M-AUDIO Pro Tools Recording Studio - Manual (Page 890)

Pro Tools Reference Guide 872
Insert paths require audio interface inputs and
outputs, and are determined by the I/O Setup
configuration of your system.
General Information
When more than one insert is used on a track,
they are processed in series. Each effect is added
to that of any previous plug-ins or inserts (flow-
ing from top to bottom in the Mix window In-
serts View, and left to right in the Edit window
Inserts View).
Inserts on audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs and
Instrument tracks are pre-fader. You can cause
clipping if you boost their gain to extremes, es-
pecially on tracks recorded at high amplitude.
Watch on-screen metering for indication of clip-
ping. (Inserts on Master Faders are post-fader.)
Using Inserts for Effects Processing
Inserts can be used in two ways:
On Single Tracks An insert can be applied to an
individual audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
or Instrument track.
With in-line inserts, you control the amount of
effect by adjusting the balance (or the wet/dry
mix) controls of the plug-in or external device.
As Shared Resources An insert can be used as a
shared resource in a send-and-return arrange-
ment, by bussing signals from several tracks to
an Aux Input, and then applying the insert to
that track. You can then control the send level
for each track, and the overall level of the effect
can be controlled from the Auxiliary Input
track. Using sends and other signal routing fea-
tures helps maximize your system’s processing
power.
Insert Formats
Mono Inserts Used on mono tracks. Inserts that
occur on a track after a stereo insert are automat-
ically used in stereo as well.
Stereo Inserts Used on stereo tracks. A stereo
hardware I/O insert sends the signal to an in-
put/output path.
Mono In/Stereo Out Plug-in Inserts Used to re-
turn a stereo effect from a mono source. Certain
plug-ins (such as D-Verb) let you generate stereo
output from a mono channel. A track made into
stereo in this way has panning controls for each
channel of the stereo signal. Any inserts that oc-
cur on a track after a stereo insert are automati-
cally used in stereo as well.
Multi-Mono Plug-in Inserts Used on stereo or
greater-than-stereo multichannel tracks when a
multichannel version of the plug-in is not avail-
able. Controls for all channels are linked by de-
fault so that you can adjust them in tandem.
You can unlink controls for independent adjust-
ment using the Master Link button. See “Link-
ing and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono
Plug-ins” on page 897.
For examples of send and return busses and
other submixing setups, see “Signal Routing
for Monitoring and Submixing” on
page 853.