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John Nelson
This chapter was an excellent foyer into the wonderful world of Pro Tools. It went through some of the myopic details of the individual menus, and spent a lot of time going through the Edit Screen and the various components for navigation. The chapter suggests that it's a good idea to "click around" and try and figure things out on your own. I've actually been heeding this DAW Dogma for the past few years, as I have been learning Pro Tools 10 through trial-and-error. Much of what was expressed in this chapter was a review for me, but there were some elements that I was completely unfamiliar with. That is to say, I hadn't spent a great deal of time with the Playback Engine and Buffer Size, but rather took on a "one-size-fits-all" mentality for utilizing the platform. I can see, and hear, the strain that my computer is under when I have the settings too high while trying to edit and mix - I don't have to be worrying so much about latency when I'm not actively recording. This was an eye-opener for me for sure! I also learned about the Shuffle and Spot Edit Mode Buttons. I typically just use the Slip and Grid buttons, and had never really played around with the other two. I'm still scratching my head as to when I would use them, but having more proverbial arrows in your quiver is better than not enough. It was also interesting to learn a bit more about the Edit Tools menu, and the individual components. I usually use the universal mode, which employs the use of the Trimmer, Selector, and Grabber simultaneously, so I often forget that these tools individually employ a multi-faceted spectrum.
All-in-All this was a good chapter, and a good review of Pro Tools. As I have some experience with Pro Tools, my mentor has given me some additional tracks to work on to try my hand at mixing. I have always found my mixes to be lack-luster and muddy, so I am looking forward to having a professional critique of my sub-par work...at least for now. Being able to take constructive criticism and hard work are going to be what helps me to be successful in this competitive industry. I'm ready!
