Hung up on "Industry Standard" !!!

S

sushi-mon

New member
I am going to get started learning digital editing and computer software by remixing a reasonably complicated 3 year old 24 track album at home.

I want to consider going down a new career path as a Audio Engineer. I have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, so it is not a huge leap from what I am doing now.

Given that Pro-tools is the "industry standard". I am leaning heavily towards getting a Pro-Tools set up to start down the road with. I like that they offer instructional DVDs, step by step books, and a lot of places offer certifications for Pro-tools. However, I have an early preference for Cubase, is seems to be more PC friendly, more options for interfaces, it seems more intuitive, etc.

How hung up should I really be about this ? I guess ultimately I should learn a few different platforms. But knowing Pro-tools seems to be a must for job potential and other benefits. I have to start somewhere. Might as well be Pro-tools. After learning it, then I could re-do it all in Cubase. Thoughts ???
 
if you feel it would benefit you to learn it...then learn it! The more you learn the better. You don't need to spend a ton of money to learn Pro Tools, mostly everything is the same in every version.

There are tons of programs out there that will help you mix your stuff. Figure out what YOU need in a program or with hardware before purchasing one and then find the right ones that matches those needs.
 
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Tuff call. The easy answer is the principled one, which has been given. The reality may be that some potential clients may pass you by if you're not running Pro Tools.....not because it's the best thing out there.....but because they think it's the best thing out there, or because they want to have their project be transportable to other Pro Tools facilities. Pro Tools made their name when computer hardware wasn't up to speed with the software, and you needed a platform like Pro Tools for serious production. That day is long passed, but the myth is persistant.

-RD
 
Myriad_Rocker said:
Be prepared to spend some big money on a decent PT system.
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Why does everyone who asks about pro tools given an answer like this? You do know that not everyone thats interested in pro tools wants an HD rig. Therefore doesn't have to "spend some big money". I spent no more on my LE rig than anyone else did on pretty much any other hardware/software combo. IMO a 002r with some good pre's and some quality plugs is "decent". Plus he's using 24 tracks, an HD rig would be way overkill for that, pro tools le would be more than adequate. All that BS aside if you're planning on using a pc, then go with cubase, I use both cubase on pc and pro tools on mac and you'd probably be happy either way, its just cubase runs on pc's a little better than pro tools.
 
It all depends on if your ambition is to open your own studio or find work in a commercial studio. If it's going to be your own, I'd say go with what you are most comfortable with, you'll likely get better results with what you're used to and that's what matters. If you're looking for a job then I'd say, yeah, a basic understanding of Protools is necessary and being certified is going to be a big plus for a lot of potential employers.
 
I spent no more on my LE rig than anyone else did on pretty much any other hardware/software combo
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And LE is a joke compared to HD since it lacks the DSP that makes PT "industry standard". IMHO LE pales compared to other DAW software as far as functionality

I say, stick with what you like. For mixing, it really does not matter what you use. The mastering house will take just about anything
 
altitude909 said:
And LE is a joke compared to HD since it lacks the DSP that makes PT "industry standard". IMHO LE pales compared to other DAW software as far as functionality

I say, stick with what you like. For mixing, it really does not matter what you use. The mastering house will take just about anything
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Thanks for that captain obvious, where would I be without you? That wasn't even the arguement here, it was the price thing. And like I said I used both Pro tools le and cubase sx and I honestly like pro tools much better, yeah I'm limited on track counts but I never go much beyond 24-28 tracks. IMHO pro tools is much easier to navigate and never gave me the problems cubase on a pc did. So if pro tools le is a joke because it doesn't have the dsp cards then that makes pretty much every other program that doesn't use one just as big of a joke. For my home studio pro tools le's limitations have NEVER kept me from doing something I want, so where's the joke here? And did you happen to miss when I said if he has a pc, that cubase was probably the way to go?
 
There has been opening up a discussion about Cubase for PC and Pro-tools for Mac. I am concerned about that as well. I have a very high quality HP Pavilion laptop 7040 that is only 2 years old, which is P4 2.8Ghz and two DDR SDRAM 256Meg 333Hz (will upgrade to 1gig or 2gig). Accorging to the Digidesign website, what I have is compatible with ProTulz LE 7.0.

Digidesign does say that "some" HP Pavilions are not compatable. Which causes me concern, but my specs are fine. The chipset listed is 865P and my computer says my chip set is 865G/P/PE (does that mean they are all the same ?) Digidesign has not gotten back to me specifically about that question (email).

I want pro-tools for the reasons stated and will most likely get Cubase when I purchase a better interface. I am planning on the Mbox 2 for now and just want to get started. I have seen some good books out there with demo sessions that help you start up, and pro-tulz comes with a DVD guide as well.

It seems that Digidesign works a lot harder in trying to offer tutorials and guides to help people as well. Which gives me some comfort too. Thanks for all the responses !
 
sushi-mon said:
There has been opening up a discussion about Cubase for PC and Pro-tools for Mac. I am concerned about that as well. I have a very high quality HP Pavilion laptop 7040 that is only 2 years old, which is P4 2.8Ghz and two DDR SDRAM 256Meg 333Hz (will upgrade to 1gig or 2gig). Accorging to the Digidesign website, what I have is compatible with ProTulz LE 7.0.

Digidesign does say that "some" HP Pavilions are not compatable. Which causes me concern, but my specs are fine. The chipset listed is 865P and my computer says my chip set is 865G/P/PE (does that mean they are all the same ?) Digidesign has not gotten back to me specifically about that question (email).

I want pro-tools for the reasons stated and will most likely get Cubase when I purchase a better interface. I am planning on the Mbox 2 for now and just want to get started. I have seen some good books out there with demo sessions that help you start up, and pro-tulz comes with a DVD guide as well.

It seems that Digidesign works a lot harder in trying to offer tutorials and guides to help people as well. Which gives me some comfort too. Thanks for all the responses !
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Do yourself a favor and CALL digidesigns. When the brand new Imacs came out last september I called them and asked if the new imacs would be compatible. They said they were still testing but everything looked good and to go ahead and buy it. The call took a total of five minutes from start to finish.
 
jonnyc said:
Do yourself a favor and CALL digidesigns. When the brand new Imacs came out last september I called them and asked if the new imacs would be compatible. They said they were still testing but everything looked good and to go ahead and buy it. The call took a total of five minutes from start to finish.
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Right, good point. I sent an email two weeks ago. I need to pick up the phone and call them. I figured I would do that eventually. I spend too much time hanging out here :rolleyes:
 
what are the questions you have for Digi?
if it's just a compatibility question...look at the compatibility page on the site and see what Digi says is NOT compatible.
Everything they say that IS compatible means that's just what they have tested. It doesn't mean that is the end-all-be-all. For the longest time they said the AMD64 was not Digi approved, but it worked fine on lots of our systems. They just hadn't gotten around to testing it yet.

Truthfully, if your computer is a standard Pentium or AMD computer with a common chipset (which it appears yours is), you will be fine.
BTW, the customer service support e-mail at Digi is pretty bad at returning e-mails...but their tech support is a lot better.
 
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