Some Pro Tools technical questions...

[Mike Jasper]

To Charles and all y'all.

When you use fades, do you use Equal Power or Equal Gain? I've read the manual, it's not clear, but I've gotten to where I use equal power on crossfades and equal gain on straight fades.

Also, what's the deal with Audiosuite dither? Is it a good thing? And if so, why is the default to the regular old dither, but not the PowR Dither?

Just a couple of things that have been bugging me lately.

Jasper

[Charles Dye]

Mike,

I prefer Equal Gain on x-fades, because I'm usually x-fading between phase coherent material (i.e. vocal comping) where I go to lengths to line up the phase of the two regions. If I use Equal Power it creates a little bump in the audio that is audible. I do use Equal Power when I am x-fading between two regions of the vocal for example that are not in phase to prevent a dip in the audio that can also be audible. For fade outs I prefer S-Curve w/ a slight "S" + Equal Gain.

I don't use Audio Suite dither.

Hope this helps.

[Mike Jasper]

I don't use Audio Suite dither.

Is that because you don't use Audiosuite?

What about the default dither during the fade? Do you uncheck that? Or is that what you were talking about by Audiosuite dither? (I swear, I've looked for this in the manual but couldn't find a definitive answer.)

Frankly, I haven't found the dither button to make much difference, but I do agree with the Equal Power causing those dips.

I use fades and crossfades quite a bit, so knowing exactly what I'm doing seems prudent.

Jasper

[Mike Jasper]

I have more Pro Tools questions. Maybe this thread can handle all questions specifically regarding Pro Tools as an application.

When I work in Pro Tools, I use midi for synths, audio, aux tracks, sends and plugins. I've also used all three editing tools, midi and plugin click tracks, the midi conductor, as well as Shuffle, Spot, Slip and Grid modes (trust me, this is leading somewhere).

But I've never used markers. Do you? And the bigger question here is this: Are there some features of Pro Tools you use that others, such as myself, have skipped? Maybe it's markers, maybe it's not. Maybe something else?

And now to an even bigger question, Charles. Would it be possible for you to upload a session template? It wouldn't have to include the audio files, of course. Too big. But a copy of a session template, you're most complicated and involved one, would provide a lot of insight, I think.

Jasper
PS -- I have more Pro Tools specific questions, but I'll restrain myself and only submit one at a time.
PPS -- Man, do I look like the Unibomber or what?

[Waylon]

I use the locators all the time.. espically in the "Selection " mode, that lets you assign a marker to a region of audio, I generally have verse, chorus, solos, and a full length called "Bounce" in the list before too long into a mix.

[dave-G]

The equal power versus equal gain crossfade-thing can be a little perplexing .. In my practice, the equal power pairs on crossfades yield the smoothest sounding amplitude envelopes with no "dip" in apparent level during the fade. Nonetheless, they sometimes look like they create a bump in the waveform and metering. Equal gain crossfades look smoother on the waveform, but usually sound like they dip in volume.

I have PT open right now, so here's my little demo to see how they differ. I've printed some white noise from the signal generator plugin, overlapped a couple of regions of it, and tried both types of crossfade. With the equal gain method, you'll see it flat, but hear a dip in the level at the center of the crossfade, while the equal power method keeps the same level across the whole fade, but looks bumped. see below, and listen here: equal power equal gain

As Charles points out, phase can definitely be a factor in some situations, but on something like white noise it ought not to be (white noise is IMO, a good example, comparable to the real-world need for fading on roomtone in a classical recording) I dunno why this disconnect between audible and visible happens, but I generally leave "equal power" as my default and it works for me more than half of the time.

-dave

[Mike Jasper]

and a full length called "Bounce" in the list before too long into a mix

Hey, Waylon, I never thought of the above. That's a good idea. Time to get into using markers, I think.

Thanks,

Jasper

[Mike Jasper]

Dave-G --

Thanks! That was a great example.

What about the dither checkmark? Do you leave it in or out? Is there a discernible difference in sound?

Jasper

[dave-G]

I tend to brainlessly leave it checked for dither. I haven't compared in a long time (since I had a mix+ rig), but I seem to recall that without dither, you could hear a little swell in noise at the end of a fade-out (probably form truncation distortion on the fade-out math) ... but it was only audible with monitors cranked.)

-dave

[Mike Jasper]

Yeah, me too. I just assumed I should leave the dither on.

Jasper