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Time To Turn 'Pro'

The launch of Digi 001 finally brought the power of Pro Tools to the
project studio. For painless results, follow our quick guide to getting
through your first session...

Why should you buy a 001 system over and above its competitors? This is a fair question, but the reply would be
'What competitors'? Call me biased by all means, because Pro Tools has been my right hand for a long time, but
at the moment this software is as good as it gets for the small amount of dosh you'll have to part with.
With the 001 package, you basically get a complete MIDI/audio production environment in a box, designed for the
home/project studio user for the creation of sonic masterpieces. Real-time mixing from the Pro Tools LE software
(which is basically Pro Tools 5 but missing a few bits and bobs) 24 tracks of audio playback, MIDI recording,
editing and sequencing in the same window as your audio, and dual-purpose editing features that work with MIDI
as they do with audio... Juice!
Not only that, you get the neat set of Digirack plug-ins, and Real Time Audio Suite (RTAS) plug-ins are also
becoming available. Are you sold yet? If not, then it's worth mentioning that you will also get a very cool-looking
breakout box (or I/O interface) that gives up to 18 discrete inputs and outputs: analogue as well as digital ADAT
optical, S/PDIF and MIDI I/O. Added to this, you get two analogue inputs on the front that are also high quality
preamps for direct recording, and it's all 24-bit!
Get it on
Well, once hooked up, this really is the easiest set of recording tools to use. First, you need to open a new
session. Simply open the Pro Tools LE icon that's now on your hard disk. You'll be able to designate your HD and
whether or not you want this to be a 24-bit or 16-bit session.
Once that's done, you will be confronted with the main Edit window. Basically it's a white screen, around the edge
of which there are tool buttons, editing function keys and a load more besides. At the top of the main screen there
is a time line showing time (of course), tempo meter and markers, all of which will be of use at some stage.
First, however, you'll want to get some tracks up, labelled and ready to record. To do this, either go to the File
menu and select New Tracks or use the short key command [Command-Shift-N]. This brings up the track
selection menu. The default is Audio Track, but by clicking on the word you get the choice of selecting MIDI,
Auxiliary Mono/Stereo or Master-Track Mono/Stereo, allowing all the combinations that you'll need to be chosen
fast. Select Audio Tracks and to start with whack up 16. Remember, you can have up to 24 and no more, but 16 is
a good starting point, just from a clutter point of view.
Once you have some tracks up, you will see that a grid has appeared on the edit window. This is part of the Grid
to Regions and Markers mode, which we'll look at later. Now all we need to do is assign the I/O of the channels.
Actually, the default works very well - each channel has its input and output set up in rank order (e.g. channel 1 =
input 1 and output 1, and so on). So guess what? You are now ready to record audio.
Ready to record
The first time you set up a session is really as complex as it gets, depending on how well you know the software,
but as this is a starting point, simple is best. It might be best to use a guitar or synth to start some experimental
recording passes, just because hooking them up to your 001 is simple and the results can be built on.
Simply plug the jack from the instrument lead straight into the one of the strange dual-purpose socket on the
breakout box, turn the volume control up on the instrument, and strum. You won't hear anything until you click on
the first Record Enable button (these can be seen in the Channel Menus down the left side of the Edit window).
The button will light up red; strum again and you'll see signal appearing in the onscreen metering.
Adjust the level on the front so no clipping is occurring. At this point it's worth mentioning that you can trust what
you see on that screen - it is very accurate. If a clip light shows, you're printing sound too hot, so back off a little.
If you wish, plug some headphones into the front of the breakout box and have a practice. Then all you need to do
is hit [Apple-Spacebar] and you're in record. As you play, you will notice the waveform appear during the pass.

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Each track will be a different colour, so all will be clear during your session.
Plug it in
Having made a few passes, you can then start to think about adjusting some of the playback levels and adding
some effects. With 001 you get a bundle of plug-ins called the Digirack. These are exactly the same as you get
with the megabucks TDM system: compression, gates, delays and EQs are all there.
The fastest way to access them is via the Mix window. Simply hold down [Apple and +] to switch screens, and
you'll see all 16 channels laid out in order. Again, you can control everything you need in this window, apart from
actual audio editing.
You get into the plug-in world by clicking on the small square buttons at the top of each channel. A drop-down
menu will appear, showing all the plug-ins you'll need to start with. Select one - for example, the compressor - and
it will appear onscreen in front of you. Hit playback on the transport bar (space bar) and adjust the compression
on that channel as required. All other plug-ins work in this same way, apart from AudioSuite ones.
What a group
Once you have made the required adjustments, you can flick back into the Edit window and perhaps group some
tracks off so that they can be handled more easily. For example, you may have adjusted all the levels on a drum
kit and may now wish to top and tail the audio to get rid of the drummer blowing his nose at the top of the track. All
you need do is highlight each drum track by holding down Shift and then click on the relevant tracks. On the left of
the window you will see a menu box called Group. Click on it and select New Group. Now you will be asked to
name it, so call it 'Drums'.
In the Group menu you will now see the group 'Drums' highlighted, and every edit that you make to each drum
track will now happen on all the drum tracks. If you wish to work just on one individual track again without affecting
any of the others, then simply un-highlight the 'Drum' group in the Group menu. How easy is that?
Automatic automated
Now that we have had a look at the basic ideas of track allocation and grouping, we can add some automation.
This can be achieved in either the Edit window or the Mix window. In the Mix window, there are automation
controls on each channel. The simplest way to add some fader automation is to just click on the Read button and
then select Write from the drop-down menu. The button will now flash 'Write' at you. Press play and control the
fader with the mouse - each move will be recorded. It's not practical, but it works, and gives an entry-level idea of
what can be done, especially if you don't own a mixing desk.
The other method is to draw automation in. If you are in the Edit window, you can select volume, pan and mute
automation from the Channel menu on the left of the screen and simply draw the moves in. Fades are best
created by using the [Apple-F] command, which allows you to quickly add pre-designed Fade curves. These are
brilliant and take just seconds to create.
Time for MIDI
MIDI in Pro Tools LE is all contained in the same window as your audio; this is great and can actually lead the
user to forget that he/she is working in a MIDI environment. The view you get of MIDI in the Edit window is
sample-accurate, allowing the MIDI to be edited, arranged and mixed in the same way as the audio, using pan,
volume, and group automation.
It actually works very smoothly, allowing you to hear edits as you perform them. Selection of a MIDI track is the
same as for audio tracks, and recording and editing are the same, so once you have a grasp of the very basics,
such as track selection and grouping, the basic way of achieving your goal is the same.
This article is really intended to give the new user a very basic idea of how to record audio and MIDI using Digi
001. This package has incredible power - far beyond these introductory tips - some of which we will all use, some
of which most may never be bothered with. Anyway, it sounds so good, you'd be forgiven if you stuck to the
basics.

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