With the announcement of Pro Tools 12.3 Avid has opened the gates to a world of new possibilities in Audio Production.
Along with the new Commit features, there are also enhancements to Editing, Mixing, and a host of production features. Let's not waste any time and get right to the most requested feature in Pro Tools history, Commit. If you want to learn these tips in person at our training facilities, make sure to sign up for our Avid Certified Pro Tools Training Classes:
Commit (soon to include Freeze)
The most anticipated enhancement to Pro Tools is the new Commit features that allow users to instantly process Audio & MIDI with a few clicks of the mouse. In the past, several steps were needed to "bounce" tracks and bring them back into the session as new audio files & tracks. Pro Tools 12.3 does away with all those steps in favor of the Commit feature that allows you to instantly render processed audio files, create new tracks, as well as inactivating the original tracks in order to free-up resources. The software engineers have thought ahead as to what the workflow would be in a session and have built those time saving features into Commit processing.
To begin with, you have the ability to Commit either the Selected Tracks (all audio clips on that track or tracks), or just an Edit Selection within that track. This allows you the utmost flexibility in your workflow whether your making music, editing, or mixing. An important thing to note is that by default, this process will create a brand new Audio Track to place the new committed audio clips. It does this in order to preserve the original, raw tracks, without having to delete or overwrite them.
When you choose to Commit, you are asked what you would like to do with the Source Tracks. It makes sense to most engineers & producers to "Inactivate" the tracks, taking them completely offline, while keeping them hidden in the background. This allows them to be re-activated at any time in case there is a need to go back & make changes to the original. No matter what the circumstance, you have the options not only to Inactivate the tracks, but to Delete them or Do Nothing to them. Furthermore, it also takes into account the fact that you might have Volume, Mute, or Pan Automation on the tracks, and allows you to Render this Automation to the new tracks that are created. This process can also be done to all tracks you have selected at the same time.
Music Production, MIDI, & Virtual Instruments
The most exciting use of Commit revolves around using Virtual Instruments & MIDI. You now have the ability to drag & drop a MIDI clip to an Audio Track in order to create audio clips of MIDI performances! This process has always been quite convoluted in Pro Tools, now it is as simple as creating a new Audio Track & dragging your MIDI clips to that track with the Grabber Tools. That's it! Excuse me while I go jump for joy! I personally have been asking for this feature longer than I care to admit.
Anyone working in Audio Production, Music or Post Production, will be quite happy at the amount of time saved with this new workflow enhancements. We have only begun to see the power & possibilities of these new features, and look forward to discovering new ways of using them in session.
Click on video to see Pro Tools 12.3 in action
Another feature of Commit when working with Virtual Instruments is the ability to work with Multi-Output devices & create multiple new audio tracks based on these individual outputs. Certain VI's (such as Native Instruments) support the ability to have several "Outputs" from the device. This works great when working with things such as Drum VI's, where it is ideal to have an output for each element such as Kick, Snare, Tom's, etc... This allows greater ability to mix the material in the context of your individual session.
As these features get ready to roll out, keep an eye on your Account Manager to download ProTools123 when it becomes available within the next few weeks.
An important thing to note is the mention of a soon to be released feature called "Freeze". Avid mentions this feature will be available in future version beyond 12.3 and is a sister function to Commit, which many people have been asking for. This leaves no doubt that the software engineers have been listening to the user community and giving us feature that we want.