DigiDesign Pro Tools, Reference Manual

Page: 285 / 886

Chapter 14: Record Setup 271
DestructivePunch
(Pro Tools HD Only)
Destructive Punch is a destructive recording
mode that lets you instantaneously
punch in
(start recording) and punch out (stop recording)
on individual audio tracks during playback,
while preserving a contiguous audio file on each
punched track.
Record Modes and MIDI
In addition to the various record modes, there is
also a MIDI Merge button in the Transport win-
dow that determines how MIDI is recorded.
When enabled (
Merge mode), recording over ex-
isting MIDI regions results in the new data being
merged with the old. When the MIDI Merge
button is disabled (
Replace mode), the new ma-
terial replaces the old.
MIDI recording works the same whether using
Nondestructive or Destructive Record mode. In
addition, neither QuickPunch nor TrackPunch
need to be enabled to punch on-the-fly with
MIDI—this capability is available in Nonde-
structive and Destructive Record modes.
Unlike audio loop recording, the state of the
MIDI Merge toggle determines whether existing
material is replaced or merged.
Unless MIDI Merge is enabled, MIDI recording is
destructive (though you can undo a MIDI record
pass), either overwriting or adding to region ma-
terial. One exception to this rule is when Loop
Record mode is enabled; in this mode, existing
track regions are replaced with new regions
when new material is recorded. The old regions
remain intact and available from the Region
List, and from the Matches pop-up menu. In
Loop Record mode, MIDI Merge has no effect, so
its button is dimmed.
Recording with a Click
If you intend to work with MIDI or Instrument
tracks in your session, or if the audio you’re
working with is bar and beat-oriented, you can
record your tracks while listening to a
click . This
ensures that recorded material, both MIDI and
audio, aligns with the session’s bar and beat
boundaries.
When your track material lines up with the
beats, you can take advantage of some useful ed-
iting functions in Pro Tools, such as quantizing
MIDI and audio regions, quantizing individual
MIDI notes, and copying and pasting measures
and song sections in Grid mode.
For more information on DestructivePunch,
see “DestructivePunch Audio Recording” on
page 325.
MIDI Merge enabled
MIDI Merge button
Material that is recorded without listening
to a click can still be aligned to bar and beat
boundaries in Pro Tools with Beat Detective
(see Chapter 24, “Beat Detective”), or use
the Identify Beat command to determine the
tempo (see “Identify Beat Command” on
page 509).
You can record MIDI with or without a click
and manually add Bar|Beat markers or gen-
erate a tempo and meter map from it by us-
ing Beat Detective. See Chapter 24, “Beat
Detective.”