A very common cause of confusion for users of Pro Tools is not knowing what to do when you hit play only to be greeted by silence. Here are some things to know.
Quick Summary
If Pro Tools isn’t giving you any sound don’t immediately assume it's the software, check your hardware is all connected, switched on and turned up. Make sure you’re getting audio from other software like your web browser. If you are, then check the Playback Engine in Pro Tools. If that’s correct then as a quick solution setting your IO settings to default will probably fix things.
Going Deeper
It’s frustrating when you hit play only to be greeted by silence. Here are the points to cover if you’re not getting playback. If you’re getting playback but can’t get an input to record we’ll cover that later. Before you start checking your software:
Are You Getting Audio From Other Applications On Your Computer?
Open a browser and play a YouTube video. If you’re hearing the video out of your monitors or headphones but not hearing Pro Tools you can probably skip the hardware checks, it’s probably a Pro Tools issue.
Check Hardware Before Checking Your Pro Tools Settings
Because there are so many things which can go wrong in software it is tempting to assume that the problem must be in Pro Tools software - not necessarily!
Is The Volume Up?
A work of warning. Don’t crank it up and leave it there if it is not the problem. Turn it back down or you might get a big shock when you do find what is wrong. This is particularly important if you are using headphones.
Are Your Peripherals Connected And Powered?
A bus powered audio interface should have status lights on it indicating the presence of power but also a functioning data connection. Are they on? On modern interfaces which have multi function encoders, are you controlling the level of the right output? For example, my Focusrite Red 4Pre controls level and mute for the monitor and two headphone outputs. Are you controlling the right one?
Check The Software Settings
Once you have eliminated obvious hardware issues (are your headphones plugged in? I know it sounds obvious but I have watched people busily check I/O settings with their headphones disconnected or even the wrong pair on more than once) it is time to look at the Pro Tools software.
System Preferences vs Playback Engine
Many new users do not appreciate that there are audio settings for the whole OS (i.e. computer-wide) and audio settings for the specific application you are using (i.e. Pro Tools). Changing system settings will not affect Pro Tools, to do that you need to access the Pro Tools playback engine.
The Pro Tools Playback Engine is accessed from the Setup menu and it is here you can select which audio interface you wish to use with Pro Tools. Because there are sound settings for the operating system (i.e. the whole computer - web browser, iTunes etc.) and not just for Pro Tools, it is possible to have sound hardware which is used by the rest of the system and different hardware which is just used by Pro Tools. The available Pro Tools playback engines are accessible from here. People trying to fix a playback engine issue by changing the System Preferences > Sound settings (PC - Control Panel > Hardware and Sound) is one of the most common causes of confusion I have come across. If you are using on board sound hardware on a Mac you will be using Core Audio. If you are using Windows you will need to use an ASIO driver for your on board audio on your PC. ASIO4All is a generic ASIO driver for windows machines. On a Mac, Pro Tools sees the core audio input and output as separate devices and Avid created an aggregate device combining them both called Pro Tools Aggregate IO. If you want to use the on board IO this is the option you need.
Outputs Inactive Or Unavailable
To hear a track it has to be routed to an available output. It is unusual for this to present many problems unless a session has been created on another system. If it has then Pro Tools should be able to “map” the outputs imported with the session onto the appropriate output on the system the session is being opened on. If this does not work the invalid output will show up as italicised. The most straightforward way to fix this is to hold down option/alt and click on the output selector for one of the tracks which is assigned to the inactive main output and select the appropriate available output. Using the option/alt key will apply this change to all tracks in the session apart from masters. This will of course disrupt any submixing or bussing in the session. There are more elegant ways of fixing this problem but for a simple session this method is adequate. For more information about IO setup in Pro Tools check out How To Configure And Backup The I/O Setup Window In Pro Tools.
Mix Knob And Interface Control Software
A final thing to check is whether any features designed to provide low latency monitoring while tracking are the problem. This only affects users with external audio interfaces but a common cause of confusion is the role of the mix control found on many USB interfaces. Use of these is beyond the scope of this article but if you cannot hear playback from Pro Tools make sure the mix control is not turned fully towards “input”. Some interfaces use some kind of mixer software external to Pro Tools to achieve the same thing. If your interface uses proprietary mixer software check the settings.
What If I Can’t Hear An Input?
If the rest of your Pro Tools system is working but you can’t hear a mic or instrument plugged into an input which you have routed to a track you can usually find the cause quickly if you trace the signal from source to destination following the signal path.
For example you might be routing a mic to an audio track in Pro Tools but you’re not getting any audio when you monitor the input by pressing the free ‘I’ button on the audio tracks header.
The signal path might be:
Microphone - XLR Cable - audio interface mic preamp - USB Cable - Computer USB port - Device driver - Pro Tools Software
If you are getting playback audio then your interface is powered up and connected correctly but if you are using an external mic preamp check it is power up and connected correctly. Make sure you check ADAT connections if you’re using them. Outputs glow red, Inputs don’t. And check your master clock settings.
Check if the Mic is connected with an XLR cable to the correct mic input of the audio interface (are you trying to use input 1 but are actually in input 8?).
Check if the input selector is on the correct setting. You might be set to Line or Inst instead of Mic.
Do you need phantom power? Condenser mics need +48v phantom power to work.
Is the signal reaching the preamp and is it amplified enough? There will be some kind of metering light on the preamp. Green indicates signal present. Turn up the gain but if you don’t get any audio remember to turn it down again to save your ears when you do finally find the problem!
Is your mic lead broken? The fact that it worked yesterday doesn’t mean anything. Everything works until it breaks. Swap out the lead for a different working one. It’s unlikely that two working leads will break at the same time so if the new lead doesn’t work either you can probably assume it’s not the lead.
Is your driver audio interface’s driver installed correctly? You can check this by searching for the device in Device Manager (Windows) or in the System profile (Mac).
Check the Pro Tools Playback Engine and make sure the correct audio interface is selected.
Go to the I/O Setup in Pro Tools and check if the inputs and outputs are configured correctly. Unless you are using bespoke setting you have configured yourself you can probably just set the IO to Default without affecting your system adversely. Hold Option/Alt and click the Default button in the IO setup window to set all the tabs to default in one operation.
Once you have done all of these steps you should be able to see the mic input. Check quickly by setting up a new audio track, selecting the input you are using and record into this new track.
A Word About This Article
As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-in-black-and-white-plaid-long-sleeves-using-a-headphones-7047241/