Surround encoder for pro tools

For a surround recording, you might add to that four 'surround' mics, spaced perhaps four feet in front of and behind the drum kit and around six feet apart. These extra mics can then be routed to the left, right, left surround and right surround channels and mixed to suit, so enabling you to place the listener in with the performers — or, by using more of the 'rear' mics, to place the listener in the 'front row'. As you track other instruments you can build on this concept: for an electric guitar, for example, as well as using the traditional SM57 on the cabinet, you could try recording a 'space' mic six feet back into the room, maybe quite high up, to use in surround channels.

Obviously, if the recording space doesn't lend itself to adding loads of ambient mics — maybe because the background noise level is too high — then you can use a good reverb plug-in instead.

Surround reverbs will do better than stereo ones in this context, but even so, it is more difficult to replace a 'real' space than in a stereo recording. Other approaches to surround recording include the so-called M-S-M array. The front output is produced as normal and the rear output uses the new rear-facing cardioid and the same figure-of-eight as the front for the surround channels. A typical 5. Another alternative is the Soundfield system, which enables you to record in surround with one microphone.

The Soundfield mic processor can produce four outputs in what is called the B-Format, where the 'W' source is an equivalent to an omni mic, 'X' represents the front-to-back information or depth, 'Y' represents the left-to-right information or width, and 'Z' represents the up-and-down information or height. If you record these four outputs, it is possible at the mixing stage to recreate the illusion of a mic 'looking' in any direction using the Soundfield processor.

With all these techniques, experimentation and your creativity are key. Don't be limited by the rules, but do check and listen carefully to what you do to make sure it works in mono, stereo and surround.

Create a new path and select 5. You will also need to set the order of the surround outputs. To do this, click on the '5. You can also select sub-paths, which will enable you to route audio just to specific outputs like the Centre or Surround channels. To do this, select the main path, in this case '5. You can then create a range of sub-paths to suit your project. Digidesign's surround-compatible Revibe reverb.

To monitor in 5. Ideally, the five main speakers should all be the same brand and model, and certainly from the same 'family'; it is quite acceptable for the surround speakers to be a smaller speaker from the same range, but it is generally accepted that the front three should be the same.

Your main speakers should be 'full range' and not depend on the sub for low-frequency reproduction. In the real world, however, this isn't always possible, so you will need to use the sub as a subwoofer as well as for the LFE channel. In this case it is very important that your system is set up correctly so that it is as flat as possible, otherwise your mixes will not transfer to other places correctly.

You also need to calibrate your speakers so that the sound level at the mix position is the same for every speaker. This should be done with pink noise, and you will need some form of sound-level meter to measure the volume. Set the sound-level meter on a stand at the place where your head would be when sat at your preferred mix position.

Then route pink noise to the left front speaker and adjust the level of the pink noise to an easily read amount, say 80dB SPL. Then mute the feed to that speaker and route the pink noise to each of the speakers in turn, adjusting the level going to that speaker until the sound-level meter reads 80dB SPL. If you have the Waves Bundle , it makes this calibration process a lot easier, as one of the elements of the Bundle , M Manager , enables you to easily solo each feed and to fine-tune all the levels.

Remember to save the settings for future use! This subject is so enormous I could easily fill this entire issue, and more, working through the subject. To get you going, though, here a few ideas. The reason for this is that most reverbs and panners are configured for 5. Resist the temptation to use the LFE track: it is really only intended for special effects in films, like earthquakes!

Most broadcast and music work is usually 5. When mixing, always try to use a surround reverb plug-in. Digidesign's Revibe is an excellent surround reverb, and I reckon quite a lot of you will have it by now as a result of the plug-in offer Digidesign made with the v7 upgrade deal.

Try it out and feel the sound envelop you just like it does in real life. We'd also like to set optional performance cookies to help us improve it. We won't set optional cookies unless you enable them.

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IdeaScale also includes links to social networks and third-party sites for example, Facebook and LinkedIn , which may then use information about your visit to target advertising to you on their websites. It provides 7. SoundCode LtRt Tools makes it simple to add down mix processing to a Pro Tools session for many types of applications.

Because it is a plug-in, it is compatible with powerful Pro Tools features such as control surface operation, automation, and preset management. When enabled, the surround mix is down mixed to stereo and output on the left and right channels of the surround speaker system.