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Custom Fader Group mapping on D-Command in PT8

Brent — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:43:39 +0000

Hi all!

With the release of PT8, DCommand users can now open plug ins on the channel strips, just like DControl owners. This cool not only for general work in the “Mix window” state, but gives enormous customisation power when you start to map things inside a custom group. Check out the video:

Custom Group Plugin Mapping with PT8 on DCommand

Snapshot automation with ICON

Brent — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:13:15 +0000

Hi all,

There are a bunch of powerful automation features on ICON that came in with PTHD 7.2, some of which I still haven’t covered. So I’m going to revisit a few of those.
Firstly, lets have a look at the basics of using the Snapshot section on the board. This can be used powerfully with Latch Prime in Stop enabled in your prefs, and there are also modifiers when taking snapshots for different workflows. Take a look:

ICON Snapshot automation from Brent Heber on Vimeo.

The Matrix

Brent — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:30:51 +0000

In this video we take a look at how the new Assign Matrix works on ICON surfaces with PT8.
At first, the matrix may seem complicated but that passes fairly quickly with a little bit of use. One of the key differences and advantages of this method of assignment compared to the legacy behaviour is you no longer have to move your hand around to see the scribble strip while turning the pot…now the menu is laid out across a panel of pots and you simply hit the select buttons as required, speeding up the process enormously. Secondly, we are now assigning busses, plugs and I/O in a consistant fashion, making ICON easier to learn for folks new to the surfaces.
There is also lots of info in the D-Control v8.0 guide Chapter 12 titled “Assigning Inserts, Sends and I/O with the Assign Matrix” and similarly in the D-Control v8.0 guide for the 2 encoder version, but the behaviour is largely the same.
Sorry it’s hard to read the scribble strips in the video, but hopefully with your own ICON in front of you and this video it will all make sense!

ICON Assignment Matrix from Brent Heber on Vimeo.
Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Indiana Mix and the Template of Doom

Brent — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:17:54 +0000

The idea of stem mixing is as old as film sound, but in recent years its taken off in the music industry to the point where mastering engineers are often being supplied with stems (or requesting them) instead of the traditional 2-track.

If you adopt a stem based workflow, one of the most effective ways of saving time is setting up a mixing template.

In ProTools that may consist of two parts, both a *.ptf file (write protected/stationary pad) and an io Setup file – so your busses are labelled the way you like and your outputs are set up for either stereo or 5.1 mixing. Be sure to keep a backup of these files somewhere safe!

Going down the path of setting up your ptf file, if you adopt a template there are two killer features you should be using, markers and window configs…

Picture this: you are mixing the project, diving down, working on backing vox or ambience tracks or SFX or the drum kit and you want to change the overall balance of your stems. So what do you do? You simply hit “.”, “2″, “.” to recall memory locate 2 and what happens?

Potentially, all of this: in the edit window, the track list gets hidden, the region bin closes, the io view and inserts views disappear, all your tracks disappear except the buss masters, in volume view, which blow up to take up a quarter of the window each (red lines drawing as you mix in latch mode), on the right hand side, your favourite buss master compressor plug in window opens and maybe Signal tools, showing you the current level in Peak and RMS and you are now in the sweetest place to mix your stems – all the info you want, maximised on screen at the press of a memory locate.

So how? Well, create a memory locate, tied to no “Selection” but with track show hide/track height and a window config attached…

This is the point – combining windows configs and memory locates in your template gives you alot of power when it comes to everyday tasks, navigating your session as a power user who can anticipate the every day tasks of crafting your mix.

Ive seen some power users with templates that include windows configs that open/close a tonne of info in both their edit windows and mix windows saved to common sense buttons on their numeric keypad like 4 and 5 to open and close the edit window, 7 and 8 to do similar with the mix window, 1,2,3, 5 and 9 for project specific views – seeing it in action is definately a “penny drop” moment.

ICON Power feature:

Taking this idea a step further – dig into your ICON preferences to enable “Track Show/Hide: ShowHdn”

This means that tracks that are hidden in the edit window are still accessible on the control surface using your custom fader groups! So you can now mix on tracks on the console, independent of what is visible in the Pro Tools GUI.

Next Blog: An ICON automation feature called AutoJoin, how to mix effortlessly without reaching for the stop button and a mouse when you make a mistake!