How to install Pro Tools First. Pro Tools First is the free version of Pro Tools, the most famous DAW nowadays.Available for Windows and Mac, it comes loaded with many of the most used tools from Pro Tools, which can be more than enough for starters or those who are looking for an easy (but powerful) way to compose and record their own songs with a computer.

1. Allen Heath Zed 22fx Manual

Most modern day project studio setups are centered around a computer, an audio interface and a plethora of MIDI devices and musical instruments. Contrary to classic studio setups where the centerpiece of the studio was the console, most project studios nowadays use an audio interface for mic preamps and the analog to digital conversion process, and then all the routing happens inside of a DAW like Pro Tools.Similar to consoles, audio interfaces usually come with some mic inputs, some ¼” line inputs and several outputs; some even have MIDI inputs and outputs. To properly appreciate what an audio interface can do we must understand what happens to an audio signal that enters the device. Let’s imagine a scenario in which we are recording vocal overdubs for a song: Microphone PreampsWe have a microphone set up, the artist is ready to record and after a deep breath we record arm a track and start recording. Signal flows from the microphone into a mic input and preamp of the audio interface. The allows us to amplify the low level mic signal to get it to a working level.

We achieve this by increasing the voltage amplitude of the incoming electrical signal. This enhances the signal a lot and the way the preamp shapes the voltage curve has major sonic implications.To conclude: the preamp changes the way a mic signal sounds – some more than others – and it is important to decide whether you want your mic preamp to add color to your recording or whether you want it to be as neutral as possible.

Make sure to check out our article on the.That being said let us take a look at some awesome interfaces out there that will do wonders to your Pro Tools setup:Keep reading further to get a breakdown of audio interfaces and more in-depth reviews of the above audio interfaces.ProcessSo our signal now has a healthy, working level and it is ready to be recorded. In order to get it to Pro Tools it must be converted from an electrical signal to a digital signal.Per short, an audio interface does this by taking a lot of little “snapshots” of the electrical signal and then assigning numeric values to each “snapshot”. There are two parameters that define how accurately the digital signal will reproduce the electrical one: Sampling frequency and bit depth. Sampling FrequencyThe is the number of “snapshots” the device takes of the electrical signal.In order for an electrical signal to be reproduced accurately the sampling frequency has to be at least two times the highest frequency we want to capture.

As the audible spectrum goes up to 20 kHz, the sampling frequency must be at least 40 kHz in order to capture the frequency content accurately. That being said all A/D devices have a sampling frequency a bit bigger than the minimum needed in order to make up for a phenomenon called aliasing. (Aliasing happens when a frequency higher than half the sampling frequency enters the A/D process and is wrongly understood by your system and converted to a lower frequency thus creating information that is not actually there in your signal) Bit DepthAudio signal in the electrical realm is a function of voltage over time and each “snapshot” your device takes is actually a value of voltage amplitude. Digital conversion takes that voltage value and approximates it to the closest point out of a set of possible values.

The number of possible values is defined by bit depth – a good way to wrap your head around this is comparing this to the resolution of a digital image: the greater the resolution the better the quality of the image. Similarly, the greater the bit depth, the more voltage variation you can capture, thus getting closer to matching the variations of the original signal.To Pro Tools and BackThere are several types of connections that audio interfaces use for connecting to your computer. Some devices use USB, some FireWire and newer devices use Thunderbolt.This connection carries the digital signal to Pro Tools and back to the interface and speakers for monitoring. All interfaces have a hardware buffer which means there will always be a bit of latency between the sound source being recorded and the monitoring.

The buffer size defines how many samples the interface calculates at one time.Keep in mind that there is a buffer for analog to digital conversion (going to Pro Tools) and a buffer for digital to analog conversion (going to speakers, headphones, etc.) OutputsSo our singer put on a great performance, the mic signal was amplified by the preamp, we recorded it to Pro Tools after we converted it to digital audio all while sending our singer a headphone cue for monitoring. In order to play back the recorded performance the signal has to pass through a digital to analog conversion process and then travel to some of the outputs on the interface and then to speakers or headphones. The more outputs an interface has, the more flexibility for monitoring and using outboard effects.What to Look For in a Pro Tools Audio InterfaceBe sure to think deeply about why you are buying an interface and what kind of recording you will be doing with it.Will you record orchestras or playing guitar by yourself? Nevertheless it is a good idea to buy an interface with more mic inputs than you need now as you never know what the future brings.It is also a good idea to check if the audio interface you desire offers the possibility to increase the number of mic inputs by connecting via to an external mic preamp module. While 24 bit, 44.1 kHz is good enough for most situations, the higher the sampling frequency and bit depth of the audio interface, the better the quality.Also be sure to check that the interface has enough outputs and if the connection protocol is actually compatible to your computer. Do not forget that you need 48 V to power condenser microphones and active DI boxes so your interface should definitely have that on all mic inputs.Best Audio Interfaces for Pro ToolsFocusrite Scarlett 18i20 (2nd Gen) ReviewThe whole Scarlett series is simply amazing quality.

From the components to design, all the interfaces in the series are great products. Pristine and neutral mic preamps and 24 bit, 96kHz digital conversion make sure that your recordings will sound off the hook.

Midi, S/PDIF and ADAT i/o are big pluses for this interface, the only drawback being that it uses USB 2.0 which is not as speedy as Thunderbolt or FireWire. Steinberg UR 824 ReviewThe UR 824 is the perfect tool to start your studio around. It is equipped with really cool Yamaha D-Pre mic preamps and can convert to digital audio at 24 bit, 96 kHz – this is quality.

It comes standard with 8 analog inputs and 8 outputs but you can extend that to 24 by 24 if you connect external mic preamp modules via the two pairs of ADAT i/o. PreSonus AudioBox 1818 ReviewLike the previous two interfaces, this one is part of a series and all products from the AudioBox series share similar specifications – XMAX preamps, 24 bit, 96 kHz digital conversion, ADAT i/o, MIDI i/o – What else do you need? This interface comes as an 8 by 8 analog i/o system and will make music making a treat. Universal Audio Apollo Quad ReviewThis one is a bit of a different animal – it is designed to be extremely high end and completely dedicated to professional integration in a studio. It only has 4 mic inputs but the preamps are incredible and you get an extra 8 line inputs and a total of 10 line outputs.

It converts to digital and back at a staggering 192 kHz sampling frequency running on a 24 bit system. The big attraction is that it uses DSP cards to take the load of the CPU and do all the processing in the device itself. Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 ReviewSmaller than a book but cooler than most of the things I have seen on the market.

This device is a production station and it is designed for production work and not large recording sessions. You get four analog inputs (two XLR combo, two balanced line), four balanced outputs, S/PDIF i/o and MIDI i/o which is very versatile. USB powered and 24-bit/96 kHz recording all at a fairly small price – what else does a producer need?

Native Instruments really packed a lot into this little beast.Final ThoughtsThere are a lot of other great products on the market and these are simply some of the best audio interfaces for Pro Tools judging by the quality you get for your investment. The audio interface you buy is as important as the if not more important. It will shape everything your record with it and having all the features needed for your setup is necessary in order to facilitate good workflow.Other manufacturers totally worth checking out are MOTU, RME, AVID and M-Audio. I hope that all this information will help you when making the extremely important decision of buying an audio interface.

A very common cause of confusion for a new user of Pro Tools is not knowing what to do when you hit play only to be greeted by silence. Here are some things to know. 1 - Check hardware first!Because there are so many things which can go wrong in software it is tempting to assume that the problem must be in Pro Tools software - Not necessarily! 2 - Is the volume up?Don’t crank it up and leave it there if it is not the problem, turn it back down or you might get a big shock when you do find what is wrong.

3 - Are your peripherals connected and powered?A buss powered audio interface should have status lights on it. A common mistake which I have to admit I have made more than once in a computer lab style classroom is to adjust the headphone level of the interface being used by the person next to me. 4 - Look at the software settingsOnce you have eliminated obvious hardware issues (are your headphones plugged in?

Allen Heath Zed 22fx Manual

I know it sounds obvious but I have watched people busily check I/O settings with their headphones disconnected more than once) it is time to look at the Pro Tools software. 5 - System Preferences vs Playback EngineMany new users do not appreciate that there are audio settings for the whole OS (i.e. Computer-wide) and audio settings for the specific application you are using (i.e. Changing system settings will not affect Pro Tools, to do that you need to access the Pro Tools playback engine.

The Pro Tools Playback Engine is accessed from the Setup menu and it is here you can select which audio interface you wish to use with Pro Tools. Because there are sound settings for the operating system (i.e. The whole computer - web browser, iTunes etc.) and for just for Pro Tools, it is possible to have sound hardware which is used by the rest of the system and different hardware which is just used by Pro Tools. The available Pro Tools playback engines are accessible from here.

People trying to fix a playback engine issue by changing the System Preferences Sound settings (PC - Control Panel Hardware and Sound) is one of the most common causes of confusion I have come across. If you are using on board sound hardware on a Mac you will be using Core Audio. If you are using Windows you will need to use an ASIO driver for your on board audio on your PC. ASIO4All is a generic ASIO diver for windows machines. Neil on setting this up. On a Mac Pro Tools sees the core audio input and output as separate devices and Avid created an aggregate device combining them both called Pro Tools Aggregate IO. If you want to use the on board IO this is the option you need.

6 - Outputs inactive/unavailableTo hear a track it has to be routed to an available output. It is unusual for this to present many problems unless a session has been created on another system. If is has then Pro Tools should be able to “map” the outputs imported with the session onto the appropriate output on the system the session is being opened on.

If this does not work the invalid output will show up as italicised. The most straightforward way to fix this is to hold down option/alt and click on the output selector for one of the tracks which is assigned to the inactive main output and select the appropriate available output. Using the option/alt key will apply this change to all tracks in the session apart from masters. This will of course disrupt any submixing or bussing in the session.

There are more elegant ways of fixing this problem but for simple session this method is adequate. 7 - Mix Control/SoftwareA final thing to check is whether any features designed to provide low latency monitoring while tracking are the problem. This only affects users with external audio interfaces but a common cause of confusion is the role of the mix control found on many USB interfaces. Use of these is beyond the scope of this article but if you cannot hear playback from Pro Tools make sure the mix control is not turned fully towards “input”. Some interfaces use some kind of mixer software external to Pro Tools to achieve the same thing. If your interface uses proprietary mixer software check the settings.