Quote:
Originally Posted by doubtful guest
Hi DUC people, I was wondering if anyone is using protools midi for sequencing drums tracks?
snipppppp
but I'd really like to find something that integrates better with protools.
thanks!
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Ventura - PT 2022.10 (host based) - M1 Mini - UA Apollo
VI drums using Superior Drummer
PT is a computer-based audio recorder that added MIDI late in the game. Many other DAWs alive today are the reverse. MIDI and it's claim on the clocking in PT/CPU(?) is an afterthought perhaps. Tons of posts on the DUC about how loose and unsteady it is.
Here usually it's best to get the MIDI tracks 'sketched' first, and commit them to audio early on knowing there may be a need to later edit the MIDI performance and re-record the audio as a session fills in.
One thing practiced here is to
never change the Global MIDI Offset at all. After recording PT's click with varying GMO settings, you'll notice the recorded audio of PT's own click falls either before or after the bar lines.
Why a user would want the click (which defines the very pulse of music) to ever shift off the bar lines is hard to grok - MIDI or no MIDI - but perhaps there are some workflows, setups or tasks where it's helpful. It does nothing to make things any easier when syncing live Midi and audio performances here at least.
The MIDI I/O 'alignment' procedure here is to create a new session, determine it's clock rate, clock source, H/W buffer, delay compensation (off or on). Zero plugins for starts.
Next select a sharp/ short sound on the target synth/sampler/VI, then create a very short MIDI note on/off event in PT (maybe 50 ticks) to trigger that sound. Generate at least two measure of it and quantize it at 100%, also standardize velocity and duration.
Next record the hardware or VI audio triggered by PT's MIDI and afterwards examine where that recorded audio falls relative to the bar lines.
Then in the MIDI Track Offsets window, use only
individual instrument offsets to straighten out timing per instrument.
Virtual Instruments generally do not exhibit MIDI-audio timing issues to the same degree as hardware, but monitoring your live VI performance via a
virtual channel typically eliminates any lag time and makes for nearly negligible input/audio latency.
Naturally as a session grows with delay-inducing plugins, especially on the Master fader, timing issues arise with MIDI vs. audio, which Automatic Delay Compensation can correct up to a certain point.
Wish it were not the case, but PT has always been more of a recording platform than one designed for 'electronic' music creation.