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Post by ragan on Jul 21, 2024 15:37:26 GMT -6
So, I recently discovered a couple of things in PT that...oof...I wish I'd looked into a long time ago.
First, the playlist keystrokes (making one playlist the target playlist and just using keystrokes to audition takes and comp to the target playlist). I used to use the manual copy paste way, then moved to the playlist view where you have the little solo buttons per playlist and you hit the up arrow to move your highlighted selection up to your comp track. This is pretty smooth...but just using keystrokes is so much better in my view. You don't have to have the whole mess of playlists expanded, you don't have to mouse around and click things, etc.
Second, I do a lot of hardware printing and I've always just done it manually. ie make a new track, route to it, label the new track, route it to the correct subgroup, color it, put it into the right edit group, etc. I just today (after hearing mention of it for a long time) tried the "commit" function. Oof again. PT just...does it all for you.
So anyway, that got me thinking. What else am I being a dumbass about in PT?
I've used it for so long, I tend to just do the same stuff I've always done. I bet there are other efficiency gains I'm overlooking. I think it would be kind of cool to have tips collected in one thread.
Whaddya got?
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 21, 2024 15:50:39 GMT -6
Clip gain Shift+Control and the up or down arrows. Also, writing volume automation and using the Convert Volume Automation to Clip Gain command. (you can also convert clip gain to volume automation, though I've not yet found a use for this). Shift+F to open and close folders. Monitoring through an armed track while mixing, and toggling in and out of input monitor by pressing Option-K. With this, you can easily a/b rough mixes, previous mix versions, or reference tracks. Using Clip FX in general (my two 'most often' uses are cleaning up plosives on vocals, and cleaning up cymbal bleed while editing tom mics). Nudge left and right by one value greater than selected, using the M and the / keys. Keep nudge set at 1ms, and nudge that value with < and > , or nudge by 10ms using M and /. Always link track and edit selection, and using P and ; for navigation, Shift S for solo, Shift M for mute, Shift R for Record, etc. And also roughly one million other uses. I guess this probably should have been the first thing I mentioned cuz it's probably the thing that makes me the fastest when using PT. I'll probably think of more to share here.  Looking forward to reading others'. Hope to learn something new. |
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Post by indiehouse on Jul 21, 2024 16:10:54 GMT -6
Bookmarked! Already such a valuable thread!
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 21, 2024 16:50:18 GMT -6
Oh, another hugely helpful thing for Beat Detective workflow:
1. Comp drums, but don't yet Beat Detective.
2. Use Massey DRT or similar to generate midi notes for kick and snare (and toms, if you want)
3. After double checking accuracy of midi notes' timing, send them to Trigger or something similar to trigger short transient sound (I have a sample of the PT default click sound for mine).
4. Commit those as audio, and then do Beat Detective using the newly-made key spikes instead of the spot mics.
This will give you zero-bleed, 100% accurate BD transients that you can use to correct timing issues, while at the same time giving you key spikes for trigger gates, side chains, or drum samples. And you'll never need to double-check their timing accuracy because you already did that in step 3.
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Post by ragan on Jul 21, 2024 17:46:27 GMT -6
bgrotto do you have luck with beat detective with real drums? I've never had much luck with the way it chops things up.
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 21, 2024 17:58:22 GMT -6
bgrotto do you have luck with beat detective with real drums? I've never had much luck with the way it chops things up. I have great results with BD, lucks got nuthin to do with it  One of the ironies about BD is that the better the source material, the better the results, so in a way, the drummers that need it most benefit the least from it. But there's some prep work one can do to compel better results, much of it around correcting the flamming of limbs, which is a tweaky edit that's hard to explain here. There's also some skill required in working out swing and strength settings. Last, but not least, I generally work in "Collection" mode, which allows for a lot more sophisticated editing. Anywho, BD is one of those tools that kinda claims to be automatic/'set-and-forget', but in reality, it's simply not for all but the most rigid, robo-drum requirements. When you learn how to really use it, it can make extremely short work of drum editing and sound absolutely great. |
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Post by doubledog on Jul 21, 2024 18:27:56 GMT -6
So, I recently discovered a couple of things in PT that...oof...I wish I'd looked into a long time ago. First, the playlist keystrokes (making one playlist the target playlist and just using keystrokes to audition takes and comp to the target playlist). I used to use the manual copy paste way, then moved to the playlist view where you have the little solo buttons per playlist Second, I do a lot of hardware printing and I've always just done it manually. ie make a new track, route to it, label the new track, route it to the correct subgroup, color it, put it into the right edit group, etc. I just today (after hearing mention of it for a long time) tried the "commit" function. Commit and freeze are both useful. Freeze is good to either shorten your mix bounce time (frees up CPU) or to free up some CPU for other plugins. Once I'm done tweaking, then unfreeze and commit... Were you copying and pasting tracks into playlists, or just using "copy alternates to new playlist" (that being much more efficient... as long as your match criteria is set well)? |
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Post by EmRR on Jul 21, 2024 20:36:33 GMT -6
I finally had to do the PT crash course and do a huge edit on a long classical guitar ensemble piece, became obvious I had to learn a LOT of shortcut key combo's if I was gonna get anywhere fast. Spent an hour+ in the PT shortcut manual copying things I'd likely use, ended up with about a 2 page list I have to refer to constantly, but it's made it SO much faster to get things done. There's still only a few that've stuck, I'm looking at it constantly, but it'll come. I can recommend the approach! The number of settings that change the available actions is a challenge to remember too.
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 21, 2024 20:53:47 GMT -6
Thought of a few more as I'm doing these mix revisions....
Opt A to shrink the timeline horizontally to the session top and bottom.
ctrl-opt-cmd down arrow to shrink it vertically
ctrl and arrow up or down to change height of selected track(s)
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Post by drumsound on Jul 21, 2024 21:29:14 GMT -6
Y'all are making me feel like a really inefficient MFer. I screw up the horizontal zoom ALL THE TIME, so I'm always zooming in when I want out, and vice versa.
I learned the clip gain mentioned by Benny about 4 weeks ago.
I've thought about one of those keyboard layovers, but I have no idea if that would make matters worse...
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Post by Darren Boling on Jul 22, 2024 0:14:50 GMT -6
Benny has already laid out all my favorites (and more) but one I haven't seen mentioned yet that I use often is when making new routing folders (shift-option-command-N) tick the box to route tracks to new folder, instant aux creation and assignment that also organizes the session all in one go. That combined with having my default output route to my mixbux instead of the stock Output 1-2 saves me tons of time.
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Post by drumsound on Jul 22, 2024 0:31:33 GMT -6
What are routing folders?
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Post by doubledog on Jul 22, 2024 7:06:12 GMT -6
one I haven't seen mentioned yet that I use often is when making new routing folders (shift-option-command-N) tick the box to route tracks to new folder, instant aux creation and assignment that also organizes the session all in one go. I setup a routing folder the other day and when I put a plugin on that folder, it did not behave like an Aux - the plugin was there but didn't function. Not sure if that was a bug or a glitch or if that's how it's supposed to work. So then I had to undo everything and just create an Aux bus (and that worked fine - it just won't collapse like a routing folder). i was thinking that plugins are supposed to be effective across the folder (i.e. all the tracks inside it)? |
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Post by doubledog on Jul 22, 2024 7:17:28 GMT -6
another couple I thought of ...
"batch rename". It saves me a lot of time, but doesn't work exctly how I wish it would... So at the end of sessions I like to remove the extra underscores and version numbers of the tracks (especially if I am sending the tracks to someone else). So I setup a preset to remove the last 3 characters of the name (for example "_02"). Selecta all tracks I want to rename, click, done! Maybe... Sometimes it takes a second pass, but then eventually I end up with just the track names. Now the part I don't like, is that there is no way to sync the filename on disk (and I understand the technical reasons why...). So now I have to do a final step and just use "rename", but selecting all of the tracks and just hitting enter (a bunch of times - I don't thinking holding alt/option + enter will do it in one move here).
Speaking of alt/option + enter - after consolidating final tracks (with the same starting point), I also like to select "all unused" clips in the clip list and then I will alt+enter on "delete" and it will delete all unused clips in one click... now you gotta be really sure you want to do this because you get one chance to mess it up really good. But I've done it enough times that I feel pretty confident in doing it (and I make backups before I participate in this kind of recklessness). Saves a ton of time vs. deleting individual files one at a time.
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 22, 2024 7:37:04 GMT -6
one I haven't seen mentioned yet that I use often is when making new routing folders (shift-option-command-N) tick the box to route tracks to new folder, instant aux creation and assignment that also organizes the session all in one go. I setup a routing folder the other day and when I put a plugin on that folder, it did not behave like an Aux - the plugin was there but didn't function. Not sure if that was a bug or a glitch or if that's how it's supposed to work. So then I had to undo everything and just create an Aux bus (and that worked fine - it just won't collapse like a routing folder). i was thinking that plugins are supposed to be effective across the folder (i.e. all the tracks inside it)? Sounds like you forgot to select the “route tracks to new folder” option in the create folder dialog. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 22, 2024 7:37:47 GMT -6
What are routing folders? It’s like an aux track, but you can nest tracks in it to make your session a bit skinnier. |
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 22, 2024 7:39:34 GMT -6
another couple I thought of ... "batch rename". It saves me a lot of time, but doesn't work exctly how I wish it would... So at the end of sessions I like to remove the extra underscores and version numbers of the tracks (especially if I am sending the tracks to someone else). So I setup a preset to remove the last 3 characters of the name (for example "_02"). Selecta all tracks I want to rename, click, done! Maybe... Sometimes it takes a second pass, but then eventually I end up with just the track names. Now the part I don't like, is that there is no way to sync the filename on disk (and I understand the technical reasons why...). So now I have to do a final step and just use "rename", but selecting all of the tracks and just hitting enter (a bunch of times - I don't thinking holding alt/option + enter will do it in one move here). Speaking of alt/option + enter - after consolidating final tracks (with the same starting point), I also like to select "all unused" clips in the clip list and then I will alt+enter on "delete" and it will delete all unused clips in one click... now you gotta be really sure you want to do this because you get one chance to mess it up really good. But I've done it enough times that I feel pretty confident in doing it (and I make backups before I participate in this kind of recklessness). Saves a ton of time vs. deleting individual files one at a time. Don’t forget to “compact” afterwards! (As I recall this was called “optimize” in earlier versions, in case you’re on an older system and don’t see it) |
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Post by Darren Boling on Jul 22, 2024 7:46:34 GMT -6
I setup a routing folder the other day and when I put a plugin on that folder, it did not behave like an Aux - the plugin was there but didn't function. Not sure if that was a bug or a glitch or if that's how it's supposed to work. So then I had to undo everything and just create an Aux bus (and that worked fine - it just won't collapse like a routing folder). i was thinking that plugins are supposed to be effective across the folder (i.e. all the tracks inside it)? Sounds like you forgot to select the “route tracks to new folder” option in the create folder dialog. What Benny says. If you did forget you'll find the bus will be named whatever you named the folder. I should also add that I'm assuming you have all the tracks you want in the folder selected when you make it, if not, the move into the folder and routing will be manual. The nice thing about routing folders is they can be basic or routing. I'm not sure why basic is the default choice, unless there's a way to change this I don't know about you have to choose routing for the first folder you make in a session, then after it'll hold the 'routing folder' and 'route tracks to new folder' choices |
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Post by ragan on Jul 22, 2024 8:31:12 GMT -6
So, I recently discovered a couple of things in PT that...oof...I wish I'd looked into a long time ago. First, the playlist keystrokes (making one playlist the target playlist and just using keystrokes to audition takes and comp to the target playlist). I used to use the manual copy paste way, then moved to the playlist view where you have the little solo buttons per playlist Second, I do a lot of hardware printing and I've always just done it manually. ie make a new track, route to it, label the new track, route it to the correct subgroup, color it, put it into the right edit group, etc. I just today (after hearing mention of it for a long time) tried the "commit" function. Commit and freeze are both useful. Freeze is good to either shorten your mix bounce time (frees up CPU) or to free up some CPU for other plugins. Once I'm done tweaking, then unfreeze and commit... Were you copying and pasting tracks into playlists, or just using "copy alternates to new playlist" (that being much more efficient... as long as your match criteria is set well)? I had been using the playlist track view, where you can solo each playlist within that track, audition through them, and hit the up arrow to copy the highlighted portion of the clip you're auditioning up to the comp track. Just recently I discovered how to do it all with keystrokes and without having the big mess of playlists expanded, which I dislike, especially on many-grouped-tracks, like drums. To elaborate: Create your comp playlist and (with the playback cursor on that track) hit Command + Shift + Right (arrow). That playlist will flash blue. That is now the target playlist (the comp you’re building, where stuff will copy to). Now, use Shift + Up/Down (arrows) to scroll around your playlists while playing back (I usually keep my transport in loop playback mode so if I have a verse or bar or whatever highlighted, it loops) and when you find the take/playlist you want, hit Option + Shift + Up (arrow) and it will copy that selection to the target playlist. You’ll see a checkmark and the name of the target/comp playlist it was just copied to flash. Cooler still, is at any point, no matter what playlist you’re on, you can hit Shift + Right (arrow) and it will toggle to the target playlist. Shift + Left and it goes back to where you were. So you can always compare to what’s on your target/comp playlist. The way I use it is I have my selection looped and I just scroll through the playlists starting from the top, then when I hear one that’s a contender, I Option + Shift + Up (to copy it to the target/comp) then keep going through the playlists. Hear one that might be better? Hit Shift + Right/Left to quickly toggle, compare. If it’s better, I send that one to the target/comp playlist. Once I’m through the options, I’ve got my choice for that part of the comp. It is so fast and easy once you have the keystrokes under your fingers. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 22, 2024 9:21:40 GMT -6
I have a complete brain block on the shortcut for placing in a new playlist. I can’t remember the damn thing to save my life.
I just started using commit up to this insert too. I’ve been using freeze up to this insert for a while and finally was like “why am I not committing?” So that has been cool. I’ve actually been using several deres instances in serial on something like vocals. So I’ll try and find the resonances and then I commit that track. Then there’s a clean canvas for processing.
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 22, 2024 18:14:36 GMT -6
Commit and freeze are both useful. Freeze is good to either shorten your mix bounce time (frees up CPU) or to free up some CPU for other plugins. Once I'm done tweaking, then unfreeze and commit... Were you copying and pasting tracks into playlists, or just using "copy alternates to new playlist" (that being much more efficient... as long as your match criteria is set well)? I had been using the playlist track view, where you can solo each playlist within that track, audition through them, and hit the up arrow to copy the highlighted portion of the clip you're auditioning up to the comp track. Just recently I discovered how to do it all with keystrokes and without having the big mess of playlists expanded, which I dislike, especially on many-grouped-tracks, like drums. To elaborate: Create your comp playlist and (with the playback cursor on that track) hit Command + Shift + Right (arrow). That playlist will flash blue. That is now the target playlist (the comp you’re building, where stuff will copy to). Now, use Shift + Up/Down (arrows) to scroll around your playlists while playing back (I usually keep my transport in loop playback mode so if I have a verse or bar or whatever highlighted, it loops) and when you find the take/playlist you want, hit Option + Shift + Up (arrow) and it will copy that selection to the target playlist. You’ll see a checkmark and the name of the target/comp playlist it was just copied to flash. Cooler still, is at any point, no matter what playlist you’re on, you can hit Shift + Right (arrow) and it will toggle to the target playlist. Shift + Left and it goes back to where you were. So you can always compare to what’s on your target/comp playlist. The way I use it is I have my selection looped and I just scroll through the playlists starting from the top, then when I hear one that’s a contender, I Option + Shift + Up (to copy it to the target/comp) then keep going through the playlists. Hear one that might be better? Hit Shift + Right/Left to quickly toggle, compare. If it’s better, I send that one to the target/comp playlist. Once I’m through the options, I’ve got my choice for that part of the comp. It is so fast and easy once you have the keystrokes under your fingers. Precisely how I comp vocals. 👍🏽 |
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Post by bgrotto on Jul 22, 2024 18:15:12 GMT -6
I have a complete brain block on the shortcut for placing in a new playlist. I can’t remember the damn thing to save my life. I just started using commit up to this insert too. I’ve been using freeze up to this insert for a while and finally was like “why am I not committing?” So that has been cool. I’ve actually been using several deres instances in serial on something like vocals. So I’ll try and find the resonances and then I commit that track. Then there’s a clean canvas for processing. Ctrl+opt V |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 22, 2024 19:55:43 GMT -6
I have a complete brain block on the shortcut for placing in a new playlist. I can’t remember the damn thing to save my life. I just started using commit up to this insert too. I’ve been using freeze up to this insert for a while and finally was like “why am I not committing?” So that has been cool. I’ve actually been using several deres instances in serial on something like vocals. So I’ll try and find the resonances and then I commit that track. Then there’s a clean canvas for processing. Ctrl+opt V I’ll never remember it lol |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 23, 2024 10:56:06 GMT -6
I have a complete brain block on the shortcut for placing in a new playlist. I can’t remember the damn thing to save my life. I just started using commit up to this insert too. I’ve been using freeze up to this insert for a while and finally was like “why am I not committing?” So that has been cool. I’ve actually been using several deres instances in serial on something like vocals. So I’ll try and find the resonances and then I commit that track. Then there’s a clean canvas for processing. Ctrl+opt V Literally just had to come back here to remember just now. |
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Post by Johnkenn on Jul 23, 2024 10:56:33 GMT -6
andddd....that doesn't work for me.
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