to free up CPU power” then you should first try increasing your latency setting. You might also adjust your CPU usage limit under the Setups/Hardware… menu item. For advice on low-latency input monitoring, see the Input Monitoring section below.
Setting Pro Tools to use the US-428 Control Surface
Start Pro Tools and load or start a new session, then do the following:
∙Under MIDI/Input Devices… make sure that “US-428 Control Port” is checked
∙Choose Setups/Peripherals and select the “MIDI Controllers” button
∙On line #1 select “CS-10” under “Type”
∙Select “US-428 Control Port” under “Receive From” and “Send To”
∙Select “8” under “# Ch’s”
∙Click “OK” in the Peripherals window
To test the set-up, you should be able to move a fader or press a transport key and see that Pro Tools is responding.
How to Use the US-428 with Pro Tools
The original CS-10 has 8 faders, a row of 8 keys and LEDs above these keys, a data wheel with a button on each side of it, left/right keys, up/down keys with LEDs, transport keys, 6 potentiometer knobs, and 10 general purpose keys. The Pro Tools interface for this device maps all these controls onto Pro Tools features. Since the US-428 has a different (but similar) set of controls, the “Pro Tools CS-10” protocol emulates a CS-10 while communicating with Pro Tools.
Input Monitoring
With Pro Tools Free, you can monitor your inputs using on-screen controls, including listening to plug-in effects applied to input in real time. As an engineer, this can be quite handy, but as a performer it is less than ideal since the input to output latency (time delay from input to output signal) is tens of milliseconds long. That's long enough to ruin your timing if you are trying to record while listening to previously recorded tracks (overdubbing).
For ultra-low latency monitoring (< 1.5msec), you can instead use the US-428's hardware input monitoring feature. Using this technique, you won't hear plug-in effects being applied to your inputs, but your timing will be rock solid. Here's how to do it:
1.For record enabled tracks, assign their output to an unused bus. This way, you won't hear Pro Tools’ high latency monitor output.
2.Push the "INPUT MONITOR" key on the US-428. Now the first 4 channel strips control the input monitor level of the 4 inputs.
3.Adjust the mute, level, and pan settings for the 4 inputs.
4.Push "INPUT MONITOR" again to exit this mode.
You can adjust your hardware input monitor settings at any time, even in the middle of a recording pass.
Modifier Keys
Modifier keys are held down to alter the action of a knob or other key. The Shift, Control, Option, Alt and/or Command keys found on your keyboard are also mapped to US-428 keys, and either the keyboard or US-428 key gives the same behavior. In the key summary on the last page, a listing like “SET+PLAY” means hold down the SET key and then press the PLAY key. This is the same as holding the keyboard SHIFT and pressing PLAY.
Transport Controls
The five transport keys on the US-428 operate exactly like the on-screen transport buttons. This includes some special behaviors. You can hold the SET key and press PLAY to play in half-speed mode. You can hold the ASGN key and press RECORD to cycle through the different record modes (Normal, Destructive, Loop, QuickPunch).
