Backing Up A Pro Tools Session

By Jon Tidey - codename: Static

This will explain what you need to do in order to properly export a Pro Tools session to back it up or to send to someone else, with complete confidence that nothing will be lost in the process.

Open ProTools and push Ctrl/Command O and select the session you want to archive. So everything looks nice and organized fit all the tracks to the screen and Alt/Option A to view the entire session.

You may want to consolidate any regions that are chopped up, or anything that doesn’t start at the same time as the other tracks. This will also allow you to take the audio files and mix in another DAW. To do this select from the start of the session to the end of the region and use the hotkey Shift Alt/Option 3 to consolidate the track. This will create a new audio file, any fades will be written to the file, effects will not be however. If you are sending this to someone else this is a really good thing to do.

Next you will want to remove unused regions and audio files from the session. Go to the region list (right side panel) and Ctrl/Command Shift U to select the unused regions. Ctrl/Command Shift B will bring up the Clear Regions dialog. You want to remove only. This will minimize the amount of files that need to be copied.

So now comes the part where you save it to a new location. Push Ctrl/Command 2 to verify the session sample rate and depth. Go to the File menu and select Save Copy In…

Note that the Session Parameters should be the same as the current session. In items to copy you MUST click All Audio Files. You don’t have to click: Don’t copy fades files, but it makes the saved session smaller, and missing fades are recreated on opening anyway. Saving the session plugin folder is a good idea if you saved anything to it during the mix, you should have. Keep Copy Of on the file name to indicate this is not the original session. Make sure you are saving to a different drive than the one you are working off of, remember you want your backups on a different drive always. The exception would be if you are saving the session to burn to a DVD. Optionally, you may want to add the date to the file name as well.

Click Save and it will begin writing everything to the new location. This can take a while depending on the size of the session and computer speed. Thats it.

You can now take this Protools session to anyone else in the world with a Protools system and begin work again in seconds.

The Download on Digital Music Files

by Jason Johnston Pretty much all music is digital these days. Sometimes the file formats they come in can be confusing. So here's the download on digital music files. There are basically three kinds: Uncompressed audio formats (often referred to as PCM formats) are just as the name suggests — formats that use no compression. This means all the data is available, at the risk of large file sizes. Compression is not like the "audio" type of compression, but a digital format where it takes out redundant information. Exactly like the way pictures are compressed for viewing on the web. A .WAV file (typically a Windows format) or an .AIF audio file (typically on the Macintosh) are examples of uncompressed audio files. Lossless formatting applies compression to an uncompressed audio file, but it doesn't’t lose information or degrade the quality of the digital audio file. The WMA audio file format uses lossless compression and so does Apple Lossless. Lossy compression will result in some loss of data as the compression algorithm eliminates redundant or unnecessary information — basically it tosses what it sees as irrelevant information. Lossy compression has become popular online because of its small file size, it is easier to transmit over the Internet. MP3, OGG and Real Audio files uses a lossy compression. You can use a variety of programs to convert digital audio, from top end pro software like Steinberg's Wavelab to the more affordable and easy to use Cakewalk Pyro Software. In the end, the type of audio file conversion you might use depends on the final destination of that file: MP3 - Upload to sites like Myspace.com, Sonicbids, your own website.

OGG - Like an MP3 however it is a free licence to use it, but somehow not as common. You will often find this in the "linux" circles and on the "creative commons" websites. AAC or WMA - Not recommended, unless you want to be stuck in iTunes or Windows Media Player Real - stream audio using a "real" player WAV or AIF - (16 bit 44.1 kHz) to burn onto a CD

What does 16 bit 44.1 kHz mean? That is info for a later article on digital audio. This should get you making digital music without too much fret about the formats for now.

Microsoft Vista and the Home Studio

by Jason Johnston

There is much talk about the new Windows Vista operating system around the studios and home studios of the world. The reason for this is not because of the slick new interface and the security upgrades. The buzz is around the number 64. Windows Vista comes in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions. This relates to how much information the CPU (also called the processor) can process at one time. If the CPU is 64 bit and the operating system is 64 bit AND the specific application is also 64 bit (also called Native) then it will be able to process twice as much information as in 32 bit mode. At the same time, the processor is able to access more RAM than previous 32 bit computing versions (up to 128 GB depending on Vista version). Why does this matter? The increase in processor performance will speed up exporting of files, the number of instances of plug-ins and software instruments, as well as the depth of quality that these plug-ins can attain. Higher quality samples can be loaded and it should also result in lower latency (the delay between your action and the computer's audio re-action). There are good days ahead for computer based recording as we move to 64 bit. Some software companies like Cakewalk Sonar, and Universal Audio and hardware companies like Edirol and RME have native drivers, but many others are still trying to catch up. If one decides to go Windows Vista this summer, just know that some software and hardware will not install at all and others may only work in 32 bit mode, not giving any advantage over Windows XP. By September, most companies should be up to date and we will all be moving towards 64 bit computing as the new home studio standard.

Click here for our official Windows Vista page at RevolutionAudio.ca including compatibility updates, the full story on our Vista test computer and driver links

Click here for the video "Revolutionizing Audio Production"