Drag and copy clips

[superproducer]

Hello....

I'm a new Pro Tools user migrating from years of Sonar usage. I have a simple problem. When I want to use the drag-n-drop method to copy clips, part of my original clip gets muted (or overwritten) when I overlap them... how do I work around this?

[nikki-k]

Stickler for terms...clips=regions I am assuming?

On a single track, only one region can receive voicing at a time. This is SOP for every DAW I have worked with...Sonar not being one of them tho. As such, overlap two regions, and the one on top is the one receiving the voice. I cannot imagine Sonar to be different...I am wrong tho?

If you have a region/clip that is XXXXXX and one YYYYYYY and you want YYYYYYY to start XXXYYYYYYY like that, but still have the entire XXXXXX play, you would to place each region/clip on seperate tracks.

If I got what you are trying to do wrong, further clarification, or a step-by-step scenario would help.

[steve at Your Heaven]

Just a guess:
My first DAW program was Vegas. In that program, overlapping files are automatically crossfaded or mixed together on a track. Not so with Protools, where one 'overwrites' the other, and crossfades must be created and adjusted each time (as far as I can tell).

This is one of those (relatively few) places where I still find the non-Protools version more efficient and more intuitive.

[nikki-k]

Wow- had no idea. I never used Vegas...but PT will do just that

Cubase, Nuendo, PT, PARIS, DP...
Although different terminology is used, the song remains the same- when a region has another "interupt" it by laying over (overlapping), the topmost receives priority.

PT will do auto-x-fade with overlap/butting (HD Only). Page 343 of PT7 Reference Guide. Dont know the page for previous versions offhand.

Sorry LE users...

(btw- Steve- dont ya love when you find something new? I know I do...I must find a few things in PT I had no idea about every month...and some are age-old features! This is what I love about PT- so simple to use as a "tape recorder," but as simple as the layout is, the power under the hood is staggering. I do not know fo ANY daw offering so much without the comprimise of tons of windows, multiple screensets, confusing setups, etc. My one word to describe PT HD? Irreplaceable. )

[steve at Your Heaven]

Nikki -
It is true I often am delighted at the new things I find in this program, and there are plenty of them. I'm not sure this one does what I was thinking of, though (and described somewhat incorrectly above).

The page you mention (p 289 in my older manual) implies that you can assert an auto fade with limited functionality at a region boundary. The result is not visible, but I do not think it will involve a crossfade, and it is limited to 10ms (the same as the default on old ADAT's).

What the other program does is create a crossfade of any length, depending on how far you 'slide' one region over the other. This happens while allowing you to see a version of both waveforms as you adjust it. So, making one 'take' out of 2 takes at a particular note is done by trimming take 1 to a little after the note, trimming take 2 to a little before the note, sliding take 2 'over' take 1 so the notes coincide, and then adjusting the length of the crossfade by trimming the edges of both takes near the crossfade as you see fit. I am not, so far, able to find a way to do this in Protools, though it is close to doing the same thing on two tracks, then moving take 2 region onto the first track, then adjusting fades.

If I'm doing it right, in Protools I (eg) trim to just before the note in both takes, slide take 2's left to take 1's right, then enact a crossfade. For me, it is a disadvantage that I can't see the material in both so I can experiment with fine adjustments while seeing what I'm doing.

If there's another way, I'd love to hear it.

[nikki-k]

Gotcha...

Yeah, auto-crossfde is something I do not use...and if so, so rarely I do not recall having done so.

For me, PT is mainly compose (for now- if I find something better, I'm grabbin it. PT just lacks in several keys areas so horribly...), then I will proceed to record the pieces, keeping old takes if I find them to be "the take." Mix, and then figure what I want to do next.

Since composing is the only place I really use heavy editing (believe it or not, I prefer straight thru takes; I am not a fan of editing), crossfdes are not in heavy use. I simply record a piece, and then trim it, cut, chop, etc and add on layers (tracks), experimenting with things until I have the "vision in sound" I imagined to begin with, or find myself on some path I never even dreamed of. When I snug pieces, I do not desire anything to fade or such without my specific desire. When I find a region end or start has a bad edit spot, sometimes a crossfade is simply easier...and when composing, I am completely lazy

On the other side of the coin is music I play with, such as dance, techno, etc. Just fun stuff, and I can see auto crossfade (PT style) helping. I can also see what you describe as being cool as well. I see it as a different type of crossfade tho...and I would have a rough time deciding which type of auto to use with certain situations.

Layering regions is a severely lacking area in PT IMO. And "severely lacking" is being extraordinarily kind...incredibly, extraordinarily kind....