Pimpin it with Pro tools

[light]

Just curious how many of you guys use pro tools. me personnaly i love it. but i know damn well thats just cause i have used it forever and its pretty much the only thing i know. Recording samples is a breeze. Choppin em is a 1 second job. effects are instanly applied and manipulated. song arangement is so easy its silly. Vocals are recorded in the same platform so theres no changing software or hardware. you can use time or bars beats to establish a grid so everything is visual as well as audio.
ILOVEPROTOOLS... i would basically go nuts without it.

 

[classic]

yo
im looking into getting that. Im using cubase sx right now to track my beats. But its a pain if i wanna go to the studio and do something casue they use protools. I have to export the tracks as wav files and import them into pro tools. WHen i do that i loose all my effects and compression(real pain).
I already spend enough time tracking out my beats from my mpc

i figure evetually i should cut out the middle man

How much does a version of protools run and is it worth me getting since im only gonna be using it to mix

class...

 

[light]

Yes its worth it to mix. depending on your budget you can get a version of pro tools with a "physical" mixing board. probably into multi thousands of dollars im not really sure how much pro tools costs out there but you can get the cheapest version of pro tools in canada for 800 bucks or a bit less now maybe. probably 500 canadian maybe? if you can afford it go with protools HD but, go to digidesign.com and go to contact info and email them asking where a dealer near where your at is. any questions about it just shoot...

 

[Copenhagen]

I use ProTools M-Box. I rewire Reason, which I make my beats in, straight to ProTools, where I apply effects and mix it down, record vocals etc. I've only be using it for some months now, but so far I am very satisfied...though I'm still trying to get the hang of it. Also, I just plug my powered studio monitors straight into the M-Box, and therefore use no amplifier, which all in all has given me much greater sound.

 

[light]

Hell ya... i didnt even know you could do that with reason.. im bout to load reason on my comp then, had the disk here for months...

 

[classic]

couple of questions

so is protools prettly reliable??
Doset it freeze or crash oftern.
How much does a copy of pro tools LE run?
How long did it take your to get the hang of it??
Is it hard coming from cubase?? Does pro -tools work well with XP??
Anyone have protools and m-audio firewire 410??


class.

 

[Copenhagen]

In the short amount of time I've used it, PT has been reliable and hasn't crashed or frozen once. However, I haven't used it to the max yet, so I don't know if it will still be the same experience then.
You can get ProTools M-Box for down to $250 on ebay, but mostly I've seen it for $375-425.
I was in the middle of renovating my apartment, which I am now unfortunately moving from, so that's why I haven't used it that much yet. The stuff I have used have been pretty straight forward, but as with any program, it'll take a little time.
ProTools works well with XP, and XP is the only format where you can also rewire (to my knowledge).
Whether it's hard coming from Cubase I can't say. I've never used Cubase much.
As ProTools LE comes with a soundcard, I see no point in using M-Audio 410.
You get either the M-Box, Digi001, Digi002 rack or Digi002 mixer soundcard with ProTools LE. You can see the difference between the cards at www.digidesign.com.
You can of course also get ProTools HD, but then we are talking a lot of dough.

 

[classic]

jeese thats depressing So I have the the firwire 410 for nothing????? Damn thats depressing?? Could i still use the 410 with protools if i wanted?? Or does it make u use there card.

 

[Copenhagen]

If you have Cubase and M-Audio 410, and am comfortable with it, why switch?

You may be able to use the M-Audio 410 with ProTools, I don't know, but ProTools won't work if it doesn't recognize it's hardware (that comes with it), so you have to have it plugged in anyway, and then you might as well use it as it was specifically designed for ProTools.

 

[Cold Truth]

is there any REAL advantage to switching to pro tools if you already have a good recording/midi application? basically all i am getting now to complete my setup is that new emu farm card system, i guess it has the same converters as the pro tools a/d system... i figure if you can just get better sound cards/pre amps/compressors/etc, you should be ok if you already have (and are comfortable with) things like cubase/logic/cakewalk/etc..... does that make any sense?

i dont think that pt has that much to offer to make a complete switch, becasuse then you deal with another learning curve... but you can always sell your cubase for like $300 on ebay... and go to americanmusicalsupply.com and you can make payments on a digi 001 system and sell your m audio and cubase online....

 

[light]

I only suggest switchin if you are a fast learner. if it took you 3 years to get useto cubase then dont switch to pro tools and get frustrated when you dont where the tempo settings are. and dont get mad with the file allocation and access. But if you picked up on cubase in a few days, were playin with things in a few weeks and you where makin pretty good music in no time, then why not? try it. Either way its all good.
I guess theres alwayz the ease of busness argument too. They will run pro tools in the places where you will want to work.

 

[classic]

your right on point with the business thing. Thats the main reson i wanna switch. I think it will be pretty easy to learn protools casue the comcetps seem the same. Plus i do my beat making on harware anyway i only use software to mix.

class..

 

[light]

Id try it then. If, like someone mentioned earlier, you can get mbox for $250 then its not much of an investment. if you can run optical or spidf from your hardware, then youll wanna go with digi001 or 002 im not sure about the specifics. If you need 8 ins and 8 outs or more then youll wanna look at one of the higher models as well. if your mixing, then you probably dont want to be limited too much by the ins and outs, keep that into concideration. 002 has touch sensitive motorized faders (watch me drool when i get that shit), also would be a dream for mixing. check to make sure the version you are looking at has all the plug ins you need. and if not then price those in too.

 

[young_keyz]

i wouldnt really switch. I would just keep rocking cubase and get a better sound card. Pro tools is good program but its not a program the accepts every user with open arms, because pro tools is kind of picky on what computer its on and its also a big cpu drain. Now Classic you have spoke about the studio you go to has pro tools, do they have pro tools Hd or just another pro tools le set cause there is a big difference. Well i gona take it that they have a pro tools hd and it might be good to switch over only once you have did a few months of research on www.digidesign.com about computers and what you may need in yours for everything runs smooth. Yo Classic whats really wrong with the way you do things now with cubase as far as transfering it over to pro tools. Yea you dont have no effects or you cant add compression but even if you had pro tools le and you transfer it over to there system if yall dont have to same plugins youll pretty much be back at step one as far as effects and would have to add them at there studio anyways and if you they have a hd system there wouldnt have native plugins anyways.

 

[light]

Well Young Keyz is on the right track. Its not the easyest to learn. If you are a fast learner however, you wont have trouble. As per the drain on your cpu, it can be an issue. i run a knock-off processor. 1.2 gighz nothin beefed up. youll want a 7200rpm HD and a decent Motherboard so the databus doesnt slow things down too. But there is ways to configure your computer to handle this kinda software properly. if you like playin games your outa luck tho because some of it takes away from the whole video card side of things. heres a link that will help you with your computer configuration. maybe save it to your favorites for future reference.
http://www.long-mcquade.com/index.asp?section=5&level2=5&level3=9&id=38
OK and as for the point young keyz made about losing your effects if they dont have the same plugins: you can bounce audio track by track, with the effects already applied. this eliminates the ability to manipulate them later on but if you have something completely tweeked to the point that you dont think the mixing engeneer will be able to duplicate it, then you wont be out of luck. But what you really would want to do, if your using pro-tools just to mix, is not put any effects on in cubase and do all the mixing work in pro tools.

 

[classic]

First off thanks for the replys
this is good shit

Hmm this seems like it could go either way. The MAIN thing that is attacting me to pro-tools is the Compatibality factor. I was under the assumetion that HD and LE could work toghter unless your doing some MAJOR effects or mixing work. Plust i wanna get into mixing and mastering my self

light, ive done what you said before by tracking out in cubase applying effects compression etc and then boucing out the tracks. But like u said eailer it, once i do that i cant move backwards casue i loose at that stuff when i export.

light one more question??
You open files in HD and LE the same right??? I know that HD is alot more robust but Im talkin about the normal stuff??


This is a tought decsion for me becasuse i have already invested in cubase sx and a m-audio firewire 410(firewire 410 was like $450!!). Cubase is Fine for now and im working good with it. But what about the Long term?? DOnt you think it would help out in the long term by using the same format that most studios use??


class...

 

[Cold Truth]

one thing cllass: not having effects can be to your benifit, because studios tend to prefer to mix tracs dry, and they in all likelihood have much better plugins than you do.

you can show them the finished product from cubase and show them where you were going with the mix, but they would probably prefer a dry mix.

although, it is nice to just import the session.

 

[Copenhagen]

Classic (OR should I say Chris Tucker )...studios might change over time. Just look how Nuendo has gained ground, as well as logic, but yes, many studios do run ProTools.

Regarding the compatibility issue between HD and LE, there really is none. The only thing is, that there's more plug-ins for HD, and heavier plug-ins, as these use the farm cards involved with HD, where LE uses your cpu. So, the only thing you may have problems with, is not transferring from LE to HD, as most HD setups most likely have your plug-ins, but transferring back if you have used a lot of HD plug-ins (so called TDM), as you don't have the same plug-ins.

 

[light]

Yup if you have a file in LE then you will be able to open it in HD. no trouble there. Cold truth made a great point. you definately will want your tracks to be dry when bring your tracks to the Mixing board. and thats a great idea to bring a mix in that you have done to give the mixing engeneer a good idea of the direction you want to go. ive never done that but i will from now on. great idea. im constantly explaining what i want. shit i gotta run

 

[djswivel]

In the short amount of time I've used it, PT has been reliable and hasn't crashed or frozen once. However, I haven't used it to the max yet, so I don't know if it will still be the same experience then.
You can get ProTools M-Box for down to $250 on ebay, but mostly I've seen it for $375-425.
I was in the middle of renovating my apartment, which I am now unfortunately moving from, so that's why I haven't used it that much yet. The stuff I have used have been pretty straight forward, but as with any program, it'll take a little time.
ProTools works well with XP, and XP is the only format where you can also rewire (to my knowledge).
Whether it's hard coming from Cubase I can't say. I've never used Cubase much.
As ProTools LE comes with a soundcard, I see no point in using M-Audio 410.
You get either the M-Box, Digi001, Digi002 rack or Digi002 mixer soundcard with ProTools LE. You can see the difference between the cards at www.digidesign.com.
You can of course also get ProTools HD, but then we are talking a lot of dough.

XP is not the only version you can use rewire. I use an M-Box and Mac OSX and Pro Tools 6.1 has no problem rewiring into my Reason. Although I've done it, I havent really gotten too deep into using pro tools on my raw beats. For the most part, I make the raw beats with little effects except for some EQing and compression in reason. The only time I ever bring the beats into Pro Tools is when they've been picked up and are being sold. I figure the artist can work a lot easier with the raw beats, and do any sort of final EQing or other effects himself after he's got a feel for the track.