There’s a lot of great tracks and a lot of amazing engineers and producers out there doing their stuff, so we thought we would help those looking for the 5 rules of a great recording.

Got em? Good. Any we missed?

A new screen has made its way into the latest version of Pro Tools 10.

As you can see above the screen requires the user to choose either more modern systems or TDM hardware.

We’re not sure what components are being added/left out of either install but it may be a sign, as indicated by Avid, that 10 is the last version that will support certain legacy product.

Avid announce the availability of Pro Tools 10.2 software and new AAX versions of Avid plug-ins for Mac and Windows. Pro Tools 10.2 is a complimentary update for all Pro Tools 10.x and Pro Tools HD 10.x customers that delivers both Windows 7 support for HDX hardware and over 400 stability and performance improvements.

In conjunction with this release, all Avid AAX plug-ins previously available to Mac users with Pro Tools 10.1.2 are now available to Windows users running Pro Tools 10.2. In addition, AAX DSP and AAX Native versions of these plug-ins are now available:

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Avid have announced an update to their AAX plug-in portfolio.

The following AAX plug-ins and add-ons are now available for purchase on Mac and Windows operating systems:

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Avid have announced Pro Tools 10.2 For Pro Tools 10 and Pro Tools HD 10 on Mac OS X and Windows 7

The update available from this page requires an installation of Pro Tools/Pro Tools HD 10.x software. See below for more information.

Version 10.2 is an officially qualified and recommended update for:

• Pro Tools systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 - 10.7.3 or Windows 7 SP1
• Pro Tools|HDX systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 - 10.7.3 or Windows 7 SP1
• Pro Tools|HD Native systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 - 10.7.3 or Windows 7 SP1
• Pro Tools|HD systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7 - 10.7.3 or Windows 7 SP1

More here

Mike Thornton discusses the issue of conforming with Mike Wabro

• What is an EDL
• The history of conforming
• How do OMFs and AAFs relate to the conform workflow
• What is the difference between conforming and re-conforming
• Conforming with Ediload from Sounds in Sync
• Conforming with Titan from SynchroArts
• Addition features in Ediload v2

Listen on Podbean

Eric, Russ, Mike and Neil are back with a bumper edition of the Pro Tools Expert Podcast.

Tonight our guest will be Mike Wabro and he’ll be talking about Conforming software from Sounds In Sync.

On this week’s show;

• Saturation plug-ins
• Audio and MIDI data going out of sync
• Choosing your first Pro Tools system
• Compressor or Eq - which comes first?
• Roland TD20 Drum issues
• Mastering audio and the K system
• The best way to get help

Links for this week’s episode

• Massey Plug-ins
• Softube Tape saturation plug-in
• Roland TD20 drum help

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Podbean

I saw this today and my eyes filled with tears.

It reminded me that when we make music it has the potential to bring healing.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, well you can guess we’ve been finding out some cool tricks in an effort to get our podcasts out in record time.

One thing that can hold things up is waiting for a 1 hour show or interview to export in real time.

Well, if that drives you mad then try this trick, you can even use effects.

1. Get you tracks all edited and ready.
2. Use any real-time plug-ins for compression etc. to treat the audio then save the presets.
3. Open up their Audiosuite counterparts and open up the preset you just created.
4. Process the track with the audiosuite plugin/s.
5. If it’s an interview with a guest then create a new stereo track below the two mono tracks.
6. Now drag those two mono tracks into the stereo track - you now have a stereo file.
7. Mark the new stereo track and export that track in the format you need.
8. It will export on a fast machine in about 30 seconds - an offline bounce.

Yes it’s a workaround, but if you are against the clock, it’s a handy trick until we get track freeze or offline bounce.

In this session Russ shows how easy it is to transfer a Pro Tools project our to another software package.

I know he won’t tell you himself, but our in-house post production guru and all round nice guy has produced his first Groove 3 title ‘Sonnox Pro-Codec ‘

Mike starts with the basics such as what the plug-in does, its workflow and modes, which codec to use, and a detailed GUI overview. He then shows you how to use the plug-in with multiple codecs running for different applications and the pros and cons of Offline and Online modes. Mike wraps up the series with important preset and session data management tips.

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The archive of the recent Avid Tracking webinar is now online.

Creating great sounding tracks all starts before you hit Record for the first downbeat. Does your DAW rise above latency distractions and deliver the best sound quality possible? Avid’s Tom Graham, and Pro Tools Expert blog friends, Brian Carter, and Gil Gowing share their tips and insight into tracking and mixing a full rock trio—during the actual recording session—using a host-based Pro Tools|HD Native system and ICON D-Control.

Watch it here

Nine Volt Audio are offering a unique sampled instrument for free.

The Guitaret is held like a guitar, with the player holding the “neck” or handle to engage the sustain/dampening mechanism. The other hand is used to pluck the 36 metal keys, which barely protrude out of the instrument’s body. The vibration of the plucked keys is then captured by a series of internal pick-ups.

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News is doing the rounds today that Steven Slate managed to send 200gb of data in just 10 hours using Gobbler.

On the Gobbler blog they say “Over the weekend, our friend Steven Slate of Slate Digital, one of the most epic mind’s in analog modelling & drums, had to get a 200GB file to Russia and he had to get it there FAST!

There was only one way to get it his files there and that was Gobbler.

Friday afternoon, Sir Steven dropped in the office and sent the super massive file via his Gobbler account and by the next morning the file was downloaded in Russia.

“The transfer was crazy fast: I usually have to send drives. Gobbler f&$cking rules!” -Steven Slate”

Now that’s fast! Hope the Windows version arrives in record time too!

Need a perfect take? It’s easy in Pro Tools.

Go to the Operation tab in the preferences window and choose ‘Automatically create new playlists when loop recording’.

Now put your Pro Tools into a loop and record away. Then choose playlist view in the track and all your takes are there ready to be auditioned and compiled into one great take. It’s perfect for vocals and lead guitar – you’ll be amazed at the results.

Justin at Maggot has released a new build (v1.1.2) of his excellent surround channel manager, panner, remapper and folddown AAX plugin for AVID Pro Tools.

Spanner now supports output in 5.0 and 7.0 as well mono, stereo, LCR, quad, 5.1 and 7.

And the best news is that this version includes audiosuite - so offline downmix from 5.0 track is now possible.

For more info and videos see my previous post.

Russ continues to talk about the components of a great mix, this session looks at how Eq helps to boost and cut and help put all the tracks together.

In my search for a broadcast limiter plug-in, I saw with interest the announcement from Blue Cat about their new Protector 2 brickwall limiter plug-in, and decided to take a look at it to see if it would work for me in a post context. But music readers don’t skip this, its really for you…

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Russ takes a look at the Wave Alchemy Pro II synth.

He is surprised by what he finds.

New to Pro Tools 10? Clip gain allows you to choose as many points on the audio and adjust the gain.

Clip Gain takes seconds to learn and allows audio level adjustment that is forensic and fast!