Pro tools / reggae

[Sidney Mills]

check out elastic audio in Pro tools 7.4 - amazing!!

[Sidney Mills]

One problem many people face when they are using digital audio workstations, like Pro Tools, is that they want to get that thick analog sound with the clarity and ease of use you get with digital. A great way to do this is to add analog components either during tracking or at the mixing stage. I often track with an old analog console with great British EQ going into Pro Tools. Once I am in Pro Tools I usually stay in the digital domain throughout the mix. One plug-in that I have used quite a bit recently is the Digidesign Smack Compressor. It has a great function that is actually separate from the compressor. It has a function where it adds harmonic distortion to the audio. This is a great tool to thicken things up without adding low frequency EQ and chance “muddying” up the mix. The plug-in has a preset setting called “Tube Mic” which it tries to simulate a tube microphone. It doesn’t add any compression, only some even harmonic distortion. Adding this to the insert on the master fader (before any limiting) will add even harmonic distortion to the signal. I generally have one on the master fader, as well as some individual channels that I feel need to be “thickened” up.

To see exactly what this feature does to an audio signal try the following. Pull up a signal generator from the RTAS plug-in menu in Pro Tools. Then put a Smack compressor after it in the chain. Then send the output of the channel to an audio track and record enable it. Hit record and move the distortion knob on smack from off to odd to even to O+E. Listen to the difference in sound. Then pull up a frequency analyzer and look at the signal. What you will see is that when the distortion is off, there will be a single frequency. Once you move to one of the distortion you will notice a couple other frequencies appear but will be lower in volume. This is harmonic distortion and can be used to make an audio signal sound better.

Harmonic distortion generally sounds more pleasing when it involves even harmonics rather than odd harmonics, but depending on the music can sound great either way.

I like to use this on the master fader as well as any instruments that need to be thickened up: kick, snare, bass, guitars etc. My favorite instrument to add even harmonic distortion to is acoustic guitar. I don’t really like the sound of most acoustic guitars when they are miked up. This will give the guitar a much fuller sound (without making it sound too “muddy”). To me this has a much more natural acoustic tone than without it.

[Sidney Mills]

This can be very useful when mixing and using outboard gear and need it in on a track later with having access to the units later on
Pro Tools :: Printing and Freezing Audio Tracks

Have you ever wanted to freeze a track so that you can use its resources elsewhere ? Have you ever wanted to have 10 hardware LA2As as inserts ? Now you can...

With this method you can simply print your audio onto the same audio track (no messing with new tracks etc.), deactivate your plugins and hardware inserts and use your plugins and outboard gear on other tracks.

Especially with outboard gear, this method allows you to re-create your sessions without having to remember the position of every knob on that vintage compressor...

Please right-click here to download the video (Quicktime Movie,15MB)

[Sidney Mills]

http://www.protoolsusers.org/
check it out