DP > ProTools question.

[Todzilla]

I'm collaborating w someone who uses ProTools. Here's how I've been file sharing, but it has some problems:
1. I'll add a bunch of tracks to his reference mp3.
2. If needed, I'll merge soundbites so they're all synced to the start time.
Then, I go into "Audio Files" folder of the project and fine the files that correspond to my final takes.
I send those on for import into PT.[/list]e

This way, I'm only send the raw files, no printed effects. This works, but the PT recipient says the timing is a bit off and he has to do some conversion work in Audacity before they can be time-accurately imported. My goal is to easily send wav files (of pre-determined sample rate and bit depth of 88.2/24) that are unprocessed and ready for time synched import into PT.
I don't want to do a traditional export or bounce to disk, because I don't want to have to go in and mute all the effects that I used to help me track.
Any thoughts on how to improve my process?
Thanks.

[HCMarkus]

Does the PT guy have some sort of "conform to tempo" or similar stuff going on? Or are you doing something to his reference tracks on import to DP?

I had lots of issues with Cubase people's tracks being really messed up because they were messing up my reference tracks when they imported them into their project. They would play along, export their tracks, and I'd get something that wasn't close to the proper tempo.

I've also had tracks come in from Logic projects where the time stamp is not at Hour 0, but at Hour 1, so if I just drag and drop the tracks onto the Tracks Window, the newly created tracks put the audio an hour late. Where'd they go? Scroll down the timeline... Oh.

If you don't alter the PT reference imports and have your tracks merged to Bar One Beat One, they should just line up in the PT session if your partner places them starting at Bar One Beat One

One way to test is to import his MP3, then merge and send it back to him. Does it still line up? If not, something is, obviously, amiss.

[stubbsonic]

The method you describe is the exact method I always use for sharing tracks with others who use different DAWs.

One fail-save is to ask them to put a reference tick on some downbeat prior to the music starting. Then when you send the finished tracks you can put that click at the top of every track. The other engineer needs to make sure the clicks are aligned (zoom WAY in).

[mikehalloran]

Your DP preferences should be set to Autoconvert on Import. This way his files will have the correct key and timing as you import them. If that isn't right, it will be very difficult for you to export tracks that will sync with his. PT has something similar but I don't recall what it is.

[Phil O]

Does the PT guy have some sort of "conform to tempo" or similar stuff going on? Or are you doing something to his reference tracks on import to DP?

I had this problem with a project I collaborated on once. I'm not a ProTools guy so I can't direct you to the setting, but there is some sort of automatic tempo/time stretch setting that was causing the problem. Once this guy changed it all the problems went away.

I'm not positive, but I think this might be it:
https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=350873
...but then again, maybe not.

[Todzilla]

Thanks folks!

I set my tempo identical to his and drag and drop his track into a stereo pair, where it gets converted for sample rate. Then I confirm that his reference track is locked in throughout the song. We agree in advance to a sample rate and bit depth (88.2/24) but that is irrelevant to his reference mp3 track.

Are the tracks in the Audio Files folder true wav files? If so, I would think my method just allows him to drag them into his PT project. I suspect this is due to one song a while back in which we didn't have the exact same precise start time and it spooked him going forward.

[stubbsonic]

I always set the bit depth and sample rate of the project before importing so no conversion is needed.