Monitoring and Mixing Audio with Instrument Tracks

Use Instrument tracks to monitor and mix audio from instrument plug-ins or external MIDI instruments in a Pro Tools mix.

To use an Instrument track to monitor and mix the output of an instrument plug-in:

1 Use an existing or create a new Instrument track.

2 Choose View > Mix Window > Instruments to show the MIDI controls of the Instrument track.

3 Select an instrument plug-in from the first Insert selector on the Instrument track (such as Xpand2).

4 The virtual MIDI node (port) for the instrument plug-in should be automatically selected for the Instrument track’s MIDI Output. If not, select the MIDI channel and corresponding port for the instrument plug-in from the MIDI Output selector.

5 Assign the track audio output to the appropriate path or paths for monitoring.

6 Adjust the Instrument track fader to mix the audio input.

7 If you are controlling the Instrument plug-in from the Instrument track, you can also mix using the MIDI Volume and Pan controls in the Instrument View.

For information on configuring audio and MIDI signal routing for controlling and monitoring ReWire client applications, see the Audio Plug-Ins Guide.

To use an Instrument track to monitor and mix audio from an external MIDI instrument:

1 Connect the audio outputs of your external MIDI instrument (such as a MIDI synthesizer) to available inputs on your Pro Tools audio interface.

2 If necessary, configure the I/O Setup dialog for the input paths you plan to use (see I/O Setup.)

3 Connect the MIDI input and output of your external MIDI instrument to available MIDI input and output ports on your MIDI interface.

4 If necessary, configure the MIDI Studio Setup (Setup > MIDI > MIDI Studio).

5 Use an existing or create a new Instrument track with a channel format that corresponds to the channel format of your audio source (mono, stereo, or multichannel).

6 Choose View > Mix Window > Instruments to show the MIDI controls of the Instrument track.

7 Set the audio input of the Instrument track to the corresponding input path.

8 In the Instrument track’s Instrument View, set the MIDI output to the corresponding MIDI port connected to the MIDI input of your external MIDI instrument.

9 Assign the track output to the appropriate path or paths for monitoring.

10 Adjust the Instrument track fader to mix the audio input.

11 If you are controlling the external MIDI instrument from the Instrument track, you can also mix using the MIDI Volume and Pan controls in the Instrument View.

To monitor and mix audio from an Instrument plug-in with multiple audio outputs:

1 Use an existing or create a new Instrument track.

2 Choose View > Mix Window > Instruments to show the MIDI controls of the Instrument track.

3 Select a multi-output instrument plug-in from the first Insert selector on the Instrument track (such as Transfuser).

4 The virtual MIDI node (port) for the instrument plug-in should be automatically selected for the Instrument track’s MIDI Output. If not, select the MIDI channel and corresponding port for the instrument plug-in.

5 In the plug-in window, assign the individual audio outputs of the plug-in.

6 Create an Auxiliary Input track for each output of the plug-in. Make sure the channel format of the Auxiliary Inputs corresponds to the channel format of the plug-in outputs (mono, stereo, or multichannel).

7 Set the inputs of the Auxiliary Input tracks to receive the individual outputs of the plug-in.

8 Assign the outputs of the Auxiliary Input tracks to the appropriate path or paths for monitoring.

9 Adjust the Auxiliary Input faders to mix the individual outputs of the plug-in.