Cascading direct outputs in mixer?

[D Pinder]

We get a lot of sessions done on Pro Tools lately, in for mixing. During the recording, the sessions are in Stereo Outs mode. We have had to change this to Direct Outs mode, but you have to sit there for a few minutes, manually changing all the outputs. Is there a QuicKey or something that will cascade them for you in ascending order? Of course there's always stationery files but that's no good if you need to change everything in an existing file.

It shocks our clients that this is not a basic feature and is one of the little things that keeps many of them wary of the PT format.

[Ang1970]

Been a while since you posted, but I'll toss this out anyway...

Too bad you don't have to go the other direction... option-selecting an output changes all tracks to that output.

Why don't you just throw all the mixer faders up to unity and track in direct out mode? Use it like a tape machine.

As far as clients being put off by output selection... What's so different from the equivalent operation on an analogue console?
Does it take that much more time than it does for your assistant to move 32 patches or 32 bus selections on the board? Plus, how many multitracks out there can comp individual background notes to stereo pairs without using extra inputs on the desk? I haven't had a client yet who is not awe struck at the power of this system.

That said... ya, it would be nice to have some selection pages. My peeve is voice allocation. Re-selecting voices on 64 tracks is about the worst thing you want to do in the middle of a session. I would love to see them make a voice allocation page, where you can quickly get to the voice selections, and some automated functions like sequential re-allocation on highlighted tracks.

You Digi guys getting this down?


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Angelo Quaglia
AQ Productions

[Jules]

The cascades voices is a groove in PT 5, handy when quick punch needs to hop to the second batch of 32, in cascade mode shift voice one, (hi hat!) to say, voice 10 voila, quick punch is happy!
Jules

[D Pinder]

Ang Wrote:

Why don't you just throw all the mixer faders up to unity and track in direct out mode? Use it like a tape machine.
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As stated before, that's EXACTLY what we're doing. The tracks go into one of three Neves. PT should be able to do with outputs the same thing it does with cascading voice alocations...
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Ang again...

As far as clients being put off by output selection... What's so different from the equivalent operation on an analogue console?
Does it take that much more time than it does for your assistant to move 32 patches or 32 bus selections on the board?

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I think the incredulity happens when you think that PT is run by a computer, and should therefore do this stuff lickety-split. It's no different than the time it takes to crosspatch, but a one-plus gigaflop machine should do this faster (and with one selection or key command) than an assistant (before or after his first coffee).

Get my gripe?

[juneaudio]

Ive also run into this problem many times. I hope Digi will look at this for the next revision.

[Jules]

Just had to do it all by hand, I agree, it's a dull time waste.
Jules