Tracking with PT 12.8 and external software mixer (RME, Motu, etc.)

[katerkarlo]

I've been wanting to work with PT for a long time (currently using Cubase) but never really made the transition. One of the things that keeps me from using PT (non-HD) is the recording situation. I want to do the monitoring via an external software mixer (currently RME's mixer that was included in my Fireface 802 converter). With Pro Tools this is somewhat complicated because it doesn't let you disable channel monitoring.

I'd be interested to hear how people who use PT with an external software mixer handle tracking.

What you can do obviously is pull down the faders on all record enabled channels. One downside of that is that you need to disengage record enable every time you're listening back. And I wonder how you do punch-ins in this situation, if the artist wants to hear their performance prior to the punch-in.

Then there's the MuteTone workaround. But it means having to insert this plugin first on all tracks you're gonna record to, and then remembering to deactivate it when you're done recording.

What about the low latency monitoring mode? How exactly does that work? I read that it will only work as long as every channel I'm recording to is set to physical outputs 1/2 instead of a mix buss. Would I be able this way to record 16 tracks simultaneously and monitoring them only through my external mixer? Are there any downsides to this?

Have there been any changes in workflow regarding monitoring through external mixers since PT 12.1?

And please don't tell me not to use an external mixer at all. I will consider monitoring through PT once I have a new Mac with a Thunderbolt audio interface. But right now it's not an option.

And also please don't suggest upgrading to PT HD Native. I am not a pro.

[H-Musikk]

Originally Posted by katerkarlo

With Pro Tools this is somewhat complicated because it doesn't let you disable channel monitoring.

This is not correct. I do this all the time with my Lynx mixer. I don't remember which version they included this in PT (non HD), but it works perfectly fine now...

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by katerkarlo

What about the low latency monitoring mode? How exactly does that work? I read that it will only work as long as every channel I'm recording to is set to physical outputs 1/2 instead of a mix buss. Would I be able this way to record 16 tracks simultaneously and monitoring them only through my external mixer? Are there any downsides to this?

yes.

[katerkarlo]

Originally Posted by H-Musikk

This is not correct. I do this all the time with my Lynx mixer. I don't remember which version they included this in PT (non HD), but it works perfectly fine now...

Well, then, would you have the courtesy to explain to me how you disable input monitoring in Pro Tools? Are you just talking about the low latency mode I mentioned? Because that's not the same as being able to turn input monitoring off altogether.

[Drew Mazurek]

LLM on PTSW does disable input monitoring. But LLM on PTHD is designed to simply pass the input to the output like direct monitoring on an interface.

[H-Musikk]

This is from the manual (about Low Latancy monitoring):
....Likewise, certain Core Audio and ASIO audio interfaces that have a built-in mixer can use the Low Latency Monitoring option. Only tracks with inputs set to a physical output (not an internal mix bus) use Low Latency Monitoring....

Have there been any changes in workflow regarding monitoring through external mixers since PT 12.1?

No. But it was the 12.1 release that introduced that the toggle of monitoring input signals no longer was just a global setting. From this release toggle monitoring of input signals on and off was on a track by track basis. That did the trick!

[katerkarlo]

Thanks, H-Musikk! So is the low latency option what most people are using today if they want to monitor through an external mixer? What about the other options: pulling down the faders on record-enabled tracks or using the MuteTone plugin?

I didn't quite understand what you said about toggling monitoring of input signals. What has this got to do with the low latency monitoring mode?

Can somebody please confirm if I correctly understood how to use low latency monitoring. Assuming I would want to record 8 mono tracks simultaneously, I would:

1) set the output of these 8 tracks in PT to physical output 1 of my interface
2) enable low latency monitoring (global setting)
3) make control room and headphone mixes of the 8 input channels in my external mixer software

Will PT send the incoming signals to output 1 in this case or will they be muted? If it does send them to output 1 I would have to mute output 1 in my external mixer and choose a different output for my control room mix.

[Glazik]

I use TotalMix from RME, I don't use LLM. What I do is :

In the prefs, I unlink record and playback faders (I on a French PT so I don't remember how it is called in English). Now, you can setup different faders positions for reçu mode an play mode.
When record armed, I pull the fader to -∞, and when in playback to the "good" level.
In TTMix, I push the input fader to the level I want in my monitoring chain (and I do the same for the musician's monitors).

When in record mode, ProTools pull the faders of the recording channels to -∞ and you listen via TTMix. When in playback, you listen the recorded materials in Pro Tools as it pushed the faders to their playback positions.

Et voilà !

[john1192]

Originally Posted by Glazik

I use TotalMix from RME, I don't use LLM. What I do is :

In the prefs, I unlink record and playback faders (I on a French PT so I don't remember how it is called in English). Now, you can setup different faders positions for reçu mode an play mode.
When record armed, I pull the fader to -∞, and when in playback to the "good" level.
In TTMix, I push the input fader to the level I want in my monitoring chain (and I do the same for the musician's monitors).

When in record mode, ProTools pull the faders of the recording channels to -∞ and you listen via TTMix. When in playback, you listen the recorded materials in Pro Tools as it pushed the faders to their playback positions.

Et voilà !

but the Question was, how can you hear the Track that you are Punching into, if Pro TOols has pulled the Fader down while in record mode !!! when you Uncheck Link Record and PLay Faders !!

[Glazik]

That is a problem...