M-Audio M-Audio Vocal Studio User guide

Brand: M-Audio

Model: M-Audio Vocal Studio

Type: User guide

M-Audio Vocal Studio is a professional vocal recording system that provides everything you need to capture pristine vocals, including a large-diaphragm condenser microphone, a high-quality USB audio interface, and a pair of closed-back headphones.

With its cardioid polar pattern, the microphone focuses on capturing sound directly in front of it, minimizing room noise and ensuring that your vocals are clear and intelligible. The USB audio interface provides 24-bit/48kHz audio quality, ensuring that your recordings are crystal clear. And the closed-back headphones provide excellent isolation, so you can monitor your recordings without any distractions.

Interactive Projects Guide

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Contents iii

contents

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

IP 1: Using Software Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

IP 2: Recording a Vocal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

IP 3: Creating a Podcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

IP 4: Recording Electric Guitar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

IP 5: Creating a Movie Soundtrack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

IP 6: Making a Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

IP 7: Exploring Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IP 8: Recording an Acoustic Instrument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

IP 9: Using Loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

IP 10: Starting from Scratch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Interactive Projects Guideiv

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 1

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide from

Avid

. This guide gives you 10 workflows based

on the Interactive Projects video tutorials pro-

vided with Avid Pro Tools

SE.

We recommend you watch the videos first to

learn about basic recording and mixing. Then if

needed, you can use the workflows in this guide

to accomplish basic recording and mixing on

your own.

Like the video tutorials, each workflow is in 10

easy steps that let you follow along at your own

pace.

The video tutorials can be accessed in

Pro Tools SE (choose “Tutorials” from the

Quick Start dialog). They’re also available

online at:

http://www.m-audio.com/ptseFAQ

To use Pro Tools SE, a qualified version of

Adobe Flash Player must be installed.

Interactive Projects Guide2

IP 1: Using Software

Instruments

Let’s try out some of the high-quality software

instruments included with Pro Tools SE.

Features Used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Instrument Track Recording and Editing

• MIDI keyboard or Pencil tool

Project Workflow

Connect a MIDI keyboard:

1 Make sure your MIDI keyboard is connected

directly to your computer with a USB cable, then

launch Pro Tools.

Create the session:

2 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Key-

boards.”

Create some software sounds:

3 If you don’t have a MIDI keyboard, you can

also draw notes in the MIDI Editor. To create

notes in this way, click Window > MIDI Editor

and then choose the Pencil tool in the

MIDI Editor.

4 Click one of the Instrument tracks and play

your MIDI keyboard to hear that track's software

instrument. You hear the sound from whichever

track is highlighted.

5 Choose different instruments by clicking on

the Instrument track’s drop-down and selecting

from its list.

Record yourself playing:

6 Click the Track Record Enable button on the In-

strument track so it is ready to record. Now

when you play your connected MIDI keyboard

you can see the meters flickering on that track.

7 Record by using the Transport controls. Click

the Record Enable circle so that it flashes red,

then click the Play triangle. When you are fin-

ished playing, click the Stop square.

8 On the Instrument track, you see MIDI data

for the performance you just recorded. Click the

Track Record Enable button on the track again to

take Pro Tools out of record mode.

Edit the performance:

9 Clean up the durations of our MIDI notes by

adjusting the start and end with the “Trimmer”

tool. This is automatically chosen when you

move the mouse near to either end.

10 Click on a MIDI note and drag it up or down

to change its pitch or hit Delete on the keyboard

to remove it.

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 3

IP 2: Recording a Vocal

Let’s record a sung vocal track with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Audio Track Recording and Editing

• Compressor and Reverb effects

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Vocals.”

Record the singing:

2 Click the Track Record Enable button on the

“Voice 1” track so it is ready to record. Now

when you sing into the microphone that’s con-

nected you can see the meter flickering on that

track.

3 You record by using the Transport controls.

Click the Record Enable circle so that it flashes

red, then click the Play triangle. When you fin-

ish singing, click the Stop square.

4 On the “Voice 1” track, you see a waveform for

the sound we just recorded. Click the Track Re-

cord Enable button on the track again to take

Pro Tools out of record mode.

Edit the performance:

5 You can listen back to your performance by

using the Transport controls. Click Return to Zero

and then click the Play triangle.

6 Clean up the voice recording by using the

“Standard Trimmer” tool to trim the end and be-

ginning.

7 Use the “Selector” tool to select any unwanted

sounds, then hit Delete on the keyboard to re-

move them.

Adjust the effects:

8 Click one of the Effects to access its controls.

While the audio plays back, move the Less/More

Reverb control to hear how it changes the

sound.

9 Click Compressor and move the controls to

smooth the track’s dynamics.

10 Try out different effect presets by clicking on

the Compressor’s settings drop-down and select-

ing from its list.

Interactive Projects Guide4

IP 3: Creating a Podcast

Let’s create a 30-second podcast with one spo-

ken voice track and loops with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Audio Track Recording and Editing

• Loops

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Pod-

cast.”

Record the spoken voice:

2 Click the Track Record Enable button on the

“Voice 1” track so it is ready to record. Now

when you speak into the microphone that’s con-

nected you can see the meter flickering on that

track.

3 You record by using the Transport controls.

Click the Record Enable circle so that it flashes

red, then click the Play triangle. When you fin-

ish speaking, click the Stop square.

4 On the “Voice 1” track, you see a waveform for

the sound you just recorded. Click the Track Re-

cord Enable button on the track again to take

Pro Tools out of record mode.

Edit the performance:

5 You can listen back to your performance by

using the Transport controls. Click Return to Zero

and then click the Play triangle.

6 Clean up the voice recording by using the

Standard Trimmer tool to trim the end and be-

ginning.

7 Use the “Selector” tool to select any unwanted

sounds, then hit Delete on the keyboard to re-

move them.

Add a background music track using Loops:

8 Now preview a couple of Loops (select the

“Loop” button to open the Loop dialog in the

Toolbar) to find one for a background “Music”

track. Drag it on to the existing Music track and

loop it to make it longer.

9 Click with the “Grabber” tool to move your

voice region until after the music starts.

10 Click File > Export > Audio to create the final

podcast by exporting it.

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 5

IP 4: Recording Electric Guitar

Let’s try out some of the high-quality Guitar

Amp sounds that are included with

Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Audio Track Recording and Editing

• Guitar Amp and Reverb effects

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Guitar.”

Record the guitar:

2 Click the Track Record Enable button on the

“Clean Electric” track so it is ready to record.

Now when you play the guitar that’s connected

you can see the meter flickering on that track.

3 You record by using the Transport controls.

Click the Record Enable circle so that it flashes

red, then click the Play triangle. When you fin-

ish playing, click the Stop square.

4 On the “Clean Electric” track, you see a wave-

form for the sound you just recorded. Click the

Track Record Enable button on the track again to

take Pro Tools out of record mode.

Edit the performance:

5 You can listen back to your performance by

using the Transport controls. Click Return to Zero

and then click the Play triangle.

6 Clean up the guitar recording by using the

Standard Trimmer tool to trim the end and be-

ginning.

7 Use the “Selector” tool to select any mistakes,

then hit Delete on the keyboard to remove

them.

Adjust the effects:

8 Click one of the Effects to access its controls.

While the audio plays back, move the Less/More

Reverb control to hear how it changes the

sound.

9 Click “Guitar Amp” and move the controls in

a similar way to that on a real guitar amp.

10 Try out different effect presets by clicking on

the Guitar Amp’s settings drop-down and select-

ing from its list.

Interactive Projects Guide6

IP 5: Creating a Movie

Soundtrack

Let’s add some music to a Movie with

Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Editing Movies

• Using Loops

• Controlling the Master volume

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Movie

Soundtrack.”

Edit the Movie:

2 Replace the current movie by importing a dif-

ferent one. Click File > Import > Movie and

choose the video file you want to use.

3 Shorten your movie by using the “Standard

Trimmer” tool to trim the end.

Choose some Loops:

4 Make sure the Loops dialog is visible. To hide

or show the Loops dialog click the Loops button

in the Toolbar.

5 Preview a loop by clicking on it and drag it

into your session. Choose a drum loop, bass

loop and a sound effect loop.

6 Arrange loops with the Grabber tool. Move

your loops so the drums start before the bass.

7 Trim a loop by using the Standard Trimmer

tool. Click in the lower half of the sound effect

loop and drag to the left to shorten it.

8 Repeat a loop by using the Standard Trimmer

tool. Click in the upper half of the drum loop

and the bass loop and drag to the right to make

both of them repeat several times.

Control the Master volume:

9 Make the audio fade in and out by using the

Pencil tool to create volume automation. Click

on the Master track to draw in the fades.

Finish the Movie:

10 Click File > Export > Movie to create the final

movie by exporting it.

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 7

IP 6: Making a Mix

Let’s combine multiple sounds into one mix

with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Fader and Pan Automation

• Effects Automation

• Mute Automation and Solo

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose a Demo

Song.

Control the faders:

2 Listen back to your session by using the Trans-

port controls. Click Return to Zero and then click

the Play triangle.

3 Click the “Solo” button on a track to hear that

track on its own. Click it again to hear all the

tracks together.

4 Click the “Mute” button on a track to silence

that track so that you can hear how the session

sounds without it. Click it again to hear all the

tracks together.

5 Make the tracks’ volumes change over time by

using the Pencil tool to create volume automa-

tion. Click on the Show/Hide automation lane

triangle on a track and draw in a few volume

changes.

6 Mute and unmute tracks over time. Click the

Automation Lane View selector and choose Mute.

Use the Pencil tool again to mute/unmute auto-

matically where you draw with the Pencil tool.

Control the effects:

7 Make the effects’ controls change over time.

Click the Automation Lane View selector and

choose one of the effects’ controls. Use the

Pencil tool again to have that control change

automatically.

Control the stereo field:

8 Make the sound move from left to right and

back again over time. Click the Automation

Lane View selector and choose Pan. Use the Pen-

cil tool again to have that control change auto-

matically.

9 Listen back to your session by using the Trans-

port controls. Click Return to Zero and then click

the Play triangle.

Finish the mix:

10 Click File > Export > Audio to create the final

mix by exporting it.

Interactive Projects Guide8

IP 7: Exploring Effects

Let’s hear how effects can transform your

sounds with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Using Loops

• Using Effects

•Solo

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Loops.”

Choose some Loops:

2 Make sure the Loops dialog is visible. To hide

or show the Loops dialog click the Loops button

in the Toolbar.

3 Preview a loop by clicking on it and drag it

into the session. Choose a few that will sound

good together. You can sort Loops by key and by

other ways.

4 Arrange loops with the Grabber tool. Move

your loops so they start at different positions.

You can make your loops align with the Grid by

enabling Snap to Grid.

5 Repeat a loop by using the Standard Trimmer

tool. Click in the upper half of some of the loops

and drag to the right to make them repeat sev-

eral times.

Adjust the effects:

6 Listen back to your session by using the Trans-

port controls. Click Return to Zero and then click

the Play triangle.

7 Click the Solo button on a track to hear that

track on its own and click it again to hear all the

tracks together.

8 Click one of the effect’s drop-downs to choose

an effect. While the audio plays back, choose

different effects to hear how they change the

sound.

9 Try out different effect presets by clicking on

the effect’s settings drop-down and selecting

from its list.

10 Use the Effect On/Off button to hear how the

audio sounds with or without each effect.

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 9

IP 8: Recording an Acoustic

Instrument

Let’s record an instrument using a microphone

with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Audio Track Recording and Editing

• Gate, Compressor and Equalizer effects

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Acoustic

Instrument.”

Record the instrument:

2 Click the Track Record Enable button on the

“Acoustic 1” track so it is ready to record. When

you play your acoustic instrument into the mi-

crophone that’s connected you can see the me-

ter flickering on that track.

3 Start to record by clicking the Record Enable

circle so that it flashes red, and then the Play tri-

angle. When you finish playing, click the Stop

square.

4 On the Acoustic 1 track, you can see a wave-

form for the sound you just recorded. Click the

Track Record Enable button on the track again to

take Pro Tools out of record mode.

Edit the performance:

5 Listen back to your performance by using the

Transport controls. Click Return to Zero and then

click the Play triangle.

6 Clean up your recording by using the Stan-

dard Trimmer tool to trim the end and begin-

ning.

7 Use the Selector tool to select any unwanted

sounds, then hit Delete on the keyboard to re-

move them.

Adjust the effects:

8 Click one of the effects to access its controls.

While your audio plays back, move the Gate’s

Threshold control to silence signals that fall be-

low the level you set.

9 Now click “Compressor” and move the con-

trols to smooth your track’s dynamics.

10 Try out different presets by clicking on the

Equalizer’s settings drop-down menu and select-

ing from its list.

Interactive Projects Guide10

IP 9: Using Loops

Let’s try out some of the high-quality sound

samples that are included with Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

• Using Loops

• Using Effects

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Loops.”

Choose some Loops:

2 Make sure the Loops dialog is visible. To hide

or show the Loops dialog click the Loops button

in the Toolbar.

3 Preview a loop by clicking on it and drag it

into the session. Choose a few that will sound

good together. You can sort Loops by key and by

other ways.

4 Arrange loops with the Grabber tool. Move

your loops so they start at different positions.

You can make your loops align with the Grid by

enabling Snap to Grid.

5 Repeat a loop by using the Standard Trimmer

tool. Click in the upper half of some of the loops

and drag to the right to make them repeat sev-

eral times.

Adjust the effects:

6 Listen back to your session by using the Trans-

port controls. Click Return to Zero and then click

the Play triangle.

7 Click the Solo button on a track to hear that

track on its own and click it again to hear all the

tracks together.

8 Click one of the effect’s drop-downs to choose

an effect from its list. While the audio plays

back, choose different effects to hear how they

change the sound.

9 Try out different effect presets by clicking on

the effect’s settings drop-down and selecting

from its list.

10 Use the Effect On/Off button to quickly hear

how the audio sounds with or without each ef-

fect.

Welcome to the Interactive Projects Guide 11

IP 10: Starting from Scratch

Let’s build a customized session with

Pro Tools SE.

Features used:

• Quick Start dialog

•Creating Tracks

• Instrument Track Recording

• Audio Track Recording

Project Workflow

Create the session:

1 From the Quick Start dialog, choose “Empty

Session.”

2 Create a rhythmic backing track using a loop.

Make sure the Loops dialog is visible. To hide or

show the Loops dialog click the Loops button in

the Toolbar.

3 Preview a loop by clicking on it, then drag it

into the session (choose one with a strong

rhythm).

Record some audio:

4 Click the Track Record Enable button on the

“Audio” track so it is ready to record. Now when

an audio signal is detected, you can see the me-

ter flickering on that track.

5 Start to record by clicking the Record Enable

circle so it flashes red, and then click the Play tri-

angle. When you finish playing click the Stop

square.

Create some software sounds:

6 With Instrument tracks, make sure your MIDI

keyboard is connected directly to your com-

puter with a USB cable so you can play (trigger)

the sounds with your keyboard.

7 You can also draw notes in the MIDI Editor. To

create notes, click Window > MIDI Editor, then

choose the Pencil tool in the MIDI Editor.

8 Create more tracks if you need them.

Click Track > New and choose either an Instru-

ment or an Audio track.

9 Try out different effect presets by clicking on

the effect’s settings drop-down and selecting

from its list.

10 Listen to your session by using the Transport

controls. Click Return to Zero and then click the

Play triangle.

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M-Audio M-Audio Vocal Studio User guide

M-Audio M-Audio Vocal Studio User guide

M-Audio M-Audio Vocal Studio User guide

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