Adding a Virtual Instrument Plug-in to a Pro Tools Session

13 Apr 2009

Pro Tools

• Introduction
• Architecture
• Auxiliary vs. Instrument Tracks
• Sequencing Basics
• Creating Your Tracks
• Setting Up Your Tracks
• Adding SampleTank to Pro Tools
• Adding BFD2 to Pro Tools
• Conclusion

Introduction

Understanding how to operate and activate software plug-ins is an essential part of running any modern recording software, and this is no different with Digidesign's Pro Tools platform. Pro Tools' ability to host software created by manufacturers other than Digidesign make it a powerful platform for including effects, instruments, and sound libraries that manufacturers with years of experience excel in, but can also make the amount of options available to an operator seem complex. The reality is: it's not as difficult as it looks :-)

This tutorial will describe the steps involved in adding a virtual instrument plug-in (such as IK Multimedia's SampleTank, or Fxpansion's BFD2) to Pro Tools 8, using the procedure employed at MKII Studios. It is assumed that you are well aware of the fundamentals of Pro Tools.

Architecture

Pro Tools provides a number of different ways to host and sequence plug-ins. Essentially, there are 4 different kinds of tracks (not including mono/stereo combinations) that you may use within Pro Tools to host audio files and/or plug-ins: Audio, Auxiliary, MIDI, and Instrument. Whilst you may use Instrument tracks to achieve the same results from this tutorial, we will be using Auxiliary tracks. Why? Personal preference :-)

Type of tracks available in Pro Tools 8

Auxiliary vs. Instrument tracks

What's the difference? Well, I have only really used Auxiliary tracks to host plug-ins, so that is my track of choice. Generally I pick a stereo Aux. Input track to host a plug-in that may serve many MIDI tracks, however an Instrument track will serve you fine if you plan to host one kind of plug-in, and sequence it with one MIDI track only. In conclusion:

If you will sequence your plug-in with more than one MIDI track, choose Aux. Input.

If you will sequence your plug-in with one MIDI track ONLY, choose Instrument. Think of an Instrument track as your Aux. Input and MIDI track combined.

Sequencing Basics

The act of sequencing has been around for many years in the music world, and is bought to life within Pro Tools via the MIDI and Instrument tracks. Fundamentally, sequencing is the act of sending MIDI data from one device to another. Traditionally, this is done over the wire using MIDI cable connecting two or more devices (e.g., a keyboard sequencing a sound module), however in Pro Tools, this is all done via the host system, in the case of Pro Tools LE, the host computer. These fundamentals are applied here as well, in fact, you can use Pro Tools to sequence external devices, and vice versa should the case apply. You might setup your keyboard to sequence events within a Pro Tools session (e.g., change a patch).

Think of sequencing as a guitarist: the sequencer (device or system sending the MIDI) is the guitarist's hands, the sequence (device receiving and then responding to the message) is the guitar, responding by creating a sound. Information sound as volume (how loud the sound is), panning (where in the stereo spectrum the sound appears to emanate from), velocity (with what degree of 'hardness' or 'softness' the originating message was sent at - using a guitarists analogy again, notes can be struck at different volume, however this done not affect the overall volume of the instrument, just that note itself) and other such qualities, such as modulation wheel settings and more. You may be able to control various parameters of your plug-in depending on what the manufacturer has included, we will look at these settings later on in this tutorial however.

Creating Your Tracks

To get up and running, add one MIDI track and one Stereo Aux. Input track into your session. The Aux track will be used to host your plug-in, and the MIDI track will be used to author your music.

Tracks ready for use

Switch to your edit view (command +) and make sure your MIDI track has been switched to the notes view, as Pro Tools 8 seems to add new tracks with the default region view.

Setting Up Your Tracks

Switch to your mix view (command +) and click the second insert, and select your plug-in. On a Stereo Aux. Input track, you will usually select the insert, then multichannel plug-in, then the plug-in from the corresponding menu. You can find the insert section located at the very top of the mixer strip on your Stereo Aux. Input track, labelled 'Inserts A-E'. For sequencing, I always select the second insert, as you can never be sure if you will need to stick something in front of the signal chain (e.g., a compressor). To be safe, you might like to select the middle insert option, which will leave you with two inserts before the plug-in (compressor, EQ), and two inserts after the plug-in (delay, reverb).

Next, change the output of your MIDI track to the corresponding input provided by your plug-in. Track output is the bottom of two options located in the I/O section on the mixer strip of your MIDI track. Selecting output should reveal a menu, allowing you to select a host channel in your plug-in. Normally, you will be presented with a choice of up to 16 channels here, in this instance, select channel-1.

Adding SampleTank to Pro Tools

Setting up SampleTank in Pro Tools is relatively easy once you have completed the steps above. Switch to the mixer view, and load your SampleTank plug-in onto your Stereo Aux. Input track in the second insert space provided (on my system, SampleTank is located under the multichannel plug-in, then Instrument menu), and change the output of your MIDI track to SampleTank 2.x 1, channel-1. Load an instrument into the first Part in SampleTank. Note that each Part in SampleTank corresponds directly to a MIDI channel, so MIDI Channel 1 will sequence the first Part in SampleTank, MIDI Channel 2 will sequence the second Part, and so on all the way up to 16 MIDI channels sequencing 16 SampleTank parts. In this example, I will load a bass instrument (Meat T Bass) into the first Part in SampleTank.

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SampleTank plug-in tracks loaded in Pro Tools 8

IK Multimedia's SampleTank 2 plug-in

Switch to your edit view, expand the your MIDI track, and switch to the Pencil tool. You may now draw notes directly onto the MIDI track, and should here the corresponding bass instrument from SampleTank. Each note you draw into Pro Tools is now saved, and will sequence SampleTank on playback.

Adding BFD2 to Pro Tools

Load BFD2 into the second insert space provided (on my system, BFD2 is located under the multichannel plug-in, then Instrument menu), and change the output of your MIDI track to BFD2 1, channel-1

Switch back to your edit view, expand your MIDI track, and select the Pencil tool. Adding notes to the MIDI track now will sequence BFD2, triggering the corresponding kit piece to sound. In this fashion, you can build your own custom beats that will sound amazing.

Simple MIDI track edit used to sequence Fxpansion's BFD2 plug-in

Conclusion

To conclude this tutorial, the check list to get a virtual instrument plug-in (such as SampleTank or BFD2) working on your Pro Tools system is pretty straight forward:

1. Add a MIDI track (for authoring and sequencing) to your session
2. Add a Stereo Auxiliary Input track (to receive MIDI and sequence your plug-in)
3. Load your plug-in onto the Stereo Aux. Input track
4. Change the output of the MIDI track to channel-1 of the Stereo Aux. Input track
5. Select the Pencil tool, and draw notes onto your MIDI track

So, that's how you add plug-ins to Pro Tools, and sequence them with MIDI tracks. I hope that this has been of some use to you, and I welcome you to leave your comments and feedback.