Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started Digidesign Guide Mbox2Pro V74 42161

Mbox 2 Pro - 7.4 - Getting Started Mbox_2_Pro_7.4_qsg Free User Guide for M-Audio Mbox Software, Manual

User Manual: Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started Guide Troubleshoot Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started |

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Getting Started

Mbox

®

2 Pro

Version 7.4

Legal Notices

This guide is copyrighted ©2007 by Digidesign, a division of

Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights

reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be

duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of

Digidesign.

003, 003 Rack, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O,

888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O,

AudioSuite, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid Mojo, Avid Unity, Avid Unity

ISIS, Avid Unity MediaNetwork, Avid Xpress, AVoption,

AVoption|V10, Beat Detective, Bruno, Command|8, Control|24,

D-Command, D-Control, D-Fi, D-fx, D-Show, DAE, Digi 002,

Digi 002 Rack, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign

Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction,

Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiDrive, DigiRack, DigiTest,

DigiTranslator, DINR, DV Toolkit, EditPack, Impact, Interplay,

M-Audio, MachineControl, Maxim, Mbox, MediaComposer,

MIDI I/O, MIX, MultiShell, OMF, OMF Interchange, PRE,

ProControl, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD,

Pro Tools LE, QuickPunch, Reel Tape, Reso, Reverb One,

ReVibe, RTAS, Smack!, SoundReplacer, Sound Designer II,

Strike, Structure, SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, TL Space,

Velvet, and X-Form are trademarks or registered trademarks of

Digidesign and/or Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks

are the property of their respective owners.

Product features, specifications, system requirements, and

availability are subject to change without notice.

PN 9320-56828-00 REV A 7/07

Comments or suggestions regarding our documentation?

email: techpubs@digidesign.com

Communications and Safety Regulation Information

Compliance Statement

This model Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro complies with the following

standards regulating interference and EMC:

• FCC Part 15 Class B

• EN 55022 Class B

• EN 55204 Class B

• AS/NZS 3548 Class B

• CISPR 22 Class B

Radio and Television Interference

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the

limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the

FCC Rules.

DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY

We Digidesign,

2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 200

Daly City, CA 94014 USA

tel: 650-731-6300

declare under our sole responsibility that the product

Mbox 2 Pro

complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules.

Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this

device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this

device must accept any interference received, including

interference that may cause undesired operation.

Communication Statement

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply

with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part

15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide

reasonable protection against harmful interference in a

residential installation. This equipment generates, uses,

and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed

and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause

harmful interference to radio communications. However,

there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a

particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful

interference to radio or television reception, which can be

determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is

encouraged to try and correct the interference by one or

more of the following measures:

• Reorient or locate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and

receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit

different from that to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician

for help.

Any modifications to the unit, unless expressly approved by

Digidesign, could void the user's authority to operate the

equipment.

Canadian Compliance Statement:

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-

003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme

NMB-003 du Canada.

Australian Compliance

European Compliance

Digidesign is authorized to apply the CE (Conformité

Europénne) mark on this compliant equipment thereby

declaring conformity to EMC Directive 89/336/EEC and Low

Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC.

Safety Statement

This equipment has been tested to comply with USA and

Canadian safety certification in accordance with the

specifications of UL Standards: UL60065 7th /IEC 60065 7th

and Canadian CAN/CSA C22.2 60065:03. Digidesign Inc., has

been authorized to apply the appropriate UL & CUL mark on its

compliant equipment.

Warning

Mbox 2 Pro

Important Safety Instructions

1) Read these instructions.

2) Keep these instructions.

3) Heed all warnings.

4) Follow all instructions.

5) Do not use this apparatus near water.

6) Clean only with dry cloth.

7) Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance

with the manufacturer’s instructions.

8) Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat

registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that

produce heat.

9) Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or

grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades with one

wider than the other. A grounding type plug has two blades and

a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are

provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into

your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the

obsolete outlet.

10) Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched

particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point

where they exit from the apparatus.

11) Only use attachments/accessories specified by the

manufacturer.

12) Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when

unused for long periods of time.

13) Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing

is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,

such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been

spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus

has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate

normally, or has been dropped.

14) The apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or

splashing and no objects filed with liquids (such as vases)

shall be placed on the apparatus.

Warning!

To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not

expose this apparatus to rain or mositure.

Contents

vii

contents

Chapter 1. Installation QuickStart

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Windows Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Mac Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 2. Welcome to Mbox 2 Pro

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Mbox 2 Pro Package

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Mbox 2 Pro Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Pro Tools LE Capabilities

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

System Requirements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Digidesign Registration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About the Pro Tools Guides

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

About www.digidesign.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 3. Installing Pro Tools on Windows

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Connecting Mbox 2 Pro and Installing Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Launching Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Additional Software on the Pro Tools Installer Disc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Uninstalling Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 4. Installing Pro Tools on Mac

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Installing Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Connecting Mbox 2 Pro to the Computer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Launching Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Additional Software on the Pro Tools Installer Disc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Uninstalling Pro Tools

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started

viii

Chapter 5. Configuring Your Pro Tools System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configuring Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Optimizing a Windows System for Pro Tools

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Optimizing a Mac System for Pro Tools

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Chapter 6. Hardware Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Mbox 2 Pro Front Panel Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Mbox 2 Pro Back Panel Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Chapter 7. Making Studio Connections

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Connecting Headphones

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Connecting a Sound System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Connecting Audio Inputs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Connecting a Microphone

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Connecting Instruments to the Mbox 2 Pro

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

MIDI Connections

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Word Clock

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using a Footswitch

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 8. Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Recording a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Importing Audio from a CD

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Creating an Audio CD from a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Recording MIDI in a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Appendix A. Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

MIDI Studio Setup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

MIDI Patch Name Support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Audio MIDI Setup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

MIDI Patch Name Support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Contents

ix

Appendix C. Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Avoid Recording to the System Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Supported Drive Formats and Drive Types

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Formatting an Audio Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Partitioning Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Defragmenting an Audio Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Using Mac Drives on Windows Systems

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Hard Disk Storage Space

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Appendix D. Troubleshooting

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Backing Up Your Work

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Common Issues

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Performance Factors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Before You Call Digidesign Technical Support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started

x

Chapter 1: Installation QuickStart

1

chapter 1

Installation QuickStart

Windows Installation

Overview

(Windows Systems Only)

Installing Pro Tools LE™ for Mbox® 2 Pro on a

Windows computer includes the following

steps:

1

“Connecting Mbox 2 Pro and Installing

Pro Tools LE” on page 9.

2

“Launching Pro Tools LE” on page 11.

3

Configuring your system for improved perfor-

mance. (See Chapter 5, “Configuring Your

Pro Tools System.”)

4

“Making Studio Connections” on page 35.

Mac Installation Overview

(Mac OS X Systems Only)

Installation of Pro Tools LE for Mbox 2 Pro on a

Mac includes the following steps:

1

“Connecting Mbox 2 Pro to the Computer”

on page 14.

2

“Installing Pro Tools LE” on page 13.

3

“Launching Pro Tools LE” on page 14.

4

Configuring your system for improved perfor-

mance. (See Chapter 5, “Configuring Your

Pro Tools System.”)

5

“Making Studio Connections” on page 35.

Your authorization code is located on the

inside cover of this guide.

Your authorization code is located on the

inside cover of this guide.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started

2

Chapter 2: Welcome to Mbox 2 Pro

3

chapter 2

Welcome to Mbox 2 Pro

Welcome to the Mbox

®

2 Pro portable

Pro Tools

®

micro-studio from Digidesign

®

.

Mbox 2 Pro provides your Firewire-equipped

computer with four channels of analog audio in-

put, six channels of analog audio output, two

channels of digital audio input and output,

MIDI In and Out ports, two channels of analog

monitor output, and two headphone outputs

with front panel level control. Mbox 2 Pro pro-

vides professional-quality mic preamps and 24-

bit analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog con-

verters.

Mbox 2 Pro Package

The Mbox 2 Pro package includes the following:

• Mbox 2 Pro desktop audio interface and

power adapter

• Pro Tools Installer disc containing

Pro Tools LE™ software, DigiRack RTAS (Real-

Time AudioSuite) and AudioSuite plug-ins,

optional software, and electronic PDF guides

• This

Getting Started Guide

, covering installa-

tion, configuration, and common tasks for

your Pro Tools system.

• Firewire connector cable (six-pin 1394)

• Power supply

• Digidesign Registration Information Card

Mbox 2 Pro Features

The Mbox 2 Pro provides the following:

Audio Inputs and Outputs

Mbox 2 Pro lets your Pro Tools LE sessions uti-

lize up to six discrete channels of input and up

to eight discrete channels of output, using the

following analog and digital I/O:

Analog Inputs

• Two channels of analog audio input with

microphone preamps and switchable 48V

phantom power. These analog input jacks

include one XLR/TRS combo connector on

the back panel, and two 1/4-inch DI con-

nectors with switchable Mic and DI source

selection and LEDs on the front panel. A

–20 dB pad is also available separately on

each analog input channel

• Two additional channels of analog audio

input for Line and Phono sources (RIAA)

Analog Outputs

• Two 1/4-inch TRS analog Monitor outputs

• Four additional 1/4-inch balanced analog

line outputs

• Two additional channels of unbalanced

outputs on a single 1/4-inch TRS connector

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started4

Digital I/O

• Two channels of S/PDIF digital input and out-

put. S/PDIF inputs are available independent

of, and in addition to, analog inputs 1–4

when clocking to S/PDIF. S/PDIF outputs are

always available in Pro Tools

MIDI

• One MIDI In and one MIDI Out port, provid-

ing 16 MIDI input channels and 16 MIDI out-

put channels

Other Capabilities and Specifications

• 24-bit A/D and D/A converters, supporting

sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz

and 96 kHz

• Low latency analog record monitoring

• Two 1/4-inch (TRS) stereo headphone outputs

(A and B) with adjustable level controls. Head-

phones B can mirror A (output channels 1–2)

or be switched to output channels 3–4

• Footswitch jack for starting or stopping play-

back or punching in and out while recording.

Pro Tools LE Capabilities

Pro Tools LE on Windows or Mac provides the

following capabilities with Mbox 2 Pro:

• Playback of up to 32 mono (or 16 stereo)

digital audio tracks, or a combination of

playing back and recording up to 32 mono

(or 16 stereo) digital audio tracks, depend-

ing on your computer’s capabilities

• Up to 128 audio tracks (with 32 voiceable

tracks maximum), 128 Auxiliary Input

tracks, 64 Master Fader tracks, 256 MIDI

tracks, and 32 Instrument tracks per session

• 16-bit or 24-bit audio resolution, at sample

rates up to 96 kHz

• Nondestructive, random-access editing and

mix automation

• Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plug-

ins per track, depending on your com-

puter’s capabilities

• Up to 5 hardware inserts per track

• Up to 10 sends per track

• Up to 32 internal mix busses

Pro Tools LE uses your computer’s CPU to

mix and process audio tracks (host process-

ing). Computers with faster clock speeds

yield higher track counts and more plug-in

processing.

Chapter 2: Welcome to Mbox 2 Pro 5

System Requirements

Mbox 2 Pro can be used with a Digidesign-qual-

ified Windows or Mac computer.

A DVD drive is required to use the Pro Tools In-

staller disc.

For complete system requirements, visit the

Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

Compatibility Information

Digidesign can only assure compatibility and

provide support for hardware and software it has

tested and approved.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, op-

erating systems, hard drives, and third-party de-

vices, visit the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

MIDI Requirements

Mbox 2 Pro includes one MIDI In port and one

MIDI Out port, providing 16 channels of MIDI

input and 16 channels of MIDI output.

If you require additional MIDI ports, add a MIDI

interface to your system. USB MIDI interfaces

work effectively with Pro Tools systems on Win-

dows or Mac. Serial MIDI interfaces are sup-

ported on Windows systems only.

For a list of supported adapters, visit the Digide-

sign website (www.digidesign.com).

Hard Drive Requirements

For optimal audio recording and playback, all

Pro Tools systems require one or more Digide-

sign-qualified drives.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified hard drives,

visit the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

If you are using an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard

drive, initialize your drive with Windows Disk

Management (Windows) or the Disk Utility ap-

plication included with Apple System software

(Mac).

Avoid Recording to the System Drive

Recording to your system drive is not recom-

mended. Recording and playback on a system

drive may result in lower track counts and fewer

plug-ins.

Digidesign Registration

Review the enclosed Digidesign Registration In-

formation Card and follow the instructions on it

to quickly register your purchase online. This is

one of the most important steps you can take as

a new user. Registering your purchase is the only

way you can be eligible to receive:

• Complimentary technical support

• An update to the latest version of Pro Tools

at no charge if you bought a system with

older software in the box

• Future upgrade offers

Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible

with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X.

Modem-to-serial port adapters and serial

MIDI devices are not supported.

For more information, see Appendix C,

“Hard Drive Configuration and Mainte-

nance.”

Digidesign does not recommend recording

to the system drive. Record to a system drive

only when necessary.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started6

About the Pro Tools Guides

This Getting Started guide explains how to in-

stall Pro Tools LE software, make basic connec-

tions to your Mbox 2 Pro interface (to get sound

in and out of your interface), and do common

tasks (such as recording in Pro Tools).

In addition to any printed guides or documenta-

tion included with your system, PDF versions of

Pro Tools guides and Read Mes are installed au-

tomatically with Pro Tools.

The main guides (such as the Pro Tools Reference

Guide and the Pro Tools Menus Guide) are accessi-

ble from the Pro Tools Help menu.

•Pro Tools Reference Guide explains Pro Tools

software in detail.

•Pro Tools Menus Guide covers all the Pro Tools

on-screen menus.

•DigiRack Plug-ins Guide explains how to use

the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included

with Pro Tools.

•Digidesign Plug-ins Guide explains how to use

optional Digidesign plug-ins.

•Pro Tools Shortcuts lists keyboard and Right-

click shortcuts for Pro Tools.

These guides and other guides are installed on

your startup drive during installation. To view

or print PDF guides, you can use Adobe Reader

or Apple Preview (Mac only).

Conventions Used in This Guide

Digidesign guides use the following conven-

tions to indicate menu choices and key com-

mands:

:

The following symbols are used to highlight im-

portant information:

Printed copies of the Pro Tools Reference

Guide and other guides in the Pro Tools

guide set can be purchased separately from

the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the File

menu

Control+N Hold down the Control key

and press the N key

Control-click Hold down the Control key

and click the mouse button

Right-click Click with the right mouse

button

User Tips are helpful hints for getting the

most from your Pro Tools system.

Important Notices include information that

could affect your data or the performance of

your system.

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or

mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in

other guides.

Chapter 2: Welcome to Mbox 2 Pro 7

About www.digidesign.com

The Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com) is

your best source for information to help you get

the most out of your Pro Tools system. The fol-

lowing are just a few of the services and features

available.

Product Registration Register your purchase on-

line. See the enclosed Digidesign Registration

Information Card for instructions.

Support and Downloads Contact Digidesign

Technical Support or Customer Service; down-

load software updates and the latest online

manuals; browse the Compatibility documents

for system requirements; search the online An-

swerbase; join the worldwide Pro Tools commu-

nity on the Digidesign User Conference.

Training and Education Become a certified

Pro Tools Operator or Expert; study on your

own using courses available online, or find out

how you can learn in a classroom setting at a

certified Pro Tools Training Center.

Products and Developers Learn about Digidesign

products; download demo software; learn about

our Development Partners and their plug-ins,

applications, and hardware.

News and Events Get the latest news from

Digidesign; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

To learn more about these and other resources

available from Digidesign, visit the Digidesign

website (www.digidesign.com).

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started8

Chapter 3: Installing Pro Tools on Windows 9

chapter 3

Installing Pro Tools on Windows

This chapter contains information for Windows

systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a

Mac computer, see Chapter 4, “Installing

Pro Tools on Mac.”

Installation Overview

Installing the Mbox 2 Pro on a Windows com-

puter includes the following steps:

1 “Connecting Mbox 2 Pro and Installing

Pro Tools LE” on page 9.

2 “Launching Pro Tools LE” on page 11.

3 Configuring your system for improved perfor-

mance. (See Chapter 5, “Configuring Your

Pro Tools System.”)

4 Making audio and MIDI connections to the

Mbox 2 Pro. (See Chapter 7, “Making Studio

Connections” for details.)

Connecting Mbox 2 Pro and

Installing Pro Tools LE

To install Pro Tools LE and Mbox 2 Pro:

1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator

privileges. For details on Administrator privi-

leges, refer to your Windows documentation.

2 Connect one end of the included Firewire ca-

ble to one of the Firewire ports on Mbox 2 Pro.

3 Connect the other end of the cable to any

available Firewire (6-pin 1394) port on your

computer. Wait for the Found New Hardware

Wizard dialog to appear and leave it open: Do

not click Next. If the Wizard begins to install

drivers automatically, press Cancel.

4 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer disc for Win-

dows in your CD/DVD drive.

5 On the Installer disc, locate and open the

Pro Tools Installer folder.

6 Double-click the Setup icon.

7 Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed

with installation.

8 Select the install location. For maximum reli-

ability, install Pro Tools on your startup drive.

Before installing this version of Pro Tools,

refer to the Read Me information included

on the Pro Tools Installer disc.

Throughout the installation, you should ig-

nore all Found New Hardware Wizard dia-

logs. Do not click Next.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started10

9 Click Next.

10 Select the Pro Tools application for installa-

tion.

11 You can also select from a list of optional

items to install along with Pro Tools.

Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option This option lets

your Pro Tools system read, write, record, and

play back using Mac-formatted HFS+ disks. HFS+

disks are commonly referred to as Mac OS Ex-

tended disks.

DigiTranslator DigiTranslator™ is a software op-

tion for Pro Tools that lets you convert and ex-

change OMF and AAF sequences and MXF files

directly in the Pro Tools application. This op-

tion is purchased separately.

Command|8 Controller and Driver The Com-

mand|8 Driver is required if you are using the

Digidesign Command|8 control surface.

MP3 Export Option The MP3 Export Option lets

you export MP3 files from Pro Tools. This op-

tion is purchased separately.

12 Click Next.

13 Click Install.

14 Wait for the installer to finish installing all

software components, drivers, and PACE System

files before proceeding to the next step.

15 When installation is complete, click Finish.

Installing QuickTime

QuickTime is required for Pro Tools if you plan

to include movie files, or import MP3 or MP4

(AAC) files in your sessions. QuickTime for Win-

dows XP is available as a free download from the

Apple website (www.apple.com).

To install QuickTime:

1 Visit www.apple.com and go to the Quick-

Time page.

2 Download the QuickTime installer applica-

tion to your computer.

3 Double-click the QuickTime installer applica-

tion and follow the on-screen installation in-

structions.

The Pro Tools Installer disc includes addi-

tional software for your system. For more

information, see “Additional Software on

the Pro Tools Installer Disc” on page 11.

On Windows XP, several messages are dis-

played during installation that can be ig-

nored, including multiple “Found New

Hardware” dialogs and “A Problem Oc-

curred During Hardware Installation.”

Additionally, if you get a warning dialog

about the driver not passing Windows Logo

testing, click Continue Anyway.

On Windows Vista, if you get a warning di-

alog about the driver, click “Install this

Driver Anyway!”

For information on which version of Quick-

Time is compatible with your version of

Pro Tools, visit the compatibility pages of

the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

Chapter 3: Installing Pro Tools on Windows 11

4 Restart your computer.

Disabling Screen Saver

(Windows Vista Only)

To avoid errors during recording and playback

of Pro Tools sessions, you must set your Win-

dows Vista screen saver to “None.”

To set your Windows Vista screen saver to “None”:

1 Right-click on the desktop.

2 Choose Personalize.

3 Click Screen Save.

4 Set the Screen saver to None.

5 Click Apply.

Launching Pro Tools LE

When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you

are prompted to enter an authorization code.

To authorize Pro Tools LE software:

1 Make sure Mbox 2 Pro is connected to your

computer and powered on.

2 Double-click the Pro Tools LE shortcut on

your desktop (or the application icon in the

Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign folder).

3 Enter the authorization code in the dialog

(making sure to type it exactly as printed, and

observing any spaces and capitalization), then

click Validate.

Your authorization code is located on the inside

front cover of this guide.

Additional Software on the

Pro Tools Installer Disc

The Pro Tools Installer disc provides additional

software for your system, including audio driv-

ers (for playing other audio applications

through your Digidesign hardware) and a

Pro Tools demo session.

Windows Audio Drivers

The Mbox 2 Pro ASIO Driver and DirectSound

Window System Audio Driver let you use your

Digidesign Mbox 2 Pro hardware interface with

third-party applications that support the ASIO

Driver or DirectSound Driver standard.

The Mbox 2 Pro ASIO Driver and DirectSound

Driver for Mbox 2 Pro are automatically in-

stalled when you install Pro Tools.

Mbox 2 Pro ASIO Driver

The Mbox 2 Pro ASIO (Audio Sound Input Out-

put) Driver is a single-client multichannel

sound driver that allows third-party audio pro-

grams that support the ASIO Driver standard to

record and play back through Mbox 2 Pro.

Refer to your Pro Tools Installer disc for ad-

ditional software and installers.

For detailed information on configuring the

Digidesign ASIO Driver, see the Windows

Audio Drivers Guide.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started12

DirectSound Windows System Audio Driver

The DirectSound Windows System Audio Driver

is a multi-client, multichannel sound driver that

allows third-party audio programs that support

the DirectSound standard to play back and

record through Mbox 2 Pro.

Standalone Windows Audio Drivers

Digidesign Windows Audio Drivers can be in-

stalled on Windows systems that do not have

Pro Tools software installed. Use the standalone

version of the Digidesign Windows Audio Driv-

ers installer (Digidesign Audio Drivers

Setup.exe), which is available on the Pro Tools

Installer disc.

Pro Tools Demo Session

The Pro Tools LE Installer disc includes a demo

session that you can use to verify that your sys-

tem is working.

The demo session for Pro Tool LE is named “Fil-

tered Dreams.”

To install the demo session:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer disc into your

CD/DVD drive.

2 From your CD/DVD drive, locate and open

the Additional Files/Pro Tools LE Demo Session

Installer folder.

3 Double-click Setup.exe.

4 Select your audio drive as the install location

and click Install.

5 When installation is complete, click OK.

Uninstalling Pro Tools LE

If you need to uninstall Pro Tools software from

your computer, you can use Windows com-

mands for uninstalling programs.

To uninstall Pro Tools from your computer

(Windows Vista):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Under Programs, click “Uninstall a program.”

3 Select Pro Tools.

4 Click Uninstall.

5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove

Pro Tools.

To uninstall Pro Tools from your computer

(Windows XP):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Double-click Add or Remove Programs.

3 From the Currently Installed Programs list, se-

lect Digidesign Pro Tools.

4 Click the Remove button.

5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove

Pro Tools.

For detailed information on configuring the

Digidesign DirectSound Driver, see the

Windows Audio Drivers Guide.

For information on installing and configur-

ing the standalone version of the Digidesign

Windows Audio Drivers, see the Windows

Audio Drivers Guide.

Before installing the demo session to your

audio drive, make sure the drive is config-

ured as described in “Formatting an Audio

Drive” on page 64.

The demo session can be opened by double-

clicking the Filtered Dream.ptf file (located

in the Filtered Dream Demo Session folder).

Chapter 4: Installing Pro Tools on Mac 13

chapter 4

Installing Pro Tools on Mac

This chapter contains information for Mac sys-

tems only. If you are installing Pro Tools on a

Windows computer, see Chapter 3, “Installing

Pro Tools on Windows.”

Installation Overview

Installation of the Mbox 2 Pro on a Mac in-

cludes the following steps:

1 “Installing Pro Tools LE” on page 13.

2 “Connecting Mbox 2 Pro to the Computer”

on page 14.

3 “Launching Pro Tools LE” on page 14.

4 Configuring your system for improved perfor-

mance. (See Chapter 5, “Configuring Your

Pro Tools System.”)

5 Making audio connections to the Mbox 2.

(See Chapter 7, “Making Studio Connections”

for details.)

Installing Pro Tools LE

After the Apple System software settings are con-

figured, you are ready to install Pro Tools LE.

To install Pro Tools LE on Mac OS X:

1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-

tor for the account where you want to install

Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privi-

leges in Mac OS X, refer to your Apple Mac OS X

documentation.

2 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer disc in your

CD/DVD drive.

3 On the Installer disc, locate and double-click

“Install Pro Tools.”

4 Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed

with installation.

5 Select the install location. For maximum reli-

ability, install Pro Tools on your startup drive.

6 Click Continue.

7 Select the Pro Tools application for installa-

tion.

Before installing this version of Pro Tools,

refer to the Read Me information included

on the Pro Tools Installer disc.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started14

8 You can also select from a list of optional

items to install along with Pro Tools:

DigiTranslator DigiTranslator™ is a software op-

tion for Pro Tools that lets you convert and ex-

change OMF and AAF sequences and MXF files

directly in the Pro Tools application. This op-

tion is purchased separately.

MIDI I/O Driver The MIDI I/O Driver is required

if you are using the Digidesign MIDI I/O inter-

face.

MP3 Export Option The MP3 Export Option lets

you export MP3 files from Pro Tools. This op-

tion is purchased separately.

9 Click Install.

10 If prompted, enter your Administrator pass-

word and click OK to authenticate the installa-

tion.

11 Follow the remaining on-screen instructions.

12 When installation is complete, click Restart.

Connecting Mbox 2 Pro to the

Computer

Before launching Pro Tools LE software, con-

nect Mbox 2 Pro to your computer.

To connect Mbox 2 Pro to your computer:

1 Connect the small end of the included

Firewire cable to the FireWire port on

Mbox 2 Pro.

2 With your computer on, connect the other

end of the cable to any available FireWire port

on your computer.

Launching Pro Tools LE

When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you

are prompted to enter an authorization code to

validate your software.

To authorize Pro Tools LE software:

1 Make sure Mbox 2 Pro is connected to your

computer and powered on.

2 Click the Pro Tools LE icon in the Dock (or

double-click the application icon in the

Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign folder).

3 Enter the authorization code in the dialog

when prompted (making sure to type it exactly

as printed, and observing any spaces and capi-

talization), then click Validate.

Your authorization code is located on the inside

front cover of this guide.

The Pro Tools Installer disc includes addi-

tional software for your system. For more in-

formation, see “Additional Software on the

Pro Tools Installer Disc” on page 15.

Chapter 4: Installing Pro Tools on Mac 15

Additional Software on the

Pro Tools Installer Disc

The Pro Tools Installer disc provides additional

software for your system, including audio driv-

ers (for playing other audio applications

through your Digidesign hardware) and a

Pro Tools demo session.

Mbox 2 Pro CoreAudio Driver

The Mbox 2 Pro CoreAudio Driver is a multi-cli-

ent, multichannel sound driver that allows

CoreAudio-compatible applications to record

and play back through Digidesign hardware.

The Mbox 2 Pro CoreAudio Driver is installed

automatically when you install Pro Tools.

Standalone Mbox 2 Pro CoreAudio Driver

The Mbox 2 Pro CoreAudio Driver can be in-

stalled as a standalone driver on Mac systems

that do not have Pro Tools software installed.

The standalone version of this driver is available

on the Pro Tools Installer disc (in the Additional

Files Folder).

Pro Tools Demo Session

The Pro Tools Installer disc includes a separate

demo session installer. You can use this session

to verify that your system is working.

The demo session for Pro Tool LE is named “Fil-

tered Dreams.”

To install the demo session:

1 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer disc into your

DVD drive.

2 From your DVD drive, locate and open the Ad-

ditional Files/LE Demo Session Installer folder.

3 Double-click LE Demo Session Setup.exe.

4 Follow the onscreen instructions.

5 When prompted, select your audio drive as

the install location and click Next to begin the

install.

6 When installation is complete, click Close.

Check your Pro Tools Installer disc for addi-

tional software and installers.

For information on configuring the Mbox 2

Pro CoreAudio Driver, see the CoreAudio

Drivers guide.

For information on installing and configur-

ing the standalone version of the Mbox 2

Pro CoreAudio Driver, see the CoreAudio

Drivers Guide.

Before installing the demo session to your

audio drive, make sure the drive is config-

ured as described in “Formatting an Audio

Drive” on page 64.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started16

Pro Tools Session Templates

The Pro Tools LE Installer disc includes factory

session templates that are pre-configured to

common track and mixer setups. Using these

templates will save you the trouble of having to

create your studio setup from scratch every time

you start a new session.

See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for informa-

tion on using or customizing session templates.

To install factory session templates:

1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer disc into your

DVD drive.

2 From your DVD drive, locate and open the Ad-

ditional Files/LE Session Templates Installer

folder.

3 Double-click LE Session Templates Setup.exe.

4 Follow the onscreen instructions.

5 When prompted, select your audio drive as

the install location and click Next to begin the

install.

6 When installation is complete, click Close.

Uninstalling Pro Tools

If you need to uninstall Pro Tools software from

your computer, use the Uninstaller application.

To remove Pro Tools from your computer:

1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-

tor for the account where Pro Tools is installed.

2 Go to Applications/Digidesign/Pro Tools/

Pro Tools Utilities and double-click the

“Uninstall Pro Tools” file.

3 Click Continue to proceed with the uninstall.

4 Choose the type of uninstall you want to per-

form:

Safe Uninstall Leaves certain plug-ins and sys-

tem files needed for compatibility with some

Avid products.

Clean Uninstall Removes all Pro Tools files, in-

cluding system files, Digidesign plug-ins, and

MIDI patch names.

5 Click Uninstall.

6 Enter your Administrator password and click

OK.

7 Click Finish to close the Installer window.

The demo session can be opened by double-

clicking the Filtered Dream.ptf file (located

in the Filtered Dream Demo Session folder).

For details on Administrator privileges in

Mac OS X, refer to your Apple OS X docu-

mentation.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 17

chapter 5

Configuring Your Pro Tools System

After you have connected your system and in-

stalled Pro Tools software, you are ready to start

up and configure your Pro Tools system.

Starting Up or Shutting Down

Your System

To ensure that the components of your

Pro Tools system communicate properly with

each other, you need to start them in a particu-

lar order.

Start up your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Lower the volume of all output devices in

your system.

2 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait ap-

proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to

speed.

3 Turn on any control surfaces (such as Com-

mand|8).

4 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

5 Turn on your computer.

6 Launch Pro Tools or any third-party audio or

MIDI applications.

Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-

tions.

2 Turn off or lower the volume of all output de-

vices in your system.

3 Turn off your computer.

4 Turn off any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

5 Turn off any control surfaces.

6 Turn off any external hard drives.

To quit Pro Tools, choose File > Exit

(Windows) or Pro Tools > Quit (Mac).

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started18

Configuring Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools System Settings

In the Playback Engine dialog, Pro Tools LE lets

you adjust the performance of your system by

changing system settings that affect its capacity

for processing, playback, and recording.

In most cases, the default settings for your sys-

tem provide optimum performance, but you

may want to adjust them to accommodate large

or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.

Hardware Buffer Size

The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) con-

trols the size of the buffer used to handle host

processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite

(RTAS) plug-ins. The H/W Buffer setting can also

be used to manage monitoring latency.

Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce

monitoring latency, and are useful when you are

recording live input.

Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for

more audio processing and effects, and are use-

ful when you are mixing and using more RTAS

plug-ins.

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select

the audio buffer size, in samples.

3 Click OK.

Playback Engine dialog for Mbox 2 Pro (Structure plug-

in not installed)

Playback Engine dialog for Mbox 2 Pro (Structure plug-

in installed)

In addition to causing slower screen re-

sponse and monitoring latency, higher

Hardware Buffer Size settings can increase

the latency caused by RTAS plug-ins, and

affect the accuracy of plug-in automation,

mute data, and MIDI track timing.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 19

RTAS Processors

The RTAS Processors setting determines the

number of processors in your computer allo-

cated for RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-in

processing.

With multiprocessor computers, this setting lets

you manage multi-processor support for RTAS

processing. With multiple processor computers

that support Hyper-Threading (and have it en-

abled), you must disable Hyper-Threading for

this setting to become available. See your com-

puter’s documentation for steps on how to enter

the computer’s BIOS and disable Hyper-Thread-

ing.

Used in combination with the CPU Usage Limit

setting, the RTAS Processors setting lets you con-

trol the way RTAS processing and other

Pro Tools tasks are carried out by the system. For

example:

• For sessions with large numbers of RTAS plug-

ins, you can allocate 2 or more processors to

RTAS processing and set a high CPU Usage

Limit.

• For sessions with few RTAS plug-ins, you can

allocate fewer processors to RTAS and set a low

CPU Usage Limit to leave more CPU resources

available for automation accuracy, screen re-

sponse, and video.

• Depending on the importance of video and

overall screen response, and on the density of

automation being employed, try different

combinations of RTAS Processing and CPU

Usage Limit settings to achieve the best re-

sults. For example, to improve screen re-

sponse in a medium-sized session using a

moderate number of RTAS plug-ins, try reduc-

ing the number of RTAS plug-ins, but keep the

CPU Usage Limit set to its maximum on a sin-

gle processor system.

To set the number of RTAS Processors:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the RTAS Processors pop-up menu, select

the number of available processors you want to

allocate for RTAS plug-in processing. The num-

ber of processors available varies depending on

how many processors are available on your

computer:

• Choose 1 Processor to limit RTAS process-

ing to one CPU in the system.

• Choose 2 Processors to enable load balanc-

ing across two available processors.

• On systems running four or more proces-

sors, choose the desired number of RTAS

processors as needed.

3 Click OK.

CPU Usage Limit

The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of

CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host pro-

cessing tasks. Used in combination with the

RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit

setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks

are carried out by the system.

Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-

fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-inten-

sive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful

when you are experiencing slow system re-

sponse, or when running other applications at

the same time as Pro Tools.

Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate

more processing power to Pro Tools, and are

useful for playing back large sessions or using

more real-time plug-ins.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started20

The maximum available CPU Usage Limit de-

pends on the number of processors in your com-

puter and on the number of processors you

specify with the RTAS Processor setting. This

value can be up 99 percent for single-processor

computers or 90 percent for multi-processor

computers.

To change the CPU Usage Limit:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, se-

lect the percentage of CPU processing you want

to allocate to Pro Tools.

3 Click OK.

RTAS Engine (RTAS Error Suppression)

The RTAS Engine options determine RTAS error

reporting during playback and recording. This is

especially useful when working with instrument

plug-ins.

You should only enable RTAS error suppression

if you are experiencing frequent RTAS errors

that are interrupting your creative workflow.

When RTAS error suppression is enabled, you

can experience a degradation of audio quality.

However, this may be acceptable in order to

avoid interrupting playback and recording

when working with instrument plug-ins. Be sure

to disable RTAS error suppression when you

need to ensure the highest possible audio qual-

ity, such as for a final mix.

There are two RTAS Engine options:

Ignore Errors During Playback/Record When en-

abled, Pro Tools continues to play and record

even if the RTAS processing requirements ex-

ceed the selected CPU Usage Limit. This can re-

sult in pops and clicks in the audio, but does not

stop the transport.

Minimize Additional I/O Latency When enabled,

any additional latency due to suppressing RTAS

errors during playback and record is minimized

to 128 samples. Suppressing RTAS errors re-

quires at least 128 samples of additional buffer-

ing on some systems. If this option is disabled,

the buffer is half the H/W Buffer Size, or at least

128 samples (which ever is greater). If you are on

an older, slower computer, you may not want to

enable this option since doing so can adversely

affect performance.

The Minimize Additional I/O Latency option is

only available if the Ignore Errors During Play-

back/Record option is enabled.

To enable RTAS error suppression:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.

3 If available, you can also select Minimize Ad-

ditional I/O Latency.

4 Click OK.

Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow

down screen response on slower computers.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 21

DAE Playback Buffer Size

The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the

amount of memory DAE allocates for disk buff-

ers. The buffer size is shown in milliseconds,

which indicates the amount of audio buffered

when the system reads from disk.

The optimum DAE Playback Buffer Size for most

disk operations is 1500 msec (Level 2).

• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings lower than

1500 msec (Level 2) may improve playback and

recording initiation speed. However, a lower set-

ting may make it difficult to play or record

tracks reliably with sessions containing a large

number of tracks or a high density of edits, or

with systems that have slower or heavily frag-

mented hard drives.

• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings higher than

1500 msec (Level 2) allow higher track count,

higher density of edits in a session, or the use of

slower hard drives. However, a higher setting

may increase the time lag when starting play-

back or recording, or cause a longer audible time

lag while editing during playback.

To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,

select a buffer size. Memory requirements for

each setting are shown at the bottom of the

Playback Engine dialog.

3 Click OK.

If Pro Tools needs more system memory for the

DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to re-

start your computer.

Cache Size

The Cache Size determines the amount of mem-

ory DAE allocates to pre-buffer audio for play-

back and looping when using Elastic Audio.

The optimum Cache Size for most sessions is

Normal.

• A Cache Size setting of Minimum reduces the

amount of system memory used for disk opera-

tions and frees up memory for other system

tasks. However, performance when using Elastic

Audio features may decrease.

• A Cache Size of Large improves performance

when using Elastic Audio features, but it also de-

creases the amount of memory available for

other system tasks, such as RTAS processing.

To change the Cache Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the Cache Size pop-up menu, select a

disk cache size.

3 Click OK.

System Memory Allocation

When you start your computer, Pro Tools auto-

matically reserves a portion of system memory

for the DAE Playback Buffer. This reserved mem-

ory is unavailable to other applications, even if

Pro Tools is not running.

Using a larger DAE Playback Buffer Size

leaves less system memory for other tasks.

The default setting of 1500 msec (Level 2) is

recommended unless you are encountering

-9073 (“Disk too slow or fragmented”)

errors.

Using a larger Cache Size leaves less system

memory for other tasks. The default setting

of Normal is recommended unless you are

encountering -9500 (“Cache too small”)

errors.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started22

You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the mini-

mum amount of required memory, so that more

system memory is available to other applica-

tions.

To minimize system memory allocation:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select the “Minimize System Memory Allocation”

option.

3 Click OK.

4 Restart your computer.

Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size

(Structure Plug-in Only)

This setting appears in the Playback Engine dia-

log only if the Structure sampler instrument

plug-in is installed on your system. The Plug-in

Streaming Buffer Size determines the amount of

memory DAE allocates for streaming playback

from disk with the Structure plug-in. This set-

ting only affects playback if disk streaming is ac-

tivated in Structure’s plug-in controls (see the

Structure Plug-in Guide for more information).

The optimum Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size for

most sessions is 250 ms (Level 2).

• Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size settings lower

than 250 msec (Level 2) reduce the amount of

system memory used for sample playback and

frees up memory for other system tasks. How-

ever, audio quality of sample playback may de-

crease.

• Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size settings higher

than 250 msec (Level 2) improve the audio qual-

ity of sample playback, but they also decrease

the amount of memory available for other sys-

tem tasks, such as RTAS processing.

To change the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size pop-up

menu, select a buffer size.

3 Click OK.

Optimizing the Plug-in Streaming Buffer

Size

(Structure Plug-in Only)

This option appears in the Playback Engine dia-

log only if the Structure sampler instrument

plug-in is installed on your system. This option

is useful when you are playing samples from the

same drive that contains audio for the current

session. When this option is selected, Pro Tools

automatically optimizes the size of the Plug-in

Streaming Buffer to facilitate disk access from

both Pro Tools and Structure. The Plug-in

Streaming Buffer Size pop-up menu is unavail-

able when this option is selected.

To set Pro Tools to optimize the Plug-in Streaming

Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select the “Optimize for Streaming Content” op-

tion.

3 Click OK.

Using a larger Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size

leaves less system memory for other tasks.

The default setting of 250 ms (Level 2) is

recommended unless you are experiencing

problems with the audio quality of sample

playback.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 23

Pro Tools Hardware Settings

In the Hardware Settings dialog, Pro Tools lets

you set the default sample rate and clock source

for your system, as well as a range of controls

specific to each type of audio interface.

Default Sample Rate

The Sample Rate setting appears as the default

sample rate when you create a new session.

(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup

dialog only when no session is open.)

To change the default Sample Rate:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

3 Click OK.

Clock Source

The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you se-

lect the Clock Source for the system.

Internal Use this setting if you are recording an-

alog signals directly into Mbox 2 Pro. When set

to internal, Mbox 2 Pro provides four channels

of input (analog only).

S/PDIF Use this setting to record or listen to

Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF inputs connected to an ex-

ternal digital device. This setting will synchro-

nize Pro Tools to that digital device.

Word Clock Use this setting to clock Pro Tools LE

to a Word clock source connected to the

Mbox 2 Pro Word Clock In port.

To select the Clock Source:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 Choose the clock source from the Clock

Source pop-up menu.

3 Click OK.

Configuring I/O Setup

Using the I/O Setup dialog, you can label

Pro Tools LE input, output, insert, and bus sig-

nal paths. The I/O Setup dialog provides a graph-

ical representation of the inputs, outputs, and

signal routing of the Mbox 2.

Pro Tools LE has default I/O Setup settings that

will get you started. Use the I/O Setup dialog

only if you want to rename the default I/O

paths.

You can change the sample rate when creat-

ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a

different sample rate in the New Session

dialog. (Refer to the Pro Tools Reference

Guide for details.)

Hardware Setup dialog for Mbox 2 Pro

S/PDIF input is only available when S/PDIF

is the Clock Source.

Your digital input device must be connected

and powered on for Pro Tools to synchro-

nize to it. If your input device is not powered

on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started24

To rename I/O paths in I/O Setup:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to

display the corresponding connections.

3 To change the name of a path or subpath,

double-click directly on the Path Name, type a

new name for the path, and press Enter.

4 Click OK.

Configuring MIDI Setup

If you plan to use any MIDI devices with Pro Tools,

do one of the following:

On Windows, configure your MIDI setup with

MIDI Studio Setup. See Appendix A, “Configur-

ing MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)” for de-

tails.

– or –

On Mac, configure your MIDI setup with Au-

dio MIDI Setup. See Appendix B, “Configuring

AMS (Mac OS X Only)” for details.

Backing Up Your System

Configuration

After configuring your system and Pro Tools,

you should save an image of your system drive

using a backup utility such as Norton Ghost. By

doing this, you can quickly restore your system

configuration and settings if you encounter any

problems.

Optimizing a Windows System

for Pro Tools

(Windows XP Only)

Before configuring your computer, make sure

you are logged in as an Administrator for the ac-

count where you want to install Pro Tools. For

details on Administrator privileges, refer to your

Windows documentation.

Required Optimizations

To ensure optimum performance with

Pro Tools LE, configure the following settings

before using Pro Tools hardware and software.

Enabling DMA

Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory

Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so the com-

puter can do other Pro Tools tasks.

In most cases the DMA option will already be set

correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates

DMA mode by default.

I/O Setup dialog for Mbox 2 Pro

See the Pro Tools Reference Guide (or choose

Help > Pro Tools Reference Guide) for more

information on renaming I/O paths.

To optimize a Mac system for Pro Tools, see

“Optimizing a Mac System for Pro Tools”

on page 27.

When you are finished changing Windows

system settings, restart your computer.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 25

To enable DMA for any IDE hard drives

(Windows XP):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Double-click System.

3 Click the Hardware tab.

4 Under Device Manager, choose Device Man-

ager.

5 In the Device Manager window, double-click

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click the

Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard drive.

6 Click the Advanced Settings tab.

7 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to “DMA

if available,” and click OK.

8 Repeat the above steps for any additional IDE

Channels.

9 Close the Device Manager window and then

the System Properties window.

Disabling System Standby and Power

Management

When using Pro Tools, the Windows System

Standby power scheme must be set to Always On.

This helps prevent long record or playback

passes from stopping due to system resources

powering down.

To configure Windows Power Management

(Windows XP):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Double-click Power Options.

3 Click the Power Schemes tab.

4 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select

Always On.

5 Click OK.

This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,

and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.

Disabling ClearType Font Smoothing

When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type”

setting must be disabled.

To disable ClearType font smoothing

(Windows XP):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Double-click Display.

3 Click the Appearance tab.

4 Click Effects.

5 Deselect “Use the following method to smooth

edges of screen fonts.”

6 Click OK to save your settings and close the

Effects dialog.

7 Click OK.

8 Restart the computer.

Sleep (or hibernate) settings are supported

when using Mbox 2 Pro and the Windows

System Audio drivers with an application

other than Pro Tools LE.

On AMD processors, be sure to check and

disable Cool N’Quiet in the System BIOS (in

the Cool & Quiet Configuration section). See

the manufacturer’s documentation for in-

structions on disabling this power option, if

necessary.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started26

Recommended Optimizations

Pro Tools can also be affected by other software

and hardware drivers installed on your com-

puter. It is recommended (but not required) that

you do the following:

• Avoid running any unneeded programs at

the same time as Pro Tools.

• Turn off any software utilities that run in

the background, such as Windows Messen-

ger, calendars, and disk maintenance pro-

grams.

• Turn off any nonessential FireWire devices

while running Pro Tools.

• If your video display card supports it, en-

able Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s

Control Panel. Refer to the manufacturer’s

instructions for details.

Optional Optimizations

The following system optimizations may help

Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is

recommended that you only try these optimiza-

tions if necessary, as they may disable or ad-

versely affect the functionality of other pro-

grams on your system.

Disabling Network Cards

If applicable, disable any networking cards

(other than a FireWire card that you might use

to connect an external drive to your system).

To disable a network card:

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Manage.

2 Under System Tools, select Device Manager.

3 In the Device Manager window, double-click

Network adapters, then double-click the Network

Adapter card you want to disable.

4 Under the General tab, choose “Do not use this

device (disable)” from the Device Usage pop-up

menu, and click OK.

5 Close the Computer Management window.

Adjusting Processor Scheduling

To adjust Processor Scheduling performance:

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 In Classic View, double-click System.

3 Click the Advanced tab.

4 Under the Performance section, click the Set-

tings button.

5 In the Performance Options window, click the

Advanced tab.

6 Under the Processor Scheduling section, select

the Background Services option.

7 Under the Memory Usage section, select the

System cache option.

8 Click OK to close the Performance Options

window.

9 Click OK to close the System Properties win-

dow.

10 Restart the computer for the changes to take

effect.

Chapter 5: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 27

Disabling System Startup Items

The fewer items in use by your computer, the

more resources are available for Pro Tools. Some

startup applications may be consuming unnec-

essary CPU resources, and can be turned off.

If you disable any of the following startup items,

do so carefully:

• Portable media serial number (required for

some applications that utilize a copy pro-

tection key)

• The Plug and Play service

• Event log

• Cryptographic services

To Disable System Startup Items (Windows XP):

1 From the Start menu, choose Run.

2 Type “msconfig” and click OK. The System

Configuration Utility opens.

3 Under the General tab, choose Selective

Startup.

4 Deselect Load Startup Items and click OK.

5 Click Restart to restart the computer.

6 After restarting, the computer displays a Sys-

tem Configuration message. Check to see if

Pro Tools performance has increased before you

deselect the “Don't show this message again”

option. If performance has not changed, run

“msconfig” and return your computer Startup

Selection back to Normal Startup - load all device

drives and services. Alternatively, try disabling

Startup items and non-essential processes indi-

vidually.

Optimizing a Mac System for

Pro Tools

(Mac Only)

To ensure optimum performance with

Pro Tools LE, configure your computer before

using Pro Tools software.

Before configuring your computer, make sure

you are logged in as an Administrator for the ac-

count where you want to install Pro Tools. For

details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X,

refer to your Apple OS X documentation.

Turning Off Software Update

To turn off the Software Update feature:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Software Update.

2 Click the Software Update tab.

3 Deselect Check for Updates.

To optimize a Windows XP system, see

“Optimizing a Windows System for

Pro Tools” on page 24.

Do not use the Mac OS X automatic Soft-

ware Update feature, as it may upgrade

your system to a version of Mac OS that has

not yet been qualified for Pro Tools. For de-

tails on qualified versions of Mac OS, visit

the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started28

Turning Off Energy Saver

To turn off the Energy Saver feature:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Energy Saver.

2 Click the Sleep tab and do the following:

• Set the computer sleep setting to Never.

• Set the display sleep setting to Never.

• Deselect “Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when

possible” option.

Setting Processor Performance

(Mac G5 Computers and G4 Powerbooks Only)

To set the Processor Performance:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Energy Saver.

2 Click the Options tab and set Processor Perfor-

mance to Highest.

Disabling Spotlight Indexing

The Mac OS X Spotlight feature indexes files and

folders in the background, affecting system per-

formance. It is recommended that you disable

Spotlight indexing before using Pro Tools.

To disable Spotlight indexing:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Spotlight.

2 In the Spotlight window, click the Privacy tab.

3 To prevent indexing of a drive, drag its icon

from the desktop into the list.

Disabling the Spotlight Shortcuts

The Mac OS X Spotlight feature uses the same

key commands Pro Tools uses to start recording

(Command+Spacebar), and to record online

(Command+Option+Spacebar). If you want to

retain use of these key commands in Pro Tools,

these shortcuts must be disabled.

To disable the Spotlight keyboard shortcut:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Spotlight.

2 Deselect “Spotlight menu keyboard shortcut”

and “Spotlight window keyboard shortcut.”

Disabling the Dashboard Shortcut

The Mac OS X Dashboard feature uses the same

key command Pro Tools uses to start recording

(F12). If you want to retain use of this key com-

mand in Pro Tools, this shortcut must be dis-

abled.

To disable the Dashboard keyboard shortcut:

1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple

menu and click Dashboard and Exposé.

2 Set the Dashboard keyboard shortcut to “–” to

disable the shortcut.

Enabling Journaling for Audio Drives

To yield higher performance from audio drives,

enable journaling.

To enable journaling:

1 Launch the Disk Utility application, located in

Applications/Utilities.

2 Select the volume in the left column of the

Disk Utility window.

3 Click Enable Journaling in the toolbar.

Disabling Spotlight indexing will cause the

Find function in Mac OS X to no longer

work. You will no longer be able to search

for files on drives set to private.

Chapter 6: Hardware Overview 29

chapter 6

Hardware Overview

Mbox 2 Pro Front Panel Features

The Mbox 2 Pro front panel has the following features:

Power LED

The Power LED indicates that the Mbox 2 Pro is

powered on.

Ext (External) Clock LED

The External Clock LED lights to indicate that

either S/PDIF or Word clock is the current

Pro Tools clock source. When unlit, this LED in-

dicates Internal clock.

MIDI Activity LED

This LED lights to indicate Mbox 2 Pro is receiv-

ing or sending MIDI.

Figure 1. Mbox 2 Pro front panel

Gain

Power

Ext Clock LED

Source

selector

LED

Input 1

Headphone Outputs

Monitor

Level

Pad

Peak

LED

Gain Source

selector

Input 2

Pad

Peak

LED

DI/Mic 2 LEDs

48V

Switch and LED

MIDI Activity LED

(A and B)

Headphones level

3–4 Switch and LED

(A, B)

(Headphone B)

Aux In (3–4)

Source

and

LED

selector

DI/Mic 1 LEDs

Gain

Peak

LED

Input 1 DI Input 2 DI

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started30

Headphone Outputs

Mbox 2 Pro provides two 1/4-inch, stereo head-

phone outputs, A and B, each with its own level

control. Headphones mirror the Monitor out-

puts, by default (usually your main Pro Tools

Analog 1–2 outputs). Headphone B can also be

configured for discrete monitoring of Pro Tools

outputs 3–4 (Analog 3–4) using the 3–4 switch.

Headphone Level

The headphone knobs adjust the output level of

their corresponding Headphone output (A or B).

3–4 Switch and LED

The 3–4 switch toggles Headphone B output be-

tween the main outputs (1–2), and output chan-

nels 3–4. When this switch is in its “out” posi-

tion, Headphone B mirrors Headphone A output

and the 3–4 LED is off. When this switch is in its

“in” position, Headphone B monitors Pro Tools

output channels 3–4.

Monitor Level

The Monitor knob adjusts the output level of

the Mon Out ports. In Pro Tools, this will be the

signal routed to Analog outputs 1–2.

48V Switch and LED

Phantom power is activated by the switch la-

beled 48V on the front panel of Mbox 2 Pro. The

LED, when lit, indicates that 48V phantom

power is active on both Mic/Line inputs. These

inputs provide phantom power for micro-

phones that require it to operate.

About Phantom Power

Dynamic microphones (such as a Shure SM57)

do not require phantom power to operate, but

are not harmed by it. Most condenser micro-

phones (like an AKG C3000) do require phan-

tom power to operate.

If you are not sure about the phantom power re-

quirements for your microphone, consult your

microphone’s documentation or contact the

manufacturer.

Although phantom power can be used

safely with most microphones, it is possible

to damage some ribbon microphones with

it. Always turn off phantom power and wait

at least ten seconds before connecting or dis-

connecting a ribbon microphone.

Chapter 6: Hardware Overview 31

Gain Controls

These knobs adjust the input gain levels of their

corresponding input (Input 1, Input 2, or

Aux In).

DI Inputs

Front panel DI connectors are provided for in-

put channels 1 and 2, to connect electric guitar,

electric bass, and similar instruments.

Mic/DI Source Selectors and LEDs

These switches select either the Mic (XLR) and

Line (TRS) inputs or DI inputs for each channel.

The DI and Mic LEDs indicate the current source

input.

The Aux In Source select switch selects the Aux

Line inputs, or Phono inputs.

For more information, see “Connecting Audio

Inputs” on page 37.

Peak LEDs

Input 1, 2 and the Aux Input have Peak LEDs

that also function as signal meters. They light

green at –60 dBFS, yellow at –6 dBFS, and red at

0 dBFS (peak).

Pad Switches and LEDs

The Pad switches engage a –20 dB pad on their

corresponding input channels. When engaged,

the Pad LEDs light.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started32

Mbox 2 Pro Back Panel Features

Figure 2 identifies each port on the Mbox 2 Pro back panel.

The Mbox 2 Pro back panel has the following

features:

DC Power

This port supplies power to Mbox 2 Pro using

the included power supply. Though external

power is not always required, you should use ex-

ternal power if your 1394 bus is unable to pro-

vide enough power, or if you need to conserve

battery power in a portable computer.

FireWire (1394) Port

This standard FireWire 1394 connector is used

to connect your computer to Mbox 2 Pro. One

6-pin FireWire cable is included with

Mbox 2 Pro. The Mbox 2 Pro can be powered

solely through its 1394 connection to your com-

puter, or using an external power supply (in-

cluded with your system).

4-Pin FireWire Cable

Mbox 2 Pro includes a 6-pin to 6-pin FireWire

cable. Some Windows laptops include a 4-pin

FireWire port. To use Mbox 2 Pro with these

computers, a 4-pin to 6-pin cable is required.

Purchase this cable (model #CS625) through

your authorized Digidesign dealer or online

through the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).

MIDI I/O

The MIDI In and MIDI Out ports are standard 5-

pin MIDI ports, each providing 16 channels of

MIDI input and output.

Figure 2. Mbox 2 Pro back panel

Line Out

S/PDIF

Monitor

Inputs 1 and 2

digital I/O

outputs

MIDI I/O

Mic/Line 2 Phono In L/R

Line In L/R

Aux In (3–4)

Mic/Line 1

(5–6)

Footswitch

Ground post

Line

outputs

(1–2) (1–4)

Word clock

In/Out

Firewire

Power

This cable can also be purchased at com-

puter supply stores. Maximum supported

cable length for FireWire (IEEE-1394) is

14 feet (4.3 meters).

Chapter 6: Hardware Overview 33

Word Clock

The Word Clock In and Out ports let you con-

nect BNC cables to synchronize Pro Tools to in-

coming 1x Word clock, and synchronize other

devices to Pro Tools-generated Word clock.

Line Outputs (1–4)

These outputs let you send discrete Pro Tools

outputs to external headphone or cue systems,

remote speakers and similar devices. Line out-

puts 1–4 accept balanced TRS, or unbalanced TS,

1/4-inch cables.

Line Out (5–6)

This connector accepts a 1/4-inch cable, to sup-

ply two channels of unbalanced output to an ad-

ditional analog device. (Line Out 5 = Tip;

Line Out 6 = Ring.)

Footswitch

The footswitch connector on Mbox 2 Pro lets

you use a footswitch pedal to control either

playback start/stop or recording punch in/out.

Both QuickPunch audio punch-in and punch-

out and MIDI punch-in and punch-out record-

ing are supported.

The footswitch connector is designed specifi-

cally for instantaneous (momentary) on/off

pedals with a 1/4-inch TS connector. Continu-

ous on/continuous off pedals can also be used,

but may result in unexpected behavior.

S/PDIF Digital I/O

The S/PDIF in and out ports are unbalanced two-

conductor phono (RCA) connectors that utilize

a full 24-bit, two-channel digital data stream.

The Sony/Phillips Digital Interface Format

(S/PDIF) is used in many professional and con-

sumer CD recorders and DAT recorders. To

avoid RF interference, use 75-ohm coaxial cable

for S/PDIF transfers and keep the cable length to

a maximum of 10 meters.

In use, the S/PDIF input channels are available

in addition to the four channels of analog audio

input when S/PDIF is selected as the Pro Tools

Clock Source. This lets Mbox 2 Pro be used as a

6-in/8-out digital audio interface for

Pro Tools LE.

The S/PDIF output channels are always avail-

able, in all clock modes.

Mon Out (Monitor Output)

These outputs support balanced TRS, or unbal-

anced TS, 1/4-inch connections. To monitor

your mix, these outputs can be connected to a

mixing board, directly to a monitoring system

such as a stereo power amp, or another stereo

destination.

The Mon Out Left and Right play the audio that

is routed to analog outputs 1 and 2 from within

Pro Tools, respectively. These analog outputs

feature 24-bit digital-to-analog converters.

Aux In (Line and Phono Inputs)

The Aux In section provides two pairs of inputs

for different types of equipment. The Aux In

Line L and R inputs are 1/4-inch, balanced TRS

connectors. The Phono inputs are unbalanced,

coaxial RCA connectors.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started34

Grounding Post

The Grounding Post is for grounding turntables

and other types of DJ equipment to Mbox 2 Pro.

Mic/Line 1 and 2

Each analog source input channel (Input 1 and

Input 2) provides Mic (XLR) and Line (TRS) in-

put on combination jacks. On the front panel,

the input signal is adjusted by the Gain control

for each channel and the source (Mic/Line, or

DI) is chosen using the Source selectors.

Source 2 is at the far left (when looking at the

back panel), and Source 1 is to its right. The back

panel inputs for Source 1 and Source 2 are lo-

cated such that they are directly in line with

their associated input controls on the front

panel. This lets you locate input jacks more eas-

ily when viewing from the front of the unit.

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 35

chapter 7

Making Studio Connections

To hear audio recorded into a Pro Tools session,

you will need to connect headphones or an ex-

ternal sound system (such as powered monitors

or a home stereo) to Mbox 2 Pro. Sound from

Mbox 2 Pro cannot be played through your

computer’s speakers or your computer’s sound

output.

Connecting Headphones

On the front panel of the Mbox 2 Pro are two

1/4-inch headphone connectors, each with an

associated level control, labelled A and B. Con-

nect up to two sets of headphones for mixing

and tracking.

Headphone A monitors the Pro Tools main mix

outputs (usually output channels 1–2).

By default, Headphone B output mirrors the

Pro Tools channel 1–2 output being heard in the

Headphone A output. Whenever a discrete cue

mix is required for overdubbing, Headphone B

output can be switched to monitor output chan-

nels 3–4.

To connect headphones for mix monitoring:

Connect headphones with a 1/4-inch stereo

connector (or adapter) to the Headphone A jack.

To connect headphones for selectable monitoring:

Connect headphones with a 1/4-inch stereo

connector (or adapter) to the Headphone B jack.

To monitor channels 3–4 in Headphone B:

Press the 3–4 switch so that it is engaged (“in”

position).

Headphone jacks and controls on front of Mbox 2 Pro

1/4-inch

Headphone jacks (A, B)

Headphone level (A, B)

3–4 (Headphone B)

Do not use the front panel headphone out-

puts for anything but headphones. If you

use a headphone distribution amp or cue

system, use any of the six available Line

Out channels on the back panel. See “Addi-

tional Analog Outputs” on page 36.

See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for infor-

mation on using signal routing, sends and

bussing to create cue mixes.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started36

Connecting a Sound System

The main monitor outputs on the back of the

Mbox 2 Pro (Mon Out L and R) support 1/4-inch

plugs. These connections can be balanced, TRS

(Tip, Ring, Sleeve) style connectors, or unbal-

anced connectors. To listen to your Pro Tools

session, these outputs can be connected to any

amplification system: powered speakers, a home

stereo system, or an audio mixer.

When connecting to a stereo system, connect

the left channel (often the white plug) to

Mon Out Left, and the right channel (often the

red plug) to Mon Out Right.

To connect a sound system:

Using 1/4-inch cables, connect the Mon Out L

and Mon Out R on the back panel to the inputs

of your power amplifier, self-powered monitors,

or other monitoring system.

Additional Analog Outputs

Mbox 2 Pro provides a total of six analog output

channels in addition to the primary Monitor

outputs. These include Line Out 1–4, and

Line Out 5–6.

Line Out 1–4

Line Outputs 1–4 can be connected to any de-

vice that has analog inputs. Use these four bal-

anced 1/4-inch TRS outputs to feed analog de-

vices such as headphone amps or cue systems

for discrete headphone mixes, samplers, or a

secondary recorder.

Line Out 5–6

Line Out 5–6 provides an additional pair of ana-

log output channels. Use this unbalanced 1/4-

inch stereo connector to supply two channels of

analog output. (Line Out 5 = Tip, Line Out 6 =

Ring).

To connect additional Mbox 2 Pro outputs:

1 Using 1/4-inch TRS cables, connect any of the

Line Out (1–4) connectors on the back panel to

the inputs of your external devices.

2 Using a 1/4-inch TRS stereo cable, connect the

Line Output (5–6) output on the back panel to

the inputs of your external device.

Monitor Out connectors on Mbox 2 Pro (back panel)

Home stereo systems often use RCA connec-

tors. You can use an adaptor or a special ca-

ble to convert from the TRS or TS connectors

used by Mbox 2 Pro to the RCA connectors

on your home stereo.

Monitor Out

Additional outputs on Mbox 2 Pro (back panel)

See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for infor-

mation on signal routing, sends and bussing.

Line Out 1–4

Line Out 5–6

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 37

Connecting a Digital Deck

If you have a CD, DVD, DAT or other device that

accepts S/PDIF connections, connect it to the

S/PDIF In and S/PDIF Out RCA ports on the back

of Mbox 2 Pro.

Connecting Audio Inputs

This section describes the analog inputs avail-

able on Mbox 2 Pro. For information about con-

necting specific audio sources, see “Connecting

a Microphone” on page 38, and “Connecting

Instruments to the Mbox 2 Pro” on page 40.

Overview of Analog Inputs

Mbox 2 Pro provides a total of four channels of

analog input. On the Mbox 2 Pro, these are la-

belled Inputs 1 and 2, and Aux In L-R.

Inputs 1 and 2

Inputs 1 and 2 each provide back panel

Mic/Line In 1 and 2 connectors as well as front

panel DI connectors (TS). These inputs appear as

Analog In (1–2) in Pro Tools.

Mic/Line In

Each Mic/Line In section on the back panel pro-

vides combination jacks that accept XLR or TRS

connectors for Inputs 1 and 2.

XLR For XLR microphone cables.

Line For 1/4-inch Tip-Ring-Sleeve (TRS) cables

from keyboards, mixers, and other line sources.

DI 1 and DI 2

Input 1 and 2 also provide a front panel DI in-

put.

DI For 1/4-inch Tip-Sleeve cables from guitar,

bass, microphones, or similar sources.

Aux In

Aux In connectors are provided for Line and

Phono sources. These inputs appear as Analog

In (3–4) in Pro Tools:

Line L and R For 1/4-inch Tip-Sleeve cables from

guitar, bass, microphones, or similar sources.

Phono L and R For RCA cables from turntables,

mixers, or similar sources.

When recording from Pro Tools to a digital

device, make sure the Pro Tools Clock

Source setting is set correctly. For more in-

formation, see “Digital Input and Output”

on page 42.

Inputs on back of Mbox 2 Pro

Input 1 Aux In Input 2

If you are using a microphone with a

1/4-inch connector, use the front panel DI

inputs.

Input 1 and 2 front panel DI connectors

DI 1 DI 2

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started38

Connecting a Microphone

There are several ways to use Mbox 2 with a mi-

crophone, depending on the type of micro-

phone and cable you use.

Mic Cables and Connectors

There are several ways to use Mbox 2 Pro with a

microphone, depending on the type of micro-

phone and cable you use.

Some microphone cables use an XLR connector

to attach a microphone to an input; other mi-

crophones use a 1/4-inch connector.

If you have a choice, use an XLR connector to

connect the microphone to the Mbox 2 Pro to

yield better results.

Phantom Power

Some microphones require power to operate.

This power, called phantom power, is supplied ei-

ther by a battery in the microphone, or through

an audio interface (such as Mbox 2 Pro) that can

supply power through the microphone cable.

Most condenser microphones (such as an AKG

C3000) require phantom power to operate. Dy-

namic microphones (such as a Shure SM57) do

not require phantom power to operate, but are

not harmed by it.

The Mbox 2 Pro can only supply power through

a microphone cable with XLR connectors. If you

are not sure about the phantom power require-

ments for your microphone, refer to your micro-

phone’s documentation or contact the manu-

facturer.

XLR and 1/4-inch connectors

XLR connector

1/4-inch connector

Although phantom power can be used

safely with most microphones, it is possible

to damage some ribbon microphones with

it. Always turn off phantom power and

wait at least ten seconds before connecting

a ribbon microphone.

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 39

Using a Mic that Has an XLR

Connector

To use a microphone that has an XLR connector:

1 Plug your microphone cable into one of the

Mic/Line inputs on the back of Mbox 2 Pro.

2 Set the input Source to Mic (microphone) by

pressing the Mic/DI Source selector on the front

of Mbox 2 Pro until the Mic LED is lit.

3 If your microphone requires phantom power,

make sure the microphone is connected, then

press the Phantom Power switch (labeled 48V)

on the front of the Mbox 2 Pro. This switch

sends 48V to both XLR mic inputs. The 48V LED

on the front of the Mbox 2 Pro will light when

phantom power is being supplied.

4 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, turn the

Monitor control to the desired level.

5 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, carefully turn

the Input 1 Gain control to the right to increase

the input level of your microphone signal.

6 If the incoming signal is too loud, press the

Pad switch to engage the –20 dB pad.

XLR connector plugged into Input 1

Input 1 Source selector and LEDs

Input 1

Mic input

Mic/DI

Source selector

Mic

LED

DI

LED

Phantom Power switch

Monitor control and Gain knob for Input 1

Input 1 Pad

48V (Phantom Power)

Monitor control Gain

Pad

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started40

Using a Mic that Has a 1/4-Inch

Connector

To use a microphone that has a 1/4-inch TS

(Tip-Sleeve) connector:

1 Connect the 1/4-inch cable from your micro-

phone to the front panel Input 1 DI input.

2 Set the source to DI by pressing the input

channel Source selector until the DI LED is lit.

3 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, carefully turn

the Gain control to the right to increase the in-

put level of your microphone signal.

4 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, turn the

Monitor control to the desired level.

5 If the incoming signal is too loud, press the

Pad switch to engage the –20 dB pad.

Connecting Instruments to

the Mbox 2 Pro

Mbox 2 Pro provides three input types (DI, Line

and Aux In) that correspond to the different sig-

nal strengths output by different types of instru-

ments and other equipment.

DI Input (Front Panel) Instruments such as elec-

tric guitar or electric bass that usually have a

lower level of output than line level instruments

use the front panel DI (“Direct Inject”) input.

Line Inputs (Back Panel) Line level devices, in-

cluding electronic audio sources such as mixers,

samplers, keyboards, turntables, and synthesiz-

ers use the back panel Line input.

Aux In (Back Panel) Line in L and R for addi-

tional line level devices, plus Phono L and R in-

puts for turntables/preamps, DJ mixers, and

similar devices. The 1/4-inch TS Line L and R in-

puts accept balanced or unbalanced connec-

tions. The RCA inputs are fully RIAA compliant,

and Mbox 2 Pro also provides a grounding post

for devices that require such a connection. You

can connect devices to both pairs of Aux In in-

puts and then choose between them using the

front panel Source selector switch.

Connecting a 1/4-inch microphone cable to the Input 1

DI connector

Input 1 selector switch and DI LED

Input 1

Mic/DI

selector

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 41

Connecting Electric Guitar or Bass

To use a guitar with Mbox 2 Pro:

1 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, plug your gui-

tar cable into one of the DI inputs.

2 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, set the source

to DI by pressing the Mic/DI switch until the DI

LED is lit.

3 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, turn the

Monitor control to the desired level.

4 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, carefully turn

the Gain control to the right to increase the in-

put level of your guitar.

Connecting Keyboards and Mixers

To use a keyboard or mixer with Mbox 2 Pro:

1 Plug your keyboard, mixer, or other audio

source into either the Input 1 or Input 2 Line

(TRS) inputs on your Mbox 2 Pro. If your source

is stereo (such as a stereo keyboard or the stereo

output from a mixer), connect the left channel

(often the white plug) to Input 1, and right

channel (often the red plug) to Input 2.

2 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, set the Source

to Mic by pressing the Mic/DI switch until the

Mic LED is lit.

3 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, turn the

Monitor control to the desired level.

4 Set your instrument’s volume to its optimal

level. For example, the optimal level for most

keyboards is between 80% and 100% of maxi-

mum volume.

5 On the front of the Mbox 2 Pro, carefully turn

the Gain control to the right to increase the in-

put level of your keyboard.

To use Aux In (3–4) Line inputs:

1 Plug your keyboard, mixer or other line level

device into the Aux In Line inputs (L and R).

2 On the front panel of Mbox 2 Pro, press the

Aux In Source select switch as needed so the

Phono LED is off (unlit). The switch should be

in its “out” position.

Connecting DJ Equipment

To use the Phono inputs:

1 Plug your turntable, mixer, or similar outputs

into the Aux In Phono inputs (L and R).

2 If appropriate, connect your turntable to the

Mbox 2 Pro grounding post. This is necessary

with some preamps and other DJ equipment to

help keep the signals free of (unwanted) hum

and buzz.

3 On the front panel of Mbox 2 Pro, press the

Aux In Source select switch as needed so the

Phono LED is on (lit). The switch should be in

its “in” position.

Connecting guitar to the Input 1 DI connector

If your keyboard has unbalanced outputs,

use the Mbox 2’s DI inputs. Refer to your

keyboard’s documentation

Input 1 DI

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started42

Digital Input and Output

Mbox 2 Pro provides two channels of S/PDIF

digital input and output on the back panel. This

lets you record signals from digital devices into

Pro Tools, and send digital audio from Pro Tools

to other digital devices.

Connecting Digital Devices

To connect Mbox 2 Pro to an external digital

device:

1 Using RCA (coaxial) cables, connect the

Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF In to the S/PDIF output of

the device.

2 Connect the Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF Out to the

S/PDIF input of the external device.

3 Be sure to read the next section for important

information.

Using S/PDIF Input

This section describes the steps you must take

once you have finished installing and launching

Pro Tools LE to enable the S/PDIF ports for digi-

tal input.

Refer to this section whenever you plan to use

S/PDIF input on Mbox 2 Pro.

In order to record or listen to a digital device

connected to the Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF In connec-

tor, you must do the following to configure the

Pro Tools Clock Source:

To enable the S/PDIF inputs on Mbox 2 Pro:

1 Make sure your have connected the external

digital device to the correct Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF

connector (In and Out).

2 Make sure the external device is powered on,

that it is set to the correct sample rate, and that

it is configured to provide S/PDIF clock (if rele-

vant to your device).

3 Launch Pro Tools LE.

4 Choose Hardware > Setup.

5 Click the Clock Source pop-up menu and

choose “S/PDIF.”

Once enabled in the Hardware Setup dialog, the

S/PDIF inputs become active and will pass audio

to Mbox 2 Pro.

S/PDIF connectors on Mbox 2 Pro

S/PDIF

In

Out

The following requirement only applies to

using S/PDIF input to record or monitor dig-

ital signals through Pro Tools LE and

Mbox 2 Pro.

Enabling S/PDIF Input in the Hardware Setup dialog

Clock Source

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 43

Setting the Clock Source to S/PDIF is the only

way to utilize S/PDIF input. Doing so lets you

record or monitor up to six discrete input chan-

nels (the four analog input channels, plus the

two channels of S/PDIF input).

MIDI Connections

The two MIDI ports on Mbox 2 Pro let you take

advantage of all the MIDI features of

Pro Tools LE, including recording and editing

MIDI tracks.

If you need additional MIDI ports you can add a

compatible MIDI interface. USB MIDI interfaces

work effectively with Pro Tools systems on Win-

dows or Mac. Serial MIDI interfaces are sup-

ported on Windows systems only.

To connect MIDI devices to Mbox 2 Pro:

1 Connect the MIDI OUT of your MIDI device

or controller to the MIDI IN port on the back of

Mbox 2 Pro.

2 Connect the MIDI IN of your MIDI device or

controller to the MIDI OUT port on the back of

Mbox 2 Pro.

Selecting any other Clock Source (Internal,

or Word Clock) disables S/PDIF input.

S/PDIF output remains available.

Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible

with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X. Mo-

dem-to-serial port adapters and serial MIDI

devices are not supported.

MIDI connections to Mbox 2 Pro

MIDI is not audio. To hear the output of

your MIDI devices within Pro Tools, you

must route the audio output of your MIDI

device into your Mbox 2 Pro audio inputs,

and monitor or record the audio into your

session as explained in “Connecting Audio

Inputs” on page 37. For a primer on MIDI

and how to include it in your sessions, see

Chapter 8, “Common Tasks with

Pro Tools LE.”

See also Appendix A, “Configuring MIDI

Studio Setup (Windows Only)” or

Appendix B, “Configuring AMS (Mac OS X

Only)” for information on configuring your

MIDI studio for use with Pro Tools.

MIDI

In Out

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started44

Word Clock

Mbox 2 Pro provides Word Clock In and Out

connectors on the back panel that let you syn-

chronize, or “clock” Pro Tools LE and

Mbox 2 Pro to industry standard Word clock.

Word clock is used to synchronize a wide range

of devices such as non-linear video systems and

other types of equipment typically found in pro-

fessional audio facilities.

With both Word clock input and output, your

Mbox 2 Pro-equipped Pro Tools LE system can

act as Word clock “slave” or “master.”

To connect Word clock to Mbox 2 Pro:

Using high-quality, 75 ohm BNC cables (not

included) connect the Mbox 2 Pro Word Clock

In and Out connectors to the appropriate ports

on the other Word clock-capable devices in your

studio.

Using Word Clock with

Pro Tools LE

Pro Tools LE with Mbox 2 Pro can act as Word

clock master, or as a slave to Word clock sup-

plied by an external device.

Pro Tools LE as Word Clock Master

Mbox 2 Pro Word clock output is always active,

letting Pro Tools supply Word clock to any con-

nected devices that support standard Word

clock.

To use Pro Tools LE as Word clock master:

1 Make sure all connections are correct between

Mbox 2 Pro and your external devices.

2 Configure all external devices to slave to the

Word clock coming from Mbox 2 Pro. (Be sure to

verify sample rate settings, termination require-

ments and other internal settings for the device;

refer to the manufacturer’s documentation if

you need more information on the particular re-

quirements for your other equipment.)

3 Launch Pro Tools.

4 Choose Hardware > Setup.

5 Click the Clock Source pop-up menu and

choose Internal.

Do not confuse Word clock and other forms

of “clock reference” with time code and

other forms of “positional reference.” For an

overview of synchronization terminology

and concepts, see the Pro Tools Reference

guide.

Chapter 7: Making Studio Connections 45

Pro Tools LE as Word Clock Slave

In order to slave Pro Tools to an external Word

clock source, you must configure Word clock as

the Pro Tools Clock source, as follows:

To configure Pro Tools LE with Mbox 2 Pro as a

Word clock slave:

1 Make sure all Word clock and audio connec-

tions are correct as described earlier in this sec-

tion.

2 Make sure the external Word clock source is

powered on, and configured to output 1x Word

clock. (Be sure to verify any required termina-

tion; refer to the manufacturer’s documentation

if you need more information on the particular

requirements for your device.)

3 Launch Pro Tools.

4 Choose Hardware > Setup.

5 Click the Clock Source pop-up menu and

choose Word Clock.

Using a Footswitch

The footswitch connector on Mbox 2 Pro lets

you use a footswitch pedal to control either

playback start/stop or recording punch in/out.

Both QuickPunch audio punch-in and punch-

out and MIDI punch-in and punch-out record-

ing are supported.

The footswitch connector is designed specifi-

cally for instantaneous (momentary) on/off

pedals with a 1/4-inch TS connector. Continu-

ous on/continuous off pedals can also be used,

but may result in unexpected behavior.

To use a footswitch control:

1 Connect a footswitch to the footswitch con-

nector on the back panel of the Mbox 2 Pro.

2 Launch Pro Tools.

3 Choose Setup > Hardware.

4 Select Record Punch In/Out or Playback

Start/Stop.

5 Click Ok.

S/PDIF digital input is not available when

the Pro Tools Clock source is set to Word

clock or Internal. To use S/PDIF input,

S/PDIF must be the Pro Tools Clock source.

For more information, see “Digital Input

and Output” on page 42.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started46

Chapter 8: Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE 47

chapter 8

Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE

This chapter is designed to give new users spe-

cific methods for accomplishing common tasks

with your Pro Tools system.

Recording a Pro Tools Session

Before you record with Pro Tools LE, you first

create a Pro Tools session, then prepare an audio

track for recording.

To create a Pro Tools session:

1 Verify the connections between your

Mbox 2 Pro and your instrument or micro-

phone.

2 Launch Pro Tools.

3 Choose File > New Session.

4 In the New Session dialog, set the session pa-

rameters as needed, or leave them at their de-

fault settings. (For details on New Session

settings, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.)

For the most complete information on using

Pro Tools, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

You can view an electronic PDF version of the

Reference Guide by choosing it from the

Pro Tools Help menu.

This chapter uses analog inputs in its exam-

ples of common tasks. To record digitally

through the Mbox 2 Pro S/PDIF input, the

steps are basically the same with the follow-

ing important exception: S/PDIF must be

enabled as the Pro Tools Clock Source in the

Hardware Setup dialog. For more informa-

tion, see “Digital Input and Output” on

page 42.

For connection information, see Chapter 7,

“Making Studio Connections.”

New Session dialog

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started48

5 Choose the audio drive where you want to

save your session.

6 Type a name for your session.

7 Click Save.

To prepare an audio track for recording:

1 Choose Track > New.

2 Specify 1 Mono Audio Track in Samples, if

your source is mono, or 1 Stereo Audio Track in

Samples, if your source is stereo.

3 Click Create.

4 Make sure the Mix window is open by choos-

ing Window > Mix.

5 In the Mix window, click the Audio Input Path

selector on the new track.

6 From the pop-up menu, select the interface in-

put you want to record. For example, select

Analog 1 if your audio source is plugged into an

Input 1 connector on the Mbox 2 Pro.

7 Play the instrument or sound source at the

volume you will record.

8 Use the Gain controls to maximize the signal

going into Pro Tools while avoiding clipping.

To record an audio track:

1 Click the track’s Record Enable button.

Creating a new Stereo audio track

A mono instrument uses one input on the

Mbox 2 Pro, and a stereo instrument uses

two. Creating a stereo track in Pro Tools

will not make a mono instrument into a ste-

reo instrument. If a mono instrument is re-

corded on a stereo track, one of the sides of

the stereo track will show no signal.

Routing an input to a mono track

Clipping occurs when you feed a signal to an

audio device that is louder than the circuitry

can accept. To avoid clipping, adjust the out-

put volume of the source device, then adjust

the Mbox 2 Pro Gain control. Adjust these

two levels so that the input Peak LEDs on the

front panel do not light red. (One Peak LED

is provided on the front panel for each input;

Peak LEDs light green when the input signal

is roughly –60 dBFS, light yellow at –6 dBFS,

and will turn red to indicate the input signal

is at –0 dBFS (also known as “full code”).

Record enabling a track in the Mix window

Chapter 8: Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE 49

2 Choose Track > Input Only Monitoring. This al-

lows you to monitor the input of tracks that are

record enabled.

3 Choose Window > Transport to display the

Transport window. Click Return to Zero to go to

the beginning of the session.

4 Click Record in the Transport window to arm

Pro Tools for recording. The Record button

flashes red to indicate that Pro Tools is ready to

record.

5 When you are ready to start recording, click

Play or press the Spacebar.

6 Record your performance.

7 Click Stop in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar when you are finished recording.

To play back a recorded track:

1 If the track’s Record Enable button is lit, click

on it to take it out of Record mode.

2 Click Play in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to start playback.

3 Click Stop in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to stop playback.

Importing Audio from a CD

To import audio from a compact disc:

1 Put the source CD into your computer’s

CD/DVD drive.

2 In Pro Tools, open the Workspace browser by

choosing Window > Workspace. The Workspace

browser is a window where you can find, audi-

tion, and manage your audio files.

3 In the Workspace browser, click the Audio CD

icon to show the files on the CD.

4 Click the speaker icon in the Waveform col-

umn to audition the audio file. Press the Space-

bar to stop playback.

Transport window

Fast Forward

Record

Go to EndPlay

Stop

Rewind

Return to Zero

Online

Opening the Workspace browser

Auditioning an audio file in the Workspace browser

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started50

5 Drag the audio file from the Workspace

browser to the Track List in the Edit window to

import the file to a new audio track.

To play back the new track:

1 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero

to go to the beginning of the track.

2 Click Play in the Transport window to begin

playback.

3 Click Stop in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to stop playback.

Creating an Audio CD from a

Pro Tools Session

Pro Tools does not create audio CDs directly,

but you can create stereo audio files from your

Pro Tools sessions that can be used by most CD

burning software.

Bouncing Audio to Disk

Use the Pro Tools Bounce to Disk feature to

combine all your audible tracks into a single

“master” audio file. After the new audio file has

been bounced to disk, you can burn it to a CD.

If you are bouncing to 16-bit (CD resolution),

you should use a dither plug-in on the main out-

put. (For details, see the Pro Tools Reference

Guide.)

To bounce audio to disk:

1 After you have finished recording and mixing

a session in Pro Tools, select the length of the

session in the timeline ruler (or on a track), plus

an additional amount of time to avoid cutting

off any reverb tails that might continue past the

end of the last region.

2 Choose File > Bounce to > Disk.

3 In the Bounce Options dialog, choose

Analog 1–2 as the Bounce Source.

4 Choose WAV (BWF) for the File Type.

Dragging an audio file from the Workspace browser to

the Edit window Track List

Session audio selected and ready to bounce

Choosing Bounce to Disk from the File menu

Chapter 8: Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE 51

5 Choose Stereo Interleaved for the Format.

6 Choose 16 for the Resolution and 44100 for

the Sample Rate.

7 If you are changing the sample rate of the

bounced file, choose a Conversion Quality set-

ting. (For details, see the Pro Tools Reference

Guide.)

8 Choose Convert after Bounce, and click

Bounce.

9 In the Bounce dialog, give the bounce tracks a

name and choose where they should be saved.

10 Click Save.

Pro Tools begins bouncing to disk. Pro Tools

bounces are done in real time, so you hear audio

playback of your mix during the bounce process

(though you cannot adjust it).

Burning a CD

After the bounce is completed, you will have an

audio file that is ready for burning onto a CD.

Quit Pro Tools and launch any common CD

burning application to burn your bounced mix

to CD.

Bounce options for creating CD burnable tracks

Entering a name for the bounced file

Bouncing to Disk dialog

Make certain that you configure your CD

burning application to create an audio CD

rather than a data CD.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started52

Recording MIDI in a Pro Tools

Session

What is MIDI?

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

data is not audio, and has no sound. MIDI is a

way for musical devices to communicate. MIDI

is data that can trigger a MIDI device (such as a

keyboard or software synthesizer).

In order to create or play a MIDI recording, you

must have a MIDI controller or sound module

(real or virtual) connected to the computer

through a MIDI interface. Audio from your

MIDI instrument can be monitored through the

audio interface or sent to an external mixer.

Recording MIDI on an Instrument Track

Pro Tools Instrument tracks provide both MIDI

and audio capabilities, so you can record MIDI

and monitor audio from software and hardware

instruments.

To create an Instrument track and configure it for

recording:

1 Choose Setup > MIDI > Input Devices and make

sure your input device is selected in the MIDI In-

put Enable window, and click OK.

2 Choose Track > New and specify 1 Mono In-

strument Track, then click Create.

3 Select View > Mix Window > Instruments to dis-

play the MIDI controls for the Instrument track.

4 At the top of the Instrument track in the Mix

window, click the track’s MIDI Input selector

and assign the device and channel to be re-

corded, or leave it set to All.

Signal paths for MIDI instruments

To record or playback tracks using MIDI

data, your Pro Tools system must be config-

ured for MIDI. See Appendix A, “Configuring

MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)” or

Appendix B, “Configuring AMS (Mac OS X

Only).”

MIDI Audio

Mixer

MIDI keyboard (controller)

To amplifier

MIDI sound module

Creating a new Mono Instrument track

Showing the Instrument View in the Mix window

MIDI Input selector in an Instrument track

MIDI Input selector

Chapter 8: Common Tasks with Pro Tools LE 53

5 Do one of the following, depending on the

type of instrument you are using:

• If you are using an instrument plug-in,

click an Insert selector and insert the plug-

in on the Instrument track. The track’s

MIDI output is automatically assigned to

the instrument plug-in.

• If you are using an external MIDI device,

click the track’s MIDI Output selector (at

the top of the Instrument track) and assign

the device and channel to receive the MIDI

output (the choices will vary depending on

the device).

6 If you are using an external MIDI device and

have connected its audio output to your audio

interface for monitoring in Pro Tools, click the

Input selector of the Instrument track and

choose the corresponding audio input. (This

step is not necessary if you are using an instru-

ment plug-in.)

7 In the Mix Window, click the track’s Record

Enable button to enable the Instrument track

for MIDI recording.

8 Make sure Options > MIDI Thru is selected.

Inserting an instrument plug-in on an Instrument track

MIDI Output selector in an Instrument track

If your connected MIDI device does not ap-

pear, check that you have configured your

computer and its MIDI settings. For more

information, refer to Appendix A, “Config-

uring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)”

or Appendix B, “Configuring AMS

(Mac OS X Only).”

Choosing an audio input for an Instrument track

Enabling an Instrument track for MIDI recording

Track Record Enable button

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started54

9 Play some notes on your MIDI controller and

look for the track’s MIDI Velocity meter to

move. Remember, MIDI is not audio, and the

MIDI Velocity meter is not registering sound

output, but MIDI activity.

10 Adjust the audio output level of the Instru-

ment track with its Volume fader.

To record MIDI on the Instrument track:

1 Verify that the Instrument track you want to

record to is record-enabled and receiving MIDI.

2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero

to start recording from the beginning of the ses-

sion. You can also record to a selection in a track

or from the cursor location in the Edit window.

3 Click Record in the Transport window.

4 Click Play in the Transport window or press

the Spacebar to begin recording.

5 Play your MIDI controller or input device.

6 When you have finished recording, click Stop

in the Transport window, or press the Spacebar.

The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI

region on the track in the Edit window, as well

as in the Region List.

To play back recorded MIDI data:

1 Click the track’s Record Enable button to take

the Instrument track out of Record mode.

2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero

to play back from the beginning of the track.

3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin

playback. The recorded MIDI data plays back

through the track’s assigned instrument and

channel.

MIDI meter in Instrument track showing MIDI activity

Adjusting the Volume fader on an Instrument track

Transport window

MIDI Velocity meter

Volume fader

Fast Forward

Record

Go to EndPlay

Stop

Rewind

Return to Zero

Online

MIDI data in an Instrument track

Appendix A: Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only) 55

appendix a

Configuring MIDI Studio Setup

(Windows Only)

MIDI Studio Setup

MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) lets you configure the

MIDI controllers and sound modules that are

connected to your system, and control the rout-

ing of MIDI data between your MIDI equipment

and Pro Tools.

MSS automatically finds MIDI interfaces, and

lets you specify a custom name for each of the

MIDI ports within the MIDI Studio Setup docu-

ment.

MSS also supports XML-based patch file names

for storing and importing patch names for your

external MIDI devices.

Entire MIDI Studio Setup configurations created

within MSS can be imported and exported.

MIDI Studio Setup Window

The MIDI Studio Setup window is organized

into three sections. Interface controls are at the

top of the window. All the currently defined in-

struments are displayed in the Instrument

Name list on the left side of the window. A de-

tailed view of MIDI parameters is shown in the

Properties section on the right.

Interface Controls

Create This button adds a new instrument to

the Instrument Name list.

Delete This button deletes the instrument or in-

struments selected in the Instrument Name list.

Import This button lets you import an existing

MIDI Studio Setup file.

MIDI Studio Setup window

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started56

Export This button lets you export the current

MIDI Studio Setup file.

Show Duplicate Emulated Ports When this op-

tion is selected and you are using a MIDI inter-

face that supports timestamping (such as MIDI

I/O), in addition to the MIDI ports on

Mbox 2 Pro, the MIDI Studio setup window

shows both the DirectMusic time-stamped out-

put ports, and non-stamped duplicate emulated

output ports.

Instrument List

The Instrument list contains all the currently

defined instruments. Selecting an instrument in

the list displays that instrument’s properties in

the Properties section of the window.

Properties Section

The Properties section lets you edit information

for new instruments, or instrument currently se-

lected in the Instrument list.

When a previously defined instrument is se-

lected in the Instrument list, the Properties sec-

tion changes to reflect the properties of the se-

lected instrument.

To define an instrument with MIDI Studio Setup:

1 Choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI Studio.

2 Click Create.

3 In the Instrument Name field, type the name

of your instrument, and press Enter.

4 Set a manufacturer and model for the new de-

vice from the corresponding pop-up menus. If

the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus do

not provide a name for your particular device,

choose None.

5 From the Input pop-up menu, choose the in-

put port on your MIDI interface that is con-

nected to the MIDI Out of your instrument.

6 From the Output pop-up menu, choose the

output port on your MIDI interface that is con-

nected to the MIDI In of your instrument.

7 Enable the appropriate MIDI channels (1–16)

for the Send Channels and Receive Channels

options (These determine which channels send

and receive MIDI.)

Instrument Name

The Instrument Name field shows the user-de-

finable instrument name for the currently se-

lected instrument.

Some MIDI Interfaces will not properly load

or unload their drivers unless you quit and

re-launch Pro Tools. Check the documenta-

tion that came with your MIDI interface for

more information.

MIDI Studio Setup Properties section

If you do not enter an instrument name, the

Instrument Name field will automatically

inherit information from the Manufacturer

and Model pop-up menu.

Appendix A: Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only) 57

Manufacturer

The Manufacturer pop-up menu provides a list

of MIDI equipment manufacturers. This list is

derived from the XML-based MIDI device files.

Model

The Model pop-up menu provides a list of MIDI

devices, filtered by the manufacturer name. This

list is derived from the XML-based MIDI device

files provided with your Pro Tools installation.

Input Port

The Input Port pop-up menu displays a list of

available MIDI interface input ports. Inputs will

include Mbox 2 Pro and any additional MIDI in-

terfaces enabled on your system. The MIDI in-

terface port that is set and displayed here is the

port through which MIDI data is sent from the

external MIDI device specified in the Instru-

ment Name field into your MIDI interface.

Output Port

The Output Port pop-up menu displays a list of

available MIDI interface output ports. The port

set and displayed here is the port through which

MIDI data is sent from your MIDI interface to

the MIDI device specified in the Instrument

Name field.

Send Channels

The Send Channels grid sets the send channels

for the MIDI device specified in the Instrument

Name field.

Receive Channels

The Receive Channels grid sets the receive chan-

nels for the MIDI device specified in the Instru-

ment Name field.

MIDI Patch Name Support

Pro Tools supports XML (Extensible Markup

Language) for storing and importing patch

names for your external MIDI devices. Pro Tools

installs MIDI patch name files (.midnam) for the

factory default patch names of many common

MIDI devices. These files reside in directories,

sorted by manufacturer, in Program Files\

Common Files\Digidesign\MIDI Patch Names\

Digidesign.

To import MIDI patch names into Pro Tools:

1 Verify the MIDI Device name in the MIDI Stu-

dio Setup window (see “MIDI Studio Setup” on

page 55).

2 Verify the MIDI track’s output is correctly as-

signed to the MIDI device.

For more information, see “MIDI Patch

Name Support” on page 57.

For more information, see “MIDI Patch

Name Support” on page 57.

If you set the input port to None, the defined

instrument will not appear as a choice in a

MIDI Input selector.

If you set the output port to None, the de-

fined instrument will not appear as a choice

in a MIDI Output selector.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started58

3 Click the MIDI track’s Patch Select button.

4 In the Patch Select dialog, click the Change

button.

5 In the Open dialog, navigate to Program

Files\Common Files\Digidesign\MIDI Patch

Names\Digidesign\<name of manufacturer>,

and select the MIDI Patch Name file (.midnam)

for the MIDI device.

6 Click Open.

The Patch Select dialog is populated with patch

names and the Patch Name Bank pop-up menu

appears in the upper left hand corner of the win-

dow.

Once patch names have been imported into

Pro Tools, they are available for that MIDI de-

vice in all sessions.

To clear patch names:

In the Patch Select dialog, click the Clear but-

ton, and click Done.

Patch Select button, Edit window

Patch Select button, Mix window

Patch Select dialog

Patch Select button

Patch Select button

Change button

Patch Select dialog with patch names

MIDI patch name files (.midnam) can be

edited in any text editor, or you can use

third-party patch librarian and editor soft-

ware to create your own custom patch

names.

Appendix B: Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) 59

appendix b

Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)

Audio MIDI Setup

Pro Tools recognizes the ports on your MIDI in-

terface as generic ports. With Mac OS X, you use

Apple’s Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility to iden-

tify external MIDI devices connected to your

MIDI interface and configure your MIDI studio

for use with Pro Tools.

To configure your MIDI studio in AMS:

1 Do one of the following:

• Launch Audio MIDI Setup (located in Ap-

plications/Utilities).

– or –

• In Pro Tools, choose Setup > MIDI > MIDI

Studio.

2 Click MIDI Devices. AMS scans your system

for connected MIDI interfaces. If your MIDI in-

terface is properly connected, it appears in the

window with each of its ports numbered.

3 For any MIDI devices connected to the MIDI

interface, click Add Device. A new external de-

vice icon with the default MIDI keyboard image

will appear.

4 Drag the new device icon to a convenient lo-

cation within the window.

This chapter shows examples of AMS using

Mbox 2. The instructions for Mbox 2 Pro

are identical to those presented here.

Audio MIDI Setup (MIDI Devices)

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started60

5 Connect the MIDI device to the MIDI inter-

face by clicking the arrow for the appropriate

output port of the device and dragging a con-

nection or “cable” to the input arrow of the cor-

responding port of the MIDI interface.

6 Click the arrow for the appropriate input port

of the device and drag a cable to the output ar-

row of the corresponding port of the MIDI inter-

face.

7 Repeat steps 3–6 for each MIDI device in your

MIDI setup.

To configure an external MIDI device:

1 Select the external device icon and click Show

Info (or double-click the new device icon).

2 Select a manufacturer and model for the new

device from the corresponding pop-up menus.

(If the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus

do not provide a name for your particular de-

vice, you can type a name.)

Making MIDI input and output connections

To remove a connection, select the cable

and press Delete. To delete all connections,

click Clear Cables.

External Device Icon

Naming a new MIDI device

For Manufacturer and Model names, AMS

refers to one or more files with the suffix

“.middev” in the directory Root/Library/

Audio/MIDI Devices. Pro Tools installs a

file that contains information for many

commercially available MIDI devices,

named “Digidesign Device List.middev.” If

the Manufacturer or Model names for any of

your external MIDI devices is not available

in the AMS Manufacturer and Model pop-

up menus, you can add them by editing the

.middev file in any text editor (such as

TextEdit).

Appendix B: Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only) 61

3 Click the More Properties arrow to expand the

dialog, then enable the appropriate MIDI chan-

nels (1–16) for the Transmits and Receives op-

tions. (These determine which channels the

device will use to send and receive MIDI.)

4 Click the device image. The window expands

to show images for various MIDI devices (such

as keyboards, modules, interfaces, and mixers).

Select an icon for your device.

5 Click OK.

The device names you enter appear as MIDI in-

put and output choices in Pro Tools.

Enabling MIDI channels

Selecting a device icon

To use your own custom icons, you can

place TIFF image files in /Library/

Audio/MIDI Devices/Generic/Images, and

they will appear as choices in the AMS

device window.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started62

MIDI Patch Name Support

Pro Tools supports XML (Extensible Markup

Language) for storing and importing patch

names for your external MIDI devices. Pro Tools

installs MIDI patch name files (.midnam) for the

factory default patch names of many common

MIDI devices. These files reside in directories,

sorted by manufacturer, in /Library/Audio/MIDI

Patch Names/Digidesign.

To import MIDI patch names into Pro Tools:

1 Verify the MIDI Device name in the Audio

MIDI Setup window (see “Audio MIDI Setup” on

page 59).

2 Verify the MIDI track’s output is correctly as-

signed to the MIDI device.

3 Click the MIDI track’s Patch Select button.

4 In the Patch Select dialog, click the Change

button.

5 In the Open dialog, navigate to /Library/Au-

dio/MIDI Patch Names/Digidesign/<name of

manufacturer>, and select the MIDI Patch Name

file (.midnam) for the MIDI device.

6 Click Open.

The Patch Select dialog is populated with patch

names and the Patch Name Bank pop-up menu

appears in the upper left hand corner of the win-

dow.

Once patch names have been imported into

Pro Tools, they are available for that MIDI de-

vice in all sessions.

To clear patch names:

In the Patch Select dialog, click the Clear but-

ton, and click Done.

Patch Select button, Edit window

Patch Select button, Mix window

Patch Select button

Patch Select button

Patch Select dialog

MIDI patch name files (.midnam) can be

edited in any text editor, or you can use

third-party patch librarian and editor soft-

ware to create your own custom patch

names.

Change button

Appendix C: Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance 63

appendix c

Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance

It is recommended that you start with a newly

formatted external or secondary internal audio

drive. You should also periodically defragment

your audio drive to ensure continued system

performance.

Avoid Recording to the

System Drive

Recording to your system drive is not recom-

mended. Recording and playback on a system

drive may result in lower track counts or fewer

plug-ins.

Supported Drive Formats and

Drive Types

Drive Formats

Windows Windows XP systems should use drives

formatted as NTFS only.

Mac Mac systems should use drives formatted

with HFS+ or HFS file system only.

Hard drive performance depends on factors in-

cluding system configuration, number of tracks,

session sample rate, density of edits, and the use

of crossfades and other processes such as Beat

Detective in a session.

For complete hard drive requirements, see the

Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

SCSI Hard Drives

Digidesign recommends qualified SCSI hard

drives and a qualified SCSI host bus adapter

(HBA) card or (on Windows systems) a qualified

built-in SCSI HBA connector on the mother-

board.

For complete information on track count and

the supported number and configuration of

SCSI drives, visit the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

FireWire Hard Drives

Digidesign recommends qualified FireWire

drives and (on Windows systems) a qualified

FireWire host adapter.

Always back up any important data on your

drive before formatting it, as it will erase all

data on the drive.

Windows systems can also support Mac

drives formatted with HFS+ system (also

commonly referred to as Mac OS Extended).

Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for

more information.

HFS drives are supported as Transfer drives

only.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started Guide64

For complete information on track count and

the supported number and configuration of

FireWire drives, visit the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

IDE/ATA/SATA Hard Drives

A qualified internal IDE/ATA/SATA drive may be

used as a dedicated audio drive.

For complete information on track count with

internal drives, refer to the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

Formatting an Audio Drive

Formatting Windows Audio Drives

(Windows Only)

For optimal performance, audio drives should

be formatted as NTFS.

To format an audio drive:

1 On Windows Vista, choose Start.

2 Right-click Computer (Windows Vista) or My

Computer (Windows XP) and choose Manage.

3 Under Storage, choose Disk Management.

4 If the volume is “Healthy,” do the following:

• In the Disk Management window, right-

click the hard drive you will use for audio

and choose Format.

• In the Format window, name the volume.

• Choose a file system. For optimum perfor-

mance, audio drives should be formatted as

NTFS.

• Select “Perform a quick format.”

• Make sure “Enable file and folder compres-

sion” is not selected.

• Set the Allocation unit size to Default.

• Click OK.

5 If the volume is “Unallocated,” do the follow-

ing:

• In the Disk Management window, right-

click the hard drive you will use for audio

and choose New Partition.

• In the New Partition Wizard window, click

Next.

• When prompted, select the partition type.

• Follow the on-screen instructions to select

a partition size and other partition settings.

• When prompted, choose a file system. For

optimum performance, audio drives

should be formatted as NTFS.

• Select “Perform a quick format.”

• Make sure “Enable file and folder compres-

sion” is not selected.

• Set the Allocation unit size to Default.

• Click OK.

Pro Tools only supports Basic drive types.

Do not convert the drive to a Dynamic type.

Disk Management window (Windows XP)

Healthy volumes are volumes that have pre-

viously been partitioned and formatted.

Digidesign recommends using Primary par-

titions, instead of Extended partitions.

Appendix C: Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance 65

Formatting Mac Audio Drives

(Mac Only)

For optimum performance, audio drives should

be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).

To format an audio drive:

1 Launch the Disk Utility application, located in

Applications/Utilities.

2 Click the Erase tab.

3 Select the drive you want to initialize in the

column on the left side of the window.

4 Choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for-

mat.

5 Type a name for the new volume.

6 If you plan to connect the drive to a Mac OS 9

computer, select Install Mac OS 9 Drivers.

7 Click Erase.

The drive appears on the Desktop with the new

volume name.

Partitioning Drives

Partitioning creates a logical volume or volumes

on a physical drive, almost as if you were creat-

ing virtual hard drives. Partitions can then be

formatted with the appropriate file system

(NTFS for Windows, HFS+ for Mac).

Seek Times on Partitioned Drives

Seek times are actually faster on partitioned

drives (assuming that reads and writes are per-

formed on a single partition), since the heads

only have to seek within the partition bound-

aries, rather than the whole capacity of the

drive.

Smaller partitions perform faster than larger par-

titions, but this comes at the expense of contig-

uous storage space. When you partition a drive,

you will need to find the compromise that best

suits your performance and storage require-

ments.

Disk Utility (Mac OS X)

Do not choose the “Case-Sensitive” format

option. Pro Tools will not operate properly

with case-sensitive formatted drives.

Windows XP allows drives formatted with

the NTFS file system to be seen as whole

volumes. Single Pro Tools audio files can-

not exceed 2048 MB in size.

Mac OS allows drives larger than 4096 MB

to be seen as whole volumes. Drives must be

initialized with a disk utility that recog-

nizes the 2 terabyte limit. Single Pro Tools

audio files cannot exceed 2048 MB in size.

Avoid distributing audio files within a ses-

sion over different partitions on the same

drive since this will adversely affect drive

performance.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started Guide66

Defragmenting an Audio Drive

Mac Systems

When working with larger files (such as video),

you can limit fragmentation by backing up your

important files to another disk, erasing the files

from the original hard disk, then copying the

files back, instead of doing a defragmentation.

Window Systems

Periodically defragment audio drives to maintain

system performance.

For maximum recording and playback effi-

ciency, data should be written to your hard

drive in a contiguous fashion—minimizing the

seek requirements to play back the data. Unfor-

tunately, your computer can’t always store the

sound files in this way and must write to disk

wherever it can find space.

In multitrack recording, audio tracks are written

in discrete files, spaced evenly across the disk.

While fragmentation of individual files may be

zero, the tracks may be far enough apart that

playback will still be very seek-intensive. Also,

the remaining free space on the disk will be dis-

contiguous, increasing the likelihood of file

fragmentation on subsequent record passes.

Increased fragmentation increases the chance of

disk errors, which can interfere with playback of

audio, and result in performance errors.

Optimizing (Defragmenting) Drives

To prevent fragmentation, you can optimize

your drive, which rearranges your files into a

contiguous format. Most optimizing software

lets you run a check on a drive to find out the

percentage of fragmentation. If your drive

shows moderate to heavy fragmentation, you

should consider optimizing it.

If you use your system for intensive editing, or if

you frequently delete audio or fade files from

your hard drive, you may need to optimize your

drives on a weekly basis, or even every few days,

since it doesn’t take long for even a large hard

drive to become fragmented.

Backing Up Data Before Optimizing

Since your files will be rewritten by the optimi-

zation process, always make a backup copy of

the data on your hard drive before you optimize

it. You should also use a hard drive utility to find

and repair any problems before optimizing data

or re-initializing your drives. If there is any dam-

age to your hard drive's directories prior to opti-

mizing, serious data loss may result.

On Windows, to avoid fragmentation, for-

mat drives with higher cluster sizes (such as

32K).

Appendix C: Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance 67

Defragmenting Windows Audio Drives

To defragment an audio drive (Windows Vista):

1 Choose Start > Control Panel.

2 Click System and Maintenance.

3 Click Performance Information and Tools.

4 Click Advanced Tools.

5 Click Open Disk Defragmenter.

6 In the Disk Defragmenter window, click the

Defragment Now button.

To defragment an audio drive (Windows XP):

1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-

age.

2 Under Storage, choose Disk Defragmenter.

3 In the Disk Defragmenter window, choose the

drive you want to defragment

4 Click the Defragment button and follow the

on-screen instructions.

When defragmenting is complete, close the

Computer Management window.

Using Mac Drives on Windows

Systems

Pro Tools for Windows lets you record and play

back sessions directly from a Mac-formatted

(HFS+) drive connected to a Windows system.

This functionality requires that all Mac session

and audio files be stored on Mac-formatted

drives.

During Pro Tools installation, make sure to se-

lect the Mac HFS+ Disk Support option. This op-

tion lets your Pro Tools system read, write,

record, and play back using Mac-formatted HFS+

disks.

Formatting and Maintaining HFS+

Drives

To format and partition any drives as HFS+, con-

nect the drives to a Mac computer and use the

Apple OS X Disk Utility.

The Defragment Now command defrag-

ments all your hard drives. This can take a

lot of time, especially on systems with mul-

tiple drives.

Advanced users can use the command line

tool Defrag.exe to defragment individual

drives. See your Windows Vista documen-

tation for more information.

For information on using the Mac HFS+

Disk Support option, see the Mac HFS+ Disk

Support Option Guide.

For information on sharing sessions be-

tween Mac and Windows systems, see the

Pro Tools Reference Guide.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started Guide68

Hard Disk Storage Space

Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately

5 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about

7.5 MB per minute.

Stereo audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately

10 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about

15 MB per minute.

Table 4 lists the required disk space for certain track numbers and track lengths, to help you estimate

your hard disk usage.

Table 4. Required hard drive space for audio tracks (44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sessions shown)

Number of Tracks and Length 16-bit at

44.1 kHz

16-bit at

48 kHz

24-bit at

44.1 kHz

24-bit at

48 kHz

1 mono track, 1 minute 5 MB 5.5 MB 7.5 MB 8.2 MB

1 stereo track (or two mono

tracks), 5 minutes

50 MB 55 MB 75 MB 83 MB

1 stereo track (or two mono

tracks), 60 minutes

600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB

24 mono tracks, 5 minutes 600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB

24 mono tracks, 60 minutes 7 GB 7.8 GB 10.5 GB 11.6 GB

32 mono tracks, 5 minutes 800 MB 883 MB 1.2 GB 1.3 GB

32 mono tracks, 60 minutes 9.4 GB 10.4 GB 14 GB 15.4 GB

Troubleshooting 69

appendix d

Troubleshooting

Backing Up Your Work

It is highly recommended that you back up your

work on a regular basis, and especially before

making changes to your system configuration.

Backing Up Your Session Data

Back up your session and audio data frequently.

There are a variety of media that are suited to

back up projects of various sizes, from auto-

mated tape backup systems to high-capacity op-

tical drives, or to CD burners.

The best way to back up an entire session is to

use the Save Copy In command. This command

lets you save the session file and all of its associ-

ated files to a new location.

Backing Up Your System

Configuration

After configuring your system and Pro Tools,

you should save an image of your system drive

using a backup utility such as Norton Ghost

(Windows) or Bombich Carbon Copy Cloner

(Mac). By doing this, you can quickly restore

your system configuration and settings if you

encounter any problems.

You can also use the Auto Save Backup fea-

ture (in the Operation Preferences page) to

have Pro Tools automatically save backups

of the session file while you work.

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started70

Common Issues

Pro Tools Won’t Launch

Problem

When you double-click the Pro Tools applica-

tion or a Pro Tools session file, Pro Tools doesn’t

launch, or displays an error message.

Possible Solutions

Check to be sure your computer has the re-

quired amount of RAM to launch Pro Tools. Re-

fer to the latest compatibility information on

the Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

Try a complete restart. Turn off your audio in-

terfaces, computer peripherals and your com-

puter, and then turn them on again in the

proper sequence.

If you tried to launch Pro Tools by double-

clicking a Pro Tools session file, do the follow-

ing:

• Close any error message.

• Double-click the Pro Tools application.

• In Pro Tools, choose File > Open Session to

open the session.

Reinstall the Pro Tools application, using the

Pro Tools Installer disc. See your Getting Started

Guide or Pro Tools Upgrading Guide for installa-

tion instructions.

Audio Interface Is Not Recognized

Problem

When you launch Pro Tools it does not recog-

nize an audio interface, or a connected audio in-

terface is not available.

Possible Solutions

Turn off your computer and check to be sure

your cables are properly and securely connected

to your computer and to your audio interface.

Verify that your Hardware Setup dialog set-

tings are correct.

Performance Factors

There are several conditions that may adversely

affect the performance of Pro Tools. These in-

clude:

Network Connections Close any network con-

nections unless you are using them for network

interchange of audio data.

Background Applications Any software utilities

that run in the background or generate disk ac-

tivity, such as virus protection, disk optimiza-

tion, or file savers, should be turned off or re-

moved.

Screen Savers Screen saver software should be

completely disabled on your computer before

running Pro Tools.

Power Saver Features Some automatic power

saver features, such as those that spin down the

system hard drive, can affect Pro Tools perfor-

mance. These features should be turned off.

For the following possible solutions, refer to

your Getting Started Guide.

Troubleshooting 71

Before You Call Digidesign

Technical Support

Register Your System

Register your purchase immediately after re-

viewing the Digidesign Registration Informa-

tion Card included with every Pro Tools system.

Registering your purchase is the only way you

become eligible to receive complimentary tech-

nical support and future upgrade offers. Regis-

tering is one of the most important steps to

complete as a new user.

Use Digidesign Resources

In addition to the printed and PDF versions of

Pro Tools guides, your system includes the fol-

lowing sources of information:

Read Me Files These contain late-breaking in-

formation and known issues pertaining to

Pro Tools software and hardware configura-

tions. Read Me files are installed in Documenta-

tion folder when you install Pro Tools.

Answerbase This is a database of common prob-

lems and DAE errors, and their solutions based

on the latest information from Digidesign Tech-

nical Support. This database is installed in the

Digidesign folder when you install Pro Tools.

Answerbase is also available on the Digidesign

website (www.digidesign.com).

Website (www.digidesign.com) This is your your

best online source for information to help you

get the most out of your Pro Tools system.

Gather Important Information

Digidesign wants to help you resolve problems

as quickly and efficiently as possible. If you have

the following information handy when you

contact Technical Support, it will make the diag-

nosis of your problem easier. Take a few minutes

to collect the following basic information:

System Information

Computer

• Make, model, processor speed

• Amount of system RAM

• Operating system (version of Windows or

Mac OS)

• Any Drivers, Disk Utilities, or other system-

related applications you may have installed

Digidesign Hardware

• Type of cards, interfaces, or peripherals

Hard Drives

• Make, Model

• Drive size (GB)

• Drive speed (RPM)

• Drive type (SCSI, FireWire, IDE/ATA)

• Utility used to format the drive

• Number and size of partitions on the drive

Digidesign Software

• Pro Tools software version

• Plug-in versions

• Other Digidesign software

• Additional plug-ins from Digidesign Devel-

opment Partners

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started72

Other Hardware

Refer to the manufacturer’s documentation for

operational details.

The most common hardware additions include:

• 1394 (FireWire) cards for Windows systems

(manufacturer, model)

• Video Capture cards (manufacturer, model)

To verify that your hardware is qualified for use

with your Pro Tools system, refer to the latest

compatibility information on the Digidesign

website (www.digidesign.com).

Other Software

If you are using other audio or video applica-

tions, refer to the manufacturer’s documenta-

tion for operational details.

Make note of any other software that was run-

ning when a problem occurred.

Diagnostic Information

Note any DAE errors or other error codes you en-

counter. Additonally, note the ability to repro-

duce the problem under different conditions,

for example, with another session, or after

changing settings (such as the Hardware Buffer

Size).

Index 73

A

ASIO driver (Windows) 11

audio drivers

ASIO driver (Windows) 11

CoreAudio driver (Mac) 15

Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) (Macintosh) 59

authorizing Pro Tools LE

Mac 14

Windows 11

C

Cache Size 21

ClearType font smoothing (Windows), disabling 25

Clock Source 23

Internal setting 23

S/PDIF (digital) setting 23

connecting Mbox 2

Mac 14

Windows 9

CoreAudio driver (Mac) 15

CPU Usage Limit 19

D

DAE Playback Buffer Size 21

Dashboard shortcut (Mac), disabling 28

drive formatting

Mac 65

Windows 64

drive maintenance 63

drive requirements 5

E

Energy Saver (Mac), turning off 28

Ext Clock LED 29

F

FireWire

cable types 32

FireWire requirements 63

footswitch 33, 45

G

gain

headphones 30

input 31

H

hard drives

drive formats 63

FireWire requirements 63

formatting 64, 65

formatting (Mac) 65

IDE/ATA requirements 64

maintenance 63, 66

optimizing 66

partitioning 65

requirements 5

SCSI requirements 63

space requirements 68

Hardware Buffer Size 18

headphones

gain control 30

outputs A and B 30

index

Mbox 2 Pro Getting Started74

I

I/O Setup

Windows 23

IDE/ATA requirements 64

indicators

peak level 31

phantom power 30

input and output connectors 33

inputs

digital 33

gain 31

installing Pro Tools LE

Mac 13

Windows 9

installing QuickTime (Windows) 10

J

journaling (Mac), enabling 28

K

key commands 6

M

Mbox 2

back panel 32

connecting (Mac) 14

connecting (Windows) 9

features 3

front panel 29

MIDI

connections 43

requirements 5

setup (Macintosh) 59

setup (Windows) 55

MIDI Input Selector 52

MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) (Windows) 55

N

network connections 70

O

optimizing hard drives 66

outputs

digital 33

Monitor outputs 33

P

partitioning hard drives 65

Patch Select dialog

Macintosh 62

Windows 58

peak indicators 31

phantom power 39

indicator 30

when to use 30, 38

Playback Engine

RTAS Processors setting 19

Plug-in Streaming Buffer 22

Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size 22

plug-ins

RTAS Processors setting 19

power

management settings (Windows) 25

Power LED 29

Pro Tools

demo session 15

removing (Windows) 12, 16

session templates (Windows) 16

Pro Tools LE

capabilities 4

configuration (Windows) 18

installing (Mac) 13

installing (Windows) 9

processor performance (Mac) 28

Processor Scheduling performance (Windows) 26

Q

QuickTime

installing (Windows) 10

Index 75

R

registration information 5

removing Pro Tools

Windows 12, 16

RTAS Processors setting 19

S

S/PDIF 33

Sample Rate 23

screen saver, disabling (Windows Vista) 11

screen savers 70

SCSI requirements 63

Software Update (Mac), turning off 27

sources

digital 33

selecting 31

Spotlight indexing (Mac), disabling 28

Spotlight shortcuts (Mac), disabling 28

Startup items (Windows), disabling 27

system

optimization (Mac) 27

required optimizations (Windows) 24

shutting down 17

starting up 17

System Memory Allocation 21

system optimization

Windows 24, 26

system settings

Cache Size 21

Clock Source 23

CPU Usage Limit 19

DAE Playback Buffer Size 21

Hardware Buffer Size 18

I/O Setup 23

Plug-in Streaming Buffer 22

Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size 22

Sample Rate 23

System Memory Allocation 21

T

technical support

product registration required 71

TRS 37

U

uninstalling Pro Tools

Windows 12, 16

DIGIDESIGN

2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard

Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA

Tel: 650.731.6300

Fax: 650.731.6399

TECHNICAL SUPPORT (USA)

Tel: 650.731.6100

Fax: 650.731.6384

PRODUCT INFORMATION (USA)

Tel: 800.333.2137

INTERNATIONAL OFFICES

Visit the Digidesign website

for contact information

www.digidesign.com