Grid Mode in Pro Tools
This blog is part of our new series of tutorials based on Avid’s flagship Digital Audio Workstation, Pro Tools.
Want to learn how to use Avid Pro Tools in real time, with a professional digital audio trainer? It’s faster than blogs, videos, or tutorials. Call OBEDIA for one on one training for Avid Pro Tools and all digital audio hardware and software. Mention this blog to get 15 bonus minutes with your signup! Call 615-933-6775 and dial 1, or visit our website to get started.
Need a Pro Audio laptop or Desktop PC to run Avid Pro Tools software and all of its features at its best?
Check out our pro audio PCs at PCAudioLabs.
Getting started with how to use Grid Mode in Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a software that lets you produce, record, edit and mix audio as well as MIDI performances.
After we are done with the recording stage of a production, we will get into the editing stage.
When editing, we typically correct timing differences, human error, compile takes and create crossfades. In other words, we manipulate and move audio clips on the timeline.
Pro Tools presents four different “Edit Modes” that help us achieve these operations.
Grid Modes affect the movement and placement of audio and MIDI clips, the way commands such as Copy and Paste work, and also how the edit tools operate (trim, selector, grabber, etc).
Today we will learn how to use Grid Mode in Pro Tools:
- Create or Open a Pro Tools session:
2. Edit Modes can be selected at the top left menu:
3. Click on “Grid” to select the Grid Mode:
It will turn blue green indicating it is active.
In Grid Mode Mode, clips and MIDI notes that are moved, trimmed or inserted “snap” to the currently selected grid value
Grid Values can be selected at the top right menu:
It can be seen that the eight note value is selected as the grid.
In order to turn ON/OFF the grid, you can click on “Grid”.
If it appears light green, it is ON.
If it appears black, it is OFF.
We will leave it ON.
4. Move an audio clip anywhere in the timeline:
It is easy to see how the audio clip snaps to the nearest grid mark when we drag it. On the picture above, the file starts on the second beat of the measures.
5. Create a fade in or fade out:
The same concept applies to fades. The end point of the fade can only be placed on a grid mark. In this case the fade-in lasts for two eight notes.
6. Slice an audio clip and overlap it with any other:
Once again it can be seen that Grid Mode only let use place the clips (overlapping or not) only at a grid mark location.
And that is it!
At this point, we have successfully explained how to use Grid Mode in Pro Tools.
Using Avid Pro Tools software to produce music would be ideal with one of our professionally designed PCAudioLabs Systems due our high-performance specifications in order to work with any of the Digital Audio Workstations supported. If you would like to order one of our PCAudioLabs computers, please call us at 615-933-6775 or click this link for our website.