Pro Tools

[the captain]

The past five years or so, I've been using Digital Performer 2007, mostly because a former bandmate of mine and the university whose studio we holed up in on occasion (him being a grad student there at the time with access) had it. So it was convenient.

That band and musician are long gone. The software is now, obviously, not current. It's also not loaded on my new MacBook Pro. And so I'm debating whether to bother loading this old software onto my current computer, or whether to make a leap to something else ... namely, the standard: Pro Tools. Can anyone give me a the pros and cons? Budget isn't a huge concern: if I can get hooked up for <$1k, I am fine with it. Do I need special hardware, as I've heard? (I have a Motu 8pre that I've been using...will it become superfluous?) What kind of investment in terms of versions is necessary to make it worthwhile--do I have to go pro level, or are the entry level versions cool?

Some of you have heard my songs: I'm no audiophile, and I'm not looking to change the world, sell music, or anything. What I do is 99.3% for myself, 0.69% for my friends, and .01% for the rest of the world. So anything overly techie, complicated, non-intuitive, or otherwise tedious is just going to piss me off. On the other hand, it would be nice to share files in the format the rest of the developed world uses. 

[Sam_BFC]

I think that now Tools has gone 'native' with its most recent release, it does not necessarily require any proprietary hardware so can work with any third party interface such as your Motu.  You would however need an iLok to then authorise the software.  There are all sorts of different packages (+ various expansion options) which I find a little confusing to be honest and I am not sure if the entry level versions can run with a third party interface or not.  In fact after a little nose around looking here answers these questions quite well:

http://www.avid.com/US/products/family/Pro-Tools/compare

I have only a little experience with Pro Tools HD as it happens (either version 8 or 9) and I found it perfectly usable for usual bread and butter recording tasks.  However I know that Pro Tools LE (the entry level version which I think is now discontinued) used to have some frustrating limitations with regard to track counts and no plug-in delay compensation.  I am unsure if the current entry level versions have similar restrictions (see link).

I guess it really depends on the nature of the kind of projects you are going to do (I have heard and enjoyed your stuff before...did you do a cover of I'll Bet He's Nice or have I confused you with someone else?) whether you need to go pro level or entry level.  Of course even Garageband (firmly in the entry level category) can be used to do some pretty cool stuff although I get the impression that you are used to more advanced software than this.

If you are on a Mac there is also Logic Pro (which I have a lot more experience with), which I think is now an absolute steal at about $199 on the appstore, and may possibly run more efficiently than PT.  It also comes bundled with what are arguably the best stock plug-ins of all the major DAWs and has little if any of the restrictions of some of the Pro Tools products.  That said, in truth there really is very little to choose from between the likes of Logic and PT these days.  If sharing files with others is a particular concern, projects can quite easily be migrated from one DAW to another in general.

Hope that helps.

[Austin]

The big draw towards Pro Tools, and the main reason it's industry-standard, is its TDM (time-division multiplexing) support. I'm oversimplifying here, but basically, it allows you to run the app (and plugins, etc.) on external hardware and not tax your main computer's processor. This is different from having an outboard recording interface, like your Motu 8pre, which just provides I/O. Although, as Sam mentioned, nowadays you can run Pro Tools without any TDM hardware.

Anyway, TDM is a necessity if you're in a professional studio. But if you're just recording at home and don't anticipate interacting with studios much, I can't recommend Pro Tools. Its interface is dated and bloated, you need a $50 USB dongle plugged in just to run the app, and the included plugins, by and large, don't compare to Logic Pro's. And Pro Tools costs $700 -- Logic Pro costs $200, and your Motu 8pre will run just fine.

Logic's biggest weaknesses are a) the lack of TDM compatibility, which means many (most?) studios don't support Logic project files; and b) it being Mac-only, you can't run Logic if you ever switch to a PC. Even then though, it's not total isolation: I move between Logic and Pro Tools pretty frequently so I can mix in our university studio, and it's not seamless, but converting between the two is possible.

[rab2591]

I have been using Logic Pro 9 for the last year and a half and it has performed exceptionally well for my needs. The freedom you get to manipulate sound is unreal. The amount of MIDI instruments/tools is phenomenal.

Definitely check it out. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again if I had to.

http://www.apple.com/logicpro/

[Alex]

Is there a general aversion among musicians to Adobe Audition/Cool Edit Pro?

[the captain]

Never heard of the Adobe stuff, but speaking just for myself, one of my main objectives is to be able to share files with other musicians on occasion. So anything that I don't hear much about people using, I'd rather not have.

I'll look into Logic, rab2591. And those who gave Pro Tools info, also thanks to you. I'll kick it around a while and figure something out.

[matt-zeus]

Hi Luther
I use Logic (version 6 at the moment) it doesn't really matter to get the latest version as such as if the rest of you equipment (like my mac) are old anyway. I've been using Logic for years and I think it's great, you can get the older versions quite easily on ebay. Never used protools at all...
Cheers
Matt

[the captain]

Thanks.

[Awesoman]

Sony Vegas can work as a pretty decent mixing tool.  I'm not sure if you can record audio with it; never tried that before.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I use two programs, Reason 6 and Reaper.

For pure recording, Reaper is amazing for $60.

http://www.reaper.fm/

I tried Cubase and Logic Pro but Reaper is just amazing for what you get.