I thought it might be a good idea to do a video demonstrating how to set your tempo grid in Pro-Tools. I get a lot of questions/comments from people saying they’re not quite sure how to begin with the whole ‘identify beat’ thing. Definitely this beginning step can throw a wrench in your whole project if done incorrectly so I completely understand your frustration. It’s a process that is best learned hands on (and second best learned visually). Read more »

Shortcuts save me a ton of time and they’re no secret but it’s nice to have a list right in front of you to reference from time to time. Here are some I use on a daily basis…
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This is a tip originally posted on my old blog… by request, I’m moving those posts over to the noisefreak blog.

A pretty widely known shortcut to duplicate a region in protools is to hold down the option key and drag the region to your desired location. However, adding the shift key to the equation will select every track above and below your selection so you can copy to a new location. This is helpful for duplication the chorus of a song or a group shout. This video briefly shows the keys in action.

iPhone placed on Anti-Static Bag eliminates EM noise in my monitors

If you’re annoyed as much as I am by the EM noise generated by your iPhone or other GSM device, try this simple solution before running out and buying new monitors (or smashing your pricey iPhone). If you’ve purchased RAM or a hard drive, hang on to the anti-static sleeve and use it as a buffer. I happened to notice one day that when I laid my phone on top of the sleeve the noise went away AND I could receive calls/data (see the i’m-too-lazy-to-get-my-real-camera-so-I-used-a-webcam picture above). Problem solved for me - your results may vary but it’s worth a shot.

Here at noisefreak, we’re not sure if even we could have done a better job at making this THE MOST INTENSE music video ever made. But don’t take our word for it, check it out:

Intense… indeed.

At some point in every producers day there is a point where scouring your regions bin for a particular whole or partial file turns into a ‘needle in a haystack’ hunt. A feature not many people utilize is the region search function. Here’s a quick tip to help find that elusive region.

Find yourself longing for the ability to search multiple locations using Leopard, like you could with Tiger? Here’s a quick fix to get you up and running again.
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Figure one: A nagging CPU error I kept getting.

I recently updated one of my systems to Leopard and ProTools HD 8 and one of the first problems I encountered was a nagging CPU error. I could load a blank project and create one single instrument track, place one RTAS instrument on it and get an error within 3 to 13 seconds of hitting play. This is without any midi data on the track, without playing a single note, without any automation, without any other apps running.

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