Tyler Chase
← Sending a session

Sending a Pro Tools session

No bouncing stems. You send me the whole session, with your plugins, automation, panning and volume levels left as they are, using Save Session Copy In.

Copy In makes a fresh folder holding the session and a copy of every audio file it uses, so nothing points back at your drive.

The settings, at a glance

Format
Session (Latest)
Convert to Specified Format
Off
Audio Files
Ticked
Session "Plug-In Settings" Folder
Ticked
Session Fade Settings Folder
Ticked
Root "Plug-In Settings" Folder
Off

  1. 1. Commit anything I might not have

    Select any virtual instrument or MIDI track, and any track whose sound depends on a plugin, then Track › Commit…. The defaults are right: Consolidate Clips on, Sends and Group Assignments copied, Source Tracks set to Hide and Make Inactive.

    That prints it to audio, and keeps the original hidden in the session in case I need it.

    Pro Tools' Commit Tracks window: Selected Tracks, Consolidate Clips ticked, Sends, Group Assignments and Elastic Audio algorithm ticked, Source Tracks Hide and Make Inactive, Offline ticked.

  2. 2. Bounce a rough mix

    File › Bounce Mix… (⌥⌘B). Name it after the song with ROUGH MIX on the end.

    Export Type: WAV (BWF). File Format: Interleaved. Bit Depth: 32 Bit Float. Sample Rate: the same as your session. Untick Add MP3.

    It lands in the session's Bounced Files folder. You'll move it next to the copy at the end.

    The Bounce Mix window: File Name ARTIST - SONG TITLE ROUGH MIX, WAV (BWF), Mix Source Out 1-2, Interleaved, 32 Bit Float, 48 kHz, Add MP3 unticked, Offline ticked.

  3. 3. Open Save Session Copy In

    Save the session first (⌘S), then File › Save Session Copy In….

    Pro Tools' File menu with Save Session Copy In… highlighted.

  4. 4. Tick Audio Files

    Format: Session (Latest). Leave Audio File Type, Sample Rate and Bit Depth as they are, and leave Convert to Specified Format off.

    Under Items To Copy, tick Audio Files. This is the one that matters: without it the copy has no audio in it, just a session pointing at files on your computer.

    Also tick Session "Plug-In Settings" Folder and Session Fade Settings Folder. Leave Root "Plug-In Settings" Folder off — that's your whole preset library, and it can run to hundreds of megabytes.

    The Save Copy In window: Format Session (Latest), BWF (.WAV), Convert to Specified Format off, and Audio Files, Session Plug-In Settings Folder and Session Fade Settings Folder ticked.

  5. 5. Name it and save

    Click OK. Name the copy with the artist and song title, pick somewhere easy like your Desktop, and click Save. Pro Tools makes a new folder with that name.

    The save window with the copy named ARTIST - SONG TITLE.

  6. 6. Add the rough mix and check the folder

    Drag your rough mix from the original session's Bounced Files folder into the new one. Then open the copy and press play — it should sound like your rough mix.

    The finished folder in Finder: the rough mix WAV, the .ptx session, and an Audio Files folder holding BASS, KEYS, KICK, LEAD VOX and SNARE.

Before you send it

  • The folder has the .ptx session, an Audio Files folder, and your rough mix.
  • Opening the copy plays every part, with no missing files.
  • Virtual instruments and plugins that make the sound are committed to audio.
  • The folder is named with the artist and song title.

Other DAWs

Logic Pro · Ableton Live · FL Studio · Cubase