Mute Track Playback on Record Punch In (PT2018)

[Junction]

Has anyone worked out how to have a track automatically mute when I punch in record and then unmute playback on punch out.

There have been various threads of workarounds for this using a second track etc, but this is cumbersome and not efficient.

The application is for Radio promo voiceovers where we record a voiceover on one track and then punch in and out, re-recording say one line of the voiceover onto the same track. Hell, we used to be able to do this with tape recorders, remember those!!

[The Weed]

Go into Preferences>Operation>Record section and UNlatch record and play faders. In record, pull the record fader to the bottom. When you take the track out of record the play fader will be at 0 at the top, when you put the track back in record, the record fader will be at the bottom.

If this works for you, make a template with all the record tracks' faders at the bottom.

[its2loud]

So you don’t monitor the record track when you’re recording or are just in input mode the whole time on the record track?

Are you using Quick Punch mode?

[The Weed]

If set up properly - or if using Quick Punch - the Track/Transport is not in Record until the punch in point or, in Quick Punch, the Transport is put into Record. So, in the scenario with Play and Record Faders not linked, the playback would be heard at whatever level the Playback Fader is at, then, when the Transport goes into Record, the Record Fader would be at the bottom so no signal would be going out (monitoring of the microphone signal, ie voice, would be from the foldback from the studio's board) and then, when the Transport was taken out or Record, the Playback Fader would be back at whatever level it was set at again.

Much easier to just try it and see it in action than try to describe it. Muting the Record Track and using a second Track to do overdubs on or using the method above is used in many radio stations I've done work in when the latency for the person being recorded is too great. Normally when the plug-ins used by the producer add too much latency and/or the computer/studio setup won't allow a low enough buffer setting.

[chrismeraz]

Hey Junction, I was having similar problems until yesterday. Today it's suddenly working perfectly. I haven't upgraded software or changed any settings. Here's what I do:

• Enable LLM
• Rec Enable the track I want to punch on (it has plugins, a Cue Send for headphones, and its output is a bus, not the Mon L/R).
• At this point, all inserts and sends are dark blue, so it LOOKS LIKE you will not hear anything through the headphones
• HOWEVER, when I hit play, I do see the Cue Send meter moving and I do hear the pre-recorded audio in my headphones. I also hear the live audio coming from UAD Console.
• When I hit the record button to punch in, the cue send meter stops moving and I no longer hear the pre-recorded audio in my headphones, I only hear the live audio coming from UAD Console.

So, today, everything is working perfectly as it should with punching in and LLM. It has never worked like this before, it used to be the pre-recorded audio was never audible when the track was record-enabled with LLM.

Originally Posted by The Weed

If set up properly - or if using Quick Punch - the Track/Transport is not in Record until the punch in point or, in Quick Punch, the Transport is put into Record. So, in the scenario with Play and Record Faders not linked, the playback would be heard at whatever level the Playback Fader is at, then, when the Transport goes into Record, the Record Fader would be at the bottom...

Bruce, can you please explain what you mean by "set up properly?"

I have LLM enabled. If I unlink Play and Record Faders, and then record-enable a track, the red fader goes to -inf and I can't hear any of the pre-recorded audio on that track - either before punching or during punch or after.

[The Weed]

You have to use Pre-Roll and Post-Roll. It's been a long, long time since I've had to do this. And no, in this case you can't use the UNlink Play and Record Faders trick, that would be used in Quick Punch and with foldback from a board.

Make sure you are in Auto Input. Highlight the section on the Track you want to record into. Set your Pre and Post Roll values and turn on Pre and Post Roll. Put the Track into Record and start Recording. You will hear the audio in the Pre Roll, at the front edge of your selection, the Track will go into Record and you will only hear the audio being recorded. At the far edge of your selection, the Track will go out of Record and you will hear any previously recorded audio in the Post Roll.

From the manual:

"Pre-Roll During playback or record, specifies the amount of audio that plays before the Play (Timeline) Cursor or Play Start Marker location, or beginning of the Timeline selection. Pre-roll is particularly useful with punch recording since it gives you time to “catch the beat” before reaching the punch-in point. To set the pre-roll amount, type a
new value in this field, or drag the Pre-Roll flag in the Main Timebase ruler.

Post-Roll During playback or record, specifies the amount that plays after the end of a Timeline selection. Post-roll is useful in punch recording since playback continues after the punch-out point so you can check for a smooth transition to previously recorded material. To set the post-roll amount, type a new value in this field, or drag the Post-Roll
flag in the Main Timebase ruler."

[chrismeraz]

Hi Bruce, I just tried that. It works like you said with pre-roll and post-roll... but it works exactly the same way with Quick Punch as well (as I expected).

The manual has very little to say on the topic. I wish avid would put out clearer documentation on this. The manual says nothing about whether the pre-recorded audio will be muted during playback up to the punch point.

[The Weed]

Of course, with Quick Punch you determine when the Track goes into Record, just hit "3" on the Number Keypad - or that's how it's usually done. BTW, Quick Punch allows you to put the Transport into and take it out of record, without stopping the Transport, which makes it easy to break recordings up into individual Clips while Recording.

I don't use LLM, so I'm out of any other information.

[chrismeraz]

Originally Posted by Junction

Has anyone worked out how to have a track automatically mute when I punch in record and then unmute playback on punch out.

Have you tried it with LLM on and Allow Sends to Persist off? Let me know if it works for you.