Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 3 Where to Go from Here 3 Book 1: Getting Started with Pro Tools 5 Chapter 1: Discovering What You Need 7 Eyeing the Big Picture 7 Piping the Music into Pro Tools 8 Meeting the Mixer 12 Managing the MIDI Controller 14 Recognizing the Recorder 15 Signing On to Signal Processors 22 Making Sense of Monitors 27 Mastering Media 30 Chapter 2: Configuring Your Computer 33 Using Pro Tools on a Mac 33 Using Pro Tools on a PC 39 Keeping Bugs at Bay: Good Habits to Get Into 46 Chapter 3: Choosing and Setting Up Your Hardware 49 Examining Audio Interface Specifications 50 Exploring Some Popular Audio Interfaces 51 Exploring Avid''s Eleven Rack 53 Connecting Your Audio Interface 57 Chapter 4: Examining Software Basics 59 Keeping Software Straight 59 Getting Set Up 61 Dealing with Sessions 68 Getting to Know Audio and MIDI Files 76 Book 2: Understanding Recording Basics 79 Chapter 1: Getting Connected: Setting Up Your Studio 81 Understanding Analog Connections 82 Delving In to Digital Connections 86 Working Efficiently in Your Studio 91 Optimizing Your Studio 94 Chapter 2: Understanding Signal Flow 105 Meeting the Many Mixer Types 105 Understanding Mixer Basics 109 Routing/Busing Signals 116 Deciphering Output Jacks 119 Making Life Easier with a Patch Bay 121 Chapter 3: Understanding the Pro Tools Windows 123 Tackling the Transport Window 123 Examining the Edit Window 132 Taking a look at track controls 133 Examining edit modes 136 Managing the Mix Window 148 Working with Window Configurations 160 Chapter 4: Importing and Exporting Files 169 Importing into a Session 169 Exporting from a Session 183 Managing Files 189 Book 3: Recording Live Audio and Acoustic Instruments 195 Chapter 1: Taking Care of Tracks 197 Understanding Tracks in Pro Tools 197 Setting Up Tracks 198 Altering Your View of Tracks 202 Grouping Tracks 207 Soloing and Muting 212 Managing Track Voices 213 Chapter 2: Understanding Microphones 217 Meeting the Many Microphone Types 218 Assessing Your Microphone Needs 229 Deciding How Many Microphones and What Kind 230 Finding the Right Mic for the Situation 235 Partnering Mics with Preamps 237 Considering Compressors 239 Looking at Preamp, Compressor, and Equalizer Combos 240 Analyzing Some Microphone Accessories 240 Caring for Your Microphones 242 Chapter 3: Miking: Getting a Great Source Sound 245 Tracing Typical Microphone Techniques 246 Taming Transients 258 Setting Up Your Mics: Some Suggestions 261 Chapter 4: Preparing to Record 285 Recognizing Record Modes 285 Dealing with Disk Allocation 288 Enabling Recording 289 Setting Levels 292 Setting a Record Range 294 Monitoring Your Tracks 295 Creating a Click Track 299 Chapter 5: Recording Audio 307 Recording Tracks 307 Playing Back Your Tracks 312 Doing Additional Takes 316 Getting Rid of Unwanted Takes 328 Book 4: Recording Electronic Instruments with Midi 331 Chapter 1: Understanding Electronic Instruments and MIDI 333 Meeting MIDI 334 Getting Started with MIDI 340 Chapter 2: Preparing to Record MIDI 349 Setting Up Your MIDI Devices 349 Getting Ready to Record 359 Chapter 3: Recording Electronic Instruments with MIDI 367 Recording MIDI Performances 367 Playing Back Your Tracks 371 Getting Rid of Unwanted Takes 374 Overdubbing MIDI Performances 376 Recording System-Exclusive Data 382 Book 5: Editing Your Performances (Audio And Midi) 385 Chapter 1: Audio Editing Basics 387 Understanding Pro Tools Editing 388 Getting to Know Clip Types 389 Viewing Clips 390 Understanding Edit Modes 398 Working (Okay, Playing) with Playlists 401 Using the Audio Clips List 404 Managing Undos 407 Chapter 2: Selecting Material to Edit 411 Selecting Track Material 411 Making a selection with the Tab to Transients function 418 Making Changes to Your Selection 419 Managing Memory Locations 424 Playing Selected Material 437 Chapter 3: Getting into Editing 441 Editing Clips 441 Examining Edit Commands 463 Exploring Elastic Audio 467 Chapter 4: Adding to Your Audio Editing Palette 471 Signing On to the Smart Tool 471 Perusing the Pencil Tool 475 Silencing Selections 477 Performing Fades and Crossfades 481 Cleaning Up Your Session 490 Chapter 5: Editing MIDI Data 495 Working with MIDI and Instrument Tracks 495 Dealing with Note Chasing 501 Editing MIDI in the Edit Window 501 Exploring MIDI Events 516 Chapter 6: Performing MIDI Operations 525 Getting Used to the MIDI Operations Window 526 Performing MIDI Event Operations 527 Recognizing MIDI Real-Time Properties 544 Book 6: Mixing 549 Chapter 1: Mixing Basics 551 Understanding Mixing 552 Managing Levels as You Work 553 Getting Started Mixing Your Song 553 Mixing In Pro Tools 554 Using the Stereo Field 557 Adjusting Levels: Enhancing the Emotion of the Song 560 Tuning Your Ears 562 Chapter 2: Setting Up Your Mix 567 Revisiting the Mix Window 567 Getting to Know Signal Flow 568 Rounding Out Your Routing 571 Accessing Output Windows 578 Playing with Plug-ins 581 Processing with External Effects 589 Chapter 3: Using Equalization 593 Exploring Equalization 593 Dialing In EQ 595 Equalizing Your Tracks 600 Chapter 4: Digging into Dynamics Processors 609 Connecting Dynamics Processors 609 Introducing Compressors 610 Looking into Limiters 619 Introducing Gates and Expanders 622 Detailing the De-Esser 625 Setting Up Side Chains 627 Chapter 5: Singling Out Signal Processors 631 Routing Your Effects 632 Rolling Out the Reverb 634 Detailing Delay 637 Creating Chorus Effects 639 Chapter 6: Automating Your Mix 641 Understanding Automation 642 Accessing Automation Modes 643 Setting Automation Preferences 645 Enabling Automation 646 Writing Automation 648 Viewing Automation 652 Drawing Automation 652 Thinning Automation 654 Editing Automation Data 655 Chapter 7: Making Your Mix 659 Submixing by Recording to Tracks 659 Mixing in-the-Box 661 Using an External Master Deck 664 Book 7: Mastering 667 Chapter 1: Mastering Basics 669 Demystifying Mastering 670 Getting Ready to Master 671 Paying a Pro, or Doing It Yourself 672 Hiring a Professional Mastering Engineer 673 Chapter 2: Mastering Your Music 677 Considering General Guidelines 678 Setting Up a Mastering Session 678 Optimizing Dynamics 680 Perfecting Tonal Balance 683 Balancing Levels 684 Mastering Your Mix 686 Sequencing Your Songs 689 Book 8: Getting Your Music to the Masses 691 Chapter 1: Putting Your Music on CD and Vinyl 693 Getting into CD Burning 694 Purchasing CD-Rs 695 Recording Your Music to CD-R 695 Making Multiple Copies 699 Pressing Vinyl 703 Promoting Your Music 704 Chapter 2: Getting Your Music on the Internet 707 Understanding Downloadable Music Files 708 Creating MP3 Files 712 Setting Up Your Own Music Website 714 Putting Your Music on a Music Host Site 716 Engaging in Social Media Networking 718 Offering Free Downloads 719 Selling Your Music Digitally 720 Licensing Your Music 721 Podcasting 722 Selling Your CDs 723 Promoting Your Music 723 Connecting with an Email Newsletter 724 Index 727.