Brief Summary
In Pro Tools retrospective record, by which we mean the ability to recover the thing you were playing before you went into record, is available for MIDI but not for audio. However QuickPunch mode comes close to filling that gap and if you want true retrospective record there is a workaround using third party software which might help.
Going Deeper
Realising you’ve just played something you’d like to keep but you weren't in record at the time is frustrating. It happens, but considering how easy it is to fix mistakes, how possible is it to fix this one?
MIDI Retrospective Record
If you are playing back your Pro Tools session and playing a connected MIDI instrument or controller you can use the shortcut Option+Shift+Z (Alt+Shift+Z) to capture your performance to the timeline. Because MIDI information is tiny in terms of data, this buffer holding the last incoming MIDI in record enabled tracks makes negligible demands of the host system but be aware that the retrospective record buffer is cleared by stopping and restarting the transport so if you don’t perform this action straight away you will lose it.
Here’s a video from Avid demonstrating this simple feature.
So MIDI is pretty straightforward. But what about audio? Is there a way to recover that missed audio performance which happened when you weren’t in record? Strictly speaking, no. But there is a useful feature of Pro Tools which is often misunderstood which goes some way towards achieving this missing feature - QuickPunch mode.
What Is Quickpunch?
QuickPunch is one of the alternative record modes in Pro Tools. In Pro Tools Ultimate there are 6 record modes, Pro Tools Intro has only 3. QuickPunch is available in all versions and while some people mistakenly think you need to use it to drop into record on a track, that’s actually only the case if you want to drop in manually. This manual hitting of the record button is the ‘punch’ in QuickPunch. If you want to record over a specific section (a ‘drop-in’) you can select it using an edit selection, with or without pre and post roll, without using QuickPunch. However if you want to perform the punch manually then QuickPunch allows you to toggle the transport record button in and out of record. If you’re recording yourself if your interface has a footswitch socket this would be a great time to try it. All record enabled tracks get punched in and out. In Pro Tools Ultimate there is an additional TrackPunch mode which allows individual tracks to be punched in and out of record.
For years I ignored QuickPunch. I thought that I didn’t need it because I preferred to control my drop-ins by creating Edit Selections and using the Pre and Post-Roll settings to play the audio either side of the punch automatically. I didn’t see manually hitting the record button as all that important. However I didn’t understand the added benefit QuickPunch brings which also makes it useful for recovering ‘unrecorded’ parts of performances.
To be able to instantaneously switch between playback and record and the touch of a button, in QuickPunch Pro Tools records the audio on all record-enabled tracks, but only creates a clip on the timeline between the points at which the record button is punched in and out. This is necessary because Pro Tools doesn’t know in advance when you are going to toggle record. However, because it is recording from the moment you hit play, if you need to recover something you played while the transport was not in record, if your track was record armed and you punch into record after you realise you just missed a good take - it’s all there. You can toggle record in and out repeatedly on a single pass, up to 200 running punches can be performed in a single pass.
How Does QuickPunch Work?
To explain what is happening in terms of Clips and Files watch the video below, but to benefit from this feature all you need to know is that as long as you punch in and record any of the performance, you’ll have access to the entire thing since you last hit play.
How Do People Use QuickPunch?
Manual punching used to be commonplace because tape machines have record buttons and they needed to be manually punched - it’s that simple. However as well as the intuitive operation there is also an element of a safety net built into QuickPunch. If you hit record ever so slightly late and miss the first syllable of the vocal or the scrape of the guitar pick, QuickPunch enables you to use the Trim tool to trim the clip out to include the wanted audio which happened just before you hit record. However it goes further than that because you can keep trimming to reveal as much of the captured audio as you need, all the way out to where playback was started or stopped.
So if you’re looking for a way to capture those moments which happen when the record light isn’t on, should you be recording in QuickPunch all the time? Probably not as there are downsides to using QuickPunch.
Downsides To QuickPunch
The main problem with QuickPunch is that every track you’ve got record enabled is using additional resources. You’re playing back and recording on all of those tracks and you could very quickly run out of power working in this way. To conserve processing power consider making plugins and tracks which you don’t need during QuickPunch passes inactive.
The Third Party Solution
There are workarounds but if you feel that you would really benefit from having a reliable ‘get out of jail free card’ when you’re working with your DAW, check out Rewind from Monkey C Audio. You can instantiate it as a plugin on individual tracks in your DAW and it will capture the previous 15 minutes of audio of MIDI, on a rolling basis. If you played it within the last quarter hour, you can get back to it. It’s Mac only. Check it out here.
So Can You Get Retrospective Record In Pro Tools?
Kind of. MIDI is straightforward and with just a little planning you can make sure you have access to anything played while in play or record in QuickPunch. At the writing stage, before sessions get too greedy of system resources you can use QuickPunch on a reasonably powerful computer. Just be aware that later in the production process if might add that bit of extra work which pushes your machine over the edge. If you need something bullet-proof, check out Monkey C’s Rewind.