Problem with my pro tools

[mojobone]

I can't help you with ProTools routing; I don't know enough about how PT handles virtual instruments, but a little theory may be of some help here, because the concept of how recorded MIDI works with multitimbral instruments can be more than a little difficult to grok.

Firstly, it's really easy to confuse tracks and channels, because those terms have different meanings for audio and MIDI recording. In audio, we speak of a track as a record/playback device to which we can independently assign a channel or group of channels of audio from a mixer, where each input has its own channel. The recorded audio tracks can then be played back through the same mixer channels or additional channels.

In MIDI, a track is a record/playback device for recording MIDI events, such as keystrokes from a MIDI controller or other device. What gets recorded is nothing more than a series of messages about gestures made with a controller, which doesn't have to make any sounds of its own. Each recorded event is accompanied by data about the event, such as which note, the note's start time, the MIDI channel number and the MIDI velocity of the note on. (the note off is a separate event that also includes event metadata) Another significant difference between MIDI tracks and audio tracks is that in audio, an overdub erases and replaces any sound previously recorded into a track (though this is longer the case in some DAWs) while in MIDI, an overdub adds new events without erasing old ones. (though you may have the option to do so)


This means that a single MIDI track can send/receive messages on multiple channels, up to sixteen channels per track; each of these channels can trigger a different timbre or program in a multitimbral virtual instrument plugin. After the instrument plugin generates the notes, with their respective timbres, they're brought back into the DAW on audio tracks in one of two ways; a left/right mix of all the channels/timbres on two audio tracks, or separate outputs for each channel (up to sixteen mono or eight stereo) with a corresponding audio track for each.

If you choose L/R, you'll need to automate each timbre's level changes using MIDI controller messages, which can be recorded or overdubbed in the same way as other types of MIDI events. If you choose separate outputs, you can mix/automate level changes in the same way as you would with audio tracks.

Recording multiple passes of MIDI events with different channel assignments in the same MIDI track can make editing more difficult due to visual clutter. Some DAWs allow you to filter a given MIDI track so as to see and edit data for a single MIDI channel at a time; (though there may be multiple channels in the track) if not, it's better to record multiple tracks of MIDI data (one track per channel/timbre) and route them to a single track which hosts your multitimbral virtual instrument. This has little significant impact on RAM/CPU usage, it's just a different way of visually organizing your data.

It should be noted that copying a MIDI performance and shifting it up an octave will not sound as realistic as performing it again an octave up, this is one of the pitfalls of MIDI orchestration. Another is that most multitimbral VIs will not respond appropriately to divided parts; if you have a line assigned to a string section and the line splits into harmonies, the same section is playing both parts and will double in volume; in a real orchestra, half the section plays each of the divisi parts, while the relative volume of each part decreases. (unless the conductor has each section play louder to compensate, which has timbral as well as level considerations, because of the increased bow pressure) If you assign the same line to a solo violin, it begins playing double-stops when the part splits, which can sound very odd if the notes can't be executed simultaneously on a single violin. Hint: smoothly playing octaves on a single fiddle is pretty difficult.

[charlie2]

mojo, jami, jim....thanks for all this infor. i'll be studying it.

last night i duplicated a midi track using an aux track. i put the play plug in on the aux then when i duplicated; i only did the midi, so i wasn't duplicating the play plug in which would have caused problems.

for some reason i did encounter a access violation. i got to try it again. i noticed when i was duplicating; it was smooth....like the computer was NOT freaking, because it's only duplicating the midi track...not the big play engine....or whatever you call it.

i had two other concerns too.

1. i had 3 midi duplicates. when i recorded one of the midi tracks to an audio track, it ended up recording all of them. this is kind of ok but i was wondering if it's possible to only record one at a time.

2. i noticed when i recorded to audio; the audio signal wasn't as strong as the midi signal. i'm concerned about this.

these are problems that i think i'll solve in time. i wonder if these problems are related to my hard drive acting funny lately.
on the same day; i tried to copy another piece into its' own folder....using "save copy in". it didn't work, and then later it did work with another piece.

whatever....bottom line is i'm excited because not only did i get another forward but duplicating these midi tracks are giving me a better way of working.

thanks again

[andygabrys]

here is a 5 minute video and protools 7 or later compatible session that you can check out to figure out how to use midi tracks and auxes to host all the channels of your multi-output instruments like play and kontakt.

this puts every midi channel on a separate Aux channel, and also allows recording of each of those Aux channels to discrete audio tracks. separating all your parts and making mixing possible later.

Its rough and messy, and there is no speaking during the video, but you can freeze frame and copy what I did. Of course, you will have to replace the Kontakt / Play plugins with your own and change the output mapping to fit.

enjoy!

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/9719334/kontak ... i_outs.zip

[charlie2]

thanks mojo, andy and everyone

i'll check it out