Defecting from ProTools.. Which program now?

[lsn110]

Another vote for Digital Performer. The editing is very PT like (from the times I've played with PT). The interface is also super customizable as far as Key mappings go. I wouldn't be surprised to see that someone's made a key mapping set for former PT users...but that's speculation.

[kronosonic]

Based on your description I'd suggest Reaper. No other program can match its routing options and it is very light on midi (but not useless for midi)

[JohnDavisNYC]

Logic?

It seems to be the only program, along with maybe Nuendo, that has a strong hold in the professional sector... I guess it all depends on what your needs are from the software... is it for personal use only, are you running a commercial studio? what sort of interface do you want to use? Mac or PC? How much money do you want to spend?

john

[hiddendriveways]

I love the workflow of Ableton Live. It's used by lots of electronic artists and DJs, but I use it as an all purpose DAW for rock, folk, bluegrass, post production video work, and experimental projects. It's become a very popular tool for live theatre sound design, triggering sounds in live televised events, etc.

It just makes the most sense to me, I find it very intuitive. It's really well supported by the company, and they are always on top of bug fixes and updates for compatibillity. They were the first DAW company to release a MacIntel Universal Bianary version, and they've been very up-to-date with the whole Vista conversion.

The software runs like a champ, never crashes, and the included tools are very inspiring and encourage creativity.

My 2 cents.

[Freakmagnet451]

Really, I don't know nuthin'. And I don't want to, recording software all gets in the way of recording from what I have seen. I want to look at Tracktion cuz it is supposed to be simple. I have Digital Performer 5 with a MOTU 896 and it works fine. I will give MOTU this one - the manual is a large printed book written in English by people who speak English. When I had a question I could not find the answer to in the manual the email tech service was fast and very satisfactory. Things are starting to sound pretty good so I guess I will muddle through.

[LewKellogg]

I have used them all at one time or another and just like "Which mic should I pick?" or "What is the best preamp under $45?" - it depends on what you want to do. That said, here are a few thoughts to fuel the process:

This is going to sound like ?Wax on, Wax off? ? Sorry about that - Consider three processes in terms of these questions ? How do you get the music into the PC (Capture/Recording)? What do you do with it once it is there (Processing/Mixing.)? What is the end result (Audience). If you understand your needs for each of these it will narrow your choices.

Capture: Most of the software that has been around for a while started out as either Midi-centric or audio-centric. That makes a difference because they carry over the recording flow, functionality, etc. from their past. Which is your primary focus? The new (relatively speaking) recording concept is ?loop-centric?. If you do all three then you want balance. If you focus on one for the most part you want more of a best of breed. Heck, you may not care about the recording part. Lots of folks record to 2? tape or an Alesis HD24 and then only use the computer after the sound is captured.

Processing: What do you do, or want to do, with the sound once you have it in the box? If you do effects processing out of the box, you may not need lots of plug-ins. You will need lots of good routing options though to move the sound in and out of the box. Some of the software/hardware combinations can make this difficult. If you do everything in the box, you need to think about platform (AU,RTAS, VST, etc.) functionality, etc. Is your mix for audio only? What formats? Are you doing post work, broadcast, video, etc.? Again, the software was originally built for one or more of these functions and will do the best supporting that original function.

Audience: Finally, who is this for? How are you going to deliver it? I use Pro tools because of the first question my customers ask ?Do you have ??? If you are the target audience, it matters much less.

Figure these things out Grasshopper, and you?ll be well on your way. If that is not what you?re looking for in an answer then, as a very long time PC user who recently moved to a Mac Pro - If you don't have a Mac you really don't fully understand the commercials. You think you do, but you don't.

[GooberNumber9]

I know I'm in the minority, but Sony/Sonic Foundry Vegas is super-stable and frying-pan-to-the-face simple. A few sessions ago, a band's DRUMMER even learned it on the fly, and was constantly taking the mouse from my hands to illustrate what he wanted.

After being a Vegas user from the very first version and sticking with it for almost seven years, I 100% agree with how easy Vegas is to use.

The downside is that the included plug-ins are almost useless and the overall sound quality is far below that of Pro Tools. I was very happy when I switched to PT.

If I had PT taken away from me, I'd probably switch to Digital Performer. It was one of my candidates when I moved from Vegas and I really liked it a lot. It's a lot cheaper than Nuendo, which was another top contender, and it's much easier to use AND cheaper than Logic. I went with PT primarily for interoperability with other studios and friends.

Todd Wilcox

[b3groover]

I think the routing for Cubase 4 is very flexable. For instance, if you use outboard gear, Cubase can automatically figure out the latency of going out of the computer, into the gear, and back into the computer again and compensate for that. Then, you can load up that outboard gear just like a plug-in, as an insert or a send on a track.

The new Control Room feature in Cubase 4 is probably the coolest new feature of the bunch. Lots of routing options there for multiple monitor setups, multiple headphone outputs, aux inputs and outputs, etc. Pretty cool stuff.

As for "beat detective" type work, the Tempo Track in Cubase is handy for creating a tempo map of non-click-tracked audio. After that, you can use a plug like Melodyne to convert audio to MIDI, quantize audio, etc. I used it for this purpose just last night and it worked great.

Many people have had computer issues with Cubase (I am not one of them), so if you do decide to use it, make sure your computer is top of the line, meaning it uses the best components. It really does help to spend a little extra for really good, brand-name RAM, paying attention to what the mobo wants, etc.

[leigh]

If your looking for more ADAT I/O and like Protools, then maybe the Profire Lightbridge and M-Powered would be a good compromise?

This was my thought as well. cactus, if your only beef with Pro Tools is that you want more ADAT I/O, the Profire has 32 channels of ADAT I/O. Pro Tools itself is "supposed" to be limited to 16 simultaneous ADAT I/O, but rumor has it that the current version of M-Powered lacks this limitation, and can actually run 32 channels simultaneously - whether by accident or design, time will tell (when they release the next version of PT).

But still, bottom line, for the first time with PT, you've got full choice over 16 channels of your conversion, rather than just 8 of your own channels + 8 of whatever converters they stuff into their own hardware box.

If you really want to defect from Pro Tools, I'm not trying to talk you out of it - just sending up the flag about a hardware option it sounds like you may have overlooked.

Leigh

[japmn]

I use Nuendo 3 and love everything about it (accept the stupid look of it all... Very Techno toy.) I love editing with it and the mix buss sounds better than protools to me.

I also will give a props to Vegas for being just plain easy to use. it is super fast to set up sessions and is very low on the CPU usage. Not too many editing features though... Unless you count unlimited video tracks. Vegas is more of a Final Cut Pro type of program but it will track as many audio channels as your PC can handle.

Cubase 4 is the same as Nuendo except it cost less and has less mastering (especially for film) features.

It is the best for under $1000 to me.

ProTools Can bite a dick.

[Jeff White]

Another vote for Digital Performer. Editing is incredible, as well as routing, etc. I truly love it.

Jeff

[vier-personen]

listen to lew kellog! I think it really comes down to the workflow you like, the money you want to spend and what you need because of fashion.

I am just recording some tracks with a band I recently joined and we are doing it in ableton live - works great, because the guy that is "tapeoperating" knows the software well and the sofware works well for this kind of music (beat oriented).
I know my Digital Peformer well and I track my other bands (often non-metric improv stuff, jazz) with it, and it works great as well.

[John Jeffers]

ProTools Can bite a dick.

My version of Pro Tools just processes audio. Thanks, Digi, for yet another expensive add-on.

[japmn]

ProTools Can bite a dick.

My version of Pro Tools just processes audio. Thanks, Digi, for yet another expensive add-on.

Only available on TDM Systems V.7.2 or higher. (Mac Only) and additional hardware is necessary.

[beef_wellington]

I would advise holding off on buying Logic until Apple reveals their plans for the new version. It has been a year and a half since the last update, and nothing has been annouced for a new one. Rumors state that the new version has been in development for 5 years, and should be a major market competitor for ProTools. I am interested in purchasing it myself, but am hesitant to drop $1000 without knowing some details. That said...I believe the program will be AMAZING, and I will probably sell an appendage to buy it once released.