Tips & Tricks

Recording Easy Multiple Takes and Punches

Here is an easy and painless way to record multiple takes or punch-ins with Pro Tools using only your keyboards F12 Function Key. (Most other DAW's have a similar Function Key shortcut.) Adding this trick to your other keyboard shortcuts will keep your sessions fast and efficient.

1. Enable the "Link Edit and Timeline Selection" tab.

2. Uncheck "Timeline Insertion Follows Playback" in Preferences. (Setups > Preferences > Operation)

3. Set Pre- and Post-Roll times, and activate them. (Ctrl-K)

4. Select an area to record or punch using the Selector Tool. (F7)

5. Use F12 to start recording.

6. After recording stops, press Play (Spacebar) to listen to the take (the selection is still highlighted).

7. Delete bad takes using Ctrl-Z. The region and file are deleted from the drive. Be careful about deleting the take if there is any question you may use it, but sometimes quick decisions are better than accruing a gazillion takes on your drive. They add up fast!

8. Even after deletion, the selection area stays highlighted. Simply, hit F12 to record another take. How easy and fast is that!