dumb question no 42..midi hard synth vs soft

[samrisio]

when recording from a roland xv2020 syhtn module..do i need to use the midi tracks in pro tools 6.4 or will it record straight onto audio with an aux track..right now nothing is working except my sampletank plug in...there is some kind of midi block because i can play the roland module direct thru the yamaha p200 controller but not thru the midiman 2X2 and then into pro tools...i have everything input output to stereo tracks 1 and 2...the buses start at 4 for some reason it never gives me bu 1-2 as an option..ready to take a hammer to everything

[Cliffy_Boy]

1- to get your busses back in order, go into Setup- I/O and select the default button

2- to record from the analog outs of your synth module, you do not need an Aux track. Just use an Audio Track with the inputs assigned to the same ones that the synth is plugged into. If you are on an mBox, that would be 1-2.

3- to record the midi from the keyboard, you will need to follow steps similar to recording Sampletank. The difference would be that the Midi output would be the channel you have assigned the instrument on your synth, usually channel 1 ( instead of Midi Out being Sampletabk Ch.1), the input on the midi track is ALL, and an audio track with the inputs assigned to the ones where the synth is Input. Again, you don't need an Aux since your are not Inserting a soft-synth but rather just using Midi to trigger an Outboard synth. The soft synth Insert is after the recording bus which is why you need the intermediate step of an Aux. Not the case with a bardware synth.

I would buy Franz's book calles Producing in the Home Studio which covers all of this with pictures.