Millions of FREE listenable, downloadable music files !

By TOM BOWSER

The "Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more", so much more. It's all FREE, that's no charge to you my friend.

Lots of music, I mean, LOTS OF MUSIC! A wondrous variety. Digitized vinyl albums and other audio you probably won't find anywhere else at this time.

The sound quality of the music I've downloaded and streamed seems better than the free services of most BIG NAME online services. The sound quality of some of the digitized vinyl album collections is often surprisingly good.

CONS:

1. Searching and finding what you want can be an exercise in patience.
2. I wonder if the musicians, artists and other creatives are being appropriately compensated?

For those of you who have not "been", I suggest you haul your ass over to the Internet Archive and get you some before it's all gone.

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For your edification and a quick quality test I present David McCallum's song "The Edge" from his Vinyl LP Album entitled "Music: A Bit More of Me" which was released in 1967 by Capital Records. My wife and I dig the groovy 1960's era vibe.

Who knew that David McCallum, the guy who played the chief medical examiner, Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard on the American TV series NCIS, was also a talented musician?

I downloaded the song "The Edge" as an .MP3 file from the Internet Archive. What do you think about the sound quality? How does it compare to the sound quality of the same song available on other online services?

Add Plug-ins To The Favorites List

Pro Tools Quick Start for PC

By TOM BOWSER

I create a "favorites" list for the plug-ins I routinely use. I find it helps me work faster, more efficiently and with less distraction. It reduces the time spent looking for plug-ins.

Your favorite plug-ins will show at the top of the Plug-In selector pop-up menu. Favorites will appear bold and colored yellow when seen in plug-in menus.

To create a plug-in favorites list:

1. Press and hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard.
2. Left click on an insert of a track. An insert looks like a blank rectangular space with a black dot on the left hand side. I've drawn a red line around an insert in the image below.

3. Hover your mouse cursor over the word "plug-in" on the menu that appears.

4. Left click on a plug-in you want to add to your favorites list. Remember, you need to be holding down the CTRL key.

The "TENS (mono)" reverb plug-in was added as a favorite to the top of my plug-ins list. (see image below)

Rearrange Controls and Displays On The Edit Window Tool Bar

Pro Tools Tip for PC

By TOM BOWSER

The Edit Window Toolbar is located across the top of the Edit Window.

Understanding how to rearrange the controls and displays on the Edit Window toolbar can be useful if you find yourself working with Pro Tools outside your usual environment for example, at a friend's house or in a different studio.

Having the Edit Window Toolbar arranged as you're used to makes working in a new environment less stressful.

To move a control or display:

1. Press and hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard.
2. Move your mouse cursor to the edge of a control or display you want to move. When your mouse cursor turns into a hand (grabber) then…

3. Left click and hold down your left mouse button. Drag the control or display horozontally to a new location on the Edit Window Toolbar. As you drag the control or display a yellow vertical bar will appear to mark the new position.
4. Release your left mouse button at the position you want to move the control or display.

NOTE: Changes you make to the Edit Window Toolbar are saved on a per session basis. Each new session begins with the Pro Tools default layout.