Archive for 'Pro Tools 9'

Avid’s recent release of Pro Tools 10  has caused quite a sir in the recording world. Whether it’s because it dropped a mere 11 months after the launch of Pro Tools 9 or because it costs more than previous upgrades, a lot of people have been hesitant to make the jump to version 10.

I completely understand, and was curious to see how it stacked up in reality. So today’s video will cover a couple of cool new features as well as my final opinion on whether or not it’s right for you. Remember, no one is forcing you to upgrade. I’m just here to help you make an informed decision.

Unlock the power of Pro Tools with my REthink Pro Tools video series. Now updated for Pro Tools 10 www.REthinkProTools.com

Did you know that just because a new version of your DAW comes out, you don’t have to upgrade? What a crazy thought! In fact, you can continue to use your perfectly good version of software to make great music all day long. No upgrade needed.

That being said, a couple of weeks ago, two major DAWs dropped new versions on the world and people are angry as all get out. So please pardon me while I rant for just a minute about the psychology of software upgrades.

These Companies Need To Make Money

In case you didn’t know, software manufacturers are in the business of making money. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Companies like Avid, Apple, Steinberg, PreSonus, Propellerhead, Cockos, all make great tools for musicians and engineers and they charge money for said tools. Makes sense so far.

That being said, if they never make a newer and better version of their DAW, then their only way to make money to sustain the business is to sell to new customers who currently don’t have their product. But wouldn’t it be easier to simply improve their existing product, fix things, add user requested features and then turn around to sell the software again to CURRENT customers as an upgrade? So that is why these companies drop new versions of their DAW every few years. No big deal.
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No matter which version of Pro Tools you currently use, you need to know your edit modes. Each one has a unique function and place in your music making world. Whether you want to slice and dice to the grid, keep things loose, or even re-arrange your song with a single snap, edit modes are where it’s at. This video breaks it down nice and easy for you.

Want some killer Pro Tools mixing training for free?! Today is your day. One of my new good friends, Kevin Ward of MixCoach.com helped co-write a brand new mixing book for Pro Tools users, Pro Tools 9: The Mixer’s Toolkit. I’ve read it about three times completely through now and it’s awesome.

The Mixing Book I Wish I Had

There are so many books out there on mixing, but most of them are either boring or theoretical. Kevin’s book is neither. It is a fast, funny, and relevant read. In The Mixer’s Toolkit, you’ll learn how to edit and tighten up drums, bass, and guitars using all of Pro Tools’ handy features like Beat Detective and Elastic Audio. You’ll discover to how to quickly create depth and clarity in your mixes with EQ (the built in free plugins) as well as how to get punchy radio ready mixes with compression. The book even takes you through some basic pre-mastering so you can get your tracks out in the real world.

It truly is the book I wish I had read when I started this whole mixing thing. You follow an actual mixing session (session file download is included) so you can follow along yourself! It honestly can’t get much easier than this people! I even learned some killer tips and tricks I had never known!
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Did you know that Pro Tools has both real time and non-real time plugins? Typically you’ll use an RTAS plugin on a channel insert (Real Time Audio Suite), but there is also the non real time AudioSuite plugins to choose from. Sometimes when you want an effect on just part of a track, using these non-realtime AudioSuite plugins can be a great option. This quick Pro Tools video tip will show you how to do just that!

Last week at the Musikmesse 2011 show in Frankfurt, Avid/M-Audio unveiled an update to their Pro Tools M-Powered line, simply called Pro Tools MP 9. In essence, as Pro Tools LE was dropped for the more robust Pro Tools 9, standalone DAW, M-Audio is carrying a still more affordable alternative that boasts many of the same great new features of Pro Tools 9, but at a price that’s hard to pass up.

Pro Tools 9 For Half The Cost

Pro Tools 9 costs $599 US straight up. You can run it on any hardware (or no hardware) and it finally has all the updates people wanted. At only $299, Pro Tools MP 9 will give you almost all the same functionality but at a cost…you have to still be tethered to M-Audio hardware. This really is a great option though as M-Audio makes some fantastic interfaces.

Here’s some of the highlights:

• Up to 48 stereo audio tracks
• Up to 96khz sample rates
• Bounce To MP3 included
• ADC (Automatic Delay Compensation) included
• Must run with M-Audio hardware

This is huge, because you get the ADC and Bounce to MP3 options that people wanted in Pro Tools LE and M-Powered before, but now you don’t necessarily have to jump to Pro Tools 9 to get them. Of course if you want twice the tracks, higher sample rates, and no hardware requirement, you can always upgrade later.

Hardware + Software = Great Deals

Where M-Audio is really selling you is the bundle deals. If you purchase their hardware with Pro Tools MP 9 you save a TON of cash.

Right now they seem to be highlighting three interfaces in particular. The Mobile Pre interface (2 mic pres, USB connectivity) with PT MP 9 runs only $329 US. That’s only $30 more than Pro Tools MP 9 by itself! For $549 you can get the Fast Track Ultra with 4 mic pres built in bundled with Pro Tools as well. Awesome starter packages for new studios!

An Interesting Alternative

Last month when the Avid “Hear What You’ve Been Missing” tour was in my area, I specifically asked the reps what was to become of Pro Tools M-Powered and the M-Audio line of interfaces as they relate to Pro Tools. I got a vague response at best that seemed to esteem M-Audio and it’s place in the Avid line, without a specific plan for the future. Now we know!

M-Audio brings you an almost identical version of Pro Tools 9, at half the cost or even less if you purchase it with M-Audio hardware. It allows people to get into Pro Tools at Pro Tools LE 8 prices from a while ago, but with more features and hardware options! I think it’s a smart move on Avid’s part and a great option for someone just getting into serious audio production!

As a Pro Tools user since version 6, I’ve seen this powerful DAW change each year and add more and more incredible features. Version 9 is no exception, and I finally upgraded to it in my studio. I wanted to highlight a handful of the big reasons why I made the leap and how I think it is a great step forward for Avid.

As I mentioned in my Pro Tools 9 first look, there is no longer an LE line of this software. Just a native version and the HD versions. You can purchase Pro Tools standalone for $599 US, or crossgrade from LE for $249 and from M-Powered for $349. For details on the product, check out Avid’s page.

If you follow the world of Avid and Pro Tools, then last year you may have noticed some serious changes. In a span of 4 months, Avid launched new HD interfaces, completely redesigned new Mboxes, the highly anticipated Pro Tools 9, and of course a “native” version of Pro Tools HD. When HD Native first came out I did a brief write up covering some of the main features of it but until recently I hadn’t gotten a chance to witness it in person. Until yesterday.

Hear What You’ve Been Missing

Avid has been taking Pro Tools HD Native around the country to demo it and show people just exactly what makes it so special. They call their campaign the “Hear What You’ve Been Missing Tour” and it just so happened to stop in Orlando last night. So I registered, grabbed up my notebook and camera, and headed over to hear things for myself!

Hosted by Avid Product Specialist Gil Gowing and Account Manager Jake Schaefer, the event was a setup as a demo of a brand new Pro Tools HD Native card running with the their Omni I/O interface, all running into a MacBook Pro. That’s right, Pro Tools HD running off of a laptop! They used a Magma chassi to get the PCI Native card to hook into the express slot on the MacBook. Pretty cool.

The Latency “Non” Issue

The biggest draw for a Pro Tools HD rig is the almost complete lack of latency when recording. Latency is that annoying issue of hearing an echo of sorts when you sing into your DAW let’s say because it takes a few milliseconds for sound to be converted to a digital signal by your interface, run through the software, be converted back into audio, and finally hit your headphones. There are many workarounds with host based systems like internal DSP mixers that can really help, but with HD you dont’ have to deal with that.

The big deal with this native version of Pro Tools HD is that you now have a host based system (like Logic, Sonar, Cubase, Studio One, etc) but you can track up 64 inputs and outputs simultaneously, with up to 192 voices (or streams of audio) running in a session, with tons and tons of plugins open, and all at less than 2 ms of latency (compared to a USB or FW device running anywhere from 5 to 7 ms.

HBO’s “The Pacific”

To give us examples and to show off the power of this system, Gil opened up a Pro Tools session for an episode of HBO’s “The Pacific” a war movie series. This session had 150+ tracks running tons of plugins with a million little edits (think music tracks, dialog tracks, guns and tanks sound fx tracks, etc). It was insane. They basically ran this complex setup along with HD quality video at a super low buffer setting of 128 samples and even recorded along with it…all on a dual core laptop using only 50% of the CPU. No hiccups, just pure audio goodness.

Imogen Heap Remix and EUCON

They also pulled up an Imogen Heap track she let them remix to show some of the new features in Pro Tools 9. Using the great sounding Elastic Audio engine, Gil took Imogen’s lead vocal on a song originally at 164 BPM, slowed it down to 142 BPM with no sound quality loss. Then used a bunch of the built in virtual instruments like Boom and Xpand to build a rhythm layer with some pad type effects.

Gil then proceeded to demo the latest Artist Mix EUCON control surface from Avid as he added and tweaked plugin effects and parameters to the mix. It was a pretty elegant control surface allowing him to do all tweaks with no keyboard strokes or mouse clicks. Nice.

Witnessing The Power

As someone who personally uses a non HD Pro Tools system in my studio, it was helpful for me to see Pro Tools HD Native up close and personal. And to see it in action in a few different scenarios gave me a clearer picture of where this product fits in for the Pro Tools user. Here are my thoughts:

• Pro Tools 9 with a simple USB or Firewire enabled audio interface (whether Avid or 3rd party) is still all that many of you will ever need. It’s fast, powerful, even more full featured and expandable than version 8 was, and of course is on the more affordable spectrum of things.
• Pro Tools HD Native, though, is actually not out of reach for a project studio that is doing payed work regularly and who wants top of the line A/D conversion, insanely high I/O, all in a practically zero latency environment.

I honestly was impressed with what Pro Tools HD Native can do. I don’t know of any host based system out there that can do what this is doing. For me it’s overkill right now. I don’t run into situations where I need to tracks more than 32 inputs at a time or have sessions with over 100 tracks. But, it tells me that computer recording is only getting more powerful and what Avid is doing on both a software front (with Pro Tools 9) and a hardware front (new interfaces that rock) is a good thing for the audio world and for us Pro Tools users in particular.