How do you work with MIDI in PT?

Hi everyone,

I find working with MIDI in PT slow going at times. Some things that have sped up my workflow, however are:

Saving a template with MIDI tracks/assignments already in place.

Using memory locations to remember groups of instruments, and also to remember track heights.

A good tip that I picked up here on the DUC & have started to use is option-page up/down to scroll left and right in the edit window.(Not just a MIDI thing, obviously.)

Since I often tweak MIDI performances after the fact , I would love MIDI notes to be triggered by the tab key, not just the pointer & grabber.

What are some of your tips for working more efficiently with PT MIDI?

Regards,

Jim Clark

bump

What do you find good about PT MIDI?
I use the consolidate command to combine MIDI regions?

Do any of you make tempo maps?

How about some tips? What speeds up your workflow?

Regards,

Jim Clark
Media Music

[jackruston]

Hi Jim
There's a post in the mac tdm section discussing midi at the moment. Unfortunately there has been a widespread feeling amoung users (myself included) that midi timing in pt is not tight enough for drums etc. What lots of people do is record sections of midi in logic, and dump them down as audio files, for editing and arrangment in protools. I've found this to work better than I could have imagined. I terms of editing functions I found that the laborious task of sticking all those bloody little stickers onto the keyboard really helped me to discover and remember various functions I hadn't used before.
Jack

Hi Jack,

I have been following that thread on the TDM board as well. It's true IMO that PT still has a ways to go before it can really compete with the other major sequencers.
I guess what I was wondering is, shortcomings aside, what tips do users have for making working with MIDI in PT easier/more productive, etc.
As far as the stickers - I admit they are still sittin' in the PT box on the shelf! Maybe I should take a deep breath and start peeling.

Regards,

Jim

[cigam]

when you say dump the tracks down as audio from logic your saying that you record your midi in logic then record to audio and then you import the files in PT, correct?
Have you ever used Cubase? Similar to Logic?
Could I do a similar function in Cubase?

cigam,

Back when I was a Cubase user, that is exactly what I would do. Do all tracking in Cubase (MIDI and audio), then bounce everything down as audio tracks, import into PT, and edit there.
If you do that, just be aware of your start times, so you can line everything up easily when you import into PT. I used to just have all audio tracks start at the same time so lining everything up would be a no-brainer.

Even tho' PT is more rudimentary MIDI-wise than Cubase, I really like having one -environment for tracking and mixing.

[jackruston]

Yep. Just make sure you get the timing critical parts done in Logic/Cubase. You can always add strings etc in pt if you need to. If you export the logic files as sd2 files, you can then spot them in pt to their correct location. If not just make sure they all start at 1/1/000 or wherever.
Jack

[moosemaster]

That said, and me being v new to pt, (2 weeks)- Cubase has VST Does pt have an equivalent?
Wanna at least try out some soft synths and stuff.
Hope my Q's not too far off track.