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How Does Flashback Work?

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Patent Pending.

The 1-2-3 of Flashback:

1. Throw Flashback-RTAS on a track or master fader.

2. Hit the Freeze button after a performance to freeze it in RAM.

3. Hit the Process button on Flashback-AudioSuite to write it to track.

You put Flashback's RTAS version on a track or master fader and it "records" everything in its signal path into its RAM-based Streaming Buffer - regardless of whether Pro Tools' transport is stopped, recording, or playing! It never stops streaming, even after it overflows (up to 15 minutes later, as determined by you) - in the full fidelity of the session - for the lifetime of the plug-in in the session.

You hit the Freeze button after an amazing performance to instantly save its RAM Streaming Buffer's contents to its RAM Frozen Buffer while the Streaming Buffer keeps on streaming, never missing a sample.

You use Flashback's AudioSuite version to write the contents of the RTAS version's Frozen Buffer to track by simply pressing the Process button. No need to use Pro Tools' Record button! It's almost magical!

Think about step (2) above and what it can mean to you. You can capture a performance you failed to get with the Pro Tools Record button. Or perform in a "take-less" manner and save the peformance "take" you like after you play it, without fidgeting over and over with record-stop cycles after every bad take. You can capture spontaneous samples after they happen without missing the beginning as you would without Flashback, frantically racing to hit the Record button. Use it as a composition companion, never playing and then instantly forgetting that musical idea again. The uses go on and on. Read about them in the next few pages.

There is a lot of power in step (2). You're essentialy in command of time! Never again a victim of it. That's huge!

Here's the Flashback workflow:

1. Put Flashback RTAS version on a mono or stereo track or master fader. It defaults to a 1-minute buffer.

2. Resize the buffer, if you wish, to any size you desire, from 1 to 15 minutes. You generally do this as a setup step.

3. Flashback's Filling Light will light up as Flashback begins streaming audio into its Streaming Buffer.

4. As the RAM buffer fills, the Streaming Buffer meter will fill from right to left, indicating audio is loading into the Streaming Buffer. It will eventually overflow, lighting the Spilling light. The last "n" minutes of live audio in an n-minute Streaming Buffer are always available for you to move to the Frozen Buffer via the Freeze button (see next step). The VU meters will register the signal in its path, indicating Flasback is capturing this audio - in its full fidelity.

5. Flashback is now "recording" in RAM, into the Streaming Buffer. After (the operative word!) you encounter live audio you wish to save, press the Freeze button to move the contents of the RAM Streaming Buffer to the Frozen Buffer, also in RAM, which is a non-moving "snapshot" of what was just in the Streaming Buffer. The Streaming Buffer will start streaming immediately on the next incoming sample. The RTAS-AudioSuite light will light (see step 8) if not already lit. The contents of the Frozen Buffer will stay in RAM until the next Freeze event (or buffer resize event).

6. Optionally, adjust the slider to select a sub-selection of the Frozen Buffer you wish to write to track, i.e., how far back in time you want to go to retrieve audio from the Frozen Buffer.

7. Use Flashback AudioSuite version to write the Frozen Buffer selection to track by simply placing your cursor on a Pro Tools track and pressing the "process" button. You have just written audio to track without using the Record Button!

8. If you're running several Flashback RTAS instances simultaneously in a session, you can use the RTAS-AudioSuite button to tell AudioSuite to point to the current instance's Frozen Buffer when writing to track. All instances' Frozen Buffer contents are always in RAM, available to print until their respective Freeze button is clicked again. You can even adjust the slider again.

9. Repeat steps 5 through 8, freezing and saving at will, and letting the rest of the unneeded live audio drop out of existence.

10. Relax, knowing that you can capture live audio after it happens, without worrying about or even using Pro Tools' Record Button!

That's it! Simple, but powerful.

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