is pro-tools over rated?

yea you have, cause these cats talking about how other peeps they dont even know use the equipment... especially all these dudes talking about hundreds and thousands of studios, like who really has set down with over 50 peeps and talk to them about their setup, in that case, you not worried about making music, you just worried about what everyone else thinks... who cares... do you and let it be, if you got CakeWalk, and u can be satisfied, do you... if you can make hits on ya cell phone recorder, then great, if thats the sound u want and like, go for it... peeps spend more time worried about pros and cons about stuff instead of getting it, seeing whats up with you, and then just either trading it and selling or adding on to it to make their setup better... my thing is people, find something that can help produce the sound you are looking for or that makes something more creative you like, there is no one piece of equipment thats going to help u make hits, never, nor that is going to do everything that you wanna do inside on machine... its not going to happen, give that sh..t up... its all about your creativity and use with every lil piece of equipment... a lot of the sounds you hear go thru a lot more processing then a lot of you will ever really know or understand... this aint a cheap game.. only if you are talented

Is Pro Tools overrated?

No. Plain and simple it does what it's supposed to and does it well, LE and HD versions. Any "expensive, high end, glitz-and-glam" studio running a DAW will certainly be Pro Tools based. And it's not due to word of mouth.

Is it the only player in the game?

Hell no. And that's where folks get it twisted. The notion is that if you ain't using Pro Tools, you ain't doing jack. Wrong! Logic is quickly gaining ground in the race and now that they have Apple's backing it can only get better. Look at what Final Cut Pro did. When I was in film school, we were decked w/ Avid suites. When I graduated 3 yrs ago, they were beginning to migrate to FCP setups and now the Avids are gone, replaced by FCP HD stations. To me, Digital Performer has always been neck and neck with PT. I've used both, own DP, and honestly the only difference are the keyboard commands and the menus. They do exactly the same thing. Even a lot of the keyboard shortcuts are the same! The only reason why I went with DP is because when I started to build my home studio I got to see someone work w/ DP and how he integrated it with his drum machines, keyboards, etc. It was exactly what I wanted to do. By the time I realized PT did the same thing, I already had a full blown DP rig.

Now that DP 4.5 has the ability to read and write Pro Tools file formats, the line is further blurred. So you can work on DP and bring it to any Pro Tools studio and load it right up.

Oh and if you're one of those who tracks 4 bars of a beat, then cut and paste it over and over...it REALLY doesn't matter what you use.

PT is by no means the Holy Grail but people constantly confuse the whole aspect of PT.
First PT has no real competition, why? Because they are a hardware company not a software company.
This is the first and foremost reason for their proprietory nature.
While there are a lot of software applications that are up to par, Digi's perspective has and will always be that of a hardware solution, not a software solution.
It's pretty much along the same lines as buying a Mac, the O.S. runs on the Apple hardware but the software for it is included.
This is what allowed them to become a standard, in the early days they were able to sell you a digital environment not just some software to try and run on your computer.
PC's have only gained in the audio and video realm in the more recent years, that's why it took Digi so long to adapt the Windows environment.
When all the other software based companies were fighting to get the software to run on various Apple computers (and later Windows) with various interfaces and drives etc, Digi was selling a hardware solution that allowed you to run their software on their hardware not the computer so it took a the majority of the problems out the equation.
Eventually CPU's and the stability of computers increased to a level where software could finally start to deal with audio and MIDI and the DAW world exploded.
By then Digi had a firm foothold and reputation that regardless of what people in forums and such talk about is still running ahead of the competition.
The biggest difference now comes from the fact that there is a whole new market of shoppers out there now that consist of bedroom producers (and DJ's) and the infamous wannabee producer.
This was what lead Digi to develope the LE systems.
Unfortunately the LE systems keep ending up bigger situations than they planned so they keep changing thing.
Why do you think the DIGI001 had unbalance I/O and the mBox had no MIDI? Because it was believed that the market for LE had such simplistic needs based on what that market was offering from other vendor.
They had to make changes because LE was ending up in too many B Rooms or Editing Rooms.
PT is far from overated, the problem is peoples perspectives and understanding of what's available and how it can help or hurt their particular setup.
I have yet to find a situation that PT doesn't get me through, and believe me people bring me enough headaches to make me ask myself is music really worth this?
Unfortunately I can't say the same about Cubase, Vegas, Cool Edit and Logic etc.
I have used a lot of programs over the years and the thing I would offer to anyone is find the one that works the way you work.
You need the DAW to enhance your actions not hinder them.
That's why the all-in-one HD recorders work so well for so many people, they fit into their particular workflow.
Whatever you chose try to actually learn how to use it, that makes the biggest difference.
Also if you are doing this as a business then buy for reliabity, it's bad enough to f*ck up your own sh*t but it criminal intent to f*ck somebody else's sh*t.

PT is no more over-rated than the MPC, MadLib, Hummers, Jay-Z, life in the city, life in the burbs, etc.......it's all just perpsective.

Deleted double post

very well said especially about the hardware, i've not used any other consoles, but the pro control has everything i could possibly ever want while mixing. but like i said, i've never used any other high end console.





on a related note, i finally got around to getting the update, digidesign makes you go through a million different security tests and whatnot! their going to make sure no one is bootlegging protools

In the Digi realm the problem has always been bootlegged pluggins.
PT6.0 fixed most of that because all the versions for OSX require the PACE security files and most vendors now use the iLok.
It's like pure insanity you are out here in the grind doing your thing you go to a larger facility to do work and they are running all cracked software.
That's the reason why so many studios haven't gone HD or HD Accel, cracked plugs ain't gonna happen so you will have to spend some of that money you are jacking all your clients for.
Also the reason why certain people rag on PT, they just don't want to tell you it's because Digi blocked them from being able to update to newer feature cause they don't want to give up their cracked plugs.
Digi has always been good about my updates and authorizations, even since going to iLok.

Hey it's a crazy world no doubt.

ntalec... the previous post...very interesting, I ain't think that
far on in but you're right man.
Now...lemme hold that iLoc for a couple weeks

It all depends on how you use it and let it sound. I have Ableton LIVE but i don`t use it like most electronica acts here in europe who sound the same because they use the same effects. Same thing like everyone would use the bit crusher in the mpc1000.

I have an mbox and a Digi002. Reason for mbox , portable !

Why not a TDM system. I made a choice in money investing. Or get a TDM system and nothing else. OR get a DIGI002, get a FW1884 Tascam that is connected into the adat ports of the digi002 + 2xFE8 expansions so that`s 24 moving faders working in protools. I have a good dual G4 computer. But most important item of all PREAMPS ! Amek C.I.B., PA-1 TLA, etc.... some nice synths (moogs) with all that money i could have gotten a TDM system but probably a slightly updated A/D and no PREAMPS like the TLA, Amek,etc...UAD-1 pci card for extra plug in power (bombfactory/digidesign eat your heart out) Eventually it will sound better than a TDM system alone because of those outboard gears i bought.

I know someone who still doesn`t like protools because he spent too little time learning it ... he wants to go back to logic (that was a frustrating time to understand).
Everything needs to be learned but for audio PROTOOLS is the way to go!
Everybody complaining about the midi side of PT.... think ! i can solve any problem someone comes up with , oh he can not do this. Or they don`t know PT could do it or i find it such a detail to be missing which can be done in a different way.

PT is just a big digital tape recorder. I find it more inventing in recording because you`re the one choosing what`s being recorded. Loop based crap etc... oh gosh a little bit of work would do most bedroom musicians good in getting a more personal sound.

I know many top-producers who use their mbox in the studio, to make cuts etc... and some even recording with high quality preamps going into the inserts to avoid the focusrite preamp.

Eventually i would like to own a TDM system for the plug in power. But for example 'the downward spiral' by nine inch nails recorded in studio vision with i believe an 8 track digidesign card. recorded in 16bit 44.1khz and bounced to tape. That album sounds amazing and recorded in 1993 !

In the end it is the work you spend on it and the choices you make not the loop based software.

oh well that`s it for now
cheers

bugsstar wrote: Eventually it will sound better than a TDM system alone because of those outboard gears i bought.

You mean TDM like the Mixplus or are you talking HD Accel?
If you are talking HD Accel then you will definitely have to extend the converters to get to that level.
Which TL Audio pres do you have? I've owned quite a few and they really let me down, ended up selling six channels of TL Audio stuff.
I do agree with you that you can config an LE system that hits a high mark but people have to understand it's next to impossible to do with the mBox since it lacks expansion options and if you do it it's not really cheap.
If done right you can get a big bump in your sound quality if you have a fast enough Mac to handle it.
The biggest thing about TDM (HD also) is for tracking bands and mixing big sessions it just too much realtime horsepower to pass up.
Add that to some TDM only plugs and you are pretty happy.

trupro wrote:Now...lemme hold that iLoc for a couple weeks

Talk about a critcal piece of equipment

ntalec, bugsstar, Aerodynamics. Loved the posts, VERY GOOD information alot of people NEED to know!!!

what is the cheapest pro tools solution for pc?

djrespect wrote:what is the cheapest pro tools solution for pc?

In the long run, most cost effective way is to
buy a Macintosh.

Care to go into that trupro? I'd like to know if you can break it down.