Windows 7 - how to get sound from both Pro Tools 12 and other applications?

[Josephine.]

Good morning - and please forgive me my english - it is not my native language, as it will surely become obvious quickly.

As a 'new user' I would also like to extend my greetings to You all.

I need Your 'quick and efficient' help - just 'step by step' solution to a silly 'problem' which makes my Pro Tools 12 pretty much unusable.

I'm just as big of a 'noob' in 'tech-sphere' of music making as it gets, so have that in mind. I wanted to 'build' my little 'reasonably functional and cheap' music-corner, one, which will not limit me with software's poor abilities, so:

- I have read what I could about DAW's - and bought the Pro Tools 12 [ full version ].

- I have read what I could about studio monitor's - and bought Yamaha HS8

- I have read what I could about ' external sound card - audio interface ' - and I have 'planned' to buy Focusrite 2i2. I did not bought it 'yet', so if it is for some reason 'terrible choice for Pro Tools' - please tell me.

Point of all this was to 'give me' whatever ability I like to ' play with music in my head' on screen, without finding, that "program can't do that", "does not work because of x", "is not compatible with Y" - that kind of waste of time nonsense.

So - I installed my Pro Tools 12 on my silly desktop PC...

... only to find, that I am unable - and it is considered "normal behaviour" on forums - have sound from both Pro Tools 12 - and all of other apps on PC at the same time.

If someone would tell me before that "Proffesional audio app" have issues like that I would have trouble believieng it. You do now, that there are free daw-like, poor looking apps out there that have no troubles with that, right?

If any 'company engineer' read my post - I feel I have right to say that thing like that should not be an acceptable feature in a respectable software.

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So this is what I need help with:

I absolutely need for Pro Tools 12, as well as World of Warcraft, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, 15 pages in browser, windows media player, MS Word, 10 folders, Da Vinci editing software and many other things, run without an issue simultaneously 24/7 - just like they always have - until Pro Tools 12.


I respectfuly ask for quick and efficient, point by point solution.

I am happy to provide all information You need.

I have Windows 7.

I have Pro Tools 12.

I was able to figure out "same bit rate" on Windows 7 and Pro Tools 12.


1. My first question:

Please -

care to explain me what should I do to hear everything at the same time, now, without addind audio interface to my pc and using just pc speakers. I have 2 pairs of them if that could be useful, just write me point by point how to configure it.

No, there are not tutorials for that in google or forum search option.


2. Would it be a problem to run ALL PC sounds, from Pro Tools 12, You Tube, video games and everything other in the world through single pair of Yamaha HS8? I did not 'wanted' to create my little rig to be forced to... to what? To send all sound 'except of Pro Tools' to pc speakers?

Please tell me, as clearly as possible, if I will have any issuses in simulataneously running all imaginable PC sounds, Pro Tools 12 included, through single pair of Yamaha HS8, when I will add audio interface to all that.




Thank You in advance for You help - and take care.

[Ben Jenssen]

Hi. Greetings from Norway.

I have 20+ years of experience with PT, but all of them with PT on Mac, so I can't step-by-step advise you on PT on windows. I thought I'd just start off the discussion with some general stuff.

PT is not, and has never been, a user friendly plug-and-play application. It started as the leading software in the tape-to-digital transition in the nineties. You needed to have their special hardware to run it in those days and people didn't question it because we knew we wanted professional quality over ease of use. And PT still shows this. It's made for studios, not for musicians, in a way.

This also explains why PT almost demands that you let it take over your machine and not use it for anything else.

Well, it's not that bad anymore, but PT requiring complete control over your audio output is still a fact. Other DAWs might play nicer with other applications, but they do so at a cost. PT won't compromise. There is something for windows called ASIOforALL which I think is a workaround for this. I always were of the opinion that the easiest, most solid way to solve this is to have a audio interface with an analog aux input that you plug your windows audio into, so PT is controlling the interface, and all other apps and windows sound goes analog from your built-in PC out to the aux. And everything goes to your monitors, of course.

So, are you quite shure that PT is right for you? Did you demo it before you bought it? Have you tried other alternatives, Ableton Live, Cubase, Reason? You can always get some money back by selling that PT license.

Also, PT is pretty demanding when it comes to PC hardware. Are you shure your PC is up to it?

From what you describe, I really think you should look to other programs. PT is NOT for those who "just want it to let me be creative and stay out of the way". They all have demos. Try them and see which one lets you do what you want.

Best of luck.

[Wizzoboy]

To run PT on Windows you really need a separate audio interface with its own ASIO drivers exclusively for PT audio. All other applications should just use the computers internal sound card. What usually happens if you try and route all system audio and PT through an interface, is Windows will take over control and stop you setting PTs bitrate and will probably not play audio either. Nothing wrong with the Focusrite 2i2 interface.

"... only to find, that I am unable - and it is considered "normal behaviour" on forums - have sound from both Pro Tools 12 - and all of other apps on PC at the same time."

Yes this is considered normal because as professional software it is not usual to run other software with it. It is quite normal to have a computer just to run PT and nothing else. Ben is absolutely right in everything he says.

I see you run Resolve. If you are going to use vers 14 or above you need Win 10. Resolve is not supported on Win 7.

I have been a professional PT user since 1994, and a Resolve user since 2017.

[The Weed]

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

So, are you quite sure that PT is right for you? Did you demo it before you bought it? Have you tried other alternatives, Ableton Live, Cubase, Reason? You can always get some money back by selling that PT license.

Also, PT is pretty demanding when it comes to PC hardware. Are you shure your PC is up to it?

From what you describe, I really think you should look to other programs. PT is NOT for those who "just want it to let me be creative and stay out of the way". They all have demos. Try them and see which one lets you do what you want.

This ^^^^

DaVinci Resolve now includes Fairlight. Or look at Reaper, it will run on almost any PC.

[Josephine.]

Thank You all for Your answers.

Originally Posted by Ben Jenssen

I always were of the opinion that the easiest, most solid way to solve this is to have a audio interface with an analog aux input that you plug your windows audio into, so PT is controlling the interface, and all other apps and windows sound goes analog from your built-in PC out to the aux. And everything goes to your monitors, of course.

- this is comforting information, pretty much what I hoped for. Allright, it seems I can 'make things work' - I just need audio interface nad proper configuration. That is perfectly fine.

All of Your other arguments are also reasonable.

Indeed, my ' style of work ', if I can call it that, always was, for years, as a ' mercenary self-employed writer ', to do, 'impulsively', many things 'simultaneously' and it have perfect sense that Pro Tools may be designed for much more 'focused' kind of professional use.

I read reviews and opinions and I 'thought' I wanted " the best program, all functionality, all ability, "no cheap nonsense" ", but there are always 'things' that cannot be 'learned' through reading something as dry as 'reviews'.

I will go for the audio interface then and try to make things run right.


Your answers are helpful and enlighting,
Thank You.

[The Weed]

Make sure whatever interface you get has drivers for Windows 7. It's an old and soon to be unsupported operating system and some manufacturers are moving on to only supporting Windows 10.

And be sure you have done ALL of the Avid optimizations for Windows 7 and don't use your new interface for Windows sounds/audio - use the onboard soundcard for that - using the interface only for Pro Tools.

As Ben and I said above, if you really don't need Pro Tools, sell the license and look at the audio editing capabilities in the newer DaVinci Resolve since you have and use that or get Reaper, which will work on almost any Windows computer and will even install on and run from a USB stick.

[ChuckS]

Their are audio interfaces that have multi-client drivers that allow PT running ASIO and the system to share the device along with other apps. Komplete Audio 6 being one and I believe RME has multi-client drivers among others. The cabling method is probably the easiest and most used because most drivers are not multi-client. But with PT's demands on system resources I just wonder how any rig with multiple concurrent apps running (one of them being a game) could perform acceptably.

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

Their are audio interfaces that have multi-client drivers that allow PT running ASIO and the system to share the device along with other apps. Komplete Audio 6 being one and I believe RME has multi-client drivers among others. The cabling method is probably the easiest and most used because most drivers are not multi-client. But with PT's demands on system resources I just wonder how any rig with multiple concurrent apps running (one of them being a game) could perform acceptably.

This may well work, but I prefer to keep things separated to some degree. Having arrived at this methodology over years, this is what I do:
The "pro" setup:
Use a speaker/source switcher(such as Presonus Central Station or Audient Nero). Connect Pro Tools interface(for PT audio, only), connect optical SPDIF from computer(for all other sounds). Then take advantage of the added options so you can hear iPhone audio, DAT(yes, I still have a DAT machine) and switch between multiple sets of speakers or headphones.

That is the "pro" method and it costs some $$, but there is totally "budget" solution. I still(and always) recommend a dedicated interface for Pro Tools. But you could simply take the interface outputs and the computer sound card outputs(analog) and plug them into any of the super-cheap little mixers from most MI retailers. Behringer, Alesis, Alto and other companies offer baby mixers with 2-4 stereo inputs for $39 to $59. Hook your monitors up the the mixer outs and you can listen to everything on the same speakers

[The Weed]

I have both of my computers' sound cards wired into my RME UFX with stereo mini to ¼ jack mono. My onboard soundcards are exclusively for Windows and my RME is exclusively for Pro Tools, but I can bring up my onboard soundcards in Pro Tools or the monitors, the latter by using RME's TotalMix, the former by assigning their inputs on a track. Easiest way to do it and keep your interface only for PT. This despite the fact RME's drivers allow multi-client.