Pro Techniques Archive — 2004

August, 2004
  • Creating massive kick drums with nudges and EQ phase
  • Curing dissonant bass lines and kick drums

July, 2004
American Dreams
  • Organizing Pro Tools session layouts

June, 2004
American Dreams
  • Avoiding drift when synching lip-sync music to playback
  • Instant sync and zoom shortcuts

May, 2004
Carmen Rizzo
  • Locking hardware synths and effects with Beat Clock
  • Nudging doubled mono tracks for remixes

April, 2004
Dave Audé
  • Creating crazy vocal feedback delays
  • Creating moogerfooger beats

March, 2004
C5 Sound Editing
  • Pro Tools session template tips for sound design
  • Using Edit and Mix groups for "live" dialog explorations

January, 2004
Pro Techniques from Blue Man Group
  • Preparing in advance for mega-star vocalist sessions
  • Using Pro Tools new fade feature when the clock is running out

Pro Techniques Archive — 2003

December, 2003
Pro Techniques from Matt Rocker
  • Creating three-beep cues for ADR sessions, the easy way
  • Looping and organizing ADR recording sessions

Pro Techniques from Doc Wiley
  • Keep the hard disks rolling and record everything
  • Knowing how to ask a vocalist for more

Pro Techniques from Sebastian Krys
  • Be prepared for surround with two extra pairs of mics
  • A backup shortcut for fat 96 kHz sessions

October, 2003
Pro Techniques from Blackbird Studio in Nashville
  • Comping Vocals with ProControl
  • Adding an Automated Sidecar to a Traditional Console with ProControl

Pro Techniques from Philip Loeb
  • Flipping ProControl Faders to Ride Gain and Create Manual EQ Sweeps
  • Replacing a Stopwatch with a ProControl and an Edit Pack

September, 2003
Elliot Mazer
  • Creating a Convincing 5.1 Environment with Reverb One
  • Panning in a 5.1 Space

The Loading and Reloading of St. Anger
  • Using SoundReplacer and "Remove Track Silence" for Phase-accurate Drum Builds and Fills
  • A Quick Fix for Controlling Intermittent Leakage on Ambient Tracks

August, 2003
Steven Ticknor on Terminator 3
  • Avoiding the hack in temp dub mixes
  • Creating definition without noise

Casey Stone on X-Men 2
  • Minimizing DSP usage during surround mixes
  • Getting a very big piano sound

July, 2003
Daddy Kev
  • Dynamic tempo changes with a "homemade" relative grid system
  • Experimenting with melodic elements in free-form hip-hop

Jimmy Douglass
  • Living in punch-in mode
  • Creating something from almost nothing

June, 2003
Jeff Balding
  • Using Beat Detective effectively on room-miked and multi-tracked drums
  • Using turbo mouse quick keys for reference

Dave Pensado
  • Making bass sound fatter
  • The three sacred spots: Making mixes sound wider

May, 2003
Rhett Lawrence
  • Creating varied delay taps with McDSP and Lo-Fi
  • Creating better tape stops and turnarounds

Lawrence Manchester and Frida
  • Using playlists to keep cue takes organized
  • Creating large orchestral overdub sessions on the fly

April, 2003
Scrubs
  • Changing Trim's default compression/expansion settings
  • File naming conventions

Juniper Post
  • Easier real-time surround panning
  • Creating "program changes" with plug-ins

Starz Encore Group
  • Down mixing 5.1 for digital broadcast
  • Recording EQ settings via "cycle fill automation"

March, 2003
Serban Ghenea
  • Better session organization: When young is old again
  • Cutting out silences and maximizing voice count

DJ Bad Boy Bill
  • Grid it up!
  • Picking it up with Pitch 'n Time

Amalgamated Superstar
  • The fastest way there: Five Pro Tools shortcuts
  • Making the most of available hard disk storage

February, 2003
David Rideau
  • Thinking ahead like a movie mixer with stems
  • VU meter as the ultimate plug-in

Endless Noise
  • Re-positioning a QuickTime movie
  • Basic gain/amplitude matching with AudioSuite
  • Selecting an in-point for audio in Slip mode

Michael Bradford
  • Using Pro Tools to create custom rhythmic delays
  • Using Beat Detective to lock up non-percussive parts

January, 2003
Rick Blanco
  • Using DPP-1 to make new vocalists feel more at home
  • "Breathing" a bass, guitar or vocal line with Echo Farm

Jeff Bova
  • Docking synth workstation-based composers with Pro Tools
  • Adding a MIDI click after the inspiration

Mark Dobson
  • Templating takes for smoother comp sessions
  • Using voice sharing for faster vocal comping

Pro Techniques Archive — 2002

December, 2002
Brad Wood
  • Using Bruno to strike up the band
  • Automating filter sweeps for The Bangles

Corrado Rustici
  • Pushing Beat Detective for good effect
  • Stretching, chopping, and pasting to taste

Soulstice
  • Using Beat Detective to sniff out lazy MIDI tracks
  • Creating easy faux stereo tracks with Short Delay

November, 2002
Andy Zulla
  • Stop stressing out those stereo busses!
  • Getting a summed analog console sound with McDSP Analog Channel 2

Peter Wolf
  • Copying Groups to build cues
  • Using Pitch 'n' Time globally

Speech and Arrested Development
  • Using SansAmp to compensate for the occasional bass blind spot
  • Single-note horn swells with TC/E Trimmer

October, 2002
Ramin Sakurai of Supreme Beings of Leisure
  • Shaping up those lazy loop points with Pitch 'n Time
  • Tabbing through transients

John Oates
  • Manually redrawing waveforms with Pro Tools
  • Using Identify Beat to quickly create accurate tempo maps
  • Just like the old days: Half-speed recording

Cortez Farris
  • Maximizing lows with MaxxBass

September, 2002
Roger Manning
  • Livening up old drum loops in Grid mode
  • Creating random polyrhythms in Grid mode
  • Better Grid dropouts without automation
  • Flashier fills with Grid mode

Buddy Miller
  • Making Emmylou even warmer with a virtual Studer
  • QuicKeys the Pro Tools way

Clint Bajakian
  • Linear and Interactive Audio 101

August, 2002
BT
  • Penciling in a tempo-locked filter part
  • Turning a free aux send into a rhythmic instrument
  • Using Beat Detective by the bar on Zoolander

WIN Media Studios
  • "New school" SoundReplacer for live recordings
  • Leaning on AudioSuite to lighten the TDM load
  • Using EQ, compression, and maximization to "Fly Like An Eagle" again

Powerman 5000
  • Learning new vocal lines from Orange Vocoder
  • Using the pan/edit window to manually animate audio

July, 2002
Bruce C. Marshall
  • Maintaining a digital signal path
  • Visually setting punch-in levels
  • Taking helpful markers during long sessions

Baraka
  • Combing drums with Beat Detective
  • Manual vocal corrections using Antares Auto-Tune

Neal Shoen and Gary Cirimelli
  • Creative manual crossfades in Pro Tools
  • DIY home mastering with TDM plug-ins

June, 2002
Gizmo
  • A quick team effort authoring daily mix reference DVD-Rs
  • Moving a lead vocal off-center to make room and to create depth

MidCan
  • Improving workflow when moving film and Media Composer sound files into Pro Tools for feature film finishing
  • Marking scenes before editing in Pro Tools

Stuart Brawley
  • Manually tuning vocals with Auto-Tune
  • Freeing up DSP power in Pro Tools
  • Using "Save As" to save time and recover edit

May, 2002
Russ Landau
  • Subgroup Processing for Fast Television Mixes & 'Solo Safe'
  • Cartooning SoundBlender Effects with Automation

Asche & Spencer
  • Using Amp Farm to Lo-Fi Background Music
  • Providing Options & Saving Time during Client Approvals with SoundReplacer
  • Make Louder Commercials with TDM

VH-1's Behind The Music
  • Learning and Removing Background Noise with the Waves Restoration Bundle
  • Automatically Cueing Scratch Voiceover Tracks to a 3-beep with Pro Tools

April, 2002
Blue World Music
  • Comping Vocals, Drums and Orchestrating MIDI Tracks with Duplicate Playlists
  • Avoid Confusion by Making DigiStudio Tracks 'Private' Before Uploading
  • Saving Sloppy File Management with Mezzo

Ian Blanch
  • Preventing Audible Hiccups When Recording Hardware Drum Machine Sequences
into Pro Tools
  • Creating a Great Vocal Chain with Antares Mic Modeler, Waves Renaissance Compressor, and Waves DeEsser
  • Automating a Filter Plug-In with Pro Tools

Hyde Street Studios
  • Using SoundReplacer as a Gate and for Creating Multiple Drum Hits
  • Re-Amping with Amp Farm & SansAmp