Switch to Pro Tools?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JonathanRay
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Well I honestly would most likely be using another program if I didn't work with an HD system in a studio on a regular basis.

A cheap Pro Tools M-Powered rig allows me to edit at home with no file transferring involved, rough mix, and do some basic tracking. It also allows me to offer much cheaper rates to bands, since I can do most of the time consuming work at home over in a studio eating up $500 a day. Plus I like Pro Tools, and have gotten very fast working with it. It has a well designed interface, almost everything you need is on 2 screen (edit and mix windows), and session setup is a breeze.

LE has some limitations, but I haven't ran into many issues with it personally. If you are doing prog rock with 20 guitar tracks, Pro Tools LE might not be for you. However if you are in need of only 2-4 inputs, one of the Mboxes might be something to look at.

I don't really look at Pro Tools as an "industry standard" anymore. The HD and TDM systems came out at the right time, and studios went with it. The industry is moving towards more project based home studios now, and an HD rig is too big of an investment at once. You can do almost the same thing with Nuendo, some UAD cards, a MOTU/Presonus interface, and a few nice mics and preamps. If you're recording only at home, I'd go with something else.

Great records are made by great musicians and knob turners, not the software you use.
 
A cheap Pro Tools M-Powered rig allows me to edit at home with no file transferring involved, rough mix, and do some basic tracking.
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Can't you do that with something like Sonar? I understand the continuity desire.
 
For sure I could. For what I paid for the M-Powered rig plus some plugin packages was the best deal for me at the time (I was a student, had some major discounts).

I like to know that things will work for me, so I'm a little more nervous about hopping between programs on a daily basis with the amount of edits I sometimes do.

Also, I do very little MIDI. I went to Pro Tools for its strengths in audio work. I also own Logic, and switch to that if I'm mixing or working with a ton of MIDI data.
 
It's just a preference.
Why do people drive different cars than you do? Not everyone has the same needs, budget or preference. Some people like red trucks that have an automatic transmission and get 18mpg. Others like sleak, black coupes with a manual transmission that get 40mpg. Others like to ride a motorcycle.

It amazes me people argue so much on here about why PT sucks and how I should buy a different program. It's my money, they're my clients, and it's my choice. Get over it.
{{that was NOT directed at you SteveE9C6}}
 
That's the fun part about recording now. There are so many options out there to fit your style and needs. Pick one that you like, and roll with it.

Who really cares anyway? If you don't like Pro Tools, don't use it.
 
LOL... Actually, I don't think PT sucks. A friend of mine has the full blown HD system with D Command. He did a very succesful Cross Canadian Ragweed CD on it. I think that doesn't suck ;) Since I can't afford that for my studio, I use a PC based DAW running Sonar 6 PE. I've got Traction and Cuebase too, but I'm happiest with Sonar. I use world class pre's, mics, etc and am happy with my results. I actually looked at a HD system with Control 24 in Houston. I just can't justify the cash outlay. (Though the account manager was sure I could :) )
 
I've never had a chance to give Sonar a run. Not too many people in my area use it, its mostly Pro Tools/Logic/Cubase around here. The MIDI and Soft Synth options on it look excellent though.
 
Logic
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Now this is something I have thought about. I've seriously considered jumping platform and going with a new Mac G5, Logic, and a few of those new Apogee Ensemble units. I'm not blinded to any one format. I want what works and delivers pro results.

I can always stick a Pro Tools wallpaper/screensaver on the puter!
 
Logic is a pretty cool program. The learning curve can be a bit high due to how in depth you can go with routing schemes and so on, but its excellent in the long run if you stick with it.
 
I have pro tools LE. If it worked properly I would like it just fine. I have to say though, the plug-ins from the factory bundle do not sound good to me. I don't know if this is the case with the other programs because Pro Tools is my first foray into digital recording.

I have fixed several glitches but one still remains. I get the "try increasing buffer size..." after 15 or 20, sometimes 30 minutes of recording. It used to be much worse but I found a few adjustments. Seems like it doesn't like doing playback, but it likes recording cause in playback mode it gives me the error message whereas in recording mode it will sometimes go for 30 minutes before screwing up. Sometimes it only goes 5 minutes. Overall, it's been a huge headache. I followed every direction as well as I could. I use the computer for pro tools and pro tools only. If your system is working properly and not limiting you, I would say stick with it.
 
SteveE9C6 said:
I honestly don't understand why anyone would go the M-box or similar route.
Don't get me wrong, Pro Tools is as noted, pretty much an industry standard.
However... when we say PT=Industry Standard, I think the vast majority of folks think PT-HD. I can understand someone moving to that platform. I just don't understand the lure of the entry level PT stuff. Perhaps someone would elucidate?
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i do it for exactly the same reason Tua does it - because that's what they use in the studio, and it's SO much nicer to be able to do basic editing and mixing at home.

Can you imagine the nightmare of having to switch platforms as well?



and yes, arguing about platforms is possibly one of the stupidest things you can do. no one's right, no one's wrong, everyone's wasting their time ;)
 
hey...

ibleedburgandy, the reason that you're getting that error is because of other programs that are running in the background. Most likely from startup, if you give me platform/computer hardware info, I'll try to help. I had the same problem with a PC I used to have.
 
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