Plug-In Settings... still an enigma

[Willard]

The plug-in settings have always presented themselves as something of a mystery to me. A session saved using "Save Copy In" when moved to another rig (although I have very limited experience with this) produces "<factory default> in italics and not the name of the setting as it was saved. When saving session copy I of course check the "session plug-in settings folder," which doesn't necessarily result in a folder of the same name in the new saved session folder. When I recall the mix on the new system, it (more often than not), recalls correctly. Which leads me to the following;

i) Most setting are saved within the Pro Tools "file" itself and so don't need to actually be saved in a "session plug-in settings folder."
ii) To produce reliable results you need to name and save each plug-in setting.
or
ii) I should spend the next year experimenting to discover what is already patently obvious to seasoned users.

Further to this, would "synching" the plug-in settings folders of two systems produce different results? If for example you brought your plug-in settings folder to a new rig would you need to have done a "Save Copy In" for the session to recall correctly?

Do the plug-in settings use an architecture similar to html where the reliable path (hd/Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-In Settings) is followed by the session to locate the proper settings? I did read a post that discussed something along the lines of - "Save Session Copy" resets the individual plug-in path to reference the new "Session Copy." Been searching for that post again for a week, to no avail.

Anyone who spends their days moving from studio to studio with their iLoks will no doubt be able to set me straight.

Thanks

Kevin

hd3/7.1cs9/192 i/o
control24
g5 2.3 dp pci-e/4gb ram/10.4.6

hd3/7.1cs9/rosetta 200
g5 2.3 dp pci-x/5gb ram/10.4.6

[KingTor]

The saved settings are really more like presets than settings. You don't need to save the settings ever for the plug-ins to come up the same way the next time you open the session, or when you open a session created by Saving a Copy In...

I rarely use the saved settings at all, but when I do it's usually when I'm automating plug-ins so that I can load a particular "snapshot" in one action. (I also do this frequently with copy and paste settings, found in the same pull-down menu.) They can also be useful if you find yourself using basically the same setup many times, or if you want to transport settings from one session to another. For example, if you're mixing many commercials using the same voice-over and you don't want to dial in the EQ every time.

Plug-ins in any given session will find settings in the "root settings" folder (the one you pointed to in your post) and settings that are located in the project folder in a folder called "Plug-In Settings." When you Save a Copy In there are checkboxes allowing you to include root settings in the copy you're creating. I believe that all of the session specific settings automatically go with the copy, but it's possible that's an option as well. I'd check, but I'm not in front of my system right now.

Does that answer your question?

[hanz marathon]

Hi,

I used to rely on the settings saved with the session or made my own settings in the plug-in settings folder.
But since a while I find it much, much more convenient to use the other option storing them in a plug-in settings folder within your Session folder. When you do it like this, the plug-in settings folder represents more your 'Presets'.
Your special settings are in a separate folder next to 'Audio Files' folder etc. (you might need to read a short part of the manual to find out how to do it.)
If now I want a certain setting that I remember from another song I just import the settings from the folder in that songs....

Works perfect for me here...

best from germany

Hanz Marathon

[Willard]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm beginning to see the distinction that settings can be used more like "presets," which makes sense. But I'm still not sure why we would be given the option in "Save Copy In" - "items to copy - session plug-in settings folder" when the resulting folder always seems to end up empty, even though I've tweaked loads of plug-ins from their factory defaults.

My problems continue in that sessions aren't recalling 100%, even after doing a save session copy when moving them to another rig. The current culprits seem to be Indigo, PlateVerb, Band Delays, Atmosphere and, a major recidivist, FilterFreak. As I haven't read complaints about plug-ins not recalling, I imagine it's something I'm doing wrong.

Anyone who moves from rig to rig care to chime in? If I do a save session copy and have all the same plug-ins, shouldn't it just recall?

Kevin

[hanz marathon]

Thanks for the replies.
If I do a save session copy and have all the same plug-ins, shouldn't it just recall?
Kevin

It should do... Does it recall on the same system? Do the differences occur only on a different system?

best

Hanz Marathon

[Willard]

It should do... Does it recall on the same system? Do the differences occur only on a different system?

Yes, the unreliable recall only happens when I move the session to another rig. I'd never given the plug-in settings too much thought before as when we recorded and mixed on the same rig everything always recalled no problem.

Thanks

Kevin