M-AUDIO Pro Tools Recording Studio - Manual (Page 450)

Pro Tools Reference Guide 432
Guidelines for Editing Waveforms
With the Selector tool in the Edit window, you
can select portions of audio waveforms and di-
vide them into segments called regions, so that
you can rearrange and manipulate them in
tracks.
While editing musical material, try to create re-
gions that let you maintain a consistent beat. If
you always define regions so that they contain a
whole number of beats, you will be able to string
the regions together and maintain a smooth,
steady rhythm.
It is sometimes useful to have a steady, well-de-
fined reference waveform (such as a drum track
or click track) as a guide when selecting and de-
fining other regions. If you have played in time
with the beat, it should be easier to create rhyth-
mically accurate regions by referring to the ref-
erence waveform.
Some important rules to keep in mind when de-
fining regions:
‹ Whenever possible, begin a region precisely
before a volume peak, and end it immediately
before another volume peak.
‹ Whenever possible, make sure a region starts
and ends on exactly the same part of a beat.
‹ Use the following Pro Tools features to help
you edit rhythmic material or audio with clear
transients into precise regions:
• Tab to Transients (see “Tabbing to Tran-
sients” on page 484 .)
• Editing to a Grid (see “Grid” on page 446)
• Beat Detective (see Chapter 28, “Beat De-
tective”)
Avoiding Clicks and Pops
If an edited region begins or ends at a point of
high amplitude, you may hear a click when
Pro Tools plays from one region to another. In
order to avoid clicks or pops do any of the fol-
lowing:
‹ Make sure that the start and end points of
your selection are as close as possible to the
point where the amplitude of the waveform
tapers down to meet the zero-crossing line (the
center line of the track’s waveform display). If
necessary, use the zooming tools in the Edit win-
dow (see “Using the Zoomer Tools” on
page 449) to display waveforms in greater detail.
‹ Apply a crossfade between regions where a
click or pop occurs. See “Creating a Crossfade”
on page 521 for details.
‹ With Pro Tools HD, use the AutoFade feature
to apply real-time fade-ins/outs to all region
boundaries that do not touch or overlap other
regions. See “Using AutoFades” on page 523 for
details.
Selection that begins and ends at zero crossings