I need to learn Pro Tools but...

N

Nik D

Another brick in the wall
I need to learn PT for future jobs as it's an industry standard and I need to know it inside and out, even though I use and love nuendo. The free version would be great but it only works on Win 98. Is the cheapest way to get PT is to get the bundled software with the M Box? I just want the software, not any of their shitty hardware to go with it. I hate pro tools....
 
If you hate it, then don't learn it, and you won't need to whine about it. It'ws way easier than Nuendo, so if you know how to use that, you should be fine.
 
charger said:
If you hate it, then don't learn it, and you won't need to whine about it. It'ws way easier than Nuendo, so if you know how to use that, you should be fine.
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If he really wants to deal with a professional career, he has to learn pro tools. Maybe it isn't really difficult, but at least you gotta know where the main features are, so you won't waste too much time in an expensive studio.

Like you said there is the free version on www.digidesign.com The other option is the Mbox. Pro Tools offers great software, so go easy on the bashing.

And Digidesign hardware is not shitty, thank you very much :) (I almost felt personally attacked:-))
 
Thanks for the replies, I didn't mean to piss on digi, it's just that I already have a setup and hardware that works great for me, and I don't want to pay for a box that I'm not going to use just to get the software. I have used pt before, and no, it's not hard. I need to know it inside and out and be fast on it, that's all. Also, no, not all digi hardware is shit, I'm just bummed that I have to shell out more for something I don't even want or need. I also tried to download the free software, which would be perfect, although it only runs on windows 98. Believe me I tried to get it to work, it would be perfect for what I need.
 
I'm sure I'm going to have to learn protools even though i love sonar....but then again...maybe i dont have to stress it too much....i messed around with the protools free version and its not too much different from sonar...most if not all the software titles have a soundcard/track selector, volume, trim, record, solo and mute. the only thing that would stop you from picking up on how to use protools quick is your own attitude. i messed with protools for 15 mintues and got some stuff recorded...tried to figure out where everything else was and got pissed and wanted to throw the computer. tracking in protools is half the battle so if you get that far, patience will carry you the rest of the way. ...and speaking of which...I'm patiently waiting for digidesign to make a protools free for xp.
 
yeah we have a school here for that.....the only problem i have is that theres a year end project where the students put on a concert...the only problem i have with that is i have this bad feeling that the first year students are cable runners and testers.
 
Nik--Funny thing is, you said you own and love nuendo....have you taken a look at the price of it lately?? It's about the same price as PT, but no hardware included...so sounds like you get more for the amount you spend with Digi. And personally I feel Pro Tools has so many more functions than nuendo does and is definitely worth the price it's selling for. I also think the reason (although everyone might dispute this) that you're forced to buy the hardware too is because they've found a way around the whole piracy issue. Can't download the software off of Kazaa...personally I think it's smart.

And tracking is probably the easiest part in Pro Tools LE. As long as your inputs are all configured correctly...you just create a new track, set the input, arm it, and press record. Just like any other program. Oh well, again...my opinion. :cool:
 
i hate the idea of having to buy the hardware with it but i can see where their comming from......if i got ahold of a copy of sonar 3 I'm quite sure i could crack it in less than 5 minutes if there isnt a crack for it.........not to say that I'm that kind of person!...i'm just saying i could
 
yeah, but just think what would have happened if they decided NOT to make you buy the hardware in order to get the software. They price of the software would still be over $1000! It's hard for me to think that anyone would consider the software alone should only cost like 200 or 300 dollars. They would just make it the same price as Nuendo. Plus, the software has so many functions (more than Nuendo I believe) and I think it's great that they include it "free" with their hardware. It's like a 2 for one deal!! Plus, we'd be having another program on Kazaa that any 12 year old could download for free and claim they have the latest in recording technology. And then what happens when a client comes into the studio and notices you have actually BOUGHT Pro Tools???? "Oh, my kid has that at home" Yeah....think about it! lol :cool:
 
yeah if a client says "yeah my kid has that at home" I'd say "really? ok cool" then I'd tip the cops off to the illegal activity.
 
oh boy. not this again.

bennychico11 - First of all, you say that Protools has more features in your opinion. Im not disagreeing, but support your opinion and tell us how and why. That tells me nothing except that you know nothing about Nuendo or Cakewalk.

In my opinion, Protools software is nothing compared to Nuendo. The fact that Protools cannot use VST or DirectX without a wrapper is one big one. This also takes away VST Instruments, which are incredible for people doing sampling. And what are you going to do when you want to upgrade, buy a whole new system?

True, for audio recording, protools has everything it needs. Its very basic as an audio sequencer and easy to learn. With that, i wouldnt worry about it too much Nik if you know Nuendo. Nuendo 2.0 Is very similiar the way the Bus's and Aux Channels are set up. The hardest part i had was getting used to mac in general. Keyboard layout is alot different.

Also, Protools is becomming less and less of the standard now a days. Infact, i wouldnt really call it the standard anymore. I know die hard Protools people who i thought would never switch make the switch getting rid of their HD rigs in their own studios and their work studios. And im talking studios where money is hardly an issue.

I was running an HD2 with Control 24 a while ago, until i realized how much better Nuendo was for me. I switched back and havnt looked back.

So, in other words, dont worry about it too much. At least not enough to spend some major money on. Just find someone in your area with a protools setup an ask them if you can try it out. In a day youll understand it enough.

Danny
 
Yeah...I know, I swore off Pro Tools arguments
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=123891
That's where I stated my opinions on why I really like Pro Tools. Too long to type again. And I have used and own Nuendo and soon will be getting a Pro Tools setup as well. I like Nuendo, but I feel Pro Tools is just more versatile for my needs. And of course Nuendo is similar to Pro Tools...pretty much all major multitrack software is. They wanted to keep it similar to studio signal flow because that's what engineer know. But what you have to look into is if the program has advanced editing options, easy quick keys, etc. Anything that can help you get things done faster.
However, you're incorrect in stating that you have to buy a whole new system to upgrade to the newest version of pro tools. 6.4 is the latest, and so far I think digi plans on letting the 002, mbox, etc. to stay compatible with newer versions. In fact, even the 001 which has been around for at least 4 or 5 years is still compatible with 6.4. Now that I stated my opinion on why I like pro tools....what are the reasons some of you are against it? Just because you are getting hardware AND software for the same price as Nuendo?? Again, my two cents :)
 
many of you guys are wrong about the price comparision between protools and nuendo. nuendo gives you full surround capabilities. protools LE is limited to 32 MONO tracks, which is equal to 16 stereo tracks (i use more than 20 stereo tracks on a regular basis). now, if you are to use a control surface with nuendo, you can get tascam fw1884. i got mine for $1128. nuendo 2 costs $1095 at audiomidi.com. together, they would cost you $2200(or say $2300). equivalent protools digi002 costs $2200. but do you get the same features in protools?

nuendo and fw1884, both support surround sound. many people don't need surround. in that case they can get cubase or sonar 3 and save about $400-$700! they'd still enjoy the extra midi input outputs, 8 outputs of fw1884, inserts on every channel, and not to mention the unlimted number of tracks with cubase, sonar 3 or even with the cheap n-track studio.

as far as i know, protools LE doesn't even support VST plugins. i don't think digi002 can be used as a control surface with any software other than protools LE and logic (which is already discontinued for pc). so protools is definitely not cheaper. besides digi 002 doesn't look half as good as the fw1884. :rolleyes:

i don't know a whole lot about the protools LE software. can someone tell me what are the features in protools LE that cannot be found in nuendo? as far as i understand, nuendo and fw1884 both were made with one thing in mind, they have to break into degidesign's monopoly.


-shami

ps waiting for BrettB to break my leg in his reply. lol.
 
Er...

I've worked in audio post-pro in London for over 6 years and NEVER used Pro-tools. I've covered pretty much everything you can in audio-post for picture, (barring feature films!) using the DAR and Sadie systems. I seem to have managed quite well so far...

Although helpful, PT isn't vital to a career in the audio world. Knowledge and experience is.
 
BlackDog said:
ps waiting for BrettB to break my leg in his reply. lol.
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:D Oh my God, I have given myself quite a reputation:)

You have a point about the limitations of Pro Tools LE: only 32 mono tracks (I would like to see who of you can deal with a lot more tracks on your desktop system) and no surround. It also cannot handle VST instruments. In fact, even I claim that if you sequence a lot you may be better of with Cubase SX or Logic.

I do disagree with ppl claiming Pro tools isn't longer the Industry standard. It still is in 90 - 95% of the cases. having Pro Tools at home gives you more chances of compatibility.

Pro Tools it's hardware is superior when it comes to AD/DA conversion, and the software handles the digital signals great. The Pro Tools way of working is also more logical to me (with the two windows) and even the standard plug ins tat come with the free are more easy to work with, not to say better, than the standard channel strips in Nuendo.

Ok, Pro tools doesn't support VST (a pity!) but it does has RTAS, with many great plug ins. Also the trimming options in the edit window are so easy and correct to work with.

IO don't have any shares in Digidesign and I do think Nuendo is also a Superb program. We are even a bit spoiled having to choose:). Just Choose what feels best for you...
 
Some can of worms I opened here.... BTW I did go to school for audio, the Recording Institute of Detroit, and yes I did use pt there. I actually wasn't going to sweat getting pt because of my knowlege of nuendo, but all the studio's that I've talked to either run only pt, or they've asked if I know it. That was literaly the first question I was asked at the last studio I was at. I don't want to go into a studio with an idea of how the program works, I want to go in there a wizard on it. I'm also going to get the mbox next month, this month I got new monitors and the presonus central station.
 
your smart rumble. like you i'm going my own way. magix music studio and powertracks. on another thread here people can see how happy a new powertracks user is for the princely sum of 29 bucks.
its fantasy imho that folks think they need all this expensive stuff to record.
uinless your a mega million revenue studio it just doesnt make sense to me.
its the same argument as mic preamps. will a dmp3 do the job or do you need to aspend 2k on a mic preamp???
imho the industry has morphed. the only important thing now is quality
a/d/a convertors as thats the heart of good sound. this is the area i'm
addressing now while i'm in europe looking around on holiday at gear.
its great to find this internet terminal. all over the place in europe.
 
benny - Sorry, i really am not against the Protools packages at all. But when you said it plain out has more features, i wanted to know how. If you look at my past posts, you will actually see me recommending the Digi 002 for people. Like i said, i used to own a Protools rig with Protools 6.2, a HD2, a 96 i/o, and a Control 24. It was a very nice system to work on indeed with mixing. However, if you look at the price of what i spent for all of that, it adds up to around $20,000. The 96 io converters were alright, but their were only 8 Analogs and 8 Adat Opticals on it. The Control 24 was probably the biggest waist of money in the entire rig. The preamps were horrible in that thing, and it did absolutely nothing for the sound. The HD2 was definately nice. I had great TDM plugins like Waves Platinum 4.0. With all the TDM plugins combined it probably added up to another $10,000 because the TDM plugins are much more expensive than DirectX and VST. Now overall the system was good to work on. But for $20-30,000?

Now look what i replaced it with. A Nuendo 2.0 System running with a Motu 2408mkIII with a Alesis HD24 as the front end. Roughly how much was that? Say around $3500. And if you dont know much about the Alesis HD24, it has some of the best converters you can get in such a quantity. So this allows me 24 ins and outs at the same time. Not only that, but the Alesis HD24 is 100% portable, and i do alot of on-location recording. For the mixing board i grabbed a used Soundcraft Ghost 24. I dont get all the moving faders anymore but hey, this thing sound damn good for the money. Comparison, $2100 for the used Soundcraft Ghost, around $4,000 to $5,000 for a used Control 24. Then with a $1000 computer and a UAD-1 card (soon two), along with Waves Platinum DirectX.

lets just say i have never looked back. The value of money i paid between the two setups is no comparison in my opinion. And what happens when i decide to change something in my setup? With the Motu 2408mk3 i can pretty change anything i need down the road.

Now the Digi 002 rack. Really not a bad deal, especially with the Adat Optical option. But with your limitation to RTAS plugins with that, its a big draw back in the world of native systems. But with everything bundled in with simple to use software, i agree, it really isnt a bad deal.

Compatibility is hardly an issue now a days anyway. I did run into a problem a few days ago with a band transfering their Protools recording to my studio. But all i had to do was call the studio and let them know i was using Nuendo and he overnighted the files to me in .OMF format.

It might still be the standard, but i believe it is losing it fast. Ive even talked to Protools Representatives at Sweetwater who claim that Protools will soon be making the Native switch themselves. Of course they might design something new for the Native systems that will keep them up in front, who knows.

Wrd.

Danny
 
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