How To Configure And Backup The I/O Setup Window In Pro Tools
In this article, we cover how to set up the I/O Setup window, the best order to do things, like hardware inputs and outputs first, then buses and the importance of saving and backing up your I/O Settings file.
Set Your Inputs And Outputs First
As to the order of doing things, we recommend that you set up your hardware first
Create and label all inputs and outputs to your hardware and what is connected to them.
Add any inserts,
Set your hardware delays.
Once your I/O is defined, go back to your output tab and configure your output settings, which you will find in the bottom right-hand corner.
Monitor Path - This is probably the most important setting in I/O Setup. The monitor path is indicated by a small studio monitor icon. The Monitor Path setting allows you to define the output that you use for your primary audio monitoring. The way it works is this:
Any busses in a session that are assigned to the monitor path on your system, will then become assigned to the monitor path of any new system that session travels to.
This will ensure that the intended audio is always heard.
Audition Path - This allows you to define how the audio will be heard when auditioning from places like the AudioSuite plug-ins, the Clip List, or the Workspace. Because Pro Tools can automatically downmix, you can set your audition path to any width that you’d like.
Bed/Object Path - If Pro Tools is disconnected from or cannot communicate with the Renderer, you can monitor the mix in Pro Tools over the output path designated as the Bed/Object Fold Down Path. Because the Bed/Object Fold Down Path activates an invisible internal bus, it cannot be metered on a Master Fader or the Edit Window Output Meter Path display.
Output Meter Path - The Output Meter Path selector determines which output or bus paths are monitored by the Output Meters in the transport section. It also determines the path displayed across the Output meters of D-Control or D-Command worksurfaces as well as in the Pro Tools transport.
AFL/PFL - The AFL/PFL setting allows you to select the destination output for pre/post fader listens.
This feature allows you to specify an independent output path for soloed tracks so that your main outputs are not disrupted.
You can also set an independent volume level for this solo path. In the past, this was an XMON only feature, but this can now be achieved directly from the software.
As with the Audition Path, any available output width can be chosen. The signal will be downmixed as needed.
Configure Your Buses
Once your hardware is set up, next comes your busses. Busses are used to route audio to various locations. They can be used internally to create Subgroups or Sends or mapped to your hardware outputs. The default option is 24 generic internal busses, but you can easily create more if you need them and remember Pro Tools offers virtually unlimited busses, so you can create as many as you need when you need them.
Single Bus To Multiple Locations
Sometimes you want to be able to route certain signals to more than one output simultaneously. You can do this from the Bus tab in the I/O Setup window. You can choose a single bus that will feed multiple destinations, to avoid redundant assignments in the session.
This can be done by using Control+Click on macOS or Start+Click on Windows in the Mapping to Output dropdown menu and choosing an additional output.
Save A Backup Session I/O Settings File
TIP: Once you’re done configuring your hardware and busses, we strongly recommend that you export a backup of your I/O, and label it sensibly. If you use different Playback Engines then make sure you save an I/O Settings file for each Playback Engine option you use.
This is really useful to enable you to be able to restore your I/O after any later changes, but also to be able to configure busses when creating a new session.
Troubleshooting Pro Tools I/O Settings
As we have said before, it is best to understand how Pro Tools uses I/O Settings so that you can work with it, rather than fighting against it and if you do need to visit I/O Setup to troubleshoot a problem. In this article, Troubleshooting Pro Tools I/O Settings, we offer some tips to help you work out what has gone wrong.