Recording into PT in a session with lots of plugs?

[JayB]

I'm new to recording directly into Pro Tools. I have had PT 8 LE for years, but always used a line 6 UX2 with Ableton to record, then exported into PT. I just this week bought an Mbox 2 from a fellow Sneapster, and I've been having some problems getting it running smoothly (thread here if you'd like to help!). But I am curious about recording into Pro Tools in a session that already has lots of plugs going. I want to record vocals into a session that is near a final mix. Is it standard to have to print everything else previously to recording more? I only ask because I know for latency you have to change the hardware settings , CPU etc, which I assume would disable most of the plugs. So do I need to nail down final tones and print everything?

 

[JayB]

This also makes me curious as to what is done when recording drums, bass guitar etc in PT when beginning a new recording... how do you edit and record and mix everything with barely any plugs going/ low CPU? Or do you try to keep the CPU somewhere in the middle?

 

[abt]

This also makes me curious as to what is done when recording drums, bass guitar etc in PT when beginning a new recording... how do you edit and record and mix everything with barely any plugs going/ low CPU? Or do you try to keep the CPU somewhere in the middle?

Yeah, pretty much. I try to have as little as possible running. The right click and "make inactive" option for both tracks and plugins is your friend. Not all plugs are create equal, you'll find some have very little overhead while others can practically grind everything to a holt with the buffer set low.

 

[greyskull]

Ah TDM how I love thee.

But TBH Since I've recorded things, I don't put plug ins on til I mix. just way more stable that way with a Low buffer.

 

[JayB]

Ok cool, thanks for the tips guys!

 

[Straight Shooter]

Print or bounce a mix from the original session, then create a new session (no plugs) and import the 2 track stereo mix, record vocals etc, then import the recorded vocal tracks back into the original session.

 

[JayB]

Print or bounce a mix from the original session, then create a new session (no plugs) and import the 2 track stereo mix, record vocals etc, then import the recorded vocal tracks back into the original session.

I was thinking of doing it this way, since that's how I did it with Ableton, but honestly the mix is close enough to being finished that I think I'll just print everything

 

[crillemannen]

I just disable the few plugins that have allot of latency and/or are real CPU hogs then you should be fine as long as you got a powerful computer.

 

[JayB]

I just disable the few plugins that have allot of latency and/or are real CPU hogs then you should be fine as long as you got a powerful computer.

yeah, I have an i7 processor which works great, but I do tend to have like 8 million plugs going. I think it's time to print everything haha