Where are the GRID lines?

[Terry Wetzel]

Due to my aging eyes I thought it best to go to a 37", flat screen monitor with Pro Tools. Everything looks great except the grid lines, when visible at all, are very faint. This makes it very difficult for me when trying to line up drum beats etc. to be right on the mark. Is this a result of the large screen? This brings me to a couple more DUMB, or should I say uneducated questions. 1). Is the grid only viewable in grid mode? 2). How does one set the location/spacing of the grid lines? In other words, in 4/4 time, should there not be a grid line for each Quarter note, or eighth note, sixteenth note, etc. (Please pardon my musically ignorant and probably hard to understand question). I have not had any luck at all using Beat detective, quantize, etc, to make this easy! Thanks for any help and please, be gentle. Thanks

[mixmama]

I have found that I don't see the grid lines clearly unless I change to BARS/BEAT instead of MIN/SEC

[CME]

Not to where I can get to PT. But change the main counter to bars|beats. Sub counter can be whatever you'd like. Then I think just to the right of the main counter is where you choose the subdivision you'd like to use. 1/4 note 1/16 note, ect.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel

Due to my aging eyes I thought it best to go to a 37", flat screen monitor with Pro Tools. Everything looks great except the grid lines, when visible at all, are very faint. This makes it very difficult for me when trying to line up drum beats etc. to be right on the mark. Is this a result of the large screen? This brings me to a couple more DUMB, or should I say uneducated questions. 1). Is the grid only viewable in grid mode? 2). How does one set the location/spacing of the grid lines? In other words, in 4/4 time, should there not be a grid line for each Quarter note, or eighth note, sixteenth note, etc. (Please pardon my musically ignorant and probably hard to understand question). I have not had any luck at all using Beat detective, quantize, etc, to make this easy! Thanks for any help and please, be gentle. Thanks

Time signature (like 4/4, 3/4, etc.) has nothing to do with grid spacing. In page 541 of the PT Reference Guide you find that you can enable Grid Mode by pressing the F4 key on your keyboard. To display grid lines select Grid in the toolbar in the Edit window or click the Name of the currently selected Timebase ruler.

To configure see page 542 of the Reference Guide. There's too much to re-type here and you'll just have to RTFM. And before you say you don't have a PT Reference Guide you do - it was installed on your system when you installed PT and is also accessible via the menu bar in PT.

[nst7]

When he mentioned "spacing", he probably meant resolution. As mentioned, is a control in or near the bars/beats counter that sets how the grid display is divided up, all the way down to 32nd notes.

[Terry Wetzel]

Replying to all and thanks for the helpful responses. First, I only use BARS/Beats. Second, I wasn't about to say that I don't have Pro Tools reference manuals. I bought them in hopes that they would enhance my learning period. Normally I prefer written instructions since I have a memory recall problem but the manuals only tend to confuse me in that they seem to constantly refer the reader to other pages and most times the other page is in the other book! A flimsy excuse I know but Like I said, I'm old and time is important to me! In my opinion the manuals were not written with the beginner in mind but for experienced PT's users. Anyway, I will certainly try the kindly offered tips in hopes they will solve my problem.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel

Replying to all and thanks for the helpful responses. First, I only use BARS/Beats. Second, I wasn't about to say that I don't have Pro Tools reference manuals. I bought them in hopes that they would enhance my learning period. Normally I prefer written instructions since I have a memory recall problem but the manuals only tend to confuse me in that they seem to constantly refer the reader to other pages and most times the other page is in the other book! A flimsy excuse I know but Like I said, I'm old and time is important to me! In my opinion the manuals were not written with the beginner in mind but for experienced PT's users. Anyway, I will certainly try the kindly offered tips in hopes they will solve my problem.

First off the 'manual' I'm talking about is the free Reference Guide that comes with every installation of Pro Tools - not some third party book. There are some good third party books out there. I don't know what you're talking about with two manuals - care to enlighten me? Not trying to be a smartass I just need to know what you're talking about. I gave a reference to documentation that every PT user has without purchasing something else. It's all written there - you just have to want to use it.

Second - bars/beats has NOTHING to do with the grid and gridlines and how granular the grid is. What does is what I cited.

[Terry Wetzel]

musicman691. I wasn't aware that the reference manuals came packaged with Pro Tools until after I purchased them. (Amazon Books, $50.00 Plus or Minus). They are not third party but official Pro Tools reference manuals. I know you were not trying to be a SA and I appreciate your taking the time to try and educate me. I guess to some it seems that I am always asking for help before I try on my own to solve the problem. Not so! As I have said before, Mental impairment due to a stroke isn't easy to live with. I'm not asking for sympathy. Only understanding.

[albee1952]

Hey Terry, I suggest spending some time fussing with the brightness and contrast settings on the TV. I am running a 32" LED TV as my main screen and it seems to help if I lower the brightness and push the contrast up some. Hope you find a good setting(I had a 39" LED screen, but at the lowest brightness, my eyes were burned out after 30 minutes).

[Terry Wetzel]

Hey, Thanks Albee. I thought the large screen was a good idea at the time but now I'm starting to doubt my decision. If the brightness and contrast adjustments don't solve my problem I may go back to a regular monitor. Thanks.