anyone with pro tools experience?

[soulfulrhodes]

i just recently made the move over here from cool edit pro and it seems pro tools is much more headwrenching when it comes to simple tasks...am i wrong? For example, i if i want to move a waveform .04 seconds to the left or right.to fine tune its position...how can i do that without dragging it around with the hand. in cool edit, you just numerically alter the waveform position...can i do that here?
Also, if i put a echo/delay on a piece of a waveform..why does it move the position of the wave form everytime after it processes? If I lock a waveform, why does it unlock everytime i use an effect on it?

what about the mixdown. I guess this is called a bounce. Do I have to sit there and listen to the whole mixdown everytime i want to combine the tracks into one wav file? why do i get a left and right audio after i mixdown. I know its stereo but what am i suppose to do with left and right audio if i want to burn to cd? can anyone help? thanks. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[8mmOverdose]

first, check out the getting started guide, then check out the "new duc faq" thread. most of your answers will be there. dont try to figure out everything at once, its a lot of info! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ptle is pretty easy once you get the hang of it.

[soulfulrhodes]

okat thanks. but which duc faq thread? the one on win xp? i see mostly stuff about configuring xp systems.

[da BaSsTaRd!]

Originally posted by soulfulrhodes:
For example, i if i want to move a waveform .04 seconds to the left or right.to fine tune its position...how can i do that without dragging it around with the hand. in cool edit, you just numerically alter the waveform position...can i do that here?

in the upper right corner of the edit window are 2 boxes. the one on the bottom is the nudge setting. grab the drop down box and select minutes/seconds then type into the box "0.04". then hit the + key on the numeric keypad to nudge it right and - to nudge left.


Also, if i put a echo/delay on a piece of a waveform..why does it move the position of the wave form everytime after it processes? If I lock a waveform, why does it unlock everytime i use an effect on it?

it is a delay, after all. its doing what you told it to do. turn the mix setting on the plugin down to 50% and see what happens... better yet, use an rtas delay. they don't take up much cpu and its much easier to work with.


what about the mixdown. I guess this is called a bounce. Do I have to sit there and listen to the whole mixdown everytime i want to combine the tracks into one wav file? why do i get a left and right audio after i mixdown. I know its stereo but what am i suppose to do with left and right audio if i want to burn to cd? can anyone help?

there's no faster-than-realtime bounce option. the purpose is so you can record aux tracks as you're bouncing. outside sources can only be recorded in real time, of course.

when you bounce, there's an option for stereo, mulitple mono and mono. look for the drop down box on the bounce dialog box.

[Rabidium]

Well, I'll answer your questions, but I really think you should pick up a book to get you started. I used one called 'Pro Tools 5 for Macintosh and Windows: Visual QuickStart Guide', but there are a bunch, and most are good. Just search Amazon for pro tools and pick one.


>>pro tools is much more headwrenching when it comes to simple tasks...am i wrong?

No, you're not really wrong. PT is much more capable and complex, so it can seem to you that something you don't know how to do is hard because you know how to do it in Uncool Edit Pro. PT can do much more, and is much more sensibly laid out once you get down to it.


>>For example, i if i want to move a waveform .04 seconds to the left or right.

There's about 4 ways you can do this off the top of my head, slip mode, the +- keys to nudge, the grabber, and one other I forgot since I started typing this sentence. The greatest thing about this program is that there are often many ways to solve the same problem. It's called flexibility. Learn the 4 different modes, F1, F2, F3, and F4 will get you through them. More info in the getting started guide.


>>Also, if i put a echo/delay on a piece of a waveform..why does it move the position of the wave form everytime after it processes?

I dunno, it shouldn't, you may be doing something you don't want to do. does the plugin say 'use in playlist' somewhere? it should. I think that'll solve it. are you using the plugs RTAS or Audiosuite? I don't have enough info to give you a complete answer on this one.


>>If I lock a waveform, why does it unlock everytime i use an effect on it?

Well, it could ask you to unlock it everytime, or perhaps it could just go 'eerch' and not tell you what's wrong. It's just for convenience for you.


>>what about the mixdown. Do I have to sit there and listen to the whole mixdown everytime i want to combine the tracks into one wav file?

Yes, this got me at first too, as I came from Cakewalk. I think it has to do with getting a perfect mix, PT could process all the audio, then all the plugins, and all the automation, but maybe it would take longer than simply playing to itself and recording. I'd recommend you take up smoking, and puff a smoke while waiting. or there's needlework!


>>why do i get a left and right audio after i mixdown.

You have 'Multiple Mono' selected in the bounce, select 'Stereo Interleaved' for one stereo file, or just mono for one mono file. You would want 2 if you were importing back into PT and want them on seperate tracks.


We all started somewhere, just don't feel like you'll be a PT pro the minute you start, this is the top of the line software in this industry. If you were learning Quark Xpress, Adobe Photoshop, or any other topline program you'd never used before, it would also take a while to figure out.

I'm going to hurt you with this next line, but I honestly think it takes about a year to fully learn a program this complicated, and that's with study. A good book will cut that in half. But if you really just want to record music, you may think of backing out while you still have the chance. Then again, many people still don't know all the ins and outs of what this program can do, but make perfectly good recordings.

Good Luck, and welcome aboard.
-Olaf
(I'd like to take the 20 minutes I spent writing this post and use it in credit for all of the people who answered my newbie questions once upon a time. DUC Rules!)

[Rabidium]

Oh, you basstard! You beat me to it! Among your many great qualities, thou art a faster typer than I.
-Olaf

[da BaSsTaRd!]

i graduated magna cum laude at Typist U. (a 4 year accredited university, of course). [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]