Importing A Tempo Map & Markers From Pro Tools Into Your Studio One 4 Song

Picking up from where we left off in last week's video, I thought it would be good to do a "Part 2" with respect to AAF work-flow that talks about how to go about getting any additional information carried over from a Pro Tools Session into your Studio One Version 4 song.

If you did happen to catch the first video, you'll recall me saying that having the audio come over via AAF is great, as it allows us to essentially pick up from where we left off in Pro Tools. The benefit here of course being that we still have access to our original edit boundaries. So no need to consolidate files and find out down the line that you (or someone else) missed a bad edit.

But as you may or may not have noticed - one BIG thing that did not get translated during the process is your Markers, Tempo-Map, and any time signature changes!

Tempo Maps, Time-Signature Changes & Markers

Now first off, let me just state the obvious. If you have a basic song, in 4-4 - at 120 BPM, this isn't really a huge issue. Just recreate your markers manually, and it's not a big deal. BUT - if you have spent a great deal of time adding various Markers with specific names, and detailed tempo changes, it would be a shame to have to re-do them. The good news is you don't have to.

Using MIDI Files To 'Carry' The Information

As someone who has spent a great deal of time collaborating with various other engineer's and studio's, one thing I got into the habit of doing long ago is using MIDI files to carry over information that I wanted to translate to another DAW. Regardless of whether I was handing off my work to another studio, or simply working on my own productions, in most cases the material I work on can get pretty complex with respect to tempo changes and time-signature changes, so I really don't want to have to repeat that work, or hand someone else a session where they have no clue what's what.

So essentially this is pretty much the last step I take when exporting content, and this is something I do regardless of whether I'm printing consolidated stems, or using AAF work-flows.

MIDI Files & Markers

One thing that you may find is with specific DAW's, (not going to name any name's here - they all have a different approach) not all the information you would expect to translate over - comes across. A really good example of this would be with respect to Marker's.

In my experience, there is usually (again it depends) some little quirk, where for example creating a NEW SONG from that MIDI file will bring over the markers, where as Importing the MIDI file into an existing song will not. And like I mentioned, this isn't always the case, but I've encountered this with at least 2 major DAW's that I've worked with. (Studio One being one of them)

The Magic Of Import Song Data

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Import Song Data is BY FAR at the top of the list for my favorite new features. The reason being because it essentially eliminates the whole concept of "not being able to bring something into an existing song". Again the keyword here being "existng".

Having said all that - In this video, I'll show you how to go about importing your Markers, Tempo Map, and any Time Signature changes from Pro Tools into your newly created Studio One 4 Song. Presumably created using an AAF from Pro Tools - but the work-flow works regardless of how it was created.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

How To Open A Pro Tools Session In Studio One 4 - AAF Workflow

Pro Tools In The Audio Industry

Regardless of which DAW you choose to work in, one thing is pretty much certain. If you plan to make a professional career in the audio production industry - at some point you are going to be dealing with Pro Tools, whether you want to or not. Although some may argue with this statement (and that's completely fine) I'd personally go as far as saying that I cannot think of any other audio software program to date, that has made it's way into so many studio's across the world the way the Pro Tools has.

Now having said that, this does not mean that it's "the best" by any means. As has been said by many others before me, and will be said by many after me - the best software is the one that works for YOU. Another thing to point out is the huge paradigm shift we have seen in the recent years as native processing power has improved leaps and bounds. This in itself has had an impact on the whole concept of DSP powered rigs & accompanying software.

Native vs DSP - More Software Options

I think it's safe to say that at one point DSP powered rigs were absolutely essential in professional music production setups, but now with the reliability of High Speed thunderbolt interfaces such as the PreSonus Quantum, (and many others), this is no longer the case.

So where it used to be the case where people ran Pro Tools because the hardware required them to do so - In my opinion, there are now a lot more professionals running different software with 3rd party interfaces for their needs. Case in point: Studio One 4 Professional paired with a Quantum, a DP88, a handful of external Preamps, and a FaderPort 16 is a pretty Badass setup in my opinion... 

Regardless of all this, the concept remains that you may very well be collaborating on a project with a colleague who is using Pro Tools. and now as of the release of Studio One 4 - we have a convenient & relatively painless way in which we can transfer a Pro Tools session over to Studio One.

AAF - Advanced Authoring Format

Without getting into too much detail, the AAF standard essentially allows users to share their projects and sessions with other's running different programs. I think it's also worth mentioning that the initial roots of AAF has to do with post-production vs music, and it's only really as a by-product that we can use AAF's for transferring music related content. But to be honest, I think that's about where I'll leave off with respect to AAF's, but if you plan on using them, I'd definitely recommend doing a bit of research. There's ton's of information available online.

From Pro Tools To Studio One 4

In this video, I demonstrate how to go about exporting an AAF from a Pro Tools 2018 Ultimate session - which can then be imported into PreSonus Studio One 4. In addition, we will also talk about a couple things to be aware of when working with AAF's in general.

And as always, if you enjoy this content, please - Share, Subscribe, and hit that like button. :)

Cheers, Marcus

How To Export Your Custom Impact XT Kits To Share With Others In Studio One 4

One things for certain, the recently updated Impact XT, and Sample One XT instruments in Studio One Version 4 are extremely powerful - and in many cases can easily replace your previous ‘GoTo’ 3rd party VST’s. (No need to name any name's here, but I'm sure you know which I'm referring to.)

To make things even more enticing, they also have a handy feature built right in that allows users to easily export and share their own custom virtual instruments with others!

Now I know what some of you may be thinking - "Why would I need to do that?" Well the simple answer is, when you are working on one system, or sharing a song file, it's not that big of a deal. BUT, the minute you need or want to use the same instrument on another song, or more importantly another system, you may run into problems.

Presets created in Impact XT, or Sample One XT need to reference the location (file path) of any samples used. The minute you accidentally move or delete those samples, you may find yourself out of luck. This becomes even more apparent if you are working on another system all together.

Now before I go any further, there's one thing that I want to point out. the absolute BEST way to create virtual instruments that can be shared or used in multiple systems - is to use the Sound Set Builder which is available as a free download in the PreSonus Exchange / Extensions. This is the proprietary format that PreSonus uses for all of their content, be it Loops, Kits, or Presets.

But having said that, it does take a bit of getting used to the proper workflow. BUT if you're just wanting to quickly share some cool presets, or export some of your instruments to archive - then using a Sampler File is a super convenient feature. The result is a simple encapsulated file that can be dragged and dropped into any Studio One Song, and your Instrument preset, and samples are all retained!

In the above video, I'll show you how to save and package your custom virtual instruments, so that they can be shared with others, and/or recalled on other systems.

How To Import a Mixing Template Into a Studio One Version 3 Song Using Macros

New Features In Studio One Version 4

As many of you know, Studio One Version 4 was recently launched towards the end of May, and along with it, came many highly user-requested features. One of them being Import Song Data. Without getting into too much detail - Import Song Data is an incredibly powerful feature that allows users to choose specific information from external Studio One Songs, and bring it into their existing song. One area where this work-flow really shines is with respect to importing a Mixing Template into your existing song.

What About Users Still On Version 3?

Although this is fantastic news for those who have made the move over to Version 4, not everyone has made the switch. So what does this mean for all the people still trucking along with their trusty Version 3 setup's? Well - have no fear, because there's actually a work-around that can be used for importing a basic Mixing Template by creating a relatively simple Macro.

In this video, I demonstrate a way that users can import a Mixing Template into their Studio One Version 3 songs using a Macro work-around. It's not perfect, but certainly gets the job done for basic Mixing Templates including Bus Channels, FX Channels, track names, plug-ins, and complete FX chains..

**Note - In order to achieve the above workflow - you must be using the most recent build on Studio One Version 3. (3.5.6)

Free Tutorial Series - Working With The PreSonus Quantum 2 Thunderbolt Interface

One of the things that I absolutely love is the portability of the PreSonus Quantum 2. When you stack that along side the lightning fast Round-Trip Latency, solid drivers, phenomenal preamp & converter quality, and the ability to cascade up to 4 Quantum's together - You've got yourself one heck of a powerful mobile system. I currently have 3 Full size Quantum's and 1 Quantum 2, and I have a couple DP88's as well. When Im working with my mobile rig, there's something to be said for only having to manage one application, and monitoring through native plug-ins while tracking.

In the above playlist, you'll find what I consider to be "everything you need to know" when running the PreSonus Quantum 2 Thunderbolt interface, all packed into a single playlist for your convenience. :)

Hope these videos are helpful! Cheers, M..

Free Tutorial Series - Working With The PreSonus Quantum Thunderbolt Interface

What's not to love about the PreSonus Quantum? Lightning fast Round-Trip Latency, solid drivers, phenomenal preamp & converter quality, and the ability to cascade up to 4 Quantum's together. I currently have 3 Full size Quantum's and 1 Quantum 2 (the mobile version) for my mobile rig. As much as I love the Low Latency direct hardware monitoring capabilities of the Studio 192 systems, there's something to be said for only having to manage one application, and monitoring through native plug-ins while tracking.

In the above playlist, you'll find what I consider to be "everything you need to know" when running the PreSonus Quantum Thunderbolt interface, all packed into a single playlist for your convenience. :)

Hope these videos are helpful! Cheers, M..

Free Tutorial Series - Working With The PreSonus Studio 192 Mobile Interface

Since their introduction, the Studio 192 series of interfaces have been a trusted part of my recording setup, allowing me to manage massive sessions without my system even breaking a sweat. Having said that, due to their complexity, and various different use cases - it can take a while to fully understand how to get the most of the 192 series. So I teamed up with the good folks at PreSonus, to do this tutorial series...

In the above playlist, you'll find what I consider to be "everything you need to know" when running the Studio 192 Mobile interface, all packed into a single playlist for your convenience. :)

Hope these videos are helpful! Cheers, M..

Free Tutorial Series - Working With The PreSonus Studio 192 Interface

Since their introduction, the Studio 192 series of interfaces have been a trusted part of my recording setup, allowing me to manage massive sessions without my system even breaking a sweat. Having said that, due to their complexity, and various different use cases - it can take a while to fully understand how to get the most of the 192 series. So I teamed up with the good folks at PreSonus, to do this tutorial series...

In the above playlist, you'll find what I consider to be "everything you need to know" when running the Studio 192, all packed into a single playlist for your convenience. :)

Hope these videos are helpful! Cheers, M..