The "I've Upgraded to Pro Tools" thread -- General

[kingmetal]

Seems like a few of us have upgraded from various DAWs to Pro Tools after the PT9 announcement. In this thread, share your experiences, ask questions, and just generally talk about stepping into a brave new world.

I've been a Cubase user for years and migrated from Cubase 5.5 (Windows) to Pro Tools LE 8.04 (Windows). So far the experience has been almost totally positive.

I'm working out the following things:

-Looking for a good replacement for Reverence and

-Trying to figure out how to survive without VariAudio, which I finally started using.

-Not thrilled at how my Tranzport and my 01V96 mingle as control surfaces (each fader bank can only be assigned a single control surface?)

Other than that, I haven't found anything that Cubase does that Pro Tools doesn't outside of some bouncing stuff (real-time bounces are a bummer but my LiquidMix makes me do real-time bounces anyway). I'm still moving over Komplete, Kore, LiquidMix and Maschine over (I'm avoiding reinstalling Komplete) so I'm doing mostly editing at this point and haven't done a full PT mix yet. Still very excited! I'm still tracking in Cubase, but I'll be getting PT9 in the next month and will use Cubase less and less if all goes according to plan.

[chris harris]

My new (snow leopard compatible) Mac Pro arrives on Thursday. Also having to shell out for PCIe version of MOTU 424 card and finally able to upgrade to UAD-2. This is gonna be big for me. Moving to PT. UAD Studer A800. I can finally get the Massey stuff!

I'll post in this thread as it all comes together.

History:

I started with Cubase VST 3.7 in about 1999. I used it for years until I moved into a studio with another engineer who was using DP. I switched in order to easier facilitate sharing projects. What I'm finding is that I share more projects with outside clients (home recordists) using PT than I do with my neighbor at the studio. I got a M-Powered version of PT a couple of years ago, so I didn't have to explain "consolidating" to every client. Having used PT briefly, I really enjoy it more than DP and Cubase. I'm waaay more proficient with DP. And, even more so with Cubase. But, I'm making the switch for compatibility and because I like the PT software.

I would have switched years ago. But, I mix OTB on a console and need 24 to 32 outputs at mix time. Avid has really responded to the needs and wants of a HUGE MARKET here. I'm thrilled to jump aboard.

[kingmetal]

I'm also looking at the Massey plugins -- specifically TD5 and Tape-head. The price is nice and you can't say no to a free trial. Which Massey plugs are you excited about?

[Chris_Avakian]

the hardware limitations, or cost of a setup large enough for me to mix otb has always kept me from trying pro tools. is it worth it now? other than the fact it seems that everybody and their mother wants to use pro tools, what are the real benefits of upgrading if im happy with sonar 6?

[kingmetal]

the hardware limitations, or cost of a setup large enough for me to mix otb has always kept me from trying pro tools. is it worth it now? other than the fact it seems that everybody and their mother wants to use pro tools, what are the real benefits of upgrading if im happy with sonar 6?

I jumped on Pro Tools because I started to need to develop a faster editing workflow. The editing in Cubase is, to me, primitive -- the features are mostly there, but the workflow never feels tight. Pro Tools immediately feels fast, and features like edit groups for multi-track editing just don't exist in Cubase. If you're happy with Sonar and don't do a lot of editing, the only reason I could see is compatibility. Sounds like you're good with what you've got!

[ott0bot]

I'm also looking at the Massey plugins -- specifically TD5 and Tape-head. The price is nice and you can't say no to a free trial. Which Massey plugs are you excited about?

The Tape Head and De-Esser totally rock. As does the CT-4. Totally worth the money.

There are a bunch of free RTAS plug worth checking out too.
http://www.dontcrack.com/freeware/softw ... gins/RTAS/

http://musformation.com/free-rtas-plugins.html (some outdated)

FreeG meter is really handy to check you mixing levels to ensure your have good levels for mastering.

TL metro is a really handy metronome.

I need to check out the Blue Cat stuff, that's sorta new.

get the ValhallaFreqEcho too
http://www.valhalladsp.com/freqecho.html

And if you want to use your VST's get a VST to RTAS Wrapper. (not sure about compatability in PT 9 yet).
http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=15

Also, for a non-real time bounce, do a bounce using your internal bus routing to create a new stereo track of your mix. Then open the region list (little arrow on bottom left of screen). Click on the region you want to bounce, then it will be bold in the region list. Then right click on bold region name and choose "export region as files" and select your bouce parameters, dither, location, etc. And it will bounce in a few seconds.

Yes you have to make a bounce in real time still, but mixing to an new stereo track has it's advantages. It's what I do for all final mixes, especially if you want to adjust parameters while bouncing, have and exteral comp on the mix bus or be able to monitor your bounce levels.

Make sure you turn "low latency monitoring off" and have "auto input monitoring" on(track menu). Can't remember which menu.....but it looks like this:


there was another thread with more info on this somewhere....

[kingmetal]

Thanks for all the info! I have a few questions:

1. How well does the VST --> RTAS wrapper work? I was considering checking out some Stillwell Audio stuff (reverb, especially) and they're VST only.

2. I'm a little confused as to why bouncing my session down to 2-TRK via internal bus routing and then exporting is better than just doing a realtime export (seems like fewer steps) -- although I could see the flexibility of making moves while the 2-TRK is bouncing (I used to do this in Cubase when I bounced off my board before I hacked in MIDI automation). I'd probably just rather write automation though.

The tip for the region export could really come in handy though -- I could export an audio track that way by consolidating the region and then exporting it, yeah?

3. What is Low Latency Monitoring and why do I want it off? Is Auto Input Monitoring what I think it is? Tape-machine style monitoring?

Thanks again for all the advice!

[ott0bot]

Thanks for all the info! I have a few questions:

1. How well does the VST --> RTAS wrapper work? I was considering checking out some Stillwell Audio stuff (reverb, especially) and they're VST only.

Works fine. I used the VST wrapper on another rig with the UAD plugs, which require the wrapper.

2. I'm a little confused as to why bouncing my session down to 2-TRK via internal bus routing and then exporting is better than just doing a realtime export (seems like fewer steps) -- although I could see the flexibility of making moves while the 2-TRK is bouncing (I used to do this in Cubase when I bounced off my board before I hacked in MIDI automation). I'd probably just rather write automation though.

The tip for the region export could really come in handy though -- I could export an audio track that way by consolidating the region and then exporting it, yeah?

Plenty of people are happy with the standard Pro Tools bounce, but I'm more of a control freak and usually set up an internal bus and route to external gear as well. You can't automate your exernal gear, so I find if I need to make a change in delay, or verb, or on an external comp, it's nice to have that option in more real time. You can see the cursor coming in this method, but in the standard bounce it's just a countdown.

Sometimes it seems that the standard bounce does something wacky to plug-ins too. But some people swear it doesn't. I do the bounce for rough mixes and I think that it does an ok job. I just like the control of doing a new stereo track in the session.

3. What is Low Latency Monitoring and why do I want it off? Is Auto Input Monitoring what I think it is? Tape-machine style monitoring?

Thanks again for all the advice!

Low latency mode allows you to monitor the incoming signal without latency when recording, but it make all your plug-ins innactive. Not sure how this works in PT9 yet. Since you don't need to worry about this I turn it off during mixing. Also, when done tracking turn off "Pre-Fader Metering" so you can see your correct outputs post fader.

Auto-input automatically switches from input to playback so you can hear what you recorded. Input only allows you to hear what is being input with out recording. My suggestion...leave in auto, and just command z the audio you don't need from setting levels of practice.

hope that helps!

[kingmetal]

Glad to hear about the VST wrapper and I see what you mean about the extra control with the bounce -- that's a creative solution that I could see employing in interesting ways.

As for the low-latency monitoring, that sounds a lot like ASIO direct monitoring. I'd be interested to see how it works in PT9, since that's actually a feature I miss from Cubase (although I lost it after I upgraded to Focusrite gear which does not support ADM).

The metering thing is good to know as well, although I'm used to just keeping my meters in pre-fader (I'm not even sure how to change that in Cubase, although I'm sure you can).

Thanks so much for your expertise!

[Nick Sevilla]

Hi,

I upgraded a few days after the AES show in SF.

It is working for me well.

The installation was a bit troublesome, but after erasing all the preference files it works.

I have the full HD version, and they gave a regular PT9 iLok licence as well, so I can run that on my laptop with my Motu 828mk3, if I need to go mobile.

That was nice since I don't have to pay to update my other two LE versions anymore.

So far I have had zero crashes. But I do watch what I'm doing most of the time, so the hard drives / RAM / etc do not get overtaxed.

Running on a Mac Dual Quad Core Intel 2.8GHz with 6GB RAM, Mac Os 10.6.4.

Have a bunch of USB and FireWire stuff hooked up and it all is ok so far.

Cheers

[chris harris]

I've hit my first snag, and I haven't even received the software, yet!

When I started with Cubase, I was on a Windows machine, so I used ASIO Direct Monitoring for latency free monitoring. Then, when I switched to Mac (which doesn't have ASIO Direct Monitoring) I started using the FireMix DSP mixer for my Fireface interface, to facilitate latency free monitoring of inputs. That worked great. Eventually I switched to DP and MOTU hardware, because with that combo, you can have latency free monitoring without even having to launch a separate DSP mixing app. It's all handled within DP. And, when I did use the MOTU hardware with Cubase, I just used the MOTU CueMix DSP mixer to create monitor mixes of input signals.

So, as you can see, I have never, ever had to deal with any latency on input monitoring. And, I don't intend to now. So, I had planned to just use the MOTU CueMix for input monitoring and to disable input monitoring in PT. Simple, eh? Not so simple. Apparently, Pro Tools doesn't have the capability to disable input monitoring. So, it looks like my latency-free feed from CueMix will be laid over the top of my latency-affected feed from PT. Can't wait to hear how awesome the comb filtering is on that!

I could just mute the channel in PT. And, that will work fine for tracking. But, this workaround is useless for punch ins. Other suggestions for workarounds have been equally close-but-not-close-enough.

The best solution I've heard so far is to use my Tranzport to hit Record & Mute at the same time. But, even this is clunky and ridiculous.

So, I guess for now, I'll have a nice shiny new Mac Pro, and I'll continue tracking in DP. I may go ahead and transfer to PT for editing and mixing, so I can still get familiar with PT while I'm waiting for Avid to implement the option to disable input monitoring.

Booooo!!!! Sooooooo close!!!

[chris harris]

Also, one thing I already HATE about using Pro Tools (and, I'm not even using it yet!!) is the never ending parade of assholes in the DUC forums, who are so sensitive and quick to get offended at any criticism of PT, that they don't even bother to understand the criticism before they try desperately, and very rudely, to debunk it.

Luckily, I don't have to use forums much to get help with software. I'm pretty good at figuring things out for myself. And, I'm obsessive about studying manuals. But, when I do have to resort to visiting a forum like that, I'm easily sucked into the frustrating static, and rarely walk away with a solution.

[jnTracks]

hmmm... i see lots of complaints about protools on the DUC. maybe not as many as here, but c'mon now.

are you sure you're not experiencing confirmation bias?

anyway, for my part i've been using pt9 (upgrade from 7.4) for a couple weeks. mixes are better, faster, easier. i couldn't be happier except for on thing, and it's a problem with windows, not PT. there is no aggregate audio in windows so i can't combine my interfaces. that's actually a feature of the upgrade i can't use, rather than a problem that's introduced. and i've still got 18 inputs on the 002r (14 good ones) if i could add 2 more from my line6 interface, it wouldn't change my workflow for most sessions anyway.

[chris harris]

hmmm... i see lots of complaints about protools on the DUC. maybe not as many as here, but c'mon now.

are you sure you're not experiencing confirmation bias?

Perfect example. I don't think you bothered to understand my criticism before you set about attempting to debunk it. I didn't suggest that there isn't any criticism of PT on the DUC. I'm annoyed by the less than thoughtful consideration that the criticism receives from a certain type of respondent.

[John Jeffers]

Subatomic, I don't mean to disregard your problem, 'cause I'm sure it's real and it's a pain in the ass. Wish I had a suggestion for you.

But... I have been loving PT9. The truth is that all the new features I'm excited about are things that should have been there LONG ago: ADC, works with any audio interface, more comprehensive import/export... Stuff like that has been in just about every other DAW for years now. I suppose to people who use other DAW software, PT users must look we're finally catching up.

Having said all that, I'm still excited about it. The DAW I chose to invest my money and time into a bunch of years back can finally do almost everything I want. No more irritating workarounds (at least, not for how I work. Again...condolences, Subatomic). IMHO, if you're a Pro Tools user, this upgrade is absolutely worth it.