Sample-based production techniques

[sound_smith]

I suspect this may be a well-worn topic here, but as I am new to the forum (and relatively new to PT) I will risk the redundancy.

I am HIGHLY interested in making PT10 my new all-in-one electronic music DAW (I am upgrading from a Sound Forge+Reason setup). The workflow is much different from other multitrack DAWs I've used. I have a few questions if anyone would be so kind:

1) Can you break-out audio tracks for editing, much like the Midi Editor 'breaks out' into a single, free-standing window? It is quite laborious to continually resize tracks for editing. Suggestions?

2) Are there any Loop Playback tips/tricks I should be utilizing to better hone in on the portion I'm working on?

3) I'm aiming to get the ease and speed out of PT that I get out of Reason, without restricting myself to Reason-only sounds/effects. I'm just getting my feet wet using PT10+Komplete 8. Any workflow tips?

4) Should I create a 'Music Production' template to de-clutter the workspace and jump right into beat-making? I would LOVE for someone to walk me through this. Do I start in Grid Mode? What about playback options?

* Any redirection to pertinent sites/tutorials/threads would be MUCH appreciated. You all rock. Thanks DUC!

[PD-John]

Originally Posted by sound_smith

1) Can you break-out audio tracks for editing, much like the Midi Editor 'breaks out' into a single, free-standing window? It is quite laborious to continually resize tracks for editing. Suggestions?

No you can't open an audio track in a separate window like you can with the MIDI Editor window. However, you can use Zoom Toggle to quickly expand the track you're working on using the "E" key (with Edit Focus mode turned on). Go to Setup > Preferences > Editing, and under "Zoom Toggle", select the track height you want when working on a track.

Now when you press "E" in the Edit Window, whatever track the cursor is on will expand to the specified size. If you also use the "P" and ";" keys to move up and down tracks, you can get around sessions very quickly using just the keyboard.

Hope this helps.

[Stig Eliassen]

• Ctrl+Command+Up arrow will fit selected tracks to window
• Ctrl+Option+Command+Up arrow will fit all tracks to window (if possible)
• Option+F will fit selection to window (horizontally)
• Option+A will fit entire session to window, and reset to default waveform height (this may have changed in PT 10)

I use those, and Zoom toggle, a lot. I also use Zoom presets, and the keys R and T to zoom in/out.

Groove3.com has quite a few tutorials about PT.