Should I give up on Pro Tools?

T

tswisscheese

New member
Self-made recording and mixing engineer (hobbyist) for about 7 years. I have had Pro Tools 9 for about five or six. I've ran it on three different machines and have had fits on every single one of them, including a custom tower I had built.

Problems with this software have been too numerous to count, honestly. I don't know enough about software and cpu loads and stuff like that to actually fix the errors I'm having myself, so I've resorted to paid support. Every time I have trouble with PT9, though, it's a totally unrelated issue to the last time so I'm literally being nickeled and dimed to death by AVID. And unfortunately, I don't have the time or patience to become a software engineer so I can remedy the problems I'm having. I'm also getting to the point where anytime I call support, they automatically tell me that they may not be able to get it working because PT9 is untested with Windows 10. Which I know is not the problem because I can open it on any other day and it will perform just fine on my machine.

My latest hang-up is a CPU problem. I will record a multitrack mix and before I ever put any plugins on it, I get the error message that I'm running out of CPU power. It advises me to take some plugins out and raise the usage limit, which I have zero plugins and my limit is already at 95%. There is no elastic audio, and I have a very low buffer size. I have done everything in my power to optimize the performance, but no matter what I keep having clicks, pops, and skips, delaying my performance and having to go back and edit it back to fit. The kicker is everything in my mix was working beautifully yesterday and I've made no changes. It's like Pro Tools has moods, and some days it just refuses to work with me. It's extremely frustrating! I've had to cancel TWO clients in the last month because they would arrive, and despite checking things beforehand, my rig would suddenly decide it doesn't want to work with me today. At all.

Honestly, there have been numerous more issues that I don't have the time to get into. The above paragraph was just today's ordeal.

After 6 years of fighting my recording software, I'm considering moving over to something I'm hoping will be drama-free like Cubase perhaps, or Logic. Something that doesn't make me feel like I'm working with a moody preteen girl. Does anyone else have experience with other recording softwares that do every bit of what Pro Tools does?

I may be rambling here, but it sure is a shame that AVID charges $600 for their software and an additional $45 EVERY SINGLE time you call and need help. So I'm left with three options: go broke asking for help from the manufacturer, become a software engineer so I don't have to rely on anyone for help, or switch programs.
 
I've been using Cakewalk software for ages now, since Pro 9 (then Sonar 8, and now Sonar x3). I've had nearly flawless use of their product regardless of version. In the couple times I've had a hiccup (a couple times over probably 15 years) their support was able to help. In one case it was their software (a buggy EQ program included with their producer edition), the other times it was my hardware or interface. Mostly, it just works.

You'll likely find frustrated users reporting their problems online with any product, but that's my personal experience with my one primary DAW.

They have tiers with their subscription based platform, so you could get what you need sans stuff you don't. I like all the goodies with producer but it costs extra. For me it's worth it, for you it might be overkill.

Many here use Reaper, and it's cheap (free unlimited trial if you choose). Not sure about support though. But if something works 99% of the time, support isn't a factor. That is/was my point with Cakewalk above, even if their support sucked their product has been solid for me so I'd continue to use it.

Download some trials (some are limited to maybe 30 days) and find a solution you like that doesn't hurt the wallet. Start with Reaper, which would be your cheapest replacement option. You're trying to recover on the loss you've already experienced with your current DAW purchase. Cheaper the replacement the better for you, so long as it works.
 
Welcome to the world of Avid support. If your machine, hardware and software, isn't fully tested and officially supported by them, they aren't going to help you.
In their defence, they don't make a secret of it and they published supported hardware/OS/plugins lists for each version of PT.

While ProTools can be fussy enough (on MS platform, anyway), there's usually a reason behind it.
There could be some underlying issue with a chipset or component that carried across your systems? Maybe a hard drive you're using, or the means of connecting it?
It could be a different issue or reason with each machine, so rule nothing out.

If you're done with PT, try Reaper. If there's one last breath maybe try hosting your sessions on a different drive and using your built-in soundcard rather than your interface, purely for testing/troubleshooting.

What's your overall system health like? Do you run anything that could be intense, like background backup services or antivirus?
 
Another vote for Reaper. What's to hurt? It's free to check out the full version. Support - huge user forums, huge user manual, tons of youtubes.
 
I spent years being forced to use Avid/Protools at work and, despite lots of experience and official training I never got to the stage of actually enjoying it.

When I set up a home studio I went a different direction than Reaper (mainly because Reaper didn't exist then) but, in your shoes, I definitely give Reaper a try.
 
Bobbsy said:
despite lots of experience and official training I never got to the stage of actually enjoying it.
Click to expand...

I started off using Logic, and after a while, became reasonably competent with it. But, like your experience with PT, I never really got to enjoy it. I switched to Reaper to work on a collaborative project with someone else, and never looked back.
 
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