Pro Tools 8

[gburgess]

Raggs,They are an up and coming US based indie company. After I wrote the post I noticed a writeup on Rain in the magazine "Computer Music" out of the UK on page 16 (I'm in the US but subscribe to it nonetheless).http://www.rainrecording.com/products/ion/GB

[bigbluebarry]

OK, I finally took the plunge and upgraded from PT LE 7.4 to PT LE 8 this weekend. I downloaded the files online overnight on Friday and did the install on Saturday morning. The install itself went very smooth. But I would start running into problems once I began opening up session files.I ended up tracking 3 songs over the weekend, experiencing some bugs in the software on occasion. The biggest problem, to me, was that it appeared the PT was having a hard time getting "synced up" with the MIDI data, but there were the occasional crashes. The more I worked, the more frequent they became.So yesterday I went to the digi DUC site and went over all of their troubleshooting tips, ie. deleted my preferences and database folders and re-installed the software. This seemed to help but I still had problems.Finally, I decided to check the list of compatible plug-ins on their site against what I had installed. I did have one or two plug-ins that were a minor version behind (ex: 1.1.5 instead of 1.2). But as I continued checking the list, my heart began to sink. The one plug-in that I use on EVERY single song, Guitar Rig 3, IS NOT COMPATIBLE with PT 8!!!No wonder my session kept crashing, I had 7 instances of GR3 open So, I took off GR3 and inserted my Line6 GearBox Gold plug-in instead. I worked for another 2 hours and it never crashed again. Which made me both happy and sad. I really hope that NI and digi can get GR3 compatible ASAP! Other than that, WOW, do I LOVE PT 8! It is SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier to work with MIDI now. Unbelievably easier. And the new plug-ins like XPAND2 and the A.I.R. plug-ins... WOW! Great stuff! I also think the new UI is much easier on the eyes. With the older version of PT, I would notice that long sessions would eventually start to strain my eyes a bit. I spent about 20 hours with PT 8 this weekend and my eyes didn't bother me once. Great job Digi!- Big Blue

[partyofone]

I've really been thinking about switching to PT M-Powered especially with all you get for $250. The biggest thing holding me back is still no delay compensation and I have and use a UAD-1. I think it'd be a minimum a pain in the butt to use it in PT. That and no native VST support which isn't a big a deal. Been messing with a Live 7 demo which is very cool and I can see how it would change the way I write... but for doing a lot of linear arrangement editing stuff it seems a bit awkward sometimes.

[partyofone]

Oh yeah.. what kind of sounds come with the free version of Structure? Anything good enough to use for broadcast quality material?Also another thing bugging me is that you can't use low-latency mode on M-Powered. This would mean it would be awkward tracking with the included Eleven guitar plug-in.

[gburgess]

Patrick,I found the sounds in the free version of Structure to be top quality. From my perspective, being able to import your own sounds is helpful. I've used it to import and create some interesting effects that I would not have been able to otherwise do.I've tested all of the additional plugs/instruments that come with Pro Tools 8 and have been impressed by the upgrade. If you move to Pro Tools 8 make sure you take time to check out Xpand 2. They did a great job with the upgrade and hundreds of quality synths/instrument sounds. I have KONTAKT 3 which is the top of the line in terms of sampling, and find the sounds from Xpand 2 appear to be just as good.In terms of Effects and Sound-Processing Plugs, they have added a lot to the list and all of them appear to be of high quality. The thing I like most about the upgraded plugs are the number of pre-sets they added. As any pro will tell you, pre-sets will only take you so far, but it's nice to have lots of options as a starting point.Regarding VST support, I use the FXpansion VST to RTAS Adapter and have had no problem with it. Of course, I've pretty much removed all the VST plugs from my computer after upgrading to WAVES plugs.I agree a few additional offerings would be great, but pound for pound Pro Tools 8 puts a lot on the table for an entry point of $250. There are a lot of individual plugs that cost more than that.My 2 cents. Hope it helps.GB

[partyofone]

Thanks for the info GB! I agree it seems like the best value out there considering Sonar Studio doesn't have pitch correction or that many great plug-in's. Cubase seems a good value also but I'm just not sure if the Studio version has as much band for the buck. Have you used the free Melodyne and if so how do you feel about it? At this point my only reservation is the lack of delay compensation for my UAD-1 and the possible awkwardness of using an amp modeler with higher than desirable latency.

[yammer107]

WOW glad I stopped back in here...Big Blue !!! I just picked up Guitar Rig 3 and LOVE it! - No Pro Tools 8 for me until they make it compatable ! Arghh!!!!Patrick - I've only tinkered with the free Melodyne, it seems to be an awfully limited version, and a bit cumbersome. But I've yet to give it a real chance... You cant stack harmonies & tune them together for instance, limited to one track at a time. Chris

[partyofone]

Chris, thanks. As long it has full tuning functionality I think that's all I'd need. One track at a time is fine too.Anyone know how bad the latency is on M-Powered when using an amp sim like Eleven or Sans Amp?

[bigbluebarry]

Well, I'm sad to say that I had to revert back to PT 7.4 on Tuesday. I thought that my Line6 GearBox plug-in was going to allow me to stay on PT 8 but I was wrong The sessions that I created in PT 8 over the weekend crashed every time I tried to open them on Monday night. Fortunately in PT 8 they added a new feature where you could open up a session with all of the plug-ins disabled. This allowed me to get the session open and go through each plug-in, one at a time, to see who the culprit was.Unfortunately for me, it was my other guitar emulator software. So since I couldn't use my Guitar Rig 3 OR my Line6 GearBox plug-ins, I had no choice but to go back to 7.4 until those plug-ins are compatible. It was very frustrating to have to switch back but not nearly as frustrating as trying to work in PT 8 with incompatibility issues. Oh well, hopefully NI will get the GR3 patched soon. They seem to have several plug-ins that aren't compatible with PT 8 right now.- Big Blue, really, really Blue

[partyofone]

Bummer Blue... I know all DAW's have their issues but hearing of issues like these I'm starting to lean towards Cubase 5 Studio. Only thing is the tuning software is automatic only and not sure how the amp sim sounds. Like it was said earlier though, PT 8 just seems like the most bang for the buck (ADC and track count not withstanding).