Help setting up Pro Tools + Eleven Rack

[Hannibal Lecter]

just hire a local pro to help you get rolling quickly. it'll be less than an hour to show you.

[UndergroundLab]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

If you are turning up the preamp all the way you are likely hearing noise from that.

There are two entirely separate things here.

One is recording the mic through Pro Tools.. you do *not* normally then set it as rig input. Just select the Mic input as the input of a track in Pro Tools.

The other is wanting to process the mic through the rig for effects. Then you do select the mic as rig input... and then record the rig output (Main Out L and/or R) into the track.

What one are you trying to do?

It might save my sanity to go with the mic input through Pro Tools over the rig input through 11R (which the latter is what I've been trying to do). So lets switch to the first option.

What I have been doing to generate new tracks is clicking "New Track," creating a "Mono" track (although I would prefer stereo for guitars, bass, and other contemporary instruments, it says in the manual to go with "mono."), and select the interface to Eleven Rack L_R Mono (there isn't a stereo option, which is probably why the manual suggests a mono track) and go from there.

Physically, what I have going in is I have my mic positioned at the center, or near the center, or the guitar cabinet. Alternatively, the same would apply for my bass combo amp. I have the other end of the mic plugged into the 11R, with neither phantom power or the pad on. The master volume on my Boss pedal is turned up to about 11 o clock, which is reasonably loud with the volume pedal all the way down.

Listening through headphones, I don't get a signal through Pro Tools nor the 11R in itself until I turn the gain up to the point where its hissing, then I start seeing changes. However, I don't have a mic input in Pro Tools.But, since I only have the 11R as the interface, and not a Mbox or of the like, I will have to use the 11R to record straight into Pro Tools.

[Darryl Ramm]

You need to tell us a bit more about what you are doing, post screen shots etc.

With a dynamic mic you don't need phantom power, but it won't hurt (it can occasionally damage some ribbon mics).

In the Eleven Rack select (Guitar In) as the rig input (you just don't want the mic going through the rig and causing confusion).
Make sure the Eleven Rack is selected as the playback engine in Pro Tools (Setup>playback engine).
Create a session from an Eleven Rack template. I don't care which one. Pick any.
Go to Setup>IO>Input and click the default button, same on bus and output tabs.
Create a new mono audio track (not stereo, not instrument *mono* *audio*).
In the input selector on that track select "Mic In" or whatever says Mic something. Select Main L/R Out as the output
Press record enable on the track. (do not do anything to play/record on the main transport).
Do you then hear the guitar/amp through Pro Tools when you play it. See the meter on that track move?
The press play/record on the transport. Do you hear the guitar while is is recording? See the meters move? See a waveform recorded?

Problems post clear legible screenshots of your IO pages, playback engine dialog, and track you are tryign to record to.

You can also start by just trying to record clapping into the mic, until you get that sorted everthing else is irrelevant.

[UndergroundLab]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

You need to tell us a bit more about what you are doing, post screen shots etc.

With a dynamic mic you don't need phantom power, but it won't hurt (it can occasionally damage some ribbon mics).

In the Eleven Rack select (Guitar In) as the rig input (you just don't want the mic going through the rig and causing confusion).
Make sure the Eleven Rack is selected as the playback engine in Pro Tools (Setup>playback engine).
Create a session from an Eleven Rack template. I don't care which one. Pick any.
Go to Setup>IO>Input and click the default button, same on bus and output tabs.
Create a new mono audio track (not stereo, not instrument *mono* *audio*).
In the input selector on that track select "Mic In" or whatever says Mic something. Select Main L/R Out as the output
Press record enable on the track. (do not do anything to play/record on the main transport).
Do you then hear the guitar/amp through Pro Tools when you play it. See the meter on that track move?
The press play/record on the transport. Do you hear the guitar while is is recording? See the meters move? See a waveform recorded?

Problems post clear legible screenshots of your IO pages, playback engine dialog, and track you are tryign to record to.

You can also start by just trying to record clapping into the mic, until you get that sorted everthing else is irrelevant.

I'll try to work on getting those screenshots and such.
Following the instructions, yes I can hear the guitar through Pro Tools. By default its acting as if it is panned to the right only. I get both the distorted side and clean side of my guitar at the same time as I strum, and I do get a signal. A waveform is recorded, and it is recording the clean part of the guitar, not the distorted side, despite hearing distortion while I am recording.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by UndergroundLab

I'll try to work on getting those screenshots and such.
Following the instructions, yes I can hear the guitar through Pro Tools. By default its acting as if it is panned to the right only. I get both the distorted side and clean side of my guitar at the same time as I strum, and I do get a signal. A waveform is recorded, and it is recording the clean part of the guitar, not the distorted side, despite hearing distortion while I am recording.

Screenshots of your mix and edit windows showing IO settings on each track needed here as well as what I asked for before.

The pan controls is on the track, but it should be centered. Common complaint about "pan" issues are caused by faulty headphones/connectors or jack or headphone jack not fully plugged in.

The Mic should be picking up your guitar cab, and whatever distortion is or is not there, there is only one signal if you are recording the mic input. Do not have have mic preamp input up too high. Look for meters on that Pro Tools input track that are -15dBFS or -20dBFS or so (with Pro Tools in "pre-fader" metering mode... look up in the reference guide). Low input levels are good when getting started, forget idiot advice you may ever hear about trying to record hot/"in the red", not with modern DAWs and 24 bit interfaces.

Sounds like you may be recording/monitoring another track as well. You can delete all other tracks except the one you are recording to and the master fader.

[UndergroundLab]

Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm

Screenshots of your mix and edit windows showing IO settings on each track needed here as well as what I asked for before.

The pan controls is on the track, but it should be centered. Common complaint about "pan" issues are caused by faulty headphones/connectors or jack or headphone jack not fully plugged in.

The Mic should be picking up your guitar cab, and whatever distortion is or is not there, there is only one signal if you are recording the mic input. Do not have have mic preamp input up too high. Look for meters on that Pro Tools input track that are -15dBFS or -20dBFS or so (with Pro Tools in "pre-fader" metering mode... look up in the reference guide). Low input levels are good when getting started, forget idiot advice you may ever hear about trying to record hot/"in the red", not with modern DAWs and 24 bit interfaces.

Sounds like you may be recording/monitoring another track as well. You can delete all other tracks except the one you are recording to and the master fader.

Huh, I can't get my computer to take screenshots of Pro Tools, but somehow I can of this page. Weird. Well, in any case, I'll jot down what I have.

Recording guitar, I am recording a stereo track. I am thinking in terms of how it would come out on CD. I couldn't get playback on a stereo track until now for some reason.

In the Guitar tack, there are no inputs available to select, so I just select Eleven Rig L/R Stereo. The outputs are Out 1-2. There is not a "mic input" option.
In the edit tab, I don't have really anything going on yet, but the stereo guitar track which came out as a success.

I'm going to have to look back and see what else you asked for. As for the FX Loop question, that is going to have to be held off until I can attain a third instrument cable. I can't seem to find a distortion patch in the 11R that is of my liking, either not enough or too crunchy. As a guitarist, I'm very picky about my sounds, which is part of the reason I was trying to use my Boss. I didn't get an opportunity to try the 11R out at like Guitar Center or such before receiving it as a gift, so it was a shot in the dark.

Maybe I can get different tones out of the expansion pack not quite accessible on the 11R alone, but I can't afford the $100 to download it (it should have come with the 11R free of charge).

[Darryl Ramm]

You likely actually do want to use a mono audio guitar track. Default input IO (that will make the Mic input option appear). And you do want to record the Mic not the Rig Output.

I'm giving you detailed step by step instructions yet cannot work out what you have done. Did you default the inputs and still have no Mic input option? Try again doing that and on a mono audio track.

I have no idea how you are trying to make screenshots but you should sort that out. Lots of good help on the Web for Windows 10, including third party utilities etc.

Whether you want to produce stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 or whatever output most guitars and similar are recorded mono and panned into the mix. Wanting to record any such nstument stereo is a typical beginner mistake, I did say specifically *mono* audio track, with emphasis on mono.