Clear Lake Recording Studios

Tag: recording studio tips

  • Most Useful Quick Keys in ProTools

    Most Useful Quick Keys in ProTools

    Most Useful Quick Keys in Pro Tools

    Why is it important?

    Being successful as an audio engineer requires you to be flawless in your designated DAW. These quick keys for Pro Tools, an industry standard, guarantees engineers speed and precision that provides a time-effective and proficient session for them and their clients.  Quick keys speed up your workflow, with accessible shortcuts that allow you to access tools and features right from your keyboard without having to click through lengthy menus or leave your workspace. 

    These are some essential Pro Tools quick keys to learn quickly to hit the ground running!

    The Essentials:

    • Spacebar: Start/stop playback
    • Command + =: Switch between edit and mix windows
    • Shift + Command + N: Create new tracks
    • T: Zoom in
    • R: Zoom out
    • Enter: Returns timeline selection point to the beginning of the session
    • 3(Numeric Keypad) OR Command + Spacebar OR F12: Record
    • Command + S: Save
    • Command + Z: Undo
    • Shift + Command + Z: Redo
    • Command + C: Copy
    • Command + V: Paste

    Having a numerical keypad is a necessity that allows multiple quick keys to be accessible that would not be available otherwise.

    Numeric Keypad:

    • Enter: Create new memory location
    • 0: Start/stop playback
    • 1: Move timeline selection point back 1 bar
    • 2: Move timeline selection point forward 1 bar
    • 3: Start record
    • 4: Enable/disable loop playback
    • 5: Enable/disable loop record mode
    • 6:Enable punch record mode
    • 7: Enable/disable metronome
    • 8: Enable/disable count-in
    • 9: Enable/disable MIDI merge

    Quick keys used for editing greatly improves speed and functionality. A faster workflow can improve a client’s session by providing a smoother recording experience. 

    Editing and Mixing:

    • A: Trims everything before the timeline selection point
    • S: Trims everything after the timeline selection point
    • D: Creates a fade from the beginning of a clip up to the timeline selection point
    • F: With a whole clip(s) selected, will add short fades to the beginning and end
    • G: Creates a fade after the timeline selection point to the end of the clip
    • Command F: Batch fade
    • P: Move the timeline selection point and/or a clip selection up a track
    • ; (semi-colon): Move the timeline selection point and/or a clip selection down a track
    • , (comma): Nudge a clip to the left (based on your chosen nudge value)
    • . (period): Nudge a clip to the right (based on your chosen nudge value)
    • Command + E OR B: Separate clip based on current selection
    • Command + H: Heals a separation
    • Command + T: Trims clip to the current selection
    • Command + B: Removes current selection
    • Command + U: Opens strip silence
    • Command + G: Group the selected tracks
    • Shift + Command + G: Suspend all groups in the session
    • Option + Command + G: Group selected clips together; opt + cmnd + U will undo the clip group

    Other Favorites: 

    • Control + \(Backslash): New playlist for a selected track
    • Shift + Command + I: Import audio
    • Shift + Command + K: Export clips as files
    • Tab: Move to next clip edge
    • Option + Tab: Move to previous clip edge
    • Tilde: Cycle Though edit modes
    • Option + Shift + D: Duplicate 

    We hope you take advantage of these quick keys to significantly enhance your skills in ProTools for your next recording, editing, or mixing session!

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.

  • 5 Things To Do Before You Enter A Recording Studio

     So you’ve written a great tune, you’ve put the final touches on the lyrics, and you’re pretty sure you’ve got that vocal thing nailed. You’re ready to record, but just how prepared are you? Studio time isn’t cheap. Preparedness will not only make your life easier, it could also wind up saving you a few bucks. Here are five things to address before you enter the recording studio.

    Throw a quick demo together

    You don’t need much. A guitar or keyboard, a microphone, and a way to record it quickly. It doesn’t have to be high-tech. As a matter of fact, the more low-tech the better, for a bare-bones demo is like a blank canvas with only a hint of an outline. It’s up to you to add color and texture to the piece. Listen to the song in your car. Listen to it alone with the lights turned off. let the song dictate to you where it should go. The most incredible bursts of inspiration can happen in those moments when you least expect them. Make a list of the ideas that come to you.

    Have an arrangement plan

    They say the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson was able to envision an entire complex arrangement for a song, and was therefore able to book a complete roster of musicians for the gig. That kind of gift is rare. Besides, there is great freedom in having an entire orchestra at your fingertips, thanks to modern technology. And there is great pleasure to be had in coming up with fresh ideas on the spot and trying them out. Nevertheless, recording studio time is most certainly money. Having an idea of what you want before you go in can save you a ton of both. An arrangement plan is a bit like an ingredients list for a recipe. Try sketching out a grid of your song with columns for song sections and rows for instruments used throughout the song, and X’s marking where those instruments will appear.

    Practice your parts, and use a click track

    It happens to the best of us. Take 67 and you still can’t get the lick down. It’s OK. If you practice your parts over and over again beforehand, and play along with a click track or a metronome, you’ll greatly reduce the possibility of having everyone stare at you while you try to nail that ascending pentatonic scale just one more time.

    Know what kind of sound you’re going for

    This isn’t exactly the same thing as an arrangement plan, but it’s similar. You have an X factor that you’re driving toward. Only the magic of the studio can transport your song across this dimension and take it from good to great. This is where a good engineer comes in. More than just a guy twisting knobs and pushing buttons, a recording engineer knows how to work with the producer to translate artistic ideas into reality. It helps immensely to bring along actual recorded examples of bands or songs you want to sound like as a reference for your producer and engineer.

    Take care of little things

    Restring that bass. Tighten those skins. Have some backup sticks and strings and whatever else you may need. For all its control of the environment, the recording studio can have all the unpredictability of a live show. Here’s where it helps to be a boy scout, i.e. be prepared.

    To discover how you can bring out your sound in a professional studio environment, feel free to contact Clear Lake Recording Studios.

     

    Polish Your Sound at Clear Lake Recording Studios & Fever Recording Studios

    Are you ready to record now? Contact us at Clear Lake Recording Studios and Fever Recording Studios to learn more about our comprehensive assortment of recording services.