computer includes the following steps: 1 Configuring “Windows System Settings” on page 7.
Enable DMA for any IDE hard drives: 1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 Launch System. 3 Click the Hardware tab. 4 Under Device Manager, choose Device Man- This sets System Standby, System Hibernate, and “Turn off hard disks” to Never. Disable ClearType Font Smoothing When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type” setting must be disabled. ager. 5 In the Device Manager window, double-click IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard drive.
Recommended Configuration Pro Tools LE can also be affected by other software and hardware drivers installed on your computer. For best possible performance, it is recommended (but not required) that you: • Avoid running other Windows programs at the same time as Pro Tools. • Turn off any software utilities that run in the background, such as Windows Messenger, calendars, and disk maintenance programs. • Turn off any non-essential USB devices while using Pro Tools.
MIDI Studio Setup 5 Follow the on-screen instructions: (Optional) • Disconnect Mbox from the USB port of the computer. If you plan to use any MIDI devices with Pro Tools, configure your MIDI setup with MIDI Studio Setup. See Appendix E, “Configuring Midi Studio Setup (Windows Only)” for details. • Reconnect Mbox to the USB port of the computer. The new firmware will be uploaded to the Mbox. Installing QuickTime (Optional) QuickTime 6.
Digidesign ASIO Driver is automatically installed when you install Pro Tools. For detailed information on configuring the Digidesign ASIO Driver, see Appendix B, “Digidesign ASIO Driver (Windows Only).” To use Digidesign ASIO Driver without Pro Tools, use the stand-alone version of the Digidesign ASIO Driver. The standalone version of Digidesign ASIO Driver is available on the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.
To share Pro Tools sessions between Macintosh and Windows systems, select the “Enforce Mac/PC Compatibility” option when creating the session, or when saving a session copy to a Windows audio drive formatted using NTFS or FAT32. Avoid using MacOpener on HFS-formatted drives. It is recommended that you use MacOpener on NTFS or FAT32 drives instead. To move material from HFS-formatted drives to NTFS or FAT32 drives, use the Save Session Copy In command in Pro Tools.
In most cases, the default settings for your system provide optimum performance, but you may want to adjust them to accommodate large or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions. Hardware Buffer Size CPU Usage Limit The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins, as follows: Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce monitoring latency, and are useful when you are recording live input.
DAE Playback Buffer Size Pro Tools Hardware Settings The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk buffers, which affects system performance, as follows: Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select the default sample rate and clock source for your system, and configure the clock source for your system. ◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can improve playback and recording initiation speed.
Channel 1–2 Input Source The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you to configure the two inputs on Mbox to receive analog or digital signals. 3 Click OK. Your digital input device must be connected and powered on for Pro Tools to synchronize to it. If your input device is not powered on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal. To select the Channel 1–2 input format for Mbox: 1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
3 To change the name of a path or subpath, double-click directly on the Path Name, type a new name for the path, and press Return. 4 Click OK. 4 For optimal disk performance, select 32K from the Allocation unit size pull-down. This increases how efficiently audio data is written to and read from the drive. 5 Make sure the Quick Format option is dese- T Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide (or choose Help > Pro Tools Reference Guide) for more information on renaming I/O paths.
Defragmenting an Audio Drive Periodically defragment audio drives to maintain system performance. To defragment an audio drive: 1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man- age. 2 Under Storage, choose Disk Defragmenter. 3 In the Disk Defragmenter window, choose the drive you want to defragment 4 Click the Defragment button and follow the on-screen instructions. 5 When defragmenting is complete, close the Computer Management Window.
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chapter 3 Macintosh Configuration This chapter contains information for Macintosh systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a Windows computer, see Chapter 2, “Windows Configuration.” Before installing this version of Pro Tools, please refer to the Read Me information included on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM.
6 Close the Software Update dialog box. Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) 7 Proceed to “Installing Pro Tools LE” on page 20. (Optional) Installing Pro Tools LE After the Apple System software settings are configured, you’re ready to install Pro Tools LE. To install Pro Tools LE on Mac OS X: 1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X, refer to your Apple Mac OS X documentation.
Stand-Alone CoreAudio Driver Installer This version of Digidesign CoreAudio Driver can be installed on Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools systems running on Macintosh (for example, if the CoreAudio Driver was uninstalled), or it can be installed as a stand-alone driver on Macintosh systems that do not have Pro Tools installed. For detailed information on installing and configuring CoreAudio Driver on systems with or without Pro Tools, see the electronic pdf of the CoreAudio Usage Guide.
Configuring Pro Tools LE 3 Click OK. Pro Tools System Settings Pro Tools LE allows you to adjust the performance of your system by changing system settings that affect its capacity for processing, playback, and recording. In most cases, the default settings for your system provide optimum performance, but you may want to adjust them to accommodate large or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
3 Click OK. To change the default Sample Rate: 1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open. DAE Playback Buffer Size 2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup. The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk buffers, which affects system performance. Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can improve playback and recording initiation speed. However, a lower setting can make it difficult for slower hard drives to play or record tracks reliably.
Clock Source To rename I/O paths in I/O Setup: Using the Hardware Setup dialog, you can select the clock source for the system. 1 Choose Setups > I/O Setups. Internal If you are recording an analog signal directly into Mbox, you will usually use the Pro Tools Internal clock source. The Clock Source automatically changes to Internal when you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to Analog.
Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance Removing Pro Tools on Mac OS X It is recommended that you start with a newly initialized audio drive. You should also periodically defragment your audio drive to ensure continued system performance. If you need to remove Pro Tools from your computer, you can use the Installer CD-ROM or the downloaded Installer file.
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chapter 4 Mbox Hardware and Connections This chapter explains how to connect your Mbox for monitoring, playback and recording. If you are new to working with digital audio workstations, first read through the Mbox Basics Guide for basic setup information (such as connecting audio inputs, headphones, mics and instruments). The following illustrations show two possible setups depending on the equipment in your studio.
USB cable Mbox instrument FireWire drive p Laptop to lap headphones Figure 2.
Mbox Front Panel Features About Phantom Power Dynamic microphones (such as a Shure SM57) do not require phantom power to operate, but are not harmed by it. Most condenser microphones (like an AKG C3000) do require phantom power to operate. 48V LED Source Selector CH 1 Gain Peak LED Source Selector CH 2 Peak LED Although phantom power can be used safely with most microphones, it is possible to damage some ribbon microphones with it.
Peak LEDs These LEDs are triggered just below analog clipping levels. In other words, if the Peak LEDs flicker occasionally, the signal is approaching clipping levels, but they do not necessarily indicate distortion or clipping. USB LED The USB LED indicates that the Mbox has received power from its USB connection. Once the USB light is on, audio can pass in or out of the system. To listen to just the Source input signal, turn the Mix knob fully left to Input.
Checking Phase Relationships Mbox Back Panel Features The Mono switch can also be used for a quick check of the phase relationship between Channel 1 and Channel 2 inputs. When the two input signals are out of phase, pressing the Mono switch will result in a sudden “hollow” sound that is the result of phase cancellation. This quick test with the Mono switch can help to avoid phase problems later when mixing these tracks.
48V Switch Line Outputs This button activates phantom power on the Mic inputs for microphones that require it to operate. These outputs support balanced TRS, or unbalanced TS, 1/4-inch connections. To monitor your mix, these outputs can be connected to a mixing board, directly to a monitoring system such as a stereo power amp, or another stereo destination. Be sure to check the 48V LED on the front panel of Mbox before plugging in any microphones.
compressors or equalizers, which are typically used as inserts on traditional analog recording consoles. See “Using the Analog Inserts” on page 34. Do not plug instruments, speakers, or headphones into the 1/4-inch jacks labelled “Inserts.” These are not inputs. They are special connectors for using an external effects processor such as a compressor or EQ. Making Signal Connections to Mbox Mbox can be used in a variety of audio setups.
To connect to a home stereo: To connect an analog audio source: ■ Using 1/4-inch cables, connect the Line Outputs on the back panel of Mbox to the appropriate inputs on your stereo. 1 Plug an XLR or TRS cable directly into Home stereo systems often use RCA connectors. You can use an adaptor or a special cable to convert from the TRS or TS connectors used by Mbox to the RCA connectors on your home stereo.
To insert a device in the signal path: 1 You will need a cable that breaks a TRS con- nector on one end out to two unbalanced connectors. The type of unbalanced connector is determined by the inputs of the device. 2 Locate the unbalanced connectors and deter- mine which corresponds to tip, and which to ring. 3 Connect the unbalanced connector that cor- responds to tip to the input port of the device.
MIDI Connections By adding a compatible MIDI interface to your system, you can take advantage of all the MIDI features of Pro Tools LE, including recording and editing MIDI tracks. See the Mbox Basics Guide for information on basic MIDI concepts. USB MIDI interfaces work effectively with Pro Tools systems on Windows or Macintosh. Serial MIDI interfaces are supported on Windows systems only. Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X.
chapter 5 Working with Pro Tools LE This tutorial of Pro Tools LE software introduces its main windows and features, and also includes a step-by-step overview of audio recording (see “Basic Recording” on page 49). Starting a Session All features described in this chapter are explained fully in the Pro Tools Reference Guide. 2 Choose File > New Session. To create a new session: 1 Launch Pro Tools LE.
Main Windows The Mix, Edit, and Transport windows are the main Pro Tools work areas. You can show any of these windows by choosing them from the Windows menu. Press Control+Equals (=) in Windows or Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh to switch between the Edit and Mix windows. Mix Window Displays the Pro Tools mixer, with its familiar fader strip controls for volume, pan, solo, mute, and signal routing.
Setting a Tempo Using the Click Plug-In You can set the tempo for your session by using the Song Start Marker, located in the Tempo Ruler. The Click plug-in creates an audio click during session playback. This works like a metronome that you can use as a tempo reference when performing and recording. To set the session tempo with the Song Start Marker: 1 In the Tempo Ruler, double-click the Song Start Marker.
Using an External MIDI Click To use the Click plug-in: 1 Choose MIDI > Click to enable the Click option. – or – Select the Click button in the Transport window. Pro Tools also provides a MIDI Click option that lets you use an external MIDI device to play a click. This feature can be turned on and off in the Transport window, and is configured from the MIDI Click Options dialog. To configure and enable an external MIDI click: Click button 1 Choose MIDI > Click Options.
4 During recording or playback, you can turn the Click on or off with the Click button in the MIDI Controls display of the Transport window. System Resources and Settings You can change specific Pro Tools system settings to optimize system performance. Click button Playback Engine Dialog Tempo Controls Click and Tempo Controls in the Transport window Saving Sessions The Playback Engine dialog lets you adjust system buffer sizes and allocate CPU processing power to Pro Tools.
Transport Controls The Transport window provides access to all Pro Tools LE transport commands. Different transport controls can be displayed or hidden in this window. The Transport window can also display a Master Counter, as well as the following MIDI controls: Wait for Note, Click, Countoff, MIDI Merge, Conductor, Meter, and Tempo. Click Wait for Note Countoff To show the Transport window: ■ Choose Window > Show Transport Window.
Tracks Track type is indicated by the Track Type icons just below the faders. Pro Tools LE lets you create audio and MIDI tracks for audio and MIDI recording, submixing, routing, automating, and editing. Pro Tools provides four types of tracks: audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, and MIDI tracks. Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Faders can be mono or stereo.
Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, and MIDI tracks can be automated. Inserts Inserts Inserts on Master Faders are post-fader only. (Audio track and Aux input track inserts are all pre-fader.) Sends Master Faders do not provide sends. To send an output to another destination, use an Auxiliary Input.
3 Click in a track or Timebase Ruler. The cursor Drag border to resize width of Regions Lists Click Audio Regions for pop-up menus appears at the selected location and the counters display the current time location.
Memory Locations Memory Locations provide another way to navigate within sessions. Memory Locations appear as markers under the Timebase Rulers. To define a memory location: To go to a stored memory location: 1 Choose Windows > Show Memory Locations. 2 In the Memory Locations window, click the name of the memory location. Viewing and Zooming 1 Navigate to the location at which you want to store a marker or memory location. – or – Begin playback.
To change track height: To store a new Zoom preset definition: Click the Track Height Selector, and select a track height from the pop-up menu. ■ Command-click a Zoom preset number to store the current horizontal and vertical Zoom to that preset. ■ You can apply many commands, including track height selection, to more than just a single track. Hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Macintosh) while performing an operation to apply it to all tracks.
To import a CD audio track: 1 Put the source CD into your computer’s CD drive. 7 You can audition the audio file by clicking on the speaker icon in the waveform window. 2 Use a third party software program of your choice to extract audio from the CD. 3 In the session, create a new track by choosing File > New Track.
Basic Recording This section describes how to record audio and MIDI into Pro Tools LE. Preparing for Recording To prepare an audio track for recording: 1 Verify the connections to your instruments. For more information about connecting instruments to Mbox, refer to Chapter 4, “Mbox Hardware and Connections” as well as the Mbox Basics Guide. 5 Use the Gain controls on Mbox to maximize the signal going into Pro Tools while avoiding clipping.
4 Click Return To Zero to start recording from the beginning of the session. You can also record according to a selection or from the cursor location in the Edit window. 5 Click Record in the Transport window to enable recording. 6 Click Play or press the Spacebar to record on all record-enabled tracks. 2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI Track, then click Create.
To record onto a MIDI track: Monitoring MIDI Instruments Without a Mixer 1 Verify that the MIDI track you want to record to is record-enabled and receiving MIDI. To monitor your MIDI instrument’s analog output, you can use an Auxiliary Input. Auxiliary Inputs function as inputs for both internally bussed signals and external audio sources. 2 In the Transport window, click Return To Zero to start recording from the beginning of the session.
Audio and MIDI editing are typically used to: • Fix or replace mistakes • Re-arrange songs and projects • Clean up track timing and rhythm by aligning hits to Grid values like bars and beats • Create final tracks using selections from multiple takes (also known as comp tracks). Edit Modes Edit Tools Pro Tools LE has seven Edit tools: Zoomer, Trimmer, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, Pencil, and Smart Tool. Select an Edit tool by clicking it in the Edit window.
Trimming Regions 6 Click at the end of the region and drag left to shorten the region. After recording an audio track, you will have an audio region on that track. If there is some silence at the beginning of the region, or there is some extra audio at the end of the region, you can use the Trimmer tool in Slip mode to shorten the beginning or end of the region.
6 Click the Selector tool, and drag on the waveform with the Selector to make a one-bar selection. Note that the selection snaps to the specified grid. could separate beats or “hits” into individual regions and rearrange them in Grid or Shuffle mode as a way of coming up with new and interesting rhythms. Playlists and Nondestructive Editing Making a selection in Grid mode 7 Create a new audio track (File > New Track). 8 From the Grabber pop-up menu, select the Separation Grabber tool.
Mixing The Pro Tools mix environment provides many familiar channel strip controls for setting volume, pan, solo, and mute. Mixer and I/O controls can be shown in both the Mix and Edit windows. To view the Mix window: ■ Select Windows > Show Mix. Press Control+Equals (=) in Windows or Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh to switch between the Edit and Mix windows. Using Channel Strip Controls Volume Increase or decrease the track level by dragging its Volume fader up or down.
3 Set the output level of the send. You can set the send level to zero by Option-clicking the send fader. You can configure the default level for new sends to be –∞ or at unity gain (0 dB) by enabling or disabling the Sends Default To “–INF” option under the Operation Preferences. Creating a Return Auxiliary Inputs can be created to act as return channels for busses, as well as for inputs from hardware sources.
To create a Master Fader: 1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono or stereo Master Fader track, then click Create. 2 In the Mix window, click the Master Fader’s Output Selector and choose the output path that you want to control. You can choose either outputs or internal busses. Real-time plug-ins are assigned to tracks from the Inserts view in the Mix or Edit windows. Once assigned to a track, plug-ins appear in the track’s Inserts view, and can be opened by clicking the Insert button.
Mix Automation Mix automation lets you record, or automate, changes to track and send levels, mutes, pan, and plug-in parameters. MIDI tracks provide volume, pan, and mute automation only. Once written, automation can be re-written or displayed and edited graphically in the Edit window.
Selection or Track Length If you make a selection in a track, the bounced mix will be the length of the selection. If there is no selection in any track, the bounce will continue until it reaches the end of the session. To Bounce to Disk: 1 Choose File > Bounce to Disk. 2 Select any mono or stereo output or bus path as the source for the bounce. 3 Select the File Type (such as WAV), Format (such as mono or stereo), Resolution (such as 16bit), and Sample Rate (such as 44.1 kHz).
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appendix a Windows System Optimizations When installing Pro Tools on Windows XP, there are many system variables that affect performance. If you have followed all the Windows configuration instructions in Chapter 2, “Windows Configuration” and are still experiencing problems, try the following troubleshooting suggestions. Norton Ghost is highly recommended, as it lets you save your system in a working state and easily revert to that state should you accidentally disable anything that your computer needs.
Processor Scheduling To Adjust Processor Scheduling Performance: 1 Choose Start > Control Panel. 2 In Classic View, launch System. If you disable any of the following startup items, do so carefully: • Portable media serial number (required for applications that utilize a copy protection key) • Plug and play 3 Click the Advanced tab. • Event log 4 Under the Performance section, click the Settings button. • Cryptographic services 5 Click the Advanced tab.
appendix b Digidesign ASIO Driver (Windows Only) Introduction The Digidesign ASIO Driver is a single-client multichannel sound driver that allows thirdparty audio programs that support the ASIO standard to record and play back through the following Digidesign audio interfaces: • Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces • Digi 002 • Digi 002 Rack • Mbox Full-duplex playback of 24- and 16-bit audio are supported at sample rates up to 96 kHz, depending on your Digidesign hardware and ASIO program used.
For a list of Digidesign hardware systems, Digidesign-qualified computers, operating systems, and devices, and Digidesign-qualified thirdparty ASIO-compatible programs, refer to the compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato). Configuring ASIO Driver Settings Configuring ASIO Driver settings is done in your third party ASIO program. See your program’s documentation. For example, with Propellerhead Reason, click on the ASIO Control Panel.
The Digidesign ASIO Driver Control Panel cannot be accessed under the following circumstances: • When Pro Tools is running. • When playing or recording in an audio program that does not support the ASIO Driver. • When using a third-party audio program that has an option to keep the ASIO Driver “open” even when you are not playing or recording. (You must close the audio program before you can open the ASIO Driver Control Panel.
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appendix c Digidesign WaveDriver (Windows Only) Introduction The Digidesign WaveDriver is a single-client, multichannel sound driver that allows thirdparty audio programs that support the WaveDriver MME (Multimedia Extensions) standard to play back through the following Digidesign audio interfaces: • Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces • Digi 002 • Digi 002 Rack • Mbox Playback of 24- and 16-bit audio are supported at sample rates of up to 48 kHz, as supported by the hardware and WaveDriver program used.
For a list of Digidesign hardware systems, Digidesign-qualified computers, operating systems, and devices, and Digidesign-qualified thirdparty WaveDriver-compatible programs, see the compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato). Installing the WaveDriver Digidesign WaveDriver is automatically installed when you install Pro Tools. To use Digidesign WaveDriver without Pro Tools, use the stand-alone version of the Digidesign WaveDriver.
Configuring WaveDriver for Windows Media Player and Other Third-Party WaveDriver Programs WaveDriver is configured in the Sounds and Audio Devices Control Panel (for programs that use the Windows Sound Playback Default Device, such as Windows Media Player), or as a preference for third-party WaveDriver programs. To configure WaveDriver as the Windows Sound Playback Default Device (for example, for Windows Media Player): 1 Open the Sounds and Audio Devices Control Panel. 2 Click the Audio tab.
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appendix d Digidesign CoreAudio Driver (Macintosh Only) Introduction The Digidesign CoreAudio Driver is a multi-client, multichannel sound driver that allows CoreAudio compatible applications to record and play back through the following Digidesign audio interfaces. • Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces • Digi 002 • Digi 002 Rack • Mbox Full-duplex recording and playback of 24-bit audio is supported at sample rates up to 96 kHz, depending on your Digidesign hardware and CoreAudio client application.
What are the Limitations of the Digidesign CoreAudio Driver? The Digidesign CoreAudio Driver has the following limitations: ◆ Pro Tools is not a CoreAudio application and therefore requires exclusive access to Digidesign hardware. You cannot use CoreAudio applications and Pro Tools at the same time. To use Pro Tools, make sure you quit any CoreAudio applications before starting Pro Tools. To use a CoreAudio application, make sure you quit Pro Tools before starting any CoreAudio application.
Removing the CoreAudio Driver To uninstall the Digidesign CoreAudio Driver: 1 Power on your system. 2 Do one of the following: • On the Pro Tools Installer CD, locate and double-click the Install CoreAudio file. – or – • From the Digidesign Web site, download, locate, and double-click the Install CoreAudio file.
Buffer Size You may select from the following buffer sizes (depending on your Digidesign hardware): • 64 samples • 128 samples • 256 samples • 512 samples • 1024 samples • 2048 samples Small buffers have the advantage of low latency in the record monitor path, but also are more taxing on your computer’s CPU and could contribute to dropouts in your audio during record or playback. (Latency is the time delay between a signal entering the audio inputs and leaving the outputs during recording.
3 Configure the Hardware Setup dialog for your Digidesign hardware. If you have more than one audio interface connected to your Pro Tools TDM system, be sure to select and configure only the primary audio interface connected to the core card. For more information on the Hardware Setup dialog, refer to your Getting Started Guide or the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Configuring the Apple Sound Preferences or Apple Audio MIDI Setup 4 Click the Input tab and select Digidesign HW as the device for sound input. To use your Digidesign hardware with common CoreAudio-compatible playback applications (such as Apple iTunes or QuickTime Player), you will need to configure either Sound Preferences or Audio MIDI Setup in addition to Digidesign CoreAudio Setup.
3 From the System Settings Default Input pop- up menu, select Digidesign HW. 4 From the System Settings Default Output pop- up menu, select Digidesign HW. Leave System Output and Selected Audio Device set to Built-in audio controller. The Digidesign CoreAudio Driver cannot be used for system sounds.
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appendix e Configuring Midi Studio Setup (Windows Only) MIDI Studio Setup MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) lets you configure the MIDI controllers and sound modules that are connected to your system, and control the routing of MIDI data between your MIDI equipment and Pro Tools. MSS automatically finds MIDI interfaces, and lets you specify a custom name for each of the MIDI ports within the MIDI Studio Setup document. MIDI Studio Setup Window The MIDI Studio Setup window is organized into three sections.
Show Duplicate Emulated Ports If you are using a MIDI interface that supports timestamping (such as MIDI I/O), when the Show Duplicate Emulated Outputs option is selected, the MIDI Studio Setup window shows both the DirectMusic time-stamped output ports, and nonstamped duplicate emulated output ports. Some MIDI Interfaces will not properly load or unload their drivers unless you quit and re-launch Pro Tools. Check the documentation that came with your MIDI interface for more information.
Model The Model pop-up menu provides a list of MIDI devices, filtered by the manufacturer name. This list is derived from the XML-based MIDI device files provided with your Pro Tools installation. For more information, see “Patch Name Support” on page 81. Input Port The Input Port pop-up menu displays a list of available MIDI interface input ports.
4 In the Patch Select dialog, click the Change button. To clear patch names: ■ In the Patch Select dialog, click the Clear button, and click Done. MIDI patch name files (.midnam) can be edited in any text editor, or you can use third party patch librarian and editor software to create your own custom patch names. Change button Patch Select dialog 5 In the Open dialog, navigate to Program Files\Common Files\Digidesign\MIDI Patch Names\Digidesign\, and select the MIDI Patch Name file (
appendix f Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) Audio MIDI Studio Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI interface as generic ports. With Mac OS X, you use Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility to identify external MIDI devices connected to your MIDI interface and configure your MIDI studio for use with Pro Tools. 2 Click the MIDI Devices tab. AMS scans your system for connected MIDI interfaces. If your MIDI interface is properly connected, it appears in the window with each of its ports numbered.
5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI interface by clicking the arrow for the appropriate output port of the device and dragging a connection or “cable” to the input arrow of the corresponding port of the MIDI interface. To configure an external MIDI device: 1 Select the external device icon and click Show Info (or double-click the new device icon). External Device Icon 2 Select a manufacturer and model for the new Making MIDI input and output connections device from the corresponding pop-up menus.
3 Click the More Properties arrow to expand the 4 Click the device image. The window expands dialog, then enable the appropriate MIDI channels (1–16) for the Transmits and Receives options. (These determine which channels the device will use to send and receive MIDI.) to show images for various MIDI devices (such as keyboards, modules, interfaces, and mixers). Select an icon for your device.
Patch Name Support 4 In the Patch Select dialog, click the Change button. Pro Tools supports XML (Extensible Markup Language) for storing and importing patch names for you external MIDI devices. Pro Tools installs MIDI patch name files (.midnam) for the factory default patch names of many common MIDI devices. These files reside in directories, sorted by manufacturer, in /Library/Audio/MIDI Patch Names/Digidesign.
index Numerics C 32K clusters 16 channel strip controls Mute 55 Pan 55 Solo 55 Volume 55 click 40 Click plug-in Accented parameter 39 Unaccented parameter 39 Clock Source 15, 24 cluster size 16 CoreAudio driver 20, 71 CPU Usage Limit 22 A AMS (Audio MIDI Setup) 83 configuring MIDI devices in 84 ASIO driver 10, 63 audio analog 34 editing 51 importing 47, 48 monitoring 33 preparing 49 routing 49, 55 audio connections home stereo 34 self-powered monitors 34 Audio Regions List 44 audio tracks 43, 44 author
E H Edit mode buttons 52 Edit modes 52 Grid 52 selecting 52 Shuffle 52 Slip 52 Spot 52 Edit tools 52 Grabber 52 Pencil 52 Scrubber 52 Selector 52 Smart Tool 52 Trimmer 52 Zoomer 52 Edit window 38 editing 51 editing regions 52 hard drive and Macintosh system drive 25 and Windows system drive 17 hard drives cluster size 16 formatting 25 maintenance 17 space requirements 3 Windows maintenance 16 Hardware Buffer Size 22 hardware installation 7 USB 9 headphones gain control 31 output back panel 31 front panel
L P latency see monitoring Pan slider 55 peak indicators 30 Pencil tool 52 phantom power 32, 34 indicator 29 when to use 29 playback starting and stopping 42 Playback Engine dialog 41 playlists 54 creating 54 plug-ins 57 power Windows System Standby 8 Pro Tools authorizing 21 capabilities 2 main windows 38 software configuration 22 validating 21 Windows configuration 12 Pro Tools LE installing, Windows 9 Program Change dialog 82, 86 M MacOpener 11 Master Faders 43, 44, 56 creating 57 Mbox features 1 bac
90 S T S/PDIF I/O 32 S/PDIF input indicator 30 S/PDIF mirroring 35 Sample Rate 14, 23 Scrubber tool 52 Selector tool 52 sends 44, 55 assigning 55 sessions 37 creating 37 duplicating 41 navigating 45 saving 37, 41 saving copies of 41 Shuffle mode 52 Slip mode 52 Smart Tool 52 Solo button 55 sources analog 32, 34 connecting 34, 35 instrument 29 line 29 microphone 29 selecting 29 Spot mode 52 submixing 55 system requirements MIDI 36 System settings for Windows 7 system settings 41 Clock Source 15, 24 CPU Us
Z Zoom presets 47 recalling 47 storing 47 Zoomer tool 52 Zooming 46 Index 91
